Chapter 862: Stubborn Horntail
After all, he is a dragon keeper and has a deep affection for fire dragons.
After seeing the eight-month-old Lion Dragon being put into the box by Newt, everyone's eyes were filled with reluctance. When it was the Hungarian Horntail's turn, they also cried with joy.
Especially the five dragon breeders who brought it here, several muscular men actually hugged each other and burst into tears on the spot.
"The days of fear... are finally over..."
"Mr. Scamander... a good man..."
"From today on, you are my idol..."
"I'm going to buy ten copies of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them tomorrow!"
“I’ll buy a hundred copies!”
Everyone was talking at once, and their enthusiasm was so great that they almost praised Newt to the sky.
DeRols was also in high spirits, and for the first time ever he took out a bottle of brandy and took a sip.
Dragon keepers are not allowed to drink alcohol while working, especially strong liquor, because the taste of alcohol will stimulate the fire dragon's appetite, and you never know when it will be bitten, which is fatal to the dragon keeper.
But DeRols was so happy that he didn't care about it... At most he could take half a day off. At least today he just wanted to have a good drink.
Kyle sat there expressionlessly. He finally understood that this Hungarian Horntail was definitely not an easy person to deal with.
Which fire dragon is so good that it still wants to whip people with its tail after being hit by a stun spell?
The same goes for DeRoss.
Perhaps he had this idea since he mentioned replacing the dragon eggs with baby dragons.
This was all a setup. Perhaps DeRozs's intention from the beginning was to send this Hungarian Horntail away.
In the end, he was fooled. After all, between the Welsh Green Dragon and the Hungarian Horntail, anyone would choose the latter.
But he really didn't expect that the so-called eight-month-old Hungarian Horntail was even larger than an adult Welsh Green Dragon.
And judging from the look on DeRozan's face, it's probably impossible to return the goods.
……
When they left the Fire Dragon Sanctuary, several enthusiastic dragon breeders escorted them all the way. Only after they saw them use the portkey to leave did they return the same way arm in arm.
"Let's go to the Oak Barrel Bar for a drink later. It's my treat."
"Of course. We have to celebrate today, even if I have to be punished, I will accept it."
"I'll go too, and return the hemostatic drugs and bandages I ordered."
"Do you think Mr. Scamander can stand the hardship at his age?"
"Don't worry, I'm a master of magical creatures, there will be no problem..."
"Why don't we pool some money and send it over, otherwise I'll always feel guilty..."
"Well... that's fine, give him more, so that he won't feel embarrassed to return it."
Several of them didn't even go back to the reserve to ask for leave, but went to the Oak Barrel Bar arm in arm.
On the other side, Kyle and his companions also used the portkey to return to the Dorset Forest, to the door of Newt's house.
The enthusiastic house-elf Dobby opened the door and invited them into the house.
Kyle glanced at Newt and hesitated to speak.
"Ask whatever you want to ask," Newt said with a smile.
"That's... that Hungarian Horntail..." Kyle asked in a low voice, "Is there something wrong with it?"
"Oh, nothing, just a bit irritable." Newt said casually: "So far, 19 dragon keepers have been injured by it. See the long scar on DeRols' arm? It left it.
"It is said that some time ago, people in the Fire Dragon Protection Area moved it to another area, and then three adult fire dragons were almost bitten to death."
Kyle's forehead began to sweat as he listened to Newt's words... This was no longer just a thorn in the flesh, he was simply a bully.
No wonder those dragon breeders were so excited that they cried when they sent it away.
"But isn't it only eight months old? Can it beat a full-grown fire dragon?"
“That’s what’s so special about the Hungarian Horntail.”
Newt said seriously, "They are ferocious and will not show mercy even to their own kind. In addition, their habitat is limited. In order to resist the dangers that may appear at any time, the juvenile period of Hungarian Horntails is very short and they can grow to thirty feet in one year.
"Even a Ukrainian with an iron belly would need two years to get to the same size."
"Are all Horntails like this?" Kyle continued, "They can kill other adult fire dragons in eight months."
"Oh, of course not." Newt shook his head, "Most hornets will avoid their own kind and any possible threats in the first year after hatching, trying to catch as many prey as possible to make themselves stronger.
"But this is just an exception. According to DeRols, its temper is the most violent even among tree wasps, and it prefers the process of fighting rather than the food brought by hunting."
This……
Kyle laughed dryly and didn't know what to say anymore.
He felt as if he had gotten himself into a big trouble, and he had taken it on his own initiative.
"And..." Kyle rubbed his forehead and took the initiative to change the subject: "What did you say to DeRols before that made him agree to give me a lion dragon?"
