Seeing that his invisible blade strike had been blocked, Link's face showed not the slightest hint of surprise.
That grand, imposing attack had only ever been a feint.
"Ha!"
With a furious roar, Link drove his ebony wand heavily into the ground.
At once, blinding white frost spread outward from him like a tide, swiftly covering everything it touched in a thick layer of ice and snow.
If it had been only this, the Death Eaters would not have been overly concerned.
After all, the Protego Totalum was one of the highest-level defensive spells, capable not only of reflecting attacks but also of gathering the power of many casters to strengthen its defense.
With so many people present on their side, as long as Link's power wasn't on Dumbledore's level, they were confident they could withstand it.
But how could Link's attack possibly be that simple?
Just as the Death Eaters were pouring all their concentration into maintaining the Protego Totalum, ready to counterattack once they blocked Link's frost wave, his true killing strike finally revealed itself.
Before the frost even touched the mist barrier of the spell, jagged ice spikes shot straight up from the ground beneath the Death Eaters' feet, impaling their bodies with ease.
In the blink of an eye, more than half of the front-line Death Eaters maintaining the shield were slain or wounded, causing the magical mist barrier to thin drastically and nearly fail against the incoming frost wave.
Although the remaining Death Eaters quickly pushed forward to reinforce it, the mist barrier still held.
But for Link, that brief opening was enough.
His figure flickered, his whole body turning ghostlike as he lunged straight into the crowd.
Behind him, the bat-like Noivern instinctively wrapped around his body without hindering his movements, while Yoyo streaked ahead to clear a path like a vanguard.
Some sharp-witted Death Eaters reacted in time, trying to block his charge.
But with Yoyo, the armor spell, his blinding speed, and Noivern's protection, their curses were either dodged with uncanny precision or blocked head-on. They couldn't even slow him down.
From his chest, Arkam stirred restlessly, itching to leap out.
But after what happened before, when Voldemort seized control of Arkam, Link would never again allow it to participate in any battle against Voldemort. At most, it would stay hidden in his chest as a final trump card.
This wasn't because Link feared Voldemort might seize control again, it was because he feared Arkam might be harmed.
Thus, with frost waves, ice spikes, and Yoyo paving the way, Link cut through the night like a specter, his wand glowing faintly blood-red as it carved a wavering thin line in the darkness before plunging into the Death Eaters' ranks.
Then, under the terrified gazes of everyone nearby, Link raised his now almost completely blood-red wand high, tracing in the air a symbol that seemed both simple yet filled with some strange, hidden power.
Buzz!
A shrill humming rang out.
A sphere of energy blacker than the night sky suddenly appeared. Countless black spikes burst from it, instantly skewering every Death Eater within three meters of Link like hedgehogs.
And that was only the beginning.
With another twist of his crimson wand, the black sphere exploded, transforming into a storm of blades swirling furiously around Link at high speed.
His attack radius now expanded to nearly ten meters. But even that wasn't enough for him.
As the blade storm roared around him, Link darted through the Death Eater ranks at blinding speed. Wherever he went, they had no chance to retaliate. In moments, they were shredded into heaps of bloody flesh, an actual storm of gore sweeping through their lines.
Terror of death finally took hold of every Death Eater present.
Bound by the Dark Mark, they could not flee, but slacking off, holding back, was inevitable.
In tacit agreement, they ceased attacking Link altogether and retreated further back.
At this point, with Link enveloped in the blade storm, there was no hope of harming him.
From afar, Voldemort watched the slaughter and slowly shook his head.
He had spent too much time dormant.
Most of the Death Eaters present were those he had forcibly recalled through the Dark Mark from across the world, the ones who had escaped justice long ago.
Over more than ten years of hiding, they had rotted away, long losing the savagery and courage they once possessed.
Otherwise, even if Link truly was a prodigy rivaling Voldemort's own youth, such numbers of Death Eaters would not have lost their will to fight so easily.
With a sigh, Voldemort said flatly, without turning his head, "Send the signal. Have them bring in reinforcements."
"Brilliant, my lord! I'll do it at once!"
Wormtail's voice trembled, laced with relief. Clearly, he too had been terrified by the massacre Link had wrought.
But Voldemort was lenient toward him.
Wormtail was not like the Death Eaters on the field who had fallen from strength to weakness. He had always been a coward. Voldemort knew that well enough.
And more importantly, despite his cowardice, Wormtail was efficient.
Even now, though his hands shook in fear as he clung to Voldemort, he still managed to pull out a compass-like object and carefully key in a long password.
The device accepted the code. At once, a portal nearly four square meters wide unfolded beside Voldemort.
One after another, Death Eaters in black robes and high masks marched out, quickly forming a phalanx before him that rivaled the numbers of those already on the battlefield.
And these were clearly no rabble. Their robes were far finer, some wearing alchemical gear with anti-magic properties, their movements silent, disciplined, and radiating strength. They were an elite force.
