The mastermind behind Hogwarts

Chapter 216: Facing Krum

After the schedule was announced, viewers angrily accused the organizers of foul play!

Great Britain's semi-final opponent is Bulgaria, while Poland's semi-final opponent is Peru.

Bulgaria and Peru are world-class teams! They have reached the World Cup final multiple times in history.

And what about the British team?

Among the quarterfinalists, Japan is generally considered the weakest team, followed by Great Britain.

Fans reviewed the match between Great Britain and France and unanimously concluded that if it weren't for Moriarty leading the team, Great Britain's World Cup journey would have ended, and players like Roman might have already gone home.

Of course, some people also mentioned the Nimbus 1990s.

However, the Nimbus 1990S was brought by Moriarty, so it is still attributed to Moriarty's leadership.

There's not much to say about the Polish team; they're a strong team, but not a top-tier one.

A single word makes all the difference.

In contrast, let's look at the Canadian and American teams.

Their opponents are Transylvania and Japan.

Transylvania is a decent team, but at best they're only at the quarterfinals level.

Their last appearance in the semifinals was in 1473, more than 400 years ago...

Canada, as the host nation, reportedly had a Mexican player deafened by the shouts of its fans during their match against Mexico.

Needless to say, the Japanese team's performance was abysmal.

I don't know what stroke of luck we had this year, but we made it into the round of 16.

It is well known among European wizards that wizards in Asia do not like to use flying brooms.

The US team had just reached the final of the last World Cup, which boosted their morale.

Maxi is a top Seeker—

Fans generally believe that he has no rivals; even Bulgarian rising star Viktor Krum cannot beat him.

and so……

It's a complete cover-up, an absolute cover-up!

Fans were outraged, and some experienced fans speculated that the Canadian Ministry of Magic colluded with the World Cup organizers to manipulate the match schedule.

These comments reached the ears of players from various countries, and Roman reported this to Moriarty at the British team's pre-match meeting.

Moriarty smiled slightly. The official's meticulous adjustment of the competition schedule was not only to ensure that the Canadian and American teams would enter the finals, but also to make money!

Yes, it's about making money.

The Canadian Ministry of Magic doesn't have much money; they borrowed the Galleons from Gringotts to build Hyprose!

To pay off its debts, the Canadian Ministry of Magic specially built a hotel and restaurant—in the past, spectators who came to the World Cup all brought their own tents and had to take care of their own meals.

The cost of accommodation and food alone was clearly insufficient to cover the deficit of the Canadian Ministry of Magic, so they colluded with the World Cup officials to jointly operate a betting platform.

Adjust the schedule to group strong and weak teams together, then let the weak teams pull off an upset and win.

Betting on football in this way is nothing new, but this time, they're going all out. They not only want to win the championship, but also to steal all the money from the fans and spectators!

There were about 80,000 spectators who came to watch the World Cup. Even if each person bet one Galleon on the game, it would be enough for them to pay back the 100,000 Galleons they borrowed.

This is getting more and more interesting!

Moriarty crossed his arms, rested his chin on the back of his hands, and a glint of shrewdness flashed in his eyes. The underground gambling exchanges must be in complete chaos right now.

If he's not mistaken, there should be a three-way betting pool involved.

One of them is the betting platform jointly operated by the Canadian Ministry of Magic and the World Cup.

Secondly, Moriarty orchestrated the gambling operation, which was a joint venture between the Flint and Foley families.

Thirdly, there are retail investors.

Every World Cup has been rife with greedy individuals who attempt to gain wealth and change their fate through betting on the games.

Ludo is a typical example, and there are countless people like him who form a huge group of retail investors.

These gamblers are a pack of hungry wolves, and also a piece of fat meat.

Moriarty and the officials both wanted to cash in on this lucrative opportunity – they had already made a lot of money from the England vs. France match.

However, this was far from enough for Moriarty.

Before the game, many fans were looking forward to the US team facing Bulgaria, and they wanted to see Maxi and Krum play against each other.

Unfortunately, this idea fell through, but fans were pleasantly surprised to find that Moriarty and Krum would be facing off in a Chaser vs. Seeker matchup.

Moriarty, sensing the audience's desire, wrote to old Foley, reminding him to increase the stakes and proposing additional betting activities.

Who will win between Great Britain and Bulgaria?

England to 3-1, Bulgaria to 3.5-1.

"Who will catch the Golden Snitch first, Roman or Krum?"

