Chapter 690: Continuous Battles
Chapter 690: Continuous Battles
After establishing a comprehensive surveillance system, Ryan and the others began to take the initiative more frequently, sometimes even living in the wilderness for convenience. Thanks to the Leo Mont's Cottage spell Liam learned in Silvermoon City, combined with Protective Enchantment, Warding Charm, and other spells, their outdoor operations were almost impossible to be detected by the search teams.
Now, search teams were everywhere in southern Britain, and some overt blood purists had volunteered to join these teams. Their task was to hunt down Muggle-born Wizards or other intelligent beings who had risen up in various places. After all, not every Muggle-born Wizard or intelligent being with magical abilities was willing to abandon everything and flee north.
During this period, they visited brightly lit cities, dense forests, dark crevices, purple marshes, and hills covered in gorse. Besides rushing to attack sites as quickly as possible to eliminate as many attackers as they could, they would sometimes set up various magic arrays in the wilderness and call out Voldemort's name to ambush the Death Eaters who came to investigate.
At times, they would randomly launch attacks on a Death Eater's Manor or property, killing all those who resisted with the Killing Curse and any Death Eaters with blood on their hands, hanging their bodies on poles. They would then use Memory Erasers from the Dark Wizard Worlds to erase the memories of the remaining people, including House-Elves and other intelligent beings, of anything related to magic.
Finally, Liam and Hermione would use Wildfire and the five young Dragons they had previously fostered in the A Song of Ice and Fire worlds to burn down all the Death Eater properties. They would also communicate with the local natural environment to alter the distribution of magic power, making it impossible for the plantations to recover quickly.
During the last war, the most terrifying aspect of fighting Voldemort was not the direct battles. The Longbottoms and the Potter couple had faced Voldemort three times in direct combat and survived, and such people were not rare.
What truly decimated the Order of the Phoenix and the Ministry of Magic was the ability of the Dark Lord and the Death Eaters to launch surprise attacks at unexpected times and places, eliminating one resistance group after another once their locations were known.
Professor Dumbledore and the Ministry of Magic at the time had little counter to Voldemort's tactics. They could only focus on protecting key points and try to mitigate the damage, but this approach had limited success. As evidenced by the Order of the Phoenix member photo Hagrid showed, most of the Order members had perished in the last war.
If Voldemort hadn't been so determined to see the infant Harry Potter as his greatest threat and attempted to assassinate him, only to have the Killing Curse rebounded by a Potter wife who knew an ancient magic, Voldemort might have won the last war.
Now, Ryan and the others were systematically eliminating the Death Eaters, much like Voldemort had done to the resistance groups in the past. The Pureblood Families, who had more targets, were in a constant state of distress because they couldn't hide all their Manors or plantations. Voldemort wouldn't waste the complex and power-draining Fidelius Charm on a few servants.
After trying various methods to no avail, the Death Eaters finally reduced their despicable attacks. The foreign Dark Wizards, who had lost many of their people to Ryan and the others, were also scared into stopping their attacks on innocent Muggles. In over a month, the Death Eaters had lost more than forty lives and over a dozen Manors, but they couldn't stop or even predict Ryan and the others' attacks. As a result, the killings of innocent Muggles were finally halted.
"Is what we're doing worth it?" One morning, after finishing their morning ablutions, Hermione asked as they strolled along the riverside at their campsite. "We are undermining the cornerstone of Britain's Magical World. I'm worried about the serious problems this will cause after the war."
"Of course it's worth it", Liam said. "As you mentioned, war does indeed create severe problems after it ends. However, the premise of considering these issues is that we must first win the war. Before we achieve victory, there's no need to worry about these things."
"Moreover, the facts are clear. Since we began our retaliatory actions, the indiscriminate killing of innocents has temporarily stopped. We can say that everything we've done has been meaningful. After all, regardless of the circumstances, people are the most important."
"You're right. Often, doing things requires making sacrifices. I understand that", Hermione nodded. "But sometimes, after successfully completing a goal, there's a greedy hope to gain all the benefits."
After a few minutes of walking by the river, Ryan and the others returned to the campsite concealed by Magic. As they crossed a transparent Barrier, they saw six or seven tents arranged around a portable Fire Pit that had already gone out. Some people were coming in and out of the tent entrances.
"Good morning, Commander", "Good morning!" Upon seeing Ryan and the others return, the Wizards stood up and greeted them. Liam and Hermione nodded in acknowledgment.
These Wizards had been rescued from the Death Eater Manor and various attacks, mostly Muggle-born, but also including Half-blood and Pure-blood Wizards. Initially, Liam planned to transfer them to the safe haven of Hogsmeade after their rescue. However, some Wizards, due to the loss of their loved ones, wished to follow Ryan and the others to seek revenge and to prevent others from suffering the same fate.
After some discussion, Liam first sent the family members and those unsuitable for battle back to Hogsmeade. Then, he led the volunteers to form a guerrilla unit, fighting and training simultaneously. Thanks to their help, Ryan and the others were better able to destroy the Manors in the previous battles.
Soon, the portable Fire Pit was rekindled. Two guerrilla fighters began heating various foods, while Liam sat aside, contemplating the next target. The upcoming mission was to maintain high pressure on the Death Eaters, keeping them in a state of fear and ensuring they neither dared nor had the ability to kill innocents.
As the food was nearly ready, three patrollers returned to change shifts. This time, they brought two Goblins into the camp.
"Derek, why are you bringing two Goblins in? Is your old habit acting up again?" One of the guerrilla fighters teased the patrol leader as the two Goblins were brought in.
"No, I just caught them outside. I heard some commotion by the river during my patrol and found them trying to catch fish. I thought they might have some information we need, so I brought them in", Derek explained.
This patrol leader, Derek Crimp, was the director of the Goblin Liaison Office whom Ryan and the others had rescued from the Wizengamot during their raid on the Ministry of Magic. After escaping from the Ministry with his wife, he quickly returned home to pick up his children and head north. Unfortunately, due to his high position at the Ministry, they didn't get far before being caught by the Death Eaters.
Upon being caught, Derek Crimp fought bravely. His resistance was effective, drawing the Death Eaters' attention and giving his wife and children enough time to escape to Hogsmeade. Despite his efforts, he was eventually captured by the Death Eaters. It wasn't until three weeks ago, when Ryan and the others stormed a Pure-blood Family's Manor, that he and another Wizard were rescued from a Dementor-infested cellar.
After being saved again, Derek Crimp realized that only by eliminating Voldemort and the Death Eaters could he and his family regain a peaceful life. So, after visiting his wife, who worked at Weasley's Joke Shop, in Hogsmeade, he joined Liam's guerrilla unit.
As someone who had participated in the Slug Club during his student days, Derek quickly proved his worth in the guerrilla unit. He took on important tasks, such as patrols, and today, it was his vigilance that led to the discovery of the two Goblins near the guerrilla campsite.
(End of Chapter)
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