Marvel Magic Event Book

Chapter 1745

"Emperor of the Balkans, King of the Immortal City, Sorcerer Supreme of Kamar-Taj, may I now attend to official business? Do the two witches, the red-haired sorceress, or your divine foster mother require anything from you? Or do you have other women to pamper, such as Natasha Romanov, and therefore do not care at all that the Yugoslavian frigates have approached Spanish territorial waters?"

While waiting for the sorcerers sent by Kamar-Taj to repair the curtain over the North Atlantic, Victor von Doom finally managed to contact the Emperor through a communications satellite orbiting over the Faroe Islands. His voice, as if pickled with coffee grounds, was sarcastic and affected, yet the Emperor had no way to refute him.

This vacation was indeed too long. He spent a lot of time catering to Natasha, and even when he had free time, he would go out to sea to play with the sperm whales that floated to the surface. He didn't do any serious work at all, no wonder Victor von Doom was angry.

“You know I’m not suited to stay in one place dealing with documents. You’re more suited, Victor.” The Emperor stood on the thick ice, one hand gripping Gungnir, using the gun barrel to write and draw on the ice. These protective runes could prevent extradimensional spiritual entities from entering the real universe.

That's all he can do. If he has to do everything, what's the point of Kamar-Taj?

“Mephisto has been here. I’ve told you about this. I need to make sure nothing else comes into Earth with him.”

"In my opinion, dealing with documents requires patience, and you've already wasted your patience on those women." Victor von Doom shrugged, completely unconcerned about Mephisto's projection onto Earth. The recent extradimensional tide was enough to annihilate those weaker extradimensional spiritual entities, and with the Emperor himself in the Faroe Islands, no extradimensional spiritual entity would be foolish enough to directly descend upon this weak point in the veil.

"Patience, Victor. The fleet can't set sail immediately. We all need to prepare."

They discussed the progress of supplies transportation and the restoration of the Attila base in the Blue Zone of the Moon.

The Emperor hoped the research equipment left behind by the Kree could be put to use as soon as possible, as the production efficiency and yield of genetically modified warriors remained unsatisfactory. There wasn't much else to say; the important tasks were already being carried out according to plan. Even if the Regent had prepared supplies in advance, coordinated the transport of spacecraft between Earth and Mars, and ordered the Guardians on Mars and the genetically modified warriors resting in Yugoslavia to land at Skysword Station, the Emperor and Regent couldn't possibly order everyone onto the space carrier and immediately depart for Asgard.

The mobilization of supplies and personnel takes time; it is a massive, systematic project.

In addition to the Emperor's allies, Wakanda's technical departments and military tribes needed to participate in the operation. They would be taking Talon fighter squadrons from Wakanda to Yugoslavia, and a dedicated airfield had to be set aside for Wakanda's allies to land and maintain their fighters. The Talon fighter, as a full-band stealth aircraft, was very suitable for striking enemy air defense positions and command posts. In Asgard, where there were no military reconnaissance satellites, the Talon fighter could also be used as a reconnaissance aircraft. Princess Shuri of Wakanda would also participate in the operation. The Emperor greatly admired the woman's decisiveness during the Wakanda civil war, so much so that he was willing to reserve a seat for her in the General Staff.

The Regent also needed to increase the frequency of Void bombers patrolling the Skysword space station, organize a battlefield escort team from the Sisterhood returning from the edge of the solar system, and reactivate the Brotherhood of the Shield members—whose task was to excavate them from the dungeons of the Immortal City and have them pledge allegiance to their master once more. This task was overseen by Laura Crawford, an archaeologist whose inexplicable luck ensured its success.

The Emperor was delighted to see Captain Miller again after thousands of years, for the Philosopher's Stone alone was not enough to allow generations of the Brotherhood of the Shield's elite to traverse millennia. Apart from the Council of Philosophers, which maintains the basic framework of the Brotherhood of the Shield, the other chosen ones could only slumber, using stasis pods and magic to fight against the relentless passage of time.

If the Brotherhood of the Shield and the Immortal City hadn't been attacked by the Celestial Spawn, this organizational structure would likely have continued until the Emperor took over again. However, in order to ensure the time travel loop was closed, the Emperor before the time travel had to personally excavate the Immortal City and reactivate a series of abandoned and damaged facilities; the Emperor after the time travel couldn't interfere with this process.

