Chapter 376: with translation of chapter title

Order of the Phoenix.

Everyone's complexion turned unusually grim after hearing Hermione's description.

Except for Dumbledore, who remained calm, everyone else had already fallen into chaos.

"Calm down." Dumbledore's voice was not loud, yet it carried an undeniable authority.

"Arthur, go to the Ministry of Magic right away; John is still underage, and the Zongsi Society still has a record of where he used magic on him."

"Also keep an eye out for any large-scale magical power fluctuations or anomalies within the area."

"As long as John isn't subdued right away, he will definitely cause a commotion."

Upon hearing Dumbledore's words, Mr. Weasley immediately understood, turned around, and stepped into the fireplace again.

"Molly, go inform the other members of the Order of the Phoenix, heighten vigilance; Voldemort is likely to send Death Eaters to cause trouble."

"By the way, let Kingsley know to investigate where that Mike last appeared and who he was in contact with."

Mrs. Weasley also nodded, turned, and went back inside to write a letter.

"Harry, tell Sirius and them to come back."

"Hermione, find me a piece of John's clothing or personal belongings."

Harry and Hermione also immediately agreed.

With Dumbledore as the backbone, the atmosphere in the house gradually stabilized.

Hermione Apparated straight home, pulled out a few clothes from John's trunk and the cloak she had once given him.

Upon returning to the Order of the Phoenix again, Dumbledore had been waiting a while; after taking John's belongings, he did not hesitate and waved his wand.

The light of the Tracking Spell flowed over the clothing, and he also scattered a handful of yellowish powder as a medium for the Tracking Spell.

Soon, the powder drifted off in a direction.

"Stay here, don't go anywhere."

After leaving his instructions for the children, Dumbledore directly Apparated and vanished from the spot.

On a hill far in Xiao Hange Dun.

An old manor stands there.

From afar it looks no different than usual, except that occasionally the hill seems to emit a faint tremor.

The Muggle residents here thought it was an earthquake, but the tremor was intermittent and very weak.

But if someone could get close to that old manor, they would discover another scene.

Boom!!

A sky‑shooting fire column erupted from the manor's center, overturning the entire estate.

Bricks, stones, and debris flew everywhere, while flames wrapped in black smoke shot straight up to the sky.

But in the end, those flames and smoke were completely blocked by the dome's sealing barrier, not a trace leaking out.

John stumbled out of the flames, completely scorched, with embers still clinging to his robes.

He had just steadied himself when another green light grazed past his ear from the wreckage, blasting a scorched pit into the ground.

John rolled to dodge, cursing under his breath.

He who walks by the river often gets his shoes wet.

They have schemed against Voldemort many times, but this time it's finally his turn to be schemed against.

Who would have thought Voldemort would actually find Mike, someone he knows but isn't close to, and even feels a slight indebtedness toward, to approach him?

Even more unexpected to John was that Mike actually betrayed him.

His senior David had sacrificed himself to fight the Death Eaters, yet he chose to side with Voldemort.

But it's too late to think about that now.

In the wreckage, Voldemort's figure slowly rose, his scarlet eyes locked firmly on John, a cruel smile curling his lips.

"John, do you think you can escape?"

"This is a prison I forged especially for you, the burial ground I chose for you!"

John twisted his mouth into a grim smile, wiped the grime from his face, and said, "You really went to a lot of trouble, Tom."

He deliberately called Voldemort by his birth name, trying to provoke him.

Voldemort didn't buy it at all; he merely flicked his wand lightly, and the surrounding wreckage began to tremble violently.

Countless stones rose from the ground and hurtled toward John.

John hastily cast Iron Armor Spell to block the barrage of falling stones.

But Voldemort's Killing Curse followed close behind.

John instantly conjured a shield to block the green light; the shield shattered on impact.

He used the recoil to roll backward, simultaneously unleashing Divine Edge Unseen.

But Voldemort didn't dodge; his left arm flowed out a mercury‑like liquid, forming a shield that completely absorbed the Divine Edge Unseen attack.

Even though Divine Edge Unseen has a permanent cutting effect, it left no trace whatsoever on the Mercury Shield.

Tsk.

Since having his arm cut off, Voldemort doesn't know what dark magic he used to attach a mercury arm to himself, able to shift into any shape at his will, combining offense and defense, even tougher than his original arm.

Although I wanted to break the Sealing Spell and retreat, Voldemort obviously won't give me the chance.

In other words, right now, besides facing Voldemort head‑on, he has no other option.

John took a deep breath and stood up.

"Let's duel, Voldemort."

Voldemort let out a shrill cold laugh, the mercury slowly returning to his left arm.

"As you wish."

The two actually stood face to face, wands raised, and bowed to each other.

Immediately after—

"Avada Kedavra!"

"Retreat Enemy Three Feet!"

Two magic spells shot out almost simultaneously, colliding in midair and bursting with blinding light.

Before having the Elder Wand, John was no match for Voldemort.

Now that Voldemort possesses the Elder Wand, John finds it even harder to withstand.

That green light clearly overpowered his spell, inching closer to him.

John clenched his teeth, desperately pouring his magic into the wand, veins bulging on his forehead as sweat trickled down his cheeks.

At that critical moment, a flicker of silver light burst from within him.

A massive eagle-shaped Guardian Deity surged forth from within John.

The Guardian Deity radiated brilliant positive energy, though it caused no actual harm to anyone.

Yet it made Voldemort squint, feeling a wave of discomfort.

Now!

Seizing the moment Voldemort was distracted, John jerked sideways to dodge; the green light grazed his ear and shattered the stone wall behind him.

John rolled to the ground and, swinging his wand in the motion, caused fire to ignite instantly beneath Voldemort's feet.

An Explosion Spell engulfed him.

But before the smoke cleared, a 40-foot Mercury Greatsword suddenly shot out from the smoke, swinging straight at John.

John, startled, hastily sidestepped; the Mercury Greatsword scraped past his shoulder.

Then came a horizontal sweep.

John simply flung himself prone to evade the deadly blow; the Mercury Greatsword severed a few strands of hair above his head.

Afterwards he rolled on the ground, pointing his wand at the smoke where the blade had emerged.

"Divine Edge Unseen!"

A few scraping sounds.

The attack was blocked again.

Voldemort emerged from the smoke, the Mercury Greatsword reshaping into his left arm, while his other hand gripped the Elder Wand as he launched a Killing Curse at the prone John.

John hastily conjured a Stone Wall in front of him; the green light struck the wall, sending shards flying, and he seized the chance to roll away from the attack.

Boom—!!

A succession of Explosion Spells once again engulfed Voldemort.

However, Voldemort emerged unscathed, tanking the Explosion Spells while continuously launching attacks at John.

Whenever John tried to gather Golden Flame, Voldemort would interrupt him.

He simply had no chance to unleash his ultimate move.

He could only rely on dueling skill to contend with Voldemort.

In less than ten minutes he was beaten back repeatedly, his clothes torn, multiple wounds covering his body, blood staining the ragged edges of his robe.

Although John was badly beaten.

But for some unknown reason, he felt he could still hold on, as if Voldemort were no more formidable than this.

This thought startled him.

Because he shouldn't be able to hold out.

Voldemort, wielding the Elder Wand, absolutely possessed the strength to overwhelm him.