Even if winter is not yet complete, with the temperature dropping significantly, Scandinavia has already ushered in its own winter.

The cold has completely enveloped the whole of Grums, surrounding the shores of Lake Venern.

The valley has become a vast snow field, where most of the creatures have died or left, and only a few who can resist the cold survive in the snow.

The trolls in front of him undoubtedly belong to such creatures that can withstand the cold.

The trolls are about twelve feet tall and weigh more than a ton, and the total number is around ten. Trolls have dull and gray granite skin, large bodies topped by a small head like a cocoa bean, very thick legs with flat, cocooned feet underneath, and long arms that emit a disgusting stench......

Trolls like raw meat, but they are not picky about their prey, and they are especially fond of raw fish during this cold late autumn day.

One of the largest, ugliest trolls took its large stick and smashed a large hole in the ice, while the other smaller trolls hurriedly surrounded it...... They lie clumsily on the ice, reaching into the icy water and catching the fish......

Because they are so clumsy, they are not very efficient at catching fish...... Occasionally, a large cod is fished out, and the tallest troll rushes to grab it, and after nibbling on the most delicious meat, it distributes the remaining "wreckage" among the juvenile trolls.

Suddenly, the largest troll, snorting, raised its head in the direction of the valley.

The rest of the trolls stopped their movements and looked in the same direction.

There are living people here!

......

Yes, a witch, walking gracefully in the direction of the troll.

She looked young, barely in her thirties, barely visible wrinkles on her exposed face, a pointed wizard's hat on her head, and a black trench coat that was completely insulated from the cold......

The trolls who stopped their movements didn't need the orders of their leaders at all, and they all surrounded them.

In such weather, fresh human meat is more delicious than frozen fish.

Although the trolls are jokingly called "their bodies weigh a ton, but their brains are only a little bit of boogers", their own strength and resistance to magic are not too low, and their combat effectiveness is not weak at all.

The witch frowned slightly, and said in a hoarse voice, "A swarm of disgusting bed bugs!"

There is no doubt that such a voice certainly does not belong to a young witch in her twenties and thirties, but more like an old woman in her seventies and eighties.

The trolls had a little intelligence, apparently not understanding what the witch meant, and they let out a snorting sound and pounced in the direction of the witch.

The witch unhurriedly drew her wand from her belt, and only then did the nearest troll run to less than ten yards from her, swinging it gracefully.

A flash of green light flashed, and the nearest troll fell to the ground, eyes wide open...... It's dead!

Flashes of green light flashed one after another, each capable of accurately harvesting the life of a troll...... Just a dozen seconds later, the witch was surrounded by the corpses of more than a dozen trolls.

A colony of trolls, now only the last one left—

The largest troll leader, with his very low IQ, seemed to be aware of something...... It fell to its knees and snorted loudly at the witch, as if begging for mercy.

The witch didn't mean to kill them all, she calmly withdrew her wand and continued on her way.

But after a few steps, she suddenly stopped, her face changed, and she turned as fast as she could, and she pointed her wand at the troll leader again—

The large troll was already lying on the ground, moaning in pain, blood dripping from the corners of its mouth...... A moment later, a small, but swift ferret-like gadget emerged from the troll's chest, and it was still nibbling on something in its mouth, which was probably the troll's heart.

The witch's gaze didn't linger too long on the ferret-like magical animal, but raised her head.

In the sky, a tall, rugged, pitch-black Pegasus, with a dragon-like head and a pair of broad wings on its back, flew towards it......

"First the Marten, then the Thestrals......" muttered the witch's hoarse voice, "Long time no see, Frederick!"

On Thestrals' back, a scrawny old wizard jumped down, and he bowed respectfully to the witch before saying, "Hats you, Lord Rozier...... I have to say that you, like fifty years ago, haven't changed at all. ”

"It's just a little trick!" the witch snorted coldly, "I didn't expect you to be able to rush over!"

"I have lived in seclusion in Greenland for fifty years...... To avoid that damn badger, and also to wait for today...... In order to wait for the call of the master!" Frederick's voice was still so respectful.

"And what about the others...... Craft, Carroll, Merusin......" Rozier continued.

"Both Carol and Melusin should have died...... As for Kraft, he was still on his way to the road on a flying carpet, and I happened to see him as I flew over Tórshavn (the capital of the Faroe Islands)!" Frederick said with a smile, "and Dragnea and Tusk, they should be on their way." ”

"It seems that there are more people at this party than I expected......" Rozier also smiled on his face.

At the same time, she glanced down at the castle under the ice of Lake Venern: "If you add Vance and Emerson!"

......

For Durmstrang School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, their Halloween dinner was also in full swing.

The students wore masks and dressed up as all sorts of demons and ghosts, and sang happily around the campfire...... For this Nordic school of witchcraft and wizardry, the Halloween dinner is almost the busiest party of the year, because the Christmas party will be too cold for the rest of the year, and the number of attendees will drop significantly.

The Headmaster, Professor Winston Vance, was not attending the Halloween celebration, he was holding his head up and staring intently into the sky—

Beside him was an old wizard with gray hair...... If Christopher Patrick had been here, he would have recognized the old wizard as the old man he had seen wiping down the deck of the ghost ship when he first visited Durmstrang.

"It's almost time!" the old wizard whispered, glancing down at his watch.

"yes!" Principal Vance nodded silently.

Almost at the same time, on the shores of Lake Venern, not far away......

A burst of golden light drifted into the sky, and finally left a mark on the night sky—

It looked like a triangular eye, with a vertical line in the middle of its pupil.