Before long, aside from a few five-man squads left on the surface of Fürstenberg Square to stand guard, all the British Ministry of Magic's combat wizards had entered the French Ministry of Magic and gathered around Link.
Unlike how arrogant they had been outside earlier, everyone now standing beside Link was remarkably well-behaved.
Even the Hunters who normally cared the least about discipline had become obedient.
Like hunting dogs with bloodshot eyes, they didn't even wait for orders from Link or Krell. Instead, relying on years of hunting experience, they spread out and began searching and inspecting the entire entrance hall of the French Ministry of Magic.
The Hit Wizards and Aurors were also visibly tense.
The only person who remained calm was probably Link.
It wasn't because Occlumency was forcing him to stay rational. He genuinely didn't think this was a big deal.
Before setting out, when he told Madam Flamel that "it'll all be over in two days," he wasn't trying to comfort her or Emily.
That was what he actually believed.
Many people in the wizarding world had a habit of seeing only their own small corner of the world.
To them, an army of over a thousand people already represented nearly all of Britain's magical forces. It was a full commitment, an all-or-nothing gamble.
Compared to the Muggle world, it was practically a war to defend the nation.
After all, the wizarding population wasn't that large.
But in Link's eyes, a battle involving only a few thousand people didn't even count as a war.
At most, it was a large street fight.
No, even calling it a village battle was giving it too much credit.
In his previous life, Link had heard of many village battles that involved thousands of people. The weapons and equipment used were on the level of wars between small African countries.
Some villages even had retired soldiers providing tactical guidance. Artillery support, ambushes, counter-ambushes, three-three formations, surrounding strongpoints to draw in reinforcements, they used everything.
The only things missing were infantry-tank coordination and air support.
The level of professionalism was astonishing.
Compared to that, wars between wizards were practically child's play.
Take the Goblin Rebellions that wizards loved talking about.
Ignoring all the schemes and political maneuvering in the early and middle stages, the large battles near the end were simply both sides gathering together and fighting head-on.
The various magical races bribed by the goblins would charge at the wizard positions screaming, while the goblins and wizards stood behind their own lines desperately waving their wands.
Basically, it wasn't much different from the line infantry tactics used by Muggles in the seventeenth century.
In the Muggle world, that kind of tactic had long been abandoned.
But after reading the Auror Command's records, Link found that it was still the mainstream military doctrine used by Ministries of Magic everywhere.
That level of backward thinking was almost unbelievable.
Simply put, wizards weren't good at large-scale group warfare.
Flanking attacks, infiltration, turning enemy forces, and assassinations were what they should be doing, just like the Shadow Men's attack on Hogwarts before.
What Link was doing now wasn't much different.
At its core, it was simply breaking through the enemy's space defenses and teleporting a large force directly behind enemy lines.
The only difference was that Link was using the International Confederation of Wizards' mass spatial jump technology. At present, only the British Ministry of Magic and Sky City possessed this technology, allowing him to completely ignore Anti-Apparition Charms.
Also, the force he brought this time was just a tiny bit larger.
And the strength of his people was also just a tiny bit higher.
With such an overwhelming advantage, Link felt that allowing two whole days for victory was already being generous.
After all, the enemy was French.
They certainly had plenty of experience when it came to surrendering.
French Muggles in World War II had resisted for only about forty days, and that was when both sides were fairly evenly matched.
Now that his side clearly had the advantage, if the French wizards could hold out for two days, that would already be impressive.
Thinking this, the corners of Link's mouth lifted slightly as he began observing the hall they were standing in.
In Link's opinion, the French Ministry of Magic's entrance hall suited his taste much better than Britain's.
Although France was famous for luxury, this hall hadn't copied the golden, Versailles-style decoration used by the British Ministry of Magic.
Instead, it adopted an artistic style somewhat similar to a Muggle cathedral.
The surrounding walls were covered with beautiful stone reliefs.
Like flowering vines, they spread across the entire hall.
The ceiling above was covered with huge colorful murals.
With somewhat abstract paintings, they told the story of how France's wizarding pioneers in 1790 overcame countless hardships, drew inspiration from Muggle ideas, developed a philosophy belonging to wizards, and ultimately founded the French Ministry of Magic.
The same story also appeared beneath everyone's feet.
The floor looked like ordinary marble tiles.
But in reality, they had apparently gone through some special process that imprinted specific patterns and designs into the stone.
When laid out in a certain order, the tiles formed an enormous mural that echoed the paintings on the ceiling.
Standing in this hall, anyone who calmed down could feel its strong artistic atmosphere.
It naturally made people feel relaxed and peaceful.
Even the enormous French Ministry of Magic emblem hanging at the highest point of the hall looked beautiful.
Compared to the British Ministry's simple W-shaped emblem, the French Ministry's maiden-shaped emblem was truly a work of art.
The only pity was that these works of art were stained with blood.
Real blood.
Dark black blood that had dried after a long time.
The bloodstains were like scars across this hall that could almost be called a masterpiece.
Even the beautiful girl on the emblem had a long "wound" slashed across her face.
Some people with unusual tastes might think that blood gave perfect works of art a different kind of beauty, making them even more attractive than before.
But Link's tastes were fairly ordinary.
Standing in this hall, the only thing he felt was unease.
"Link, we've searched the entire hall and found nothing useful. The public Floo Network has been completely cut off. The Anti-Apparition Charm has also been strengthened enough to affect the accuracy of Portkey transportation."
"Unless there are other portals created by phoenixes elsewhere, the entire French Ministry of Magic is completely sealed off now."
Krell's serious voice pulled Link back from observing the surroundings.
