“The plans of the Ministries of Magic from various countries? Oh, is that how it is? My apologies, I thought…”

The voice that had been lingering around the Ministry officials said softly, with a hint of surprise and realization.

By now, the Aurors had mostly arrived at the clearing, their eyes shifting between the shadowy figure flickering in the distant firelight and Cornelius Fudge. As for the reporters, they took advantage of the lull to record the surrounding scene while eagerly awaiting the mysterious wizard's next words.

Armenia's magical community had a long and rich history, so the occasional appearance of a powerful and mysterious wizard wasn't too surprising.

"Indeed, to be more precise, your appearance has completely disrupted our original deployment plans—"

French Minister for Magic, Caster, drew his wand and cast a Sonorus Charm, preempting Cornelius Fudge.

"Due to your unauthorized entry into this area and your engagement with the werewolves, we have been forced to bring forward the scheduled general offensive. Now, I hope you can cooperate with the actions of the Aurors from various Ministries of Magic, otherwise you may face inquiries from multiple magical governments."

"Hmm, so if I cooperate from now on, the plan can still get back on track, right?" the voice asked gently.

Many Ministry officials exchanged glances, silently relieved.

Most of them gradually came to their senses. Perhaps the mysterious wizard possessed extremely powerful magical abilities, but judging from his conversation with the two Ministers for Magic, he was likely an upright and law-abiding person. And the magical governments were best at dealing with law-abiding people.

"Obviously, sir," said Cornelius Fudge, his chubby face flushed with excitement, "As you can see, there are hundreds of elites from various magical governments around you. You just need to hold on for a little while longer, and we will defeat the werewolves surrounding you. Once we arrest those evil werewolves one by one, your previous impetuousness will naturally be transformed into positive achievements in the reports!"

"Hmm, sounds reasonable, but—"

The voice chuckled, and Cornelius Fudge's heart sank.

"—I refuse!"

"Now—I hope—everyone present stays where you are—"

They saw the figure in the distance raise his arm and flick his wand with a fluid motion.

Almost at the same time, the air seemed to solidify.

Half a second later, an extremely powerful surge of magic erupted from the front.

The surrounding flames roared back to life, and the searing waves of heat from the eerie blue flames washed over Fudge and the others like a tide.

Cornelius Fudge felt every hair on his body stand on end.

"Aqua Eructo!"

Cornelius shouted reflexively, waving his wand forward.

"Aqua Eructo! Aqua Eructo! Stupefy—"

Bang!

A crimson spell grazed Cornelius Fudge's ear and disappeared into the dark forest behind him.

Not far away, the Head of the Auror Office from the Turkish Ministry of Magic shouted loudly.

"Don't cast offensive spells! This is a composite magic; it will deflect the spells!"

"Everyone, form a circle! Form a circle! Quickly, insert your wands into the ground—"

On the other side, the French Minister for Magic's thunderous voice made everyone's eardrums ache.

Apart from the Aurors from the British Ministry of Magic, at least half of the wizards immediately inserted their wands into the ground and shouted in unison, "Finite Incantatem!"

Ever since Grindelwald "annihilated" most of the Aurors in Paris, France, many magical governments had added a simple collective casting instruction to Auror training: when facing attacks from "Demon King" level wizards, jointly cast "Finite Incantatem" to offset the opponent's magic.

However, people soon realized that the surging magic was not directed at them.

The ground trembled slightly. The muddy water in the puddles, the residual dew on the leaves, and even the clear water summoned by Cornelius Fudge and the others rose as if being sucked up by an invisible beast, forming four huge water cocoons made of melted glass in mid-air.

Countless blurred, writhing shadows struggled within the water cocoons – the werewolves!

The huge water cocoons swept across the woodland as if they were alive, devouring everything they touched.

