The same old trick?
The first thing that came to Barty Crouch Sr.'s mind was what Grindelwald had done in the past.
He stared at the Qilin as it slowly walked forward.
Spences crouched down with a smile and reached out to pick up the young Qilin.
"Good, good. What a good little one."
Seeing the surprise on everyone's faces, he said, "An old friend of mine found this Qilin and invited the little fellow here."
His words confirmed that this had not been arranged by Grindelwald.
The Researchers' Association was a prestigious magical research organisation, and Spences was one of its senior members. His strength was unfathomable.
Grindelwald could not control a wizard with such deep experience in magic.
And Spences's reputation meant that he had no need to favour any candidate.
"After the candidates have finished speaking, the Qilin will choose the new Supreme Mugwump."
Spences stroked the Qilin's head. The creature clearly liked the old man.
It allowed itself to be held, its round, grape-like eyes moving across the four candidates.
They gave their speeches in order.
Odom Teague went first, and his speech was filled with passion.
His supporters waved banners and cheered loudly. His confident manner perfectly matched the mainstream spirit of America.
He advocated adventure and using the spirit of exploration to open new paths for the wizarding world.
Spences approved of that greatly.
Next came Jing Zhang.
She advocated equality, maintaining order, and peaceful development without interfering in the affairs of other countries.
That earned her the goodwill of many neutral observers, and the voices supporting her grew louder.
Then it was Inge's turn.
Although Spences was smiling, there was scrutiny in his eyes.
Barty Crouch Sr. had contacted the International Confederation of Wizards, and Spences had already seen the ring symbolising the Schmidt family.
As one of the senior figures of the wizarding world, Spences naturally recognised the Schmidt family emblem.
So to a certain extent, he was inclined to believe Barty Crouch Sr.
That made Inge's identity particularly delicate in his eyes.
Grindelwald.
Anyone who had lived through that era retained a certain degree of fear and respect for him. Spences devoted himself to magical research, but he had also witnessed Grindelwald's methods.
He was holding the young Qilin partly to make sure Grindelwald could not repeat his old trick and turn it into an Inferius.
Besides him, several prominent figures of wizarding society who had received the news were also watching Inge closely.
Inge stood at the front and raised his wand, allowing his voice to reach everyone present.
"Magic is declining."
His very first sentence caused his supporters to stop cheering.
Inge did not care. His expression remained calm.
"Yes, it is declining. The magic we once took pride in, the magic once regarded as a miracle."
His wand lit up with Lumos.
"Light was once something only wizards possessed. We held the miracle of bringing daylight into the night. But now, Muggle technology has created electric lights."
"They don't know magic, yet their technology creates miracles that rival it." Inge extinguished the light from his wand and raised his voice. "They have taken away miracles that belonged to us. Technology is killing magic. Muggles are killing magic!"
"Everything we once took pride in is being taken away from us bit by bit, yet some people are still lost in the past."
"Friends, even our skies and seas are being taken from us."
Once, before Muggles invented aeroplanes, the vast skies belonged to wizards.
But after Muggles created aircraft, wizards who had once been able to fly freely were forced to hide from them.
Inge's words left many people deep in thought.
On the projected image, Inge raised his arm and shouted, "We need change. We need to change our ways. Magic is not weakening. It is wizards who are allowing it to decline!"
"This world belongs to those who adapt. The weak are devoured by the strong," Inge roared.
"If we are not strong, only death awaits us. Power is the eternal melody. So we must change! Change ourselves! Become stronger! Make magic great again!"
Inge ended his speech, and his supporters erupted into cheers.
He restrained his excitement and calmed himself again. Looking up at Bhutan's peaceful sky, he said, "Thank you."
As he stepped back, Inge looked at Barty Crouch Sr. and smiled. "Your turn, Crouch."
Barty Crouch Sr. gave Inge a deep look, then stepped forward.
The cheers for his appearance were the loudest of all.
What Barty Crouch Sr. represented was the harmonious society he had visibly helped build.
In terms of achievements, he was the best among the four.
He had defeated Voldemort, imprisoned Death Eaters, promoted the introduction of numerous policies, and advocated equality for werewolves.
In terms of experience, he was also the most senior.
