Mysterious Journey

Chapter 1113: Figure by the Bonfire (Part 2)

Just as Grindelwald had said, Lockhart's situation was clearly much better than what Hermione had imagined.

In fact, if supplied with unlimited magic and ammunition, Lockhart might even have a chance to single-handedly "annihilate" all the werewolves.

After all, in their werewolf form, most werewolves couldn't maintain rational thinking. With the combination of modern weaponry and magic, there wasn't much difference between a werewolf and a strong wild wolf. Their obsession with humans and blood would only make "annihilation" easier.

Besides, Lockhart's "memory engraving" work over the past few months had undoubtedly played a significant role.

The high-intensity memory engraving accelerated his understanding of various non-magical knowledge.

Even without much shooting experience, it was enough for Lockhart to understand how to accurately summon and operate firearms, and to repel the werewolves' attacks based on the shooting effects of various weapons. It was important to know that the success rate of the Summoning Charm depended not only on the wizard's own magical proficiency but also on the caster's accurate understanding of the summoned object.

It had to be admitted that Gilderoy Lockhart had changed a lot compared to a few months ago.

Perhaps he himself didn't realize that with the expansion of his thinking and vision, his actual combat power was far greater than his magical strength.

"Well, but the strength of the 'Hanged Man' doesn't affect our rescue operation, does it?"

Hermione looked away from the real-time light screen and turned to the two old wizards who had "failed in their mutiny," saying softly in a calm tone.

"The deadline I agreed with the 'Hanged Man' is before midnight. If you want to take this opportunity to observe his limits, then I think it's best to change the time and place. Well… in short, can you tell me now why you're stopping me from saving people?"

"Ahem, first of all, let me correct one point. Whether it's me or Albus, what we oppose isn't saving people."

Grindelwald coughed lightly, raised a finger, and shook it slightly, saying unhurriedly.

"What we oppose is directly deploying the Hyperion to rescue the 'Hanged Man.' If I wanted the kid's life, I wouldn't need so many twists and turns. Perhaps he has grown a little more than before, but he's still..."

"The reason? The reason why the Hyperion can't be deployed."

Hermione interrupted quickly, glancing impatiently at the retired old dark wizard.

However, this time it was Dumbledore, who was standing not far away watching the real-time battle footage of Lockhart, who answered her.

"More precisely, considering various factors, it's best if the Hyperion isn't seen in the Armenian forest."

Dumbledore withdrew his gaze, turned to Hermione, and said with a serious expression.

"First of all, there's the risk of 'leakage.' After the transformation, werewolves can clearly remember everything they experienced in their werewolf state."

"Therefore, if the Hyperion participates in the transfer and fire suppression process, then all the werewolves will become 'witnesses.' And for this situation, we previously had two ways to deal with it:

Widespread memory erasure, or establishing a safe zone to limit their deep contact with the magical society."

"But…"

Dumbledore paused, his gaze sweeping across the silently howling werewolves in the real-time light screen.

"Neither Hogwarts, Destiny, the Foundation, nor Gringotts had any corresponding preparations for this. Unless we imprison them, we have no way to restrain the actions of nearly a hundred werewolves. As for large-scale memory erasure, we should use such methods as little as possible."

"The Obliviate Charm isn't as reliable as you think. Shallow forgetfulness can easily fail under stimulation, for example… during a full moon transformation."

"Large-scale Disillusionment Charm, stratospheric optical invisibility, cloud simulation…"

Hermione started counting on her fingers, glancing strangely at the worried old wizard.

"Not to mention these werewolves, even the elite Aurors in the current magical world… how many can discover the Hyperion without it removing its disguise? Don't forget, the Hyperion has been floating over Hogwarts for several months. You have to see it to witness it, right?"

In cruising mode, the Hyperion had at least ten wizards rotating to maintain the state, which was even more than the Ministry of Magic's permanent guards.

"It doesn't need to be seen; its existence is the biggest exposure—"

Dumbledore said quietly, his blue eyes looking calmly at Hermione.

"This isn't Hogwarts Castle. The Hyperion has powerful protective magic solidified around it. Centered on the Hyperion, space within a two-kilometer radius is sealed off—whether it's Apparition by wizards or house-elves, or Portkeys, all are blocked. If any wizard tries to Apparate nearby, they'll immediately notice the anomaly. If we're unlucky, we may have already been discovered."

"Based on current information, at least Auror teams from seven countries are gathered around the Armenian forest."

"Unexpectedly, they may appear in this area at any time. The probability of accidents happening in this process is too great."

"A super-large-scale space blockade is probably more frightening than half of Europe's werewolves combined."

It had been about half a year since the Hyperion left the Ukrainian shipyard.

And in this half-year, the various magics on the Hyperion had been strengthened, transforming it from the original "flying big ship" into a magical war fortress armed to the teeth.

In the recent commando operation to rescue "former Soviet wizards," the Hyperion completely changed the traditional confrontation model.

Dozens of American Aurors and American Gringotts goblins didn't even last two seconds before falling directly under the spell barrage.

Ultra-long-range space leap, large-scale space lock, plus carpet-bombing with dense spell fire.

The Hyperion's performance on the battlefield was no less than the "ancient god" descending in Lovegood's imagination.

"Well, okay, the Hyperion issue is a bit of a problem…"

Hermione shrugged, pointed to Lockhart, who was still fighting hard on the light screen, and looked at Dumbledore.

"What about the 'Hanged Man' and the werewolves? We definitely have to save that idealist."

"And if we really leave so many werewolves alone, you should know what might happen—'Dumbledore' can't happen to arrive just as the Aurors find the werewolves. Rather than pinning our hopes on the Aurors' morality, I'd rather solve the problem…"

"That's right. 'Dumbledore' really can't appear in the first place."

Dumbledore nodded with a smile, his gaze also resting on the young wizard in the light screen.

"However…"

"In this world, there isn't just one Dumbledore with a sense of justice and powerful magic."

The old wizard exchanged a meaningful look with Grindelwald.

"Even a short person can cast a large shadow in the light of a bonfire. During your absence, Mr. 'Tower' proposed a wonderful idea, which we tentatively call: The Shadow by the Bonfire."

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Yay!