It was eleven o’clock at night.
Aside from Marcus, who was still recovering, the entire team had assembled.
Twenty men stood in three rows.
Kyle’s Group One was fully armed, wands held tight, with various potion vials and alchemical tools hanging from their belts.
Claw’s Group Two was even more feral; besides their wands, they carried short swords and clubs at their waists.
Lupin was busy distributing newly purchased equipment.
“These are Shielding Cloaks, produced in the dark workshops of Knockturn Alley.
They can block a single jinx,” he said, tossing over the deep gray cloaks one by one.
“Magic smoke bombs—they take effect three seconds after hitting the ground.
Flash powder—scatter it to blind your opponents.”
“Hold onto these and don’t use them prematurely…”
After the distribution, Lupin began assigning tasks.
“Tonight’s plan is simple.”
He rolled out a hand-drawn map of the northwestern district of Knockturn Alley.
Seven intersecting alleys formed a massive, labyrinthine maze.
“According to our intelligence, they are staying in this inn tonight.”
Lupin pointed to a marker.
“‘The Blood Raven’s Nest,’ third floor.
There are twelve rooms in total.
We can’t launch a direct frontal assault, so we need to lure them out.”
“Claw, take your men and make some noise at the alley entrance.
Lead them into this cul-de-sac.”
Claw nodded.
“Understood!”
“Kyle.” Lupin pointed to another path.
“Lead Group One and set up an ambush on the rooftops flanking the alley.
Once they are all within range, strike simultaneously.”
“Ear, the Silencing Barrier must be completed before the first spell is cast.
We cannot let them call for help, nor can we alert the other residents.”
“Got it,” Ear promised.
Lupin finally looked at everyone.
“Remember, make it quick.
From the moment we start until the end, it cannot exceed two minutes.”
“After two minutes, regardless of the outcome, everyone retreats.”
Alvin stood up after Lupin finished the arrangements.
“I’ll be going with you.
If possible, I want to finish them off myself.”
When Alvin finished speaking, the room fell into a deathly silence.
Someone swallowed hard.
Someone else subconsciously touched their own neck.
Greyback leaned in and whispered into Claw’s ear, “Is our Big Boss a bit too bloodthirsty?”
Claw glared at him.
“Shut up!
Don’t say things you shouldn’t.”
“This is our first real external war,” Alvin said, ignoring them.
“After the battle, I will award bonuses based on the results and your performance.
Starting at one hundred Galleons.”
Without waiting to see their excited expressions, Alvin turned toward the door.
“Let’s move.”
The twenty-one people filed out of the attic, disappearing into the heavy night of Knockturn Alley.
The streets were empty.
The moon was obscured by clouds, with only a few scattered windows still emitting a dim, yellowish light.
Alvin walked at the front of the group, his fingers unconsciously stroking the hilt of his blade.
The steel hilt had been worn smooth, still bearing faint bloodstains that couldn’t be washed away.
Tonight, it would drink blood again.
The Blood Raven’s Nest was the filthiest, most dilapidated third-rate inn in Knockturn Alley, with peeling walls and a crooked sign.
Claw led Group Two through the darkness to the alley behind the inn.
He gave Greyback a look.
Greyback nodded in understanding, picked up a broken brick from the roadside, and hurled it at a lit window on the third floor.
Crash!
The sound of shattering glass exploded in the silent night.
Almost simultaneously, several wand tips lit up inside the third-floor window.
Seven dark figures quickly approached the window, their movements agile.
The man in the lead leaned halfway out.
A scar ran across his left eye—it was “Razor” Eric.
He narrowed his eyes, scanning the dark alley.
Having achieved his goal, Greyback turned and ran.
He didn’t run too fast, just enough for the people upstairs to see a “panicked, fleeing” shadow.
“Go, after him,” Eric ordered curtly.
The seven hunters leaped from the window, the glow of their wands cutting through the darkness as they chased after Claw and his men. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
The plan went smoothly.
Greyback lured them toward the designated area.
It was a dead end with high walls on three sides and a narrow entrance that only allowed two people to pass side-by-side.
Only after Greyback escaped using a pre-arranged rope did the hunters catch up.
Meanwhile, Lupin and Kyle’s Group One had been lying in wait on the rooftops for a long time.
“Now!” Kyle growled.
A barrage of spells, along with magic smoke bombs and flash powder, poured down from the rooftops.
“Stupefy!”
“Expelliarmus!”
“Petrificus Totalus!”
Red, purple, and blue light wove into a net.
Two hunters were caught off guard; their wands flew from their hands, and they stumbled to the ground.
“It’s a trap!
Retreat!”
Eric reacted incredibly fast.
He threw up a Shield Charm to deflect two Stunning Spells and retreated rapidly.
But it was too late.
Claw and the others had already blocked the alley entrance.
Showing their sharp fangs, they charged into the fray with wands, blades, and clubs.
Ear and the support team had already established the Silencing Barrier at the mouth of the alley.
No matter how loud the fighting became inside, not a sound would leak out.
Alvin had been hiding in the shadows of the alley.
Watching the spells fly and the figures clash ahead, he raised his blade and charged toward his first target.
It was a lone hunter currently entangled with Greyback, his back wide open.
Alvin closed in and swung.
The sensation of the blade cutting through the throat was light, like slicing through a medium-rare steak.
[Experience gained.]
A massive chunk of experience filled his bar instantly.
Level 16.
