As they spoke, Lewis and the others quickly made their way through the campsite and entered the forest, eventually arriving at a relatively open clearing deep within the woods.
Lewis spotted Gianna at a glance.
Her golden hair was neatly tied into a bun, giving her a capable and decisive appearance. She wore a dark-blue robe covered in magical runes and patterns resembling stars. Beneath it was a simple white blouse, cinched tightly at the waist by a dragonhide belt that outlined her graceful curves.
Magical ornaments adorned her chest and wrists, their azure gemstones gleaming brightly. Like her brown eyes, they were deep and luminous, radiating wisdom and determination.
In short, Gianna in formal attire was simply the most eye-catching person there, even when she was merely standing still.
Beside her stood Minister for Magic Fudge, as well as a wizard who looked almost exactly like an old lion. Standing together with the two political heavyweights, he looked practically like an ordinary passerby.
This was faithfully captured by the photographer from The Quibbler.
At this moment, the senior officials of the Ministry of Magic were observing the battlefield in the distance.
The rioters had already realized that something was wrong.
No matter how much they caused trouble or used diversions to throw the Aurors off their trail, the Aurors could still pinpoint their locations with precision.
Under the Aurors' orderly encirclement and suppression, the rioters were gradually driven together.
Now, the masked and unmasked Death Eater rioters were facing off against the young Auror trainees in uniform.
Nymphadora Tonks, as their commander, stood at the very front.
"There are far too many of these troublemakers. What are we going to do if this turns into a stalemate?"
Fudge looked at the Death Eaters gathered in the distance and wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.
In his eyes, there were simply too many of these rioters.
And most of the Aurors standing in their way were only trainees.
If these young Aurors hadn't had a group of reliable Iron Golems supporting them, Fudge would have almost lost hope in the situation.
Gianna spotted Lewis and the arrival of another Auror squad in the distance and breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Even Gianna herself wasn't entirely confident about how much strength these young Aurors could actually display.
After all, their plan to train and reorganize the new generation of Aurors was a completely unprecedented experiment. Nothing like it had ever existed before.
No matter how much confidence they had in the plan, until they achieved tangible results, there would inevitably be some concern.
After all, their political futures were completely tied to this matter.
Under these circumstances, Gianna herself couldn't conveniently take action.
If she personally intervened, she would inevitably unleash her full power, and all the attention would fall on her. That would instead mean that their Auror reform plan had failed.
Only Lewis had the ability to quietly provide the trainees with a safety net without anyone realizing it.
Gianna nodded toward Lewis, signaling that the plan was proceeding smoothly.
Then, in a somewhat concerned tone, she echoed Fudge's words.
"The Minister is right. If we don't lift the restrictions on the Aurors' use of lethal spells, I'm afraid this battle will be difficult to win."
Scrimgeour, standing beside her, looked at her in surprise.
In Scrimgeour's view, Mrs. Proudmoore's political stance and direction had undergone a dramatic change over the past few years.
She had not only gone from being part of the neutral faction to becoming a hawk, but had also become increasingly active in the affairs of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.
She had completely abandoned the cautious attitude she had maintained in previous years.
Whatever the reason behind Mrs. Proudmoore's change in attitude, Scrimgeour welcomed the transformation.
"Minister, while the situation hasn't yet gotten completely out of hand, temporarily bypass the vote and grant them permission to use lethal spells."
"Once they successfully subdue this group of rioters, every wizard they save will support us."
Scrimgeour's deep voice was extremely persuasive.
"Otherwise, the longer we wait, the more likely something will change. If we push them too far, I'm afraid they'll resort to even harsher measures. Once there are casualties, given the current situation, it will become an international scandal."
"Minister, you need to make a decision quickly."
Scrimgeour's words gave the hesitant Fudge someone to rely on.
He nodded and, following Scrimgeour's advice, sent word to the Aurors below that they were now permitted to use lethal spells.
Scrimgeour's eyes burned as he stared at the rioters beginning to stir in the distance.
A satisfied smile flashed across Gianna's lips.
Inducing Fudge to lift the restrictions and grant the Aurors permission to fire at will had been part of their plan.
And now, it had been successfully accomplished.
Through the communication badges, Fudge's order was quickly transmitted to every young Auror.
These younger Aurors then passed the order on to their seniors.
Most of the older Aurors had lived through Voldemort's era.
They had witnessed many people fall into darkness after recklessly using highly lethal Dark Magic, which was why they opposed the use of lethal spells.
But these young people were different.
They couldn't stand around hesitating when a major battle was already underway.
When faced with the choice between their lives and the dangers associated with Dark Magic, they naturally considered their lives more important.
And the youngest among them—the group that had graduated alongside Shirella and Penelope—were all members of the Knowledge Society.
The lethal spells they had learned weren't limited to Dark Magic.
They had also studied Arcane Magic, which carried far less of an emotional or moral burden.
Both [Avada Kedavra] and [Finger of Death] were instant-death spells.
[Avada Kedavra] required the caster to possess the purest murderous intent toward the target, whereas [Finger of Death] had no such requirement.
The only problem was that its learning threshold was considerably higher.
In short, for these Knowledge Society wizards, being permitted to freely use lethal magic carried virtually no psychological burden.
Regardless of their background, every young Auror became energized when they received the news that the ban had been lifted.
Being able to fight the enemy without having their hands tied behind their backs was simply fantastic!
They stood straight, gripping their wands tightly, ready to seize any opportunity to attack.
The [Dimensional Anchor] remained active.
When the rioters discovered that they still couldn't use [Apparition], those trapped in the corner gradually became restless.
The young Aurors advanced methodically according to their usual training.
"Iron Golems, defensive formation!"
At Tonks's command, the Iron Golems at the front immediately rearranged their formation.
The Shieldguard Golems stood tightly together, their enormous tower shields forming a solid shield wall that firmly blocked the front.
Meanwhile, the Guardian Golems carrying kite shields and round shields guarded the flanks, ready to block attacks from the rioters trapped within the encirclement.
This was precisely why Lewis hadn't designed ranged weapons for the Iron Golems.
Their actual purpose was to serve as cannon fodder and living shields for the wizards.
The ranged firepower could simply be left to the wizards. There was no need for the golems to handle it themselves.
Tonks raised her right hand, spreading all five fingers.
All the Iron Golems immediately stopped.
The uniformed Aurors stopped as well, no longer advancing.
"Rioters ahead, listen carefully! You are completely surrounded. There is nowhere left for you to escape."
"As long as you put down your wands, place your hands behind your heads, and kneel on the ground, we will guarantee your safety in accordance with the International Law Against Dark Wizards."
"If you refuse to listen and resist to the bitter end, there is only one path left for you—death."
Tonks's voice echoed throughout the entire campsite.
She repeated the warning three times.
To the rioters, her words were like a stone thrown into water, causing a tremendous uproar.
Many of the rioters mocked the Ministry of Magic's incompetence and shouted that they would tear Tonks apart.
Some frightened wizards, however, immediately followed Tonks's instructions and crouched down on the ground.
But most remained anxious and uncertain, continuing to wait and see what would happen.
The atmosphere grew increasingly tense.
Then, without anyone knowing who fired first, a Stunning Spell shot out from the crowd and struck an Auror who wasn't wearing a uniform.
The scene instantly descended into chaos.
Terrified screams filled the air.
Spell after spell flew in every direction, while flashes of various magical lights illuminated the night sky.
Dust and shattered stones were kicked up from the ground.
Above them, broken leaves and branches came tumbling down.
And just like that, the war began.
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