Chapter 176: The Psychological Counselor, Grindelwald!
The Christmas short break.
Christmas in the West, much like the Spring Festival in the East, is very important.
Therefore, even Hogwarts would give a short holiday.
Within Hogwarts, very few students stayed behind at school.
Inside a certain room in the castle.
Dumbledore looked at the Mirror of Erised before him and fell into silence.
He had made many preparations, and his plan was very thorough.
He had even figured out how to arouse Harry Potter's desires and tell Harry Potter how to take the final step.
However, the one thing he never expected, never anticipated, was...
Harry Potter actually left Hogwarts.
He went home to spend Christmas.
That's right, Harry Potter went home.
Because of Darwin, the misunderstandings between Harry Potter and the Dursley family had long been cleared up, so naturally there was no scenario where Harry Potter didn't want to go home.
At this moment, Harry Potter was at home preparing the evening's delicacies together with Petunia.
Dumbledore sighed.
Well, now it was fine; the whole of Hogwarts seemed to leave only him as a lonely person.
For some inexplicable reason, Dumbledore felt a bit lost.
He didn't know what he was feeling lost about.
However, this sense of loss lingered in his heart, refusing to dissipate.
...
Nurmengard.
Darwin sat before the table, upon which various delicacies were spread out.
Inside the pot, bubbling hot red wine was steaming.
The aroma of wine and fruit filled the entire room.
Darwin looked at Grindelwald leaning against the sofa.
He smiled and said, "Your Excellency, didn't you say you don't drink hot red wine?"
Grindelwald glanced sideways at Darwin: "If you don't want to stay, you can go home."
Darwin spread his hands: "Alright, Your Excellency, I spoke out of turn."
Grindelwald looked at Darwin's appearance.
The corners of his mouth curled up.
He was growing increasingly satisfied with this successor.
Grindelwald said, "Darwin, do you still remember the scene when you first came to find me?"
Darwin nodded: "I remember. You cast a Avada Kedavra at the floor beside my feet."
"It scared me so much that I briefly doubted whether I shouldn't have come."
Grindelwald laughed: "Indeed, but you came anyway afterwards."
Darwin said, "There was no help for it, because I wanted the Saints."
Grindelwald said, "Why do you never know how to conceal your true motives, and always like to spell things out so clearly?"
"Even if you said you came to see me, I would feel a bit better inside."
Darwin said, "Because that would be a lie, and a lie that could be seen through instantly. You know best what kind of person I am, Your Excellency, don't you?"
"If I truly were one of those people who liked to flatter, I think these Saints wouldn't have fallen into my hands."
"And that Avada Kedavra wouldn't have landed on the floor, but on my body instead."
Grindelwald smiled: "You are right. So, Darwin, have you achieved your goal now?"
Darwin's movements paused for a moment.
"I don't know either. My influence in the Wizarding Worldis enough."
"The influence of the Saints in the Wizarding World is also enough, but I no longer know what I truly want!"
Grindelwald said, "Darwin, do you really never have the thought of ruling the Wizarding World?"
Darwin thought for a moment, then shook his head: "To be honest, no. I feel that it's too tiring."
"At the very beginning, I just wanted to survive in this world."
"But later I found out that wanting to survive seemed quite simple."
"At least I can easily achieve this point now."
"But the situation now is that I have done too many things, and many matters are no longer a question of whether I want to do them or not."
"Instead, everything is pushing me to do them."
"I have to be responsible for the Saints, responsible for everyone, and responsible for stirring up such a big commotion."
"This makes me feel that I am carrying a bit too much on my shoulders."
Grindelwald said, "This shows that you have indeed accomplished things that ordinary people cannot achieve in a lifetime."
"Back then, I had the exact same thoughts as you."
"However, I revelled in it. Darwin, do you know where the difference between you and me lies?"
Darwin pondered for a moment and said, "You have ambition, and everything you do is to realize that ambition, which makes you feel that you enjoy everything you do."
"However, I cannot find my own ambition. It seems I've had it a bit too smooth; everything has had no ripples and no setbacks. The things I want seem to be placed right there, letting me take them at will. Sometimes, I even doubt whether I am the Child of Destiny."
Grindelwald said, "Child of Destiny? Darwin, I have never believed in that saying."
"If there truly were a Child of Destiny, then whether it's me, Dumbledore, or even that Voldemort in Britain, all of us could be considered Children of Destiny."
"We were born with extraordinary power, and born with a distinct charm."
"We were born to accomplish things that ordinary Wizards cannot achieve."
"However, we all went through many hardships before reaching where we are today."
"Darwin, you have never just been lucky."
"The things you did in Britain, including what you did in Germany back then."
"You planned everything out for a long time, thought about it for a long time."
"And made complete preparations."
"Therefore, Darwin, you are not lucky; you are cautious enough, and you are resourceful enough."
Hearing this, Darwin fell somewhat silent.
Is that so?
Thinking about it now, it really seems to be the case.
The reason he had been so smooth sailing was simply because he relied on his understanding of the Wizarding World and integrated some methods from later generations, wasn't it?
Grindelwald laughed: "Darwin, haven't you noticed?"
"You have walked into a misconception right now, feeling that it's because you are lucky that things have gone so smoothly."
"Yet you overlook how much effort you yourself have put in."
"This has caused you to lose your goal somewhat right now."
"But ask your conscience, do you truly rely on luck?"
"Darwin, luck has never been the crucial factor determining success or failure."
"When you have made enough preparations, even if your luck is bad, it is enough to turn things around."
"This is the path you should walk."
Darwin listened quietly to Grindelwald's words.
After a moment.
Darwin smiled: "Your Excellency, what made you think of giving me psychological counseling today?"
Grindelwald said, "Psychological counseling? No, no, no, I don't have that kind of idle time."
"I just want to see how far you can ultimately go. To be honest, I am looking forward to it. Perhaps you can let me see a completely different Wizarding World, a completely different future. To be honest, this Wizarding World is truly boring."
"However, with your appearance, I feel that this Wizarding World is much more interesting. I certainly don't want you to stop here because of your messy, random thoughts."
Chapter 177: International Department of Magic Banquet Invitation.
Hearing this, Darwin's expression darkened completely.
"So, Your Grace, you are treating me like entertainment."
...
After dinner, Darwin returned to Rosier Manor.
Vinda was drinking hot tea by the fireplace and reading the newspaper.
"Grandmother, I'm back."
Vinda nodded.
Darwin said, "Grandmother, hasn't Robins returned yet?"
Vinda said, "He is having a very good time over there, so I told him to go to Britain to help you after Christmas."
Darwin said, "Fine, you have the final say. But I think his role in Britain would actually be much greater."
Vinda put down the newspaper in her hand.
"Darwin, I need to tell you a principle: you are someone in a position of authority.
For someone in authority, the biggest taboo is to rely on a certain person or to trust someone excessively.
I have never doubted the loyalty of Robins and Daniel.
However, you need to understand that you need to maintain a balance among your subordinates.
Blindly trusting any one of them, or letting someone wield too much power, is not a good thing for you."
Darwin said, "Alright, Grandmother, I understand."
Vinda nodded: "If you have nothing to do these two days, make a trip to Heidelberg. I don't have time to manage your mess anymore.
I am already old and don't want to keep working for you."
Hearing this, Darwin didn't dare to answer back at all.
Well, in fact, Vinda had indeed been quite tired during this period.
He had left Germany for more than half a year.
During these six months, Robins had been sent away for trials.
The overall situation here in Germany was entirely managed by Vinda.
Sometimes when thinking about it, Darwin felt that he was a good-for-nothing.
To actually make an elderly person run out to manage things.
It really was a bit too much.
Vinda saw Darwin acting like a mute.
She helplessly rolled her eyes.
Darwin satisfied her in every way, except for this habit of playing dumb.
Sometimes, it really made one angry.
Vinda said, "There is one more thing, take a look at this."
