The Dark Lord is coming back soon!

During this period, rumors spread throughout Britain like the virus of the Black Death.

At first, the news was only circulated among the betrayed Death Eaters. These people were worried about being liquidated by the Dark Lord and were in a state of panic all day long. When the Dark Mark began to change, fear immediately swallowed them up like a whale in the sea.

Later, with Malfoy's instigation, the authenticity of this rumor was raised to a higher level.

Lucius has held several gatherings during this period, constantly meeting with those pure-blood wizards who have distanced themselves from the You-Know-Who after His downfall, and spreading rumors about Him. He did this, of course, to leave a good impression in front of the Dark Lord.

Look, although I, Lucius Malfoy, am more of a fence-sitter than a helper, I will return to you as soon as you return, showing my loyalty! Although this behavior is in line with Voldemort's wishes, he deliberately activated the Dark Mark, making the pattern burn like a branding iron on the Death Eaters' bodies, wasn't it just to give enough confidence to those who were still waiting for his return? Wasn't it just to bring fear to those who betrayed him?

It can be said that what Lucius did was indeed in line with Voldemort's wishes, but the only problem was that he went a little too far.

Now, this rumor is not only spreading among the Death Eaters, but has also reached the ears of many British wizards, almost becoming something like a prophecy.

However, this is not without its benefits. The seeds of fear have been planted. Once Voldemort is resurrected as planned, the fear he brings to the wizards in the British wizarding world will immediately reach its peak, even exceeding that of the past!

The only trouble is that Voldemort is worried that the British Ministry of Magic will prepare for war in advance because of this "prophecy". If this is the case, then his steps to conquer Britain will be somewhat tortuous.

Fortunately, British wizards have a good Minister of Magic! Cornelius Fudge.

He was the person who could not stand those "alarmist" rumors the most. Under his "wise" decision, he did not make any preparations for any possible crisis. He firmly believed that those rumors were nothing but alarmist, and that people with ulterior motives wanted to achieve their ulterior motives in this way! He not only forbade officials from the Ministry of Magic to talk about this matter, but also forbade the Daily Prophet to report on it, wholeheartedly showing a peaceful appearance to British wizards.

"I really want to reward him well!" At this moment, Voldemort, who had already crossed the sea to the European continent, held the pendant in one hand and looked at the information sent by Barty Jr. with the other hand. He felt happier than ever.

Look, this is what a smart and capable servant should do for him. Just thinking about Peter Pettigrew makes Voldemort a little angry. He caused him to lose his body twelve years ago, and not long ago he lost Harry. Even if that kind of rubbish died ten thousand times, Voldemort would not feel sorry.

Fortunately, there is little Batty.

Of course, Voldemort actually has several such shrewd and capable servants, but they are all imprisoned in Azkaban at the moment.

As for the others, Lucius, whom he had originally favored, had now become someone he could not trust, and Regulus had betrayed him directly. As for Snape—

Voldemort never dreamed that it was Dumbledore who had vouched for him.

"He has indeed gained Dumbledore's trust, but am I still loyal to him?"

I'm afraid this question is difficult to answer.

Voldemort put the pendant away. He had no intention of taking it with him. At this moment, the body of old Barty under his control was just a consumable that could be consumed at any time. In case of a crisis, this body could be abandoned, but the Horcrux he had finally retrieved could not be lost.

But he was also thinking,

"The speed at which Cyrus's magic power increases seems a bit too alarming."

From their first contact underground in Gringotts to the two men being helpless against each other in the Cenobites, coupled with the destroyed ring, Voldemort guessed that Cyrus might have enhanced his power by devouring soul fragments.

Is there a difference in the power of a missing soul and a complete soul?

Voldemort himself was not aware of this.

He had already started making Horcruxes when he was in school, and at that time he was still far from reaching the peak of his magical power. Thinking about it this way, would the splitting of the Horcruxes hinder his progress?

Maybe I could have become stronger? !

His snake-like eyes flickered, but he still did not make up his mind to devour the soul in the pendant again.

"As long as I get the ancient magic, my power will naturally rise to another level. An immortal body is more important to me!"

It's no wonder Voldemort is afraid of death. The last time Cyrus teamed up with Dumbledore left a big shadow on him. Even if he completed his soul, he was not sure he could fight Cyrus and Dumbledore at the same time. In this case, a way to save his life was extremely important.

Moreover, even if he wanted to reintegrate his soul, he couldn't do it. How could Voldemort feel remorse from the bottom of his heart for the lives he killed?

He gathered his thoughts and stepped into Durmstrang, a magic school hidden in Northern Europe.

At this moment, the headmaster of Durmstrang is still Igor Karkaroff.

This was a tall and thin wizard with short white hair and a goatee with small curls on his thin chin. Voldemort was naturally familiar with his slick servant, especially since he betrayed his "friend" and escaped from prison, which made Voldemort hate him to the core.

This kind of person will be the first to be used for blood sacrifice after he is resurrected!

"Haha, Crouch! Old friend!" As soon as Karkaroff saw old Barty, he immediately smiled warmly, and there was no sign of any grudge after being tried by Crouch.

But his eyes were cold and full of worry.

"We are not friends." Voldemort imitated Crouch's rigid and indifferent manner, and said contemptuously and stiffly, "I am here for the Triwizard Tournament."

"Ah, you're talking about this..."

Karkaroff adjusted his thick felt hat uncomfortably and said hesitantly, "Are you going to Hogwarts for the competition?"

"In order, this time at Hogwarts."

"Then you should talk to Ms. Rozier. To be honest, I'm going to resign." Karkaroff didn't seem to be in a very good mood and was very reluctant to go to England.