Roman is 10 to 1, Krum is 5 to 1.

Who scored the first goal, Great Britain or Bulgaria?

England to 1, Bulgaria to 2.

There's also a roulette game with four options:

"Roman catches the Golden Snitch, Great Britain wins."

"Krum catches the Golden Snitch, but the British team wins."

"Roman catches the golden thief, but Bulgaria wins."

"Krum catches the Golden Snitch, Bulgaria wins."

赔率分别是1赔5、1赔6、1赔6、1赔6。

This time, old Foley and old Flint contributed all their wealth!

They wanted to make their money back with interest and give Moriarty a celebratory gift.

The first Tuesday of April arrived, and the semi-finals began as scheduled. The first match was between Great Britain and Bulgaria!

"Hello, ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the World Cup semi-finals!"

The commentator was as energetic and passionate as ever.

This time, Furong was finally able to sit with her parents and younger sister Gabrielle to cheer for Moriarty.

"The match between Great Britain and Bulgaria, a clash between the Nimbus 1990S and the Nimbus 1700..."

"Ugh, another GG." Fleur impatiently flicked her hair. She wanted to see Moriarty as soon as possible, but the commentator was still praising Nimbus 1990s.

"How many Galleons did Nimbus Corporation give this commentator?"

Fleur shook her head dismissively, while Mr. and Mrs. Delacour watched her with smiles.

Most viewers were dissatisfied with the commentator's roundabout promotion of the Nimbus 1990s.

Today, many Bulgarian wizards are sitting in the stands, wearing red clothes, which are the Bulgarian team's uniforms.

After praising the Nimbus 1990S, the commentator loudly proclaimed, "Now, ladies and gentlemen!"

Please give a warm welcome to the Bulgarian team!

Six players wearing red team uniforms flew out of the tunnel.

"Let me introduce you all—Dmitrov! Ivanova! Zograv! Levsky! Vokanov! Volkov!"

Every time the commentator called out a name, a burst of applause erupted from the stands.

Viewers discovered through panoramic telescopes that Krum was not present.

The commentator also noticed this, and he said with a smile, "Haha, where's our Krum? This is his first time on the World Cup stage!"

Let's give a warm round of applause to this 13-year-old Seeker prodigy, Viktor Krum!

"Krum! Krum!"

Supporters of Bulgaria chanted Krum's name and followed him onto the field with panoramic binoculars.

Viktor Krum was dark and thin, with grayish-yellow skin, a large hooked nose, and thick black eyebrows, making him look like a newly grown eagle.

"Now, please welcome—the British team!" the commentator shouted loudly. "First up is Roman, the Seeker!"

Six British players flew into the stadium from the players' entrance, with Roman leading the way, followed by the guy with the afro and the guy with the red nose.

"And finally, Moriarty Slytherin will appear."

"Aaaaaah~"

A huge number of fans screamed wildly, and even more fans and spectators erupted in thunderous cheers and applause.

"Moriarty! Moriarty!"

Some British wizards observed that even with his new position, Moriarty remained the brightest star on the World Cup stage, and they exclaimed, "Shining forever! Shining forever!"

Moriarty rode a Nimbus 1990s and soared into the sky, leading the British team to face the Bulgarian team.

He scanned the faces of the Bulgarian players one by one—they were all young, around 20 years old.

Youth is an asset; this group of Bulgarian players can still compete in two more World Cups.

Moriarty suddenly noticed someone staring at him.

He turned his head slightly and saw Krum giving him an undisguised challenging look.

Moriarty suddenly remembered that it was this group of players who made it to the final of the 422nd World Cup in 1994, where Krum caught the Golden Snitch, but Ireland won the game.

This time, you can neither catch the Golden Snitch nor win the game!

Moriarty gave Krum a meaningful glance, which was a response, but Krum clearly didn't understand; he was still too young.

In fact, Krum and Moriarty are the same age, but because Krum is 9 months older than Moriarty, Krum is a grade higher than Moriarty and is a third-year student at Durmstrang.

"Roman, with his afro. He's your junior."

While the referee was still away, Moriarty started joking.

"We'll give him a good talking-to and make him feel how strong the expectations his seniors have for him are!" Roman said, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.

"The higher the expectations, the harder the blows, right?" The man with the afro grinned wickedly.

"beep--"

The whistle blew, its sharp sound echoing through the sky!

"The first match of the semi-finals—Great Britain vs. Bulgaria—has officially begun!"

(End of this chapter)