Link glanced toward the Floo fireplaces, then looked at the passage in the distance that had been sealed shut with mithril alloy, and said calmly,
"Something must have happened here before. But that doesn't matter anymore. Our mission is simply to flatten the entire French Ministry of Magic. And I believe that won't be difficult for us."
As he spoke, Link calmly walked toward the passage.
Two veteran Hunters moved even faster than he did.
The moment Link lifted his foot, the two of them had already rushed to the passage sealed with solidified mithril alloy and started trying to break through it.
There was no doubt this was a very dangerous job.
The strange atmosphere throughout the French Ministry of Magic was obvious to everyone.
But the veteran Hunters carried it out without hesitation.
Under Krell's training, every surviving veteran Hunter was absolutely loyal to Link.
Many of them had even signed Unbreakable Vows with Krell, completely selling their lives to the Flamel family in exchange for a brighter future for their descendants.
None of them feared death.
Some even looked forward to it.
The death compensation paid by the Flamel family and the British Ministry of Magic was simply too generous.
One death was enough for their descendants to live comfortably for decades.
Of course, only if they died for the right reason.
They wouldn't receive that many Galleons if they threw their lives away on purpose or simply died of illness or old age.
So in the eyes of the veteran Hunters, clearing the way for Link, the family head, was an excellent job.
If they died, Link might even give their families extra compensation.
Unfortunately, they had greatly overestimated themselves.
That huge wall made entirely of mithril alloy wasn't something they could break.
After working at it for quite a while, they had only managed to melt a narrow tunnel less than half a meter deep.
Link shook his head helplessly.
With a flick of his wand, an invisible force pulled the veteran Hunters out of the way.
Then a giant Fiendfyre python shot into the alloy wall like an arrow.
Everyone watched as the metal rapidly turned red and melted.
Before long, the entire wall had been devoured by the Fiendfyre python.
Its body also grew from the thickness of an arm to about the width of an adult's waist.
Under Link's mental control, it stopped feeding as soon as the metal wall was gone.
It obediently coiled where it was, its head bobbing up and down, clearly very satisfied with the mithril alloy.
Link pointed his wand forward.
Only then did the Fiendfyre python slowly begin moving, leading the way through the passage with Link's group following behind.
It had to be said that this was rather awkward for the veteran Hunters who had volunteered first.
Most normal people would quietly slip back into the crowd at a time like this.
But the veteran Hunters clearly weren't normal.
Even after embarrassing themselves like that, none of them showed any intention of backing down.
Instead, they held their heads high and proudly stayed at the very front, continuing to scout alongside the Fiendfyre python.
Their shameless behavior made many Aurors and Hit Wizards behind them laugh out loud.
The veteran Hunters didn't feel embarrassed in the slightest.
Instead, they looked back at everyone with contempt.
Whether you succeeded or not wasn't important.
Making a fool of yourself didn't matter either.
The important thing was showing the right attitude.
From that point of view, the people who deserved to be laughed at were those standing in the back who hadn't stepped forward to help.
That was one of the core beliefs Krell had taught them.
Loyalty above all else.
Thinking this, several veteran Hunters couldn't help glancing nervously toward Krell.
Only after seeing the satisfied smile on his face did they finally relax.
They immediately searched even harder.
One of them even walked ahead of the Fiendfyre python itself, completely unconcerned about being swallowed in one bite.
The passage they were walking through had probably once been used for security checks, so it wasn't very long.
In less than five minutes, another reception hall appeared before them.
Unlike the previous hall, however, this reception hall was much smaller.
Its walls were built from steel frames combined with what looked like a transparent crystal dome.
The outside of the crystal seemed to have been treated with some special magical light.
Pure white light illuminated the entire reception hall while blocking everyone's view outside, making all the crystal walls resemble frosted glass.
To be honest, although this design lacked the classical, solemn artistic atmosphere of the outer hall, it gave off a strong sense of modern art.
Practical, simple, and attractive.
At least it looked much better than the painfully outdated halls of the British Ministry of Magic, along with its corridors and rooms lit by torches and magical lamps.
Of course, that was how other wizards saw it.
To Link, the reception hall looked like a giant greenhouse.
Just a more expensive one, built with steel framing and frosted glass walls, which made him feel a little awkward.
Fortunately, Link quickly turned his attention away from the architecture.
Because directly ahead, three long corridors led to different places.
Behind the reception desk in front of those corridors sat an elderly woman wearing an orchid-colored dress.
She looked to be around sixty years old.
Yet she still appeared healthy, with a slim figure, carefully styled hair, delicate makeup, and an elegant air.
Her reception desk was very large.
On top of that, she sat on a specially raised high chair.
As a result, she was looking down at Link and the others from above, much like the goblins who used to work at Gringotts.
Strangely enough, even though Link's group clearly looked like invaders, the elderly woman's face still carried a calm and gentle smile.
Even after the Fiendfyre python had wrapped itself around her desk and was staring at her hungrily from the middle of its coils, her expression didn't change in the slightest.
"Visitors, please state your identity and purpose. After completing your registration, I will direct you to your destination."
The elderly woman spoke with a smile.
Her voice was gentle, yet carried a slight sense of distance.
Together with the surroundings, it created a strange feeling.
But it obviously wasn't enough to frighten the British combat wizards present.
With a slight lift of Link's hand, the Aurors and Hit Wizards behind him quickly carried out another search.
Meanwhile, accompanied by Krell, Link slowly walked up to the elderly woman and looked her over from head to toe.
After a long moment, the corner of Link's mouth curled upward.
"So... you're not human."