Chapter 335

Lakeside Villa.

Murphy and Patrick's son, Ares, who was already over three years old, played "mental catch" for a while. Neither of them used their hands, relying solely on their minds to toss a baseball back and forth between them, leaving Patrick stunned.

But this way of playing seemed to be very mentally draining. Ares became sleepy after a while and was taken away by his mother to rest.

"Training the use of magic during childhood can improve one's control over magic," Murphy said to Patrick, "Little Ares's progress fully demonstrates this. If we continue with purposeful training, I suspect Ares might become a natural wandless spellcaster."

"My son is not your test subject," Patrick quipped, "Audrey has been almost angry these past few days. She's always worried that you'll take Ares to the Wizarding World and she won't be able to see him anymore."

"How could she not see him?" Murphy smiled, "By the time Ares is old enough to go to school, he might already be able to learn magic in a regular primary school."

"I hope so," Patrick said.

"That depends on you," Murphy said, "How has the People's Livelihood Party been developing recently?"

"We have quite a few followers," Patrick said, "You were right. The wealth gap in the UK is too severe, and in the past, many so-called 'elite classes' or the middle class, myself included, never realized this problem. The voices of those at the bottom have never been heard."

"The stage of social development isn't high enough yet, so this is not surprising," Murphy said, "However, you must remember to attract as many people as possible, and do not engage in class antagonism or class hatred. That might attract a group of people quickly, but things built on hatred are very fragile and meaningless for our goals."

"I understand, of course." Patrick nodded, "By the way, the United States has been pressuring the Prime Minister recently, and there's been a lot of commotion in Congress. The Americans' sanctions against the UK are increasing, and many of them have expanded from Umbrella to other fields. They even brought warships into the English Channel a while ago, though they claimed it was just for port replenishment, but even a primary school student could smell the warning."

"Oh?" Murphy's focus had been on the magical side recently, so he really hadn't heard about this, "How many ships?"

"Two guided-missile destroyers," Patrick said, "But their aircraft carrier, the Enterprise, is also nearby."

Bringing warships over—the United States is a bit desperate this time.

"Interesting," Murphy smiled, "Patrick, you are one of the founders of Umbrella. You cannot be soft in your attitude toward them; you must remain consistently tough."

Patrick nodded, "Of course, but the hardline stance against the US isn't popular among the public. The British are spineless and have long lost their spirit. Don't look at how many people are challenging them now; in another six months, everyone will be back to hugging the Americans' thighs."

"Don't worry, we'll see results very soon this time," Murphy said.

Patrick was puzzled, "Why? Unless there's a real local war, the UK cannot remain tough against the US for long. Congress doesn't have the backbone, and neither does the public."

Murphy smiled, "Starting a war... that's not impossible either."

Mid-May, Lake District.

On a hilltop covered by a Muggle-Repelling Charm, Murphy unfolded a map and took a look.

"This is the place."

The Muggle engineer behind him looked around and nodded, "This is good. The view is open, with almost no obstructions. The signal can travel very far. If we put the radar here, we should be able to scan one thousand to two thousand kilometers. One scan should cover almost the entire UK."

"Drive a stake here," Murphy ordered, but his gaze suddenly caught a glimpse of a black hem of clothing on a rock not far away.

"Delock," Murphy called out to an Auror nearby, "Didn't you notice you were being followed when you came out?"

"What?" The Auror was startled, but then saw Murphy suddenly transform into a bolt of lightning and disappear. The next instant, he reappeared in the crackle of lightning, but this time, he was already holding someone in his hand.

"Damn it!" The Auror went up and kicked the person Murphy had caught, "How come these spies are like flies that can't be driven away! My Lord, should we finish him off?"

Murphy shook his head, "We've finished off enough. Kill one, and another appears. The Wizards' Union is clearly determined to oppose us. Forget it, leave this guy to me."

"It's a good opportunity to use him to gather some information and see what they are actually planning."

France, Loire Valley.

In an ancient castle, hundreds of wizards gathered together, arguing fiercely.

"Does anyone still think that Murphy Darkholm is just a small problem belonging to the UK?" a French wizard with a handlebar mustache shouted, "He has already killed six of our special envoys, and the previous investigation team has also been imprisoned. This person has completely disregarded the law; he has become a major threat facing wizards globally!"

"Mr. Gaston, are you sure your accusations against Murphy Darkholm are out of concern for the Wizarding World, and not because you covet his massive industries that extract gold from the Muggle world?"

Another dark-skinned wizard mercilessly exposed him, "We received news earlier that you also seem to have found an agent in Muggle society and are imitating Murphy, preparing to sell magic potions to Muggles?"

"Nonsense! A pack of lies!" the French wizard Gaston yelled, "There is absolutely no such thing! Murphy has threatened the safety of the French Ministry of Magic. The love potion perfumes he sells have brought a lot of trouble to Muggle society! This year, the Muggle president told me that their newborns are one-fifth more numerous than in the past! And we don't know what problems these children born under the influence of small amounts of love potion will have."

"We only sent investigators to contact Muggles to investigate such similar incidents; it is absolutely not what you said!"

"What's the point of talking about investigations now!" someone else shouted, "Don't you see the dead wizards?! Murphy has openly slaughtered the Union's special envoys! What else is he afraid to do? I propose that Murphy Darkholm should be listed as an international Class-A wanted criminal, and his accomplices along with him are enemies of all wizards. Anyone who sees them can kill them on sight without asking for reasons!"

"Murphy has already controlled the British Ministry of Magic. The British Aurors and the Watcher troops can all be counted as his followers. Are you suggesting we launch a war against the British Ministry of Magic?!" someone retorted.

"At least we should help British wizards overthrow that puppet government! Restore freedom to the British Wizarding World!"

"Ha, that sounds nice. A Frenchman helping the British? It's laughable!"

"Enough! This is the Union, not a place for you to promote ethnic conflicts! Quiet, everyone! Let's hear what the President has to say," a male wizard wearing glasses said.

Everyone looked at the wizard on the podium of the venue again.

"Dumbledore, I heard you fought him before but didn't win. Is that true?"

(End of chapter)