Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1017, Section 1013: Bombardment of the Royal City (First Update)

"Basic services in Latvia are collapsing. We will closely monitor the political situation in Latvia and stand ready to provide humanitarian assistance. The aid bill has already been submitted to Congress for a vote. Meanwhile, the White House will urge Latvia's neighboring countries, including Romania, Hungary, and Serbia, to monitor the situation, prepare to receive refugees, and provide them with necessary assistance. We condemn the barbaric acts of the Latvian rebels, who have disregarded basic moral principles by massacring civilians, ignoring press freedom and diplomatic relations, and wantonly executing American and European citizens in Latvia. The White House has decided to intervene if necessary to uphold Latvia's standing in the free world..."

The hammer struck the miniature detonator, instantly igniting the propellant in the chamber. The expanding, high-pressure air propelled the bullet away from the neck of the case, spinning along the rifling before flying out of the barrel and striking the target 10 meters from the shooter at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye. The gunshot instantly drowned out the voice of Vice President Joe Biden on the holographic projection television. 2016 was an election year; the previous Democratic president had already served two terms, and Vice President Joe Biden, this veteran, frequently made public appearances to boost his popularity. The Latvinia incident could serve as a campaign statement for the Democratic Party.

However, none of this concerned the people at the Oxfordshire manor. Little Lorna pulled the trigger several times, only stopping after emptying the magazine. Bayonita nodded in satisfaction, then pointed to another gun on the table—Little Lorna put down her Beretta 92F, picked up the .50 caliber Smith & Wesson M500 revolver, skillfully loaded it, and fired five shots at the target. Little Lorna proudly raised her head, showing off her marksmanship to Joan of Arc beside her. However, her smugness only lasted until Joan picked up the M1911A1, because she saw that every bullet Joan fired hit the same spot. Little Lorna couldn't help but utter a vulgar remark that would make a lady blush.

The witches were amused by her swearing.

As long as she didn't take those awful-tasting alchemical potions, her relationship with the witch was fairly good. Bayonetta even opened Salomon's gun collection to her. Most of those guns were used by Salomon as reference material to improve prototypes of bomb guns and laser guns. The guns she brought out for little Lorna to play with today included, but were not limited to, the US Army M200 tactical jamming sniper rifle, the HK416 assault rifle, the M14EBR precision marksman rifle, the M1891 Mosin-Nagant rifle, the M1903 Springfield rifle, and various types of pistols. All the guns had serial numbers but weren't registered with the police; neither Salomon nor the witch were people who would care about such trivial matters as registering guns.

Bayonetta forbade little Lorna from using the .75 caliber and .50 caliber bomb guns and plasma pistols without stocks in the collection room, because those weapons were too dangerous. Of all the firearms produced in Immortal City, the only one little Lorna could use was a laser pistol with low recoil. Bayonetta also preferred that little Lorna use a laser pistol as a self-defense weapon—laser pistols were easy to operate and carry, and after firing, they wouldn't cause bone fragments and blood to fly everywhere, saving the trouble of cleaning up afterwards. In Bayonetta's mind, little Lorna desperately needed a self-defense weapon to take down those with ill intentions; however, this type of firearm was disliked by little Lorna because it didn't have an exciting gunshot when fired, and she turned to the more classic Beretta 92F instead.

To be fair, the laser weapons produced in the Immortal City are excellent firearms. The laser rifles not only have a large-capacity magazine (actually a product of high-energy batteries from alien technology and breakthroughs in physics) providing more than 200 rounds of standard power ammunition, but also allow adjustment of laser power and rate of fire by adjusting the output knob on the gun body. When facing some lightly armored targets, a few laser guns can melt the vehicle body and kill the crew inside.

For example, like this: a towed twin-barreled multi-laser mounted at an intersection fired crimson high-temperature rays at an extremely high frequency, easily tearing apart the body of a speeding military Humvee. The fuel tank, instantly detonated by the high temperature, blew the soldiers inside the vehicle to smithereens, but the soldiers standing behind the twin-barreled high-powered laser guns simply shrank their necks (although helmets could stop bullets, no one wanted to test whether that was really the case), using their armor plates to protect their necks from being hit by the flying machine gun ammunition, while also allowing the battery pack under the all-weather sight to dissipate heat.

"Dragan, you idiot!" a middle-aged soldier roared angrily at the young man behind him. However, due to military regulations, he didn't dare to shout loudly. "I told you, don't cause excessive casualties! Just kill the crew, don't detonate the vehicle! Now we still need to drag that pile of wreckage away! Before sunset, these battery packs will be as empty as your brain. What if another vehicle comes along then!"

"Fifty-three percent battery left, Uncle Novak." The young man named Dragan shrugged, pointing to the numbers on the all-weather sight with a relaxed expression. "As long as the royals aren't stupid, they won't rush over from here. Besides, Milos has a bomb machine gun and a box of bombs, so even if the battery pack runs out, the logistics team can send us new ones in time."

Dragan, being younger, was more adept at learning weapon operation and adapted better to the high-tech weaponry issued by the Immortal City. Therefore, he was responsible for inspecting, maintaining, and firing the weapons, while Novak was responsible for changing the ammunition for the twin-barreled laser. The two formed the weapons team—this middle-aged Latvian was originally just a farmer who had been urgently conscripted and had not received much training, but his skill level was only slightly lower than Dragan's, who was also a militiaman. Novak had a mysterious adoration for the weapons issued by the Immortal City that was difficult for others to understand. Dragan had long heard that his love for this towed twin-barreled multi-laser even surpassed his love for his wife. Even when the armored personnel carrier towed the weapon to the intersection for deployment, Novak would sit on the roof of the vehicle to watch it and make sure it didn't overturn on the potholed road.

This wasn't an isolated incident. After negotiations broke down, Viktor von Doom tightened the road blockade around the royal city. He issued notices and scattered leaflets throughout the city, demanding that the royal private guard escort the royal family out of the city and surrender. Given that the royal family had concentrated all its heavy armored forces within the city, there were numerous weapon groups like Dragan and Novak, all specifically deployed by Viktor von Doom near the city to ensure that any royal attempt to escape using armored forces would fail—the towed twin-barreled multi-laser was essentially an anti-personnel weapon, but in terms of the world's weapon technology, it was practically indistinguishable from anti-armor weapons. As for heavy armored vehicles, the swarms of explosive drones hovering over the royal city were the best weapon available.

Viktor von Dum wanted as many Latvians as possible to survive, a sentiment Salomon neither agreed nor disagreed with. He simply told his regent that the US military's reliance on technological superiority in counterinsurgency operations in the Middle East had led to a decline in tactics, strategy, and even the courage of its soldiers. If the Latvian regular army was to fulfill the grand vision of "United Truth," they must possess the courage to sacrifice.

"In three hours, I will lead them into the royal city," Salomon said. "Now, begin the bombardment."

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(End of this chapter)