Chapter 221 The Supporting One Wants to Stroke the Tiger's Whiskers
Just then, Abbe rushed in, skidding to a halt in front of Aaron. "M-Master, I ran through four streets and seven shops with the butler. I really can't take it anymore."
"You've worked hard." Aaron picked it up, a hint of tenderness in his eyes, then gave everyone a sincere smile. "A well-dressed middle-aged man will come in shortly. If he walks straight towards me, he's the target."
"Severus," Pierce reminded him, "we're only responsible for stopping him for you."
"Of course, just holding him for ten minutes is enough. Don't tell me that with so many of you, you can't even stop one person." Aaron smiled meaningfully, "I trust you won't disappoint me."
Creak!
The door opened, and Giennes looked at the dozens of Wizards in the hall staring at him like prey, subconsciously frowning.
However, he didn't pay it any mind; this was Knockturn Alley after all, a place of mixed crowds.
After scanning the room, he fixed his gaze on his young master, completely oblivious to the Wizards around him who had quietly drawn their wands.
Giennes smiled and walked quickly towards Aaron.
But after only a few steps, Pierce blocked his path. "Excuse me, sir, Severus asked us to stop you."
"Snape?" Giennes was somewhat puzzled. His young master running away from home was clearly a family matter of the Gais family. Even if Snape was the young master's teacher, he had no right to interfere.
"Since I'm in a good mood, move aside."
"I'm afraid not, Mr. Giennes." Aaron stood up, a pure smile on his face. "Mr. Pierce's reputation is quite good. He promised to stop you for me, and we signed a contract."
Giennes instinctively thought of a magic contract, and a few dark lines appeared on his face. "Is it the kind of contract I'm thinking of?"
Aaron didn't explain directly, but instead smiled meaningfully: "The content of the contract is simple: exchanging a magic-sealing ring for Mr. Pierce to hold you for ten minutes."
Giennes breathed a sigh of relief; such a contract was relatively easy to break.
It wouldn't take ten minutes; he could resolve it in one minute.
"Is this him?" Giennes looked at Pierce, a hint of disdain on his lips. "Young master, you don't actually think he can stop me, do you?"
"Young master?"
Pierce frowned, a premonition of ill omen arising within him.
"That's my nickname," Aaron immediately explained. "People on the streets are being respectful."
"Hmph! You certainly seem like someone, but I don't recall hearing about you."
"That's perfectly normal; there are many people you haven't heard of," Aaron said righteously. "I don't think I need to explain so much to you, do I?
Mr. Pierce, don't forget our contract. Do what you're supposed to do."
"Mr. Giennes, see you in a month." Aaron waved his hand and slowly retreated.
"It won't take that long, young master." Giennes shook his head helplessly. "I'll catch you in two minutes, at most."
Hearing this, Pierce's expression darkened somewhat.
This was, after all, his territory, and as a high-ranking Archmage, he had a certain pride. Being looked down upon by a junior inevitably made him uncomfortable.
"I wasn't planning on doing anything to you," Pierce drew his wand and aimed it at Giennes, "but you've annoyed me, particularly annoyed me, so don't even think about getting out of here unscathed."
"Nonsense." Giennes didn't even pull out his wand; he simply glanced at him, and a transparent ripple pushed Pierce back several steps, his monocle falling to the ground.
"What the f*ck! Wandless magic?"
"At least you have some insight." Giennes said with disdain, "If you know what's good for you, move aside and hand over the ring. I'll give you one minute."
"Do you really think I'm afraid of you?" Pierce said, somewhat angrily. Wandless magic was just a casting technique and didn't increase power.
In other words, Giennes had no reason to be arrogant in front of him, a senior.
"Sigh!" Giennes looked at his watch. "You have thirty seconds left."
Pierce sneered, raised his wand, and with a gentle flick, a chair flew towards Giennes.
Giennes raised his right hand, and the chair in mid-air turned into a falling leaf, but to his surprise, there was a blood-red light behind the chair.
Bang!
A transparent barrier lit up in front of Giennes, blocking the blood-red light, but he himself took half a step back.
"Regretting it now?" Pierce increased his magic output, and the transparent barrier gradually faded. "It's too late for regrets."
"Idiot."
Giennes said indifferently, then drew his wand, acting decisively the moment the barrier shattered into countless fragments of light.
Crack!
A white spell collided with the blood-red light in mid-air, but it held a clear advantage.
Seeing this, Pierce's face changed from red to white. He felt as if he had been deceived.
This person was not at all similar to him! He was giving his all yet was at an absolute disadvantage, indicating that the opponent was at least at the peak of an Archmage.
"Still not acting?" Pierce looked at the Dark Wizards watching from the sidelines with exasperation. "Don't forget, you all got paid too."
A Dark Wizard raised his wand, and a ball of white light flew towards Giennes.
He immediately dodged, avoiding the spell, but it also gave Pierce a chance to breathe.
"What are you waiting for? Attack together!"
