Above Hogwarts Castle, on the busy bridge of the Hyperion.
After fiddling with the captain's console for a moment, Erina looked up at Dumbledore and Grindelwald.
"Locket's trajectory information has been retrieved. According to the original schedule, he should have finished his activities in Armenia this afternoon and returned to the British wizarding world via Portkey to continue dealing with the remaining issues in the writing process of 'Breaking Up with the Banshee'—at least judging from the news interview progress this morning, the problem of 'Wandering with Werewolves' should be properly resolved, and the old wizard has accepted his apology and compensation..."
"However, it now seems that perhaps after the news was published, some unexpected emergencies occurred over there."
Erina's finger hovered in the air, her silver hair floated without wind, the ends of her hair swept across the air, creating a faint light.
Blue-green light spots intertwined and spread in the air, instantly drawing a world map.
"The last location where the space beacon was sent is located in eastern Armenia, a non-magical town near the Artsek Forest."
"According to records from the former Soviet Ministry of Magic Internal Affairs, no wizards live there—no magical detection warning, no unplanned magical personnel interference, and almost all non-magical detection methods have been stopped. There are no obstacles in the Hyperion's jump channel."
"The only problem is the potential escalation caused by the subsequent intervention of the Armenian Ministry of Magic."
Armenia, or the Republic of Armenia, was one of the first countries to declare independence from the Soviet Union.
Although Armenia is the smallest in land area and population among the fifteen republics of the former Soviet Union.
It's different in the wizarding world. As a famous ancient country in continental Europe, Armenia has too much magical culture and relics.
You know, Armenian history can be traced back to around the fifth century BC—and magical history is even more distant.
Even though the chain reaction of the collapse of the former Soviet Union caused the Soviet Ministry of Magic Internal Affairs to disintegrate in an instant, the Armenian Ministry of Magic completed the reorganization of the magical government in less than a month and returned to the International Confederation of Wizards. Compared with the bloated and bureaucratic British Ministry of Magic, the refined and efficient Armenian Ministry of Magic may be slightly inferior in absolute strength, but its difficulty and trouble are definitely much higher.
"So what are you going to do? Summon the Destiny Group and prepare for a full-scale war?"
Grindelwald tapped the armrest lightly with his finger, looking at Erina with interest, as if expecting something.
The era belonging to "Gellert Grindelwald" has passed. The future is destined to belong to these young children. Among them, Erina, who has gathered countless dazzling titles, is undoubtedly the helmsman of the next era. While he and Dumbledore are delegating power as much as possible, they are also observing Erina.
"Gilderoy Lockhart chose to destroy the 'Major Arcana' badge, and two hours have passed since he lost contact. You should understand what this means, right? As the 'Hanged Man,' he holds too many core memories. This might even be a trap."
"The Hyperion has received a summons, and we must respond—"
Erina said softly, unmoved, her eyes lingering for a moment on the last location where Lockhart's signal was sent.
"At least for now, the 'Hanged Man' strictly followed the response process of the Major Arcana. The longer we hesitate, the greater the risk. The Hyperion must set off immediately—this is the fastest reinforcement route. Using Portkeys or Floo Network would leave traces. If we only use the Hyperion for long-distance transportation, as long as we maintain altitude and optical stealth, it is generally quite safe..."
As the commander of the black-robed wizards, Lockhart may not have a high say in the Major Arcana, but his importance is definitely among the top few.
Especially since he is also the head of the "Memory Inheritance Project." If Erina, Grindelwald, and Dumbledore are equivalent to the engine and processor of the Major Arcana Council, then Lockhart is equivalent to the extended memory stick of the Major Arcana Council.
After listening to Erina's thoughts, Dumbledore, with a solemn expression, nodded slightly, generally agreeing with her decision.
Without alarming other magic governments, the Hyperion's transmission is the fastest way.
At this moment, Grindelwald suddenly said:
"Perhaps we can wait a little longer, at least there's no need to rush over there."
"Why?" Erina glanced at the clock next to the captain's console and frowned, asking.
"First of all, the incident happened suddenly, and we don't have enough personnel—considering the worst-case scenario, you'd better mobilize in advance."
Grindelwald paused, slowly raising his second finger, and continued.
"And more importantly, I think he is very likely to have fallen into a premeditated trap."
