When Jobberknoll directed his American collaborators to transfer all the magical creatures ashore, the Death Eaters and werewolves, who had never seen such a spectacle, widened their eyes. The mountain-like iron cages were divided into three stacks, each transported by a large flying carpet.
"My heavens, the quantity of goods you're smuggling this time is simply too exaggerated. Won't transporting so many magical creatures be too conspicuous?" Otis looked at the magnificent scene before him, his mouth involuntarily agape.
"Otherwise, why do you think we would spend a fortune hiring you?" Fwooper rolled her eyes at him speechlessly, but quickly looked at the three piles of small mountains before her with a troubled expression.
Actually, Otis was right. Transferring so much cargo at once was indeed a huge target. Under normal circumstances, these magical creatures would have to be transported in at least a dozen separate trips. If it weren't for the club facing difficulties now, why would they choose such a risky approach? Fortunately, in addition to this large batch of magical creatures, Black Dragon also dispatched thirty-seven collaborating wizards from America to assist, plus the sixteen mercenaries gathered by Fwooper, totaling fifty-three people to escort this transport. Adding in Fwooper, Jobberknoll, and Thunderbird, three Silver Spears leaders, this smuggling trip should be completed without any mishaps.
It should be. Although Fwooper was full of worries, she still comforted herself.
At this moment, Thunderbird was standing beside Jobberknoll, looking curiously at a delicate birdcage he was holding. Standing on the iron frame of the birdcage was a magnificent, bright red bird, similar in size to a swan, with a dazzling golden long tail and very long claws, looking golden all over. This was precisely the phoenix that Alan had seen once in Dumbledore's office! However, this phoenix was a size smaller than Dumbledore's Fawkes, and its condition was not as good as Fawkes'. From its dispirited expression, Alan could clearly sense a hint of unease and irritability. At the same time, the phoenix's two claws were tightly bound by dark golden iron chains, and the birdcage had no door or opening, almost forged as one piece.
"How about it, haven't seen one before, have you? The first time I saw her, I was also deeply captivated. It's not easy to trap it. We specially commissioned an alchemy master from America to customize a magic shackle that can continuously block the flow of magic, plus this cage that can almost isolate space. Only then could it not escape. You wouldn't believe how much money this birdcage alone cost us." Jobberknoll excitedly boasted to Thunderbird, "To be safe, I will personally take care of this phoenix during the transfer to prevent it from escaping. The value of this phoenix alone can at least account for one-third of all the cargo."
"It is indeed very rare. I heard that phoenix tears have extremely strong healing effects. Have you tried it?" Thunderbird circled the birdcage, admiring it for a while, then asked casually.
"I've also heard that rumor, but this phoenix's temperament isn't very good. Let alone shedding tears, I haven't even heard it call many times." Jobberknoll pouted regretfully, "I still want to witness a phoenix's rebirth."
"Then how do you usually feed it? I see this cage doesn't even have a feeding opening. Do you have to completely open the birdcage every time you feed it?" Besides the phoenix, Thunderbird seemed very interested in the birdcage as well, staring at it and asking a few questions.
"Opening the birdcage won't do. This birdcage is equivalent to a small barrier. Once it's released, it will be troublesome. As for feeding, our method is not to directly feed it food, but to feed it fire." With that, Jobberknoll personally demonstrated it to Thunderbird. He drew his wand and pointed it at the birdcage, then a tiny flame spurted from the tip of the wand and directly drilled into the birdcage. And the phoenix, which had been motionless before, immediately opened its mouth and inhaled when it saw the flame, then completely absorbed the wisp of flame into its belly.
"Hehe, see? As long as you regularly feed it some flames, it can barely maintain its state. It actually eats other food too, but for safety's sake right now, we can only make it suffer a bit for now." Jobberknoll was not like his name at all; he was quite talkative.
"That's very convenient." After witnessing the phoenix, Thunderbird turned his head and scanned around, noticing that the collaborators had almost finished transferring the magical creatures. "The cargo is already assembled. You should set off quickly. I'll take care of this phoenix for you, to avoid any mishaps along the way." With that, regardless of whether the other party agreed or not, Thunderbird snatched the birdcage from Jobberknoll's hand.
"Hey, no, why are you snatching it?" Jobberknoll saw this and became anxious, "This was entrusted to me by Lord Black Dragon to take care of throughout the journey. What if something happens to this phoenix...?"
