Chapter 349

Chapter 349: Chapter 349

Swoosh! Bang!

A stone on the ground was pulled from the soil by an invisible hand. It flipped, stretched, and deformed—in the blink of an eye, the irregular stone transformed into a spear.

The spearhead was razor-sharp, glinting with a cold light beneath the gray daylight.

The spear hovered in the air for a moment, as though gathering strength.

Immediately afterward, it shot forward with tremendous force, aimed directly at a massive lump of metal.

The spear collided with the metal sphere.

"Clang—!!!"

The spear shattered the instant it struck. Starting from the tip, cracks spread like a spiderweb, covering the entire shaft in the blink of an eye.

With a clatter, the spear collapsed back into a pile of rubble.

Yet not even a single mark had been left on the metal sphere.

"Roar!"

A roar erupted from within the massive lump of metal.

Opal narrowed its eyes, turned its head slightly, opened its mouth, and unleashed a breath of dragon fire.

Incandescent white flames erupted from its mouth, striking the metal sphere directly in front of it.

Opal’s dragon breath continued for approximately five seconds before it finally closed its mouth. Panting heavily, it stared intently at the metal sphere.

A charred mark had appeared on its surface.

However, the mark was far too shallow—so shallow that Opal felt as though it had been trying to roast a stone with a candle.

Then Madame Maxime raised her wand once again...

When Lynn and Hagrid arrived, they were greeted by this bizarre scene.

A gigantic metal sphere sat in the snow, surrounded by scattered gravel, shards of ice, and black scorch marks left behind by dragon fire.

Madame Maxime stood not far away, holding her wand as her chest rose and fell with her heavy breathing. Opal stood beside her with its head slightly lowered, its eyes fixed upon the metal sphere as though it were waiting for the thing to open on its own.

Lynn walked over to Opal and reached out to stroke its chin.

A satisfied purr rumbled from Opal’s throat.

"Is Karkus inside this thing?" Lynn asked as he looked at Madame Maxime.

Madame Maxime nodded.

"Yes," she replied in a low voice. "Ever since I arrived, this fellow has been curled up inside that ball and refuses to come out, no matter what I do."

Lynn cast a suspicious glance at the metal sphere.

He couldn’t help wondering—it didn’t seem as though Madame Maxime had truly run out of options.

Madame Maxime appeared to read Lynn’s thoughts. She put away her wand, tucked it into her pocket, crossed her arms, and stared at the metal sphere.

"Offensive magic doesn’t seem to work on this thing," she said. "Attacking it only leaves behind a faint mark."

She paused before continuing, "I’ve tried the Exploding Charm, the Severing Charm, the Piercing Curse, and the Corrosion Curse—I’ve used everything I could think of. None of them worked."

"The material is extremely unusual. It isn’t ordinary metal. Spells cast upon it are either deflected or absorbed."

Upon hearing this, Lynn could hardly wait to try it himself.

He was the sort of person who would believe almost anything except that something was impossible.

If someone told him that an object couldn’t be broken, he would insist on trying to break it. If someone told him that something wouldn’t work, he would insist on proving them wrong.

Lynn walked in front of the metal sphere, planted his feet firmly on the ground, raised his wand, took a deep breath, and then—

"Sectumsempra!"

An invisible blade shot from the tip of his wand, moving so quickly that it couldn’t be seen with the naked eye. It sliced through the air with a sharp whistling sound and struck the metal sphere directly.

"Clang—!!!"

The resulting sound was even sharper, harsher, and more grating than before.

The invisible blade scraped across the metal sphere, leaving behind only a shallow mark before being deflected into the sky.

It flew higher and higher, farther and farther away, eventually disappearing into the clouds. Heaven only knew where it had gone.

Lynn stared in the direction the invisible blade had vanished, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.

"Roar!"

Karkus’s furious roar erupted from within the massive lump of metal once again.

"Damn! It’s actually this hard?!" Lynn’s voice rose by an octave.

He had encountered many durable things before—dragon scales and troll skin, for example.

However, he had never seen anything quite this hard.

Dragon fire couldn’t burn through it, spells couldn’t break it, and even his Sectumsempra could only leave a shallow mark.

What in the world was this thing made of?

He stepped closer, reached out, and knocked on the metal sphere.

"Thud—thud—thud—"

The sound was heavy and muffled, like someone knocking on an extraordinarily thick wall.

Lynn thought to himself that since this material could be forged into equipment, there had to be some way to process it. He simply hadn’t figured it out yet.

He crouched down, leaned close to the surface of the metal sphere, and carefully examined the marks left behind by the previous attacks.

After scrutinizing the massive lump of metal for some time, Lynn became certain that it was made of goblin metal. Human magic and craftsmanship were not yet capable of producing something like this.

Its texture, luster, and hardness—every aspect of it betrayed the unmistakable traces of goblin craftsmanship.

The Death Eaters were truly willing to spend a fortune.

They had commissioned such a set of equipment merely to win over a few dozen giants. One had to understand that goblin metal was not something that could be easily obtained.

How had the Death Eaters managed to get their hands on so much of it?

(Lucius: Speak for me! Speak for me!)

After confirming what the object was made of, Lynn found himself facing another problem.