As Vinda spoke, she took out an invitation letter and placed it on the table.
Darwin curiously opened it.
"An invitation from the International Department of Magic?"
Vinda nodded: "Yes, inviting you to attend their evening party tomorrow."
Darwin frowned: "Inviting me? What is the reason?"
Vinda said, "The commotion you caused is too big, and it's hard for the International Department of Magic not to notice you. Presumably, they want to see what your true purpose is.
They also don't want to see a madman who wants to rule the world appear in Europe."
Darwin said, "Is that so? Rule the world? These people really dare to imagine."
Vinda said, "Many things do not depend on what you think, but rather on what they see you doing and what they guess you are thinking.
You have let the Acolytes develop too fast; you are developing Acolytes in both Europe and America.
The business of the Acolytes has already spread to too many places.
Take Europe for example. Because of you, the Sacred Twenty-Eight pure-blood families in Britain are now all your allies.
Moreover, I heard that the pure-blood families are still putting pressure on the Ministry of Magic to legalize Dark Arts items, right?
Not to mention Germany here. As the base of operations for the Acolytes, Germany is even more your backyard.
Under this circumstance, do you think the International Department of Magic can just watch helplessly?"
Darwin fell silent upon hearing this.
It seemed that there was indeed some truth to this.
Vinda said, "In previous years, around Christmas, the International Department of Magic would also hold a banquet.
The so-called upper-class gathering.
However, this year's lineup is exceptionally luxurious, because this year, Daxia will also attend."
Darwin was stunned: "Daxia will attend?"
Vinda nodded: "That's right, Daxia, a terrifying forbidden zone.
Even the sir of back then never thought of going to Daxia to do anything."
Darwin said, "Grandmother, do you know the Wizards over in Daxia?"
Vinda said, "I wouldn't say I understand them well. Daxia is completely different from our side.
On our side, the Wizarding World and the Muggle worldare separated.
Wizards look down upon Muggles, and the Ministry of Magic strictly prohibits Wizards from displaying their powers in the Muggle world.
However, the earliest Daxia was not like this.
That country of Daxia is very strange.
They are gentle, they are humble, they are courteous.
Yet, they have a natural desire for power.
When they see the power of Wizards, transcendent power, their first reaction is neither fear nor worry.
What they think about is how to make this power their own.
For this, they can pay a heavy price, such as crossing thousands of mountains and rivers to seek masters.
In their world, there seems to be no such concept as fear, only a desire for power.
You might not believe it, but before the turmoil in Daxia, transcendent powers in Daxia frequently appeared in the secular world.
Moreover, the Muggles of Daxia were chasing after this power.
Later, after Daxia stabilized, because they worried that too many people would pursue these powers, the upper echelons of Daxia ordered these transcendent powers to be hidden.
And the people of Daxia are too united. Perhaps most of the time they engage in infighting, but if faced with external enemies,
they will be surprisingly unified.
In fact, at the very beginning, the International Department of Magic did not include Daxia.
Because all international Wizards felt that everyone in Daxia was a Dark Wizard."
"Dark Wizards?"
Darwin was somewhat startled.
Vinda nodded: "That's right, Daxia has no distinction between black and white. To them, the only distinction in their eyes is whether something has power or does not have power.
And these are all powers they want to master. They don't care whether a spell is good or bad, as long as it is useful.
Moreover, over in Daxia, they are exceptionally lenient toward what we view as the Dark Arts.
According to their words, any magic, any transcendent power, is just a means. The difference is not the means itself, but the person who masters the means.
This point is actually very similar to your view.
Sometimes, I even wonder if you have ever studied abroad in Daxia.
Besides that, Daxia is also very mysterious. They do not have just magic as their only transcendent power.
Some people have calculated that the power displayed by Daxia during the turbulent period is simply not on the same level as the power displayed afterwards.
Therefore, some people guess that Daxia's true power is hidden in the dark, and the Wizards put out in the open are just what they want others to see.
Furthermore, Daxia has a vast territory with abundant resources, and the possessors of transcendent powers live much better than the Wizards on our side.
The people over there think about how to use these transcendent powers to make everyone live better, rather than trying to hide transcendent powers as much as possible like we do.
Therefore, this also means that Daxia is stronger than other countries!"
Chapter 178: Liu Feng, Minister for Magic of Da Xia.
Darwin said, "Grandmother, you seem to know a lot about Da Xia."
Vinda shook her head. "I only know some superficial things; in the past, I knew a person."
His name was Liu Tao. According to Da Xia's terminology, that should be what he was called.
He was the Minister for Magic of Da Xia in that era, and his strength was terrifying.
Although, he had never truly made a move.
But later on, the Master said that Liu Tao's strength might not be weaker than his, except that Liu Tao never made a move.
His going to run for the Director of the International Department of Magic felt like he was just going out to play, or to complete a task.
Everything I know about Da Xia was learned from his mouth.
How should I put it, this person was very enthusiastic to people, but amidst that enthusiasm, he possessed an extreme arrogance.
Arrogant to the point of being somewhat condescending, although he hid it very well.
However, that was the feeling he gave me.
In short, it was a very disjointed feeling, yet it fit my impression of the people of Da Xia.
Seemingly easygoing, but actually looking down on everything. Of course, they also had the capital to be arrogant.
Sometimes, their arrogance makes people envious."
Darwin said, "So, is the person coming from Da Xia this time still him?"
Vinda shook her head. "It couldn't be him. He should have stepped down long ago."
I have seen the list. The person coming this time, I don't know him, but his surname is also Liu, so he should be related to him.
Anyway, the reason I am telling you so much is to let you know.
You might be able to ignore others, or even treat them with your usual attitude, because none of them are worth worrying about.
But only regarding the people of Da Xia—be cautious, Darwin, you must be cautious!"
Looking at Vinda like this, Darwin was also startled inside.
He had never seen Vinda so solemn.
Therefore, just how terrifying is Da Xia in this world?
To be able to make even Vinda so cautious.
For some inexplicable reason, Darwin felt a little bit of pride in his heart—what was that about?
As expected, deep down in his bones, he was still a person of Da Xia.
Actually, this is quite nice.
He was looking forward to this banquet a little bit.
Looking at the invitation letter on the table, Darwin's eyes flashed with a sharp glint.
Just right, tomorrow he could ask Da Xia if he could get some tea leaves.
Speaking of which, the plan to have Cassandra arrange people to go to Da Xia failed.
They couldn't even manage to enter the country.
Da Xia was truly outrageous.
What decent person places Wizards at customs?
Specifically used to find foreign Wizards wanting to enter the country.
Then turn them away, not allowing any foreign transcendent forces to enter the country.
The most crucial part was, according to the person who returned,
that person's strength was terribly terrifying.
Just standing in front of him, he felt that his magic could not flow smoothly.
As for arranging Muggles to go over there, although in recent years Da Xia had been seizing the time to earn foreign exchange,
the background checks were extremely strict.
They hadn't even passed the background check stage.
As expected, Da Xia was still too safe.
He somewhat wanted to go home!
...
The next day, at a certain manor in Finland.
This was the gathering place chosen by the International Department of Magic this time.
Don't ask why it was Finland, because Darwin didn't know either.
But who cares where it was.
After presenting the invitation letter,
Darwin brought Cassandra into the venue.
Yesterday Cassandra went home for a trip, and today she came over to accompany Darwin to attend the gathering together.
Darwin was wearing a silver-white suit, and beside him, Cassandra was wearing a dark green evening gown.
Don't look at how Cassandra isn't fully grown yet.
However, wearing the long evening gown, her figure was also tall.
Standing among a crowd of adults, apart from being a bit short in height, neither their aura nor their temperament was weaker than anyone else's.
And because Darwin and Cassandra were young,
naturally they drew a lot of attention.
Everyone looked over at the two of them.
"Two children?"
"No, not children. I remember that the person from the Rosier family was invited today!"
"So, that is Darwin Rosier?"
