Shalltear, still perched on Alan's shoulder, immediately twisted her head once she realized she was finally safe. "Haha! You useless piece of trash, weren't you yelling earlier that you wanted us to die horribly? Now you're dumbfounded, aren't you? Look at you now. You look exactly like a plucked rooster—even more like a flubberworm that just crawled out of a ditch!"
This time, Shalltear cursed with total abandon. She was like an overbearing lackey, venting all her bottled-up dissatisfaction and rage.
It wasn't until Alan, who was still panting heavily, raised a hand and tapped her that she finally closed her mouth. Although Alan found her insults toward Thunderbird somewhat cathartic, the creature was simply too noisy, giving him a mounting headache.
While Alan caught his breath, the four wizards beside him slowly spread out and surrounded Thunderbird.
"Blue Fiendfire. It's been a long time since I've seen it; I didn't expect to encounter it again here. Your identity seems quite extraordinary." After helping to suppress the flames, Newt first glanced at Alan's cloak and the bat on his shoulder before looking at Thunderbird with professional interest.
"Remnant of the Silver Spears, surrender. Britain is not a place where you can act recklessly," Amelia said, holding an activated anti-apparition jammer and looking at the opponent with a severe expression.
"That's right, you have nowhere to run. Don't make things difficult for yourself and force us to act," Bianca, the Head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, shouted at the masked man.
Clearly, both Ministry officials wanted to capture this person alive, as he was evidently a high-ranking member of the Silver Spears. Tina, who had also come to help, remained silent, merely pointing her wand at the opponent from a distance.
Watching the scene from the side, Alan shook his head speechlessly. *If you want to capture them alive, why are you talking so much nonsense? Just act! Can't you just Stun them first?* Unfortunately, he was too exhausted to even speak, and facing his rescuers, he felt it would be rude to start bark orders at them.
"Hehe... Hahahaha..." Thunderbird chuckled, then laughed louder and louder until it erupted into a full-blown, head-thrown-back roar.
"Your name is Alan, isn't it? I apologize. I never seriously bothered to remember your name until now. I didn't expect to fall into your hands today, young man." Thunderbird completely ignored the four wizards surrounding him, instead staring intently at Alan in the distance.
"I lost this duel today. Although you used methods I despise, as a duelist, a loss is a loss. I never imagined that in this isolated country, there could be a strong person like you. I naively believed that only Dumbledore in all of Britain was worthy of my respect. It seems my arrogance has led me to suffer the consequences." Thunderbird shook his head self-mockingly, finally able to face his defeat.
"However..." Thunderbird raised his head again. "There won't be a next time, Alan. I have remembered you. When we meet again, I will certainly avenge myself!"
The four wizards surrounding him had initially just wanted to hear what he had to say, hoping he might reveal some intelligence. But upon hearing this, they all sensed something was wrong. Was he really so confident he could escape?
To be safe, all four simultaneously shot spells at Thunderbird, each one fast and fierce.
Thunderbird appeared unhurried. He tapped his wand against his own side, and an ordinary-looking teacup emerged from his spatial storage. He gently touched it with his hand, and immediately, the entire person vanished into thin air.
"What? A Portkey? How could he have something like that?" Amelia was stunned to see the man escape right in front of her.
The methods for creating Portkeys were almost entirely controlled by the Ministry of Magic. In the past, black-market dealers offering them could occasionally be found, but under the global crackdown by the International Confederation of Wizards over the past decade, they had essentially disappeared.
Alan, in the distance, was equally alarmed. He had managed to wear the fellow down to the point where he could barely resist, yet these four, knowing the opponent was about to run, had allowed him to slip away.
*Couldn't they have used a Levitation Charm or Accio to knock away that teacup? Couldn't they have used high-intensity Legilimency to disrupt his focus? These four only knew how to cast a few predictable Stupefy spells?*
The tactical decisions of these wizards were far too rigid. Alan felt incredibly frustrated, almost spitting out a mouthful of blood in his irritation. If he hadn't been so drained, would he have let this man escape right in front of him?
This Thunderbird, both in combat awareness and personal skill, was formidable. It was the first time Alan had encountered a wizard he was almost unable to defeat, and unfortunately, that man was his enemy. Now that the tiger had returned to the mountain, he didn't know if he would ever have another chance to catch him.
"Alan, are you alright?" After Amelia and Bianca investigated the spot where Thunderbird had vanished, they realized that regret was useless and approached the young man. They found it hard to imagine how he had managed to escape that blue Fiendfire.
"Amelia, I'm fine. Thank you all. If it weren't for your timely intervention, I don't think I would have gotten away so easily. This fellow's codename is Thunderbird. Moody and the others are still fighting the smugglers by the sea. There is also another Silver Spear there. I don't know how they're doing. If possible, please hurry over to support them. You should be able to find them by following the trail of fire."
Although Alan was annoyed that they let Thunderbird escape and wished he could complain, they had, after all, saved him. He responded politely.
"Don't worry, the Auror squad led by Scrimgeour has already gone ahead to provide support. We sensed a strong magical reaction here, which is why we specifically rushed over. I just received a message from Moody—they are safe now." Amelia saw that Alan, despite his exhaustion, was still concerned about the others, and her estimation of him grew.
"That's right, you rest here first. Amelia and I will clear away the Fiendfire along the way. These flames will cause massive trouble if they aren't extinguished in time," Bianca added, coming closer to assist.