Chapter 228

Hydra Underground Base

In a conference room deep within the base, a middle-aged man looked at the screen in front of him with wild eyes. To be precise, he was focused on Alexander Pierce, who appeared on the screen.

"Chief, we have detected that the Wizard Professor has entered the base and can initiate an attack at any time."

"Okay, Ronnie, this mission is entrusted to you. Remember, try to gather as much information as possible about the Wizard Professor's methods. The more we know, the better prepared we'll be."

"Order will come to the whole world."

After hearing what leader Pierce said, Ronnie, the head of the Hydra underground base, looked serious, saluted Pierce with a snap, and shouted loudly, "Hail Hydra!"

"Hail Hydra!" Pierce replied in a deep voice.

Immediately, Pierce reminded Ronnie, "Don't forget to check everyone's status afterward to ensure no information is leaked."

"Understood, leader. Everything has been arranged, and no information related to Hydra will be leaked," Ronnie said solemnly.

"Good, Ronnie. Proceed with the mission." With that, Pierce nodded to Ronnie, the screen went black, and the call ended.

After the call, Ronnie took out a transparent bottle from his pocket and shook a few white pills inside it.

Then, he poured one into his palm, his eyes showing a fervent determination.

He knew he would die this time.

But he was willing—all for order, all for the new world. Hail Hydra!

With a snap, he tossed the pill into his mouth, swallowed it, and muttered softly, "Darkness, Dawn, Order, Furnace."

It was as if he were using some kind of activation phrase.

After finishing the words, Ronnie's face began to change. His originally serious and solemn expression transformed into a blank look, as if he had lost consciousness, and then settled into one of fanatical determination.

At some point, the screen in front of him lit up again, displaying an image of Gilderoy Lockhart.

Clatter! Clatter! Clatter!

Lockhart, who had just been flying above to observe the underground base, suddenly heard a slight noise from below.

Immediately afterward, a barrage of bullets was fired from concealed machine guns on the ground.

Almost instantly, a pale golden defensive shield automatically appeared in front of Lockhart, blocking all the bullets.

Seeing this, Lockhart was not angry.

He stretched out his wand and drew an arc gracefully. The next moment, a blue flame suddenly emerged from the tip of the wand, surrounding Lockhart and forming a circle of blue flames.

Then the flames on the ring fell onto the grass on the flat ground like raindrops.

With a bang, the blue flames suddenly exploded and expanded rapidly.

Protego Diabolica!

In a matter of seconds, everything within a radius of hundreds of meters was ignited with blue fire, turning into a sea of flames.

What was strange was that there was almost no heatwave passing by, as if the blue fire was illusory.

However, when the fierce fire spread to the machine gun on the ground, it instantly melted into molten iron, as if it were being consumed by high-intensity flames.

Looking at the scene before him, Lockhart nodded slightly and slowly lowered his body.

The blue sea of fire on the ground seemed to have intelligence, actively leaving a circular open space for Lockhart.

Coulson, who saw this scene through a telescope from a distance, subconsciously bit his lips and looked solemn.

He saw that in almost less than a second, the blue flames had passed by, burning the ground within a radius of hundreds of meters white, with even a faint glimpse of crystal-clear glass, likely formed by the melting of sand at high temperatures.

At this moment, Lockhart walked step by step, sensing the life forces underground.

His pace was slow, almost leisurely, as if he were savoring how his prey struggled to survive.

At the same time, some black dots appeared in the sky in the distance, quickly returning to Lockhart—just like the previous missiles.

As his thoughts turned, the fire that had spread over hundreds of meters expanded instantly.

In the next moment, among the flames, several powerful bird-like magical creatures composed of fire appeared instantly—Thunderbirds!

Phew!

A cry that resounded through the sky emerged, and the Thunderbirds composed of fire flew quickly toward the incoming missiles, seemingly moving even faster than the missiles themselves.

But Lockhart, as if he didn't care at all, continued to walk forward step by step.

With every step he took, the sea of fire opened a path for him, as if welcoming its master.

As for Coulson, after seeing the missiles in the distance, his expression changed, and he quickly shouted, "Evacuate, be careful!"

"Missiles incoming!"

Coulson was very clear about the missile's attack range. Even if the target was Lockhart, their current position would still be greatly affected. If they weren't careful, they could be in mortal danger.

However, in the blink of an eye, he saw several huge blue birds rise into the sky and fly toward the missiles.

At the same time, the cry of the Thunderbird echoed through the air.

Coulson raised the telescope in his hand and watched as the Thunderbirds flapped their wings and sped toward the missiles. Soon, he saw the moment when the missiles and the Thunderbirds collided.

Phew!

The Thunderbird roared loudly and slightly opened its mouth as if it were going to swallow the missile.

Indeed, when the two collided, the fire from the Thunderbird's body spread directly to the missile. Almost instantly, the missile turned into molten iron, evaporating and disappearing.

What Coulson saw was the Thunderbird opening its mouth to swallow the missile; then the missile disappeared, and the Thunderbird began to fly back toward the sea of fire, as if returning home.

Lockhart sensed this scene and smiled slightly.

Protego Diabolica, as one of the top spells in the Harry Potter world, naturally has its unique qualities.

Its never-extinguishing high temperature is one of its most basic functions.

The most powerful aspect is that Protego Diabolica becomes more intelligent as the fire spreads.

Like the Thunderbirds at this moment, they followed Lockhart's command, attacking the missiles without needing Lockhart's direct control.

The sea of fire formed by Protego Diabolica is simple and easy to communicate with, and the fire will actively open a path for him with little control needed.

Protego Diabolica can even melt people or things he targets while leaving specific others unharmed.

Grindelwald used it to distinguish between enemies and allies.

Enemies who passed through the fire would melt instantly, while allies and those who shared his ideals would remain unscathed.

Of course, the corresponding side effect of Protego Diabolica is that after it gains sentience, if its caster isn't strong enough, it might resist or even backfire on its master.

Like a living being that desires freedom.

After all, except for its master, who can cancel Protego Diabolica at will, it is extremely difficult for others to suppress or even destroy it.

But for Lockhart, this was not an issue when he was willing to use it.

Soon, Lockhart came to a clearing and stopped. In his perception, there was a significant amount of life underground, radiating emotions full of fear.

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