American Comic Dimensional Trading Device

Upon hearing Ophelia's words, Claire Varyan immediately understood the Austrian's purpose.

In fact, the Austrians' desire for Albania and the Russians' desire for Greece are the same: to open up their own passage to the Mediterranean.

Although Austria already had access to the sea, this access was in the narrow Adriatic Sea, and the shipping route to the Mediterranean was blocked by the Otranto Strait between Italy and Albania.

At its narrowest point, the strait is only 75 kilometers wide.

During World War I, the Austro-Hungarian Navy was destroyed in the Adriatic Sea because Italy occupied Albania and it did not achieve any effect.

With this precedent set, neither Josie nor the Austrian leadership would likely repeat the same mistake.

Italy is now an ally, so this idea is out of the question. However, Albania, which has become independent and joined the Soviet Union, is a possibility. To this end, just like Peter II of the former Yugoslavia, Josi specifically recruited the exiled Albanian King Zogu I.

Austria would be willing to help Sauguin I restore his kingdom if the Soviet Union gave its approval.

Even if we don't completely control Albania, just controlling the Strait of Otranto region would be a great victory.

Therefore, it wouldn't matter if Greece's interests were sacrificed.

What? Greece is an ally too? Sorry, Greece is only an ally of the British...

The reason why Russia and the Yugoslav Federation previously instigated the Greek civil war was actually similar to that of Austria—the Aegean Sea was of immense value to Russia.

During World War II, the Russians had already reached an agreement with Turkey, gaining the right of passage through the Turkish Straits.

Therefore, the only obstacle preventing the Russian Black Sea Fleet from entering the Mediterranean is the Aegean Sea. The actual controllers of the Aegean Sea are not Greece and Turkey, but the British and French, because just south of the Aegean Sea lies the Suez Canal, which is controlled by Britain and France.

This is the fundamental reason why Britain and France were so concerned about Greece from the very beginning, and were willing to sacrifice the interests of Yugoslavia, Albania, and other European allies in order to protect Greece.

The Suez Canal was extremely important to Britain and France, as it was their lifeline for controlling their colonies in Asia and Africa.

In contrast, Greece is not that important to the Americans. Due to the United States' geographical location, the Suez Canal is not that significant to them. In many cases, they would even like the Suez Canal to be blocked up, which would mean that Britain and France would lose control of Asia, and the United States would basically dominate Asia.

This is why, during the Second Arab-Israeli War, when Britain and France tried to maintain their control over the Suez Canal, the United States dealt them a heavy blow.

In the original timeline, the reason why the United States helped Greece instead of Britain during the Greek Civil War was simply because the Soviet Union had almost swallowed up the Balkans, leaving Greece as the only remaining country. The United States did not want the Soviet Union to dominate the Balkans, so it helped Greece.

However, this world, due to the rapid rise of its little brother Austria, has rendered the former Balkan hegemon unable to take care of itself.

In this way, Greece becomes meaningless to the United States.

Therefore, both Josie and Austria are confident enough to persuade the United States to abandon its intervention in Greece.

In this way, a world where only Britain and France are heartbroken is achieved.

After thinking it through, Claire Varyan relayed Austria's terms back to Austria.

Just one week later, we received a reply from the Russian side.

make a deal!

However, there was an additional condition: Austria would return Belgrade to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and withdraw from Serbia.

Austria readily agreed, as Serbia was of little significance to Austria. Using it to exchange for the interests of Albania was a sure win. After this battle, it was no longer possible for the Iron Emperor to become the Balkan hegemon as in the original timeline, and it would even be difficult for him to break free from the control of the Soviet Union.

As for Albania's own opinion? Who cares?

However, just as Austria was reaching agreements with both the United States and Russia, both overtly and covertly.

A special intelligence report was placed on the desks of the intelligence agencies of Britain and France through various channels.

This intelligence report explores why Austria possesses the advanced technology of the Mirage 3, a weapon system that is ahead of its time.

The intelligence reports pointed to a certain region in East Africa, with various clues, both overt and covert.

In this place, there is only one very insignificant little country.

This country is called Wakanda!

Sorry it's late, I was just slacking off at work and typing this.

Chapter 147 Azuri

Whether in this Marvel Universe or in Josie's previous life, before World War II, there were only three independent countries in all of Africa; the rest were all colonies of countries like Britain and France.

These three countries are Egypt, Ethiopia, and Liberia.

Egypt is currently only a nominally independent country.

So if we really want to count, it's only Ethiopia and Liberia.

Liberia was able to gain independence and expand its territory because it was a relatively advanced country in many aspects due to its early status as a US colony and its good relationship with the US.

Therefore, the only country that truly possesses an ancient heritage is Ethiopia—an ancient country with a civilization spanning over three thousand years.

But that's not the point.

The key lies in the reasons why it has been able to remain independent.

