Ivan's unusually sharp words soon stunned Avery, who could not believe his own words.
"That's impossible… You're lying!" Avery shouted, his face twisted with madness as he struggled to get to her.
However, Flun was always on guard. As soon as Avery moved, she grabbed him by the back of his collar, kicked him to the ground, and forced him to the floor.
Avery twisted and turned, trying to get out of Furlen's grip, but to no avail. In the end, he managed to prop his head up and glare at Ivan.
"You must be lying to me. The Dark Lord is unbeatable. He is more powerful than any living wizard. You were only lucky to escape from his master. I saw with my own eyes how you managed to escape…"
"I don't have to lie to you," Ivan said, shaking his head at Avery with a sigh. "Think about it, Avery…. I guess you guys spent the whole night in the cemetery waiting for the Dark Lord to come back, didn't you?"
Under Ivan's questioning, Avery's heart sank, and his memory returned.
As Ivan pointed out, the Dark Lord never returned to the graveyard after he went after Harry Potter several nights ago, but merely gave them instructions via the Dark Mark to temporarily disband and leave the place.
He did not see the Dark Lord again for the next few days, as Voldemort's instructions were delivered via Severus Snape…
"He was too badly injured to see you in person, of course!" Ivan continued mockingly, reading Avery's mind. "Voldemort did not want you to know that the so-called Dark Lord was nothing more than a powerful wizard! He could be injured or killed, just like everyone else…"
Hearing this, Avery began to tremble. He could not believe it, but all the evidence pointed to the fact that the Dark Lord had been defeated…
When he realised this, Avery seemed to lose all his energy and slumped to the ground, repeating "Impossible… this is impossible, the Dark Lord is unbeatable".
The watching wizards felt a chill run down their spines, and their fear of Ivan deepened.
They had heard every word of Ivan's conversation with Avery, and even the stupidest of them could see that their leader, Lord Harls, had exchanged blows with the Dark Lord.
The details of the battle are unknown, but one thing is certain: Lord Voldemort was badly injured and forced into hiding, and Ivan is still standing there unharmed.
It is obvious who will win…
However, there were also many who questioned this, as Ivan's age was so deceptive, and the Dark Lord's terror was deeply felt.
No one would have believed that the Dark Lord had been defeated if it weren't for Avery's seemingly genuine expression and the fact that he had been hit by the Heart-Piercing Curse…
"Drag him away!" Ivan shouted, losing interest in Avery when he saw he was losing his mind.
"Yes, Sir Harls!" Flan said respectfully, then dragged Avery off by his heels.
It was only then that Ivan turned to the room and gestured with his hand, saying, "Sit down, everyone! Now we can get down to business…"
Ivan's gentle tone lightened the oppressive atmosphere, and the assembled wizards sat down in their chairs in relief.
Doggett and Alicia sat on Ivan's left and right hands respectively, and the other wizards were subconsciously divided between the two.
On the left were the pure-bloods and Doggett's friends, while the poor wizards and werewolves from Knockturn Alley sat on the right.
It is worth noting that the seat next to Alicia was empty, as no one dared to take it, presumably reserved for Flen.
Ivan did not interfere. He silently observed the situation and then asked about what had happened in Knockturn Alley while he was away.
Alicia made no attempt to hide anything from him, telling him everything in detail, with Dougatt adding to the details.
Overall, Knockturn Alley was relatively peaceful during the year, and the wizarding market was managed to return to business, greatly alleviating the lack of funds.
Training was also carried out daily, and now sixty percent of the wizards and witches had mastered the Shield Charm, increasing the number of law-enforcement officers to over twenty.
"Even a Ministry of Magic Smasher would be no match for the Regulators in a one-on-one fight! Even an Auror with twice as many groups could put up a fight!" said Doggett proudly.
There was nothing patronising in his words.
Although the Regulators had only been trained for a year or so, their daily training was several times more intense than that of the Ministry's Hitters, not to mention the fact that they had good foundations and were all winners of the Duelling Ground.
If he could recruit more men, he was confident that he could take on the Ministry head-on!
"Good, you've done well!" Yvonne said admiringly, looking at each of the enforcers.
Each and every one of the enforcers puffed out their chests, as if they were soldiers being inspected. When Ivan said this, they all felt that their hard work had been worth it.
Walker boldly asked, "Sir Harls, we've been waiting for a whole year. When will there be a big operation?"
The assembled wizards looked expectantly at Ivan. They had nothing to do for the past year except patrol, train, and gather information.
"Since you can't wait any longer, why don't we set it for tonight?" Yvonne asked, turning to Douggart.
"How many wizards were there in the whole Knockturn Alley?"
"There are around one-hundred and sixty people who have been here for a long time, apart from us…" Doggett hesitated before replying.
Yvonne thought about the conditions for the System's mission, Rectifying Knockturn Alley, and quickly came to a decision. "What you need to do tonight is to bring everyone from Knockturn Alley to the Wizard Market. I have a few words to say!"
(PS: One chapter today)