The mastermind behind Hogwarts

Chapter 180 A New Quidditch Tactic: Encirclement and Counterattack!

Ms. Hooch blew her silver whistle, and the fourteen Quidditch players from both sides leaped into the air on their brooms, with Jericho charging at the Quaffle with all his might.

Mandy Finney, the Chaser of Gryffindor, was just as fast as Jericho, and two other Chasers followed from both sides under her command.

"The Parkin Claw Tactic!"

Roman, watching from the stands, exclaimed excitedly, "I can't believe I'm seeing world-class skills in a student from a school?"

Ludo was also impressed. He had researched the strength of the Hogwarts team beforehand and learned that there were very few players with world-class skills.

Moriarty, Jericho, William, Leon, Bill, Charlie, and Tonks—that's all.

But he saw world-class combination skills in an ordinary Gryffindor Chaser!

What does this mean?!

"Guys, did you see that?! This is Gryffindor's comeback!" Tonks' words stirred up the atmosphere. She shouted, "It seems that Gryffindor's extra training has worked. Mandy and even the Gryffindor players have learned more world-class skills!"

This is not a lie; they are worth our expectations!

"Gryffindor launches an attack!"

"Gryffindor will win!"

The Weasley twins led the first-year lion cubs in clapping and singing rhythmically.

"Charlie's broom, Gryffindor's sword!"

Mandy flew as fast as lightning!

The charge begins, the war drums beat!

The ball bouncing across the face, the Quaffle in the goal—they're all our adorable little sprites!

The little snakes weren't having it, so they cheered in their own way—the older students turned into many rattlesnakes, wagging their tails and making a "rustling" sound.

The two stands began to engage in a fierce battle, and Tonks continued his commentary: "The American kid is in trouble—he seems eager to score, but he's neglecting his teammates and has become disconnected from Slytherin's other two chasers!"

He's now fallen into Mandy's trap!

A sigh immediately rose from the Slytherin stands; Jericho was getting impatient.

Is it really?

Moriarty smirked. Instead of soaring into the sky to search for the Golden Snitch as usual, he hovered low in front of the goal.

He watched as Jericho plunged headfirst into Gryffindor's encirclement, and Mandy snatched the Quaffle, clutching it tightly to her chest.

"Gryffindor has launched an attack!" Tonks seemed to be alerting Moriarty. "Look, their two new hitters are hitting the wander ball hard!"

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

The two new batters used all their strength, smashing the runner flat with a deafening sound, and they saw the runner fly toward Jericho.

"Jellicoe!"

In the Ravenclaw stands, Helena stood up with concern.

Jericho heard his girlfriend's cry, turned around and smiled: "Don't worry, honey, let them come after me!"

Tonks laughed at the sight: "I'm pretty sure Helena has found true love, but can Jericho save himself? Can he get rid of the wandering ball?"

"The answer is obvious," Jericho shouted. "Sir? Can we begin? I need to speed things up."

Moriarty extended an arm and clenched his fist, as if as a signal, and the Slytherin players began to move.

"Huh? What are Slytherin doing? They're actually retreating towards the goal?"

Tonks's surprised tone aroused everyone's doubts. Shouldn't the Slytherin team be spreading out at this time to snatch the Quaffle?

"Just you wait, Wood." Jericho smiled at the Gryffindor goalkeeper from afar, turned his broomstick, and flew it toward the Slytherin goal.

Two wandering balls whizzed past him. Although he had shaken off the wandering balls, Gryffindor's three chasers had already overtaken Jericho and were closing in on the Slytherin goal!

"Leon, Marcus."

Moriarty's calm voice echoed from the stadium.

"It's our turn to go on stage," Leon said with a confident smile.

Marcus remained silent, his eyes fixed intently on the Quaffle.

The ball was now in Mandy's arms, and Marcus crashed into it like a speeding plane, the sun shining on him and leaving afterimages.

With a whooshing sound, Mandy was certain that if Marcus crashed into her, she would die. She quickly threw the ball to her teammate, and Leon immediately followed.

Left with no other option, the three Gryffindor Chasers had to pass the ball to each other.

The Slytherin players weren't worried at all. Whenever the Quaffle reached a Gryffindor player, they would send a teammate to follow it, and sometimes even two batters would be sent out!

"I don't know if you guys have figured it out yet, but I have. This is Moriarty's new tactic!"

Tonks' eyes sparkled with excitement.

"We see Mandy wants to pass the ball to her teammate, but which way should she shoot?" Tonks analyzed the situation: "Left? Her left is Marcus, that guy who's like a wall!"

On the right? A Slytherin batter is watching closely. If Mandy dares to throw a ball, I have no doubt he'll break Mandy's arm with a running ball!

So, is it above?

