Chapter 743: Fog of War
Chapter 743: Fog of War
Due to Voldemort's prolonged absence, Ryan and the others were on edge, their nerves stretched to the breaking point. Under such intense pressure, Dumbledore often left Hogwarts to oversee the front lines in London, to prevent a situation where Voldemort's sudden assault could result in catastrophic losses due to a lack of resistance.
Similarly, because of Voldemort's threat, Liam and Hermione were frequently absent from the Manor, spending most of their time on the Aerial Fortress, ready to provide support wherever needed.
In this tense state, the month of May finally arrived. On the first day of May, at noon, Hermione entered the observation room of the Core Magic Tower with a silver tray carrying a plate of salmon sandwiches and a pot of black tea.
The stone door slid open, and Hermione saw Liam standing in the center of a three-tiered stone platform. In front of him, a Crystal Orb, larger than a human head, floated quietly, emitting wave after wave of purple light.
As the waves touched the walls, translucent images began to appear. Hermione recognized some of these images as coming from central London and near Hogsmeade, while many others were places she did not recognize.
"Have you eaten lunch?" Upon noticing Hermione with the tray, Liam gently waved his wand, and the Crystal Orb slowly descended onto a white stone platform engraved with runes. "I'm sorry to trouble you with bringing it over."
"It's no trouble", Hermione smiled and tapped the wall with her wand. Three stone slabs, one tall and two short, extended from the wall, forming a simple table and two facing seats. She placed the tray down, took a sandwich, and handed one to Liam as he stepped out of the observation room.
After taking a bite of her sandwich, Hermione looked up and asked Liam, who was sitting across from her, sipping black tea, "How did your reconnaissance go today? Did you notice any significant changes compared to the past few days?"
"Indeed, there were many differences from the previous days", Liam nodded, setting down his cup of black tea. "For example, the activity of Death Eaters in central London has dropped to an extremely low level. They even abandoned Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley yesterday. This morning, I saw Ministry of Magic personnel reoccupy those areas."
"And Gringotts?" Hermione asked a crucial question, "Did the Ministry of Magic take over Gringotts this time? I hope they don't allow Gringotts to continue providing wealth to the Death Eaters like before."
"They have completely sealed off Gringotts", Liam explained what he had observed. "However, due to a lack of manpower, they haven't entered the bank. Instead, they've simply sealed it off. But you don't need to worry about the goblins. They have a complex underground tunnel system beneath the bank, including areas for growing mushrooms and raising certain plants, allowing them to survive for extended periods."
"For us, once this war is over, Gringotts, stripped of its coinage rights and monopoly power, will just be an ordinary bank. This medieval-style bank will be no match for modern banking."
"Regarding the risk of goblin rebellions after stripping them of so many rights, that possibility is now nonexistent. Once intelligent beings kneel to Voldemort, they will continue to kneel habitually from then on."
"So, the Death Eaters in London are all hiding in the Ministry of Magic's Underground Dimension, preparing for a final battle with us", Hermione said, looking at Liam.
"Yes, the final battle will be bloody", Liam nodded. "According to the wizards' investigation in Diagon Alley yesterday, the Death Eaters gathered a large amount of supplies from their shops before retreating to the Ministry of Magic. It seems they are preparing for a genuine defensive battle there, rather than the hit-and-run tactics they've been using recently."
"Seriously, a place like the Ministry of Magic is indeed suitable for a defensive battle", Hermione said after taking a bite of her sandwich. "With only a few entrances and exits, plus a complex underground environment, I would definitely choose that place if I were leading a ragtag group. At least it would prevent everyone from running away once the fighting starts."
"You're right", Liam said, frowning. "But I still haven't pinpointed the Dark Lord's location, even though I've nearly covered all of Britain with the Heart Tree and have a lot of animals monitoring the land 24/7. This makes me very uneasy."
"How could there be no trace at all?" Hermione frowned. "I could understand if it were just the Dark Lord alone, but he also has a significant number of Death Eaters and a lot of supplies and wealth. So many people can't just vanish into thin air."
"According to the information from Headmaster Dumbledore, we can confirm that the Dark Lord and his followers haven't left Britain. But we still haven't found their exact location", Liam shrugged. "We believe it's likely that there are some hidden, highly secretive bases within Britain that we don't know about, and he's probably preparing a large-scale attack plan with his followers."
"That—sounds very plausible!" Hermione said, slowly raising her teacup. "Just like our Aerial Fortress, no one else knows about this place besides the two of us. It makes sense that a Dark Wizard who terrorized the region for decades would have a similar secret base of his own."
"So that's why I haven't been able to find him", Liam said, spreading his hands after finishing his sandwich. "A deliberately disguised location is hard to find in an area as large as the British Isles."
"But I've also prepared for the worst", Liam continued, tapping his foot. The ground immediately turned transparent, and Hermione saw row after row of puppets curled into ellipsoids lying quietly. "We've already stockpiled 3,000 puppets, and I plan to have 10,000, ensuring we always have a Rapid Response Force ready."
"I think 3,000 puppets might not be enough", Hermione pointed out. "It's better to have more of these consumables. With only 3,000, I'm worried they might run out."
"Don't worry, I've considered that", Liam waved his hand, and a projection of a warehouse appeared in the air. Inside, it was filled with steam-operated robots, each taller than two people, equipped with steam machine guns and a large number of dormant mystic plants. "These purely mechanical constructs are not affected by magic, and after my alchemical enhancements, they have some resistance to magical attacks."
"Although these machines are not as efficient as the puppets and can be easily destroyed by magic, I've prepared 6,000 of them in a Folded Dimension below the Aerial Fortress. In the event of a war, they can be mixed with the magic puppets to provide us with enough time and cover."
"That's good to hear. As long as we're well-prepared", Hermione rubbed her temples. The constant pressure from Voldemort's hidden presence had been weighing heavily on everyone, so hearing about Liam's thorough preparations made her visibly more relaxed.
Just as they finished their meal and were about to rest, a notification sound rang out in the corridor.
"Someone is at the Manor's entrance looking for us. Who could it be?" Hermione looked at the floating runes that displayed the alert, feeling a bit puzzled. "At this time, who would come visiting?"
(End of Chapter)
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