Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1018, Part 1014: The Attack Begins (Second Update)

Dragan suddenly reached out and patted his companion's thigh, drawing an angry glare from Noval, who was wiping the barrel of the twin laser cannon. Dragan ignored him, instead looking up at the sky, as if an invisible arc stretched across the overcast expanse. "Did you hear...did you hear that shriek? Uncle Noval?"

"What? I didn't hear that... Wait, what was that sound?" Noval was about to scold Dragan for neglecting his duties, but he soon heard a shrill scream from the sky. They saw that the low, leaden-gray clouds on the horizon seemed to have sprouted a white vein pointing straight towards the royal city. As soon as Noval finished speaking, a thunderous explosion came from the direction of the royal city, and thick gray smoke containing orange-red flames instantly rose up. However, this was not the end. Dozens of rockets, trailing white exhaust fumes, streaked across the sky, precisely plunging into the hellish smoke under meticulous calculation and mechanical control.

The earth trembled violently, and a gale-force wind carrying shockwaves spread outward from the castle. Noval, who was kneeling on the ground, staggered and fell onto the scorching hot barrel of a gun, but Dragan quickly pulled him in, dodging the first wave of the storm mixed with gravel. After the storm subsided, Noval and Dragan climbed up from behind the shield and looked towards the royal city through the dust-filled air.

The smoke and dust maintained their rising posture as if they were solid.

"I'll treat you to a drink later," Noval said, coughing. "What was that just now?"

"It's an attack." Dragan blew his nose a few times and patted his ears, trying to relieve the slight tinnitus. Milos and his fiancée, who were at the same outpost, lifted the camouflage tarpaulin from the grass and ran towards the towed twin laser.

"The monarch has begun the attack," Tiana said, holding the radio and looking embarrassed. Although Tiana had initially enrolled in Commissar Sofia's female soldier training course, and Milos had also received corresponding instruction, they were basically no longer at the level of "relying entirely on hearsay for common sense." However, due to the short training period, many military regulations had not yet become second nature to most of the Latvian militia. After receiving instructions from their superiors, Milos and Tiana should have immediately notified Dragan and Noval, who were stationed at the outpost, but they delayed in informing them until the attack had begun.

"What about the captain's orders?" Dragan asked.

"Orders remain the same. The higher-ups believe there may be more royal deserters, so we are ordered to continue holding the outpost." Milos rubbed his dusty eyes. "However, the political commissar believes that the deserters are very likely to take hostages and escape, so we need to bring up the explosive machine guns to block enemy vehicles and provide sniper cover fire."

"A sniper? Where's the sniper?"

"I am the sniper, albeit temporarily." Tiana pointed to the black rifle slung across her back with her thumb, then adjusted her helmet. It was a specially designed laser rifle with an extremely precise optical scope. Although it had a small magazine capacity, each shot possessed extremely high power, capable of easily melting through glass and light armor plates. "My shooting score ranks third among my peers, I passed the psychological stress test, and I'm the most accurate marksman here. I guarantee my marksmanship will be more than sufficient until the tanks arrive."

"Tanks are coming here?" Dragan exclaimed excitedly. "What kind of tanks?"

"How would I know?" Tiana shrugged.

If middle-aged men like Noval appreciate the rapid yet steady firepower of twin-mounted lasers, then young men like Dragan are most drawn to the super-heavy tanks of the Immortal City. Even standing dozens of meters away, soldiers can feel the intense heartbeat and roar emanating from the multi-fuel engines and fusion core of that hundreds-of-tons-heavy steel behemoth. Anyone who has witnessed it firsthand would be utterly breathless—the super-heavy tank requires ten men to operate and boasts lethal firepower coverage from medium to long range. Compared to the laser cannons on the sides of the super-heavy tank, the laser weapons they currently use are like toy water guns compared to high-pressure water cannons; a single tank can suppress all enemy armored units present with unparalleled firepower.

Dragan had seen them once at the training camp and had been thinking about them ever since, even forgetting the main battle tanks he had seen not long ago. He was quite certain that the tanks that were coming were to help them block the roads out of the city and prepare for the operation to storm the royal city. He thought this could make up for his small regret of not being able to join the tank crew because he did not meet the requirements.

Viktor von Doom, arms crossed, watched as the robotic arm slowly covered the leg armor—with its knees sculpted with roaring human faces—onto the mechanical interface of the artificial muscle cables, oblivious to the commander waiting outside the tent and the continuous artillery fire. Before the chest armor was covered, the external medication tubes of the life support system were connected to the interface of the soft seal ring on the neck armor, and the carefully prepared medication immediately filled the automatic injector. Black insulated energy lines and data interfaces were connected to the power armor's energy management system and information processing center in the correct sequence.

The sole function of this colossal machine assembled in Latvinia was to assist his monarch in donning power armor. While this method of donning was considerably more cumbersome than Tony Stark's power armor, its only advantage was the extremely thick armor plates, providing ample protection and housing numerous arcane technologies. Hammurabi draped Salomon's saffron robe over the power armor, and amidst the strained shrieks of the mechanical arms, the pungent aroma of incense, and the smell of machine oil, intricately crafted, heavy shoulder armor was then fitted onto the power armor.

After a brief pause, the built-in software activated the device within the golden eagle sculpture at the back of his head, briefly initiating a protective force field that instantly filled the air with the smell of ionized ozone. Following the system's self-check completion notification, Salomon stepped off the equipment platform. With each step, he grew larger, his power armor, shimmering with magical light, shifting with his physique. By the time he reached Victor von Doom, Salomon was taller than the waiting guards, and the hot air from his body temperature maintenance and cooling systems caused the hem of his shroud to flutter slightly, making it appear as if he were standing atop a mountain.

Victor von Doom used his second vision to analyze the rapidly nested magical structures. As a high-level arcane mage, he instantly deciphered the combat magic. These structures comprehensively enhanced attributes such as strength, agility, constitution, and intelligence. Simultaneously, he observed Salomon's perfect application of the [Trigger] spell—numerous magical structures instantly slumbered within a chain-like sequence, awaiting completion; teleportation, illusion, summoning, and protection spells were all essential. Even without weapons or other offensive magic, Salomon's combat capabilities, embodied solely in his power armor, were comparable to a multi-hundred-ton super-heavy tank or a war machine produced by a Martian foundry.

Although he had heard of the Battle of Finnbowent, Viktor von Dum never imagined that Salomon had not fielded his full strength in the battle. This appearance was more for his own benefit, for the commanders outside the tent, and for the soldiers of the Unified Truth and the future of Latvian. Salomon believed that this appearance would boost their confidence in the face of the NATO offensive that was about to follow.

The Latvians need confidence, which is Salomon's biggest worry. Based on feedback from the commissars, his initial plan to gradually eliminate the Latvian royal family's influence has yielded some results, but he doesn't know if the Latvians will be able to persevere as he has when facing NATO.

"They can." Victor von Doom looked up into his eyes, which shone with a golden light, and said with the most certainty he had ever spoken. "I believe in them, and they believe in you."

"I hope so. I'm a pessimist." Salomon blinked and said to Thumbelina, the AI ​​installed inside his power armor that helped him monitor the movements of every soldier (see Chapter 311), "Now, let Europe burn."

Please vote for me!

(End of this chapter)