20demayo Page 367
Page 367
Finally, she raised her voice, her tone filled with seriousness and solemnity: "I must emphasize that all warriors are absolutely forbidden from using the three Unforgivable Curses in duels! This is an ironclad rule, and any violator will be severely punished."
Of course, only the Unforgivable Curse...
Tonks did not mention the issue of black magic.
When designing the rules, Dumbledore did consider banning dark magic, but he would never bring it up, otherwise Karkaroff would fight him to the death.
Durmstrang's only advantage is that if they even ban black magic, isn't that targeting them?
After Tonks stepped down, Bagman took over the position again.
"Now I announce that the third match of the Triwizard Tournament has officially begun—please welcome the contestant from the first match to the stage!"
The match began amidst Bagman's enthusiastic voice and the cheers of the audience.
The first match was between Harry Potter from Hogwarts and Polyakov from Durmstrang.
Referee Tonks was the first to step onto the dueling platform and stand at the center line.
Harry Potter and Polyakov walked onto the dueling platform from opposite sides and stood facing each other.
Harry gripped his wand, his eyes fixed on his opponent, his thoughts drifting back to the previous night, recalling Sirius's encouragement to him.
"Harry, you are already very strong. As long as you play normally, most junior wizards are definitely no match for you."
This is what Sirius said last night after their final duel training session.
Harry thought Sirius was indeed a great duelist, but he still had some doubts about his assessment of him.
In Harry's view, Sirius was judging people with the old-fashioned perspective of his generation and didn't quite understand the abilities of his generation of young wizards.
Because when he was training with Levin, he was almost always subjected to setbacks.
To train the three warriors, Levin found many junior wizards to serve as sparring partners.
Their strength is not as weak as Sirius Black described.
Let's leave Hermione and Fleur aside for now; they are the real warriors, and it's normal that I can't beat them.
But he could hardly beat even the junior wizards who occasionally came to spar with him.
For example, his crush Cho Chang and his Ravenclaw classmate Luna were both better than him.
It was also with Levin that Harry first discovered how good Ginny's dueling skills were—the little girl who used to cry by his side had grown up without him noticing.
Even Levin's roommate Steve, and Slytherin's junior Astoria, could fight him to a draw.
His only advantage is bullying Gabrielle and Malfoy.
Oh, right, Gabrielle can't be included either.
This isn't a matter of ability, but rather because she's only in first grade.
Even if he sparred with Gabrielle and won, no one would respect him.
In short, after suffering a series of defeats with Levin, Harry never had a clear understanding of his own abilities.
He even felt that Sirius Black was actually encouraging him when he said those things.
He never imagined that the people who were training with him were all monsters among their peers.
"Potter, Potter!"
"what?"
Harry was jolted from his reverie by Tonks's call and realized he was still on the dueling platform.
“Excuse me, ma’am,” Harry smiled awkwardly, “I was just spacing out.”
Tonks mistakenly thought Harry was nervous, so she reassured him, "Don't worry, Harry, I'm here. If there's any danger on the field, I'll take care of it immediately, so don't worry about getting hurt."
Tonks seemed quite reliable, nodded gratefully, and then turned his attention to Polyakov.
Tonks returned to his position, holding his wand high in the air.
"Both sides, to your positions—"
"Oh!"
A magical firework was launched into the sky by Tonks.
The moment the fireworks exploded, the four pillars surrounding the dueling platform instantly lit up with light.
Four invisible barriers rose up, separating the inside from the outside of the dueling arena.
Harry and Polyakov acted instantly!
"【Eliminate your weapon】!"
"[Thunderous Explosion]!"
Polyakov, true to his Durmstrang origins as a wizard, unleashed a powerful dark spell right off the bat, aiming to defeat Harry in one fell swoop.
However, such a powerful spell was too slow, and Harry, as the Seeker, was agile enough.
During Levin's training, he had learned to use this advantage, deftly and nimbly dodging with a roll.
The explosive spell, having lost its target, struck the barrier behind him directly.
The explosion in the spell did not occur; instead, it was completely absorbed by the barrier.
This pillar, and the barrier within it, are also Levin's masterpiece, designed specifically for the dueling ring.
