Chapter 444
: Always at the cost of sacrifice
Chapter 444: Always at the cost of sacrifice
The black smoke billowed up and spread wantonly in the air, appearing thick and dense. The strong smell of burning filled the air, making people afraid to approach easily.
The shrill sirens sounded from far away and the fire trucks roared past the roadside. The red body of the fire truck was extremely eye-catching, like a streak of speeding red lightning.
Pedestrians on the roadside stopped one after another, and several cars also stopped to let the car pass. Passengers curiously poked their heads out, stretched their necks, and asked each other: "What is that place in front? Why is there a fire?"
Two fat men in police uniforms set up a roadblock and shouted, "Don't get close, go back the way you came or take a detour... There may be an explosion ahead..."
After hearing this, the passers-by who had been complaining about the fire wasting time turned around and left, but a few people stayed, as if they thought this place was far enough away that even an explosion would not affect them, so they might as well just watch the excitement.
A black MPV was also parked on the side of the road. The people in the car were pale and had no intention of getting out to watch.
John Adler held the suitcase that he regarded as his life and asked in a trembling voice, "Hey... that direction... is that my manor?"
The driver, wearing white gloves, said as evenly as possible, "Yes, Mr. Adler."
John Adler was speechless for a long time.
He vaguely knew that he was a bait, but before he came, someone had assured him that this operation would be a success. His estate might suffer some losses, but he would be compensated in other ways.
For example, other people in the business will give him more benefits, or increase the share of longevity potion, etc.
As for himself, there was certainly no danger in this operation.
——You call this safe?
If he hadn't run fast, he might have been roasted by now!
Abigail, who was also sitting in the car, had secretly grasped the magic wand in her right hand.
She tried to contact those who remained in the manor, but never received a response. It was almost certain that they had all been killed or captured.
Abigail actually didn't understand why the plan failed - in previous simulations, their chances of winning were over 60 percent; even if they failed, the success rate of the main force's escape was over 90 percent.
But the result was completely unexpected.
——Did Dumbledore and Grindelwald team up? Or... some wizards, like in legends, burst out with greater power when facing a crisis?
But anyway, since no one escaped alive, no one could find her and Adler.
On the bright side, maybe the people in the manor haven't reported Adler's desertion yet! After all, although this guy has a nasty personality, he usually spends money very freely.
Abigail's eyes flashed with danger, and her wand silently extended a little from her sleeve.
From childhood to adulthood, she has experienced countless battles and has become very proficient in using silent spells.
John Adler didn't notice the little action of the "Wizard Bodyguard" next to him. He took out his cell phone and looked through the contact list while complaining:
"It's all burned down. The compensation they promised must be tripled... no, five times! Don't wait for the others, they must be all dead! Let's drive now and go to Herichsen..."
Just as John Adler turned to the name he was looking for, his whole body suddenly became stiff as if petrified, and he couldn't even move a finger.
The phone slipped from his palm, and before it fell to the ground, it was caught by a hand and the cover was closed.
John Adler was sweating all over. He rolled his eyes hurriedly and saw that his bodyguards and driver had all turned into statues, motionless and speechless. Even their breathing was so weak that it was almost inaudible.
The only person in the car who was still able to move normally was the easy-to-talk wizard bodyguard.
John Adler understood something. He looked at her in shock and fear, not understanding why she suddenly attacked them.
Abigail looked at those strong bodyguards. Some of them were former special forces soldiers, some were sharpshooters, and some were boxing champions. Each of them had much stronger close combat ability than Abigail.
But they didn't know what was happening until they were frozen by magic.
The secretary sitting in the last row had not been controlled by the magic due to the angle, but she was keenly aware of the sudden petrification of the people around her. She subconsciously rushed over to open the car door, but then found that her position was not convenient for doing so.
The thin wand was already pointing to the tip of her nose.
The secretary raised his hands, forced an ugly smile, and asked in a trembling voice: "Why? Miss Abigail... If you are not satisfied with the remuneration, we can discuss it again. I believe Mr. Adler will be willing to pay a price that will make you excited."
