"Chairwoman Piquely, Minister August, the situation in Sky City is truly far better than we expected! This time, we're going to make a fortune!"
Amid the ruins of Sky City, the German Minister of Magic spoke to the two women ahead of him as he walked.
As he spoke, his expression was extremely obsequious, but there was an irrepressible greed hidden in his eyes, burning like flames.
Like him, the other dozens of ministers of magic from various countries traveling with them also had the flames of greed burning in their eyes.
Led by Sally Piquely, the chairwoman of the American Magical Congress, and Sofia August, the Minister of Magic of Goose Country, their group was walking across the ruins of Sky City, step by step toward the former headquarters building of the International Confederation of Wizards at the center of Sky City.
Unlike most of the people in the group, however, there was not much joy on Piquely and August's faces.
They did not even respond to the deliberate flattery and hints from the German Minister of Magic, simply walking forward expressionlessly while observing their surroundings.
The ruins actually had quite a lot worth seeing.
Especially when the battle between Link and Ieta broke out. Although both of them had fought until they had completely lost themselves to the battle, they had instinctively avoided affecting Sky City itself. In the end, they had simply moved the battlefield outside Sky City.
As a result, although Sky City looked miserable on the surface, the main damage was actually limited to the residential areas. The other important areas of Sky City could even be described as completely intact.
It was precisely because of this that Sky City could still float in the sky at this moment. It had even activated the Muggle-Repelling Charm and was flying all the way toward France.
This was part of their original plan.
Although the French magical world had nominally become a colony of the British magical world, the British Ministry of Magic had only just taken it into its hands. Its control was not yet deep enough, and its status was very special, making it a good place for negotiations.
Here, the ministers of magic from the various countries would make the final division of the spoils obtained from the battle for Sky City.
Piquely, August, and the other ministers of magic had come to Sky City ahead of time precisely to inspect it.
And judging from the situation at present, Sky City was in far better condition than they had expected.
After confirming this, Piquely and August exchanged a glance, and smiles finally appeared on their faces.
Half an hour later, Sky City arrived above the former French Ministry of Magic. The group finally entered the former headquarters building of the International Confederation of Wizards and took the magical spatial elevator to the conference hall.
Percy, Old Barty, Newland, and Sigfen had already been sitting beside the conference table for some time. When they saw Piquely and August bringing the other ministers over, they merely nodded slightly and did not get up to greet them.
Piquely and August clearly did not care. The two women smiled as they took the lead in sitting down, after which the other ministers also took their seats.
The enormous conference table instantly had only the main seat at the very top left empty.
That was Link's seat.
Piquely glanced at that seat, the corners of her mouth rising uncontrollably as she said, "Oh! His Excellency Commissioner Flamel hasn't arrived yet?"
As soon as she said this, the expressions of Newland and the others sitting around the main seat became somewhat unpleasant, while August covered her mouth and chuckled, "You, you really don't need to ask when you already know the answer! Our Commissioner Flamel was seriously injured in the battle earlier and is currently recovering! But that doesn't matter. Didn't he send representatives to attend the meeting?"
After saying this, August glanced at Percy and Old Barty, making no attempt to hide her contempt for the two.
Percy and Old Barty indeed did not deserve August's respect.
During the previous meetings concerning wartime missions and resource allocation, the two of them had been thoroughly played around by Piquely and August working together with the other ministers. If Link had not sent them the crucial information in the end, they probably would not even have been able to complete the basic missions.
"Your information is outdated, my dear Ms. August."
Piquely also laughed when she heard this and said, "As far as I know, Professor Dumbledore should be the one who was injured the most. He has completely lost the ability to cast spells, and I'm afraid he will no longer be able to serve as the headmaster of Hogwarts in the future.
"As for our Commissioner Link Flamel, the injuries he suffered were also extremely serious. My Auror commander reported to me again that Commissioner Link Flamel should originally have perished together with the enemy leader, but at the final moment, Commissioner Link Flamel actually revived once again in an extremely strange manner.
"And immediately after his revival, he did not even have time to greet his subordinates before activating a Portkey and leaving the battlefield.
