Chapter 1474: That's Right, It's a Trap
Chapter 1474: That's Right, It's a Trap
"I can't shake the feeling that we're being set up as cannon fodder."
"You don't need to feel that way."
"I suspect that after their Auror squad suffered heavy losses in Britain last time, they're reluctant to risk another expedition. That's why they're offering such a hefty bounty for us to take care of this."
"Even if we're all unlucky enough to perish in Britain, they can just take their time to assemble another group, without spending an extra knut."
"If you think about it, it makes sense. By allowing us to use the Unforgivable Curses, especially the Killing Curse, they're hoping we'll take out the mysterious wizard. Otherwise, why would the International Confederation of Wizards offer such a huge sum to lure us in?"
"If the plan fails, we'll probably end up like the corpses on the front page of the newspaper."
After Konrad left the conference room, the group of bounty hunters whispered among themselves, discussing ways to kill Voldemort.
The International Confederation of Wizards had not withheld any information about Voldemort, but the more they learned about him, the more formidable he seemed.
This job was indeed not as easy as they had thought.
"Forget it, I'm out." An elderly bounty hunter, after much hesitation, stood up and started to walk out of the room. Before leaving, he turned back and said to the others, "This job isn't worth our lives."
Even though some hunters were intimidated by Voldemort's power and chose to back out, most of them were still lured by the high bounty. With so many renowned bounty hunters gathered here and accurate intelligence support, they had no reason to give up.
After all, they were professional bounty hunters who often hunted down enemies stronger than themselves, provided they had sufficient intelligence.
As long as the target was human, there would be weaknesses to exploit. Dumbledore was a prime example.
Most importantly, the bounty hunters in this room were exceptionally skilled and confident in their abilities. They believed that even if the ambush failed, they could still escape unscathed.
After all, no matter how powerful Voldemort was, it was impossible for him to eliminate all the bounty hunters in a short time.
With their lives assured, they had nothing to fear.
They chose to infiltrate Britain separately and gather at a pre-arranged safe house.
Kingsley had also prepared a safe house protected by the Fidelius Charm for them, but these bounty hunters didn't seem to trust the British wizards much, as there was always a possibility of a traitor among them.
The fact that Voldemort and his Death Eaters had managed to sneak up on the camp of the International Confederation of Wizards' Aurors in the middle of the night was highly suspicious.
Having learned from this incident, the bounty hunters were extremely cautious when entering Britain, to the extent that their infiltration went unnoticed, and Voldemort had no idea that another group was after his head for the bounty.
At that moment, he was listening to the reports of his Death Eaters.
"Do you think Harry Potter is practicing some kind of powerful Dark magic?"
Voldemort was perplexed upon receiving this news. Being one of the few people who understood Harry Potter, he didn't believe for a second that Harry would be naive enough to try and kill him with some fancy Dark magic.
This whole situation reeked of a trap.
It reminded him of the previous incident where he was attacked by bounty hunters, and a surge of nameless anger rose within him.
"Yes, from the traces of Dark magic left behind, we suspect that Harry Potter has been practicing the Blazing Spell." Yaxley replied respectfully, "This is unusual, and I believe it warrants informing the Dark Lord."
"The Blazing Spell?"
Voldemort frowned slightly, unable to comprehend why Harry Potter would bother learning the Blazing Spell. Did he truly believe that he could kill Voldemort with such a spell?
No, even the Killing Curse would be more reliable than that.
It had to be a trap.
For some reason, Voldemort felt a nagging sense of restlessness. He vaguely sensed that this wasn't merely a trap to lure him in, but that Harry Potter intended to use the Blazing Spell for something. Otherwise, he wouldn't have spent so much time trying to master this challenging spell for ordinary wizards.
"Let's go and take a look."
Voldemort ultimately decided to investigate personally. Even if it meant stepping into an enemy trap, he was unafraid, and perhaps this would present an opportunity to draw out and annihilate those plotting against him.
However, to prevent being fooled again by that pesky Mudblood, Voldemort chose to bring along newly recruited Death Eaters this time instead of his old subordinates. These new recruits were reasonably competent.
Moreover, this time, he was going hunting.
"I'd like to see just how many fools will come knocking on death's door."
The Dementors took the lead, their presence capable of exposing any treacherous individuals hiding in the area.
After numerous encounters with Albert, Voldemort had changed significantly, and even his intellect had improved.
In the past, he might not have thought to use Dementors to scout ahead and prevent an ambush.
But to his surprise, the Dementors didn't detect any signs of life in the vicinity.
No ambush?
"Have I guessed wrong?" Voldemort murmured.
It was worth noting that most invisibility methods were ineffective against Dementors.
Nevertheless, Voldemort trusted his instincts.
Thus, he didn't abandon the idea of investigating further and proceeded toward the area where Harry had been practicing the Blazing Spell, accompanied by several Death Eaters.
Just as the information he received indicated, someone had indeed been practicing the Blazing Spell there, and not just once, as the traces of Dark magic in the surroundings were too prominent to ignore.
However, aside from that, Voldemort couldn't find any other clues.
The whole situation was peculiar, and his instincts told him that it was indeed a trap. But why hadn't the trapper shown themselves after he had stepped into it? What was the meaning of the feeling of being watched?
There didn't seem to be anyone around, and the Dementors shouldn't be deceiving him.
When Voldemort was certain that no one was going to jump out and surprise him, he waved his wand, igniting the surroundings with a burst of fiendfyre, startling the Death Eaters trailing behind him.
As the demonic flames swept across the area, he remained at the center, untouched and unharmed. Yet, despite his provocation, nothing happened.
After a brief silence, just as Voldemort was about to turn and leave, there was sudden movement in the surroundings.
The next second, red sparks exploded in the sky, as if signaling something, and numerous Patronuses appeared out of thin air, driving away the lingering Dementors.
Countless wizards materialized through Disillusionment Charms, surrounding Voldemort from all sides. They raised their wands and shouted a curse that struck fear into the hearts of the Death Eaters.
"Avada Kedavra!"
Countless green lights engulfed the area where Voldemort stood.
(End of Chapter)
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