https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-1666-A-War-with-No-Victors-One-Hundred-and-Sixteen-/12529445/
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Chapter 1667: A War Without Victors (One Hundred and Seventeen)
Chapter 1667: A War Without Victors (One Hundred and Seventeen)
A mournful howl echoed through the night sky above a small town in Britain, signaling the unleashing of a werewolf catastrophe on the full moon of September, just as Albert had anticipated.
Without any warning, hordes of werewolves appeared across Britain and went on a rampage, attacking the unsuspecting Muggle populace like mad dogs. This not only sparked widespread panic in the Muggle world but also shocked wizards who had intended to spectate the chaos from a safe distance.
Even the employees of the Ministry of Magic, who were prepared in advance, were taken aback when they received reports of the werewolf outbreak in Muggle towns.
They had never imagined that Voldemort's remnants would be so ruthless as to release hundreds of werewolves across Britain.
No one could fathom the extent of the devastation these uncontrollable monsters would wreak on the night of the full moon. Not only would it plunge the Muggle world into chaos and fear, but it would also terrify wizards who had not taken the threat seriously. Worse still, the secrets of the wizarding world that had been carefully guarded were now exposed to Muggle eyes. One could only wonder how this mess would be cleaned up.
Fortunately, the British Ministry of Magic and the Wizarding Lookout had been educating the public on how to respond to werewolf attacks, preventing even greater casualties. However, the Ministry was still inundated with owls carrying messages from all over Britain, and the wizard in charge of managing the correspondence eventually had to resort to using the Expelliarmus spell to free himself from the pile of owls, his clothes now smelling foul.
As for the pile of letters, it hardly mattered now whether they were read or not.
Ever since the werewolves emerged in large numbers, the Ministry had been overwhelmed. Those who had written to the Ministry for help could only rely on themselves for the time being.
"I've been in touch with Cedric," Percy said as he quickly entered the Minister's office after a light knock on the door. He reported to the gloomy Kingsley, "According to Cedric, Voldemort's remnants have released a large number of werewolves in the Forbidden Forest near Hogwarts."
"So..."
"I'm afraid they won't be able to spare any manpower to help us for the time being," Percy said with a bitter smile. "Several werewolves have already breached Hogwarts from the direction of the forest. Professor McGonagall is currently leading the school's professors in a search-and-capture operation, trying to clear out any werewolves lurking near the school to ensure the safety of the students."
"Capture?" Kingsley's expression remained unchanged, as if he had anticipated the dire situation. "We don't need too many captives. The best course of action is to eliminate them."
"I've already conveyed that message to them," Percy nodded.
Capturing werewolves was an extremely dangerous task, and Kingsley would not risk the Aurors who had been working tirelessly. Thus, he had given the order to kill from the outset. As for taking captives, there would be specialized personnel for that, while the top priority for everyone else was to minimize the damage caused by this sudden werewolf outbreak.
However, the number of werewolves that had appeared far exceeded Kingsley's expectations. Fortunately, he had prepared in advance and did not lose his composure.
"What about Albert?" he asked.
"He's currently at Avalon," Percy said with a helpless smile. "Avalon is also under attack by werewolves, but they were prepared and have already captured several werewolves. They even asked me to send someone to pick them up tomorrow."
"Avalon is under attack too?"
Kingsley had a bad feeling about this. The number of Aurors in the Ministry was limited, and many had perished during the Battle of Hogwarts. Although they had recently recruited a batch of experienced young blood, their numbers were still scarce. Without the assistance of the Defense Association, it would be challenging to bring the situation under control swiftly.
Quickly containing the situation and waiting until dawn to resolve the werewolf-induced disaster were two very different matters.
"It seems Voldemort's remnants anticipated our moves," Percy said with a bitter smile. "To prevent the Defense Association from providing support, they released a large number of werewolves around Avalon to try and hold them back."
"Fred and George are currently leading a team to capture the werewolves in the area, so the Defense Association won't be able to lend a hand for the time being," Percy continued.
Kingsley fell silent.
Was it truly because they couldn't make it in time, or did they simply not want to help?
He knew that with Albert's caution, it was unlikely that the werewolves would breach Avalon's protective magic anytime soon. So, even if there were a large number of werewolves nearby, they wouldn't pose a significant threat. Yet, they chose to stay and capture the werewolves around the village instead of rushing to help Kingsley deal with the nationwide werewolf problem.
In this situation, Kingsley couldn't fault them.
From the perspective of the Defense Association members, they were already busy capturing werewolves, so naturally, their own vicinity took priority. They couldn't just let those beasts roam free and endanger their companions. Moreover, they weren't employees of the Ministry, and by helping to capture the werewolves, they were, in a way, assisting the Ministry in resolving the issue, as Percy had pointed out.
The root of this problem likely lay in the Umbridge incident, which had soured the Defense Association's previous supportive stance toward Kingsley. It wasn't surprising that they were reluctant to offer help now. In George's own words, "Avalon has its fair share of troubles. They'll have to wait until they've dealt with their own problems before they can spare time to help the Ministry."
"Based on these numbers, there must be at least a hundred werewolves," Kingsley said, tapping his fingers lightly on the desk. He pushed aside his unrealistic worries and chose to trust the Aurors and the crisis plan he had prepared beforehand. He had more important matters to attend to.
"Have they arrived?" Kingsley asked, suddenly looking up.
"Less than half of them," Percy replied. "I suspect they might have been scared off or waylaid by the werewolves. I just received news that the village of St. Kachibor has also been afflicted by werewolves. They were probably headed for the Weasley home, but fortunately, Mrs. Weasley had already left to join Sirius."
"Proceed with the emergency meeting as planned," Kingsley said, his demeanor calm despite the urgency of the situation. "We must decide tonight how to deal with this werewolf catastrophe."
The effect of his calmness was evident, as it seemed to rub off on the rest of the Ministry.
Although the Ministry was in a state of chaos, seeing Kingsley's composure eased the tension, and everyone continued to work tirelessly to address the aftermath of the werewolf outbreak.
(End of Chapter)
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