After hearing Sigefin's account, everyone present felt their scalps go numb.
There was a reason why the International Confederation of Wizards had ruled over everyone for so many years, maintaining the Statute of Secrecy and the entire wizarding world from its lofty position.
The existence of the space engine and magical energy storage technology proved both their ambition and their military deterrence.
Link believed that if the stored magical power hadn't been prepared for war in the first place, making its destructive force difficult to control to the point where even Sky City itself would be destroyed, then the International Confederation of Wizards, with Sky City in its possession, would probably have conquered the entire world long ago.
After all, there were still plenty of wizards on the ground.
Wouldn't it be much more efficient to capture all of them and use them as living batteries?
As for the remaining necessities of life and entertainment, they could simply enslave Muggles to provide them.
For the International Confederation of Wizards, that was the most efficient system.
Unfortunately, after centuries of work by the Confederation and Sky City, all of it was ultimately stolen by a madman.
And now that madman intended to use Sky City to intimidate the entire world.
Letting out a deep sigh, Link's expression turned serious.
"Escort the French Minister for Magic back to Britain. At the same time, send information about Sky City's deterrent capabilities to the ministers of every other Ministry of Magic. Right now, we need to unite everyone we can."
"Also, tell the Department of Mysteries to speed up its research into space technology. We need the means to protect ourselves. At the very least, when things are at their worst, Britain's magical community must be able to provide the necessary protection."
Cedric, now fully aware of the situation, nodded.
"I'll inform Director Barty and Senior Percy about the diplomatic side. They'll handle it well. As for the Department of Mysteries, they've already done a great deal of reverse engineering and research into large-scale spatial transition technology through their joint work with the Department of Magical Transportation on the clustered spatial transition array. Now that they have a new research direction, I believe new results should come very soon."
Link nodded.
Seeing that, Cedric wasted no time and hurried toward the Floo Network outside, returning to the British Ministry of Magic to deliver the message.
Among all the people Link had brought out of Hogwarts, Cedric had performed the best so far.
His father, Amos Diggory, had given him plenty of political experience.
Although Old Diggory's position hadn't been very high, meaning many of his suggestions had been wrong, Cedric was smart enough to tell which advice was worth listening to and which was complete nonsense.
After absorbing everything Old Diggory had to teach like a sponge, the old man could no longer offer Cedric anything new. Cedric had truly grown into a skilled and seasoned politician.
Most importantly, Cedric's loyalty to Link had never changed.
Combined together, that naturally made Cedric the subordinate Link valued the most.
It sounded hard to believe, because among the Hogwarts crowd, the ones who spent the most time around Link were Newland and Sigefin.
But in reality, only children needed adults watching over them.
Cedric had already grown into someone fully capable of standing on his own.
The clearest proof was that although he held the highest official rank among Hogwarts' younger generation, he remained largely unknown and always kept a low profile.
That was something only someone with exceptional wisdom could accomplish.
"So then, Link, what's our next move in the French magical world campaign?"
Not long after Cedric left, Newland impatiently asked.
Krell shook his head with a sigh.
Link frowned.
If it had been Cedric, he never would have asked such a foolish question.
Because the situation was already obvious.
Someone truly wise wouldn't need to be told what to do.
"Use the French Ministry of Magic as our temporary base. Establish a Floo Network connection with the British Ministry for continuous transport of supplies and communication."
After a long silence, Link finally explained, "Then begin searching and integrating the entire French magical world. Arrest everyone involved in the Furstenberg Square riot, while focusing our investigations on Lionheart Street and Beauxbatons."
"Just investigate? We're not attacking Beauxbatons anymore? According to our earlier conclusions, Beauxbatons Academy of Magic is very likely the headquarters of those mysterious people in France's magical world. There should still be plenty of their followers there. Maybe even the mysterious man himself is there."
The moment Newland said that, even Sigefin turned to glare at him.
Link had already made himself clear. If Newland still didn't understand, that would be too much.
But contrary to what Sigefin expected, Link wasn't angry.
Instead, he smiled.
He knew it.
Someone he valued enough to recruit shouldn't be that foolish.
After learning about Sky City's deterrent power, slowing down the offensive against Beauxbatons had become inevitable.
Given that, Newland's earlier question, as well as this follow-up, was only meant to draw out one final answer...
What was Link's real attitude toward Beauxbatons?
If Link truly intended to slow the pace, then following the conservative plan would naturally be the best choice.
But if Link had something else in mind, then anyone who understood his intentions in advance and acted accordingly would have a huge advantage.
Newland clearly wanted to be that kind of person.
That way of thinking was clever, but it also proved that Sigefin was less perceptive than Newland, and Newland was still inferior to Cedric.
At least Cedric didn't need this kind of probing to understand what Link intended.
Link shook his head before finally saying, "I need Lionheart Street. It's very important. So our next offensive will focus there. But Beauxbatons is also exactly as you said, the mysterious man's nest."
"Given the current situation, it's not convenient for us to launch a real attack. At least not until Cedric's diplomatic efforts produce results. That said, we can still probe Beauxbatons a little. You understand what I mean by 'probe,' don't you?"
"Ah, I understand!"
Newland agreed, the corner of his mouth curling into a somewhat savage grin.
Seeing that, both Link and Krell nodded in satisfaction.
They knew Newland had fully understood what Link meant.
———
[Beauxbatons Academy of Magic]
Norton had drawn every curtain in the headmaster's office and sat alone behind his desk, immersed in darkness.
To be honest, he had never really understood what Number One, the one who had freed them from the Horcruxes' shackles, granted them power with the King's Blood, and given them freedom, was actually thinking.
