331: Chapter 324 Does it really have a soul? Let me investigate.

Wino and Toby never expected that as soon as they arrived under the "World Tree," they would encounter the Evil Dragon.

Hurriedly hiding in the nearby bushes, they peered out through the gaps.

Wino strained his neck, trying to find a trace of the Evil Dragon: "Hey, didn't you say the Evil Dragon sleeps all day?"

The black cat poked its head out from Toby's arms: "Something might have happened; it really used to only be active at night."

Through casual conversation on the way, the two knew how terrifying the Evil Dragon's strength was. If they were accidentally discovered, a single breath of Dragon Flame would leave them well-done.

Toby shrank deeper into the bushes: "Can it find us?"

"Don't worry, it won't appear. Um, it should just be yawning in its sleep." The black cat blinked its round eyes.

"Yawning?" Wino found this explanation highly suspicious. He hadn't seen the Evil Dragon himself and couldn't refute it, but he still muttered, "You fellow, you wouldn't be lying to us, would you?"

"Is there any benefit to lying to you?"

The two glanced at each other. Through eye contact, both agreed that the black cat indeed had no reason to deceive them, so they stopped talking to avoid the Evil Dragon suddenly appearing.

The black cat revealed to them that the Evil Dragon's defenses were very fragile while it slept during the day.

Although it was still terrifyingly strong for two Magic Apprentices, this was the only chance, and they had to take a gamble.

In the original plan, Toby intended to take advantage of the day to launch a sneak attack on the Evil Dragon sleeping in the tree hollow. If successful, they would return immediately; if they failed, they would cooperate with other contestants to kill the Evil Dragon before deciding the winner.

Wino initially raised a doubt: why didn't that Evil Dragon build a nest in the canopy, but instead dug a hole somewhere on the trunk not too far from the ground?

Assuming everything the black cat said was true and the day was when the Evil Dragon was at its weakest, wouldn't staying in the canopy be significantly safer?

The black cat gave a contemptuous smile at the time and said, "The Evil Dragon is strong, but it's far from being able to settle in the canopy."

It refused to say what exactly existed in the canopy. After questioning for a while to no avail, the two gave up.

Everything was arranged, but who knew the plan would change? The Evil Dragon made a commotion during the day. Although the black cat speculated the Evil Dragon was just turning over in its sleep, the two were still very wary and didn't dare start climbing the trunk toward the tree hollow.

If the speculation was wrong, someone would really die.

Now they could only wait quietly to ensure the Evil Dragon wouldn't wake up during the day. If other contestants arrived and went up first to test it out, that would be for the best.

...

Over by Dumbledore, the audience stared nervously at the light screen.

The audience from Ying Country, seeing the two hiding and not moving, all guessed their plan.

However, through the God's-eye view, everyone could see that except for one contestant lurking on the periphery, the remaining three contestants had all chosen the same strategy.

Hide and wait for the opponent to move first.

Initially, everyone was in a hurry to arrive early, but once they reached the location, it was the exact opposite; they all hoped someone else would be unable to hold back and scout the way for them.

Clearly, this was now a contest of patience.

The six people and one cat all stayed in place without moving, but the audience didn't find it boring. They all clenched their fists nervously, swallowing occasionally.

A few with weaker mental fortitude even broke out in a cold sweat on their foreheads, as if they were there in person, primarily due to the immersive viewing of the competition.

Time passed slowly, and finally, movement appeared in the quiet scene at night.

"Roar—"

As the last trace of twilight on the horizon was swallowed by the skyline, the roar of the Evil Dragon came again.

Everyone was curious about what the dragon actually looked like and how much it resembled the special effects in Blue Star movies.

The contestants seemed to share the same curiosity, craning their necks to peek, and then all six simultaneously showed expressions of shock.

The perspective of the light screen was controlled by Dumbledore, locked onto the contestants, which meant the audience couldn't see the sky, making them anxious.

The Queen, standing on the branch, was also itching with curiosity: "Mr. Headmaster, could you..."

"No problem." Dumbledore waved his hand slightly. In the six partitions of the light screen, the camera angles moved up simultaneously, and the full appearance of the Evil Dragon was clearly presented before their eyes.

Its body was massive, with majestic wings spread out in parallel, gliding silently under the night sky. The muscle lines of its sturdy hind legs were prominent, making no one doubt that the consequence of being stepped on would inevitably be becoming a pile of meat paste.

The front legs were much shorter; judging from the structure of its entire body, it seemed they couldn't be used for walking.

The most striking part was its enormous head. Its lower jaw glinted with a metallic luster under the moonlight, and its hideous maw was slightly open, revealing a row of sharp fangs from which sparks occasionally sputtered.

