Chapter 320: The Ministry of Magic Leaves the Union

After expending a herculean effort and digging up a dozen wizard graves, Mary Thompson and the other investigators finally gathered a few usable wands.

Immediately a wizard tried to cast a Portkey spell to leave the United Kingdom, but Mary stopped him.

"Rescuing Goblins is a mission we must complete; for that we must act in unison, and any extra action could expose us,"

Moreover, Mary does not fully trust the remaining wizards; they were all sent directly by the Wizards' Union, unfamiliar with each other, and no one knows whether Murphy has placed a spy among them.

Thus the wizard who wanted to leave was half forced to agree to the rescue plan.

Led by Goblin Jin Kou, they arrived at the outskirts of a manor.

"This used to be property of the Malfoy Family, but later, it is said they pledged allegiance to Murphy, and it was turned into a Goblin factory," Jin Kou said, pointing at a building in the distance.

"Some of my kin are imprisoned here; I heard they force Goblins to work day and night, forging metal for wizards,"

"Forge metal?" Mary frowned, "What is Murphy planning?"

"I don't know, but we should stop him!" Goblin Jin Kou said.

"But how can we do it? These wands are too old, not ours, and unwieldy," Mary said, "A frontal battle would be hard to win."

"There aren't many wizards in the manor, because Goblins have no wands, and the wizards think they can control them," Jin Kou said, "We only need to slip in, stun a guard or two, free my kin, and it's easy."

"How many Goblins are here?"

"Probably a few hundred," Jin Kou replied.

"Not many," Mary frowned; their time was limited, they could probably act only once, and rescuing only a few hundred Goblins didn't seem worth it.

"But places that hold more Goblins are more heavily guarded; we can't get in. We can first free the Goblins here, arm my kin, and they can become our force to help rescue more people."

Mary thought it over, seemed there was no other choice, "Alright."

A few wizards, led by Jin Kou, found a hidden back door of the manor, slipped inside, silently stunned three guards, and reached the Goblins' Cellar.

It was midnight; the Goblins were asleep, and Jin Kou and Bu Lin quietly woke them, then led them out of the Cellar.

"Why are there only a few dozen Goblins?" Mary glanced at the rescued Goblins, feeling the number was too small.

"I don't know, but we can't delay; we must get them out first..."

However, before they could leave the manor, the whole estate lit up, alarms blared, and they were discovered!

The wizards, unsure where the breach occurred, prepared to Apparition, but were shocked to find an anti-Apparition spell in place, rendering escape impossible.

Soon, more than ten Aurors and Watchers poured out from somewhere unknown.

Mary sensed trouble and shouted, "Quick, break out with the Goblins; take as many as you can!"

"Those Goblins..." a wizard exclaimed, staring at the Goblins running with Jin Kou toward the Aurors, his mind momentarily blank, "They've fled."

Mary froze, watching the seemingly long‑awaited Aurors, the Goblins moving away, and then the battered wand in her hand.

Suddenly, she understood.

It was a trap.

"You won't succeed!" she shouted, raising her wand, "Stupefy!"

Powerful Magic surged through the battered wand, overloading its already fragile shaft, and with a "Bang," a red flash erupted.

Mary fainted.

…

Holding unwieldy, broken wands and surrounded, the investigators were naturally no match for the Aurors.

Soon, everyone was captured.

They were bound, photographed together with the Goblins behind them.

The next day, the Daily Prophet reported a story that enraged wizards across the United Kingdom.

"Investigation Team Plots to Unite Goblins for Rebellion!"

The article detailed the Investigation Team's actions:

It turned out they had been carrying a secret mission from the International Wizards' Union: to contact Goblins within the United Kingdom, regroup them, and overthrow the Ministry of Magic's rule.

They used their routine investigations to probe the Goblins' "labor reformation" sites, secretly contacting Goblin sympathizers and traitors in the United Kingdom wizarding community, plotting a rebellion aimed at toppling the Ministry of Magic.

The plan had several parts: first, gathering compromising material on Ministry of Magic and United Kingdom wizarding figures for future blackmail.

Second, contacting accomplices.

Third, looting wizard graves to prepare wands for the rebel Goblins.

Fourth, executing a "prison break" operation to free Goblins, arm them, and bloodily sweep the Ministry of Magic.

The article also included photos of their grave‑robbing and the scene where they were captured at the Goblin factory.

At the same time, the report explained recent frequent raids on wizard homes, stating it wasn't the Ministry of Magic conducting a white terror, but that those wizards were incited rebels harboring deep hatred toward the Ministry, intent on overthrowing the regime.

Once published, the report instantly sparked outrage among wizards throughout the United Kingdom.

The Investigation Team, those damn troublemakers, are certainly no good people!

Everyone has long found them disagreeable!

Who would have thought they'd dare cause such a scene! Actually trying to join those Goblins for a rebellion?!

And they even dared to dig up ancestral graves?!

What is tolerable and what is not? This must be severely punished!

For a time, calls for a public trial of the investigators and beheading them and the Goblins filled every street and alley.

Murphy, of course, would not hold any public trial, and these few minor investigators were not even worthy of his attention to waste such effort.

That evening, a commentary article signed "Ya Que" appeared on the front page of the Daily Prophet special issue.

"The Ministry of Magic: the United Kingdom's Ministry of Magic or the Union's Ministry of Magic?"

The article used the investigators' incident as a starting point to discuss the International Wizards' Union's overreach into United Kingdom affairs.

"The investigators claim to investigate while sowing chaos; what exactly are they after?"

The article then identified the root cause of the investigators' actions: Goblins.

The Wizards' Union's various national Ministries of Magic have their economic lifelines mostly in the hands of Goblins. Within the Union, the Beautiful Country has the most Wizards, and Goblins have already taken control of the Beautiful Country Wizards' economy; they are already honored guests at the Beautiful Country's Magic Parliament.

The Blin family, the largest shareholder of Gringotts in the United Kingdom, is one of the so‑called Goblin Council members. Such Goblin families are spread worldwide.

If the Wizards' Union is a giant trying to remotely control the various national Ministries of Magic, then the Goblin Council is the brain of that giant. Reclaiming Gringotts is equivalent to cutting off one of the Goblin Council's hands, so they will of course retaliate.

In the United Kingdom, Goblin influence has already been curbed, but within the Wizards' Union this situation remains unchanged.

As long as the United Kingdom's Ministry of Magic remains in the Wizards' Union for a day, the other side's infiltration and attacks will not cease.

The article sparked heated discussion among United Kingdom Wizards again, and the Ministry of Magic clearly took notice of this trend.

Thus, three days after the article was published, the United Kingdom's Ministry of Magic held a referendum to determine whether the United Kingdom's Ministry of Magic should continue to remain within the Wizards' Union.

Three days later, the referendum results were announced: 61.9 to 38.1, the vote to leave the Union prevailed.

That day, the United Kingdom's Ministry of Magic issued a statement: the United Kingdom's Ministry of Magic withdraws from the International Wizards' Union.

From now on, the United Kingdom's Ministry of Magic will fully self‑govern all its affairs, and the International Wizards' Union will no longer have any law‑enforcement authority over the United Kingdom's Ministry of Magic or any United Kingdom Wizards.

Any attempt by Wizards of other countries to intervene in the United Kingdom's Ministry of Magic or United Kingdom Wizards through international law will be deemed illegal.

The United Kingdom's Ministry of Magic has left the group.

(End of chapter)