The mastermind behind Hogwarts

Chapter 215 Flying Backwards!

The competition became more intense and more brutal.

French batters Onsa and Wright used all their strength to hit the ball towards Moriarty.

But Moriarty evaded him every time with ease.

"Fancy!" Onsa said resentfully as he watched Moriarty once again dodge the ball.

Whenever Moriarty skillfully dodged the ball, the female fans in the stands would let out a series of exclamations, their meows as soft as cats, which annoyed Onsa.

"Don't worry, brother," Wright quickly reassured Onsa. "We can't do anything about him," he said, glancing at Moriarty. "But we can stop the rest of the British team."

Wright and Onsa immediately changed tactics, throwing the ball at Red Nose and Afro to prevent them from launching some of their best offensive moves.

The commentator quickly said, "Our French players seem to have realized that it's unwise to get entangled with Moriarty, so they've turned their attention to targeting the rest of the British team!"

Look at the sky—this is the second time that two British chasers have been forced to separate!

Their attack route has been blocked, oh dear?

The commentator's expression suddenly turned strange. As he spoke, Red Nose and Afro accelerated simultaneously, breaking through the blockade of the ball and flying towards the French goal.

Just as the British attack was about to take shape, Moriarty's Boskov tactic struck again. The three French chasers nodded to each other: "We'd rather have Moriarty and Nestor face off one-on-one than let the three British chasers get in!"

They used a Parkin clamp tactic, and the three of them worked together to stop the man with the afro and the man with the red nose.

This left Moriarty unmarked, and he flew like a gust of wind to the French goal.

Nestor was extremely nervous, sweat dripping from his forehead. He kept a close eye on Moriarty while using a double "8" shaped circling motion to defend the goal.

"Wow, Nestor needs to keep his attention on Moriarty while he's constantly spinning in the air, which is something few goalkeepers can do."

The commentator gave Nestor high praise, but as Moriarty flew in, his tone became somber: "We are delighted to see his progress, however—Moriarty turned around—flying backwards!"

Good heavens, what is he trying to do?

The commentator became more enthusiastic, and the audience stood up, craning their necks to look. Moriarty made a flying move that was unprecedented in Quidditch history—flying backwards!

"You insulted me!"

Nestor cried out in grief and indignation.

Without uttering a word, Moriarty maneuvered the Nimbus 1990S, using the Woolong "Z" shaped flight technique to glide towards the goal.

This time Moriarty didn't use his ghostly movements, but Nestor was still in pain. The Quaffle was hidden in Moriarty's arms—he couldn't see it.

A tear slid down the corner of her eye, which was swollen from overwork.

Nestor dared not close his eyes. Even though he couldn't predict the Quaffle's trajectory, he had to hold his ground; this was France's last line of defense.

Moriarty turned his head slightly and saw Nestor's appearance, realizing that Nestor had completely become "blind"!

He casually swung the Quaffle, and the ball floated lightly, like a maple leaf swaying in the wind, landing precisely in the goal.

Nestor reacted a beat too slow; he only lunged forward after the ball had already gone in, and ended up missing.

"50-0! Moriarty scores again!" the commentator exclaimed. "Nestor is no match for him. Perug should think carefully about his strategy now!"

British fans jumped up and hugged their teammates as they celebrated.

Perug racked his brains for a solution, and the ball was kicked out again.

Moriarty's speed was unmatched, and as expected, he once again snatched the Quaffle.

The afro-haired man and the red-nosed man flew past from the side, guarding Moriarty's flanks.

Peruv focused his attack on Roman, pretending to spot the Golden Snitch, pressing down on the broom handle, and plummeting towards the ground.

Roman followed suit and swooped down, cutting diagonally between the ball chasers as if they had jumped out of a plane without parachutes!

The commentator exclaimed, "Wow, that's fast!"

Peru spotted the Golden Snitch, Roman was close behind, but the Nimbus 1990S was overtaking the Nimbus 1700!

"You spotted the Golden Snitch? No way!" Roman flew to the same level as Peru, the wind making their hair fly wildly.

