Chapter 321: The Plan
Chapter 321: The Plan
"Now, all Vampires in Europe have ceased their Hunt of humans and have pledged to feed on other animals instead. This is a gift from Minister Barnard to all Wizards in Europe and to humanity as a whole. From now on, we no longer have to fear Vampire attacks, so let us all celebrate." — Daily Prophet, December 21, 1980, Front Page
Liam had seen this content in an old newspaper stored at Hogwarts. After defeating Voldemort, the British Ministry of Magic, along with Wizards from various countries, forced the Vampires who had sided with Voldemort to abandon their practice of feeding on human blood. However, it now seems that the Wizards' celebration was premature.
From the analysis of this prison and the confessions of the captured Vampires, Liam knew that a powerful Vampire family continued their large-scale Hunt of humans even after the agreement was signed. They also used their accumulated wealth of a thousand years to bribe certain Wizards to turn a blind eye to their activities, and even used precious treasures to entice some Dark Wizards to kidnap Wizards as their food.
These activities were hidden perfectly. Wizards in the magical world might accept some Vampires losing control and attacking Muggles, but they would never allow Vampires to target Wizards themselves. If this were to be exposed, the number of people implicated would be far more than just a few.
Liam recalled the American billionaire who had died mysteriously in detention, as reported recently. Even though the American investigation concluded it was suicide, anyone with a functioning brain knew the truth. Liam now realized that if he didn't resolve this matter thoroughly, he might soon be the next to "commit suicide."
"It seems the only way to solve this is to use some extreme measures. However, since the opposing Vampire family is numerous, we will need some help." With this thought, Liam asked Rose Crystal to go to Rogen and bring the teacher's daughters, while he himself took out a pair of Enchanted Shackles to thoroughly bind the Vampire on the ground.
Liam was concerned that the Vampire might have Life-Tracking Magic, so to avoid arousing suspicion among the Vampires in their lair, he decided to spare the Vampire's life for now and bind him. Hermione took on the task of watching over the captive while Liam went to fight.
"Leave this to me. If he tries to escape, I'll kill him." Hermione had just closed the eyes of the dead Muggle and offered a final prayer. Seeing the family photo on the deceased, her eyes were filled with rage.
Liam was worried about Hermione's safety if she were to watch the Vampire alone. To ensure her safety, he called out Little Qing, his pet disguised as a carpet from the Multiverse General Store, to help watch over the captive.
"Big Brother, we're back." A dimensional gate opened suddenly, and Rose Crystal was the first to jump out, followed by Teacher Luo Zhen's Puppet Daughters. Last to emerge was a Puppet Liam had never seen before. She wore a white dress with a floral bud design, white long boots with laces, and had long, pale pink-orange curly hair.
This small Puppet took a small breath after looking around, then replaced her right eye with a white rose. Finally, she took out a small mirror, looked at herself, and nodded in satisfaction.
"Snowflower, the youngest daughter Teacher Luo Zhen just created. I'm not sure why she likes to put a flower in her right eye. Since the teacher doesn't like unconventional appearances, she looks normal in front of him, but as soon as he's gone, she replaces her eye with a flower", Rose Crystal whispered in introduction.
"Alright, do you know what you’re here to do?" Liam asked the little puppets.
"We know", Mercury Lamp, the eldest, replied. "Father has ordered us to follow your commands and eliminate the targets you indicate. All you need to do is point them out. This is not a difficult task for us."
Hearing Mercury Lamp speak about such violent matters with such a casual tone, Liam realized that these Rosary Maidens were different from humans. To them, anyone they didn’t know was just another living being, and killing them was as routine as slaughtering a chicken.
"Alright, let’s get going then." Seeing that no pre-battle pep talk was necessary, Liam gave the order to depart. However, to conceal his identity, he decided to use the Faceless Men’s ability to alter his appearance. To avoid being recognized, he chose a template from someone who didn’t exist in this world for his Transfiguration.
After donning the Valyrian Steel Armor and the Meteorite Talisman that could save his life once, everyone made their way to the hall where the captive had confessed. At one end of the hall was a fireplace that could only transport to a specific location. The captive had used this fireplace to travel from his family’s castle to this place.
"Hold on, let me change my appearance first." Liam realized a critical issue: he had forgotten to collect someone else’s hair. Finding hair in another world at this crucial moment seemed impractical.
"Big Brother, I have a solution." Rose Crystal pulled a long black hair from her small bag. "This is from the nobility you ennobled during your visit to the world of A Song of Ice and Fire."
"Ennobled? I only ennobled the young daughter of House Mormont, didn’t I?" Liam broke out in a cold sweat, but seeing the expectant looks on his little puppets, his experience in leading troops told him he had to push through.
With Hermione’s astonished gaze, Liam placed the hair in his mouth and transformed into a seven- or eight-year-old girl. The armor on his body also shrank under the influence of Magic.
"Alright, let’s go. Jade Heart, as soon as we arrive, take control of every living thing you see", Liam instructed, his voice now that of a young girl, suppressing his discomfort.
"Castle Cepesh." After finalizing the plan, Liam had the little puppets cling to him and recited the location the captive had provided. As he left, he heard Hermione shouting, "Good luck."
"Abram, you’re being so slow—" In the underground kitchen of Castle Cepesh, a burly man who looked nothing like a vampire began to complain as the fireplace crackled. However, before he could finish, he was tightly bound by the massive vines summoned by Jade Heart.
The same fate befell the dozen or so others in the kitchen. The kitchen now resembled a forest, with a giant vine standing in the center and a dozen green cocoons hanging from it like fish on a line.
"Mission accomplished. We can confirm that no one has discovered us. However, the Magic detection system in the castle performs a full scan every hour. The next scan is in 47 minutes", Snowflower’s cold voice reported.
She was different from the other puppets, capable of detaching her spirit from her body to move freely. She had used this ability to scout the area. The vampires’ overall Magic Array construction skills were far inferior to those of wizards, making their warning ritual arrays almost transparent to the puppets who possessed partial knowledge of Rogen.
"Now, gather intelligence. Once we have all the information, we will strike", Liam commanded, and the little puppets immediately set to work.
(End of Chapter)
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