It was not possible to directly reject the Triwizard Tournament. Although he was the headmaster, he could not decide the affairs of the school alone. Most of the school directors were important members of the Ministry of Magic, and they attached great importance to this kind of cross-international competition.

Who doesn't want to beat Hogwarts, or rather, beat Dumbledore? But Karkaroff really didn't feel like it. The Dark Mark on his arm kept getting hot, especially after seeing "Crouch", the feeling became more intense, as if someone was pouring red-hot molten iron on it.

Karkaroff attributed this to the fact that seeing "Barty Crouch" had reminded him of unpleasant past events.

Voldemort naturally knew what he was afraid of.

To be honest, it is because of this kind of people that the Death Eaters are so shameless. But Voldemort is different from Grindelwald after all. Grindelwald gathered his followers to realize his ambitions, but Voldemort only needed high-pressure terror to rule, and he didn't care about the quality of his subordinates at all.

"Then please take me to see Ms. Rosier," Voldemort said stiffly.

Soon, under the leadership of Karkaroff, Voldemort met a white-haired witch.

She looked perhaps nearly a hundred years old, but she was still very erect.

"Vida Rosier." The witch extended her hand to him, and after a brief handshake, she invited Voldemort to sit down and talk.

This was a relatively pleasant conversation. Voldemort disguised Crouch very well, and at the same time he was testing Vida Rosier's attitude towards Hogwarts and even Dumbledore.

It was obvious that Vida did not like the old man who was over a hundred years old, and was even hostile to him.

This made Voldemort very happy.

A natural enemy of Dumbledore is his natural ally. With just a little influence, not only can Dumbledore's purpose of seeking external help be broken, but he can also use it to attack Dumbledore in turn.

All I can say is that Voldemort had good intentions, but he ignored the lady's name.

"Well, I'll take my leave first. I have to go to France." Voldemort stood up and said goodbye to Rosier, but he looked around and found no trace of Karkaroff.

Instead of heading to France immediately, he began to search for the traitor's location.

at the same time.

In a secret manor somewhere in the UK, dozens of dark wizards wore masks on their faces and wrapped themselves in black robes. Although everyone knew who was under the robes, as long as they put on the masks, they would pretend that their identities were unclear.

Even if you are caught later, you will have excuses.

"The activities of the Dark Mark are becoming more intense. I'm afraid the Dark Lord is really coming back..."

There was fear in someone's voice.

Most of the people gathered here were purebloods who had escaped from prison under the pretext of being under the Imperius Curse. As for those who betrayed their "friends", they had already fled. How could they dare to show up? "Although we have never betrayed anyone, severing ties with our master already means betrayal." Lucius whispered.

He spoke in a voice very similar to Snape's, but with a more affected tone.

Unlike others, although Lucius was also very nervous, he was more confident with Cyrus as his backer.

"What we need now is to make amends," he said. "I plan to find a suitable time to hold a rally. It would be best if we could deal a moderate blow to the Ministry of Magic, so that they would be terrified and the master would know that we have never forgotten him. We are just lying in wait for his return!"

This proposal was agreed by many people. No matter what, they had to do something now so that the Dark Lord would not have such a bad impression of them.

"The master trusted you very much back then. Did he ever look for you?"

A dark wizard looked at Lucius.

"That depends on which master you are talking about," Lucius thought to himself, but shook his head on the surface.

"The master's most trusted person is in Azkaban!"

This sentence obviously put more pressure on others.

"...Are just some mild blows really enough, Lucius?" asked a wizard, and he even subconsciously called out Lucius' name out of fear.

Lucius was a little dissatisfied, but after hearing what the other party said, he realized that things might develop in a direction that he could not control. He calmed his voice, suppressed the little bit of uneasiness in his heart, and said in a turbid voice: "What do you want to do?"

"We have to do something bigger to make up for our mistakes and appease the master's anger!" The wizard looked around. As one of the twenty-eight pure-blood families, the other party also had a lot of say. At this moment, it was about their own lives, and even the fate of their families. Everyone was willing to listen to his opinions.

"Since the people the master truly trusts are in Azkaban, if we rescue them, submit to the master together with them, and kiss the back of the master's feet, will we be forgiven?"

This proposal was agreed by many people, and they now really needed to accomplish a great deed to make up for their mistakes.

But Lucius's face was not looking good. If the matter got too serious, what if Cyrus thought he was going to return to Voldemort's camp? What's more, going to Azkaban to break out of the prison was also full of dangers.

"This is a good opportunity!" the wizard continued, "Most of the Dementors have been transferred away from Azkaban in order to hunt down 'Tom Riddle'. Now is probably the time when the guards of Azkaban are at their weakest."

"But can you deal with them?" Lucius asked hastily, referring to the Dementors.

"It's not like the Patronus is the only one that can deal with those things." said the dark wizard.

Dementors are only afraid of patronuses, but that is true for ordinary wizards. In fact, there are some ways in black magic that can curb Dementors. Otherwise, this kind of thing can be said to be the nemesis of dark wizards. How could it possibly collude with Voldemort?

"Then jailbreak?"

"Prison Break!"

"Prison Break!"

The shouts grew louder and louder, dozens of people raised their hands and fists, the sound was deafening! Lucius felt dizzy, and now he just wanted to think of a way to tell Cyrus about this, but another wizard stood up and said viciously: "Since everyone agrees, why don't we act now and catch them off guard, so as to avoid leaking the news!"

Hearing this, Lucius felt his hands and feet go cold, as if he had embarked on a path of no return.

(End of this chapter)