Because Number One's goals kept changing.
At the very beginning, when Number One freed them, he told them their previous practice of constantly creating Horcruxes had been wrong.
Not only would it fail to truly conquer death, but the missing pieces of their souls would also drive them insane and eventually destroy them.
At the same time, he revealed the King's Blood, claiming it was the true path to overcoming death.
Because the King's Blood was Death itself!
As long as they possessed enough King's Blood, their consciousness would achieve true immortality.
Of course, the amount of King's Blood remaining in the world was far from sufficient.
So Number One generously divided the last trace of King's Blood equally among the other freed soul fragments, allowing everyone to nourish and cultivate more King's Blood with their own souls and magical power.
To achieve that goal, Number One even made an Unbreakable Vow with the other soul fragments, promising that once the King's Blood fully matured, everyone would rely on their own abilities to seize the King's Blood, and even the souls, of their other "brothers" through a completely fair and just process.
Until then, everyone had to stand united against any outside enemy that might threaten them.
Everyone thought those rules were fair.
At least on the surface.
Privately, however, as separate individuals split from the same soul, they all knew scheming against one another was unavoidable.
That was exactly how things turned out.
Later on, including Number One himself, no one talked much about that alliance anymore.
Especially Number One.
After absorbing the main soul and becoming the leader of the remaining three soul fragments, he started talking about the power of "love."
He said he wanted to use "love" to "transform" the entire world, letting everyone live a good life.
He even divided it into "great love" and "little love."
Norton had always found all of this confusing.
After all, he could understand forming the soul fragment alliance as Number One using a scheme to make the other soul fragments cultivate the King's Blood before harvesting the results himself.
It was underhanded and despicable, but as another fragment of Voldemort's soul, Norton approved of it.
Because if it had been him, he would have done exactly the same.
But something as vague and mysterious as "love," especially "great love," was something he genuinely couldn't understand.
Even so, during that period, Norton still trusted Number One.
After all, Number One was undeniably capable, and he really was fighting for the interests of their soul fragment alliance.
Even though they had suffered temporary setbacks, and even Voldemort's main soul had been destroyed, Norton honestly felt that was simply because the main soul had been incompetent.
It really didn't have much to do with Number One.
But now...
Number Three was dead.
Killed under Number One's direct orders.
The French magical world had also been destroyed.
On the surface, it had been destroyed by Link Flamel and Dumbledore.
But in reality, it was Number One who had stirred everything from behind the scenes.
Number One had also taken control of Sky City and was using it as a threat to suppress the entire world.
The only thing that hadn't changed was that Number One still insisted that everything he did was for "great love."
To be honest, Norton no longer believed any of that nonsense.
Because all Number One had shown was desire.
Not ordinary desire, like wanting resources.
It was the desire for destruction.
In Norton's eyes, Number One had become a madman bent on destroying everything.
What kind of people walked alongside a madman?
The answer was simple.
Madmen who shared the same beliefs.
Fools trying to cure the madman.
Or the madman's fanatical followers.
By coincidence, Norton was none of those.
He felt that, just as Number One had once said, he was nothing more than an inferior imitator who understood only "little love."
Once he accepted that idea, Norton felt as if a door to a new world had suddenly opened before him.
He abruptly stood up.
The tightly shut curtains opened on their own, and brilliant sunlight like scattered gold poured over him, making his entire body feel warm and light.
Now, there was no longer any need for him to think about whether Number One's actions were right or wrong.
There wasn't even any need for him to get involved.
Since he was only someone devoted to "little love," all he needed to do was protect his own little love.
In other words, Beauxbatons.
With that thought in mind, Norton slowly walked to the window.
The headmaster's office occupied an excellent location.
From here, he could see almost the entire Beauxbatons Castle.
Like a shining pearl, together with the golden crown formed by Beauxbatons Island, it was set upon the blue sea, beautiful and majestic.
But compared to before, there was now a trace of ferocity hidden within that beauty.
That feeling came entirely from the dense rows of gun barrels covering the island reefs and towers.
Not all the reconstruction funds that Number One and Norton had secured for Beauxbatons had been spent rebuilding the school.
Fearing another invasion by villains like Link and Dumbledore, Norton had filled Beauxbatons with large numbers of alchemical rifled cannons.
Inspired by Muggle technology and completely transformed through wizarding alchemy, these cannons possessed terrifying destructive power.
Even legendary wizards like Link and Dumbledore, if they were caught in concentrated fire from so many cannons, they would be injured.
Of course, that overwhelming power came with equally obvious drawbacks.
Their rate of fire was low.
Their range was limited.
The ammunition was expensive.
They consumed enormous amounts of magical power.
And they couldn't be moved.
Honestly, they weren't cost-effective at all. Even if they were given to the Ministry of Magic for free, the Aurors would probably just lock them away in a warehouse.
But in wealthy Beauxbatons, those flaws weren't nearly as noticeable.
Especially since they had bought them for defending the castle.
Besides those alchemical rifled cannons, Norton had also set up countless more traps and alchemical guardians throughout Beauxbatons.
The outer defensive wards had been strengthened several levels as well.
The school had truly entered a state of wartime readiness.
With defenses this excessive, even if Number One personally came to attack, he would still need quite some time.
And during that time, Norton could evacuate all the students through internal Portkeys and special Floo Network routes.
"Haa..."
Thinking of that, Norton let out a long sigh of relief, feeling completely at ease.
But at that very moment, hurried knocking suddenly came from outside the headmaster's office.
Norton frowned and turned toward the door.
Before he could grant permission to enter, the person outside shouted first, "This is bad! Headmaster Norton! L-Link Flamel is here!"
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