The mastermind behind Hogwarts

Chapter 142 Challenge

Moriarty gave him a disdainful look. "That's a stupid plan only a headless idiot would come up with! What makes you think I'd do what you say?"

"Given the students in front of you, you'd better behave if you don't want them to die a violent death."

Dracula's voice was filled with the smug satisfaction of a petty person who had achieved his goal, as if he thought he had Moriarty under his thumb.

"As expected of a brainless idiot. I told you before, you have no ability to control all the students and professors." Moriarty sneered. "If I'm not mistaken, the game you've arranged for us is a level-based game."

Each person is assigned a level, and each level is guarded by a professor!

"How about it? Was I right?"

Moriarty shouted loudly into the castle, seemingly having uncovered Dracula's plan, but the castle remained silent.

With a "whoosh," the students in front of the castle gate all lay on the ground, and at the same time, Dracula's voice rang out.

"You're absolutely right, so I'll stop hiding my true purpose—that's too tiring. I'm a straightforward vampire."

Dracula seemed to have been sealed away for too long, and he always talked a lot, but the transition was also abrupt—"I no longer control the students and guarantee their safety. You can send someone over to check—they've just fallen asleep."

"Let me tell you my true purpose. I've used all my viral magic to infect four professors! They guard three checkpoints. If the three of you can successfully pass through them, Hogwarts will be back in your hands."

Moriarty gestured for Charlie and Leon to check on the students' physical and mental condition. Jericho leaned over and whispered, "Sir, Dracula's behavior is inconsistent."

Think about it, he was so persuasive before, hiding his true intentions very well, but now he's revealing them, as if he can't wait to let us into the castle!

Moriarty gave Jericho an approving look and nodded.

At this moment, the system emits a "ding-dong" notification sound.

"Dracula's headless corpse has been detected as hostile to the host. Three tasks—easy, medium, and hard—are now available for the host to choose from."

Task 1 (Easy): Refuse Dracula, inform the British Ministry of Magic of the situation at Hogwarts, and gather the strength of the British wizarding community to deal with Dracula.

Note: Choosing Mission 3 will avoid direct conflict with Dracula, but the host's goal of becoming the mastermind behind the scenes will be exposed.

There is no reward for completing the task.

There will be no penalty for mission failure in the short term.

However, since the host's goal has been exposed, it will be difficult to complete the main mission. If the main mission cannot be completed for a long time, the system will eliminate the host.

Task 2 (Medium): Agree with Dracula to team up with Lilith and Jericho to play the adventure game and complete it.

Complete the task to receive 10 points and a mystery gift pack.

The penalty for mission failure is death of the host. (Not elimination by this system)

Mission 3 (Difficult): Refuse Dracula, lead the Hogwarts pure-blood army to launch a strong attack on Hogwarts, and reclaim Hogwarts from Dracula.

The reward for completing the task is 15 points.

The penalty for mission failure is death of the host. (Not system erasure)

Please choose one of the three options.

Moriarty asked, "What's inside the mystery gift package?"

"The mystery gift pack contains generous prizes. If the host wishes to redeem those prizes from the store, each one will require tens of thousands of points," the system replied.

"That's right, it seems like a good deal..." Moriarty nodded. He looked at Jericho, then at the gloomy castle, wanting to choose Mission Two but not wanting to put Jericho and Lilith in danger.

Jericho seemed to sense Moriarty's concerns, took a step forward, puffed out his chest, and said, "Sir, if you need me, I'm ready to step in anytime, and I think Lilith is too."

In fact, this was Jericho's true feeling. In the battle with the Quinlan family, Jericho only used some minor spells to interfere with the vampires.

Even Marcus was charging into battle, while Jericho could only hide behind the others!

This reality was unacceptable to Jericho, who considered himself Moriarty's number two, and he was eager to prove himself.

What about Lilith?

Moriarty thought of the proud young lady, so he flew to Malfoy Manor to explain the situation to Lilith, who readily agreed.

Moriarty immediately chose "Mission Two," then brought Lilith back. They walked with Jericho to the castle gate, settled their classmates, and slowly entered the castle.

The doors slammed shut, the auditorium lights came on, and the familiar four long tables were gone, replaced by a giant chessboard.

The chessboard is square and consists of 64 alternating black and white squares. There are 32 pieces in total, divided into black and white sides, with 16 pieces on each side. Each piece is as tall as an adult.

"When I controlled Minerva McGonagall, I found a chess set in her office. It was clear she really enjoyed playing this game," Dracula's voice rang out, explaining the rules to them. "I know wizards call this game Wizard's Chess, but it's actually just chess. I remember it was introduced to Europe by the Turks."

You need to send out one person, that person chooses either black or white, and then replace one of the pieces.

I'll control McGonagall to replace a piece, and we'll see who captures whom first.

"So, in other words, although it's a game of chess, it doesn't matter which side wins; what matters is capturing the opponent's pieces?"

Lilith crossed her arms and walked to the chessboard, examining each piece with great interest.

Moriarty and Jericho exchanged a glance. If that was the case, there seemed to be a loophole in the rules, and they could exploit it.

Dracula seemed to have noticed this as well, and fell silent. After a few minutes, Dracula said, "Listen, little girl, your name is Lilith, right? Very well, I'll add another rule for you!"

If you simply eat her but fail to win, she will die! Not only will she die in the game, but she will also die in real life!

Minerva McGonagall can only survive if you devour her and achieve victory.

Jericho laughed loudly: "Dracula, you must have listened to the young lady before adding the rules. Before that, you didn't even realize that the rules you made had bugs!"

Don't you feel embarrassed? If your head were still on your neck, your face would be redder than the Weasleys' hair!

Dracula, enraged, shouted, "Stop yelling! Hurry up! Who are you sending?"

"let me!"

"Of course it's me!"

Jericho and Lilith's voices rang out simultaneously, and they exchanged a glance after speaking.

"Do you know how to play Wizard's Chess? Well, you don't need to answer. Everyone knows you only know Quidditch." Lilith ignored Jericho, lifted her leg, and stepped onto the chessboard!

"Alright, alright! You take the first round." Jericho shrugged. "You're right, my chess skills are indeed terrible. I just want to teach Dracula a lesson."

"A lesson?" Lilith glared at Jericho. "That won't do. The one standing on the chessboard is our Transfiguration professor!"

Lilith moved around the chessboard, cautiously observing each piece, and finally chose the white side.

"Alright, you've chosen White, so Minerva McGonagall is Black," Dracula said impatiently. "Time to choose a replacement piece, hurry up!"

Lilith, however, did not comply with his wishes. "I choose first? Sorry, I cannot accept that, because you didn't say so beforehand!"

"You...!" Dracula seemed to have been choked.

"Hahaha!" Jericho laughed loudly once again.

Moriarty also curled the corners of his mouth. Lilith's questions disrupted the eerie and tense atmosphere that Dracula had created.

The air was filled with a joyful atmosphere. Moriarty felt that if the game didn't start soon, Lilith would drive Dracula crazy.

It's obvious that Dracula had no experience in setting levels and had never played a platformer game before, so why would he specifically create a platformer game for them to play?

With these questions in mind, Moriarty continued watching, and Dracula manipulated Professor McGonagall to replace the Black Knight.

Professor McGonagall instantly transformed into a knight, riding a horse, holding a lance, and assuming a charging stance.

A glint of light flashed in Lilith's eyes. She walked to the seat representing the Queen, a surge of confidence rising within her. She raised her head slightly: "As an outstanding female pureblood, I naturally choose the Queen."

"Game - Start!"

Dracula's cry for liberation echoed from within the castle.

(End of this chapter)