John Adler blinked hard to show that he thought so too.
"You know what? My parents died because of two reckless wizards." Abigail said suddenly.
"Well..." The secretary was confused and said cautiously, "Is that so? This is so sad..."
Abigail said, "I joined the organization just for revenge... I think that kind of reckless wizards should not live in this world. The boss of the organization can lead us to establish a new order - a new order in which no matter what race, whether or not they have magic power, they must be bound by the law and must not act recklessly!"
The secretary smiled and praised: "It's a very noble ideal... That's why Mr. Adler provides a lot of funds every year to support your organization..."
Adler looked at her with tears in his eyes, hoping she would say more.
But Abigail petrified the secretary as well, and continued expressionlessly: "I am well aware that in order to achieve this goal, there will certainly be necessary sacrifices, and innocent people will certainly be harmed."
"I am even willing to be the organization's knife - using my wizard identity to steal secrets of the magic world, modify other people's memories, hurt people I don't want to hurt, kill innocent parents and poor children, and send children who could have gone to school normally to the organization's base so that they can be trained to become qualified fighters of the organization."
"They told me that those who are unwilling to sacrifice anything can change nothing. There will certainly be short-term pain and loss, but these will bring about greater change and progress, so that those who come after can live in a better and more just world."
"I was lied to."
Abigail said seemingly calmly.
"Of course, you weren't the ones who deceived me, but you are also part of the evil organization... and of course, I am extremely stupid."
The secretary wanted to say something, but was hit in the chest by the green killing curse. She screamed, her body bounced, and she fell on the chair, dead.
The witch twirled her wand, pointing it at the other frightened eyes.
"I'm sorry, everyone... I hope we can be normal people in our next life."
……
A few green lights flashed inside the car, and the dark black windows also lit up a few times, but due to the effect of the shading film, such a faint light did not attract the attention of passers-by.
All the bodyguards fell on their seats, their faces pale, without any injuries on their bodies, but they were all dead. Adler was almost scared to death.
His eyes widened, his pupils almost bursting from their sockets, and he looked at Abigail in horror, trying to convey his plea and the terms of exchange of benefits to her with his eyes.
Abigail saw it, but she didn't mean to let him go. She pointed her wand at Adler's head and whispered, "Legendary!"
……
Half an hour later, the witch in a baseball cap got out of the car with her head lowered. She stuffed the crystal bottle containing the silver memory into her backpack, looked around, and closed the car door with her backhand.
At this time, the black smoke in the distance had become much thinner. People gathered in a tavern a few hundred meters away, drinking and enthusiastically discussing the unfortunate Adler family.
There was no one else around.
The magic wand hidden in the sleeve shook slightly, and the car parked on the roadside seemed to be started, slowly sliding forward. It went downhill, getting faster and faster, and finally broke through the railing and rushed into the free sky.
"boom--"
There was a loud explosion at the bottom of the steep slope.
Abigail looked at the fire, recalling the various scenes shown in the streaming video.
The truths that she had been ignoring were exposed so abruptly and intuitively, showing in all aspects that the organization she served and the colleagues she trusted were so cruel, brutal, and cold-blooded. They had no ideals or principles, only endless greed and plunder, and they were not even human beings.
Those parasites enjoyed a luxurious life and wanted great power and eternal life. They treated wizards and ordinary people other than themselves as materials that could be consumed at will. They had no mercy and never felt a trace of guilt.
After searching Adler's mind, Abigail confirmed this.
She joined such an organization in order to avenge her parents, but what the organization did was a thousand times more evil than those two evil wizards back then.
Abigail exhaled slowly, turned around and walked towards the dense forest next to her.
……
Wade was sitting in the headmaster's office at Hogwarts, holding a cup of tea, and felt so comfortable that he wanted to lie down and take a nap.
This kind of reassuring environment didn’t seem special when we had it, but only after we lost it did we realize how precious it was.
