Hogwarts: This Dark Lord is so evil.

Chapter 501 Could that kid Li Weide really be a saint?

“Your moving castle doesn’t look like a moving castle anymore…” Tom stood on the balcony, looking at the ever-expanding open space in the distance.

With so much more open space, the moving castle no longer looks like a moving castle.

“Because my goal wasn’t just to build a flying castle… Tom.” Leved pointed to the cloning workshop in the distance, already operational. “It’s a city in the sky. An indestructible fortress…”

Tom squinted at Livid and said, "You want to rule the world... and build an indestructible battle fortress? I feel like you're using a cannon to kill a mosquito."

Given Li Weide's current abilities and the power he can wield, it's only a matter of time before he liberates the world by force alone.

Building a floating city... a battle fortress, with such great effort, seems like using a cannon to kill a mosquito.

In fact, at his current construction pace, the world might be unified by then, and his battle fortress might still be unfinished.

"Just think of it as me fulfilling a wish, creating a big toy," Li Weide said with a smile.

"A big toy? A stingy guy like you, who would rather break every Galleon into pieces and put them into experimental research, would be willing to spend huge sums of money to build such a useless battle fortress?" Tom scoffed. "I don't believe it."

"You don't understand, this is a man's romance..."

Tom felt a surge of anger when he saw that Levi continued to evade the issue and refused to tell the truth.

"Since you don't believe me, then forget it... Well, I almost forgot, you never trust anyone but yourself!" Tom said coldly, turning and leaving.

Li Weide watched his retreating figure and couldn't help but scratch his nose.

"It seems you've deeply hurt him... Wade. Can't you really just tell him?" Miravia appeared beside him unnoticed. "Seeing your friend gradually drift away, you must be feeling bad too, right?"

"Friend? You're wrong, Miravia. I've never considered him a friend. He's just a useful tool," Li Weide said coldly.

"Tsk tsk... Is that so? What about me? Am I also a very useful tool to you?" Miravia asked Li Weide with a mocking look.

Li Weide's eyes flickered. "Under the prevailing circumstances... who among the beings in this world isn't a tool? Tom is, you are, and so am I?"

“I suddenly realize that you’re actually quite great,” Miravia said with a smile.

"Great? No... I just want to survive... and I also hope that most people can survive."

"Is everything for a greater good?"

Li Weide sighed, "In a situation like this, it's not entirely unacceptable to say it like this..."

“If that silly boy Tom doesn’t know the truth…aren’t you worried he’ll ruin your plans?” Miravia suddenly asked again.

Li Weide was silent for a moment before firmly saying, "No one can stop me, Miravia. No one..."

Miravia lowered her head for a moment, "Then... what if Death is lying to you? What if the hell you saw is fake? What if the world line doesn't actually end? What if..."

Do we have a choice?

“No…” Miravia said dejectedly.

Yes, they had no choice; they couldn't gamble with the survival of the entire world line.

We can only do our utmost to make adequate preparations for that possible future...

“Since that’s the case, there’s no need to dwell on it anymore… It’s either live or die, we have no choice but to take a gamble…” Li Weide’s eyes were a little red.

Miravia suddenly laughed. "I remember when you released me, you were gambling too. You took a lot of precautions, afraid that you had released a great demon."

“That time was different from this time…” Li Weide said, “This time… do you think there’s any way to guard against a god?”

Miravia looked at Li Weide quietly, only smiling without saying a word.

Even if Li Weide says he has no way to defend against it... but based on her understanding of Li Weide, it's impossible that he really doesn't make any preparations, even if... those precautions might just be a joke in front of a god.

"Do your best and leave the rest to fate," Li Weide said slowly.

"Well... let's do our best and leave the rest to fate..."

……

In December, the weather was already quite cold, and London had been experiencing several days of heavy snowfall.

Two figures trudged through the thick snow and arrived at a red public telephone booth.

They took off their cloaks, shook off the snowflakes, and then the two of them squeezed into the phone booth.

Zhang San exhaled a puff of white mist and said solemnly, "This time we're going through official channels. This is the first time we've met with the British Minister for Magic in the name of the International Wizarding Federation. Don't mess this up."

"Big brother, don't underestimate me," Zhang Qiming said with slight dissatisfaction.

These two are the Zhang brothers, who were newly recruited by the International Federation of Wizards.

"Hmm... I'm just a little worried. This mission is very important..." Zhang San frowned. "Wade might have been a bit too hasty this time... Will the Minister of Welfare really agree?"