The Queen, her wish fulfilled, smiled charmingly like an innocent young girl, which was quite rare: "It's quite similar to the dragons in our general impression."

"Of course." Dumbledore nodded. "The image of the dragon itself was spread out from Hogwarts.

Although it has undergone slight changes over the long ages, there won't be too much of a difference."

"Hmm..." The Queen hesitated for a moment and said, "Can they defeat the Evil Dragon?"

The Evil Dragon's appearance was incredibly cool, and given its mountain-like body, even if it didn't know any magic, just its physical rampage wouldn't be something a few Magic Apprentices could handle.

"I have arrangements," Dumbledore said simply.

Seeing that he was unwilling to say more, the Queen didn't press further, focusing her attention on the light screen and looking forward to the subsequent developments.

The six contestants were likely shocked by the Evil Dragon's size; they all shrank in the bushes, not daring to move, and even their breathing stopped.

It wasn't until the overlord of the sky flew far away that they gasped violently.

The two solo contestants slumped to the ground, heads down, thinking about something, while the four in teams discussed strategies with their respective teammates.

A direct confrontation was clearly seeking death, and outsmarting it... the gap in strength was too vast; there was no such thing as outsmarting.

To use a small force to move a heavy object, the prerequisite is that you must have that small force to begin with.

They were very troubled, but that didn't include Toby and Wino.

With the "intelligence" from the black cat, the two had a more solid advantage than the other contestants.

While others had to consider how to defeat the Evil Dragon, the two only needed to confirm if the Evil Dragon rested during the day.

The former had no clues for now, while the latter required time; the situation calmed down for the moment.

A night quickly passed.

Just before the morning sun was about to rise, the Evil Dragon flapped its wings and flew back, circling the trunk a few times before ducking into the entrance of the tree hollow.

This was the moment furthest from nightfall; logically, Toby and Wino should have set off immediately.

But to be safe, the two insisted on waiting for another day and night.

On the second day, the Evil Dragon was not seen flying out, only occasional roars were heard.

The intelligence provided by the black cat was confirmed. The two no longer hesitated. On the morning of the third day, just as the Evil Dragon had ducked into the tree hollow, they stepped out of the bushes and prepared to climb the tree.

However, an accident soon occurred.

The remaining two-person team had actually reached the base of the tree first and rolled up their sleeves.

Because the use of brooms was prohibited during the competition, the two could only rely on the pits and hollows on the surface of the trunk to climb slowly.

This made Wino and Toby, who were hiding behind the tree, scratch their heads.

Had their patience run out, or had they discovered the Evil Dragon's weakness?

After some discussion, the two decided to stay put and wait for the results of their actions.

In any case, as long as they guarded the tree, the others couldn't escape.

If they successfully severed the Evil Dragon's head, it would be a perfect opportunity to reap the benefits.

Thus, they waited from morning until dusk, until night fell; they didn't see the people come down, nor did they hear any sounds of fighting.

After a moment, the Evil Dragon emerged from the hole and flew toward the horizon.

What happened?

From the audience's perspective, Wino and Toby's heads, like their own, seemed to sprout large question marks.

The sudden turn of events made the two afraid to act rashly.

The next day, the Evil Dragon flew back, and they hesitated at the foot of the tree about whether to climb.

While the two were still pondering, a solo contestant stepped out from the woods opposite and climbed the tree without any hesitation.

Since someone was scouting the way, they would wait a bit longer.

No longer needing to struggle with the decision, they continued to hide and watch.

Then the eerie situation happened again.

Just like the previous team, after the solo contestant went up, they didn't come down even by nightfall. Similarly, no sounds of fighting were heard, the Evil Dragon still flew far away and returned at dawn.

"Damn it, what on earth happened after they went in?" Toby almost scratched his scalp raw.

Wino folded his arms across his chest and pondered, "I really want to know too.

Even if the three people who went up were too weak and far from being the Evil Dragon's match, there shouldn't be absolutely no commotion, right?

Even if the Evil Dragon swallowed them in one gulp, it would at least have to open its mouth?"

"What do we do now? Should we go up and look, or give up?" Toby asked while pushing the black cat's head back into his chest.

"Going up to look is pure suicide." Wino lowered his arms and muttered, "Strange... the fact that those three disappeared without a sound means the Evil Dragon is definitely not something we can defeat. Why did the Headmaster set it as the mission objective?"

"Maybe the Headmaster trusts our strength too much." Toby made a rare dry joke.

Obviously, Wino didn't find it funny, musing to himself: "Evil Dragon... Evil Dragon... what evil has it done... wait."

A few brief words from the Headmaster surfaced in his mind, connecting together, and then he felt as if an electric current had passed through his body.

