Chapter 677: Reconnaissance
Chapter 677: Reconnaissance (Request for Subscriptions, Favorites, and Votes)
It is a well-known fact that destruction is always easier than construction, especially when it comes to intricate and complex systems. For instance, after thoroughly investigating the various Magic Arrays used to maintain the growth of the Plants throughout the plantation, Liam discovered that by making minor adjustments to a few key Magic Circuits, he could easily destroy the entire Magic Array system, which might have taken months or even years to establish.
"Most of the enemies are concentrated in these two places. Additionally, we need to secure this area", Liam said, using his wand to point at three locations: the Guard Room, the Secret Underground Chamber, and the House-Elf Quarters.
"We will first launch a surprise attack to eliminate the two to three Guards in the Guard Room to prevent them from raising the alarm, giving us time to proceed with the next step", Liam explained. "Then, we will secure the House-Elf Quarters and install explosive Magic devices at several key Magic nodes. Finally, we will all attack this small room, where we are not sure what is currently happening."
"Have you confirmed the number of people?" Gill suddenly appeared and asked. "Especially at the beginning, we need to ensure that we can take the Guard Room without raising any alarm. If there are too many people inside, it will be difficult to control the situation immediately."
"Don't worry about that", Hermione said, tapping her wand on the map. Soon, a series of small red dots representing people appeared on the map. "The Scouting Orbs I used earlier have my Magic. By detecting soul signatures, I can confirm that there are only three people in the Guard Room. There are eleven House-Elves in the other room."
Hermione paused for a moment. "However, it's strange that in the smallest room, I can't detect any human soul signatures at all. Look here."
Hermione used her wand to point at the entrance of the small room on the map, which quickly zoomed in. "Look at the entrance to this room. The grass has been trampled, forming a path, and the footprints are very recent. From the shoe prints, at least ten people have been there, but according to my soul Magic surveillance, there is no one inside the room."
"That must be where an Anti-Scouting Array is set up", Liam concluded easily. "It seems that something important is happening in this room, so we will focus our efforts on it. Alright, let's go have dinner first, and then rest in bed for a while. We will start the operation at three in the morning."
At three in the morning, everything was quiet. After making all the necessary preparations, Liam summoned his wings and pulled Hermione down from the spaceship, with the Rose Crystal flying around them for protection.
The Wizards below clearly neglected air defense, or they assumed that the Aerial Alert Array could handle any situation. However, the seemingly intricate reconnaissance ritual array was not as effective as they thought. As Liam's flying height decreased, he soon came into contact with a thin Magic Shield.
At the moment of contact, a pendant around Liam and Hermione's necks glowed briefly. Then, the two of them slipped through the defense like two drops of water merging into the sea, landing behind a small hill about 20 meters away from the Guard Room after a short glide.
"It seems the people inside haven't noticed us", Hermione said, feeling the magic power around her flowing as usual. She stretched her arms, which had become stiff from the flight, and drew out her wand and a Mithril short dagger. "Are you ready?"
"Ready", Liam said, putting away the Pink Glow from his hand. "The six surrounding Magic defenses have been neutralized. Now, we just need to take out the three guys in the Guard Room."
The following battle was rather uneventful. After Liam used his Magic to unlock the door, Hermione, Rose Crystal, and Gill launched simultaneous Magic attacks, instantly eliminating the three guards.
"Turns out they're all Death Eaters, just as Malfoy said. The Dark Lord took over this place as soon as he took control of their family, and he sent a group of elite forces here", Hermione said after carefully examining the arms of the three bodies on the ground. "This means there must be something very important to the Dark Lord here."
"Something very important, if it exists, should be in the underground dimension beneath that small house", Rose Crystal said, then turned and flew out to start keeping watch.
Liam walked over to a table in the room, where some peculiar Silver Vessels were placed. His first reaction was that they looked familiar. He then realized these vessels were similar to those in the Headmaster's Office, though there were fewer types and the designs were simpler.
"Hmm, let me see. This is a complete set of magical items used for surveillance. Additionally, someone must manually respond every ten minutes, or it will trigger an automatic alarm", Liam said after inspecting the devices with his wand. "I need to make some adjustments here to buy us at least half an hour of time."
With that, he pulled out a dozen thumb-sized silver plates embedded with runes made of gold thread and placed them next to the instruments. After setting the silver plates in position, Liam used his wand to etch grooves between them. He then took out a small piece of pure silver, which Rose Madonna transformed into a liquid at room temperature, and poured it into the grooves.
As the liquid silver flowed along the grooves and connected all the silver plates, they began to vibrate rapidly, producing a pleasant sound. A few seconds later, the sound stopped, and the instruments were enveloped in a silver hemispherical shield shaped like half an egg.
"I’ve bought us about half an hour", Liam said. "Next, we need to seal the House-Elf Quarters. Take these and plant them around the House-Elf dormitories." He handed each of the three women a few cinnabar-inscribed jujube sticks.
"Aren't House-Elves capable of breaking through normal restrictions for Apparition?" Hermione asked, taking the sticks. "If so, typical methods to block spatial movement might not work."
"Don’t worry. House-Elves’ abilities in this area aren’t significantly stronger than wizards. Their Apparition works differently from ours, and wizards often overlook them due to their disdain for other intelligent beings, especially House-Elves. As a result, conventional magic doesn’t target them. The items I’ve prepared, however, will completely seal the surrounding dimensions."
"Oh, I see. I always thought House-Elves had a natural talent for spatial travel because of their small size", Hermione said, her face lighting up with understanding. With her question answered, the four of them left the guard room and went to the House-Elf dormitories, planting the sticks as instructed.
"The last step is that small house over there", Liam said, looking at the thick-walled building with no windows. "I have a premonition that it contains something very significant."
"There is one thing that seems strange", Gill said after hearing Liam's words. "If this place is so important, why are there no patrols in the entire plantation? Don’t you think it’s odd that such a core area is guarded by only three Death Eaters?"
(End of Chapter)
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