Hearing this, the gazes directed at Darwin carried a bit more interest.
Darwin didn't care about this in the slightest.
He had seen this kind of gaze far too many times.
He was already used to it long ago.
Right at this moment, a middle-aged man walked over.
"Welcome, Mr. Rosier. Let me introduce myself, my name is Babbit Dale, Director of the International Department of Magic."
Darwin nodded slightly. "Hello, Mr. Director, I am very glad to receive the invitation from the International Department of Magic."
Babbit laughed, "It should be our honor to be able to invite you."
"After all, the current Saints, the current Rosier family, really have too huge of a reputation."
Darwin smiled. "Mr. Director flatters me, we are just doing some business to make a living."
"After all, as you know, the Rosier family only has my grandmother and me—a child and an elderly person—so we need a bit more confidence to survive in this world!"
A sharp glint flashed across Babbit's eyes.
Darwin was smarter than he imagined.
Lacking the innocence of an eleven-year-old child, he possessed a craftiness and shrewdness that did not belong to his age.
Babbit said, "Then, Mr. Rosier, please enjoy the banquet. I have matters to attend to over there, so I will excuse myself first."
Darwin nodded. "Please go ahead."
After Babbit left,
Darwin looked at the back of this Director of the International Department of Magic.
He pondered in his heart.
This guy was probing him just now.
As expected, not a single person sitting in this position was simple.
Darwin's gaze swept across everyone at the banquet.
Most of them were unfamiliar faces, but there were also people Darwin knew.
For example, the Minister for Magic of Britain, Fudge.
The head of the Brandenburg Ministry of Magic, FredRaphael.
And the Minister for Magic of Germany, Harrison Nelson.
Darwin greeted them, stopping any thoughts they had of coming over.
Although many people knew that the Ministry of Magic of Germany as a whole was already under the jurisdiction of the Saints,
others knowing it and Darwin actually displaying it were two different things.
Some things shouldn't be too arrogant, and actions shouldn't be too obvious.
Otherwise, there would be no benefits.
Right at this time,
Darwin saw an Asian face in the crowd.
And the owner of that Asian face was also observing Darwin.
Seeing Darwin look over,
the other person raised their wine glass and toasted Darwin.
Darwin did not respond, but instead walked directly towards the other person.
"Hello, Darwin Rosier, what may I call you?"
"Liu Feng."
Liu Feng was actually quite surprised that Darwin would walk directly over.
After all, as far as he knew, coupled with the investigation from Da Xia side,
Darwin seemed to have no intersection with Da Xia.
Hearing this surname,
Darwin already knew the other person's identity in his heart.
Liu Tao's son, the current Minister for Magic of Da Xia.
Chapter 179: Imports and exports? Trading with Great Xia!
Of course, the position of the Minister for Magic is not hereditary.
Minister Liu Feng was able to sit in this position truly because his abilities were right there.
Darwin observed Minister Liu Feng.
His heart gradually filled with surprise.
He couldn't tell his strength.
The magic fluctuations on the other party's body were extremely restrained.
Even Darwin, who had a natural sensitivity to magic, couldn't sense any magic fluctuations on the other party.
This was quite rare.
Even with Dumbledore, Darwin could sense his magicfluctuations.
Yet the magic fluctuations of Minister Liu Feng in front of him were truly too weak.
To cause such a result, there were only three possibilities.
First, the other party's strength was very weak.
However, this was impossible.
According to Darwin's understanding of Great Xia.
The person sent out was definitely capable.
After all, this was an occasion representing the country.
Sending someone weak would bring shame to the country.
Great Xia was low-key, but Great Xia would definitely not make a fool of itself.
The second possibility was that Minister Liu Feng in front of him was terrifyingly strong.
Even stronger than Dumbledore and Grindelwald.
This was even more impossible.
The older a Wizard was, the stronger their strength.
Of course, if you were too old, your strength would also weaken.
Just like Dumbledore and Grindelwald today.
Around the age of sixty should be their peak period.
Afterwards, their strength would weaken.
Minister Liu Feng, who was young, obviously had not reached his peak period yet.
If he was already stronger than Dumbledore and Grindelwald at this time, that would be unimaginable.
Then, only the last possibility remained.
Great Xia had methods capable of concealing its own magic fluctuations, and even hiding all supernatural energy fluctuations.
Combined with the mystery of Great Xia, having such methods didn't seem like a very surprising thing.
Minister Liu Feng said, "Mr. Rosier, is there something you need?"
Minister Liu Feng was quite bewildered at the moment.
To be honest, if it weren't for the fact that Great Xia still needed to keep up appearances internationally.
He wouldn't have even come to this damned gathering today.
After all, he was truly not interested in these gatherings.
As for the purpose of the Saints and Darwin's ambition.
That had even less to do with him.
Even if things were getting too chaotic abroad.
Great Xia's eastern region would not be affected.
If Darwin's ambition really expanded to the point of wanting to do something to Great Xia.
Then, naturally someone would step forward to resolve it.
Did they really think the elders of the Kunlun Dao Palace and the Beihai Academy, as well as the students they taught, were good for nothing?
Those were the true foundation of Great Xia.
Darwin said, "There is actually nothing else; it's just that I want to buy some Great Xia tea."
However, the regulations over in Great Xia are a bit strict.
I had people go procure some a while ago, but they couldn't even enter the country.
I sent a Muggle, but the Muggle is still stuck in the background check phase.
So I wanted to ask Minister Liu Feng if you could think of a way to let me purchase some."
Minister Liu Feng was even more bewildered.
No, just for this matter?
He had thought Darwin was going to do something else.
To think that putting on such a formal posture was just to buy some tea?
Minister Liu Feng said, "If Mr. Rosier likes it, I can have someone send you some when I get back. There's no need to buy it; it's not worth much money."
Darwin said, "In fact, besides the tea, I perhaps have some other matters I'd like to discuss with Minister Liu Feng."
Minister Liu Feng instantly felt a surge of vigilance in his heart.
"Oh? I wonder what Mr. Rosier plans to discuss?"
Darwin said, "How about this, Minister Liu Feng, let's find a quiet place to talk?"
Minister Liu Feng nodded.
Afterwards, the two walked towards a deserted spot nearby.
Babite, who was chatting and laughing with other Ministers for magic, saw this scene.
A trace of contemplation flashed through his eyes.
But he quickly suppressed it.
Afterwards, he continued chatting with the others.
Darwin and the other walked aside.
Cassandra stood not far from the two, vaguely blocking the area where the two were so that no one else could pass through.
Minister Liu Feng said, "Mr. Rosier, if you have something to say, just say it directly."
Darwin said, "Actually, I have always been very interested in Great Xia's culture, and I've always wanted to travel to Great Xia to see its local customs, humanities, and scenery."
However, Minister Liu Feng, Great Xia's regulations are too strict.
I just want to ask, if I want to enter the country, what should I do?"
Minister Liu Feng said, "I'm very sorry, Mr. Rosier, Great Xia currently does not accept any supernatural powers entering the country."
Darwin said, "Of course, I know that, but what if I want to go do business?"
"Do business?"
Darwin nodded, "That's right, as far as I know, the current Great Xia should be actively engaging with all commercial imports."
This is beneficial for Great Xia's development. The Muggle world is like this, so I wonder about the Wizarding World?"
Minister Liu Feng said, "Mr. Rosier, I also know a thing or two about the business of the Rozier Group.
But to be honest, Great Xia is different from foreign countries.
The supernatural world and the mundane world abroad do not have much contact.
But Great Xia is different; Great Xia's supernatural world has already integrated with the mundane world.
For those things of the Rosier family, we can completely use mundane things directly, because we do not reject technology."
Darwin said, "Minister Liu Feng has misunderstood. I never said that the business I want to do is in furniture or household goods."
Minister Liu Feng asked doubtfully, "Then what business does Mr. Rosier plan to do?"
Darwin said, "Materials, all kinds of magic materials. According to my understanding,
over in Great Xia, there are many special magic materials, but abroad, no one knows how to use those things.