“That’s it.” Newt said matter-of-factly, “I promised him that I could help solve the problem of the Hungarian Horntail, and he agreed.”
So it was Newt who brought this up?
Kyle felt very upset. He had always thought that Newt was just being too proud.
But now that things have come to this, it seems like it's too late to say anything.
“Come in quickly, I have to help you put them away while the stun spell is still in effect.” Newt opened the box in his hand, put it on the ground, and jumped in.
In order to avoid unnecessary trouble, Newt had always been the one carrying Kyle's box.
"I'll go and help as well. It's considered after-sales service." Dumbledore said, and jumped in.
When he graduated from his second year, Kyle used the Philosopher's Stone he had picked up in exchange for Dumbledore's help in expanding the box to its current size.
It’s just that at that time Dumbledore designed it based on the Forbidden Forest, which was not suitable for dragons to live in.
After all, he didn't expect that there would be five fire dragons here a few years later.
By the time Kyle jumped in, Newt and Dumbledore were already busy.
Transforming the environment is a huge project that cannot be completed overnight, so they decided to transfer some of the magical animals, including the basilisk, to Newt's box first to prevent them from coming to cause trouble.
After that, Dumbledore kicked everyone out.
"Leave it to Albus." Newt said with a smile: "He is really different from before. The Albus I know is not so motivated."
"I just hope he doesn't build me a blue castle," Kyle muttered.
If it was the previous Dumbledore, Kyle would never worry about this problem, but now his mind is full of Ariana, who knows if he will suddenly come up with some strange ideas.
After all, Ariana's favorite colors are blue and khaki, one represents the free sky, and the other represents the solid and heavy earth.
If it was khaki, it would be fine, but if it was another color...
The ferocious fire dragon perched on a light blue, sparkling castle. The painting style was too weird, and Kyle felt that he might not be able to accept it.
"Hmm... probably, no..." Newt said, with a hint of unconfidence in his voice.
To be honest, he was a little unfamiliar with the current Dumbledore.
At this moment, a sudden scream interrupted their conversation.
Dobby came running over in a hurry, gesticulating and pointing toward the sky as he ran.
"Sir... It's bad... That thorny dragon... It's flying..."
A dragon with thorns?
Hungarian Horntail!
Kyle and Newt turned their heads at the same time. The Lion Dragon was still sleeping soundly due to the effect of the stun spell, but the Hungarian Horntail had already woken up.
Perhaps because the environment around it suddenly changed, it looked unusually violent, and directly spewed flames dozens of feet long in all directions.
A scorching wave of air swept over, and Dobby was thrown away and fell heavily to the ground, grimacing in pain.
Kyle drew his wand immediately.
But at the same time, a similar roar was heard not far away.
It was the Hungarian Horntail that was originally in Newt’s box. It must have sensed the presence of its own kind, so it left its nest and flew over quickly.
The two tree wasps met in mid-air, and a battle inevitably broke out. There was no use of dragon fire, just pure tearing and collision between fangs and claws, and the meteor-like tails swung towards each other frantically.
Kyle then remembered that the tree wasp in Newt's box seemed to be a troublemaker as well, and had been returned by the Fire Dragon Sanctuary three times in a row.
"Should we help?" Kyle inquired.
"Ah, not for now." Newt sighed with a headache, "If we take action now, they will regard us as enemies. Let them solve it themselves."
Newt helped Dobby up and asked him to help drive away the magical creatures around.
In fact, there was no need to do so. When the two dragons collided, the magical animals nearby had already fled farther away.
Soon, only Kyle, Newt and Dobby were left around.
It was obvious that Dobby was also scared, his legs were almost shaking, but he still stood in front of Newt and Kyle.
"Don't be nervous, Dobby." Newt squatted down and said, "Go take care of Laflall. I just noticed that he ran towards the horned camel beast."
"But... I have to protect Sir..." Dobby said tremblingly.
"Don't worry, I'm fine." Newt smiled, not worried about his own safety at all.
As they talked, Kyle kept looking up at the sky.
He discovered something incredible.
Although the two tree wasps had a huge size difference and even greater disparity in strength, the eight-month-old dragonet showed no signs of retreating and even took the initiative to attack several times. Even if it couldn't bite the opponent, it would still leave a tooth mark on the opponent's scales.
Kyle's mouth twitched.
My goodness, this is too reckless. Is he really that stubborn?
If this thing got into his box...
Kyle shuddered. He didn't want to open the box one day and see a wasp killing everyone inside.