"I may be a little anxious, but I fully support Vader's position... Wizards and Muggles are all human! Wizards clearly have the ability to do something in this war, yet they stand idly by... watching their compatriots being killed by invaders, watching so many people die in the war every day, how can they bear it?"

"But...sigh...let's give it a try anyway. Since we've put this in their hands, Wade must have his reasons. Let's try our best to get the Minister of Welfare's support...even if the success rate isn't high."

With a worried look on his face, Zhang San still picked up the microphone and dropped in a coin...

……

“I know I’m being a bit too hasty, but… I have to do this. I’m making a show of force. Even if the first attempt is guaranteed to fail… we have to do something to let people know what we’re thinking.” Li Weide sat in front of the fireplace, looking at the flickering fire, his eyes deep.

“Well… I just didn’t expect Liu Tao to agree with your point of view and go along with your nonsense. Shouldn’t he be a staunch supporter of the secrecy law?” Miravia curled up in a small sofa in front of the fireplace, like a lazy cat.

“Hydra has proven my abilities… He wants to target those reclusive sects and families in the country, to get them to step forward and promote the development of the wizarding world. So he’ll definitely agree to my approach… He’s taking a gamble, just like me…” Li Weide murmured.

Miravia had a feeling that this guy hadn't told her the whole plan... things might not be as simple as she thought.

"Are you really confident you can help him resolve the issues with those reclusive sects and families?" Miravia asked.

"Hmm... winning people over with virtue is enough," Li Weide said calmly.

Miravia remained silent, for she knew that what Li Weide meant by winning people over with virtue was probably "martial virtue"...

In just one month, Li Weide's mass production plan created the first batch of clone warriors.

Although this batch of clone warriors numbered only a few hundred, their combat strength was considerable.

Although their magic power isn't particularly strong, each clone warrior is proficient in various combat styles due to their specially designed consciousness, making them skilled warriors without needing retraining!

In addition, with the various equipment provided by Hydra, their individual combat capabilities are not much weaker than those of the elite sorcerers...

To put it simply, if Li Weide hadn't been worried about lacking a legitimate reason for his campaign, losing too much public support, affecting the cohesion of the final battle, and ultimately causing a change in the timeline, he could have simply waited a while longer and even attempted to completely overthrow the wizarding world.

Of course, sweeping across the world might affect cohesion, but threatening those reclusive families and sects within the country wouldn't. This is because the younger generation of these reclusive factions within the country has long been dissatisfied with the upper echelons' escapist attitude.

No young person could remain unmoved by the invaders' humiliation of their compatriots.

Therefore, as long as Li Weide can get those old guys to back down, these young people will definitely support Li Weide's propositions; the Zhang brothers are an example.

These hundreds of clone warriors pose a significant threat to any family or sect!

Even if those old guys are exceptionally powerful and not afraid of the clone army at all, Li Weide has no shortage of high-end combat power as a deterrent.

When the time comes, we can just call them one by one.

“The time is still too short… We need time to develop…” Miravia said.

“Ten years…that’s enough,” Li Weide said.

Miravia was saying that her reign over the world was too short, but that's not what Li Wade was referring to...

His mind wasn't entirely focused on unification; he was always thinking about what would happen ten years from now...

Li Weide glanced at the grandfather clock on the wall. "Hmm... at this time, it seems the Zhang brothers' mission has failed... the Minister of Welfare's letter should be arriving soon..."

……

"Sigh, as expected, it failed..." Zhang Qiming looked back at the phone booth in frustration.

They had just finished their meeting and left the British Ministry of Magic.

“As expected…” Zhang San sighed and said, “The war is far less close to these British than to our hometown… Moreover, in the traditional wizarding mindset, Muggles and wizards are two different species, so how could they possibly be willing to take this risk? This time… it was indeed Wade who was too hasty.”

"Hmph... Didn't you see that Minister of Welfare? His face turned pale after hearing our suggestion. If we weren't members of the International Wizarding Federation and friends of Vader, we might have been locked up in Azkaban by now!"

The International Law on Secrecy was promulgated by the International Federation of Wizards, and it received unanimous support from the magic ministries of various countries when it was first promulgated.

Now, to cancel it, the support of the magic ministries of various countries is naturally required.

The British Ministry of Magic was merely their first stop...

However, if even the British Ministry of Magic, which has close ties with Hydra, is like this, then other national ministries of magic in other countries are probably not faring much better...

"Repealing the secrecy law is a long and arduous task..."

"Hiss... Brother, could it be that Wade never thought we would succeed in the first place, and sent us on this trip just to let everyone know Hydra's true intentions?"