Throughout its history, the country has suffered numerous invasions, especially in modern times, with Portugal, the Ottomans, Sudan, Britain, and Italy all invading Ethiopia.

But all of these countries failed for various reasons (in fact, Italy occupied the country for 5 years during World War II).

This is a situation I've never encountered in any other African country; it's quite bizarre.

However, within the Marvel Universe, this wouldn't seem too bizarre.

The reason lies with Wakanda, a small tribe in the southernmost part of Ethiopia, on the border with Sudan.

That's right. In this era, Wakanda was not actually an independent country. Instead, it was a small tribe that hid behind Ethiopia and would secretly step in to repel the invaders whenever Ethiopia faced a crisis.

Wakanda's true international recognition as a nation should actually wait until after the birth of T'Chaka, Black Panther's father, in the Avengers storyline.

At this point in time, not only T'Challa, but even T'Chaka hasn't been born yet.

Even the current ruler of Wakanda, T'Challa's grandfather Azuri, was only a young man in his twenties.

It's not surprising; Josie's time travel was far too early.

General Ross was only born last September, let alone the protagonists of those turbulent future eras.

For example, Alexander Pierce was born in 36 and is currently only a 10-year-old elementary school student.

Nick Fury was born in 50.

Old Black Panther Tchaka was born in 52.

Dr. Selvig, an important supporting character in Thor and the Avengers, was born in 53.

The younger brother of the old black panther who died at the beginning of Black Panther, and the father of the golden panther, was born in 54.

Star-Lord's mother was born in 61.

Phil Coulson was born in 64.

Iron Man 2 villain Ivan Vanko, War Machine Rhodes, and Captain Marvel Carol Danvers were all born in 68 (Josie's daughter is not related to this person, so don't speculate).

Bruce Banner and the second Ant-Man, Scott Lang, were born in 69.

Tony Stark was born in 70.

Hawkeye Patton in 71, Pepper Potts in 73, and Falcon Sam in 78.

Star-Lord, Hope the Wasp, and T'Challa the Black Panther, all born in 80.

Maria Hill, 82.

Golden Leopard, 83.

Black Widow, Gamora, born in 84.

Wanda Pietro, 89.

(The birth years of the above individuals are mainly from MCU Wikipedia)

However, it was precisely because Wakanda had always remained hidden behind Ethiopia that the Portuguese, British, and Italians, who had been active in the surrounding areas for centuries, did not discover the trickery involved. Under normal circumstances, it would not be officially exposed until the future Avengers 2 era.

However, the situation changed when two pieces of intelligence, both overt and covert, appeared on the desks of high-ranking officials in Britain and France.

The reason why the trickery could not be detected before was partly because Wakanda was indeed very secretive in its actions, and partly because the invaders were too close to the situation to see it clearly.

However, after checking and carefully examining some of the intelligence from that year, it is actually possible to find something amiss.

Without a doubt, the only people in this world who, besides some ancient monsters who have lived for a very long time, could know the details of Wakanda in this era and fabricate corresponding seemingly plausible information, are Josie, the time traveler.

Of course, the intelligence and covert operations left behind by Red Skull also played a significant role in this process.

So, under Josie's secret encouragement, the number of "tourists" from Britain and France flocking to Ethiopia inexplicably increased over time.

“Your Majesty, recently there have been many more British and French people in the border region. Although they are well disguised, our soldiers still found traces of training on them, and they seem to be searching for something with a specific purpose. I have reason to suspect that the British and French may know something!” In the Wakanda royal palace, the current chieftain of the frontier tribe, Tapani, respectfully reported to King Azuri.

“Your suspicions are correct, Tapani. The British and French somehow obtained intelligence that indicates Austria’s technological leap is related to us, and the extra people at the border are British and French agents.” Azuri nodded, confirming Tapani’s suspicions.

Although Wakanda has pursued an isolationist policy since the beginning of its civilization, it is not completely isolated from the world.

Each generation of Black Panthers who reigns as kings commands an intelligence agency called PRIDE.

This intelligence agency was far older than the various modern intelligence agencies of different countries during this period, and its nature was more similar to that of ancient Assassins and the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

They have been infiltrating the most powerful civilizations of different eras under various identities for many years, collecting intelligence as well as the most advanced technologies. Wakanda's advanced technology is not entirely based on vibranium, but was developed by itself.

Instead, it relies on vibranium, a material that is considered perfect, and is developed and upgraded through in-depth research and utilization based on the technology of various civilizations.

So it's true that Wakanda's technology has always been ahead of other human nations, but it's not as Josie believes, that it has always been far ahead of humanity.

In addition, although Wakanda is technologically advanced, it still preserves the oldest traditions in various aspects of its cultural life and maintains an isolated policy of seclusion, which has resulted in Wakanda's population remaining relatively small.