"Gilderoy Lockhart's magic power is not top-notch, but after this period of strengthening and special training, he can at least be regarded as a wizard of elite Auror level. In open terrain, I find it hard to imagine that a wizard would be directly captured—considering that he did not send any valuable information other than destroying the badge for help, the Hyperion's attack must carry decisive force superiority, otherwise it may get bogged down."
"If we are temporarily held up there, and the school board and the Ministry of Magic come to our door here, what should we do? These days are particularly sensitive nodes for the plan to advance. The Destiny Group and Gringotts goblins have enough eyes and ears... Issue the order tonight, and the corresponding investigation should be able to start in Armenia tomorrow. The Hyperion and us should be the decisive trump card, not reckless stepping stones."
A trace of hesitation flashed in Dumbledore's eyes, and he nodded thoughtfully.
"That's right, it is indeed more stable to do so."
A few hours ago, they "exposed" Erina's identity in front of the Ministry of Magic and the school board.
Even if Cornelius Fudge, Lucius Malfoy and others would not reveal Erina's secret due to magical contracts, they would definitely use their respective information channels to indirectly investigate matters related to Grindelwald. There may be quite a few information games these days.
Not to mention, there is still a nail that the Ministry of Magic has planted in Hogwarts Castle.
Umbridge will definitely keep a close eye on him and Grindelwald.
Dumbledore quickly turned over various deductions in his mind, and glanced at the old black wizard with a complicated expression, sighing in his heart.
"Even after decades, Grindelwald is still that meticulous planner, and after breaking out of the original shackles, standing from the perspective of cultivating a successor, he is even more calm and well-rounded than before. I am indeed more suitable to be the headmaster of Hogwarts."
"This is not a multiple-choice question—Erina, if you compare this to solving a problem, then you have written some of the process."
Grindelwald glanced at the silent young demon king and said softly with a kind expression. This time he really wanted to teach this child.
"There is a saying in the East: 'A small impatience will disrupt a big plan.' With your wisdom, you should be able to come to the same judgment as me. Gilderoy Lockhart has definitely encountered an unexpected trap. When encountering unexpected situations in the plan, analyzing and countering calmly is the most important thing—"
Erina nodded, sliding her fingers on the captain's console, seemingly thinking about something.
It must be said that Grindelwald's analysis is very reasonable—rushing over now may face the embarrassing situation of insufficient firepower.
There are now only less than twenty people in the combat group on the Hyperion. The wizarding combat power of the Destiny Group is not weak, but most of them are distributed around the world. Even if they are temporarily transferred from the Quibbler headquarters, it will take at least half a day to gather.
And once the situation falls into a stalemate, the absence of Dumbledore and Grindelwald is likely to lead to the failure of other plans.
A few minutes later, Erina took a long breath.
"You're right, Mr. 'Tower', but I think there is obviously a better optimization plan."
"What optimization plan?" Grindelwald raised his eyebrows with interest.
"Professor Dumbledore will continue to sit in Hogwarts, and you will be responsible for the follow-up combat team preparation, as for me..."
Erina pursed her lips lightly, turned her head to look directly into Grindelwald's eye nerves, and said softly in a calm tone.
"A quarter of an hour later, the Hyperion will first jump to Armenia, and I will lead some people to sneak into the location where the signal was sent to investigate the situation. The Hyperion will then return directly after we have established a safe house—the town where Lockhart disappeared is not big, and it can be investigated quickly. This is a serious incident of a Major Arcana disappearing. Compared to the two of you, I am obviously better at infiltrating Muggle cities."
"I object."
Grindelwald said without hesitation, like a stubborn old man refusing his granddaughter to go out to play on the weekend.
"Your current strength is not enough to stand alone. Perhaps you are stronger than Lockhart in terms of destructive power, but obviously you have not reached the point where you can replace me or Albus. I don't want the number of people waiting for rescue to turn from one to two at that time."
"Um, without equipment, my strength is indeed a little lacking..."
Erina tapped her finger lightly and pulled out an overview of the Hyperion's armory, zooming it in front of the two old wizards.
"The Hyperion carries a 'Valkyria' prototype. Times have changed, dear Gellert Grindelwald, and I'm just going to monitor and investigate the specific situation, mainly to establish a safe house, and I probably won't actively start a fight..."
"We received a summons, and we must respond—"
Erina said in a calm tone, her lake-blue eyes gleaming brightly.
"The Major Arcana will not abandon anyone."
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Hooray!