A powerful surge of heat flooded his limbs and bones.
His strength exploded, and his speed soared.
Alvin licked the blood that had splashed onto his lips and smiled.
A second hunter sensed something was wrong and turned, raising his wand.
“Avada Ked—”
Before the incantation finished, the blade arrived.
Alvin’s knife plunged through the gaps in his ribs, piercing straight into his heart.
The hunter stared wide-eyed at Alvin as his wand slipped from his grasp.
The killing brought massive experience and the joy of leveling up.
He continued toward a third and a fourth.
By the fifth hunter, he encountered a small problem—the target was completely covered by a Shield Charm.
After Alvin’s strikes were deflected three times, he circled to the man’s side.
At the moment the opponent took a breath to cast another spell, the blade slashed horizontally, cutting halfway through his neck.
Experience secured.
The sixth was Eric.
“Razor” Eric.
By now, Eric was seeing red.
When Alvin rushed over, Claw and another member were already badly injured, lying on the ground.
Eric swung his wand, Dark Magic snaking out like a viper.
“Crucio—”
Alvin didn’t let him finish the spell.
He lunged forward, his body—strengthened multiple times—slamming into Eric like a cannonball.
Along with his blade.
Eric drew a dagger with his off-hand, attempting to parry and display the prowess that earned him the name “Razor,” but he had met Alvin.
A faster, more ruthless, and stronger Alvin.
Alvin’s left hand gripped Eric’s wrist, while his right hand drove the short sword into the man’s ribs three times in rapid succession.
In, out, in again…
Bloody froth bubbled from Eric’s mouth.
“Who…
are you…” Eric glared at him.
“The Squib.
The Squib you were looking for!”
Alvin finished him off with a final thrust into the heart.
When Alvin finished Eric and looked for the last hunter, he found the man was already dead.
He had been hit in the back of the head by Kyle’s Stunning Spell.
The unlucky fellow had slammed into the wall, snapping his own neck.
Alvin hadn’t had time to deliver the finishing blow, losing out on a large chunk of experience.
The battle ended.
There was only heavy breathing and the rhythmic drip of blood hitting the ground.
Alvin gave his blade a flourish before sheathing it.
He checked his experience bar—Level 19, not far from the next level.
“Withdraw.”
The team moved quickly.
The support group carried away the wounded, while the combat group cleared the traces.
The entire process took less than three minutes.
By the time they returned to the attic, it was 1:20 AM.
The tally: Seven Rozier family hunters killed, including “Razor” Eric.
On their side, three were lightly injured.
Claw had a gash on his arm deep enough to see bone, Greyback had two broken ribs, and another member had been grazed by Dark Magic on the shoulder, causing the skin to fester.
Vivian and Tom spent half an hour treating them before their conditions stabilized.
“They’ll be fine.
They can move normally tomorrow,” Vivian reported.
Alvin nodded.
He walked to the center of the attic and began pulling money from his bag.
A massive amount of silver Sickles poured out of the void like a waterfall, piling up on the floor.
The pile grew higher and wider, quickly forming twenty-one glittering silver mountains.
The entire team stared in a daze.
“You all performed excellently today.
Everyone receives a bonus of three thousand Sickles.”
“Kyle, take Marcus’s share for him.
He counts for today as well.”
“Lupin and the three group leaders,” he looked at the four of them, “each of you gets an additional thousand.”
Four more silver piles were separated.
For a moment, the room was so quiet that only the clinking of silver coins could be heard.
Then—
“Merlin…
Long live the Boss!”
“Thank you for the reward, Big Boss!”
“Mr.
Royce has given me the courage to live!
Thank you, Patron!”
Three thousand Sickles was roughly equivalent to one hundred and seventy-six Galleons at market rate.
The monthly salary of an elite Auror was only about a hundred Galleons.
This one night’s bonus was more than an elite Auror made in a month.
And this was just the bonus; their fixed monthly salaries were separate.
Claw stared at his pile of silver coins, his hands beginning to shake.
Tom whispered to Vivian, “I’ve never seen so much money in my life…”
“I’m not like you.
The last time I saw this much was…
well, the last time!” Vivian said.
“You all have Undetectable Extension Pouches.
Take your money, then go get some rest.
Training continues as usual tomorrow,” Alvin said.
The team members snapped out of it and stepped forward to pack away their shares.
There were many coins, but no one complained.
As they gathered the money, their faces were filled with irrepressible excitement.
Once the crowd had mostly dispersed, Lupin walked up to Alvin.
“Boss, you killed Eric.
This won’t stay hidden for long.
Next time, it won’t be seven people.
It might be seventeen, or twenty-seven.
They might even call in the Ministry’s power.”
“Then let them come!”
Alvin turned to Lupin, his eyes shimmering in the dim light.
“Remus, there are some things I can’t tell you!”
“I can only say that the more of them come, the faster I grow—until I reach the peak of this world!” Alvin laughed and patted Lupin on the shoulder.
“So, let them come.
The more, the better.”
Lupin opened his mouth to speak but ultimately said nothing.
“By the way, the exchange on the 31st goes on as usual.
You need to keep expanding your numbers.
We still have too few people.”
Lupin gave his word and left.
Alvin was left alone in the attic.
Outside the window, the night in Knockturn Alley remained deep.
From a distant shop came the cry of a drunkard, which quickly fell silent again.
A new scent of blood was slowly seeping into the cracks of the alley’s bricks.