Dealing with Goblins

Goblin attacks on wizards are not unprecedented, especially when the wizard is in a secluded place where no one would know if he were killed, and it's a three-on-one situation. Such a scene is enough to put enormous psychological pressure on any wizard.

However, Skylar's face still wore his usual smile, showing no sign of panic. He spoke calmly and confidently, "Gentlemen, I have come all the way from the Scottish Highlands with good intentions. I have been here for so long, and I haven't even had a sip of your wine, nor do I know your names or identities. And yet you question me so aggressively. Is this how the Goblin treat their guests?"

The three Goblin exchanged glances, and after a moment, Bowlegged Ragnok, stood up and said gently, "Mr. Malfoy is right. We were rude. I apologize in advance." He then gestured for them to enter, and a beautifully crafted Mithril goblet filled with a clear, wine-red liquid suddenly appeared on the table in front of Skylar.

Skylar remained outwardly calm, but inwardly he chuckled. Sure enough, it was the same old trick. The cunning Goblin always used the same tactics, with one playing the good cop and the other the bad cop. First, the tough-talking Bolige would put pressure on them with words, trying to gain the upper hand. If that didn't work, the seemingly mild-mannered Ragnok would step in to salvage the situation and stabilize the momentum.

This tactic might work on others, but it's completely ineffective against Skylar —this is mainly due to Skylar's own strength. With his current power, as long as no Grand Sorcerer- level figure appears, he is absolutely confident that he can escape unscathed even if the Goblin gathering place is a den of dragons and tigers.

"I've long heard that the Goblin race is descended from ancient Ancient Goblin, and like Ancient Divine Dragon, Ancient Giant, Ancient Elf, they are all descendants of ancient bloodlines. Moreover, they are proficient in metal forging and wine brewing. Today, I have the pleasure of witnessing your renowned 'Earthspring Brew.'" After saying this, he fearlessly downed the red wine in his Mithril.

"Hmm, it's a little spicy, but it's still pretty good," Skylar commented with a smile.

Seeing that Skylar had finished a large glass without changing his expression, both Bolige and Ragnok's expressions changed slightly.

Goblin "Earthspring Brew" is not easy to drink. It contains many fruits and minerals found only deep underground, and is brewed using the Goblin's unique magical techniques. It requires the fairy's own magic power to absorb the energy contained in the wine. Even Goblin with abundant natural magic power cannot drink it all in one go.

Despite the fact that Goblin repeatedly defied the Ministry of Magic and violently resisted in the original world, Goblin are actually quite prudent in protecting themselves. At least when faced with the massacres by Grindelwald and Voldemort, there were no instances of Goblin gathering together to fight back.

Skylar's demonstrated ability was enough to earn their respect.

At this moment, the Goblin sitting on the far right, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke up, "Truly worthy of being the champion of the Triwizard Tournament and a rising star in the Britain Wizarding World, Mr. Malfoy, your strength is truly astonishing."

"Let me introduce them properly. The one in the middle is Bolige, the leader of the Goblin Brotherhood, and the one to his left is the vice-leader, Ragnok. Although you may not have seen them before, I believe you are quite familiar with them." His voice was deep and authoritative, silencing the two Goblin beside him as soon as he spoke.

Skylar nodded in agreement. His intelligence network covered not only the Goblin, but also all the important figures among the various alien races in Great Britain. He knew their names, appearances, personalities, and preferences, including Werewolf, Vampire, Hag, and even the Banshee Ogre in the original work, whose presence was almost zero.

However, the Goblin in front of him was not on the list he had.

"I imagine," the Goblin smiled and said, "You must be wondering who I am and why I'm sitting here, right?"

A shrewd glint flashed in Skylar's eyes as he asked, "Are you the leader of the Goblin Subversion Group?"

"Good!" the Goblin said approvingly. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Slak, the leader of the 'Green Demon,' the Goblin Subversion Group you wizards speak of."

Skylar's eyes narrowed slightly. Goblin never readily trust wizards, so although rumors of a secret subversive organization operating within the Goblin had been rampant, no wizard had ever been able to prove it. Now, this other party not only acknowledged the existence of the subversive group but also revealed the organization's name and the identity of its leader. It seemed that if he didn't handle this situation properly, the outcome would be difficult to resolve.

"Your courage and strength have already earned the respect of our Goblin race, and I think we don't need to test each other any further," Slak said in a deep voice. "I believe that you went to great lengths to invite us here not just to taste our fine wine, Mr. Malfoy. Could you please tell me the purpose of your visit today?"

"There's no rush," Skylar said calmly. "Before that, I'd like to give you all a little something to say." With that, he took out the unconscious Ludo Bagman from his Suitcase Space and tossed him on the ground.

Upon seeing Bagman, Ragnok, usually the most mild-mannered, reacted the most violently, shouting in a shrill voice, "It's that liar Ludo! That bastard!"

Bolik, abandoning his previous hardline stance, began to speak with enthusiasm, "We never expected Mr. Malfoy to bring us such a generous gift. This fellow owes us Goblin a lot of money, but every time we tried to collect it, we were obstructed by the Ministry of Magic. In desperation, we made a bet with him—he bet that Harry Potter would win the Triwizard Tournament. He lost the bet but still refuses to pay. Please, you must hand him over to us!"

Skylar smiled slightly and said, "Of course, no problem. But I must warn you, Ludo is an idiot and a penniless wretch. I think you'll have a very hard time getting your money back from him."

