The mastermind behind Hogwarts

Chapter 219 The Bizarre Semifinal

Japan...

Moriarty closed his eyes, and a memory from two years ago flooded his mind.

The Japanese black wizard, Tsukamura Kureno.

The Black Wizarding Organization, the Raven Society.

Prophecy of immortality.

The mission to seize the Ice Moon Necklace.

At that time, the Japanese magical world was like a murky pool of water, unfathomable yet tranquil and undisturbed.

Two years later, the Japanese wizarding world has gone global through Quidditch and is highly likely to become the British team's semi-final opponent, or even their final opponent.

Using Quidditch, the Japanese magical world began to spread its influence across the world, stirring up waves and creating storms.

Moriarty was not surprised that the Japanese team upset the American team. The Japanese team has a gloomy temperament, which is brought by Magic Johnson.

The magician gave Moriarty the feeling of a venomous snake lurking deep in the mountains, waiting for passersby to deliver a fatal blow.

Not to mention, the Japanese team also has Kogoro Tsukamura.

Tsukamura?

Oh……

Moriarty chuckled softly, his eyes snapping open with a sharp glint in them.

Japan is an island nation with a small land area, and the concept of family is very strong there. Two people with the same surname must be related by blood.

The connection between Tsukamura Keno and Tsukamura Kogoro is obvious.

In that case, the nature of Kogoro Tsukamura can most likely be determined.

Japanese Black Wizard!

Even members of the Pangya Society.

So here's the question: what is this Japanese black wizard doing in Canada?

Is it really just about participating in the World Cup?

Kogoro Tsukamura and... the Magician, would these two really have a Quidditch match?

Moriarty immediately rejected the idea as soon as it came to mind.

When these two get together, nothing good ever comes of it.

They must be plotting something.

Moriarty naturally thought of himself, as he had a grudge against Tsukamura and the magician.

"So, I was the target all along."

With a sneer, Moriarty opened his eyes, lifted his leg, and walked expressionlessly out of the room toward the main stadium.

Roman and the others followed behind, and Moriarty went into Hyprose's hospital to visit Maxi.

"Sir, I'm sorry to have made you laugh."

Maxi lay in his hospital bed, his head wrapped in thick bandages, and forced a bitter smile at Moriarty.

Moriarty circled Maxi's bedside several times, checking Maxi's injuries, his gaze finally settling on Maxi's head.

"Was it done by Kogoro Tsukamura?"

"Yes, sir," Maxi's voice was serious. "I swear by my family that that shameless Japanese man used magic on me! Otherwise, I wouldn't have fallen off the broom, broken my leg, or have this headache!"

As Maxi recounted his ordeal, his voice rose, and he angrily shouted.

Maxi recounted that during a close-quarters scramble for the ball with Kogoro Tsukamura, Tsukamura gave him a strange smile.

Then he heard a voice:

"Come, come, my heir..."

"We are waiting for you here, ready to soar through the sky and bring the dawn to the night."

"We knew your name and we were familiar with your face."

"Our song of life will never cease, and the passionate years we ignite will continue year after year!"

"The past and the present converge; let the past go, let the present be free, and liberate your soul."

"Come, come, my heir..."

"It was this sound that distracted me," Maxi recalled with his eyes closed. "Kogoro Tsukamura caught the Golden Snitch, and I had a splitting headache, fell off my broom, and broke my leg—my leg healed, but my headache didn't get much better."

"Did you mention this voice to anyone other than me?" Moriarty's question was meaningful.

Maxi opened his eyes, covered his head and sat up, his expression serious: "No, no! Sir, I am already an adult wizard, and I find this matter to be sinister."

No one noticed that Kogoro Tsukamura used magic on me, so I didn't mention that voice.

“You’re right,” Moriarty nodded and said to Maxi, “Bringing up that voice won’t make people believe you; it will only make them think you’re just being unreasonable.”

Moriarty told Max about the magician using a brainwashing voice on him, and after comparing the two voices, they discovered that they came from the same person, a man with a rough voice.

"It's necessary to investigate Japan," Moriarty said casually.

"I'll send reliable people to Asia to see what these people are up to," Maxi scoffed. "Once we find someone in the know, the Blanche family has plenty of ways to pry him out and uncover their secrets."

"Speaking of the Blanche family, send people to Japan. Don't hide their identities or whereabouts. Investigate openly and legitimately under the Blanche family's name," Moriarty reminded Maxi.

