However, he did not follow the demands of those two idiots; instead, he detailed today's events for Victor.
After sending off the owl, Mr. Burke turned and moved the two corpses blocking the way under the storage shelves.
The most pathetic thing about these two sorry fellows was their complete lack of self-awareness...
They could not even handle a small shop owner like him, yet they were more arrogant than You-Know-Who himself. Truly fools.
Sitting back at the counter, Mr. Burke wiped his slightly warm wand and then boredly began counting his Galleons...
Two hours later, the doorbell chimed again.
Mr. Burke looked up and was momentarily stunned.
He had originally thought Victor Wick would walk in, or perhaps more accomplices of those two fools.
Instead, two young men, incredibly young, stepped inside.
Shouldn't young people this age be studying at Hogwarts?
"Professor Wick sent us. We heard you wrote to him," a freckled young man said.
Mr. Burke put down his Galleons and pointed to the two corpses nearby.
"Yes, I've explained the details in the letter. I assume you already know."
Mr. Burke curiously observed the two young men, unable to discern their relationship with Victor Wick for a moment.
The freckled young man stepped forward and placed a bag of Galleons on the counter.
"The Professor asked me to convey his thanks..."
A bright smile instantly lit up Mr. Burke's face.
Now, he believed these people were indeed sent by Victor Wick.
"It is only right. Professor Wick and I are very close business partners."
The young man pointed at the two corpses. "Mr. Burke, do you know who these two were?"
"I found these on them." Mr. Burke pulled out two pieces of red cloth that looked like masks.
"Ashwinders? I see. We'll take these two bodies away to handle them."
"Feel free."
The freckled young man nodded.
The other young man opened a suitcase and neatly tucked the two corpses inside; his movements were swift and practiced.
With Mr. Burke's sharp eye, he could tell at a glance that these two were experts at making bodies disappear...
"I wonder... how did Professor Wick cross paths with these country bumpkins?" Mr. Burke asked tentatively.
He expected no answer, but the young man didn't seem to care and answered directly.
"We stole a Chimaera corpse from them."
"Ah... well, that explains it."
"We scrubbed our tracks clean back then. We don't understand how they found the Professor so quickly," the young man said calmly.
Mr. Burke pondered for a moment and decided to extend another favor to Victor.
"Some Dark Arts artifacts have basic communication functions. If someone carries one and gets killed, the killer's name appears elsewhere—like these two."
Mr. Burke tossed two dull gray rings onto the table. Judging by the marks, they had not been activated yet.
He had found them on the bodies. Thanks to his experience and a keen eye, he had noticed them; otherwise, his own name would have appeared before those Ashwinders.
"Understood. Thanks for the clarification. Farewell." The freckled young man turned and left with his companion.
Mr. Burke weighed the bag of Galleons and sighed softly.
He just remembered that he had some impression of these young people. After all, a mysterious training institution had suddenly popped up in Knockturn Alley, with tough-looking youths coming and going. How could he not have noticed?
He just hadn't expected these young people to be Victor Wick's men!
To secretly cultivate such a group under the noses of Dumbledore and You-Know-Who... he knew Victor wasn't simple and had grander designs!
He secretly congratulated himself on making the right choice.
"Well... the Ashwinders, that decrepit organization, will probably be gone soon... Why did you have to provoke him? If the Ashwinders are gone, won't the price of magical creature materials in Knockturn Alley skyrocket?"
Mr. Burke looked excitedly at the money bag in his hand and hurried to close the shop.
"A business opportunity... I need to buy in bulk while I can!"
Victor Wick was excitedly putting a silver, shimmering collar around Lucky's neck.
This was forged from the Mithril chain he had previously used to scare Dorcas Meadowes.
Now, the collar was covered in rune sequences, granting Lucky buffs like the Felix Felicis Charm, Unicorn's Blessing, Chimaera's enhancement, and more.
As soon as Lucky put on the collar, his entire aura changed.
His physical body and spirit were instantly revitalized.
Lucky jumped up excitedly, knocking Victor flat onto the ground.
Even though his backside hurt from the fall, Victor couldn't stop grinning.
Victor was so happy because he had solved the problem of buffs not being permanent...