"According to the research and discussions of the staff department of our American Magical Congress, Commissioner Link Flamel must have suffered extremely serious injuries. He did not even dare to remain outside for long and directly returned to the British Ministry of Magic to recuperate."
"The Auror command of our Goose Country Ministry of Magic reached a similar conclusion as well. But besides that, I have also obtained some other information." August paused slightly, keeping them in suspense before continuing, "It is said that when the Sky City war broke out, the madman known as Number 1 did not remain in Sky City. Instead, he chose to launch a surprise attack on Commissioner Link Flamel's home. Based on the situation we detected afterward, Commissioner Link Flamel's mother and fiancée should both have died in that attack."
Piquely was startled when she heard this. Then the corners of her mouth rose uncontrollably again as she said, "There was actually such a thing? My goodness! Our esteemed Commissioner Link Flamel, he truly made so many sacrifices for our cause!"
"Who could say otherwise!"
As Piquely and August spoke, they both began to sob sorrowfully.
Yet although they cried miserably, not a single tear could be seen. Their expressions were even strangely distorted. Rather than crying, they looked more like they were laughing wildly.
Most of the other ministers present had similar expressions.
Seeing this, Newland finally could not stand it anymore. He stood up and slammed his hand heavily onto the table.
After a loud bang, everyone's eyes turned toward him.
Newland panted heavily, staring with bloodshot eyes as if he wanted to eat someone alive.
Old Barty beside him quickly pulled him back down and said with an ugly expression, "Everyone, please take note. The information you have mentioned concerning our Commissioner Link Flamel is all nothing but rumors! Also, the subject of this meeting is the distribution of the interests concerning Sky City! Please pay attention to the occasion. Don't make this place look like a marketplace!"
After this was said, the other ministers did quiet down.
But Piquely exchanged a glance with August before sneering, "I'm sorry, but in my opinion, the subject of this meeting really isn't the division of Sky City's interests, because we already finished dividing them before coming here. Here, take a look. This is our distribution plan. We'll simply carry it out according to what's written here."
A thick kraft-paper envelope was thrown in front of Old Barty.
Old Barty and Percy opened the envelope while forcing down their anger. But after opening it and roughly looking through its contents, the hot-blooded Percy finally could not hold back and shouted, "We absolutely refuse to accept your distribution plan!"
"Please get one thing straight, Commissioner Weasley. We came here to inform you, not to ask for your opinion." August said coldly, "Whether you agree with this plan or not, you will carry it out."
Percy's face instantly flushed red, while Old Barty's expression became even uglier.
According to their original plan, as the main force that had captured Sky City, the British Ministry of Magic should have received at least 70% of Sky City's technology and territory after the war. The remaining 30% would then be fought over by Piquely and the other ministers.
Although this distribution plan looked domineering, it was actually quite fair.
After all, the British Ministry of Magic could have simply occupied the entirety of Sky City without giving the other ministers even the slightest share of the benefits.
But now, in the distribution plan proposed by Piquely, the share of the spoils that the British Ministry of Magic could obtain had been reduced by 5% of the entire Sky City. This was even less than what the German Ministry of Magic would receive, something Old Barty, Percy, and the others absolutely could not accept.
Old Barty clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.
"You, aren't you afraid of Commissioner Link Flamel's retaliation? He is…"
Before Old Barty could finish, piercing laughter rang out in the conference hall.
Piquely laughed loudly and said, "He doesn't have the time to come after us now."
August also chimed in, "That's right. You actually know this yourselves, don't you? Just as we said earlier, Link Flamel was seriously injured. It will take him a very long time just to recover. And once he has recovered, do you think he will come looking for trouble with us first, or go after that Number 1 to avenge his mother and wife?
"By the time all of this is over, at least half a year will have passed.
"And these six months will be enough for us to absorb Sky City's technology and develop means of self-defense!"
As she spoke, August looked somewhat greedily at the ruins outside the window.
What she and Piquely truly wanted was Sky City's magic extraction and storage technology.
The situation of ants biting an elephant to death was actually very difficult to achieve in the magical world. Especially when facing a legendary great wizard like Link, no matter how many ordinary wizards there were, it would be meaningless.