Bolik said angrily, "It doesn't matter if we don't get the money back, at least we should beat him up to vent our anger. Besides, he's a celebrity and a star athlete, he still has some value. Making a magical contract with him to force him to work for us to pay off the debt is also a way..."

Skylar shook his head and said, "I'll pretend I never heard you say that. The Ministry of Magic won't let your plans come to fruition."

Skylar wasn't making baseless accusations.

First, in the eyes of most of the higher-ups in the Ministry of Magic, such as Fudge and Umbridge, Goblin and House Elf are no different; they are all inferior races. Their status should be slightly better than that of the much-discriminated Werewolf, Vampire, and Giant, but only slightly better.

However, it would be a huge loss of face for Ministry of Magic to have a high-ranking official, especially a director, working for Goblin. Therefore, the Ministry of Magic would never allow this to happen, no matter the reason.

Bolik's face showed anger and resentment, but he knew that what Skylar said was true, so he could only keep quiet for the time being.

At this moment, Slak stared intently at Skylar and spoke again, "Then I believe, Mr. Malfoy, since you have the ability to bring him here, it means you must have a way to deal with this matter. Don't you agree?"

"Hmm," Skylar knew that today's negotiations had finally gotten down to business. He straightened his posture and said seriously, "You probably think that Bagman's most valuable asset is his position and power in the Ministry of Magic, as well as his status and fame as a sports celebrity, but you may have overlooked one thing—he is actually a member of the Bagman family."

"The Bagman family?" Slak frowned. In his memory, the Bagman family didn't seem to be a powerful, well-established Pure-blood families.

"I'm not referring to wealth and inheritance," Skylar said. "His father and uncles all worked in the Ministry of Magic, or at least had considerable connections there, which gave them access to some of the Ministry of Magic's secrets..."

"You mean..." Slak vaguely guessed Skylar's intention, but he couldn't be sure.

A glint of green light flashed in Skylar's eyes. He suddenly changed the subject and said in a cold voice, "You've heard about what happened at Little Hangleton Graveyard three days ago, haven't you?"

After a brief, tense exchange of glances, the Goblin looked at Skylar and nodded. "Yes, we heard that the Demon King whose name we can't reveal has been resurrected."

"I can guarantee that this news is absolutely 100% true, because I saw the Dark Lord with my own eyes. Now I want to know, what does your Goblin race plan to do after the Dark Lord rebuilds his power and makes a comeback?" Skylar's aura suddenly erupted, his Winky eyes sharp as knives, staring intently at them as he spoke.

In fact, the Goblin had already discussed this matter in depth within their ranks.

Although the Goblin disliked the Ministry of Magic, at least their interactions with the Ministry of Magic were conducted according to the rules of the game— Voldemort didn't care about such rules. His actions were only more extreme, wanting the Goblin to submit to him like Werewolf and Giant, and to obey his commands completely.

Simply put, the Ministry of Magic only wanted to oppress the Goblin through its system, but it had no intention of enslaving or ruling Goblin. Voldemort, on the other hand, only needed obedient servants.

However, similarly, the consequences of rebelling against Voldemort would be far more severe than those of rebelling against the Ministry of Magic. For example, Goblin riots have happened more than once or twice, and each time the Ministry of Magic simply arrests a few ringleaders and that's it. If Voldemort were in charge of the wizarding world, the Goblin would have no doubt that he would dare to make the decision to exterminate the Goblin race.

This put them in a dilemma.

Seeing that the three Goblin had fallen silent, Skylar could probably guess what they were thinking.

"Since none of the three of you have answered my question," Skylar said, "I have a suggestion."

Seeing that the conversation had completely fallen into Skylar's hands, Slak sighed and said, "Mr. Malfoy, you are truly the most astute wizard I have ever met—please feel free to offer your suggestions."

"Giving Bagman to you was just a gesture of goodwill on my part, but I know it won't solve your debt problem..." Skylar said eloquently, "I just hope to use this to improve relations with your Goblin race."

"Become friends?" The three Goblin exchanged bewildered glances, unable to believe their ears. When did a wizard actually want to befriend Goblin? Slak shook his head, trying to clear his head, and said in a hoarse voice, "Mr. Malfoy, I don't quite understand..."

"Then I'll be frank—" Skylar chuckled, "I'll pay off the debt Bagman owes you! In exchange, I hope to gain the friendship of the Goblin. Don't worry—"

Skylar said in a deep voice, "I won't take advantage of you or make you do anything that would put you at a disadvantage. We can achieve equal cooperation in many areas—"

"Chaos is on the Tiger Takes Wing. I have alchemical products in Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade Village. I believe that armor and amulets that offer magical defense will be in high demand. Your Goblin' unique metal forging techniques would be a perfect fit for armor. We could explore business cooperation in this area."

The three Goblin exchanged a glance and nodded in unison almost instantly. Slak said, "If we can make money together, we certainly won't refuse. Mr. Malfoy, do you have other areas of cooperation in mind?"

Slak almost blurted out what was on his mind: Voldemort had been resurrected; making money was secondary. What use was money if you were dead?

"Actually," Skylar said with a sinister smile, his eyes gleaming with a captivating black light, his voice barely audible yet crystal clear to the three Goblin, "Do you even know what happened at Little Hangleton Graveyard three days ago?"