Chapter 1476: Borrowing a Knife to Kill
Chapter 1476: Borrowing a Knife to Kill
Lord Voldemort had never been as furious as he was at this moment.
He had just been ambushed.
While he had experienced similar incidents in the past, none had ever incensed him to this degree.
He had come perilously close to having all his schemes undone by an Avada Kedavra curse.
Undoubtedly, it had been a meticulously planned ambush. Voldemort suspected that the Death Eaters had been lured to that location as bait to entice him.
As for the mastermind behind it all?
Voldemort's first thought went to Albert Anderson, the only despicable and treacherous Mudblood cunning enough to orchestrate such a precise strike against him.
However, this notion changed when Voldemort returned to his headquarters.
For his base had been reduced to a raging inferno, engulfed by Fiendfyre that ravaged the land, consuming everything in its path and leaving behind only ashes.
"Albert Anderson!" Voldemort roared through gritted teeth.
Just as he was about to be consumed by his rage, a sudden realization struck him.
Would that Mudblood truly be capable of such a deed?
Based on Voldemort's understanding of Albert Anderson, he didn't think the boy would fear him, nor would he have led the deadly assault himself.
If he truly intended to kill Voldemort, he wouldn't have orchestrated an attack without being present himself.
Moreover, given Albert's modus operandi, setting fire to the headquarters served no purpose other than to infuriate him.
Then why had he done it? What was the purpose of burning down the place? And what was the intent behind the provocation?
To be honest, Voldemort was now wary of giving in to his anger, afraid that he might stumble into another one of the Mudblood's traps in his fury.
He had fallen for similar ploys too many times, and he wasn't about to make the same mistake again.
Staring at the rolling black waves of fire, Voldemort's thoughts churned, pondering the Mudblood's motives.
Just then, a series of popping sounds echoed through the surroundings as people Apparated.
This caused Voldemort, who had just been ambushed, to instinctively raise his wand, ready to strike down the incoming intruders.
The action startled Yaxley, who had just arrived, to the core.
"My Lord, it's me, Yaxley," he stammered.
"What happened here?" Voldemort asked, lowering his wand and struggling to contain his anger. The murderous gleam in his scarlet eyes struck fear into the hearts of the Death Eaters who had gathered.
"I... I'm not sure either," Yaxley replied, unsure himself about what had transpired and even less so about how their headquarters had come to be consumed by Fiendfyre. "Kent, who was in charge of communications, just received word from a Dementor about the ambush on you..."
The surrounding Death Eaters held their breath, afraid to draw Voldemort's attention, and an eerie silence fell over the scene.
This silence was eventually broken by the raging Fiendfyre, and as Voldemort waved his wand, he suppressed the rapidly spreading magical fire before eventually extinguishing it completely.
"Get to the bottom of this," Voldemort said, his voice thick with menace as he gazed at the charred remains of his headquarters. "Someone must pay for this transgression."
However, what they didn't expect was for the situation to take an even more fantastical turn in the following days.
First, news broke that a member of the International Confederation of Wizards had been murdered in their home, with the Dark Mark left at the scene.
With the Dark Mark as evidence, there was no doubt that a Death Eater, perhaps even Voldemort himself, was responsible for the heinous act.
At least, that's what everyone believed.
Upon reading this news in the newspaper, Voldemort fell silent. He hadn't committed the murder, nor had he ordered any Death Eater to kill a member of the International Confederation of Wizards. He trusted that none of his followers would be foolish enough to take such an action on their own.
Yet, Voldemort couldn't deny his involvement, as only Death Eaters knew how to summon the Dark Mark.
He would have to bear this blame.
"My Lord, we have some findings about that matter," Yaxley reported a few days later, finally bringing Voldemort the results of their investigation.
"The group that attacked you was likely comprised of bounty hunters hired by the International Confederation of Wizards. It is said that they were granted permission to use the Unforgivable Curses," Yaxley explained.
"After their assault on you, they fell out with the International Confederation of Wizards over monetary issues. We suspect that it was this dispute that led them to expose the incident, causing most witches and wizards to believe that the murdered official's death was an act of retaliation by you."
"However, we believe that the individual responsible for attacking the International Confederation of Wizards official is one of those bounty hunters, seeking revenge against the Confederation for using them as cannon fodder without providing any compensation."
Yaxley could understand their motive. Bounty hunters were a rebellious bunch, and it was only natural that they would be dissatisfied with the imbalance between the risks they faced and the rewards they received after failing to take you down.
The officials of the International Confederation of Wizards were fools as well. They should have known better than to not offer some monetary appeasement to soothe the bounty hunters' discontent.
"As for the one who burned down our headquarters, we have no leads so far. But based on intelligence from the Ministry, I believe it was likely a retaliatory action by the International Confederation of Wizards," Yaxley added, stealing a glance at Voldemort before continuing. "Since they were able to orchestrate the bounty hunters' accurate strike against you, it stands to reason that they could have hired bounty hunters to destroy the headquarters after you left."
"So, you believe that this incident has nothing to do with that cunning and deceitful Mudblood," Voldemort said, narrowing his eyes, causing the Death Eaters present to lower their heads.
"No, my Lord," Yaxley replied, bowing his head. "We believe it was indeed that Mudblood who provided the information to the International Confederation of Wizards. Only he could have predicted your movements so accurately. His goal was likely to create enmity between us, the Confederation, and the bounty hunters. It's one of his typical tactics."
"In fact, the Mudblood has succeeded," Yaxley added as an afterthought.
Initially, neither side had any connection to them, but now, that meddlesome Mudblood had dragged them all into the fray, fostering intense animosity between the parties.
Borrowing a knife to kill—a tactic the Mudblood was notorious for. It wasn't difficult to guess his hand in this.
Even though Voldemort knew that this was yet another one of the damned Mudblood's schemes, he had no intention of letting it slide this time.
Since those despicable cowards dared to use the Imperius Curse to control a group of worthless individuals to attack him, they would have to pay the price. Whether it was the bounty hunters or the witches and wizards of the International Confederation, someone would have to bear the brunt of his wrath.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