"Why?" Maxi asked, puzzled. "There's something wrong with the Japanese magical world. A secret investigation is the safest way to investigate. Using the Blanche family's name would only make us more suspicious."

"Wrong. Using the Blanche family name will actually make you less likely to be on guard," Moriarty laughed. "You were injured in the match against the Japanese team. As the head of the Blanche family, it's perfectly logical for Mr. James to send someone to Japan to investigate your opponent, Kogoro Tsukamura! This is reverse thinking."

"If I were a wizard from Japan, I wouldn't be on guard; on the contrary, I would release as much information as possible about Kogoro Tsukamura to get rid of the Blanche family wizards as quickly as possible."

"I see." Maxi smiled as well. "Then the wizard I send must be very shrewd, able to act according to circumstances, not be deceived by appearances, and must find real and useful information in the falsehood."

Moriarty nodded slightly. Sending someone to Japan would save him a lot of trouble.

Next, Moriarty and Maxi talked about the World Cup. Maxi repeatedly emphasized the need to be careful of the Japanese team, jokingly saying, "But you never know, maybe in the semi-finals, the Japanese team will be eliminated by the Canadian team through some kind of rigged match."

"Japan will most likely win," Moriarty said succinctly as he walked toward the door. "But don't worry, we'll avenge you. Japan won't win; the championship belongs to Great Britain."

"I'm on behalf of Team USA, and I'm rooting for you!" Maxi said with a big smile.

Moriarty waved to him, walked out of the ward, and then led the team into the training field to begin training against Poland.

June arrived amidst continuous training, and Moriarty arranged for old Foley and old Flint to reset the betting odds.

An upset bet has been added to the existing betting pool.

"Poland pulls off a stunning upset against Great Britain! Odds: 10 to 1!"

"Britain to beat Poland, odds 1 to 1."

"Britain shuts out Poland, odds 1 to 1."

"Poland shuts out Great Britain! Odds: 10 to 1!"

"Japan pulls off a major upset against Canada, odds 5 to 1!"

"Canada will defeat Japan, odds 10 to 1."

"Japan shuts out Canada, odds 1 to 1!"

"..."

Moriarty dug many traps in these bets, but on the surface, the odds were either incredibly high or very low, just like other, normal bets.

The betting odds published by the Canadian Ministry of Magic and the official World Cup betting odds are completely opposite.

They were offering bets on "Britain defeating Poland" and "Canada defeating Japan," and the odds were low.

The emergence of these two bets sent shockwaves through the underground stock exchange.

Japan's upset victory over the United States has led many gamblers to believe that the World Cup is rife with corruption.

What if Poland pulls off an upset and defeats Great Britain?

With the odds of Poland pulling off an upset so high, gamblers were tempted and placed large bets with a "let's take a chance" mentality.

But when it came to betting on the Japanese team, the gamblers' mentality changed again.

They generally believed that no matter how strong the Japanese team was, it was impossible for them to defeat Canada.

Canada is the host team!

The gamblers couldn't figure out why the Japanese team could defeat the Canadian team.

Before the tournament, several retired golfers predicted that the champion would be decided between Canada and the United States.

In other words, only the United States can defeat Canada. This is a consensus among most people.

So the gamblers placed huge bets on the Canadian team.

But what was unexpected was the first match of the semi-finals – Poland vs. Great Britain.

On the day of the match, Poland withdrew! Great Britain advanced directly to the final!

Although the odds indicated that England would need to pay out double the Galleons if they defeated Poland, few gamblers actually placed bets on it. Instead, a large number of gamblers bet on "Poland pulling off an upset against England" or "Poland shutting out England."

The gambler who wanted to take a chance not only failed to make a name for himself, but also lost everything, including Merlin's entire fortune!

The official betting odds didn't benefit them either. Due to Moriarty's actions, the official betting schedule for England was not adjusted after the first match, which was played against France.

Therefore, there is absolutely no problem with Poland becoming Great Britain's semi-final opponent.

The official assessment was that the match between Great Britain and Poland would be a fierce battle, but they overlooked Poland.

No one expected that the Polish team would forfeit.

England won without a fight, and Moriarty became the sole beneficiary, making a fortune.

In July, the second semi-final began, and the pre-tournament favorites, Canada, were swept by Japan!

Moriarty and Maxi took players from both countries to watch the game, where they witnessed a one-sided crushing defeat – Magic Johnson and Kogoro Tsukamura each scored 150 points, resulting in a 300-0 victory over Canada within an hour.

(End of this chapter)