This Is an Era Where the Last One Standing Is King

Malfoy is very troubled lately.

Their family crest is the peacock, and because of this, he personally likes peacocks very much.

He kept six peacocks, the kind you raise like sons, making a total of seven with Draco.

This means he had one more son than Arthur Weasley.

So six peacocks were brought to the Quidditch World Cup, a symbol of Malfoy's good luck. He was very superstitious about it.

But one day, his tent was burgled and collapsed. When he returned, he discovered that his beloved pet peacock... was gone.

Malfoy was furious!

That was his favorite peacock, the family crest, a symbol of good fortune!

When asked for Fudge's help, the minister refused, citing being too busy.

Malfoy was absolutely furious!

He asked me to help him find a peacock, and then he even implied a bribe... Fudge, that beast!

This isn't the first or second time.

Last year, when Black escaped from prison, Fudge specifically came to his door and said that Black had escaped after Malfoy visited Black.

It must have been him.

Fudge also sent Mad-Eye, who was about to retire, to keep watch outside the Malfoy Manor.

In the end, Malfoy had no choice but to donate a sum of Galleon to settle the matter.

In addition to Buckbeak's affair, Fudge took the money but claimed the Hippogriff was lost.

Therefore, Malfoy truly dislikes this minister now... and wishes he were dead.

Just wait!

During this Quidditch World Cup, Malfoy plans to secretly do something big, to remind the Wizarding World that although the Dark Lord is gone, they shouldn't forget their old buddies.

Especially Fudge, be careful when walking at night in the future!

Since he was already planning to do something bad, Malfoy wasn't going to spend any money. But with 100,000 wizards involved, he had no way of finding the peacock himself.

In the end, they had no choice but to put up a bird-finding notice outside the tent.

That noon, I heard that Mudblood Shidake beaten Transylvania Team to victory.

Malfoy laughed all afternoon. It seems the Stark only has a tiny bit of magical talent, but he's really not good at gambling.

To humiliate him, Malfoy bet 20,000 Galleon on England.

Then... he was humiliated that very night.

Stark used 20,000 Galleon and made a profit of 200,000.

Malfoy was so jealous.

It's too sour.

Look at that guy's son, he's got such a strong talent for magic, and he even gambles on football!

Then look at his good-for-nothing son. In the past few years, Draco has probably spent nearly 20,000 Galleon just on Stark alchemical products.

It's practically giving away money!

Wait a minute... so all the money Stark used for betting was paid for by his family?!

For a moment, Malfoy felt an inexplicable urge to start over with a new character after ruining his main character.

But you can't just practice on a lower account whenever you want.

He tried his best, even asking Snape for Potions. But he ruined his kidneys with the potions, and the child still didn't come out.

Narcissa also complained that he was no good, not a real man...

Just when Malfoy was under multiple blows, Fudge found him again, saying he had important information to sell.

Malfoy, who hadn't originally planned to spend money on Fudge, became incredibly curious and spent another thousand Galleon to buy Stark's information about betting on the Norway Team.

Seeing the high odds, Malfoy knew his chance had come.

He was quite bold this time, betting 50,000 Galleon the Norway Team... However, that night, the Norway Team was thrashed by the United States Team.

Fortunately, he wasn't the only one who lost money; Fudge and the others also lost money, and Stark lost 40,000...

Wait a minute, Stark lost money, what does that have to do with him? He didn't even make 200,000 before!

In the third round, everyone started to observe.

But when Malfoy saw that Stark had bet 60,000 Galleon, he felt that he had understood Stark's inner thoughts.

He must have lost on purpose last time; he's sure to win this time. Gritting his teeth, he bet another 30,000 Galleon.

The result was devastating... Defending champions Canada suffered a crushing defeat.

Everyone started saying Trelawney was accurate, winning three times in a row. Malfoy thought about it and decided to follow Trelawney's lead.

But this time I lost 50,000.

Stark won 500,000.

Malfoy refused to believe in bad luck, thinking Stark would definitely lose the next game. He decided to continue betting on Trelawney in Game 5.

Sure enough, Stark lost 100,000 Galleons... McGonagall made 300,000 Galleon.

In total, Malfoy lost 300,000 Galleon.

Everyone's saying: Malfoy is a spendthrift.

Malfoy had only one thought in his mind:

Even in death, nailed to a coffin, I will still shout from my grave with these decaying vocal cords:

Gamblers will perish!

Malfoy is just a microcosm; countless wizards like him either become rich overnight or lose everything in this Quidditch World Cup extravaganza.

Fueled by the huge Galleon bet, everyone went wild, thinking they were experts on the game and were sure to win the next round.

Therefore, as the Quidditch World Cup progressed, the world's attention once again shifted from Venice back to the United Kingdom.

Soon, the Quidditch World Cup group stage came to an end.

Unsurprisingly, the England National Team ended their Quidditch World Cup journey with a complete defeat.

They defied expectations, breaking through the quarterfinals and advancing strongly into the round of 16, creating a brand new history.

The defending champions, Canada, also succumbed to the champion's curse, losing to Egypt Team in the final overtime match and failing to advance to the quarterfinals.

Scotland, on the other hand, stumbled their way into the quarterfinals, joining Ireland in the final round.

Inside the tent,

A group of wizards were sitting there; William and his companions were holding a sales strategy meeting for Akali's Mystery Shop.

The meeting was now halfway through, and Hermione, William's personal secretary, was taking notes.

Fred fiddled with the binoculars in his hand and said quickly:

"The binoculars on the market can replay the footage... viewing it at 0.75x speed. They can also quickly display match analysis."

"Our technical department has already developed 0.5x speed, as well as 2x and 4x speed."

"That's right," George continued, "In addition to match analysis, it also adds player information and real-time odds... Once this telescope is released, it will absolutely Cleansweep the market."

"How much does it cost?" William asked, crossing his arms.

"Initial pricing: twelve Galleon per unit," Qiu, who manages sales, replied.

"Too expensive." William shook his head.

"Most telescopes on the market costing ten Galleon will meet most needs. Many customers won't spend two Galleon more."

He thought for a moment and said, "The price should remain at ten Galleon."

"That would drastically reduce our profits," Qiu said, frowning. "Our costs are already higher."

"The Quidditch World Cup in the fall is our best opportunity to seize the market," William explained softly.

"We need to wage price wars and trade wars to monopolize the market; this is an era where only the survivors reign supreme."

We have ample funds; even if we lose tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of Galleon, it doesn't matter to us.

"If we monopolize the market later, how much won't we make back?"

Qiu nodded.

"And badges." William held up a badge.

It was a glowing rose-shaped emblem—green representing Ireland —adorned with shamrocks dancing in the wind.

"I've already reached an agreement with Fudge; we will act as the distributors for the official commemorative coins."

"Official commemorative coins?"

"Yes, it's an official badge recognized by the Ministry of Magic, bearing the Akali's Mystery Shop logo."

William tapped the table and laughed:

"We'll release the first batch of commemorative coins, for example... the England's top 16 commemorative coins."

"..."

William believed this thing would be in high demand.

It's probably as sought-after as the Four Titan, Ivanka Trump figurines, and the commemorative coin marking the milestone of 100 million confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States...

(Please vote for this post, everyone!)

Thanks to Mr. "Trance Xiaobai" for the tip.)