Moreover, these wizards were not good people to begin with, not to mention that the Death Eaters were the culprits who had harmed the Longbottoms into their current state, so Alan had no psychological burden using them. However, currently, only five experimental subjects had been created, which might still be a bit few for Alan; he could only wait until they were insufficient someday, then go find Karkaroff to convert another batch.
Thinking of this, Alan tilted his head and glanced at Karkaroff next to him, who had finally recovered; he now looked as pale as if he had just run a marathon.
"How about it? Your magic should be mostly recovered now," Alan said, then handed him another bottle of tonic.
"Thank you for your concern, master, I've recovered quite a bit. We're not going to continue, are we?" Karkaroff looked at Alan with a bitter face; continuously casting Crucio was no small burden for him, and he was genuinely afraid Alan would ask to continue.
Alan smiled slightly upon hearing this, not expecting Karkaroff to be so afraid. "That's enough for today. There's no need to continue until the subjects are used up."
*Until they are used up?*
Every time Karkaroff saw Alan indifferently describe those captured wizards like consumables, he would involuntarily feel a chill down his spine; becoming an enemy of this master might result in consequences more tragic than death. However, Alan didn't care what Karkaroff was thinking at this moment, only reminding him, "Next, you will take Anais back to Durmstrang. Don't forget what I told you to do when you get back."
"Yes, I will immediately look for properties in the local wizard gathering area once I return. Thanks to your care, master, Jacobsen now trusts me greatly. Their patriarch even personally met with me the day before yesterday. With me and them as cover, I can guarantee that your business in Norway will not be disturbed in any way!" Without the threat of the Death Eaters, and with the support of the Jacobsen family, Karkaroff's courage had clearly grown, and he seemed to have more confidence.
Alan had originally planned to expand the Silver Lightning Trading Company's business into Northern Europe, but given the atmosphere in Northern Europe, which rejected non-pureblood wizards, it was difficult for him, a Muggle-born, to ensure his business would proceed smoothly. Therefore, he urgently needed to find a sufficiently influential agent locally. Alan had previously targeted Karkaroff, hoping he would use his identity as Durmstrang's deputy headmaster as protection. Now that Karkaroff had a good chance of becoming the principal and had established a connection with the local Jacobsen family, his expansion efforts were even more secure.
In fact, when formulating the Northern European action plan, Alan had already considered this aspect. Therefore, instigating the Pure Land Society and the club to fight, besides intensifying the conflict between the local Northern European forces and the Silver Spears and further weakening the club's strength, also served to clear obstacles and allow the Silver Lightning Trading Company to quickly establish itself. It was truly killing three birds with one stone!
"Excellent!" Hearing Karkaroff's confidence, Alan nodded with satisfaction, while also not forgetting to paint a grand picture for him. "As long as you can successfully bring my business into the Northern European market, you will be the agent for the entire Silver Lightning Trading Company's Northern European branch. At that time, you will also receive a share of the company's profits in Northern Europe, tentatively set at five percent. If you do well, there will be no shortage of benefits for you in the future."
"Yes! Thank you, master, for your trust." Upon hearing Alan's promise, Karkaroff couldn't help but be overjoyed; he knew just how popular the Silver Lightning Trading Company's products were. Previously, Northern Europe could only obtain the Silver Lightning Trading Company's products through some smugglers, so the premium was very severe. If he could control this channel in the future, his position in Durmstrang and the Jacobsen family would undoubtedly become more stable.
"Alright, that's all for today. Let's go back!" Alan said, then led Karkaroff back to the forest outside the briefcase.
At this time, Aseria and Anais had been waiting outside the briefcase for a long time, and when Anais looked at Alan again, her eyes were no longer confused, but filled with much gratitude.
"Mr. Wilson, my sister has told me about her dealings with you. Thank you for your care for us. I will definitely repay you well in the future," Anais said, bowing deeply to Alan.
Alan was unsure how Aseria had explained their relationship to her, but he still smiled faintly. "I am merely fulfilling my promise. You don't need to be so polite. However, there's one thing you must remember: when you go back, do not mention anything about your sister and me to anyone. Can you do that?"
"Regarding that, my sister has already explained it clearly to me. Don't worry, I won't cause you any trouble. I'll just pretend I've never seen you," Anais replied obediently.
"That's good!" Alan turned his head to glance at Karkaroff. "It's getting late. You should quickly take Anais back to the school to avoid arousing suspicion."