"But, is Derols really willing to give it to me?" Kyle frowned. "It was able to fight with an adult hornet for so long and still refused to admit defeat. In a sense, its strength is proportional to its temper."
“No, you’re wrong.” Newt shook his head and explained, “The reserve doesn’t value the power of dragons, they need stability more.
"If nothing unexpected happens, this tree wasp will definitely challenge the current 'king' when it grows up, and then there will be another melee, which is not what the nature reserve wants to see."
The 'king' of the Fire Dragon Sanctuary?
"Well, that..." Kyle turned his head stiffly, "I think they get along well. How about staying and keeping each other company?"
“Compatible?” Newt was stunned for a moment, turned his head in disbelief, and pointed at the tiny pieces of scales and dragon blood falling from the sky, “How do you know they can get along?”
"As for fire dragons, they become friends after fighting. Maybe they will make peace tomorrow." Kyle muttered softly.
“I don’t think so.” Newt said slowly, “Besides, I’m already a hundred years old. I’m afraid I don’t have the energy to take care of another Hungarian Horntail.”
Newt emphasized his age, which left Kyle speechless.
Yes, Newt is already a hundred years old, and it is really not fair to throw this trouble to him.
"What should I do..." Kyle sighed. "If I had known it was like this, I would have returned it to DeRols even if it meant losing my face..."
"It doesn't matter, I have you, right?" Newt said.
"Me?" Kyle pointed at himself, then looked at the stubborn tree wasp in the sky, which was willing to injure the enemy 200 times even if it lost 1,000 wounds itself. "I don't think it can listen to me."
"There's always a way," Newt said. "Don't forget, you still have the basilisk."
"Can a basilisk be made to obey?" Kyle asked in confusion.
“No, dragons and basilisks are mortal enemies,” Newt said.
Now, Kyle was even more confused.
But Newt did not explain, but just calmly looked at a cave where the transferred basilisk was placed.
For some reason, Kyle did not let it fall into a deep sleep. Perhaps stimulated by the dragon's blood, it crawled out of the cave at this time.
The fifty-foot-long body, thicker than a bucket, is quite oppressive, except for the velvet covering its eyes, which somewhat spoils the view and adds a bit of humor for some reason.
The basilisk licked the dragon's blood on the ground, but this action also angered the two tree bees in the sky.
The stubborn one brought back from the reserve rushed down first and blew a breath of dragon flame at the basilisk's head.
The larger hornet also wanted to help, but halfway through its flight it suddenly changed direction and flew away.
"It saw us." Newt couldn't help laughing and said, "It knew that this battle would not have any result. The appearance of the basilisk happened to create an opportunity for it, so it naturally didn't bother to continue."
"How about we switch?" Kyle asked tentatively.
Newt just smiled and didn't say anything.
On the other side, the battle between the Hornet and the Basilisk also ended in a short time.
Although the Hornet had the advantage of being able to fly, it was only eight months old after all. It rushed down as soon as it got on top, intending to use its tail to give the basilisk a hard hit, but the basilisk ended up biting its wing.
Basilisks have fangs.
Kyle panicked and was about to step forward, but he saw that Newt had no intention of moving and was standing there leisurely, so he stopped as well.
It wasn't until the Hornet staggered and fell from the sky like a drunk that Newt took out his wand and waved it vigorously.
The basilisk was about to swallow the Horntail in one gulp, but was stopped by a wall of dirt that suddenly rose up, and was forced back into the cave. The dirt wall blocked the entrance of the cave, and no matter how hard it hit, it could not get out.
"Very good." Newt breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Don't worry, the basilisk's poison can't kill the dragon, but it will make it fall into a coma. The effect is much better than the coma spell."
"I'm not worried about the Hornet." Kyle frowned, "I just don't understand why you're doing this."
“Remember what I said just now? Dragons and basilisks are mortal enemies,” Newt said.
Kyle nodded.
"That's why."
Newt continued, "Given the character of this Horntail, today's failure is a shame for it. It will probably only have the basilisk in its eyes from now on. This happens to be the way you can control it."
"Because the fire dragon can understand you, and you can also command the basilisk. As for how to maintain a delicate balance between them, you can think about it carefully in the next few days."
Grumpy Horntails and Basilisks... A Delicate Balance?
Kyle frowned, "This shouldn't be something you just thought of."
"When I saw you take out the magic contract," Newt said, "In fact, Derols had been worried about this matter for a long time, and he wrote to me more than once, wanting to entrust this wasp to me, but I refused. As I said, I don't have the energy to take care of another wasp.
"But you are different. Having the basilisk is like having a bridle. Moreover, given the current situation, this Hungarian Horntail can provide you with the greatest help."
……