The Dark Wizards no longer hesitated, all brandishing their wands.
Before long, Giennes was submerged in a kaleidoscope of colorful lights.
The Dark Wizards seemed to be having too much fun and decisively abandoned their original plan of casting two spells and then retreating, outputting magic without any restraint.
This group of people didn't care about rules or the consequences they caused, and whether this person lived or died was of no concern to them.
The scene was quite grand; the tables and chairs of the auction house were reduced to splinters, half the floor was torn up, and even the ceiling began to shed dust.
Rumble!
The tremendous noise affected several nearby shops, and many people came to watch out of curiosity.
Aaron, who had walked dozens of meters away, turned his head to look at the slightly trembling auction house, his mouth twitching.
He had no fondness for these greedy fellows; each of them dared to lay hands on a harmless child like him, which showed they were not good people, but at this moment, he still silently mourned for them for one second in his heart.
Originally, according to his plan, Pierce was the main force, and the remaining Dark Wizards would only provide support.
But once they acted, they became participants, and Giennes would be forced to counterattack without understanding the situation, though with his temperament, he probably wouldn't kill them. Ten days to half a month in bed would be about right.
However, if these Dark Wizards went too far, thinking Giennes was easy to bully, then they would be asking for death. The wrath of a Grand Archmage was not something they could bear.
After about a minute, the Dark Wizards gradually stopped their actions, curiously looking at the blurry, rolling smoke and dust in the center.
Pierce wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. In his opinion, the transaction ended here; even an Archmage at their peak would die under such dense attacks.
As for his venue being in ruins, he didn't care; he could just repair it with a Mending Charm afterwards.
Furthermore, once that ring was sold, he could completely redecorate this place to be even more luxurious, and even early retirement to enjoy life wasn't impossible.
"Pierce, leave the body collection to me!" a somewhat hunched middle-aged Wizard said.
"What are you thinking? You won't even let the dead man's money go," the one-eyed Wizard mocked.
"Not just the dead man's money, but also his wand. The remaining pieces of the body can also be sold for some money."
...Crack! Crack!
The sound of breaking glass was particularly clear in the noisy auction house.
The Dark Wizards, who had been discussing how to profit from the dead man, all looked towards the center of the smoke and dust, where a figure stood motionless.
"He... he's still alive?" the hunched middle-aged Wizardasked in disbelief.
"Impossible, he must be dead.
No one could survive such a dense barrage of spells, not even You-Know-Who." Someone suppressed the fear in their heart, as if trying to convince others, and also themselves.
"Well said," Giennes said indifferently, then waved his arm.
The dust in the arena condensed into a vortex in mid-air. Soon, everyone's vision gradually cleared, but the man in the center, completely unharmed, with not even a wrinkle on his clothes, made them so nervous they didn't dare to breathe.
"Lord Voldemort certainly couldn't withstand such dense attacks, but it also depends on the skill level of the attackers.
With your skill levels, there are few Archmages, the Spellcasters are uneven in quality, and there are even two unremarkable Wizards.
A rabble, unable to even defeat Lord Voldemort's Death Eaters, yet you dare to attack me."
Hearing the word 'Lord Voldemort', all the Dark Wizards, including Pierce, shivered, especially the latter half of the sentence, which made them genuinely feel Giennes's contempt for them.
If he wasn't absolutely confident in his own strength, he would never have this attitude.
Someone realized they had kicked a titanium alloy steel plate this time and wanted to escape, but as soon as they turned, their legs became stuck as if in a swamp, making it difficult to move.
"Don't be in such a hurry to leave!
Actually, I haven't fought anyone for almost ten years, but since you're looking for trouble, I can't just pretend it didn't happen." Giennes raised his wand, a gentle smile on his face, but to everyone, it was incredibly cold, even more terrifying than the words 'Lord Voldemort'.
"My lord, this is actually a misunderstanding," someone said sheepishly. "That damned young master made us do it. If you want to find someone, go find him!"
"You dare to disrespect my young master?" Giennes glared fiercely at him, flicked his wand, and the Dark Wizard flew straight to the ceiling, beginning a free fall.
Bang!
Blood splattered, and the Dark Wizard trembled in pain, looking at Giennes with tears in his eyes, "He really did make us do it."
"Impossible, I understand him. He would at most ask you to help stall for time, not to keep attacking."
"I, I..." The Dark Wizard stammered, unable to say anything.
"Hmph!" Giennes snorted coldly, his gaze lingering on Pierce for a moment, then looking at the Dark Wizards. "You should understand that you have to pay the price for your mistakes, right?"
Everyone exchanged glances. They all understood the principle, but sitting idly by was absolutely impossible.
But before they could react, Giennes pointed his wand at the ground.
Instantly, the ground was covered in cracks, and the fissures rapidly spread in all directions. The small auction house also began to shake violently.
Walls and ceilings collapsed, and under Giennes's deliberate guidance, the falling debris struck the Dark Wizards, leaving them with bloody heads, and a few unlucky ones were even buried alive.