"...It's time to move."
The long-awaited signal finally came from afar. That man who was called the "Devil" decades ago, along with the core members of the Witch Pure Party, would all be tied up at that manor, making it impossible for them to apparate back suddenly using magic.
Oh... right... it should be called Apparition.
The high-cheekboned man corrected himself in his mind, a faintly smug smile curling at the corners of his mouth.
He hung up the phone and nodded to the person next to him. The young man banged the red button with a loud bang.
A mechanized woman's voice sounded: "Launch sequence initiated, 3, 2, 1, 0!"
A black shell, trailing a fiery tail, shot through the air, leaving a white smoke trail behind it.
As it soared through the sky, its previously unstoppable speed abruptly slowed, as if hindered by some invisible barrier.
The next second, the ammunition exploded with a thunderous boom, sending out an invisible ripple spreading rapidly!
The device in the young man's hand was the first to respond — the screen that was originally flashing with light suddenly went dark, and the indicators next to it all blacked out. He tapped the keyboard twice, but nothing changed.
The man clicked his tongue and tossed the useless device aside, then looked up into the distance.
A fierce wind whipped snowflakes against him, making it nearly impossible to keep his eyes open. The high-cheekboned man shielded his face with his hand, squinting to peer through his fingers at a miraculous sight —
The invisible air seemed suddenly shattered like glass, web-like cracks spreading downward, refracting tiny, outwardly radiating lights, like trees growing in reverse.
At some point, the web suddenly disintegrated, disappearing into specks of light, like a morning after snow, as ice crystals in the air refracted the dawn.
Amidst the twinkling lights, a massive castle seemed to appear out of nowhere, like a giant beast growing out of the mountainside.
The dark gray outer walls shimmered with a metallic coolness, the main castle's spire appeared to be at least a hundred feet high. The surrounding moat was also thirty or forty feet wide, its surface coated with thick ice, and the oak drawbridge was connected by iron chains as thick as arms.
Everyone held their breath.
Such a grand and majestic structure still inspired awe even in modern society, not to mention in the distant past, where it seemed like an unassailable giant.
And just ten seconds ago, the distance was still a wasteland, without even a complete wall to be found.
"Magic..."
The young man said, fascinated and in awe.
Then, the high-cheekboned man waved his hand and shouted loudly, "Attack!"
The truck's panels fell to the ground with a "click", slender barrels extended out, and fully-armed soldiers stood by manually operating them. The next moment, a roar erupted as countless shells, dark and dense, flew toward the castle!
...
For Vorvillet, today was a day with no mind for work.
The little child he liked was taken away by Grindelwald, unsure if he would return safely; and the obedient apprentices were all taken away too, a group of clumsy alchemists who couldn't run as fast as others, he hoped they would hide well on the battlefield.
Since everyone left, Vorvillet paced back and forth in the room numerous times, finally turning to his treasury, taking out his treasured magic potions, counting them one by one before placing them on the table.
Once they all came back, there would surely be wounded little ones who could use them...
Vorvillet calmed himself in this way, while worrying whether there would be numerous casualties again like before.
Suddenly, his arm trembled, and he felt an indescribable sting all over his body, like being stung by a scorpion, but it was so fleeting it seemed an illusion, passing in the blink of an eye.
"Pop!"
A healing potion floating in the air fell to the ground, luckily the crystal bottle was of high quality, the bottle did not shatter and only rolled two times.
Vorvillet lifted a finger, making the bottle float back to the table, he looked at his arm with confusion.
—Why did the magic power suddenly lose control? Could it be he had contracted some terminal illness?
Vorvillet snapped his fingers again, and the flames in the fireplace flared up, as if everything was back to normal.
No... it's still not quite the same as usual...
The flames in the fireplace were inexplicably brighter than usual and accompanied by a strange whistling sound.
Vorvillet saw his shadow on the ground changing with the light, slowly realizing the light actually came from behind... from outside the window.
He turned his head and saw the sky glowing with an eerie green light, countless shells, trailing fire, flying towards the castle!
"Enemy attack——"
Someone shouted in a ripping voice!
The next moment, the shells hit the castle, glass shattering instantly, a massive blast wave knocked Vorvillet to the ground, crashing him into a cabinet, blood streaming from his forehead.
Vorvillet's vision blurred, his ears buzzed, he pushed himself up slightly, only to see rubble and dust swirling in the air, and his magic wand accidentally slipped from his hand, rolling under the laboratory bench.
Fortunately, the stone walls of the castle were thick enough and had been strengthened by generations of wizards, withstanding a round of bombardment, the castle still stood strong, with only a few parts collapsed.
For a moment, Vorvillet could barely hear anything, he crawled over to grab his magic wand, sweeping all the magic potions into a box, when the door suddenly burst open.
A witch with a face full of terror rushed in, pulling Vorvillet from the ground, speaking anxiously and fearfully, but Vorvillet couldn't hear a word.