Similarly, Great Xia actually has a demand for many materials from abroad as well.
It's just that Great Xia can only import them or purchase them through the International Department of Magic.
Meanwhile, Great Xia's materials can only be kept domestically. My idea is very simple: the circulation of materials.
Whether it's magical herbs or materials from magical creatures.
Although Great Xia is vast and rich in resources, there are always some things it doesn't have.
Instead of wasting time acquiring them, it's better to directly introduce them.
I can cooperate with the Ministry of Magic of Great Xia, and together we can build a transportation chain.
Be it exports or imports.
On one hand, it can ensure the circulation of materials; on the other hand, it can also add an income for the Ministry of Magic of Great Xia. Moreover, letting many magical things from Great Xia enter the world surely wouldn't be a bad thing, right?"
Hearing this, Minister Liu Feng showed a contemplative expression.
This was indeed a good method.
Due to certain changes, some things in Great Xia were actually disconnected, although it had been developing at high speed all these years.
However, catching back up required time and opportunities.
Most importantly, many foreign forces harbored malicious intentions and would trip up Great Xia; this had always been a very troublesome matter.
After all, none of them wanted to see Great Xia develop back into that behemoth.
Chapter 180: Darwin's Killing Intent, Enemies Meeting Face-to-Face!
Darwin couldn't possibly give up the domestic market.
How massive of a cake Daxia was, Darwin understood this better than anyone else.
Moreover, even leaving aside the interests, Darwinwouldn't mind helping Daxia out a bit.
That was his motherland.
The current Daxia was not yet the behemoth it had been before he transmigrated.
It was in dire need of help right now, needing the assistance of children like Darwin whose bones belonged to Daxia.
Furthermore, as the saying went, there were simply no baseless rumors in this world, and Daxia was rumored to be god-like.
Even Vinda said so, which only showed that Daxia truly had substance.
Befriending such a substantial Daxia definitely couldn't be wrong.
The best way to befriend the current Daxia was to do business with them.
Daxia needed economic development; whether in the supernatural world or the mundane world, this was true for both.
Waiting another few years, such opportunities would be hard to find.
After all, no one knew better than a Daxia person like him just how fast Daxia was developing.
Minister Liu Feng thought for a moment.
"I cannot make the call on this matter. I need to go back and discuss it with the others; after all, this is a big deal."
Darwin smiled and said, "Of course, understandable. I am not in a rush for this exact moment either."
Of course Darwin wasn't in a rush.
Minister Liu Feng said curiously, "I find it strange why you would want to do business with Daxia."
Darwin smiled and said, "It's very simple. On one hand, it's because of interests; on the other hand, as the saying goes, I have long admired Daxia's culture. If possible—"
"I need it so that after Daxia determines that I harbor no malicious intent, they can agree to let me travel to Daxia. I quite want to see what Daxia's supernatural world is like."
Minister Liu Feng smiled and said, "Then I think you won't be disappointed."
Minister Liu Feng spoke mysteriously, but Darwin was already beginning to look forward to it.
That was Daxia, after all. Those who understood, understood the true value of Daxia.
Minister Liu Feng said, "Alright, now that the serious business is done, we should head back."
"Otherwise, if others see you walking so closely with me, perhaps it will have some impact on you."
Darwin naturally understood Minister Liu Feng's meaning.
Daxia was powerful, so it needed to be guarded against by everyone.
Darwin said dismissively, "Only petty villains use conspiracies behind the scenes, and only petty villains are afraid of being surpassed by others, even terrified that the other party might have even a sliver of a chance to turn things around."
"However, they will never understand one principle: even if a hidden dragon is concealed in the deep sea, it is ultimately a dragon."
"When the roc rises with the wind in a single day, it soars ninety thousand miles high."
Hearing this, Minister Liu Feng gave Darwin a surprised look.
"Now I believe that you really like Daxia's culture."
Darwin smiled slightly.
The two returned to the banquet hall.
Minister Liu Feng took the initiative to separate from Darwin and went to mingle with others to keep up appearances.
As for Darwin, he brought Cassandra to find a place to sit down.
He wasn't actually interested in this kind of occasion.
If Vinda hadn't told him that people from Daxia would be coming this time—
He wouldn't even have come. What tier of people were they to deserve to sit in the same banquet hall as him?
Right at this moment, Darwin saw a commotion coming from the direction of the entrance.
Darwin looked over curiously.
The next moment, around Darwin's body—
A surging killing intent instantly swept across the entire banquet hall.
Icy, bone-chilling, and full of murderous intent.
Cassandra, standing behind Darwin, drew her wand at the very first moment.
The banquet hall instantly quieted down.
Everyone looked in Darwin's direction with terror.
At this moment, the smile that had originally been on Darwin's face had completely vanished.
Leaving only that hair-raising killing intent.
The air seemed to have frozen at this moment.
No one dared to speak.
In the direction of the entrance, the person facing Darwin's killing intent head-on was also stunned.
Word by word, Darwin slowly spoke, his tone freezing cold.
"Newt Scamander, how dare you appear in front of me, how dare you swaggeringly appear in front of me."
Darwin's tone was incomparably cold.
Within his dual pupils, the murderous intent showed not the slightest bit of restraint.
The boundless murderous intent pointed directly at Newtby the entrance.
I don't know when, but the elder wand with a Thestral tail-hair core had already appeared in Darwin's hand.
Darwin's hand holding the wand exerted a slight pressure.
Newt thought for a moment.
A flash of astonishment also crossed his eyes.
"You are Darwin Rosier."
Newt was also dumbfounded.
No one told him that Darwin was invited today.
If someone had told him, he definitely wouldn't have come.
His hatred with the Acolytes was truly too deep.
You could even completely say that Grindelwald's failure was brought about single-handedly by him.
If Dumbledore was the executor, then Newt could completely be called a planner.
Back then, as much as seventy percent of Grindelwald's plots fell directly or indirectly into Newt's hands.
This guy was outrageous; he seemed to naturally clash with Grindelwald.
In short, because of this fellow, Grindelwald was extremely unlucky!
Therefore, Newt could be considered an enemy of the entire Acolytes.
Why had Newt kept a low profile for so many years?
The reason was very simple: the Acolytes were hunting him down.
Even Vinda had personally taken action before.
However, this guy was truly too cunning.
Even Vinda couldn't catch him, and moreover, this fellow wouldn't even appear in Germany.
The Acolytes couldn't catch him even more so.
However, as Darwin took over the Acolytes, the influence of the Acolytes grew larger and larger.
Newt could clearly feel that he seemed unable to hide anymore.
After all, the Acolytes were developing way too fast right now.
Newt himself could feel that being found was only a matter of time.
Therefore, his coming here today was on one hand because he was invited.
On the other hand, he also wanted to see if the International Department of Magic had any restrictions against the Acolytes.
If the Acolytes were allowed to continue developing like this, him being discovered was only secondary.
Most importantly, he saw in Darwin an ambition and infinite possibilities far more terrifying than Grindelwald's.
But he never expected in a million years...
...that he would actually run into Darwin here.
And it was the kind where he walked right into it headfirst.
Right now, he was cursing the person from the International Department of Magic responsible for gathering this banquet to hell and back in his heart.
Seriously, was this person sick in the head?
Didn't they know about his feud with the Acolytes?
They invited this Lord of the Acolytes, and yet they also invited him?
Most importantly, this Lord of the Acolytes was not someone with a mild temper or a good personality either.
Furthermore, his strength was also extremely formidable.
Without the slightest hesitation, Newt stepped back two paces, intending to Apparate away immediately.
Setting aside whether he was a match for Darwin or not—
Even if he were, he wouldn't fight Darwin head-on.
Who knew how many people this Lord of the Acolytes had brought with him when he went out?
Chapter 181 Zouwu, Thunderbird!
However, before he could make a move,
the next moment, Darwin raised the wand in his hand.