"Yes!" Karkaroff respectfully acknowledged, then stepped forward and put his hand on Anais's shoulder, instantly disappearing from the spot.
"Master, I didn't reveal too much information about you to Anais. I just said you saved my life during a difficult time and that I now work for you," Aseria explained softly to Alan after seeing the two leave.
"You don't need to explain so much to me. I trust you know the boundaries," Alan said, smiling at Aseria. "Now that Anais's illness has been cured, I presume your emotional knot should also be untied. Furthermore, I have also instructed Karkaroff to take good care of Anais at school, so you don't need to worry too much about your sister."
"Thank you for your concern, master." Aseria nodded gratefully to Alan. The matter of her sister had always been her greatest distress, and she never expected Alan to be so trustworthy as to directly help Anais remove the curse.
After settling her thoughts, Aseria asked in a low voice, "Now that the matter in Northern Europe is resolved, what should we do next? Are we returning to Germany?"
"Yes," Alan nodded affirmatively. "We will depart immediately. However, although the club should not receive information about the demise of Fwooper and others in the short term, once the news reaches them, your identity will become very sensitive. After all, to Golden Knight and others, you should be considered a missing person. So, you cannot appear in public for the short term; otherwise, it will easily bring trouble to you and your sister. Until the club is completely dealt with, you will live in my briefcase for now and help me take care of the magical creatures."
"Yes!" Aseria knew that what Alan said was true and immediately nodded in agreement. After all, she was originally an employee of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, so taking care of magical creatures was considered her professional duty. This could even connect with the public assignment the Ministry of Magic had given her.
After giving Aseria some more instructions, Alan had her return to the briefcase space, then picked up the briefcase and sped south. This time, he hadn't prepared any extra Portkeys and hadn't reported to the local Ministry of Magic, so he had to fly back directly, a journey that would take at least a day and a night.
However, precisely because of this, the club would absolutely not suspect Thunderbird, because Thunderbird had already used its Portkeys for travel to and from Northern Europe, and had no other means of ultra-long-distance movement. Therefore, Thunderbird, who had already shown up to Ashwinder, would absolutely not be a suspect in the attack on Fwooper and others.
…
Two days later, the German Aurors' safe house.
Alan, who had just returned from Northern Europe, appeared here again, and Andre and Moody had been waiting in the reception room for a long time. After the Concentric Circles operation jointly completed with the Ministries of Magic of both countries, and his private looting operation in Northern Europe, the strategy against the Silver Spears had reached a new stage.
"Alan, have you heard?" As soon as Alan walked into the reception room, Andre eagerly gossiped. "The Pure Land Society in Northern Europe and the Silver Spears had a fierce fight in Norway, and as a result, the Pure Land Society suffered heavy losses. Now, various official agencies in Northern Europe have issued a joint statement, fully sanctioning all activities of the Silver Spear Club, and even issued a bounty against the Silver Spears across all of Europe. Any individual wizard or organization within Europe, as long as they bring the head of a Silver Spears leader, can claim a bounty from Northern Europe. It is said that the total amount is as high as ten thousand Galleons, which is truly a grand gesture."
Andre grumbled mockingly; in his eyes, anything that could bring misfortune to the Silver Spears was good news. Although he didn't know exactly what had happened, the Northern European authorities had, after all, fully boycotted the Silver Spear Club.
"I've heard," Alan nodded impassively. "I also have a little insider news. It's said that those Silver Spears killed the principal of Durmstrang Institute, which is why the Northern European authorities are so furious."
"What?" Andre and Moody looked at each other in surprise upon hearing this, then both showed an expression of wonder.
"I didn't expect the Silver Spears to be so rampant. Their home base was raided, yet they still dare to cause such a big stir outside. Do you think they've gone mad?" Moody didn't understand the intricacies, only feeling that these Silver Spears' recent actions seemed to have become much more frequent. Previously, these people wished they could hide underground, and not a single one could be seen.
Andre also nodded, saying, "I think this might be a chain reaction after our raid on the breeding park. The Silver Spears openly operating in Northern Europe must be doing their old business. In this season, in such a cold place as Northern Europe, they still have to take risks, which precisely proves their weakness. Perhaps the Silver Spears' capital chain has already begun to dry up!"
Although Andre did not have information about the Elixir of Life, he still guessed a lot of information from the relevant details.