Frost's sudden disappearance was not because anything had gone wrong with the helicopter, of course. It was because he had found even bigger news.
So he urgently urged the pilot to find an open space and land, so Bulstrode could take him into Hogwarts.
By now, the situation on the battlefield was becoming clearer and clearer. More and more wizards from outside the school had joined the fight, and faced with Tver's threat of death, the Death Eaters and Dark Wizards were already visibly collapsing.
Under these circumstances, Voldemort somehow became calm instead.
"Let them surrender," he said, not even looking at the bedraggled followers behind him. His eyes were still and unreadable. "I can promise you, Tver, that I will not attack those students."
"Oh?"
Tver turned his gaze back to Voldemort with interest, looking at him as if he had suddenly become a different person.
"You mean you'll give yourself up in exchange for their lives?"
Voldemort gave a faint laugh, full of arrogance.
"These people are not worth that much from me. But you don't want to see me deliberately target those students, do you?"
Tver nodded in understanding.
The reason he had not made any move all this time was precisely because he was guarding against Voldemort.
Voldemort's condition might have been suppressed to the limit, but he was still a Dark Lord. If he hardened his heart and decided to drag the students down with him, then before Tver and Dumbledore could deal with him, the students' casualties would certainly be something neither of them wanted to see.
"So, their chance to surrender in exchange for your promise not to attack the students?" Tver said, somewhat surprised.
Since when did Voldemort care about his followers?
To put it bluntly, if Voldemort had truly cared so much about his subordinates, then his and Marvolio's plan to drive a wedge between them could never have had such a large effect.
In reality, Tver had deliberately targeted the fragile relationship between Voldemort and his followers at this stage to ensure that the Death Eaters would not cause enormous casualties among the students as they had in the original story.
"Voldemort, it's not that I don't trust you. It's just that your credibility doesn't seem very high."
Although he said that, seeing Voldemort's attitude made Tver believe him a little more.
So after speaking, he gave Cynthia a signal.
Compared with the inexperienced students, the Ministry of Magic's elite Aurors and the members of the Order of the Phoenix were the main source of casualties among the Death Eaters and Dark Wizards.
Seeing this, Voldemort turned back with a complicated expression.
When the Death Eaters heard that surrender was an option, they showed no regret over their defeat. Instead, their faces lit with the relief of surviving disaster.
At the sight, Voldemort's feelings grew even more complicated.
In terms of leadership, it seemed he had been utterly defeated.
"Surrender. Tver Fawley does not want to waste Aurors on your desperate counterattack. As long as you give up resistance, they will not continue attacking you."
"M-Master..."
At this point, Alecto found herself unable to speak.
Quite a few of them had already begun to flee. In fact, those who had not fled had only stayed because the Aurors had surrounded them, leaving them nowhere to run.
But hearing the word "surrender" from the mouth of the Dark Lord they had followed for more than ten years left them both shocked and faintly guilty.
"Although I hate to admit it, the truth is just that," Voldemort said calmly. "I have failed. There is no way to turn this around."
He looked almost detached, as if he had finally seen things clearly, yet there was also the melancholy of someone forced to face his own failure.
"I am grateful that you followed me all this time. Truly grateful, even if I don't quite understand that emotion."
He forced out a stiff, gentle smile, and the way he patted Alecto on the shoulder made him look even more like a puppet.
"What happened to Amycus... was my fault. The fact that all of you became what you are today is my fault."
"In that case, I will make up for it."
Voldemort felt utterly disheartened.
Only now did he understand that what Tver had shaken was not just these Death Eaters, but the very foundation that allowed him to drive everyone forward.
Bringing these people here for the final battle had already been forced enough. Now, after Tver had threatened them so bluntly and so effectively, even if Voldemort used his control over Hogwarts and his own strength to escape with these Death Eaters, they might not continue to serve him wholeheartedly.
No. They definitely would not.
Thinking of his current situation, Voldemort could only sigh helplessly.
Once, he had relied on his grasp of people's hearts and his overwhelming magical power to raise a terrifying tide across the wizarding world.
Now, he had instead been crushed by Tver, who used both people's hearts and power against him.
It was like a cycle. Last time, he had held the initiative. This time, he had become Tver's stepping stone.
"What about you, Master?"
Alecto hesitated for a while before finally, encouraged by the other Death Eaters, asking the question she cared about most.
"Me?"
Looking at Alecto and the concerned eyes of the other Death Eaters, Voldemort had not expected them to still care about him. He could not help freezing for a moment.
After a while, he laughed freely, carrying the high-spirited arrogance he had once lost, and turned wildly toward Tver.
"Of course, I will make everyone remember forever that I, Voldemort, have always been the Dark Lord who brought fear and disaster to this world."
Watching Voldemort provoke him with such madness, Tver narrowed his eyes and drew in a soft breath. The magic drifting through the air seemed to carry boundless excitement, as if it were waiting for something.
He had only wanted to crush the Death Eaters' will to resist with absolute pressure. From the perspective of war, although this kind of battle would be intense at first, it would actually minimize casualties on his side.
And a battle that looked extremely fierce but ended in an overwhelming victory would also make every viewer watching this war realize that the strength of the wizarding world was absolutely beyond their imagination.
But now, not only had the strength of the wizarding world been displayed, Voldemort even intended to choose a one-on-one duel and give Tver a chance to show his own power?
Looking at Voldemort, who was burning with fighting spirit, Tver did not know whether, after finding release, he meant to give him a helping hand.
But no matter what, Tver would not let this opportunity go.
He licked his lips and tightened his grip around his aspen wand.
The Elder Wand was powerful, of course, but his own aspen wand was not only suited for battle, it was also the wand that suited him best.
More than that, in a historical moment like this, he wanted to stand with his old companion and bring the old era of magic to an end.
"Come, Tver."
Voldemort felt that he had never been in better condition.
Only now did he realize that the moment he cast aside every desire and faced a powerful enemy in his purest state was the moment he was strongest.
"Let the final battle between us end this war."