The burning, leaping eerie blue flames acted as a barrier, blocking the fleeing werewolves, waiting for the water cocoons to devour the werewolves who had nowhere to escape. In less than half a minute, the four water cocoons swept away most of the werewolves on the field and began to converge in the center, forming a behemoth at least four or five stories high. Countless mud stains were thrown out, leaving only clear water and the werewolves within.

Then, a flash of intense light suddenly appeared before everyone's eyes, the strong white light blinding them.

The water crashed back to the ground with a splash, splashing out a large amount of water like a whale tail. Hundreds of werewolves piled on top of each other, emitting slight struggles and sounds of choking on water. The high-speed rotating water cocoons may not have been fatal, but they were enough to incapacitate them in a short time.

"Alright, gentlemen, you can start the counting and cleanup work now."

Cornelius Fudge and the others heard that gentle voice again.

As the voice faded, the magic flames surrounding the Ministry officials also quietly disappeared into the void.

"What do we do now?" Delores turned to Fudge, feeling his brain was a little overwhelmed.

"Ahem, we can't just stand here and do nothing. Let's start by counting the number of werewolves and arresting them one by one—" Cornelius Fudge coughed lightly and said quickly, his eyes avoiding the reporters on the side, "After the statistics are completed, we will still discuss how to arrange things according to the original plan."

No matter what, perhaps the protagonist of tonight was no longer in doubt, but the British Ministry of Magic still had to do something.

Officials from several other magical governments obviously had the same idea and issued similar instructions.

After a brief silence, the Aurors from various countries cautiously approached the incapacitated werewolves, wands raised.

Apart from the change in time and the different ways of allocating "werewolves", the current situation was actually similar to what most Ministries of Magic had initially planned – the werewolves were lying on the ground, no longer a threat, and they only needed to add a Stupefy Charm to each one to complete the capture successfully.

The only difference was that, in full view of the public, the embellishments of "fighting process" and "hardships and obstacles" could no longer be used.

"In this way, I shouldn't be questioned by multiple magical governments, right? Minister,"

This time, the mysterious wizard's voice came directly from the bonfire in front.

In the calm tone, there seemed to be an invisible sense of oppression.

"Uh, of course not, I was just joking." French Minister for Magic, Caster, chuckled dryly, "I'm really sorry, sir, I just didn't expect that there would be a wizard as powerful as you living in seclusion in the Armenian forest. I was, uh, a little anxious at the time—"

"That's right!" Cornelius Fudge looked around awkwardly, "Frankly speaking, if we could have known you earlier—"

"Lockhart?!" Just then, Amelia Bones suddenly exclaimed in surprise.

She pushed up her monocle, staring at the figure walking out of the bonfire past Cornelius Fudge's shoulder. Her face, which had been stern all night, suddenly became extraordinarily colorful.

"What?"

"Lock, Lockhart? Gilderoy Lockhart?!"

Cornelius Fudge looked up, following Amelia's gaze.

Right in front of them, the bonfire that had been burning was gradually extinguishing, and a young wizard with golden curly hair was walking out of the golden-red firelight. He fiddled with his wand, a smile on his face, revealing his white teeth even when he wasn't speaking.

Click! Click! Click!

Amidst the storm-like shutter sounds and lightning-like flashes from the reporters.

The words remaining in Cornelius Fudge's throat seemed to turn into thick phlegm, all stuck inside, unable to say a word.

"I faintly heard that tonight's werewolf plan was led and planned by you?"

Lockhart walked over with light steps, his gaze sweeping across the faces of the Ministry officials, his smile becoming even brighter.

"Oh, what a remarkable international magical collaboration. However, I have a small question, why would these werewolves gather in the Armenian forest from thousands of miles away? While the other gentlemen are counting the werewolves, perhaps we have a lot to communicate and discuss..."

Lockhart paused for half a second, meaningfully drawing out the tone and continuing.

"After all... you've seen it too, I did a pretty good job of attracting the attention, didn't I?"

As Lockhart's gaze slowly swept over them, the faces of the other high-ranking officials standing next to Fudge changed dramatically.

————

————

Hooray!