That's fine, but take a good look—where are her two teammates?

They are being surrounded!

Instead of going for the ball, Leon led another batter to double-team them. Is this a new tactic?

But the Quaffle is still in Mandy's hands!

Yes, that's right.

Tonks exclaimed as if he had discovered a new continent: "But look what Jericho is doing! He's drawing the attention of two Gryffindor batters all by himself!"

Jericho even flew right past their heads! The ball couldn't even touch Jericho's broom handle!

"Have you spotted a problem, Charlie?" Moriarty glanced up at the sky. There was no sign of the Golden Snitch. It was still early, and he didn't mind explaining their new tactics to Charlie.

Charlie, with his keen eye, noticed this and frowned, saying, "You've divided the battlefield, leaving Jericho alone in the backfield to draw fire and surround our chasers. Mandy is now isolated and helpless."

But there was one thing Charlie didn't see: "The Quaffle is still in Mandy's hands. You can't steal it, so it's not a foul, is it? I know that with your character, sir, you wouldn't do anything that would damage your sportsmanship, but? I really don't know what you'll do next!"

Charlie smiled helplessly; there was still no sign of the Golden Snitch appearing.

Moriarty told him, "As everyone knows, Gryffindor is a very aggressive team, so I devised a new tactic: encirclement and counter-attack!"

Just keep watching and you'll see; look, Mandy has flown right up to the goal.

Tonks also shouted, "Look, look! Mandy is less than 20 meters from the Slytherin goal!"

"During our conversation, Slytherin's defenses were easily breached? No, rather, Slytherin didn't even organize a defense! They were still closely marking three Gryffindor Chaser!"

"Come on, Mandy! Gryffindor, score!"

A chorus of cheers erupted from the Gryffindor stands, reaching Mandy's ears and causing her to give a wry smile.

Despite her proximity to the goal, Marcus posed a significant threat to her.

Seeing that Mandy was hesitant to shoot, Charlie grew impatient. He swooped down and shouted, "Give me the ball! Quick! I'll attack!"

"Charlie? I told you, we should just watch and not interfere!"

Moriarty yanked his broom up, propelling it straight into the sky, while simultaneously raising his right arm high as if to catch the Golden Snitch in his hand.

"Oh no!" Charlie hurriedly turned around and caught up with Moriarty from the side. To make himself even faster, he used his world-class ball skill, the sloth rolling over a tree.

Moriarty grinned at him, "You've been tricked."

At this point, Mandy was less than 7 meters from the Slytherin goal, but she still couldn't throw the Quaffle. She had no way out—dribbling the ball into the goal would be a foul.

Mandy tragically threw the ball toward the goal, then closed her eyes; she had foreseen the consequences.

Sure enough, Marcus simply stretched out his arm and caught the Quaffle in his hand.

"Leon!" Marcus threw the ball to Leon. The Quaffle was powerful and fast, like a shooting star streaking across the blue sky!

Li faced Marcus, watched the Quaffle flying towards him, aimed at the bottom of the ball, and with both palms facing upwards, he lifted it up with a "bang"!

The Quake was pried open and bounced off Leon's shoulder!

Roman stood up: "A back pass? Another world-class skill!"

"Sir!" Leon roared, "It's up to you!"

Charlie immediately realized what was happening. "Stop Moriarty! Quick, quick, quick!"

But where would Gryffindor find any extra manpower?

Charlie quickly turned around, only to see Moriarty already flying next to the Quaffle!

"Shining forever!"

"Shining forever!"

"Shining forever!"

The fan club suddenly erupted, startling Roman. He looked at the shouting little witches, and touched his forehead in frustration. As the captain, he didn't have many fans.

"He hasn't caught the Golden Snitch yet," Roman muttered.

"Yes, Moriarty didn't catch the Golden Snitch, he caught a Quake!" Tonks involuntarily raised his voice. "What is he going to do?"

"Jellico, catch!"

Moriarty threw the Quaffle like a rugby ball, and with a "whoosh," it landed squarely above Jericho.

Jericho outmaneuvered the two Gryffindor batters, easily getting the ball.

"Now, let me personally send you to hell!" Jericho roared wildly. The opportunity was in his hands; the moment to wash away the shame of the points deduction had arrived!

He used the sloth-like motion of rolling over a tree, but Wood remained unmoved.

"Jellicoe, that trick is no longer effective!" In recent months, Wood has been practicing Quidditch goalkeeping skills diligently, and he also wants to prove that he is no worse than the Slytherin rookies!

But Jericho began to sway left and right at an extremely fast speed, leaving afterimages!

Wood blinked hard; he couldn't tell which one was the real Jericho!

"What kind of ball skills are those?" Roman, who had just sat down, stood up again.

(End of this chapter)