Cedric crouched on the ground, looking at the map in his hands. Beside him, Luna was also examining the map with curiosity. The map was extremely detailed, marking fresh water pools along with some paths through the forests, including particularly dangerous routes through the mountains.
The Hufflepuff representative truly didn't know how much effort it took to create such a large setting in such a short time. Just the effort to keep the place invisible from the Muggle population was enormous, demonstrating the amount of work the Clock Tower attributed to the International Tournament of Magic and Witchcraft.
"Where are we?" Cedric asked Rose, who had just jumped from a tree branch to the ground.
"There's a mountain range to the west, a forest to the south, and a lake to the north," Rose said, landing gracefully on her toes.
"This is simply huge; Professor McGonagall is amazing." Cedric sighed in admiration, something Rose deeply agreed with.
If asked if she could destroy a city, Rose would answer yes, very easily. But if asked if she could create a city like this, the answer would be no. Creation takes time, while destruction happens in an instant. Rose represented this well.
Based on Rose's words, Cedric located their position on the map and frowned. "We're in low terrain; we need to move to higher ground," he told his teammates, who nodded in agreement.
The basics of warfare involve holding advantageous terrain. One reason wars could be prolonged was the use of trenches and mountains in world wars.
Cedric looked at Asterion, who had his eyes closed, waiting patiently for him to finish his reconnaissance. Opening his eyes and revealing ruby-red orbs, Asterion spoke, his voice tinged with surprise, "There's no one within ten kilometers around us."
The environment used in the King's Game was simply enormous. Asterion estimated it to be about 200 to 500 kilometers; it was simply huge. He couldn't believe that Professor McGonagall had done all this by herself.
If Minerva McGonagall had this power, she wouldn't be a Semi-Special Grade witch but an Special Grade witch. However, remembering the amount of magical energy the woman possessed, Asterion knew that Professor McGonagall had not broken the most difficult barrier in the wizarding world to become England's fourth Special Grade witch.
This meant that Dumbledore had helped Professor McGonagall, and even Professor Flitwick probably assisted, showcasing the monstrous achievements of the three Hogwarts members in Transfiguration.
Three days.
That's the time limit for the King's Game and also the duration the entire arena used in the King's Game could stand.
Hearing Asterion, Cedric circled their location on the map. "We need to decide where to go," he said, looking at everyone around.
"The throne is probably at the highest point marked on the map," Rose said with a mischievous smile, pointing to the most prominent mountain on the map. "Inevitably, everyone will head there."
"You want to ambush the other teams?" Asterion immediately understood what Rose wanted to do, frowning. "But there's too much area to cover around the mountain."
"There are three paths leading to the highest mountain," Cedric added, pointing to three routes marked on the map. One passed through the forest, another through a swamp, and a third through a mountain range.
"Besides other natural paths, they can bypass natural barriers like mountains and rivers by reinforcing their bodies with magic. In short, there are many paths a team can take, and we have too few people, making it impossible to cover everything," Asterion concluded with a thoughtful expression.
If he could use all his magical energy, he could cover at least half of the entire arena, which would be enough to monitor all the places and paths someone could take. But he could only use the magical energy of a Grade 2 wizard, leaving him powerless in this situation.
"Then ignore the less obvious paths and focus on the most obvious one. It doesn't matter if a team sits on the throne; we can remove them in the second phase. After all, they are weak." Every word of Rose was transmitted by a small bird on a branch, making the Hogwarts audience almost shout Rose's name together.
Although people generally dislike arrogant individuals, they love a strong and arrogant character.
Watching the confident and arrogant girl on one of the four screens in the Quidditch stadium, Sirius, in his Animagus form, spoke nostalgically. "She reminds me of James with a bit of Lily."
"James Potter was an idiot of the highest order, just like you, Sirius," Narcissa commented after hearing her cousin's words. She recalled the amount of trouble Sirius, James, and their two other friends, whom she didn't bother to remember, caused at Hogwarts.
"We were kids, Cissy. I was stupid and impulsive. I regret many of my actions, especially against Snape." Sirius spoke with a genuinely bitter and regretful tone.
Sirius truly felt this way, but he didn't think Snape would ever forgive him because the weight of his pranks was all borne by others, with Snape being the most affected. After all, he was James's main target, all because of the love James had for Lily.
As Narcissa was about to respond sarcastically once more, she heard a loud voice amidst the crowd's roars.
"Aunts!" Narcissa turned and found three girls making their way through the crowd: one with black hair, one with blonde hair, and one with red hair. Ophelia, Astoria, and Gina.
Sirius looked at the girl with black hair and red eyes with a stunned expression. He used one of his paws to slap himself, feeling the pain, proving that the illusion in front of him was true.
A child version of Bellatrix was standing before him!
Remembering the hell he endured at the hands of Bellatrix as a child, Sirius's dog body shuddered. Unconsciously, he moved closer to Andromeda, who looked back at him with a puzzled expression on her face.
"Lady Narcissa," Astoria greeted the woman with a polite smile, emphasizing the word Narcissa instead of Black. Astoria was not afraid of her future mother-in-law; in fact, she disliked the woman.
She had tried to have a healthy relationship with her, but Narcissa did not share the same sentiments. If Narcissa didn't want a relationship between them, Astoria didn't bother trying to be friends with her.
Gina simply shrunk back as the woman's cold blue eyes fell on her, breathing a sigh of relief when Narcissa's gaze shifted to her friend.
Narcissa clearly sensed the subtle provocation in the future wife of her son's words and looked at the girl with a particularly cold gaze. She ignored the bold girl and focused her attention on the screen where Asterion appeared again.
"What a big dog," Ophelia exclaimed in surprise, looking at the black dog next to her aunt. She approached and petted the dog with a happy smile. "What's his name, Aunt?" Ophelia asked, lifting her head and looking at Andromeda.
With a playful smile on her lips, Andromeda replied gently, "Sirius."
"Who's a good boy~" Ophelia continued to stroke the dog's head, speaking with a sweet and cheerful voice.
Sirius pleaded desperately for help with his eyes to his cousins, but was met with playful and amused looks from them.
Sirius just closed his eyes in despair and let himself be petted by the girl who resembled Bellatrix.
Andromeda's body trembled as her shoulders shook uncontrollably. Her lips twisted as she watched the hilarious scene unfold before her.
"The teams from Beauxbatons and the Institute of Magic and Witchcraft in Florence have met!" As Andromeda struggled not to burst into laughter, the voices of the people around them filled with excitement.
Everyone immediately focused on Screen No. 3 and held their breath as they watched the imminent showdown.
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Next Chapter Second Volume: , Chapter 136 - King's Game (4), Chapter 137 - King's Game (5), Chapter 138 - King's Game (6), 139 - King's Game (7), 140 - King's Game (8), 141 - King's Game (9), 142 - King's Game (10), 143 - King's Game (11), 144 - King's Game (12), 145 - King's Game (13), Chapter 146 - Second Phase of the King's Game (1), Chapter 147 - Second Phase of the King's Game (2), Chapter 148 - Second Phase of the King's Game (3), Chapter 149 - Second Phase of the King's Game (4), Chapter 150 - Second Phase of the King's Game (5), Chapter 151 - Second Phase of the King's Game (6).