Subsequently, flames rose from the ground,
and burned directly toward Newt.
Facing the blue flames, Newt did not hesitate at all, hurriedly interrupting Apparition to dodge quickly.
He was extremely familiar with this fire.
Familiarly to the extreme.
Are you kidding me? If he touched this fire, he himself would be cooked.
Darwin's cold voice sounded: "Want to run? Newt, in front of me, you still want to run!"
Newt looked grim.
Babette at the side wanted to come over and stop Darwin.
However, before he could make a move,
he met Darwin's cold gaze.
Instantly, Babette fell silent.
Someone who couldn't be provoked at all.
Anyone could see that Darwin was in a state of absolute fury right now.
Darwin walked step by step toward Newt.
Green light flickered on the wand in his hand.
He truly wanted to kill Newt.
To the acolytes, Newt was simply someone who shouldn't exist.
Darwin flicked his wand gently, and the next moment, a beam of green light shot directly toward Newt.
Seeing this, Newt flicked his thumb, and a Galleon flew directly into the air.
In mid-air, the Galleon transformed directly into a stone slab.
However, something that surprised everyone happened.
The Avada Kedavra was seen directly penetrating the stone slab,
and continuing toward Newt.
Newt was startled.
This Avada Kedavra actually couldn't be blocked.
It could even penetrate the stone slab?
How was this possible? Where had they ever seen such a Avada Kedavra?
This was simply something they could not understand.
Newt wasn't a weakling either; on the contrary, strictly speaking in terms of strength,
Newt's strength was perhaps not much different from Vinda's.
After all, wanting to handle so many magical creatures,
without sufficient strength, it simply couldn't be done.
The battles Newt had participated in were also very numerous.
Therefore, seeing that the Avada Kedavra hadn't been blocked,
Newt almost subconsciously raised the case in his hand.
The green light of the Avada Kedavra directly crashed onto the suitcase in Newt's hand.
That case of Newt's—anyone who had read the original work knew.
His suitcase looked like an ordinary suitcase.
But in fact, that was an illegal case cast with an Undetectable Extension Charm.
Furthermore, Newt had also designed the inside into an environment suitable for all kinds of magical creatures to live in.
Different animals had different living environments.
At Newt's absolute peak,
countless magical creatures were stuffed inside.
Of course, in recent years, due to the Magical Creature Protection Act,
it had already been difficult for Newt to find so many magical creatures.
However, his suitcase still hadn't become empty.
The moment the green light pierced through the suitcase,
the suitcase burst open directly.
The next moment, two behemoths appeared.
"Damn it, Newt, you are actually still raising these things, and what's more, such dangerous ones."
In the crowd, some people familiar with Newt couldn't help cursing loudly.
While cursing, they quickly dispersed.
It wasn't that their reaction was overblown, but rather that the things Newt raised were truly somewhat exaggerated.
While everyone was scattering to dodge,
Minister Liu Feng stood in place.
His gaze fell upon one of the behemoths.
"Zouwu? This thing isn't dead yet?"
Newt had a Zouwu; the Great Xia side knew about it.
After all, this thing had run out from Great Xia.
Back then, the Great Xia side was doing magical creature management,
demanding that all magical creatures be subject to supervision.
However, there were always some magical creatures that were unwilling to be supervised.
Among them was this Zouwu.
Then, this Zouwu escaped from Great Xia.
To Great Xia, this Zouwu was simply a small pet.
It was just like a lost dog.
They searched within the borders of Great Xia and found nothing.
The Great Xia side couldn't be bothered to care anymore.
Later, they heard it ran abroad,
and even caused quite a big fuss.
However, Great Xia couldn't be bothered to manage it anymore; as long as they knew someone handled it, that was fine.
They just didn't expect that this Zouwu was actually still alive.
Minister Liu Feng recognized it, and Darwin naturally recognized it too.
After all, Zouwu's iconic large tail was simply too obvious.
As for the other one, Darwin also knew it.
Thunderbird.
Sure enough, none of the things Newt raised were simple.
After the Zouwu and Thunderbird appeared,
they looked toward Newt at the first moment.
Having been raised by Newt for such a long time,
they actually somewhat recognized him as their master.
Seeing Newt's battered appearance,
the two giant beasts suddenly looked at Darwin, who was holding a wand.
Fierce light was fully revealed in their eyes.
Darwin snorted coldly: "Two beasts, how dare you bare your teeth at me."
Darwin's voice fell.
The next moment, the two giant beasts lunged directly toward Darwin.
Darwin waved his wand lightly.
On the ground, blue flames rose up,
directly blocking the two giant beasts.
The Zouwu roared angrily, but from these flames, it felt a fatal threat.
Therefore, it didn't dare to get close either.
It could only roar repeatedly in place.
As for that Thunderbird,
its huge wings were seen flapping.
Its figure soared directly into the air,
and it swooped down toward Darwin.
That pair of terrifying sharp claws flashed with cold light, pointing straight at Darwin's head.
Darwin sneered.
The wand traced a trajectory in mid-air.
Subsequently, from beneath his feet came a Dragon roar.
Then, an Eastern divine Dragon completely condensed from flames burrowed out from the ground, charging toward the Thunderbird in the sky.
Minister Liu Feng saw this scene,
and his eyes suddenly lit up.
"Divine Dragon?"
Minister Liu Feng increasingly believed Darwin's claim that he was exceptionally interested in Great Xia culture.
How was this as simple as just being interested?
Darwin had definitely studied Great Xia's culture.
Minister Liu Feng rubbed his chin,
looking at the flaming divine Dragon soaring into the sky.
This was no longer just a spell; Darwin seemed to have touched the level of law.
But how could this be possible?
Even in Great Xia, people who touched this level were few and far between.
Even his father hadn't reached this step.
And Darwin was only an eleven-year-old child.
The crux was that the West didn't have the concept of law.
How did he pull this off?
Was it taught by Dumbledore? Or Grindelwald?
In the West, it seemed only those two people had also touched law. Oh right, there was also one other person, except that person was killed by an infant in swaddling clothes.
How on earth did Darwin do it?
Minister Liu Feng quietly took out a small bronze mirror.
Afterward, the bronze mirror began recording the images of the battle.
With the West producing such a person, this news would definitely be passed back.
Meanwhile,
The Thunderbird looked at the fire Dragon pouncing toward it, a trace of humanized panic flashing in its eyes.
Fire was inherently the natural enemy of these magical creatures.
Even if it was the top magical creature, the Thunderbird, it was the same.
Let alone, this was Fiendfyre!
Chapter 182: Phoenix Cry, Dumbledore Appears!
Newt was greatly startled and hurriedly shouted, "Hurry up and dodge."
The Thunderbird fiercely flapped its wings and turned its body.
It barely managed to dodge the attack of the flaming Dragon.
However, its wing was still singed by the Fiendfyre.
In an instant, the entire wing began to burn.
Newt was horrified.
He hurriedly ran over.
He pointed his wand and cast, "Finite Incantatem."
However, after the spell was cast,
nothing happened.
Newt was shocked. Not only was Newt shocked,
everyone else watching the battle was also shocked.
What was going on? This Fiendfyre actually couldn't be affected by Finite Incantatem.
How was this possible? This simply exceeded their memories of Fiendfyre, and it also exceeded their common sense regarding spells.
Darwin watched Newt's actions with disdain.
What a joke.
This was god-level Fiendfyre, after all.
Could it be affected by Newt's Finite Incantatem, which was probably not even at max level?
That was absolutely impossible.
Since Newt's spell didn't work, he had no choice but to use the most clumsy method.
Magic condensed into a sharp blade atop Newt's wand.
He cut off all the feathers of the Thunderbird that had already been ignited by the Fiendfyre.
Only then was he able to save this Thunderbird.
However, with its wing injured, this Thunderbird no longer had the ability to fly again.
For birds, damaged wing feathers definitely affect flight.
