"I have to say, he made the mountain peak quite cozy," Michael commented, looking up at the top of the mountain with a smile on his lips. His blue eyes seemed deeper and more amused, as if he found the current situation quite entertaining.
"What's the plan?" Alexei asked after a moment of silence.
"I don't have a complicated plan," Fleur responded with an expressionless face. She looked at the two and discreetly used her Charm. "Wear them out and simply attack."
Alexei and Michael exchanged calm, cold looks, their expressions unchanged. Fleur realized that both of them had alchemical items that blocked her influence, which was against the tournament rules, but she didn't say anything. Not when she needed these two to fight head-on against the two limited special-grade wizards.
"I agree with a simple plan. Rose Potter and Asterion Black have probably prepared for almost everything at the mountain peak, blocking more complicated plans, including reinforcing the mountain to prevent any attacks from below," Alexei agreed with Fleur's words. Complicated and complex plans were only suitable for teams with many years of experience, something they didn't have. Besides, they were only temporary allies. If they managed to defeat the Hogwarts team, everyone would try to stab each other in the back to take first place without any hesitation.
"I'll send my little 'puppies' to fight and drain as much of their magical energy as possible, and when they're low on energy, we'll join the fight," Fleur commented with a calm expression, her eyes especially bright at that moment. All three grade 1 wizards nodded in agreement with her words. No one mentioned Fleur enslaving the other participants, something that would certainly cause a lot of resentment in the future.
Fleur's eyes fell on the Italian team member, Matteo Romano, who was pretending to be under the influence of her Charm. Her lips curved into a cold smile as she thought about how to use this to her advantage.
Ana, Michael, and Alexei watched Fleur smiling like that and felt a chill run down their spines. This woman was too dangerous—not just intelligent, but also cruel and as cunning as a snake hidden in the bushes, waiting for the right moment to strike its prey.
After eliminating Asterion and Rose, Fleur would be the one to be eliminated next!
The three exchanged discreet glances and realized they had similar thoughts.
This made them smile, but they quickly hid their expressions with caution, fearing that Fleur might discover something.
Not that Fleur didn't notice the movements behind her, but she had never trusted these people in the first place. They were using her, and she was using them to get what she wanted. When they ceased to be useful, Fleur was confident she could eliminate all three without much trouble.
"Sophie, follow them, and if you get the chance, take out whoever is on the throne," Fleur commanded.
Sophie Dubois, a member of the French team, a small and lovely young woman with brown hair and blue eyes, nodded silently and followed the enslaved men without hesitation. Her figure melted into the shadows and disappeared from the sight of the four grade 1 wizards.
"Very good innate technique," Michael commented with a touch of seriousness in his eyes. When the young woman vanished into the shadows, he hadn't felt anything at all! Even Asterion, who was not focused on his surroundings, could not detect the hidden young woman, much less a mere grade 1 wizard. This demonstrated that Sophie's innate technique was indeed extraordinary.
"Sophie comes from an interesting family," Fleur remarked casually, not elaborating further.
"It's started," Alexei said, sensing the magical energy fluctuations at the top of the mountain.
The four grade 1 wizards remained motionless, waiting patiently, staying in their best condition to begin the fight.
---
Rose dodged a punch and countered with a strike to the young man's jaw, but instead of knocking him unconscious, it only drove him further into madness, disregarding his own injuries. This left Rose speechless; these guys were enslaved to the point of not feeling pain or even awareness. Only Fleur's orders could make them stop.
"Asterion, that French bitch is making her move!" Rose shouted as she was surrounded by four young men and easily dodged all their attacks.
"They want to use these pests to drain us," Asterion responded, dodging a kick. His face remained calm and composed, not surprised by what was happening. But unlike before, he was now fully focused and no longer underestimated these pests.
Suddenly, Asterion noticed something strange about the person in front of him. The young man fighting him was deliberately missing his strikes, not that he was aiming to hit in the first place.
Matteo Romano, a member of the Italian team, spoke while continuing to fight Asterion. "Lord Black, Fleur has enslaved almost all the men from the other teams. They are using them to make you waste your magical energy. At the base of the mountain, Fleur and three other grade 1 wizards are ready to attack at any moment."
The young man's words left Asterion, Rose, and Cedric shocked.
Rose, in particular, looked at the young man with a curious expression. She was aware of the potency of Fleur's Charm; it was almost impossible to defend against. However, the young man seemed unusually sane for someone under Fleur's influence.
"Occlumency," Asterion said, observing the young man's unusually deep eyes. It was a clear sign of someone practicing Occlumency.
"Yes. I'm quite talented in the arts of the mind. Although Fleur's charm is potent, it cannot control me completely," Matteo replied, punching Asterion in the face, which Asterion casually dodged.
"What do you want?" Rose didn't believe Matteo wanted nothing in particular, especially at such a delicate moment.
"I want to deal with Fleur personally," Matteo said, his voice chillingly cold. He had witnessed his best friend and himself being enslaved before his eyes. That woman was not kind to her slaves; food and water were only given when absolutely necessary. He had endured very harsh times under Fleur's control. His feelings were not simple hatred; his emotions toward Fleur were the worst possible. He wanted that French bitch to feel what he felt when he was controlled, like an item, a disposable object.
Rose and Asterion clicked their tongues upon seeing the hatred in the young man's eyes; it was clear that the hatred was genuine. Asterion, in particular, knew that the negative emotions were real. It was the second time he had felt such profound hatred. The first time was with the matriarch of House Longbottom, someone he still needed to finish off.
"Very well, I will deliver Fleur on a silver platter for you," Asterion agreed with the young man's words and promised with determination, although his eyes remained incredibly calm and unimpressed by the very proposal.
Rose glanced at Asterion and suppressed a smile that threatened to appear on her lips. She knew that Asterion was definitely lying; there was no way he could do something like that to Fleur Delacour, not when the young woman was the daughter of the French Minister of Magic.
The daughter of House Potter could not help but look pityingly at Matteo, who was smiling broadly. The poor fool didn't realize he was being used by Asterion. When he lost his usefulness, Rose had no doubt that Asterion would discard the young man like trash.
Suddenly, while distractedly dodging the slow attacks of the men enslaved by Fleur, a red light appeared in front of Rose, nearly hitting her.
They can use magic!
That was Rose's thought as she saw the red light miss its target and strike a rock, shattering it into a thousand pieces. This truly surprised her; she hadn't expected them to be able to cast magic in their current state.
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Next Chapter Second Volume: 152 - Second Phase of the King's Game (7), 153 - Second Phase of the King's Game (8), 154 - Second Phase of the King's Game (9), 155 - Second Phase of the King's Game (10), 156 - Second Phase of the King's Game (11), 157 - Second Phase of the King's Game (12), 158 - Second Phase of the King's Game (13 e And), 159 - Death of Arcturus (1), 160 - Death of Arcturus (2), Chapter 161 - First Phase of God's Creation Plan (1), Chapter 162 - First Phase of God's Creation Plan (2), Chapter 163 - First Phase of God's Creation Plan (3), Chapter 164 - First Phase of God's Creation Plan (4), Chapter 165 - Vellory of Arcuturus Black (1), Chapter 166 - Vellory of Arcuturus Black (2), Chapter 167 - Vellory of Arcuturus Black (3).