The power of ordinary wizards was too scattered. They simply could not unleash attacks powerful enough to injure a legendary wizard.
But if all their magic power could be extracted and concentrated together for use, the result would be different.
The number of wizards controlled by the American Magical Congress and the Goose Country Ministry of Magic far exceeded that of Sky City. As long as they could quickly gather enough magic power and develop technology that could truly be used for attacks.
Then even a legendary great wizard would have to suffer defeat!
And with this technology in their hands, they would once again become the rulers of this planet!
Old Barty also understood at this point, roughly figuring out Piquely and August's purpose.
This made his face turn pale as paper, and he nearly fell from his chair.
Newland and Sigfen beside him exchanged a glance and secretly tightened their grips on their wands.
"I advise you not to make any more unnecessary resistance. We mobilized our forces long ago. With the few people remaining in your British Ministry of Magic, you are still nowhere near strong enough to stand against wizards from the entire world."
Piquely said with a smile.
And as her words fell, a large number of Aurors wearing the emblems of various Ministries of Magic also appeared outside the windows of the conference hall.
They were riding flying broomsticks and saluting Piquely and August inside the conference hall.
With just one glance, Newland and Sigfen loosened their grips on their wands.
Because judging from their estimates, there were at least tens of thousands of Aurors outside.
Piquely had not lied. Given the current situation, they really were no match for the various Ministries of Magic, which had mobilized all their forces.
August looked at the people from the British Ministry of Magic, whose faces alternated between green and white, and shook her head.
"We have no intention of destroying the British Ministry of Magic. In fact, we are even prepared to give you some of Sky City's profits. Just based on this alone, we are being merciful. You should be satisfied. After all, you are still alive. This is our gratitude to Commissioner Link Flamel."
She called it gratitude, but August's face was filled with deep pity.
"Then, let's carry it out like this. We should also continue inspecting Sky City. The time just now was too short, and we haven't seen everything yet."
As she spoke, Piquely stood up with the other ministers and headed toward the spatial elevator.
Every one of them had excited expressions on their faces.
And the more excited they became, the angrier Newland and the others grew.
This made Newland and Sigfen even more furious.
Unfortunately, given the current situation, they really did not have the right to turn over the table.
However, just as Newland and the others were forcibly suppressing their anger, preparing to make plans and seek revenge later.
A burst of exclamations suddenly erupted from the crowd on the other side.
"Is this your doing!?"
Piquely's expression darkened as she pointed at the elevator doors.
Old Barty and Percy were completely baffled, but the next moment, they understood what Piquely meant.
Because the German Minister of Magic pressed the elevator call button again.
But unlike its usual swift response, the spatial elevator did not open this time. Even the indicator light did not come on.
"Ha! I really didn't expect you to actually dare to retaliate against us! But this method is a little too low-level, isn't it?"
As she spoke, Piquely, August, and the other ministers of magic all drew their wands.
They were Ministers of Magic, yes, but that did not mean they were trash like Fudge.
Many of them had once held important positions in the Auror command. Their combat strength might not be particularly strong, but with their numerical advantage, dealing with Newland, Sigfen, and the others was more than enough!
The atmosphere in the conference hall suddenly became tense.
This left Old Barty and Percy even more at a loss, because the elevator really had nothing to do with them.
Of course, that was no longer important.
Given the current situation, if they did not fight, this matter would probably not be resolved.
Newland and Sigfen exchanged a glance and quickly prepared for battle.
Although there were many more people on the other side, they also had a trump card, the trump card Link had personally given them!
The smell of gunpowder in the air grew stronger and stronger. Battle was about to break out.
But at this moment, the spatial elevator suddenly emitted a clear chime.
Almost everyone's attention in the conference hall was instantly drawn over.
Then everyone saw the elevator doors slowly open, and a man dressed in black robes with a smile on his face walked out first.
The man's face looked completely unfamiliar, but a faint crimson divine light and the smell of blood surrounded his body.
Strangely, despite being accompanied by such an evil power, the man gave off a very approachable feeling. Just looking at him gave people the urge to sleep side by side with him.
Such an obvious characteristic finally allowed everyone present to recognize his identity.