He had been stuck in a rut before, obsessed with creating permanent enhancement spells. Why hadn't he thought of engraving these buffs onto equipment?
He had played many games and even participated in game development a few times.
Wasn't equipment meant to give players permanent buffs? How could he have forgotten that?
"Lucky, with this collar, you're no longer an ordinary dog!"
"Woof!"
Lucky wagged his tail vigorously, accidentally brushing against a nearby chair.
The chair instantly shattered into pieces...
"That much of a boost? Those potions weren't for nothing!" Victor was even more delighted.
To improve Lucky's constitution, he had freeloaded quite a few potions from Snape. It seemed it had paid off.
After all, the physical foundation had to be good for the buffs to work better.
In any case, the Chimaera enhancement wasn't as potent on Victor as it was on Lucky.
"In that case, let's go hunting together tonight," Victor chuckled, rubbing his head.
Philip Maxwell opened his eyes, a sudden sense of unease waking him from his slumber.
He sat up in bed, comforted the Graphorn lying beside him, and looked out the window with some confusion.
It was pitch black outside, with only the occasional patrol providing a flicker of light.
Maxwell donned his robes, opened his door, and looked out over the massive camp.
"Spencer!" Maxwell shouted to a patrol nearby.
The wizard leading the patrol ran over immediately.
"Are those two idiots and their squad back yet?"
"Not yet."
"No word this late? Did they get themselves killed?" Maxwell frowned.
"The rings haven't reacted. They should be fine. I expect they're off enjoying themselves somewhere after finishing the job," Spencer chuckled.
Stationed in the deep mountains for long periods, these guys would naturally indulge themselves in the city before returning. This was an unspoken rule within the Ashwinders.
"Hmph, fools. They should have sent word back even if they were celebrating! When they return, I'll skin them alive!" Maxwell said angrily.
Spencer shuddered. He knew Maxwell wasn't joking; those two fools were in for it.
Suddenly, a massive boom echoed from the distance! The ground itself trembled!
Maxwell's pupils constricted. "Enemy attack! Prepare for battle!"
Spencer ran off frantically, shouting orders.
The quiet camp instantly turned into a boiling cauldron of activity.
Countless silhouettes flickered and ran through the darkness...
*Pop!*
A yellow light shot into the sky, illuminating the dark camp like daylight!
At that moment, the Ashwinders rushing out realized that the area outside their camp was somehow filled with people.
These young people stood there silently, their expressions cold.
Floating above them was a very familiar fire dragon.
A smiling young man stood atop the dragon's head, with a large yellow dog sitting beside him.
"Boys, the hunt begins." Victor chuckled and shot a streak of white light into the camp.
"Boom!" A barracks building was instantly blown to smithereens by the light!
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!" Receiving the command, the young people behind him transformed into black mist, swarming into the camp from all directions!
Battle erupted instantly!
At Victor's signal, Lucky lunged forward, leaping from the air into the camp! He was so fast he seemed to teleport...
Maxwell looked at the floating fire dragon and immediately realized who it was.
"Victor Wick! It's you! Everyone, release the beasts! Tear them to pieces!"
Powerful magical creatures emerged from various places, lunging at the young people invading the camp.
A fire dragon, strikingly similar to the one beneath Victor's feet, also took to the skies...
Victor raised his wand and tapped it lightly.
A burst of white light exploded over the camp.
The light shattered into fine white threads, sinking into the camp like circuitry.
The collars of the charging magical creatures flashed with white light, and suddenly, they turned around and lunged back at their masters...
"Ah! Why is this happening? Why has my troll lost control?!"
"Beast! Get away!"
The sudden betrayal of the magical creatures threw the Ashwinders into chaos.
Maxwell waved his wand, forcefully repelling the Graphorn charging at him, his face dark.
He finally understood how those others had fallen to Victor Wick...
Maxwell raised his wand to the sky, a streak of light vanishing into the horizon.
"Calling for help? It's useless. Everyone you're trying to call is already here..."
A pile of dull gray rings was tossed before Maxwell, scattering across the ground...
Only then did Maxwell realize that Victor Wick, who had been standing on the dragon's head just moments ago, was now right in front of him!