Chapter 774: Chapter 160: The Whereabouts of the Heart of Steel

"Looks like Jabari Viven is going to be eliminated! Even though he’s found two items, if he’s deemed ’dead’ by the judges due to being in mortal danger, he’ll be disqualified even if he’s rescued!"

Bagman stomped excitedly on the commentary platform, as if he desperately wanted to dive into the screen himself.

"We can see the Aurors have reached the surface; as soon as the judges give the signal, they’ll immediately rescue the unfortunate champion!"

Two Aurors hovered above Jabari Viven on brooms, holding their magic wands, with solemn expressions.

Bagman dramatically sighed, shaking his head as he said:

"It’s a pity, Jabari Viven’s best skill is transforming into a rat, which is quite advantageous on land but useless underwater! But if he had used the Freezing Spell or the Expel Curse well, he wouldn’t be in such a passive situation now..."

In front of the judges’ table, everyone focused intently on the Flow Mirror, Headmaster Adesso’s face was as dark as water as he slowly raised his magic wand.

A single spark from his wand, and the Aurors would immediately rescue Jabari. But at the same time, Jabari would also be considered "unfortunately perished" and unable to continue the competition.

Watching the struggling champion in the water about to lose consciousness, completely unable to escape the Grindylows on his own, many eyes turned to Adesso, waiting for that signal.

Suddenly, Bagman’s voice rose eight octaves, shouting, "An accident has occurred! Vid Gray suddenly appeared beside Jabari Viven! What will he do? Does the Uagadou champion still have a chance?"

Crouch gestured expressionlessly to the Aurors above the water to hold off on casting spells, and the faint light at the tip of Adesso’s wand temporarily faded.

Everyone watched nervously in the Flow Mirror, staring at the seemingly emotionless Vid Gray.

But at the same time, they seemed to have an answer in their hearts — if it were any other competitor, Jabari might still have a chance for help.

But this was Vid Gray!

Considering his performance in the first event, not delivering a heavy blow to Jabari would be considered kind; how could he possibly be expected to help?

Percy, who had come to Hogwarts with the Ministry of Magic officials, sat in the back row, speculating on his superior’s thoughts, craned his neck closer to Minister Fudge, pushed up his glasses, and said in a low voice:

"I must say, focusing solely on personal performances and wantonly eliminating other competitors really goes against the spirit of the league. We British Wizards should exude the unity and poise of the hosts."

Fudge nodded in agreement, "Well said, Percy. Your view is very appropriate. I must say..."

"Oh, Cornelius, I have to interrupt you."

Dumbledore said with a smile: "By that logic, why don’t we award a ’Most Sportsmanlike Team’ gold medal to the team with the most losses at the Quidditch World Cup?"

Fudge’s face froze.

England, as the birthplace of Quidditch, used to frequently make it to the top eight. But in the most recent World Cup, they were crushed disgracefully by the known weak Transylvania Team with a score of 390 to 10, which the Magic Sports Department was reluctant to mention as an embarrassment. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Fudge’s face turned red with disbelief — Dumbledore, being a British Wizard, how could he make such a remark in such a nonchalant tone?

A breath got stuck in Fudge’s throat, and he stared wide-eyed, not knowing what to say, only to hear Dumbledore cheerfully say:

"Although it may seem cruel, the allure of magical competition lies in each participant showcasing their talents and striving to defeat their opponents. Restricting such displays and deliberately feigning is a desecration of the competition and an insult to the competitors, don’t you agree?"

Fudge: "..."

He hadn’t thought of a response yet but saw Headmaster Adesso nodding first.

"Exactly." The dark-skinned man said in a deep voice, "Even if Jabari is eliminated, the only reason is that he is not as skilled as the others; there’s no need for complaints or for anyone to concede. Besides..."

He looked at that Flow Mirror.

The Grindylows entangling Jabari were completely driven away, and he was coughing violently, large bubbles escaping from the catfish head.

Vid Gray, hovering nearby, had just cast a beautiful Expel Curse; at this moment, he tapped his magic wand against his palm, the fish tail behind him gently swaying, neither approaching nor taking advantage of the opportunity to eliminate Jabari.

...

"Cough cough cough..."

Jabari’s body bent like a shrimp, he surfaced and took a deep breath, exchanged a glance with the Aurors above, then submerged into the lake again.

The light shimmering on the lake surface rippled with the waves, reflecting on Vid Gray’s face, obscuring his expression.

Having transformed into a catfish head, he couldn’t speak, but Jabari’s magic wand glowed gold, writing a line in the water —

[Why did you help me?]

"Where did you find the Heart of Steel?" Vid asked, a series of bubbles gurgling upward.

Jabari raised an eyebrow: [You could just snatch it from me.]

Vid calmly said, "If you insist on keeping quiet, that’s what I’ll have to do next."

Jabari: "..."

This guy really wasn’t holding back at all! Couldn’t he at least pretend a bit?

He gave Vid’s fish tail a strange glance before writing again: [Remember when we just entered the water, that area that looked like an underwater forest?]

Ah, this...

The scene from back then flashed in Vid’s mind, his expression froze, and he blinked slowly.

Jabari gestured as he said: [I found my Short Sword in the mouth of a stone turtle statue below that patch of aquatic plants.]

Vid: "...is this the so-called dark place?"

[Yes.] Jabari glanced again at his fish tail, suppressing a smile as he wrote: [I guess you were swimming too fast? So you missed clues you should’ve discovered.]

Vid squinted slightly: "Have you gathered all your three items?"

Jabari hesitated for a moment before replying: [Still missing a ’Full Moon.’]

"That item is with the Merperson Tribe, I imagine you’ll find it before long."

Vid returned the favor, pointing in a direction, then swam straight back the way he came.

Watching him vanish from sight in the blink of an eye, Jabari sighed enviously, grateful Vid hadn’t snatched the items in his hands, turned, and slowly swam forward, paddling with his limbs.

Though he mocked Vid for swimming too fast and missing clues, after swimming tirelessly with his hands and feet in the lake for over an hour, was Jabari not exhausted?

If he weren’t so thoroughly drained, he wouldn’t have been caught by a group of Grindylows.

It’s just that in front of his opponent, he was unwilling to show his envy and fatigue.