Once activated, it will form an anti-magic barrier between the two pillars. This is a variant of the [Anti-Magic Field], which can prevent any magic from passing through the barrier.
· ········Requesting flowers···· ·········
Compared to the Explosion Charm, Harry's Disarm Charm is much faster.
The red magical spark arrived in front of Polyakov in the blink of an eye.
When he realized he couldn't avoid the Disarming Charm, he quickly cast the Armor Charm, successfully blocking Harry's attack.
However, Polyakov immediately discovered that the power of the spell far exceeded his expectations, and the magical backlash caused him to freeze.
At that moment, Harry's second Stunning Curse was already in effect.
Polyakov didn't have time to use the Ironclad Charm again, so he had to imitate Harry, rolling on the ground to barely avoid the attack.
Therefore, it is clear that in the arena, the power and lethality of spells are not the most important factors.
The key is who controls the rhythm of the battle.
This is what Levin has been tirelessly instilling in the three warriors during this period of training.
After only two rounds, he was already rolling on the ground being beaten...
Polyakov finally realized that even though the opponent was only a fourth-year student, his actual combat strength was not as weak as he had imagined.
.... .. ...
I underestimated my opponent.
"【A sudden whirlwind】!"
The earnest Polyakov, disregarding his disheveled appearance, summoned a gust of wind directly from the ground.
Caught off guard, the flying sand and stones flew straight at Harry's face, forcing him to cover his face with his hands and try to keep his balance to avoid falling.
Polyakov seized the opportunity to get up and regroup.
The audience below the stage was amazed to see the two engage in several brilliant exchanges in a short period of time.
Although the spells they used weren't particularly powerful, duels aren't all about sheer power and flashy effects. But these battles of wits and courage were still quite exciting.
“Headmaster Dumbledore, although Harry of your school became a hero by accident, his strength truly deserves this title.”
Mrs. Maxim watched the two fighters locked in combat on the stage and praised them.
Compared to relying on a star player in the first game and having good luck in the second game,
After three matches, this was the first time Harry had demonstrated an ability she recognized.
“You flatter me, Mrs. Maxim. Harry still has much to improve.” Dumbledore said this with a smile in his eyes, clearly being modest.
He finally discovered that his chosen savior had indeed improved in ability.
The two exchanged words, completely oblivious to Karkarov's unpleasant expression.
Karkaroff had expected Durmstrang, who was skilled in dark magic, to shine in the third match.
Who knew that Harry alone could fight Polyakov to a standstill?
This suddenly made him start to worry about Krum.
On the field, the two sides exchanged attacks and defenses for several more rounds, and the situation began to become tense.
Polyakov, being older and having received specialized training in dark magic, possessed more powerful spells and greater magical energy, thus maintaining the upper hand throughout.
However, Harry was more agile than him. Although he didn't master any powerful dark magic, he was very skilled in the existing spells and used them quickly and accurately, making his attacks extremely threatening.
The two of them were at a stalemate.
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The image shows Tonksvan.
Chapter 403 Polyakov's Supporters
The duel had dragged on for so long that Polyakov was growing increasingly impatient.
In his view, Harry was like a slippery eel when he fought; his attacks were always ineffective, and he became more and more frustrated as the fight went on.
"[Thunderous Explosion]!"
Another powerful Explosion Charm burst forth from Polyakov's wand and shot towards Harry.
This time, Harry didn't choose to dodge, but instead chose to use the Barrier Charm.
This time he used a trick, deliberately casting the Obstacle Charm as far away as possible.
Therefore, the red sparks encountered an invisible barrier before even crossing the halfway point, exploding instantly. Most of the aftershocks traveled towards Polyakov, forcing him to retreat continuously.
At the same time, the deafening explosion kicked up a thick cloud of smoke in the dueling arena, like the smoke of gunpowder on a battlefield, completely obscuring the scene inside, preventing the audience from seeing what was happening.
The young wizards of Durmstrang, especially those who had high hopes for Polyakov and were even willing to bet on him, stared wide-eyed, too nervous to breathe, peering through the smoke, trying to discern the condition of the two warriors.
Karkarov could no longer sit still. He clenched his hands tightly, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. He wished he could rush onto the stage immediately and fight for "July 23" Polyakov.