Me and countless me.

Chapter 273: Divergence of Paths

But in response to Grindelwald's statement, Dumbledore simply shook his head and rejected it.

"I don't want to resort to violence if it's not necessary."

Grindelwald took a deep breath but said nothing. He just looked at Dumbledore disappointedly and closed his eyes.

Because he really couldn't find any possibility of convincing Dumbledore.

I don't want to use violence...

But what can truly influence the situation in the world?
Is it economy, politics, thought, or productivity?
All of them can be correct, but there is an underlying logic in all of this.

violence.

Without violence, there is no way to produce safely, without violence, there is no way to live safely, and without violence, there is no way to protect the income from production.

Even human beings' processing of the surrounding materials is, in a sense, "violent".

Violence is the root of all that is done.

Violence is life.

Violence is the underlying logic of all things. It is also the last resort among countless means and the last trump card of the humble.

As a person, as long as you still have the desire and ability to exercise violence, you can obtain the most basic dignity.

This is true for individuals, families, organizations, and countries.

And he did not surpass Dumbledore's violence, so...

There is no logic or reason in front of Dumbledore!
But at the same time, as if in reflection, Li Ke also spoke in their meeting hall.

"So we glorify violence, fear violence, try to erase the traces of violence, and want to make violence a low-end behavior. Do you know why? Chandler."

After watching Grindelwald and Dumbledore start to investigate information about himself and others, Li Ke looked at Chandler sitting next to him and asked this question.

"Because we are civilized people?"

Chandler's tentative answer just made Li Ke smile. Since Chandler didn't understand, he didn't plan to continue talking about politics, life concepts and the like, and naturally didn't plan to answer or correct him.

Because some things cannot be said, and once the key things cannot be said, no matter how well a person understands such things, he will appear to be a cowardly middle-aged unemployed intellectual, and can do nothing but repeat and explain things that have already been told and explained by countless people.

It will make you seem nagging and long-winded, and make people feel annoyed.

At that time, anyone who expresses his or her attitude and opinions clearly will be able to make people more happy and joyful than him.

There was no need for him to be a cowardly, ignorant and annoying person, so he went straight to the point.

"Instead of letting Dumbledore and Grindelwald search for evidence against us, intrigue with us, and exploit our interests, it would be interesting to have one or even several battles of mutual testing. I could even disguise myself and fight with them. But that would be a manifestation of powerlessness."

So Li Ke raised his hand, and a portal slowly opened, revealing the appearance of Beauxbatons and the beautiful girls inside.

"Tell Dumbledore and Grindelwald, Chandler, to drop all that tiresome formality and come here..."

Li Ke walked into the portal and returned to the library of Beauxbatons, a school that was not much inferior to Hogwarts in terms of book collection and scale, but had not been well described for various reasons.

"...Challenge me."

His words made Chandler's body tremble.

My ideas, personalities, and ways of doing things are all different from those of Dumbledore and Grindelwald, so no matter how I develop, as long as I develop, I will inevitably come into conflict with these two people!

You are strong enough and there is no need to waste time. You might as well directly defeat the combination of Dumbledore and Grindelwald to demonstrate your own strength and your own truth!
The strong have everything, this is always the case in this world.

The poor political structure of the magic world made him lose his patience, causing Li Ke, who loved political topics and secret deals the most, to give up politics, which he was best at, because politics, conspiracy, and underground transactions were things that could not be allowed to see the light of day.

But that's not how he acts!

The portal behind Li Ke slowly closed, and Chandler took a deep breath with trembling body, then looked at the members he had gathered with the help of Li Ke.

These members did not dare to face Li Ke, but they dared to speak to Chandler, so someone spoke up immediately.

"It seems that the leader is planning to let us come out in the open, but if that's the case..."

The one who spoke was the father of another senior student of Li Ke. A worried expression appeared on his face, because he was afraid that everything about the society founded by Li Ke would be exposed to the public.

He naturally thought that he and others were the ones hiding behind the scenes and should not be exposed to the sun.

