Chapter 034
At Malfoy Manor in Wiltshire, England, Lucius Malfoy stared feverishly at the Wizard Potion in his hand.
For ordinary people, the Wizard Potion could turn someone into a first-generation Pureblood Wizard.
But for a Wizard, using the Wizard Potion together with the blood of a Magical Creature whose bloodline matched his own could greatly strengthen the Wizard Bloodline already diluted within him. He still wouldn't match a first-generation Pureblood Wizard, but his power would grow tremendously.
Even his descendants would have bloodlines closer to those of Pure-bloods, and would be more powerful.
A single bottle of Wizard Potion could keep the Malfoy Family prosperous for generations.
Unfortunately, the Wizard Potion didn't belong to him. The great City Lord needed him to use it to win over more Pure-blood families, and to use Gold Galleons to recruit more Half-blood Wizards to serve the City Lord. Together, they would conquer the entire British Magic World—and eventually the Wizarding World.
As long as he earned enough merit, the City Lord would reward him with a Wizard Potion of his own.
Setting the Wizard Potion down, Lucius picked up the brand-new Kindling Wand.
Not only did it have two powerful, instant-cast spells permanently bound to it, but the wand itself amplified a Wizard's power by more than twice as much as before.
With the City Lord's incredible abilities—and Dumbledore dead at his hands—who in the Wizarding World could stand against him? The sooner Lucius earned merit, the higher he would rise in the future magical empire. With that thought, he immediately began contacting the Wizards he knew.
In a short time, undercurrents were swirling throughout the British Magic World.
The vast majority of Wizards couldn't resist the lure of the Wizard Potion and Gold Galleons.
The few who sneered at the offer were all captured on the spot and thrown into Azkaban.
Every Wizard who joined Phoenix City had a concealed Black Phoenix mark branded on his forehead. As a result, the ranks of Phoenix City's Wizards grew like a snowball. But at the same time, Phoenix City's existence could no longer be kept secret.
There were always some Wizards who loudly proclaimed their love of freedom and refused to serve anyone.
They pretended to join Phoenix City, then seized the first chance to flee.
Most were caught and dragged back by Wizards wielding Kindling Wands, but a few slipped through the net.
Only then did the British Ministry of Magic realize the predicament it faced.
The Minister of Magic, Fudge, had already gone to Hogwarts several times to seek Dumbledore's help.
But the Hogwarts professors had no news of Dumbledore either. They had only found traces of a battle deep underground, where Dumbledore had fought someone. They couldn't determine whether he was alive or dead, and the disappointed Fudge could only watch as the Ministry's Wizards dwindled.
The mysterious Phoenix City Lord was nothing like Voldemort.
Voldemort used the fear inspired by his killings to eliminate anyone who opposed him. The Phoenix City Lord, on the other hand, used Wizard Potions and Gold Galleons to buy off every Wizard he could. When bribery failed, he relied mainly on threats and inducements rather than mass slaughter. As a result, no wave of resistance against the Phoenix City Lord had risen in the Wizarding World.
If Dumbledore were still around, he could have rallied a great many Wizards against the Phoenix City Lord with a single call.
Fudge had also wondered whether he should take the lead. As Minister of Magic, he certainly had the authority.
But he had to consider whether the Phoenix City Lord would spare him if he failed.
Fudge had always been timid and weak-willed, so in the end he decided to wait and see.
In truth, even if he had made up his mind, it was already too late. Under the coercion and bribery of Lucius and the other Pureblood Wizards, many members of the Ministry had already secretly defected to Li Mu. Add to them the Wizards outside the Ministry who had submitted to Li Mu, and they could easily crush the entire Ministry.
If Fudge had resolved to resist from the very beginning, he might have stopped many Ministry members from betraying them.
From the moment he began to hesitate, the Ministry's peaceful surrender had become inevitable.
Hogwarts had been closed for classes since a few days ago.
All the students had gone home, leaving only the professors of the Four Houses to guard Hogwarts.
In the castle's Great Hall, dozens of elderly Wizards sat in orderly rows.
The professors of the Four Houses were at the front. The other Wizards were famous old Wizards from various countries who had already retired.
It was perfectly natural for the professors to avenge Dumbledore after he was killed.
But Dumbledore had no authority to summon these retired old Wizards.
Some people could face death calmly in their old age, while others grew more afraid of it the older they got.
The only thing that could bring these old Wizards together here was the promise of eternal life.
And the only person in the Wizarding World who knew the secret of eternal life was the great alchemist Nicolas Flamel, creator of the Philosopher's Stone.
Looking at the Wizards seated around him, Nicolas Flamel sighed helplessly.
He had lived for several hundred years and had long since come to terms with life and death. If his old friend Dumbledore hadn't gone before him, he would have planned to end his own life in another two years. But who could have imagined Dumbledore would go first?
At first, he hadn't planned to avenge Dumbledore.
But the wondrous Spark Energy had awakened his desire to live once more.
Although he had come to terms with life and death, that didn't mean he truly wanted to die.
If he hadn't wanted eternal life, why would he have created the Philosopher's Stone, which could grant it?
He had chosen to accept death calmly because the Philosopher's Stone could make a person immortal, but not eternally youthful. Though it had kept him alive for several hundred years, his body had continued to age. Without his immense Magic Power, his bodily functions would have long since withered and failed.
For him, eternal life had become nothing but the pain and torment of growing old.
He knew the Dark Magic that could transfer one's soul into a new body, but his conscience wouldn't let him cross that line.
So he had chosen to accept death calmly—until the arrival of Spark Energy completely changed his mind.
A Wizard who opposed the Phoenix City Lord had seized a Kindling Wand and brought it to him, hoping he could unravel the secret behind its power.
He hadn't figured out how the Kindling Wand was made. But the mysterious energy inside it, which he had named Spark Energy, had revealed a miraculous ability to revive life. If he could infuse enough of it into the Philosopher's Stone, it would truly grant eternal youth.
Nicolas Flamel felt somewhat ashamed, but he didn't regret his decision.
No matter how powerful the Phoenix City Lord was, he couldn't possibly win against a coalition of famous old Wizards from so many countries.
The only matter they needed to discuss now was how to find the Phoenix City Lord.
If they couldn't deal with the Phoenix City Lord directly, they would have to fight a large-scale battle against the Wizards he had gathered under his command. Quite apart from the casualties that would cause, there was no guarantee that they would win an all-out war.
P.S. Thanks to [Hongchen Zhong De Lianxin Zhe] and [Lan Feng Zi Yun 11] for the 100 Gold Galleon donations.
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