Even magical creatures could not escape this biological law.
However, Darwin had no intention of letting Newt off so easily.
"So, you chose to save your Thunderbird and turn a blind eye to the Zouwu? Is this what you meant, Newt, when you said that magical creatures are your most important partners?"
Hearing this, Newt suddenly remembered.
The Zouwu was still trapped by the flames.
Newt turned his head to look.
The Zouwu's active space had been drastically compressed.
If it weren't for the Zouwu's ability to change its size,
and it was shrinking its body as much as possible at this moment,
it would have long since been swallowed by the blue Fiendfyre.
Seeing this scene, Newt's eyes widened.
"Damn it, you bastard, stop."
Darwin sneered, "Stop? No, no, no, Newt, haven't you realized a problem yet? All of this is just the beginning. Do you still remember what you did? Do I need to remind you? You've been running for so long all these years, it should be enough, right?"
Newt looked at Darwin, his eyes filled with fury.
He was truly angry.
His temper was actually quite good, but the premise was that you shouldn't touch his magical creatures.
Obviously, Darwin had now touched his taboo.
And of course, Darwin did this on purpose.
To be honest, facing a Wizard like Newt,
Darwin wasn't sure if he could really stop him from using Apparition.
The reason he was able to block him just now was because Newt had been careless.
However, if he really wanted to leave,
a Wizard of Newt's level, determined to use Apparition,
Darwin really wouldn't be able to stop him entirely.
Therefore, Darwin had to enrage him.
Newt said, "You forced me to do this. Stop now, otherwise, I will teach you what it means to respect your elders."
Darwin sneered, "You're not worthy."
As Darwin's voice fell,
he directly flicked the wand in his hand.
Newt only felt a sense of crisis washing over him.
The reflexes forged from wandering between life and death for many years made him dodge instinctively.
The moment he dodged, right where he had been standing,
the ground was directly sliced open.
Newt's eyes narrowed slightly. "Sectumsempra."
Darwin went for a fatal move right off the bat, with no intention of holding back at all.
Therefore, before Newt could finish speaking,
Darwin's next lethal move followed closely behind.
Green light flashed from the wand in Darwin's hand.
The Avada Kedavra was unleashed. Then, almost simultaneously,
Darwin's second spell was also cast.
The scattered flames on the ground—which had transformed from the Dragon that burst apart after severely injuring the Thunderbird—suddenly began to reorganize.
These sparks condensed into petals, shooting rapidly toward Newt.
It was beautiful, truly beautiful.
Fiery red, looking like rose petals.
However, the saying that the more beautiful something is, the more dangerous it is, was never empty talk.
Just like right now.
The seemingly beautiful petals hid terrifying energy sufficient to burn a person to ashes.
Newt was instantly startled.
His figure flashed, and he intended to initiate Apparition.
However, Darwin had long been guarding against this move of his.
The moment Newt was about to Apparate,
Darwin's magic surged forward like a tide, pressing directly toward Newt.
The magic surrounding Newt was directly disrupted.
Newt was shocked.
Apparition could indeed be broken this way.
Using one's own magic to interfere with the magical fluctuations around the opponent.
Then, it would prevent the opponent's magic from tearing through space to successfully Apparate.
However, the requirements for magic and the manipulation of magic were terrifyingly high.
Newt had only ever seen two people capable of doing this.
Grindelwald and Dumbledore.
Back then, both of them could do this, especially when fighting Wizards weaker than them.
Their opponents didn't even have the chance to Apparate.
This was why, when facing Grindelwald back then, those Wizards could only take the blows head-on instead of Apparating away.
It wasn't that they didn't want to, but that they simply couldn't do it.
Because their strength was completely and utterly suppressed.
However, Newt was now actually seeing this method on Darwin, an eleven-year-old child.
Newt was completely numb all over.
No, could this possibly be a child?
Could this possibly be an eleven-year-old child?
This terrifying amount of magic, this terrifying magical control.
How could it possibly be something an eleven-year-old child could possess?
Was this the true caliber of the new Lord of the Acolytes?
Newt had originally thought that the Acolytes were able to grow increasingly massive now mainly because Vinda was helping Darwin behind the scenes.
But looking at it now, it wasn't like that at all.
It wasn't Vinda helping Darwin.
Rather, the personal strength of this new Lord of the Acolytes was truly terrifying.
No, it couldn't even be called terrifying anymore.
It was simply spine-chilling.
Lethal move after lethal move.
Newt simply couldn't cope with them all in time.
Among the onlookers, no one dared to step forward to help.
They were truly frightened by Darwin's strength.
This strength was simply too terrifying.
This shouldn't be the strength a child could possibly have.
With this kind of strength, how could he possibly just be a child?
Everyone felt that Newt was dead for sure.
Even Newt himself thought so.
Darwin struck too ruthlessly, leaving not the slightest bit of leeway or chance.
He was simply aiming for Newt's life.
However, right at this moment,
a phoenix cry resounded through the sky.
The moment he heard this phoenix cry,
Darwin frowned.
Dumbledore!
Sure enough, the next moment, a fireball descended from the sky.
Dumbledore, gripping Fawkes's talons, appeared by Newt's side.
Chapter 183: Vinda's Saint Mark.
The moment Albus Dumbledore landed, the Elder Wandhad already appeared in his hand.
Between the waving of the wand, the flames began to sway slightly.
However, the flames only swayed slightly.
There were no other extra effects.
A flash of surprise crossed Albus Dumbledore's eyes.
Then, he looked up at Fawkes.
Fawkes let out a soft chirp.
Then, it opened its beak, and streams of flames spewed out from its mouth,
forming a sea of fire around Albus Dumbledore and Newt.
The fiery red flame petals were briefly blocked.
At the very moment of this blockage,
Albus Dumbledore grabbed Newt's shoulder.
The next moment, the two directly Apparition-ed out of the circle of flames.
Darwin furrowed his brows tightly,
staring intently at Albus Dumbledore.
Albus Dumbledore had stepped forward.
This is a bit troublesome!
The onlookers also hurriedly greeted Albus Dumbledore.
The most powerful white Wizard of this century—that title still held a lot of weight.
Albus Dumbledore responded one by one,
then turned his head to look at Darwin.
"Darwin, you've caused such a huge commotion during such a short holiday."
Darwin said coldly, "Professor, do you intend to stop me?"
Albus Dumbledore said, "Newt is my friend, Mr. Darwin."
"Therefore, I hope you can give me some face."
Darwin sneered, "Face? Professor Dumbledore, you must understand that compared to the prestige of the Saints, your face has never been my first option."
Darwin did not give Albus Dumbledore any face, and his words weren't polite in the slightest.
Albus Dumbledore wasn't angry either.
Darwin not giving him face was already within his expectations.
The wand in Darwin's hand was slowly spinning.
He was pondering whether, if he were to make a move against Albus Dumbledore,
he could kill him.
Or rather, bypass Albus Dumbledore and kill Newt.
The difficulty is a bit high.
Cassandra came behind Darwin.
The wand in her hand was already eager to try.
She didn't care about what greatest white Wizard of the century or whatever.
For her, she only needed to firmly stand behind Darwin.
She couldn't intervene in the battle just now.
After all, that was Darwin's one-sided crushing match.
In the current situation, although she still couldn't intervene,
so what?
It was nothing more than death; as long as she used her most powerful spell before dying, even if it just made Albus Dumbledore raise his hand to block it,
that would also be her contribution.
Albus Dumbledore said, "Don't be nervous, children. Darwin, it doesn't matter if you don't give me face; why don't you take a look at this instead?"
As Albus Dumbledore spoke, he took an item from his bosom and threw it to Darwin.
Darwin raised his hand and caught it.
Looking closely, it was a pocket watch.
Darwin's brows instantly furrowed.
This pocket watch was the same one Darwin went to the Worley family to retrieve back then.
Darwin clenched his fist and closed the pocket watch.
"A pocket watch doesn't prove anything."
