Night had fallen completely. Snowflakes drifted down slowly, blanketing the ground in a thick layer of snow.
A pair of leather boots suddenly stepped onto the snow, appearing so abruptly that they seemed to have emerged from thin air.
More and more strange figures in cloaks and masks, carrying glowing sticks, appeared in the silent wilderness. They gathered in twos and threes, whispering among themselves, then suddenly fell quiet and advanced together in a certain direction, trampling the snow into slush.
A moment later, Voldemort, leading the group at the front, suddenly stopped and raised a hand to signal the Death Eaters behind him to halt.
The Death Eaters stopped one after another, staring ahead in uncertainty and wondering what had happened.
Voldemort looked up toward the location of the Defense Association headquarters and suddenly said to the Death Eaters behind him, "If we get any closer, we'll trigger the alarm that Mudblood set up."
All the Death Eaters froze and exchanged glances.
If they could not catch their opponents off guard in the dead of night, there would be no point to this surprise attack.
"Master, shall we use the backup plan?"
Yaxley stepped behind Voldemort and asked in a low voice.
The backup plan he meant was actually a direct assault.
"Begin."
Voldemort stared coldly at the village ahead. Though he had expected tonight would probably not go smoothly, he had not imagined that the Mudblood would be so cautious, having long prepared for someone to launch a sneak attack on the village.
The Death Eaters raised their wands and fired a barrage of dark magic at the area ahead. A vast blaze of light suddenly erupted in the darkness, followed by a continuous string of explosions.
The next moment, all the Death Eaters transformed into clouds of