Sure enough, there was a dark tree hole deep in the forest, about the same height as the Goblin.
Vincent stretched his wand into the hole, trying to illuminate the hollow tree with the tip of the wand.
However, he failed; the inside of the tree hole remained pitch black, clearly indicating that anti-peeping magic had been set up there.
"That's amazing..." He put away his wand. "There's not a trace of magic in it. How did they manage that?"
The Goblin's unique magic reminded him and Hermione of Harry's Golden Egg.
"How are we going to get in?" Lupin looked at Sirius Black. "There doesn't look like there's a doorbell here."
Under the expectant gazes of the three, Sirius Black shrugged. "Don't look at me like that. I've never been here before."
He turned to look at Vincent, and the other two followed suit.
If you can crack the Golden Egg, this little setup shouldn't be a problem.
Vincent sullenly put away his Alder Wand and took out the Serpent Staff from the Flamel Ring. "There's not even a guard. Are you sure this is the place?"
Sirius Black pointed to the pitch-black entrance and asked, "If it's not the hideout of a mysterious underground organization, why would they go to such lengths to set up anti-spy magic?"
He's right, but shouldn't there be some guards in a place like this? What if a dark wizard or some dark creature happens to pass by?
Vincent put aside his concerns for the moment and pointed the two menacing snake heads at the tip of his staff at the tree hole.
The magical power that had seemed to sink into the sea was finally able to penetrate successfully under the amplification of the Serpent Staff, and a faint light finally appeared in the dark interior space.
The Goblin's anti-spy magic is very similar to the small, sound-emitting device on the Golden Egg, both following the four elements of extraction, medium, reaction, and carrier.
"It's actually complete?" Vincent increased his mana output with great interest.
"Beep beep beep—" The urgent alarm sounded throughout the silent forest.
He turned around and looked innocently at the three people who looked extremely nervous. "Yes, I failed."
Because Goblin are forbidden from using wands, their magical systems are instead realized through exquisite forging techniques.
Although the alarm was triggered, it was also confirmed that this place was the mysterious Goblins Hall.
Sirius Black and Lupin believed it, but Hermione thought Vincent had deliberately triggered the alarm.
Since they are top forces in the dark underworld of the Wizarding World, they will inevitably encounter each other in the near future.
Now that a good opportunity has presented itself, it's only natural to test their true strength.
A moment later, apart from the alarm continuing to sound, there was no other movement around.
The four of them were still standing there unharmed, without even encountering the most basic defensive traps.
Vincent withdrew all his magic under the gazes of the three, and the urgent alarm immediately stopped. "Ahem—do you think it's possible that the Goblins Hall has actually moved?"
Sirius Black smirked. "Old Shafiq dared to lie to me? Tomorrow I'm going to pluck all his beards out!"
"No." Hermione bent down and leaned closer to the dark cave entrance. "If the Goblin really moved away, there's no reason for them to keep the magic here."
Vincent looked back at the tree hole with a strange expression.
Indeed, logically speaking, even if money-grubbing Goblin were to move, it would be highly unlikely that they would leave behind such a high-end anti-spy magic with an alarm function.
Unless they are as extravagant as Sirius Black and don't care about the losses from this rearrangement.
So either you don't want to, or you can't.
Vincent transformed his Serpent Staff into a long-barreled pistol, a move that terrified the other three.
Lupin quickly stepped in front of him, "Don't do that, we'll offend the Goblin."
Sirius Black wasn't afraid, but he regretted bringing him along.
After a brief moment of shock, Hermione calmly met his deep blue eyes. "You suspect something happened to the Goblin?"
Vincent nodded. "I think fleeing is a better option than moving."
As an underground organization in the dark side of the Wizarding World, the Goblins Hall, which controls vast resources, certainly has many enemies.
If it was a sudden attack by an enemy, then everything makes sense.
Lupin hesitated for a moment, then stepped aside and stopped blocking Vincent.
A bright light flashed, accompanied by a roar, and countless cracks appeared in the pitch-black space inside the tree hole.
After the second beam of light, the magic the Goblin had carefully arranged was completely destroyed.
Vincent illuminated the tree hollow, which was not a large space, but large chunks of gold were scattered on the ground.
The attack just now was mainly meant to disrupt the Goblin's arrangements; it shouldn't have had this kind of destructive power.
Sirius Black, wand in hand, bent down and entered the tree hollow, carefully examining the large chunks of gold on the ground.
It was made of pure gold, and some parts were engraved with Goblin script, while others were exceptionally smooth, and there were even quite a few gemstone fragments.
He waved his wand and caught a small piece of gold inlaid with gems. "This was originally supposed to be a door?"
He waved his wand again, causing the scattered gold and gem fragments on the ground to float slowly into the air.
Before they could reassemble, Hermione suddenly screamed.
Following her gaze, a small figure was found pressed beneath the large chunks of gold that had not yet floated to the surface.
It wore magnificent armor, and its exposed skin was the grayish-yellow of Goblin.
Sirius Black frowned. "It seems we really have been attacked."
He and Lupin squatted in front of the corpse, while Vincent and Hermione walked toward the gold swarm that was rapidly assembling.
The corpse was indeed Goblin, and it had become a dried-up corpse, indicating that it had been dead for at least six months.
Its magnificent armor was not just for show; the Goblin script engraved on it still emitted a soft glow, and apart from a few minor scratches, it was completely undamaged.
"Looks like it was a fatal blow." Lupin pointed his wand at the corpse, turning it over so that its face was up.
There were no obvious fatal wounds; the only bruises on the parts not covered by the armor were from being hit by large pieces of gold.
"Remus ..." Sirius Black stared intently into his eyes.
There are many spells in the Wizarding World that can kill instantly, but there is only one spell that can penetrate even the magical armor forged by Goblin.
Lupin took a deep breath, "Killing Curse..."
The rapidly assembling gold suddenly stopped and froze in mid-air.
Vincent and Hermione turned around abruptly.
The most evil of the Three Unforgivable Curses, the one that directly takes the life of the victim, immediately brings to mind Voldemort.
The atmosphere suddenly became incredibly oppressive, as if the air inside the tree hollow had been instantly sucked out.
Vincent gently put his arm around Hermione. "Killing Curse aren't his invention. It seems the enemies of the Goblins Hall are not simple."
Sirius Black smiled. "That's right."
The large chunk of gold, frozen in mid-air, was reassembled and restored at an even faster speed.
Lupin forced a smile. "Most wizards look down on Goblin, let alone dark wizards."
Hermione loosened her clenched fist slightly, understanding that the three of them were avoiding talking about Voldemort out of consideration for her feelings.
She looked again at the solid gold gate, whose outline had now been pieced together, her eyes gleaming with determination. "No matter who the murderer is, we must continue our investigation."