The number of stasis chambers increased continuously for eight thousand years until it gradually stopped in modern times.

These included priests of Inanna, warriors from African tribes, crusader soldiers, and the most recent batch of soldiers and officers from the First and Second World Wars. From cavalrymen to tank crewmen, from pilots to submarine commanders, each one was a warrior personally selected by the Emperor, with whom he had fought in the past. The Emperor always found suitable warriors over the long years, leading them, telling them his ideals, and giving them promises that transcended time.

After Attila's equipment is repaired, these warriors can undergo more sophisticated genetic modification surgeries instead of relying on the Guardians to capture people on the Middle Eastern battlefield and increase the quantity of finished products through sheer numbers. Chemical brainwashing can make Americans and jihadists on the Middle Eastern battlefield fight for the emperor, but the emperor prefers soldiers who can understand the cause of unification. Mere violence cannot accomplish the goal.

If these soldiers can be promoted through surgery, the gap in equipment and warfare technology can be bridged through brain-computer interface knowledge transfer. The emperor will immediately gain a group of genetically modified soldiers who have been tempered in war, understand the cause of unification, and obey orders. This is a valuable asset accumulated by the emperor after his time travel. For the sparsely populated Southern European countries, such a group of genetically modified soldiers who suddenly appear and completely obey the emperor's orders will be Yugoslavia's weapon against NATO.

Victor von Doom is also busy dealing with this matter. The gene lab's production capacity is completely insufficient. Maya Hansen is working overtime every day. If it weren't for the support of the Philosopher's Stone, she would have died of exhaustion long ago.

"Next up is Ms. Hand, she has something to say. If you care about this cause."

Viktor von Doom abruptly switched routes, handing the call over to the head of intelligence, giving the emperor no chance to explain. The emperor could only shrug, deciding to deal with more troublesome paperwork the next time he returned to the capital of Latvia; otherwise, it would be terrible if Viktor really quit! He didn't want to be in meetings with the economic department every day!
Good evening, Ms. Hand.

“Good evening, my lord. Tony Stark is online, and he… requests to speak with you.”

"Based on my understanding of him, he was probably 'demanding' something. He wanted to know if I was responsible for this disaster, as if I had become a villain in a comic book after I left the United States, and that I was responsible for all the bad things."

“I think his idea is very reasonable, my lord.”

Victoria Hand remained calm as always. The Emperor knew she had been under immense pressure lately. She was one of the few who knew about the Emperor's time travel, but she couldn't tell the other officials trying to enter the throne room why they couldn't see him—the Emperor was Yugoslavia's most powerful nuclear deterrent. The SkySword space station, hailed by the military as the "Sword of Damocles," and the planetary orbital space-based nuclear weapon launchers paled in comparison to the power the Emperor himself displayed. After all, after launching a nuclear missile, there was the risk of a nuclear counterattack. The Emperor wouldn't give the enemy any chance to retaliate; if he wanted, he could even wipe out the entire enemy leadership in their own backyard—the first article of the trade treaty restricted the Emperor's actions; otherwise, all nations would rather face nuclear threats than agree to trade with Yugoslavia. Without the Emperor, whether the trade agreement could even continue was questionable; Britain might even dare to intercept Yugoslavian cargo ships in the Strait of Gibraltar.

Victoria Hand told the Emperor that Tony Stark would be very interested in witnessing the wars of the Space Empire, but he had no trust in the Yugoslav spacecraft. He would rather launch himself into space on a commercial rocket from another company and land on the space station than ride on the Emperor's super-heavy assault transport, even though the Sky Fortress was far safer than a commercial rocket that could only reach the Karmen Line.

"Shall we establish communication, my lord?" Victoria Hand said. "If you refuse to connect... he is detected flying in your direction. Should we intercept him?"

Tony Stark continued the Cold War mentality. A believer in the "big stick" principle, he firmly believed he could create the biggest stick. When he discovered he didn't actually possess supreme military power, he was bound to be curious—a continuation of Cold War thinking. However, he genuinely believed his decision was correct, which is why he communicated with Yugoslavia, knowing the Emperor had the ability to resolve some mysterious threats.

“Refuse him, Ms. Hand. Tell him I’m here waiting for him, and if he wants to talk to me, let him come to me.”

