Something Wrong with the Merpeople's Leader
Viktor Krum didn't dare to make any rash moves; he kept his eyes on the merfolk guarding the Merpeople from a distance.
They were all looking at the leader, seemingly asking for his opinion.
However, the leader did not react at all, as if he were asleep with his eyes open like an owl.
The two sides faced off for more than two minutes before Viktor Krum slowly swam forward.
The Merpeople asked even more urgently, but their leader still did not respond.
Vincent forehead was covered in the statue, was immediately puzzled.
The Merpeople leader was acting very strangely. Normally, its task should be to test the Champion, and it would never be so unresponsive as it is now.
Viktor Krum slowly circled around the Merpeople to the tail of the statue, and as he tried to untie the ropes binding Charlotte, Harry swam into the village.
The second Champion has arrived. Surely the Merpeople leader will react by now?
When Harry approached the statue, the leader finally raised the Obsidian Spear in its hand.
"Youyi, whitebigi!" Its voice wasn't loud, but it could drown out the Merpeople's chorus.
Viktor Krum, who was untying the rope, turned around reflexively.
He had several unpleasant encounters with the Merpeople, and this Mermish would be heard whenever he approached the village.
Although I don't know what that sentence means, the tone is clearly different today.
The Merpeople beside the leader looked at each other first, then raised their spears high.
Seeing that they were about to attack, Harry had no choice but to raise his wand.
With a "whoosh," the spear shot straight at them.
Harry didn't have time to chant the spell; he used all his strength to kick the water beneath his feet.
The spear was incredibly fast, plunging deep into the silt at the bottom of the lake and leaving a gash on his arm.
"Oh no..." Vincent on the statue's forehead could no longer sit still.
Dumbledore had already spoken to the underwater Magical Creatures in the Black Lake beforehand; even if it was a test, there was no need to injure the Champion right away.
Even the strongest person will quickly lose body temperature due to the cold lake water.
Rescuing the hostages now was clearly not a wise choice, so Harry decisively swam backward, but then a second spear came.
This time he was prepared, and after dodging the attack, he casually pulled out the first spear that was shot at him.
"Noliyabigimilayer!" The Merpeople leader's tone intensified once more, as if expressing anger.
The Merpeople looked at each other again, and seeing Harry swimming further and further away, they all threw out the spears in their hands.
An unseen, invisible stream of water slightly deviated from the spear's trajectory, and Vincent on the statue's head stared intently at the Merpeople leader below with an extremely solemn expression.
Its eyes remained vacant, and its movements, pointing the Obsidian Spear at Harry, appeared somewhat stiff, as if it were being controlled.
At the same time,
Wizards around the world watching the live stream couldn't help but feel a chill for Harry.
If it weren't for Merlin's protection, he would probably have been riddled with thorns by those dozen or so Knarl.
The Merpeople have no weapons, so they probably won't launch an attack easily.
Just as everyone breathed a sigh of relief, the Merpeople in the village sprang into action, including those who were singing loudly in unison.
They returned to their humble stone dwellings and took out strangely shaped weapons.
Phoebe had just arrived in the village, was terrified by the sight, and her hand holding the wand trembled uncontrollably.
The Merpeople, armed with weapons, chased after Harry like hunters on a hunt.
This time they've learned their lesson. Perhaps sensing something, they didn't choose to throw weapons, and it seems they intend to use their underwater speed to launch an attack.
With Harry about to be caught, the Auror hiding in the village finally couldn't sit still any longer.
An invisible barrier blocked the Merpeople, leaving them bewildered and causing them to stop in front of it.
Before the Auror could relax, the Merpeople leader's voice rang out again.
Its tone was particularly forceful this time, as if it were issuing a command.
The Merpeople scattered, seemingly abandoning their attack.
Viktor Krum, standing in front of the statue's tail, seemed to sense something was amiss. He pulled hard on the ropes binding Charlotte, trying to break them with brute force.
Through the scenes from Phoebe's side, we can see the Merpeople returning to the village, seemingly searching for something.
Dumbledore grave at the referee's table. Although the live broadcast only had visuals and no sound, he still sensed that something was very wrong.
He raised the Magical Communicator on his wrist and opened the two messages Vincent earlier.
Article 1: The target has not appeared.
Article 2: Professor Dumbledore, I know what you and Professor Moody are worried about. Please believe me, we will catch him.
The other four referees also sensed that something was wrong.
"Faster..." Karkaroff clenched his fists tightly, "Faster, Viktor ..."
Madame Maxime's face was full of worry. Although Phoebe did not dare to approach the village, who knew if the Merpeople would suddenly attack her?
Bagman and Barty Crouch also looked worried. If they weren't mistaken, the Merpeople were most likely searching for those hidden Auror.
"Buzz—" Dumbledore quickly opened the message he had just received. It contained only two short words, but they made his pupils shrink instantly.
Hermione, who had been transformed into Vincent after drinking Polyjuice Potion, also received the message. The two words sent a jolt through her, and her face was filled with disbelief.
"Imperious Curse" is one of the three unforgivable Imperius Curse.
"Impossible... How could this be..."
"What do you mean 'impossible'?" James looked at her strangely. "Old Wen, why are you in such a panic?"
Hermione quickly turned off the projection screen of the Magical Communicator and tried to appear calm, saying, "It's nothing."
"All right."
Since it's Imperius Curse, it means the Death Eaters might not be in the Black Lake.
So, when exactly did he make his move?
These past few days, whenever she Vincent had free time, they would go down to explore the Black Lake, and the magic detection device buried in the seabed silt had not issued any alarms.
Even earlier?
No, of the four Champion, only Harry successfully obtained the Golden Egg. Before the clues were deciphered, no one would have known in advance where the Second Task would take place.
The Ministry of Magic staff arrived early this morning. She Vincent were in the lake when everyone came to the viewing platform before they came ashore.
Did you take action during the break before the project started?
Impossible. Dumbledore has magic over the lake. If anyone went down there before the project started, he would know immediately.
The famous detective Sherlock Holmes once said, "When you have eliminated the impossible, what remains, however improbable, must be the truth."
The Death Eaters wasn't hiding on campus; he was actually hiding in the Ministry of Magic.