The spear tore through the air with a piercing whistle and struck the dragon's rigid left wing with precision.
Its point failed to pierce the hard dragon scales.
But the violent lightning energy clinging to it erupted instantly, paralyzing the dragon's entire wing.
The Swedish Short-Snout let out an agonized shriek, lost its balance, and crashed heavily to the ground, throwing up a great cloud of dust.
Now!
Krum seized the opportunity and charged toward the distant dragon nest like a cheetah.
He snatched up the golden dragon egg.
But the instant he turned, searing pain shot through his back.
The dragon had recovered and swept its enormous tail viciously into his back.
"Urgh-"
Krum spat out a mouthful of blood, his body sent flying like a kite with its string cut.
Yet his large hands still clung tightly to the heavy golden egg, holding it against his chest.
The dragon handlers rushed forward, several Calming Charms striking the enraged dragon at once.
Amid thunderous cheers from the entire stadium, Krum struggled to his feet.
He raised the golden egg high, but his face was as white as paper. He was clearly gravely injured.
Krum's swaying figure and the dazzling golden egg in his hands froze into the most contradictory image in the arena.
At the judges' table, all five adjudicators raised their wands at once.
Different-colored magical lights burst from their wand tips, tracing numbers in midair.
A blood-red light shot from the tip of Igor Karkaroff's wand, twisting into a sharp, pointed number in the air-"10."
Madame Maxime's light was an elegant silver-blue, its number rounded and fair-"7."
Ludo Bagman's light was the most flamboyant. The golden number tumbled and leaped through the air, scattering little sparks-"10."
Barty Crouch's light was a lifeless gray-white, every stroke of the