Destroying the metal sphere would be simple. He only needed to burn it fiercely with Fiendfyre.

Fiendfyre could destroy almost anything, and goblin metal was no exception.

As long as the temperature was high enough and the flames burned for long enough, even the hardest material would eventually melt.

However, destroying it that way would completely ruin it, and Lynn still wanted the materials inside.

This was an enormous quantity of goblin metal, enough for him to make many different things. If he simply burned it all, it would be an incredible waste.

Lynn sighed.

He was just about to reluctantly give up on the metal and burn it when his gaze suddenly landed upon a massive broadsword embedded in the ground nearby.

The broadsword had been thrust into the snow, its blade buried deep in the soil, leaving only the hilt and a small portion of the blade exposed.

Lynn’s eyes darted toward it.

He suddenly wondered which was harder—the armor or the broadsword?

As soon as the thought entered his mind, he acted upon it. Lynn had never been one to hesitate.

He crossed the distance to the broadsword in only a few strides. Madame Maxime saw nothing more than a shadow flashing past her.

Without saying a word, Lynn gripped the hilt with both hands, kicked off the ground, and shot into the sky, pulling the sword free and carrying it with him.

It had to be said that this broadsword was extraordinarily heavy. It was certainly worthy of being a weapon wielded by a giant.

A giant’s physique was several times larger than that of an ordinary human, and the weapons they used were naturally several times larger as well.

This sword probably weighed several hundred pounds.

Lynn carried the broadsword into the air and hovered there. His eyes narrowed as he locked his gaze upon the metal sphere below.

To ensure that the broadsword possessed enough destructive power, he deliberately cast an Acceleration Charm upon it.

"Hagrid! Madame Maxime! Opal! Get away from there, quickly!"

Lynn’s shout rang out from the sky.

Opal didn’t hesitate. It tossed both Hagrid and Madame Maxime onto its back, spread its wings, and shot upward.

Hagrid sat on Opal’s back, gripping its scales tightly with both hands as his entire body trembled.

His mouth stretched into a broad grin, and he repeatedly shouted, "I’m riding a dragon! I’m riding a dragon!"

Zing!

The broadsword plummeted from the sky like a meteor, crashing straight toward the ground.

It moved so quickly that the naked eye could barely follow it. All that could be seen was a streak of silvery-white light slicing across the sky and leaving behind a distorted trail.

In the blink of an eye, the broadsword collided with the metal sphere.

"Boom—!!!"

The resulting noise was deafening, like a thunderclap exploding directly beside their ears.

The tremendous shock wave spread far into the distance, sending clouds of dust billowing into the air.

Gradually, the dust began to settle.

Sunlight filtered through the gaps between the clouds, falling upon the snow, the piles of rubble, and... the chaotic mess covering the ground.

At that moment, a large pile of fragments lay scattered everywhere, shimmering with an iridescent luster beneath the sunlight.

Goblin metal.

Karkus’s enormous body lay curled up beside the pile of fragments. His armor had shattered completely, its broken pieces scattered across the surrounding ground.

Hagrid jumped down from Opal’s back and walked over.

He crouched beside Karkus, reached out, and checked his breathing.

"He’s only unconscious. He’s still alive."

Lynn thought to himself that Karkus was truly worthy of being a pure-blooded giant. He had endured such a tremendous impact and was somehow still alive.

If this had been Edgar, he would have died countless times over.

"Sectumsempra!"

Even for a giant, the neck was one of the most vulnerable parts of the body.

A giant’s skin was thick, their bones were hard, and their muscles were sturdy.

However, the neck was different.

The neck connected the head to the body. It was a place where blood vessels and the trachea were concentrated, making it the weakest point in a giant’s defenses.

A single slash was enough to take their life.

Furthermore, Karkus was unconscious, completely incapable of defending himself or putting up any resistance. Lynn’s spell sliced through his neck almost effortlessly.

Hagrid stared blankly at the scene before him.

His gaze shifted from Karkus’s neck to Lynn’s face, then from Lynn’s face back to Karkus’s neck.

He silently sighed.

Hagrid had wanted to stop Lynn earlier. After all, there were so few giants left in the world, and every death was a loss. He had wanted to try persuading Karkus instead.

However, now that it was over, there was no point in saying anything.

"This was the safest solution."

Lynn seemed to have read Hagrid’s thoughts.

He shrugged and continued, "Hagrid, you once mentioned that this giant, Karkus, was naturally cruel and had deep ties to the Death Eaters. If we let him go this time, no one can guarantee that he won’t cause even more trouble in the future."

"Besides, after this incident, Lord Voldemort will likely begin paying much closer attention to the giants. Dealing with Karkus later wouldn’t have been nearly as easy."

"I know," Hagrid replied.

He certainly understood that Lynn was right.

This had indeed been the safest and most secure course of action.

The only reason Hagrid had wanted to stop Lynn earlier was because of his habitual sympathy toward dangerous creatures.

...

After dealing with the giant Karkus, the group did not leave immediately. Instead, they prepared to travel to the giant tribe.

Hagrid indicated that he still wanted to try persuading the giants who had supported Karkus.

Lynn had no objections.

The holiday was still long, and there was no need to rush.

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