"If it were anything else, I'd be willing to give this pocket watch some face, but him, no!"
"He must die."
Albus Dumbledore said, "Well, it seems I really took things for granted. Then why don't you look over there?"
Darwin turned his head to look.
In the air, a mark of the Deathly Hallows suddenly burst open.
Darwin recognized it.
That was Vinda's mark.
Although everyone among the Saints could use the mark of the Deathly Hallows,
in fact, even among the marks of the Deathly Hallows, there were differences.
Vinda's mark had her unique style.
Albus Dumbledore looked at Darwin with a smile.
Darwin furrowed his brows tightly,
looked at Newt, and then looked at the mark of the Deathly Hallows in the air.
He snorted coldly.
"Let's go!"
Behind Darwin,
Cassandra didn't say much more
and directly put away her wand.
Darwin grabbed Cassandra's arm,
and the two figures directly disappeared on the spot.
Seeing Darwin and Cassandra leave,
Albus Dumbledore let out an imperceptible sigh of relief.
He was truly afraid that Darwin would act recklessly regardless of consequences.
By then, whether he could capture this child was truly up in the air.
Darwin's growth rate truly exceeded his expectations.
He grew much too fast,
so fast that Albus Dumbledore found it terrifying and absurd.
But regardless, the matter was resolved, wasn't it?
Babette hurried over: "Professor Dumbledore, would you like to grab a drink together?"
Albus Dumbledore shook his head: "No, Director Babette, I think I need to talk to my friend."
Hearing Albus Dumbledore say this,
Babette was somewhat disappointed.
He had still wanted to establish a deeper connection with Albus Dumbledore.
It would be best if he could make this most powerful white Wizard of the century become his trump card or assistant—that would be the best.
However, he also knew that he couldn't change AlbusDumbledore's mind; his strength wasn't enough, so naturally his weight here with Dumbledore was also insufficient.
Therefore, he could only say,
"Of course, please do as you wish."
Look, this is the current Director of the International Department of Magic.
To be honest, sometimes it feels like it would have been better back then to just let Albus Dumbledore or Grindelwald take power.
They were far too bureaucratic.
And besides being bureaucratic, you couldn't find a single redeeming quality in them.
On the other side,
Darwin and Cassandra came to the location where the mark of the Deathly Hallows had been launched.
At a glance, they saw Vinda standing beside the cliff.
Vinda was still wearing that evening gown and a top hat.
Even just standing by the cliff, it was still hard to conceal her temperament.
She truly is the Black Rose of France who has elegance engraved into her bones.
Seeing Darwin approach,
Vinda looked Darwin up and down.
After making sure Darwin wasn't injured,
Vinda let out a sigh of relief in her heart.
"Let's go back first and talk."
Darwin nodded.
He had quite a few questions in his heart,
but right now was obviously not the most appropriate time to ask.
The three of them directly Apparition-ed away.
Inside a wizarding pub,
Albus Dumbledore and Newt were sitting at a table.
Newt placed the case cast with an Undetectable Extension Charm that Albus Dumbledore had specially brought for him to the side.
Zouwu and the Thunderbird had already been put back into the case by him.
Both of these guys needed to recover from their injuries.
Newt ordered a glass of Butterbeer
and took a large gulp.
"So, Darwin Rosier doesn't know anything?"
Albus Dumbledore nodded: "Yes, he doesn't know anything. Gellert didn't tell him anything, and I certainly wouldn't tell him either."
Newt said: "Damn it, Albus, what on earth are you two playing at?"
"He doesn't know anything, and yet you're just letting him grow wildly?"
"Did you see the look in his eyes just now?"
"He genuinely wanted to kill me, the merciless kind."
"Even, if you hadn't come, I would already be dead. You guys really do things with such wonderful methodology!"
Chapter 184: Darwin, you won't believe anyone!
Dumbledore said, "There's no help for it. There are many things we can't spell out clearly to him."
"We can only let him see for himself. He won't believe what we say."
"Let alone me, even if Gellert were to tell him personally, he still wouldn't believe it!"
"Besides, we didn't expect that you would run into him."
Newt said, "This is an accident, damn it, that idiot BabetteDale."
"Doesn't he know about the grudge between me and the Acolytes?"
"Doesn't he know the Acolytes want to get rid of me?"
"How dare he invite Darwin at the same time he invited me."
Dumbledore said, "Indeed, it's quite absurd. However, what puzzles me is that your name should have appeared on the list, but Darwin doesn't seem to know."
"Even if he hasn't looked at the list, Vinda shouldn't have not seen it."
Hearing Dumbledore say this,
Newt's brows furrowed as well.
"Is it possible she did it on purpose? Does she want to kill me?"
Dumbledore shook his head. "I don't think so. Vinda knows everything too."
"Although she can never quite get over that hurdle in her heart, she knows priorities. I think she might be reminding Darwin."
"Reminding?"
Dumbledore nodded.
"Darwin is smarter than you think. Of course, this is just my guess; I don't know the specific situation."
...
Inside Rosier Manor,
Vinda waved her hand, and her hat automatically flew onto the coat rack.
Darwin followed behind Vinda.
Cassandra went to her room to rest.
She knew what things should be listened to and cared about,
and what things she shouldn't meddle in.
On this point, she saw things very clearly.
Vinda picked up a cup of coffee.
"Sit down."
Darwin sat down opposite Vinda.
He was in no hurry to ask, because he knew
that if Vinda could say or wanted to say something,
she would proactively tell him without him needing to ask.
Vinda sipped her coffee, the chill on her body gradually dissipating.
Putting down the cup,
Vinda said, "Sir sent me to stop you."
Darwin was stunned. "Your Excellency? Why? The order to hunt down Newt back then was given by him personally. Later, he confined himself to the tower, but the order has never been rescinded."
"Most importantly, given what Newt did back then, if he weren't so good at hiding, he should have died long ago."
Vinda said, "Why do you think?"
Vinda did not answer Darwin,
but instead threw the question back to him.
Darwin was taken aback for a moment.
This time, he didn't rush to speak,
but began to think.
Vinda wouldn't say useless words.
For her to suddenly ask like this
meant that perhaps something about this matter was different from what he thought.
Vinda said, "It's getting late. If you really can't figure it out, go ask the person you should ask most. Of course, whether he will tell you the truth, I'm not sure."
After saying that, Vinda paid no more attention to Darwinand turned directly to walk upstairs.
Darwin sat on the sofa, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the armrest.
He really couldn't quite figure it out.
Because the information he knew was too little.
Grindelwald giving an order to stop him was abnormal in itself.
Unless there was something about the past events that he didn't know,
or even something not recorded in the original work.
But what could it be?
Or was he overthinking it, and Dumbledore had found Grindelwald,
and Grindelwald was giving face to his old lover?
Darwin felt that both seemed possible.
Since he couldn't figure it out himself, he would just go ask.
Thinking of this,
Darwin's figure flashed, and he directly vanished from the manor.
When he reappeared, he had already arrived outside Nurmengard.
Inside Rosier Manor,
on the second floor, Vinda stood by the window,
looking in the direction of Nurmengard.
She murmured softly, "Will you tell him?"
Shaking her head, Vinda cast these messy thoughts out of her mind.
In fact, the answer was obvious;
it was just that she still wanted to make one last effort.
At the entrance of Nurmengard,
Darwin pushed the door open directly.
The Aurors on guard duty were startled when they saw Darwin.
"Your Excellency!"
Darwin waved his hand, and the few Aurors, being sensible, hurriedly turned and left.
Even though it was quite cold outside,
they didn't even bother to grab their coats.
Wizards, after all, were cold-resistant and had good constitutions.
Darwin walked straight upstairs.
Arriving at the top floor, he pushed open the door, and a wave of heat rushed towards him, mixed with the aroma of mulled wine.
Grindelwald sat on the sofa.
Seeing Darwin come over, he didn't feel surprised at all.
"You came later than I expected. It seems you thought about it by yourself for a while."