But now is not the time to go to bed.
After Dumbledore brought him back just now, he said he had to go pick up other people and left in a hurry. I guess he will be back soon.
Wade drank a cup of hot cocoa and walked around the room casually.
The sleeping portrait and the rotating silverware remained the same as before, but suddenly there was a large space against the wall, which turned out to be a mini world with rich scenery, as if the essence of nature was condensed in a small space.
Mountains three or four feet high stood against the wall, and a winding river flowed between the mountains. The riverbed was covered with tiny pebbles, and wild flowers the size of rice grains were scattered on the grassland beside the river.
There is a miniature forest on the side of the mountain, and Dumbledore's several animal puppets are distributed in their favorite places. There are even more of them, such as rabbits the size of a fingernail and squirrels the size of a pea.
There is a house at the foot of the mountain, where a family of five small humanoid puppets live. Some are fetching water, some are feeding chickens, some are lying on the haystack to sleep, and two are lying on the attic floor, apparently playing the Goblin Stones game.
After a while, the "mother" who had finished feeding the chickens took the spoon and woke up her son who was hiding and sleeping, and called down the two children who were playing games upstairs. The family went out together, carrying baskets, apparently to pick mulberries.
Although that kind of primitive life is simple, it brings a carefree feeling. Watching it will calm your heart.
Wade watched for a long time. When they started their return journey, he was about to pour himself a glass of water. When he turned around, he found that Dumbledore had returned.
He looked no different than before, smiling amiably and beckoning for Vader to sit across from him.
"Professor." Wade sat down and said, "Your mini world is becoming more and more colorful."
"Yes." Dumbledore said with a smile, "Sometimes I feel upset, and looking at them will calm me down... Although I may have said it many times, I will praise it again - it is a great invention, Wade."
Vader smiled: "Thank you, Professor."
"Tell me about your experiences during this period," said Dumbledore. "I think you must have a lot to talk about."
……
The candlelight in the principal's office gradually dimmed from bright to completely extinguished.
Because it was already bright outside the window, the warm sunlight shone in through the window, sprinkled on the ground, and outlined the blurred edges of the window frame.
Wade could even hear the noisy sounds of students on campus. In the distance, there were several figures flying and chasing each other on the Quidditch field. They were Quidditch players who were in training.
He suddenly remembered that in about a month, there would be a match between Ravenclaw and Slytherin, and one of the teams might be training right now.
"Grindelwald's attitude confuses me, Professor." Wade said, "I mean... I can roughly understand what he wants to show, but I don't understand..."
"Why you?" Dumbledore asked, interlacing his thumbs.
"Yes... There are many outstanding young wizards in the Witch Party, Durmstrang, or other countries."
Wade said: "I won't belittle myself, but I am your student after all. I think... I later thought that the main reason why Grindelwald tried to win me over might be to... to target you."
Dumbledore smiled.
"You underestimate your own worth, Vader. If I were Grindelwald, I would also have high hopes for you - of course, I'm not saying that you can trust him without reservation."
There was a hint of coldness and complexity in Dumbledore's eyes. He stared through his half-moon glasses at the spots of light on the table.
"Like I told you before... Gellert Grindelwald, he is a very dangerous man who can easily ignite people's hearts with his words, turning his ideals into the ideals of others, and even making people follow him to death."
"The most dangerous thing about him is that he makes people believe that his goals are noble, his means are legitimate, and that everything he does is for the betterment of all mankind... But in fact, he is just using any means to achieve his own goals at the expense of others."
"I believe you will not be deceived by him, Vader. Because you not only have a clear mind, but also have parents and friends who love you. Even for them, you will not walk on a dark and destructive path like Grindelwald."
"But sometimes, what we do is not decided by ourselves, but is always pushed by the outside world. So I still have to remind you..."
"Always be vigilant, Vader, beware of the temptations of power and the poison of thought, and examine your heart often... Remember, choices say more about a person than ability."
(End of this chapter)