Roman gave a provocative smile: "You're trying to trick me with that Lansky feint, aren't you? Let's see who falls first!"

Perug, realizing his plan had been exposed, gritted his teeth and sneered, "Very well, come on! Just don't fall and die!"

His response was that the Nimbus 1990S accelerated rapidly and shot towards the ground like a bullet.

Peru cursed him under her breath as a madman, and continued her dive without backing down!

Viewers followed their descent through panoramic telescopes, and the commentator yelled, "They're going to crash to the ground!"

He was only half right. At the last second, Roman stopped diving, started to rise again, and the Nimbus 1990S carried him away.

Peru tried to pull up the broom, but failed and fell heavily to the ground with a thud that could be heard throughout the stadium.

A wave of lamentation swept through French fans as Perug lost to Roman in their contest.

"The match is paused!" the commentator shouted. "The on-field doctor rushed onto the field to check Peru's injury."

The Canadian Ministry of Magic and the Quidditch World Cup have provided several highly trained doctors for our tournament, who will ensure the safety of the players.

French fans booed, suspecting the commentator was trying to use the opportunity to call it a loss.

British fans applauded as they watched Moriarty celebrate the small victory with the other players, Roman riding a broom and raising his arms high.

Perug stood up quickly. He was a veteran with a lot of experience and protected himself well in the moment of the fall, but he was depressed.

The game continued, and after another tense and exciting fifteen minutes, Moriarty scored more than a dozen goals, bringing the score to 170-0.

This score means that Peruv caught the Golden Snitch, and France was unable to secure a victory.

The French players looked dejected, and the French fans took off their panoramic binoculars; they didn't want to watch the game being bombarded by the British team anymore.

The commentator, however, was in high spirits. He seemed mesmerized by Moriarty, shouting admiringly, "It's Moriarty again! He's charging forward with the ball!"

The French defense was in disarray. Nestor's eyes were swollen, Perug was dejected, and what could Onsa and Wright do with their listless roaming?

France has no answer for Moriarty! Look—goal! This is Moriarty's 13th goal, making the score 180-0!

The British fans erupted in applause as Roman flew past the front of the upper stands, drawing everyone's attention.

"It's the Golden Snitch!"

A flash of gold streaked past, and Roman sped past, catching up with the golden thief from behind and seizing it in his hand.

"Roman caught it—he caught the Golden Snitch! Match over!!!" the commentator shouted. "330-0! Merlin on top! England has crushed France!"

The scoreboard flashed the scores: Great Britain: 330, France: 0.

Flags were waving everywhere in the main stadium, the British national anthem rang out from all directions, and British fans stood up, jumped, cheered, and shouted Moriarty's name.

The dignitaries in the VIP box also stood up and applauded the British team. Apollo, the Director of Sports and Physical Education at the French Ministry of Magic, could only smile awkwardly and say, "They played very bravely, didn't they? Heh heh."

"Yes, you're absolutely right, especially the French team! Very brave!" Ludo walked out from the back of the box. Just now, his wizard had told him that his bets had been incredibly successful, so he was very happy.

Apollo, annoyed by Ludo's sarcastic remarks, scoffed, "My players are the bravest—they got here without any outside help, relying solely on their own abilities!"

Many French people and fans share this view, and the French players left without saying a word after landing.

The British players landed from the air to a great welcome, and amidst cheers, Moriarty led his team out of the main stadium.

The British team has secured their place in the quarterfinals, meaning they will not be playing at this stadium for at least a month.

By late March, the top eight teams had been officially determined.

Besides Great Britain, who were the first to advance to the quarterfinals, and Canada and the United States, who are guaranteed to advance, the remaining five teams are Poland, Peru, Japan, Transylvania, and Bulgaria.

In late March, the World Cup officially released the schedule for the semi-finals.

Great Britain vs. Bulgaria!

Poland vs. Peru!

USA vs. Japan!

Canada vs. Transylvania!

(End of this chapter)