"Heh heh." Wino started laughing.

Toby looked him up and down, thinking to himself, is his nervous system that slow? Laughing so long after the joke was finished?

Wino didn't care about his strange gaze and looked at a pair of pitch-black ear tips poking out from the collar of Toby's chest: "Hey, I'm talking to you."

"What are you calling this Knight for?" The black cat used its front paws to pull on the collar for leverage and squeezed its head out.

"What is your name?"

"What name?"

"What others call you."

"People can call me whatever they want."

"Won't you get angry if someone calls you by the wrong name?"

"This Knight doesn't care about those things."

The black cat turned its face away and looked into the distance, appearing guilty and lacking confidence.

Toby wasn't stupid either; he grabbed it by the scruff of its neck and pulled it out, squinting at the pure black face: "Is it that hard for you to say your own name?"

The black cat tried to twist its head to avoid eye contact, but Toby held its chin to keep it still: "Speaking of which, we encountered many wild beasts on the way. It's inherently strange for a cat with no special abilities to survive in a dangerous forest.

So, should we call you the Evil Dragon?"

Standing side by side with Toby with a smile, Wino pulled a dagger from his pocket: "No one said only a dragon can be named the Evil Dragon. Hmm... it seems you can't lie. Is it the Headmaster's magic?"

Hearing the word "Headmaster," the black cat became visibly angry: "That damned bastard! I said I refused! He insisted on... mmm—"

Both of them simultaneously raised their hands to cover its mouth: "Shh—you can't insult the Headmaster."

The mission was complete, and victory was within reach. Wino felt much more relaxed and smiled: "Carrying it back alive might lead to accidents; just taking the head back will do."

"Agreed." Toby nodded.

Wino's blade fell, and he nimbly dodged the splashing blood. Then he cut off the hem of his shirt to wrap the cat's head and stuffed it to Toby: "You hold it."

"Hmm?" Toby raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"In case you're worried. Let's go."

To avoid further trouble, the two immediately returned along the way they came.

"Wino, those three people who went up..."

"I don't know."

"Alright."

...

The competition venue in the outskirts of London.

The entire venue was packed with men, women, young and old. The Queen, Toby, and the others sat in the spectator seats. On the wooden platform in the center stood the three professors and their students.

It should have been a normal competition scene, but at this moment, it was eerily silent.

Everyone had their eyes tightly closed and didn't say a word.

Outside the venue, several teams were waiting nervously.

Judging from the national flags raised in the teams, there were Hua Country, John Bull, Maozi, and so on—all major countries in the world today.

Some of them came uninvited; the rest were invited by the Queen's son, Prince Suleiman.

The former had a clear goal: to study "souls."

Souls, or ghosts, have been talked about for a long time on Blue Star, but modern science has confirmed they are all folk fabrications and myths; at least for now, there is no conclusive evidence to prove their existence.

Consequently, Dumbledore publicly announced that he wanted the audience's souls to go to the final competition venue, which stunned the leadership of various countries watching the match.

What on earth? Souls?

The appearance of something brand new made everyone feel as if their hearts were being scratched by a cat, wanting to know the details, but the old man had disappeared, and now everyone seemed frozen in time.

So the research teams that hurried over could only wait bitterly outside.

As for the latter who came by invitation, it was for the Queen.

His mother's soul being taken away had frightened Suleiman quite a bit.

Of course, it wasn't out of familial affection, but because now Hogwarts only recognized the Queen and not him, Suleiman.

Although he believed that with Dumbledore there, the Queen wouldn't come to harm, he was ultimately uneasy. He sought out several countries with top-tier scientific research capabilities to give the Queen a full-body checkup after everything was over, to see if there would be any "transmigration" sequelae or side effects.

His assistant had advised him that such a move was a bit reckless and would cause resentment from Hogwarts.

It was a simple principle: if someone invites you to their home as a guest and, before going into the kitchen to cook, locks all the room doors in front of you, what does that mean?

Are you inviting me to dinner or trying to humiliate me?

Or like the first day of moving into a new home, a neighbor inexplicably runs over to warn, "We're all acquaintances here, nothing's been stolen for decades. You just got here; if something goes missing, you did it." (The author's personal experience; the original words were harsher, but involving regional issues, I'm unwilling to start a fight and have slightly beautified it here.)

If a normal person encountered this, walking away in a huff would be considered restrained. What about transcendent beings?

If someone gets angry and sinks the island, what then?

Suleiman also knew in his heart that what the assistant said made sense, but his mother's health was the priority. Ultimately, he stated that if the transcendent beings wanted to punish someone, he would bear it himself.

Thus, a large group of research teams gathered outside the competition venue, waiting impatiently for everyone to wake up.