But Li Ke didn't need to scold the other party, Chandler spoke first.

"I have a question now."

Chandler took a deep breath and looked at his stupid companion.

"How many of us are there in the Ministry right now?"

He paused and looked at everyone in front of him.

"Half...Except for the Minister of Magic's own direct lineage and those office clerks who only know how to type, almost all grassroots members of the Ministry of Magic are now our partners. Even the taxes of the entire wizarding world and the salaries of employees are now provided by us."

He paused, then began to look at the people at the end of the table.

"Leston is now the owner of newspapers and broadcasts throughout the wizarding world."

"Ms. Peramy, now the president of the French Wizarding Bank, is currently in the process of driving Gringotts out of France."

"Ms. Sophie, the director of the new garment factory, supplies the entire French magical clothing trade."

"Ms. Lailien, the director of the Magic Food Factory, has monopolized the fruit, vegetable and fresh meat business in the entire French magical world."

Then he looked at Madame Maxime, who looked a little uneasy but nodded and smiled.

Chandler didn't care much because everyone present knew that Madame Maxime was basically a spy here, but no one cared about this because many people were spies before they actually joined here.

Either voluntary or forced.

"Mr. Lepper, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Blood, the employee in charge of foreign trade at the Ministry of Magic. Traven, the Minister of the Department of Muggle Affairs. Even the Auror Department, 80% of its members receive funding from us. Food, clothing, teaching materials, furniture, and even new magic equipment and salaries are all paid by us!" Chandler paused before speaking.

"And all this was done with sufficient money and material reserves, so obviously—"

The middle-aged man, who was connected with Li Ke because of his daughter, opened his arms.

"We are the French Ministry of Magic! Mr. Legolas's will is the will of all France!"

There was fanaticism in Chandler's voice, because he just couldn't understand why Li Ke could lead them to take over the entire French magic world in less than half a year, when they themselves felt that they were useless!
But the fact is, they did it!
However, if Li Ke knew what Chandler was thinking, he would only tell Chandler that you are much better than those trash in the pirate world.

Moreover, he basically has an external plug-in that gives him unlimited money and unlimited resources. He also has a martial arts level that can be said to be top-notch in the world, and has a deep understanding of the rules that these people play by. He is also blessed with countless memories of Li Ke, and his experience is incredibly rich.

Even with all these abilities, if he can't even do this, he can really die. From now on, he will only be worthy of eating at the same table with Yi Xiaochuan.

So, when Dumbledore and Grindelwald were planning to conduct an in-depth investigation of Li Ke and use a classic investigation route of one open and one secret, Li Ke's declaration of war arrived at Hogwarts and in front of Dumbledore.

Also arriving was a declaration of war against Dumbledore and Grindelwald that was published in the Daily Prophet.

Because Li Ke said that he wanted to win fairly, the members of the organization who could not go against Li Ke's will had to take the most high-profile attitude.

So looking at the envelopes and newspapers in front of him, as well as the letters that the Ministry of Magic kept sending him, Dumbledore felt the other party's youthfulness and frivolity for a moment, and his second reaction was that there was a trap. The third reaction was, if he went, what would go wrong? What would happen to his family if something happened to him? Is it possible for him to convince this young man?
But then Dumbledore reacted.

The other party is too confident, and I...

"Dumbledore, you are old."

Looking at Dumbledore's expression, Grindelwald said what he had said in his heart.

Dumbledore wanted to refute the other party, but when he saw that Grindelwald's hands had subconsciously clenched his wand and his body showed the little movements he would make when he was excited, Dumbledore nodded.

"Yeah, I'm old."

He actually thought so much when encountering such a thing now, instead of immediately realizing like Grindelwald, what kind of mentality and belief this young man named Legolas had in challenging him.

And why do we do this.

But, how could a person who was able to integrate the entire French magic world in less than a year after arriving in the magic world not be interested in the strongest throne, the vacant throne that he was unwilling to sit on?
He once wanted to sit on it, but he failed. He lost to himself and to fate.

But can this young man do it?
Is he doing the best he can?

