The True Target

"You're welcome," Herpo said, a deep, unfathomable light flashing in his eyes. "Since we're going to form an alliance to accomplish something big, we must maintain a spirit of sincere cooperation. We can't expect you to contribute both money and effort."

"Voldemort, I haven't finished speaking yet..." Herpo continued.

At this moment, Herpo had demonstrated his control over the overall situation, Voldemort was completely convinced by Herpo. He said softly, "Herpo, speak, I'm listening."

"As I just said, the Werewolf force is not what it used to be. Even if you have Werewolf and Giant under your command, it is probably still far from enough. Should you consider other alien forces?" Herpo said.

Voldemort pondered seriously for a moment before speaking, "I do have the idea of recruiting the Goblin, but I'm afraid it won't be easy. The Goblin have always been rebellious against wizards. The only way is to forcibly incorporate them by force, but doing so would be like breaking them out of prison, exposing our existence, which would be a losing proposition."

Herpo smiled faintly and said, "Alien races aren't just Goblin. Don't you consider Vampire, Hag, Ogre, Banshee, Goblin? Going further back, there are also the Dwarf of Northern Europe and the Zombie of Africa..."

Voldemort said, "I have recruited some Vampire before, but putting them together with Werewolf could easily lead to trouble. Moreover, some Vampire still have royal families alive, so they are not easy to deal with. If I were to forcibly recruit them, I estimate I would have to pay a considerable price."

"The Ogre and Banshee are too weak; I didn't even consider them before. But you're right, with my current strength, I don't have the luxury of being picky anymore. Their fighting power is enough to make up for my shortcomings." Voldemort quickly made a decision in his mind and began to consider ways to recruit the Ogre and Banshee. At the same time, he said aloud, "As for the Goblin, Dwarf, and Zombie, forget about them. Dwarf Goblin too scattered and difficult to gather, Zombie are too unintelligent and hard to command."

Herpo nodded in agreement. "The two factions you've chosen are indeed the most suitable, and according to my intelligence, they aren't currently being targeted by other forces—so let's focus on the Ogre and Banshee. Is there anything I can do for you?"

The Ministry of Magic has always had departments to manage issues related to non-human races, such as the Fantastic Beasts Liaison Goblin Liaison Office and the Centaur Liaison Office within the Department of Magical Creatures. However, Ogre and Banshee are too few in number and do not have deep interactions with wizards, so they are not taken seriously by the Ministry of Magic has always turned a blind eye to their lives and behaviors.

The same applies to the Order of the Phoenix. In the original story, Dumbledore had just learned from Harry that Voldemort had been resurrected, and within a single day, he immediately launched a plan targeting the most aggressive and numerous Dementor, Werewolf, and Giant, completely ignoring the possibility that other alien races had been recruited by Voldemort.

Voldemort gave a cruel smile. "No need. I'll handle it myself."

Since there was no pressing need to recruit the Ogre and Banshee, it was best not to entrust them to others and incur even more favors from Herpo, Voldemort thought. Besides, deep down he still couldn't fully trust these dark wizards.

"Now, let's get back to the main topic—" Herpo looked around seriously, and everyone knew that Herpo was finally going to get to the main point of today's meeting, so they all listened attentively.

Having discussed our short-term plans, we now need to explain our long-term plans—even our ultimate goal...

With great difficulty, Herpo raised his right hand, which was still entwined by the giant snake, and extended his withered index finger, gently pointing it into the air. Faint, blue flashes of light slowly appeared from the void.

As Herpo gestured, the blue light flowed like water, slowly forming towering mountains and valleys, eventually coming together as if Herpo were a street artist.

As Herpo's finger stopped, the images began to solidify, becoming real and concrete, slowly forming a beautiful landscape. Everyone else stared intently, afraid of missing any detail.

Morgan spoke first, saying softly, "Bhutan."

Herpo, unusually showing a human expression, softly introduced, "Yes, the Bhutan, located high in the Eastern Himalayas —it's an incomparably beautiful country. Some of the very important magic we study originates from there. It's said that if you listen carefully, you can hear the secrets of the past."

Although Voldemort, born in the Muggle world, didn't recognize where the scenery in the picture belonged, he instantly guessed what Bhutan was as soon as he heard Bhutan name.

He began, "This is the headquarters of the International Confederation of Wizards, right? It's also where the president of the International Confederation of Wizards was once elected."

Voldemort wasn't very familiar with this place, but he had heard of it. After all, Grindelwald had caused quite a stir in the 1932 election for president of the International Confederation of Wizards, and Voldemort had done a lot of research on Grindelwald's life and deeds after enrolling.

"Everyone knows that it's the headquarters of the International Confederation of Wizards, and they know about the sacred rituals of the ancient elections, but only a few know... what role this place played in the wizarding world long ago..."

As Herpo spoke, clusters of clouds formed beneath the ceiling of the underground Chamber of Secrets. A castle in the sky could be vaguely seen among the clouds, appearing one moment and disappearing the next.

"Cliff City, a place accessible only by a specific Portkey, where elections are held in its plaza's forecourt, but few know that its truly important place is actually its rearmost sanctuary—"

(Note: "Cliff City" is the author's translation. The original English word is "Eyrie," which means an eagle's nest built on a high mountain. The official translation by People's Publishing House is "Sky Castle," which can easily be mistaken by readers as a floating city. In reality, it is just an isolated city built on a cliff.)

"The Ancient Magic Temple Chamber of Ancient Wizardry..."

A flawless version, checked one by one!

In the third Fantastic Beasts movie, which was based on Skylar's previous life, Dumbledore and his companions used the Prayer Wheel Portkey in the Room of Requirement to travel to the Cliff City. The five large characters "Ancient Magic Temple" carved on the Prayer Wheel have always been a mystery that has been left unsolved in the hearts of many movie fans, because this clue has never been well shown in the movie.

Now, Herpo has finally unveiled the mystery surrounding the so-called "Ancient Magic Temple".

"Our true, ultimate goal is right here..."