837 Now Is the Best Time to Attack the Ministry of Magic!

Yvonne looked in the direction of the voice and saw a middle-aged wizard in rags poking his head out of a ventilation window in a cell to the right. His hair, unwashed for over ten years, was a mess, and his face was streaked with dirt and dried blood.

"Augustus?" Ivan compared the information in his head to the striking pockmarked face, and quickly identified the wizard.

The wizard, Auguste, opened the door excitedly and threw himself at Ivan, kissing his robes and raising his head. "Fifteen years… it has been fifteen years… Master, you remember me…"

"Of course, Auguste, I will not forget anyone who is loyal to me!" Ivan did not seem to mind that Auguste was filthy and had not bathed for more than ten years. He helped him up enthusiastically and then asked, "Where are Bella and the others?"

Touched to the point of tears, August quickly responded, "Master, Bella and Dolohov are being held even deeper in…"

Ivan nodded. He had previously been briefed on Azkaban, where vicious prisoners were kept in the deepest parts of the prison.

Auguste was a Ministry of Magic official before he went to prison, having been imprisoned on charges of divulging Ministry intelligence to facilitate Death Eaters, presumably because of the low level of threat he faced while locked in a cage near the entrance.

With this in mind, Ivan instructed Malfoy, Macnair, and the others to split up and rescue all the imprisoned Death Eaters.

As for the ordinary prisoners, Ivan granted them amnesty as long as they were willing to join their ranks, so as to increase the strength of the attack on the Ministry…

Lucius and the others were very efficient. In just three minutes, over a hundred prisoners had gathered, along with seventy-one Death Eaters and fifty strange faces willing to join the Dark Lord.

"My most loyal friends, congratulations on your freedom!" Ivan greeted them with a smile on his pale snake face.

"I always knew you'd come back one day, Master!" Antonin Dolohov exclaimed.

"I saw this day coming two years ago…" Bellatrix cried, her hair loose and wild. "I…I helped Wormtail escape Azkaban and forced him to find you, master!"

"It's me!"

As she spoke, Bella took a few steps closer to Ivan like a female beast seeking praise from her master.

So you're the bastard who helped Peter escape… Ivan's mouth twitched, and he wanted to slap this crazy woman to death.

However, due to her current status, Ivan had no choice but to temporarily suppress this thought. According to the feedback from Legilimency, he reached out and gently stroked Bella's face as he spoke in a magnetic voice.

"You did well, Bella!"

"And you too, of course!" Ivan exclaimed, turning to look at the Death Eaters, who were becoming more and more distraught. "The Dark Lord will not spare an enemy, nor will he mistreat a hero!"

"I have felt your loyalty, unlike those in need of penance…" Ivan added pointedly.

Bella, Augustus, and the other Death Eaters all looked pleased with themselves, while the rest of the Death Eaters stared at Lucius and the others with disdain and resentment, ashamed of their betrayal of the Dark Lord!

McNeil and Lucius, who were both very good at acting, bowed their heads in fear.

Goyle and Crabbe, in the crowd, almost burst out laughing, until they saw Ivan's dark gaze and had to pinch their thighs to hide the grimace on their faces.

Ivan turned his attention from Goyle and the others to the Death Eaters and continued speaking.

"Perhaps some of you will be wondering how I was able to regain my strength half a year ago, but was unable to save my most loyal servants and friends in time…"

"No, we all believe there's a reason you didn't come to our rescue until now!" cried Rodolphus Lestrange fervently, not at all bothered by Ivan's earlier, somewhat intimate contact with Bella.

"That's right! You are very clever, Lestrange… I put off rescuing you because I was waiting for…" Ivan's tone became high-spirited. "For a wonderful opportunity! A chance to take revenge for what you have suffered!"

"The time has come, hasn't it, master?" Bella asked eagerly.

Auguste, Lestrange, and the others also looked at Ivan expectantly. Fifteen years of suffering had not worn them down, but had only made them hate him more. They wanted nothing more than to take revenge on their Aurors.

"Naturally, the Ministry will be destroyed today!" Ivan said harshly, then looked at Macnair and the others to hand out the wands.

The ownerless wands were prepared in advance, and it was thanks to the illegal wand-trafficking business in the Wizarding Market that they were able to gather so many in such a short time.

"It's so inconvenient…" Bella said, frowning as she took a yew wand from Macnair and waved it vigorously.

"Your wands are confiscated at the Ministry. You can get them later!" Macnair explained with a shrug.

"Master, are we going to attack the Ministry of Magic now? Isn't that too risky…" August hesitated for a moment as he held his wand in his hand.

He wanted to kill everyone in the Ministry of Magic, but he was not completely consumed by hatred. They had just left their cages and were in a worse state than ever, and they were armed with wands that did not measure up to their weight.

Attacking the heavily-guarded Ministry of Magic with such a team would be suicide…

Hearing Auguste's words, Lestrange and the siblings, who had been full of enthusiasm, hesitated.

Yvonne opened her mouth to answer, but before she could, Bella grabbed August by the collar, poked him in the face with her wand, and said darkly, "Are you questioning the Dark Lord's orders, August?"

"No, Bella, you misunderstand!" August protested, shaking his head in horror. "I didn't mean to question the Master, it's just that…I just don't understand…"

Lucius's lips curled into a smile. Understanding his chance to impress, he took two steps forward.

"Ignorant! Do you think the Master is as stupid as you, Auguste?"

"I might as well tell you that Wormtail and Snape have taken the Azkaban Dementors to get the Aurors' attention. The Ministry is more empty than ever, and they will never expect their Master to lead us on a raid!"

"We've also roped in Madam Edgecombe from the Floo Network Authority, as well as some of our own people from the Department of Mysteries. Today, the Ministry of Magic will not receive any external assistance, and all defensive enchantments will be disabled. Indeed, now is the best time to break the Ministry of Magic!" Macnair interjected.