Let's Start, Let's Follow the Old Rules!

"Sir Harls, forgive me if I offend you, but I think we should set up a publicity department," Gleason suggested nervously as she emerged from the crowd.

Publicity?

Ivan raised an eyebrow. "Tell me about it…"

With Ivan's permission, Gleason gave a little bow and began to rattle off the importance of setting up a publicity department.

The entire British wizarding community is much larger and more complicated than Knockturn Alley.

They may have been able to take over the Ministry of Magic by force, but there were many drawbacks to doing so, the most immediate of which was the subsequent chaos and trouble.

Therefore, propaganda must be carried out to show all wizards that they are on the side of justice, and that everything they do is for the future of the wizarding community…

Ivan nodded at this; he certainly knew this.

Over the years, he repeatedly asked Rita Skeeter to report "honestly" on his exploits, not only to see if he could get Legend Points, but also to promote himself and undermine the Ministry's authority.

Fudge's recent performance as Minister for Magic may have been unsatisfactory, but when it came down to it, most of his mistakes had been forcibly covered up and were not known.

If they were able to do so through propaganda, they would not have to resort to violence. Furious wizards would simply throw Fudge out of office.

The more Ivan thought about it, the more he felt the need for an announcement department, as having access to propaganda channels often meant having a say.

"That's a good offer, Gleason, and you'll be in charge of the new department!" Yvonne said admiringly.

"Thank you very much for your trust, Sir Harls! I will not let you down…" Gleason gave a slight bow, hiding her excitement as she slowly retreated back into the crowd.

Looking at the high-spirited Gleason, Rosier and the others were filled with envy. They knew that from this day on, Gleason's status would greatly increase, leaving them far behind.

"Anyone else want to say something?" Ivan asked, waving his hand as he looked around the room and saw that no one else was coming forward.

"Well then… dismissed!"

The wizards were relieved to know that they could finally leave.

There was nothing they could do about it. The faint pressure that Ivan exuded made them tremble with fear just standing there, so after bowing and saying goodbye, they all fled the living room.

Ivan shook his head helplessly as he watched the retreating figures. It seemed that this misunderstanding would not be cleared up anytime soon…

Over the next few days, Ivan pushed aside most of his chores and devoted himself to practicing magic.

Ivan knew very well that expanding one's influence in the wizarding world and currying favor with the powerful were all small tricks. Only strength was the foundation of everything!

This was one of the reasons why he did not often relinquish power in Knockturn Alley.

It didn't take a genius for Doggett, Fran, and Gleason to figure out that conspiring against the government in secret would only lead to death.

The reason was simple. Based on his performance that night, even if all the wizards in Knockturn Alley worked together, they still wouldn't be a match for him…

Therefore, the most important thing he needed to do now was to make this fake combat power real as soon as possible. Otherwise, everything he had painstakingly created would instantly collapse.

However, it was not easy to improve greatly in a short period of time. Ivan was soon disappointed to find that he could not complete any of the missions issued by the system.

Even the easiest of the Dark Pawns had to give up after he took the time to visit Azkaban.

This was not to say that the Dementors had forgotten about him after a year or so.

On the contrary, the negotiations went well, and most of the Dementors were willing to go along with his orders.

Ivan could only guess that the mission objective required the Dementors to submit to him.

This was understandable, given his Boggart form, which allowed him to command Death Eaters while disguised as Lord Voldemort.

After spending half a day developing the Dementors into undercovers, Ivan left Azkaban sulkily, temporarily abandoning the idea of using the protection model to improve his strength and placing his hopes on hard work.

The only good thing was that there were thirty or so Dark Wizards in the underground fortress as sparring partners, which meant that he didn't have to foolishly cast spells on wooden dummies, but could improve himself through real battles…

… .

A week later, in the evening, fifteen wizards were standing in every corner of the Underground Fort.

Ivan, who was surrounded by a group of wizards, had no fear on his face. He just slowly pulled out his wand from his sleeve and spoke casually.

"Let's begin, as usual!"

"Oh~ I almost forgot that you don't have any memories of that time. In short, you can't surrender in this battle. You can surround and attack at will. If you can defeat me, I will release you from the cage…"

Ivan briefly explained the rules of battle, then stood in the middle of the room and waited for them to attack.

The fifteen wizards present, their wand-holding hands shaking, looked at Ivan with fear and despair.

Despite their superior numbers, none of them believed they could win.

This was obviously not the first time such a battle had been fought. Although they did not have the memories of previous battles, they were not stupid. These days, no wizards were released. Instead, everyone was injured for no reason, and some even died from serious injuries.

If not for the fact that they were not allowed to surrender, they would have knelt down and begged for mercy.

"Don't worry, I won't go all out, and I won't kill you. Since you're not going to make the first move, let me start!" Ivan was getting impatient, so he raised his wand first.

Ivan suddenly broke off his spell, and a red beam of light came from the side.

Avery was the one who attacked. His eyes were bloodshot, and he shouted through gritted teeth, "There's no way out of this place. Let's fight this demon!"

"Confringo ~! (exploding thunder)"

"Reducto ~ (crushing)"

… .

When Avery snapped at them, more and more wizards reacted, raising their wands and sending out magical beams of light that wove a net in the air, sealing off Ivan's escape.

"That's more like it!" Ivan said happily, and disappeared with a flash of his Phantom Shift. When he reappeared, he was in his dragon form, and punched Avery in the face…