Without even guessing what awaited him, August quickly put the dragon egg in his pocket and immediately cast a [Disillusionment Charm] on himself. As a cold sensation spread throughout his body, August gradually vanished from sight.
This spell allows wizards' bodies to blend with their surroundings, like human chameleons.
Sure enough, the male dragon slowly dragged an enormous object, inch by inch. August could even hear its labored breathing.
The male dragon's body blocked the cave entrance, leaving August no room to slip away. If he could have run, he definitely would have; he really didn't want to fight.
The object it was dragging was a dead animal. Seeing its large, cactus-like antlers, August recognized it as an elk.
At that moment, the elk's head had been crushed and split open by something, from which a white substance emanated. Its eyes, large and lifeless, stared blankly, and its tongue hung long.
August pressed himself against the rock wall, motionless, silently waiting for his opportunity.
The male dragon dragged the elk in, let out a soft rumble, and nudged its large head against the sleeping female dragon, touching her with its nose.
"Roar—" No movement.
He nudged again, but she still didn't stir. The male dragon cautiously moved closer and then discovered something that infuriated it: only one dragon egg remained among those surrounding the female dragon.
The male dragon roared to the sky, and its wing claws slammed against the female dragon's body.
Her tough hide offered no resistance to the sharp talons of another dragon, and green blood instantly flowed.
The female dragon shrieked in pain, startling awake from her slumber. Realizing what had happened, she opened her enormous jaws, ready to bite the male dragon, but he immediately backed away.
The male dragon, at the peak of its life, was not pleased after the death and conveyed a message to the female dragon, its fury audible in its roars.
The female dragon looked at her nest and was instantly bewildered. Where were her eggs? Why was only one left?
The two dragons, discovering their most precious eggs had vanished, no longer cared about the elk and immediately began searching frantically throughout the cave.
The male dragon sniffed the nest; a dragon's nose is very sharp.
Immediately afterward, it found traces where August had been. Without a doubt, it was the smell of a stranger, like those tender-fleshed humans.
The male dragon immediately went wild, following August's scent and lunging towards him, closely followed by the female dragon. Both dragons' eyes were bloodshot, their grayish skin even turning red with the pink of surging blood, and tiny fire sparks erupted from their nostrils, showing their fury over the loss of their eggs.
By then, the egg thief August had already fled some time ago, having already left the forest on his broom.
While the male dragon was displaying its power, August seized the opportunity to exit the cave, summoned his case at the entrance, placed the dragon egg back inside, and then pulled out his broom.
To be honest, he didn't like brooms at all as a mode of transportation; they made his backside hurt, which was why he preferred to travel by car, even if it meant going slower, when coming here.
However, he had no desire to face two furious Ironbellies, so getting what he wanted and escaping quickly was the best strategy.
As for whether those two Ironbellies would cause any destruction in the local area, he believed the military certainly wouldn't allow those massive, slow-flying living targets to escape.
August flew very fast, almost without stopping, continuously flying across the border and only halting when he reached Romania.
He found a hotel in the wizarding settlement and checked in.
Romania, as Europe's largest dragon breeding ground, allows the trade of most materials obtained from them, such as dragon horns, hide, and sinews for wand making. However, the management of dragon eggs is extremely strict; they are prohibited from trade. If caught, you will be sent to the Ministry of Magic for trial. As for whether illicit trade exists, August was unaware and didn't want to take the risk.
At that moment, he was making important preparations. Casting the life-force transfer spell with a dragon egg required other materials, some of which came from dragons, such as dragon blood.
In Romania, dragons were like farm livestock, whose managers determined annual culling quotas through precise calculations.
Through his connection with the hotel manager, August acquired most of the materials from this place, lacking only one, the most crucial: a dragon heart.
Unlike dragon blood or horns, this material does not regenerate; each heart represents a felled dragon. Dragon hearts are very advanced potion ingredients, widely used in various high-end potions, making them extremely expensive.
August had no money left; his other gold coins had long since been exchanged at Gringotts, and his Galleons had been completely spent.
And here, the asking price for a fresh dragon heart was 400 Galleons, with no negotiation.
August found himself in a difficult situation; he had nothing to exchange for money. He couldn't go back and finish off those two Ironbellies, could he?
"400 Galleons, no room for bargaining." The vendor was a toothless old man, his eyes shining with cunning, looking every bit the shrewd merchant.
He rubbed his fingers, refusing August's request for credit. August had planned to see if he could owe something and then borrow from Newt, but the old man didn't give him the chance.
"If you don't have money, you can use something else as a substitute." He quietly leaned close to August's ear, "I know you have something good with you."
August immediately became alert. He had never taken the dragon egg out there, so how did this old man know?
"Don't be nervous, I haven't said anything." The old man smiled with a certain smugness, "See, perhaps we can discuss this properly?"
He definitely knew! August thought, but he decided to find out what trick this old man was up to.
The toothless old man led August to a dilapidated house in the settlement. The sign at the entrance indicated it was a shop. However, the paint on the sign was heavily peeled, making it barely discernible that it depicted a fire-breathing dragon, with the words "Old Tom's Magic Shop" vaguely written underneath.
"So you are Mr. Tom?" August didn't know his name and had only referred to him as Chief, like the hotel manager who brought him here.
"What do you think? Isn't my shop nice?" Old Tom sat behind the counter with a hint of pride, gesturing to the shop's interior decoration.
To August's surprise, although the shop looked dilapidated from the outside, its interior decoration was quite sophisticated. Cabinets on both sides were filled with all sorts of strange and rare materials. August even saw a large jar filled with eyes of various sizes.
"Mr. Tom, let's get straight to the point." August thumped the table, getting down to business. "What exactly do you mean?"
"Young man, how direct you are!" He was stunned to see August's straightforwardness. "Well, I'll be direct: I want your dragon egg!"
"How do you know I have a dragon egg?" August wasn't alarmed; he had already figured out that this old man knew he had one.
"I saw it!" He proudly pointed to his left eye.
At that moment, August noticed that the color of his left eye was different from a normal eye, and this eye was constantly moving.
"Is it a magical eye?" August thought. It was probably an alchemical object, possibly a magical ocular prosthetic with x-ray vision.
"Good insight. This eye can see what people hide." The Old Man joked, "Of course, excluding people's hearts."
"You're right, I have a dragon egg." August no longer bothered to hide it and took a dragon egg from his case, placing it on the table.
"Oh! What a beautiful color! It's a Ukrainian Ironbelly egg!" the old man exclaimed. "Should I say you're crazy or brave? Ironbellies aren't as easy to beat as Welsh Green Dragons."