"Tina…" Newt looked at his wife beside him, feeling quite helpless. He had spoken so loudly earlier, hoping to remind her to find a way to call for support, but who knew Tina would just charge out so directly?
"Hello, Mrs. Scamander. Since both of you are here, let's quickly put this unpleasant matter behind us. Mr. Scamander, it's best if you make a decision soon. I cannot guarantee that I can control the wand in my hand." As Thestral spoke, he gestured to his accomplices.
The other three masked figures quickly spread out, slowly expanding their encirclement by increasing the distance. They were already prepared to use violence. When Tina saw their posture, she immediately realized they meant no good. She looked at Newt somewhat angrily. "How many times have I told you to keep an eye on Rolf and not let him run around? Look what happened now."
Seeing that Tina still had the mind to nag him, Newt couldn't help but roll his eyes. However, with his wife's company, he actually relaxed a little, though he remained wary.
"Their target is the case," Newt whispered, conveying the information concisely.
"Hmph, these smugglers are still so useless. I just didn't expect them to resurface after so many years." Tina glared furiously at the people in front of her. Her lips moved slightly, muttering a spell, but she quickly frowned—her attempt had failed.
"Don't waste your efforts, both of you. Calling for help won't work. Recently, we've acquired some magical little things that can prevent outsiders from interfering with us, and even more importantly, prevent you from disturbing others." When Thestral saw Tina's attempt fail, he couldn't help but boast.
Tina looked at Newt anxiously, shaking her head slightly. Newt felt a headache coming on. Rolf was in their hands, which made them hesitant to act, and their external communication was cut off. Did they really have to hand over the briefcase? Newt knew its importance better than anyone. In his hands, it was a sanctuary and a study; in the hands of smugglers, the consequences for the creatures within would be unimaginable.
But just as he was thinking of countermeasures, he noticed something strange. Behind Thestral, there seemed to be a shadow.
"Mr. Scamander, I think I've given you enough time to consider." Thestral held Rolf in front of him, pressing his wand into the boy's neck with increasing force. Rolf whimpered in pain and fear. "I'll count down from ten. Unless you prefer to heartlessly watch your grandson die."
"You despicable fellow! If you have the guts, let him go and we'll fight one-on-one. Aren't you always advocating solving problems through duels?" Tina shouted.
"Ten!" Thestral ignored her, beginning the countdown in a cold tone. Tina saw how resolute he was, and panic rose in her heart. She looked at her husband. After so many years, he had always been the best at handling emergencies.
At this moment, Newt was staring in Thestral's direction with an unreadable expression. He seemed to be contemplating something rather than listening to the countdown. Seeing her husband's abnormal state, Tina followed his gaze, and her eyes widened slightly. She seemed to have discovered something too.
"Three!" Thestral saw the two old wizards staring at him so indifferently and felt a flicker of annoyance. He shouted louder. If they remained unyielding, he wouldn't mind dealing with the hostage first and then eliminating the two of them. With the jammers set up, they wouldn't be able to escape anyway.
"Two!"
"Wait!" Just as Thestral shouted "two," Newt yelled, stopping him.
"Heh, Mr. Scamander, I thought you were really going to watch your grandson go to heaven. If you had cooperated earlier, nothing would have happened, right?" Thestral was overjoyed. If possible, he didn't want to engage in a life-or-death struggle with these two; they were world-renowned figures, and the outcome of a real fight was never certain.
"Put Rolf down first, and I'll go get the case for you," Newt shouted, staring intently.
Thestral immediately relaxed, believing the old man had finally broken. He lowered Rolf, clamping him under his arm again, and moved the wand away from the boy's neck. "Heh heh, as long as you're willing to cooperate, everything will be fine… Ugh!"
Thestral was about to properly appease the two, but mid-sentence, he felt a sudden, needle-like sharp pain in the back of his neck. Immediately after, he felt his whole body lighten and his vision slowly rose. After a moment of daze, seeing his own headless body below him, his last conscious thought realized he had been beheaded on the spot.
Behind the spot where Thestral had stood, a middle-aged man in a dark cloak was floating in mid-air. He was lifting Rolf from Thestral's collapsing arms and kicked the lifeless body away.
The sudden change left the other three masked men stunned. For a moment, they couldn't react. How had their captain suddenly been killed in such an advantageous situation?
But Newt and Tina, seeing Rolf escape, weren't about to be polite. Newt swung his left hand down, and a small, emerald-green fleshy ball shot from his palm, hooked to his finger like a yo-yo. He flicked it forward, and the ball transformed into a giant, butterfly-like creature with terrifying fangs—a Swooping Evil—which pounced toward one of the masked men. Newt himself blasted a dark spell toward another.
At the same time, Tina, showing the decisiveness of a veteran Auror, flicked her wand and sent several ruthless spells toward the third enemy.
Facing the incoming attacks, the remaining Silver Spear wizards finally snapped out of their shock. As members of an elite tactical unit, they reacted quickly. A few nimble wand swings dissolved the initial spells. Then, they all looked toward the man in the center of the battlefield. To turn the tide, they had to snatch Rolf back!