Nathan found himself quietly replaying Jimmy's words: were those patrol members really tied to the black market? If so, that meant these guys weren't exactly trustworthy.
So why would the place recruit wizards with possible criminal backgrounds? Could Lord Claremont have been misled?
The thought startled Nathan awake from his drowsiness. No, that couldn't be right. Mr. Claremont was a good man, there was no way he'd be involved with criminals. Maybe there was something else going on beneath the surface.
Nathan wasn't sure if he was trying to reassure himself or just afraid of what he might find out. Either way, he kept repeating the thought silently.
But then something felt off. The living room suddenly brightened as if the front door had been opened downstairs.
Nathan was lost in thought when he suddenly looked up, eyeing the corridor suspiciously. To his surprise, two wizards wearing masks and robes appeared right in front of him. He froze, about to scream, but the wizards reacted faster.
The one in front quickly extended his left hand, as if casting a spell. Nathan soon realized he was mute, though he opened his mouth, no sound came out.
Then a sharp pain shot through his body. The wizard had followed up his spell with a quick stun spell from a white wand, hitting Nathan's right hand and chest, causing him to lose consciousness immediately.
"It's dangerous," one masked Auror said nervously, patting his chest. "I didn't expect the drill from Golden Snidget to actually be useful. Someone didn't stay in their room at night and chose to sleep in the living room instead."
"Stop babbling and focus. If you're slower than the others, you'll be the joke later. And you were clearly rattled casting that spell, your stun was slower than it should've been. I'll clear the way; you cover me," another Auror snapped, clearly annoyed.
"Who's scared? I'm just a bit nervous facing a real person. It's not my first fight; what's the big deal?" the first wizard grumbled.
"Enough with the chatter," Alex's voice came sharply through their communication headsets. "Your masks might hide your voices from outsiders, but your comm channels are all linked. Don't chat in front of everyone unless it's an emergency. Stop wasting time and finish the task!"
Hearing Alex's reprimand, the two wizards realized their entire conversation had been broadcast on the same channel. They fell silent, understanding the seriousness of the situation.
'Did all 40 people really hear that?' Sure enough, as these two stood there feeling awkward over the society's downfall, another voice came through the earpiece. "Report to Snidget: Team No. 3 has finished clearing the entire floor. Everyone in the room is under control. Task complete."
"Alex quickly replied, "Copy that. Please escort the controlled individuals to the first-floor lobby, Team No. 3. Await further instructions. Over."
After hearing this exchange, the two glanced at each other, speechless. They really wanted to complain, but if they spoke another word, others would definitely overhear them.
Meanwhile, during this awkward silence, several more mission completion reports came through the earpieces one after another, making the two increasingly anxious. Why were the other teams moving so fast? If they really were the last to finish, as they'd feared, it wouldn't just be embarrassing, it would be catastrophic.
So, they dropped the pointless chatter and quickly got to work. Thankfully, the follow-up went smoothly; no one was found wandering outside the rooms again.
Unfortunately, they were still the last team to complete their control task. On the bright side, that meant the entire inner place was now fully secured.
At that moment, over two hundred people were neatly lined up on the ground in front of the tall tower at the center of the area. They were all alive, but lying still like a pile of bodies, which looked quite strange.
Andre, standing before the minaret and taking in the scene, turned to a wizard responsible for counting the people. "Are you sure the headcount is accurate? No one was missed, right?" he asked.
The wizard, wearing a mask and holding a list, responded clearly, "Reporting, Flobberworm, there are exactly 213 people here, including Claremont himself, who was personally captured by King Snidget, as well as six patrol members outside the place. All their wands and belongings were confiscated, and we thoroughly searched them. No threats remain."
Andre gave a tired glance at the wizard. These guys seemed obsessed with role-playing games, always shouting their code names during every conversation. "You don't have to say your code name every time you talk to me," he said dryly.
"Yes, Flobberworm," came the reply, probably suppressing a smile.
Giving up on this small annoyance, Andre moved on. "How's the next phase going? Did Golden Snidget say how we'll handle things from here?"
The wizard answered, "Ashwinder has already brought trolls, Bowtruckles , and others to deal with the magical creatures. His containment box is huge, big enough for all of them.
As for Golden Snidget, he said that you, Warthog, and Niffler will take Claremont to find him now. After that, he'll lead the transfer of these wizards."
Andre nodded. "Alright, keep watch here," he instructed carefully. Then he walked around the 'crowd' and headed toward the dormitory closest to the square, where Alex had set up the "concentric circle", the action team's headquarters.
Inside the reception room on the second floor, Alex, Moody, and Amelia stood in a small circle. Lying on the floor in the middle was Clement, whom Alex had personally captured.
"The operation went smoothly," Andre said. "But what do we do about this place now?"
After glancing at Claremont, who was still unconscious on the ground, Andre turned to the other three and asked for an update. Naturally, the most important person to consult was Alex, who stood nearby.
As the commander-in-chief of the operation, Alex had meticulously planned every detail. The raid had a large number of targets, with many wizards involved, but from start to finish, the entire operation had been completed in under half an hour. Both the Aurors and Andre's team had full confidence in Alex's leadership.
Hearing this, Alex responded calmly, "I arranged for people to secure all the valuable materials in the place. We've recovered all the alchemy equipment belonging to the Wilson's Arcane Alchemica, and the rest is mostly a huge pile of weather blankets. To make things easier, we'll use those blankets to care for the magical animals for now."
He continued, "Those magical creatures and the resources they produce are currently being looked after by the other group. They'll redistribute everything once this is all settled.
As for the core hub, even though we've collected a lot of materials, we still need to keep it running for now. We have to be careful not to expose our target too early."
Before the raid, everyone had taken stock of the supplies in place. Besides everyday items used by common wizards, there were plenty of by-products from magical animals, potions, alchemy tools, and more.