"Then just have Black Dragon come find me." After snatching the birdcage, Thunderbird held it firmly in his hand, giving Jobberknoll no chance to snatch it back.
"Thunderbird, how can you be like this? It's one thing for you to be overbearing normally, but now you're even snatching a bird?" After realizing that he couldn't get the phoenix back, Jobberknoll couldn't help but complain, as if a young child whose beloved toy had been taken away.
"Less nonsense. Such valuable cargo should naturally be entrusted to the strongest person to guard, so that no losses will be incurred." Thunderbird sneered and cursed, then took out a flying broom and mounted it, "The subsequent transport will be handed over to you and Fwooper. I won't follow you all the way. If you encounter trouble, remember to have Fwooper warn me." With that, Thunderbird flew into the sky without looking back, and soon disappeared into the night.
"You scoundrel!" Jobberknoll stomped his foot in anger, "These leaders are all useless. Every time there's an operation, they just know to make us go first, and they secretly hide and enjoy themselves."
"Hey, I'm still here. Watch your words, or I'll tell Black Dragon what you said." Fwooper approached Jobberknoll at some point, then glared at him with cold eyes.
"Hmph, I'm talking about you guys, appearing and disappearing like dragons, including Thunderbird and Black Dragon. When something happens, we're the ones who have to take responsibility." Jobberknoll had no respect for the other members of the club, even cursing his direct superior without hesitation.
*Heh, when you also become a leader someday, you'll know why they hide,* Fwooper sneered inwardly. Then she signaled Jobberknoll to set off. They couldn't be careless on this journey. Not only did they have to take care of these magical creatures along the way, ensuring no losses, but they also had to remain vigilant at all times.
Meanwhile, Alan, after leaving the coast, immediately changed out of his attire and headed straight for a dense forest to the south. At this moment, Shalltear was waiting there bored, holding a suitcase. Upon seeing her, Alan immediately pressed down on his flying broom and landed beside her.
"Master, you're finally back. I'm almost bored to death here, and it's terribly cold." Shalltear saw Alan return and greeted him loudly, then she noticed that Alan was actually carrying a birdcage. "This... Is this a phoenix? Why did you bring a magical creature back this time?" Shalltear immediately went up to Alan after he landed, then curiously stared at the birdcage in his hand.
"This can be considered an unexpected gain." Alan lifted the birdcage, chuckling softly at the phoenix inside, "I didn't expect these Silver Spears to actually bring a phoenix this time. I just found an excuse and took it. Such a vibrant creature must never fall into the club's hands."
In the International Confederation of Wizards' classification of magical creatures, although the phoenix's danger rating is only four Xs, the life energy they contain is stronger than most five-X-rated creatures, and the refining of the Elixir of Life, to put it simply, is the transfer of life force. Therefore, it would not be wise to let this phoenix remain with the Silver Spears. Although he planned to disrupt this smuggling operation, if something unexpected happened during the operation and they managed to escape with this phoenix, it would be troublesome.
"I see." Shalltear nodded at his words. She also knew something about phoenixes. "Then what do you plan to do with this phoenix? Send it back to Britain for Mr. Scamander to care for, or release it directly?"
"That depends on what it wants. Let's go into the suitcase first." Alan tilted his head to look at the splendid creature in the cage, then signaled Shalltear to open the suitcase.
Upon returning to the internal space of the suitcase, Alan immediately went to the huge park specially created for raising magical creatures. As soon as he entered, Alan felt a gust of wind howl, followed by a huge shadow descending straight down. It was the young Thunderbird, Thor.
Upon landing, Thor excitedly chirped a few times at Alan, then stretched his head and constantly rubbed his big beak against the younger man's cheek. In Alan's suitcase space, Thor no longer had to feel as confined as he did in the shed in No. 1 Park; he could move freely throughout the entire internal space. When they reached a deserted place, they could even go outside the suitcase to roam. Moreover, during this time, he not only ate and slept well but also gained many young companions to play with.
That's right, he was referring to the hundred or so Tebo Warthogs and Re'em that Alan raised. Although Thor was not as proficient in various animal languages as Hog, he could barely communicate. For this, Alan even gave him the job of overseeing the animals in the park. During this time, Thor's size had noticeably become much stronger than before, which could be considered a chain reaction brought about by his good mood.
"Alright, Thor, stop messing around." After interacting with Thor for a while, Alan gently patted the other's head, slowly pushing him away, "I'll play with you later. Right now, I need your help with something."