Finally, as a towering Death Eater in full armor stepped out, the portal closed, shrinking back into compass form in his hand.
That armored Death Eater silently turned to Voldemort, awaiting orders.
"Just as I arranged with your master before, capture Link, and we split the spoils fifty-fifty!" Voldemort growled through clenched teeth.
The armored Death Eater nodded, turned, and made a hand gesture to his phalanx.
Voldemort's face twisted in shock. He opened his mouth to stop them, but it was too late.
The newcomers didn't heed him at all.
As one, they swung their wands, drawing a complex rune. Their voices chanted in unison. Scarlet light burst from every wand tip, until it formed into a massive volley of fireballs that blasted skyward.
The night sky was lit red as the barrage of blazing meteors arced down in perfect parabolas, crashing onto the battlefield below.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Explosions ripped through the ground, the earth shaking violently. The battlefield, already drenched in blood, was instantly consumed by fire and smoke.
And still the barrage did not cease.
Under the armored Death Eater's command, one wave of fireballs after another gathered and launched, without end.
Voldemort nearly went mad.
He didn't know whether Link could survive such indiscriminate devastation. But one thing was certain, those Death Eaters he had paid dearly to summon back, his true followers, were doomed.
Even if he regained full strength later, it would be almost impossible to gather another core of such veteran Death Eaters.
His jaw clenched, eyes bloodshot, Voldemort burned with the urge to tear the armored Death Eater limb from limb.
But he could do nothing.
Nearby, Snape, still pretending to be down, was stunned.
As one of the most senior Death Eaters, no one knew better than he how vindictive and ruthless Voldemort was.
Yet here he was, furious beyond measure, powerless before this mysterious group of Death Eaters.
The hidden implications were chilling.
Finally, after nearly ten minutes of bombardment, the armored Death Eater signaled a halt.
Voldemort could no longer restrain himself. His blood-red eyes bulged as he screamed, "Bring me Link Flamel's blood! I will begin the resurrection ritual now!"
The armored Death Eater nodded. With a wave of his arm, three elite Death Eaters broke formation, moving in a tactical triangle toward the battlefield center.
The battleground was a wasteland.
Smoke and lingering flames choked the air. The ground was scorched, half-crystallized, like molten hell.
But the three advanced unflinching, becoming streaks of shadowy black smoke as they drove straight toward the center, snuffing out fire and cooling magma as they passed.
Yet halfway through their charge, everything changed.
Before everyone's eyes, Voldemort's included, their steps halted. They froze, human shapes reforming…
Then their bodies swelled grotesquely, and exploded into a mist of blood.
As if it were a signal.
Above, the once clear night sky filled with heavy black clouds. Soon rain began to fall.
At first, just a drizzle. Then a downpour. Finally, hailstones pounded down like the sky itself had collapsed.
The battlefield's heat and smoke were crushed back to earth, vanishing.
In their place, thick white steam rose.
Through the mist, the outline of a massive ice mountain appeared at the battlefield's heart.
Crack! Crack!
Sharp fractures split across the glacier, spreading rapidly until the whole mountain shattered into countless chunks of ice.
Upon one stood Link, black robes flowing, striding slowly toward Voldemort and the rest.
Snape exhaled in relief.
To him, Link was no less important than Harry. Though he had trusted Link's strength enough to believe he might have survived, seeing him alive with his own eyes was the only reassurance.
But Voldemort and his followers were far from relieved.
Wormtail's legs shook violently.
To survive that bombardment, was he even human anymore?
"So resilient. Very well, we proceed as planned. All units, prepare T-formation tactics!"
At last, the armored Death Eater spoke. His voice was sharp and childlike, like that of a four- or five-year-old. The eerie contrast with his imposing appearance was almost laughable.
But no one dared laugh.
At his command, the phalanx split apart into small five-man squads that sped toward Link with deadly precision.
Link's face hardened.
He had sensed the danger of that bombardment immediately, using his armor spell and the cover of the Death Eaters' own Protego to bury himself deep underground, sealing himself under a man-made glacier for protection. That was how he survived.
But he had not emerged unscathed.
The earlier battle, the massive glacier, and finally the hailstorm had drained his magic severely. He had no power left to waste.
And now, against him came not common rabble but an army of elite Death Eaters.
"Damn it! In this crippled state, Voldemort shouldn't be able to summon so many powerful Death Eaters!"
Link cursed under his breath, the mystery gnawing at him.
But there was no time to think. The squads were already storming forward, entering the hailstorm's domain.
Unlike the earlier three vanguard who rushed in recklessly, these elites were cautious, maintaining tight formations even at high speed, each protected by armor charms.
Link could no longer burst them from within by flooding their bodies with water.
But it didn't matter.
After all, this hailstorm hadn't been conjured for nothing.
A savage grin spread across Link's face.
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