There wasn't much time left before Tony Stark arrived. It was unclear whether Stark had risked being swept away by a hurricane or struck by lightning the moment he noticed the abnormal weather, intending to personally deal with what he perceived as the cause of the disaster—this selfish guy who treated the safety of all humanity as his private property, like a cat seeing a cat on the edge of a table, always rushing to test the waters when he saw danger—Yugoslavia was probably not the first target of his investigation, and Tony Stark's call was merely a probe.

The Emperor greatly admired this character, and he also appreciated Steve Rogers's spirit of sacrifice. Therefore, after causing the Avengers to split, he took the initiative to shelter some of them, helping them escape imprisonment. Ultimately, the birth of Steve Rogers (Dr. Erkins's Super Soldier Serum) and the organization Howard Stark served were both related to the Brotherhood of the Shield. Therefore, the existence of a supernatural being like the Hulk can ultimately be traced back to something the Emperor himself created.

This was a peaceful conversation; he wouldn't attack these former Avengers proactively, so he couldn't present himself as an armored figure wielding a sword. The Emperor waved his hand, and the armored palm gradually revealed flesh beneath, the heavy metal transforming into soft, deep red fabric, with golden jeweled clasps connecting the front of the Holy Relic Robe.

This was his most frequently worn robe; whenever he put on this robe, he transformed from an emperor into a mystic.

In other words, at this point he allowed Tony Stark to say his name.

“After Ragnarok, you can go on vacation, Ms. Hand, as compensation for your hard work. You can take your girlfriend to my private island, where there are tropical white sand beaches and warm sunshine. The sorority will have a yacht and helicopter there.” Salomon tried to keep his tone as gentle as possible. “You can depart directly from the port.”

"I am looking forward."

Victoria Hand hung up the communication, the emperor shrugged, and switched to another communication line.

When Tony Stark landed at the designated location, he saw many arcane mages in short robes walking on the ice, muttering to themselves, their staffs occasionally emitting golden sparks. "Sir?" the AI ​​Friday said, "I have detected abnormalities in your breathing rate and pulse."

"It's just a sudden change of mood." Tony Stark opened his visor and shouted at the arcane mages, "Where's your party MC?"

“I’ve been here all along.” Hearing the familiar voice behind him, Tony Stark instinctively jumped up. The AI, Friday, activated its thrusters, levitating Tony Stark into the air. “You should at least bring a case of beer to a party, Stark,” Salomon said. “So, why did you want to see me?”

“I just noticed something amiss here. If I’m not mistaken, this is the Faroe Islands. I don’t see any islands or rocks. What’s going on?” Stark landed shakily on the ice. “And you wanted to see me. Your intelligence chief told me you invited me to participate in an interstellar war.”

“The time stated on the invitation is not now,” Salomon said. “Odin is dead. Before he died, I made a bet with him. If he couldn’t kill me, he would have to give me some of Asgard’s technology in exchange for my protection of the Aesir after Ragnarok. What you are seeing now is the power that Odin displayed before his death.”

"Where are the casualties?"

“There might be several thousand people, but not everyone had time to evacuate. Odin lived for half a million years, and the Aesir's body could no longer restrain the hundreds of thousands of years of Asgardian worship, which is why he died. Otherwise, he would have had plenty of ways to survive. You can imagine this as the energy produced by the simultaneous explosion of all of humanity's nuclear weapons, except Odin's power is far greater than you imagine.” Salomon shrugged. “I invite you to join a project concerning Asgardian science and technology…”

“I accept, but not now.” Salomon could tell that Tony Stark had a lot to say, but he couldn’t bring himself to say it. “How’s the old man?” Stark asked. “Has he learned how to use a cell phone?”

"There are still some difficulties, but I'm not so unfamiliar with electronic products anymore."

"That sounds good. And you? How many people have died under your brutal rule?"

“Not too many, after all, I don’t treat everyone as slaves. You know what I’m talking about, the only difference between slaves now and slaves in the past is whether they have metal collars. By comparison, you have to commend my kindness.”

Stark nodded reluctantly. "Fine, your tongue is sharper than mine. But have you forgotten that we still have a score to settle? The Halle Airport matter needs to be resolved before the NATO planes arrive."