“Hmm…maybe…but I don’t understand why Wade would bring this up at this time? He would be more confident if he prepared for a longer period of time…Is bringing it up now just to remind everyone of their ideas? It will only attract everyone’s attention and even hostility. What’s the point?” Zhang San frowned.

This proposal was actually initiated by Hydra...

To initiate a resolution within the International Confederation of Wizards, an influential individual or organization must proactively propose it to the Confederation, and then at least one representative must accept it and submit it to the Confederation in order to obtain a vote at a meeting.

The representative who accepted this resolution was Liu Tao…

In theory, if one could gain the support of the Ministry of Magic of each country, one could obtain a majority of votes and have the Secrets Act repealed...

But now it seems almost impossible for this resolution to pass.

All that trouble, just to make an example of someone? What's the point?

……

In the blink of an eye, another half month passed.

"That brat Li Weide made a terrible move this time!" Grindelwald put down his newspaper, a hint of doubt flashing across his face.

“Isn’t this a good thing?” Vita said with a smile. “Now, all public opinion is against him… His Hydra company is in the eye of the storm and could collapse at any moment! Their elimination is a huge benefit to us!”

“It’s not quite a complete collapse… it’s just that he’s gone from being the darling of the wizarding world to someone everyone avoids now…” Grindelwald mused. “How dare he? Even I wouldn’t dare directly propose abolishing the Secrecy Act…”

After half a month of fermentation, news has spread throughout the wizarding world that Hydra Corporation wants to abolish the Secrets Act in order to achieve peace as soon as possible.

Immediately, all the media outlets in the wizarding world launched a barrage of criticism against Hydra. Even Liu Tao, who accepted and submitted the resolution, faced immense pressure…

Those who previously wanted to curry favor with Hydra are now taking a wait-and-see approach.

Even some of the people in Hydra chose to leave the company, and some people who had patent collaborations with Hydra also severed ties with the company.

Of course, quite a few remained.

This group believes that Hydra's attempt to abolish the secrecy law may be ill-considered, but its intentions are good.

Currently, a world war is raging, and tens of thousands of people are dying every day.

Hydra's desire to abolish the secrecy laws was merely a ploy to intervene in the war and restore peace as soon as possible, which is entirely understandable.

Some people stay away from Hydra, while others are drawn to it because of this, finding it to be a very humane company.

"This is today's newspaper." Suddenly, a man walked in from outside and handed a new newspaper to Grindelwald.

Grindelwald glanced at the newspaper, his brow furrowing again.

"what happened?"

"The meeting of the International Wizarding Federation regarding the abolition of the secrecy law has concluded. Not a single country's representative voted in favor... not even Liu Tao, who accepted the proposal, voted against it..." Grindelwald said, frowning.

"Huh? Then why did Liu Tao accept this resolution? If he wanted to oppose it, wouldn't it have been better not to accept it in the first place? It would have saved the trouble of voting. Why both accept it and vote against it?" Vita asked in confusion.

“Hmm? This is…” Grindelwald raised an eyebrow. “Hydra has proposed a new resolution. They still hope the Wizarding Federation will allow them to secretly intervene in the war without violating the secrecy laws, so that the world can quickly return to peace… If they are discovered… they are willing to take full responsibility, dissolve the company, and the main responsible persons are willing to accept legal sanctions…”

Vita scoffed, "How can you intervene in a war without violating secrecy laws?"

“In theory, as long as it’s not discovered, it doesn’t count as a violation of the secrecy law… Of course, that depends on the enforcement standards of each country’s Ministry of Magic,” Grindelwald murmured.

“Nobody will agree,” Vita said.

"No... most people voted in favor of it."

"How can this be!"

"Because everyone knows Hydra's determination. Even without a resolution, they will definitely intervene quietly... No one wants Hydra to dissolve! Since they're going to do it anyway, they might as well agree... Only by passing this resolution will everyone have an excuse to lend a hand... The goal is to prevent them from dissolving... The benefits that Hydra brings to everyone are simply too great..."

"Doesn't this mean... even if the secrecy laws aren't repealed, everyone will still have to provide assistance to Hydra's involvement in the war?"

"Tsk... Yeah... I knew it! That brat's got guts... Now, his company has filtered out the reliable people, those who didn't agree with his ideas have all left, and... their goal wasn't the secrecy law from the start, but to legitimately intervene in the war! Besides... risking intervention in the war, just for the sake of world peace as soon as possible... This guy's made a name for himself again! But... just for a good reputation, intervening in a Muggle war isn't a good enough reason, what exactly is that brat Li Wade trying to do? The effort and reward are disproportionate... Could it be that this kid is some kind of saint?"

(End of this chapter)