He had lived through the chaos caused by Voldemort and had later competed for the position of Minister for Magic.
After decades of working in the Ministry of Magic, he possessed more than enough administrative experience.
In terms of reputation, he was also the strongest candidate.
The Second Dynasty had built momentum for him, while the Ancient Alliance had spread his name.
Simply by standing there, he already met every condition required to become the new President.
"Ladies and gentlemen..."
...
The middle-aged man returned to the defence facility.
After dealing with the questioning over the missing weapons, he went back to his office.
He closed the door, then turned and saw someone sitting in his chair with their back to him.
The middle-aged man's brow furrowed. He reached for his gun, drew it, and said coldly, "Raise your hands and turn around slowly."
"Have you forgotten me?"
The man slowly turned around, revealing the face of the wizard who had appeared during the theft.
"General."
"You?" The general kept his weapon raised and frowned. "The goods have already been transported out. What are you doing here?"
"Oh?"
The young man looked surprised. "I thought you'd be happy to see me."
"Happy?" The general sneered. "You freaks. If I didn't need your power, you wouldn't even be qualified to stand in front of me."
The young man moved slightly.
The general immediately aimed his gun at the young man's hand.
"Don't move. Take your hand away from that wand. You don't want to find out which is faster, magic or a bullet."
The young man shrugged.
The general said, "Now get out of my chair and get the hell out of my office."
The young man stared at the general, whose threat was obvious, and fell silent for a moment before saying, "So you aren't serving your country either."
"Hm?" The general frowned.
The young man suddenly vanished.
A moment later, the general felt something pressing down on the top of his head.
He spun around, but the sensation disappeared.
"What the hell are you doing?" The general realised something was wrong as cold sweat ran down his cheek.
The young man reappeared, but the general could no longer move.
The disguise on the young man's face gradually faded, revealing John's face.
John restrained the general with mind magic and raised a hand to search through his memories.
The general became like an open book, allowing John to leaf through everything.
When John saw where the weapons had gone, his expression changed.
...
"Very good. The four candidates have presented their ideas." Spences set the Qilin down. "Now we come to the final stage."
"The Qilin's choice will determine our new Supreme Mugwump!"
Once placed on the ground, the Qilin bounced lightly on its feet and began walking toward the four candidates.
It passed Odom Teague.
Odom gave it an ingratiating smile, as if he thought that might persuade the Qilin to choose him.
Unfortunately, his heavily bearded face simply was not friendly enough, and the Qilin walked past him.
Jing Zhang was nervous, her lips pressed tightly together.
Her hands were folded neatly in front of her as she maintained her dignified posture.
The Qilin circled around her, then continued onward.
It came to Inge.
Inge quietly looked down at it.
The Qilin hesitated for a moment, then kept walking.
Seeing this, Barty Crouch Sr.'s supporters held their breath nervously.
At that moment, Barty Crouch Sr. suddenly felt everything become calm.
The ladder of power he had once pursued was now within reach, yet he no longer felt impatient.
The Qilin paced in front of him, seemingly conflicted.
Even Spences began to grow nervous.
Under everyone's gaze, the Qilin turned around and walked back.
Barty Crouch Sr. froze.
He watched as the Qilin returned to Inge, circled him in the same way, then finally bent its legs and bowed.
It was not only Barty Crouch Sr. who was stunned.
Spences was equally shocked.
The person chosen by a Qilin was supposed to be pure-hearted, sacred, and powerful.
Yet this result was difficult for anyone to accept.
"The Qilin has made its choice?"
Spences stared blankly.
At that moment, a voice rang out.
"No! You can't!"
A group of people hurried up the steps.
They seemed to have encountered considerable resistance along the way, and when they arrived, they were breathing heavily.
"Everyone, we need to see his true face and expose his disguise!"
Lippi pointed at Inge and shouted, "This man is not Inge Griffiths!"
Her words caused an uproar.
It was like a boulder crashing into a calm lake.
She raised the case in her hand.
"Inside this case is the victim of a murder. The corpse of former German Minister for Magic Bart Schmidt!"
"He was murdered in full view of the International Confederation of Wizards!"
Lippi opened the case, and a corpse floated out.
Inge watched everything with an indifferent expression.
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