Did he think about losing? Did he think about what would happen to his family if he lost? Did he think about what would happen to the French wizarding world in the future?

And what will happen after he wins? If he is allowed to communicate with the Muggle world in this way, then the wizarding world will be exposed to the Muggles sooner or later. What will happen to the series of problems that will arise?
Has the other party thought about it? Is he ready? What if too many people get hurt and fail?
How long can he persist? How many difficulties can he face? How should I educate him?

Too many things appeared in Dumbledore's mind at this moment. He wanted too much and lost too much. So at this moment, Dumbledore did not put the duel first at all. Instead, he was thinking about how to deal with things after he lost and the other party lost, how he would clean up the mess, and how the world should go.

However, at this moment, Grindelwald spoke.

"I say, Dumbledore."

He looked at his lover with a complicated expression. This lover had carried everything on his shoulders for many years, but was afraid of being corrupted. As a result, he had become cautious and fussy, wanting to do everything to the best of his ability.

But it feels very subtle, because from this point of view, he is the strict father who wants to spur the wizarding world forward, while Dumbledore is a mother who wants to protect all her children. However, the funny thing is that he, the "father", has no say in front of the "mother".

But now, he had to stand up and let Dumbledore see the reality.

"There are always young people in the world who want to do things we can't do and things we want to do. His path is different from mine, but also different from yours. He is another us, but he was not born in the same era as us. He is the Dumbledore of the new era, or... me."

Grindelwald paused. When he first saw Li Ke's arrangement, he thought that Li Ke wanted to build a world where wizards were supreme, just like him. However, after taking a closer look, he discovered that he and Dumbledore had the same views on Muggles and wizards.

Even more extreme than Dumbledore!

He even sincerely believed that wizards and humans were the same kind of life! They were equal beings! They were screws and gears with different positions in society and the world. Even if wizards had magic, it didn't mean they were superior to others.

He could not tolerate such ideas, and for Dumbledore, the world created by this young man would too easily lead to inequality and would too easily lead to the emergence of people with ideas like Grindelwald. By then, wars would still occur, and even more brutal wars.

As for Dumbledore, he also didn't want to see the other party's path continue.

So, for them——

Legolas, who had just entered the magical world for a year, was a heretic!

Allowing the other to exist would be an insult to both of their wills and paths!

So, Grindelwald looked at Dumbledore with a smile.

"But do you think you can convince me?"

Dumbledore's eyes suddenly became sharp, and the moment the two looked at each other, the figures of Dumbledore and Grindelwald seemed to change, changing into the duel between them in middle age, and changing into the time when they loved each other in their youth.

The appearance has changed, but the will and determination in the eyes of the two people have never changed.

"I see."

Dumbledore took a deep breath, picked up his old wand, and looked towards a certain place in Hogwarts. Because he knew that he had to put aside all the red tape, just like he had defeated Grindelwald, and get straight to the point and defeat the boy, so that he could end it all.

Magic is power.

So was it Dumbledore and Grindelwald who were blocking the way, or was it this young man who was blocking the way? The final judgment could only be made by the wands in their hands.

"But before that, I have to make some preparations."

So, when people in the British wizarding world and most people in the wizarding world were frantically discussing who Legolas was, whether he was insane, why Grindelwald could appear openly, and when the Ministries of Magic in various countries continued to go crazy and the French Minister of Magic suddenly found himself being sidelined, Dumbledore and Grindelwald responded to Li Ke's declaration of war.

This incident drove countless people crazy and broke their defenses, and the entire wizarding world began to pay attention. However, the person who was most broken-minded in the wizarding world was not the unlucky Minister of Magic, but a certain person.

"Asshole! Asshole! Asshole!!! Dumbledore! You actually ignored me! And Legolas! I am the most powerful wizard in Britain! I am!!!"

Voldemort possessed Quirrell's body, looking at Dumbledore and Li Ke who were completely ignoring him and dueling on their own, as well as the news headline "A battle to determine the strongest owner"...

...The defense was broken.

(End of this chapter)