Darwin sat down directly opposite Grindelwald.
"Yes, I did think about it by myself for a while, but I couldn't figure it out."
Grindelwald nodded. "Mhm, of course you couldn't figure it out."
"If I were you, I couldn't figure it out either, and I might even wonder if this old fellow has grown senile."
Darwin didn't speak. Obviously, Darwin had indeed thought that way.
Grindelwald laughed, "You really don't refute it at all. Have a cup of mulled wine first; the chill on you is too heavy, making even me a bit cold."
Darwin said, "Some chills cannot be dispelled by mulled wine."
Darwin understood Grindelwald's pun.
On one hand, Grindelwald was talking about the chill he brought in from outside;
on the other hand, he was also referring to Darwin's lingering murderous intent.
Grindelwald chuckled, "Although I know your murderous intent isn't directed at me, it still startles me."
"Darwin, your murderous intent is even heavier than mine."
Darwin said, "Your Excellency, I don't want to hear these things. You know what I want to know."
Grindelwald's movement of pouring the mulled wine paused for a moment.
Then, with a half-smile, he said, "I know, but if I tell you, will you believe it?"
The expression on Darwin's face stiffened.
Grindelwald said, "Look, Darwin, we are the same. We don't believe anyone."
"Even you are worse than me. Back then, I trusted Dumbledore and I trusted Vinda—there were two people I trusted."
"But what about you, Darwin? You don't trust anyone."
"You only believe in yourself. So, I can tell you, but will you really believe it?"
"No matter how reasonable what I say is, you will doubt it. And no matter how bizarre what you find out yourself is, you will think it's right."
"That is you, Darwin. Don't deny it. I know you better than you think."
Darwin leaned back against the sofa.
A moment later,
he said somewhat dejectedly, "Fine, Your Excellency, I admit you're right. I truly won't believe anyone."
"However, I only want to know one thing: does Newt have value inherent to himself,
or is it because of Dumbledore?"
Chapter 185: Legalization of Dark Arts items, successful!
Grindelwald smiled and said, "I am very glad you can ask this question, because Newt himself has value."
Darwin nodded: "Alright, then I know. No matter what you are plotting or planning, since Newt has value, he can live."
After saying that, Darwin directly turned around and left.
He did not continue to ask further.
Because, just as Grindelwald said, no matter what he said, Darwin would not believe it. This was Darwin's personality.
He would not trust anyone; he only believed what his own eyes saw and what he investigated himself.
Therefore, no matter what Grindelwald said, he needed to make his own judgment.
Returning to Rosier Manor.
Darwin lay on his bed.
He felt that in this world, there might be something he did not know.
Or rather, in some matter, he had entered a misconception.
He acted and interacted with this world according to his own understanding of it, assuming this was the truth of the world.
However, today, judging from Grindelwald's attitude, Vinda's ability to act, plus the timing of Dumbledore's arrival.
And Newt's appearance of being angry but never truly starting to fight.
Made Darwin realize a problem.
There were some things he did not know.
And these things were known to Grindelwald, Dumbledore, Newt, and Vinda.
Even, perhaps not just them.
Darwin frowned tightly.
But what on earth was it?
What on earth happened between Newt and the acolytes?
Why would Grindelwald be willing to let Newt go?
This in itself was an unscientific thing.
Unless they shared common interests.
Thinking of this, Darwin's eyes instantly lit up.
Right, right, common interests.
In Darwin's mind, it seemed he suddenly figured something out.
Who was Grindelwald? He was the first Dark Lord and the master of the acolytes.
He was a true overlord. For what kind of matter could such a person laugh off enmity with an enemy?
As a villain, repaying grievances with grace would never happen to him.
Unless reconciling with Newt, or rather, letting Newt go, held greater interests.
This interest was big enough for Grindelwald to temporarily forget the grudges between Newt and the acolytes.
But what was this interest?
And what was the point of interest?
What kind of interest could make Grindelwald do this?
Darwin couldn't figure it out, nor could he think of it, because if it were him, he truly couldn't accept it.
Shaking his head, Darwin did not continue thinking about it.
To repeat, there were too few clues, and thinking about it now was just wild guessing.
Days still had to be lived one by one.
Another month had passed since Christmas.
In this past month, there were quite a few changes.
First, the British Ministry of Magic announced that starting today, a few Dark Arts items would begin to be legalized.
As for how this "few" was categorized and what standards were used to measure it.
The Ministry of Magic had not yet announced these matters.
Of course, just the legalization of some Dark Arts items was enough to cause an uproar.
The entire British Wizarding World was somewhat stirred up.
After all, Britain was the primary scene that had experienced the ravages of Voldemort.
For the Dark Arts, that truly counted as a taboo.
However, this time, the Ministry of Magic's attitude was quite resolute.
In fact, it wasn't the Ministry of Magic's attitude that was resolute.
Rather, it was the pure-blood family' attitude that was resolute.
Fudge, the Minister for Magic of the British Ministry of Magic, to be honest, was quite useless.
When it came to strength, he was no good; when it came to playing politics, he was no good either.
He had an absolute desire for power, but unfortunately his strength could not support his desire.
Even, you could say that other than his obsession with power, Fudge had not a single distinctive feature.
Therefore, this would lead to a result.
He needed to be under others' control.
In the Wizarding World, who could keep him securely in this position?
The pure-blood family, and Dumbledore!
Would Dumbledore help him?
He would. When Fudge had just become the Minister for Magic, Dumbledore had helped him many times.
It could be said that if not for Dumbledore, Fudge wouldn't have been able to sit in this position at all.
But unfortunately, Fudge did not know how to be grateful.
After coming to power, he felt that Dumbledore's strength was too strong.
He feared that Dumbledore would threaten his position.
After all, if Dumbledore was willing, with a wave of his hand, he could take down him as the Minister for Magicand sit in that position himself.
This was Dumbledore's prestige.
And in order to sit securely in this position.
Fudge thought of a good method.
He needed to find forces capable of countering Dumbledore.
Thus, the pure-blood family became another choice for Fudge.
Most of the pure-blood family were at odds with Dumbledore.
The reason was very simple; just look at who the high-ranking members among the Death Eaters were, and one would understand.
Back then among the Death Eaters, the most numerous, the most powerful, and those most trusted by Voldemortwere all offspring of pure-blood family who graduated from Slytherin together with Voldemort.
These offspring of pure-blood family, compared to other Wizards, were more ambitious, had more ideas, and most importantly, were stronger.
Voldemort needed their families' power as well as their own strength.
And these pure-blood family had been more certain than anyone back then that Voldemort would achieve final victory.
As a result, Voldemort fell; it wasn't killed by Dumbledore.
But Dumbledore could not escape responsibility.
Since then, these pure-blood family began to go downhill.
Just tell me, under such circumstances, could these pure-blood family not hate Dumbledore?
They hated him to the bone, right?
Therefore, they chose to support Fudge.
In this world, truth and power are held in the hands of a few.
For example, in the Magical World here in Britain, the pure-blood family controlled a massive amount of wealth and naturally also controlled absolute power.
Fudge had to rely on them; this was Fudge's destiny.
However, conspiring with tigers meant being prepared to be completely devoured by the tiger.
Fudge did sit securely in this position, but the price was that he would be completely controlled by the pure-blood family.
Therefore, this time regarding the legalization of Dark Artsitems jointly pushed out by the pure-blood family.
Fudge had no chance to make the decision at all.
Nor did he have the right to express an opinion. In the eyes of the pure-blood family, he was just a dog.
A dog placed out in the open.
Therefore, he had no room for resistance whatsoever.
Inside the Ministry of Magic, in the Minister's office.
Fudge rubbed his somewhat aching forehead.
Recently, his pressure was truly immense.
The pure-blood family gave an order, and he could only obey.
But after obeying, all the pressure fell onto him.
The Ministry of Magic could receive hundreds of protest letters from Wizards a day.