The swirling, radiant stream of light burst forth, reinforcing the blue Fierce Flame around him.
Even Thunderbird on the opposite side appeared affected by this sudden surge.
"Well, so this is the strength of Durmstrang's Vice Principal," Thunderbird said, watching Karkaroff calmly hold his ground against the spell.
It nodded with approval.
"Coming to Northern Europe again, I finally get to face a truly strong opponent. This trip to Norway was worth it!"
Thunderbird laughed heartily, as though it had found a worthy plaything, then looked at Karkaroff boldly.
"Karkaroff, you've earned my respect. I won't forget your name!"
Karkaroff met Thunderbird's gaze seriously and nodded in return.
"A strong opponent who can defeat Seth, today you've truly shown your strength."
"I look forward to our next life-or-death encounter! Karkaroff, I'll remember you," Thunderbird muttered quietly, repeating his name one last time before suddenly disapparating, vanishing without a trace.
"Karkaroff actually blocked that villain!" one wizard exclaimed in surprise.
"Master Karkaroff is incredibly powerful!" another said with admiration.
"Igor, I always believed in you!" a third cheered.
After Thunderbird left, the wizards of the Jacobsen family gathered around Karkaroff, their eyes shining with newfound respect as if seeing him in a whole new light.
"I never expected you to be this strong. Had I known, I would've brought you along earlier. If you'd teamed up with Lord Seth, maybe we could've taken down that Silver Wand!"
One wizard paced back and forth, clearly frustrated and full of regret.
"Exactly. Compared to Lord Karkaroff, that Silver Wand is nothing. Even using his strongest move, he can't match Karkaroff. We should've captured him when we had the chance, seized the moment to secure victory, left that bastard behind, and avenged Lord Seth!"
We need to leave immediately."
He coughed heavily again, gasping for breath as he urged those nearby to prepare to move.
Hearing this, everyone turned pale.
They had assumed that Karkaroff's calm demeanor meant he was as strong as the silver wand.
But if he had been struggling just to stay standing, then that enemy was far more dangerous than they had imagined.
Overwhelmed by fear, they hurriedly helped Karkaroff, gathered the wounded and the dead, and fled the scene.
Despite looking weak, Karkaroff's resilience earned him even greater respect from the Pure Land Society wizards.
After all, the silver wand was someone even Seth couldn't handle, yet Karkaroff stood his ground against such a formidable opponent.
This showed the values they held dear: loyalty and righteousness.
For the members of the Jacob family, who prized emotional bonds above all, Karkaroff had become one of their own in that moment, fully accepted by all.
Knut, who had been Seth's assistant for years, remembered Seth's words before he died: "Karkaroff is a talent."
Now, he finally understood what that meant.
A man that strong naturally belonged with the Jacobsen.
At the same time, Seth's death and the heavy losses among the Jacob family had left them vulnerable.
They needed to stabilize the situation quickly, or their influence in Northern Europe could collapse.
As vice-principal of Durmstrang, Karkaroff was the most likely candidate to step into Seth's role.
Bringing him into the Jacob fold would help solidify their family's power in the region.
Nodding to himself, Knut knew exactly what he had to do when they returned.
Meanwhile, elsewhere...
At the temporary camp of the silver wand, the group of wizards breathed a collective sigh of relief, grateful to have survived the recent disaster.
They couldn't help but truly acknowledge the incredible power of Thunderbird.
In this world, strength rules above all, and having Thunderbird on their side was a blessing.
As Thunderbird returned to camp, the surviving wizards, led by two Silver Wand commanders, quickly tended to the wounded and gathered the bodies, whether they were from their own group or the Pure Land Society.
When their eyes met Thunderbird once more, there was a mix of awe and fear.
The memory of Thunderbird's ruthless attack on the Pure Land Society wizards was still fresh and deeply etched in their minds.
"Are you alright? How bad were the losses on the transport team?" Thunderbird asked as he approached the Augurey, showing clear trust and concern for his disciple.
"Thanks, teacher, I'm fine," Augurey replied calmly. "It'll take a couple of days for my injuries to heal, but I shouldn't be casting spells just yet."
"As for the transport team..."
He glanced over at the scene, which looked like it had been bombed from above, with nearly every wizard injured, and sighed.
"The cargo is intact. After Silent Bird checked it, most of the magical creatures were just frightened but unharmed. No fatalities there. However, the personnel losses were heavy. We started with 53 cooperative wizards, after this fight, 18 died on the spot, including 4 Death Eaters, 3 werewolves, and 11 slaves who were working with North America's black market."
He paused, voice heavy.
"Of the remaining 35, six are critically injured and currently receiving emergency care. We don't know if they'll make it. The rest have varying degrees of injuries."
Augurey sighed again, clearly burdened by the grim toll.
The Pure Land Society wizards had been fiercely aggressive, which only made the casualties worse.
"They're really pathetic," Thunderbird muttered, clearly displeased. "They got beaten even though they had the advantage."
Fortunately, they were speaking far enough away from the others to avoid adding psychological blows to the physical wounds the wizards were already suffering.
"By the way, teacher, have you managed to deal with all the wizards from the Pure Land Society?"
After hearing Seth's screams at the end, the villainous bird immediately asked, "So you must have killed him, right?"
Once the situation at the camp was reported, the bird quickly shifted focus to the Pure Land Society.
Everyone knew how much trouble those guys had caused them.
If the members of the Pure Land Society managed to get back and report what happened, they'd likely face relentless retaliation.
Their group wouldn't be able to operate freely in Northern Europe anymore.
The Augurey had been confident in Thunderbird's abilities, but now, its question was more about easing its worries.
However, Thunderbird simply shook its head and replied, "The Pure Land has experts ready to respond. I couldn't wipe them all out, so I let a few escape."
"What? Someone can actually stop you?" Augurey was taken aback when he heard this. "Doesn't that mean we're still in danger? Our people's situation isn't looking good, and there's no way we can bounce back quickly."
"It's not that bad," Thunderbird said softly, trying to reassure him. "The wizard who blocked me barely managed to slow me down, but he had no chance of defeating me. The Pure Land Society lost a lot this time, so regrouping won't be easy for them."
"So, we still have a bit of time to rest, but not too long. I'll stay here until you've safely crossed the Norwegian border."
"That's a relief..." Augurey exhaled, feeling a little more at ease.
With Thunderbird's escort, the next leg of their journey would definitely be safer.
Just then, Sound Bird, who was handling the aftermath, approached them with a worried look.