Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1019, Section 1015: War Correspondent (First Update)

I actually finished writing it while waiting in line.

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Sofia, wearing a fully enclosed gas mask, stood in the air thick with pale yellow dust, issuing commands to her unit behind her through a communication headset in her ear. They were only two kilometers from the city's outskirts, and the shockwave from the explosion was still palpable. This was Latvian rebel-controlled territory; further ahead lay royal army territory, where many royal guards were still stubbornly resisting.

Two hundred elite soldiers from the "Exemptor" squad, clad in black, fully enclosed bulletproof armor and armed with high-powered laser rifles, plasma rifles, and various individual heavy weapons, stood in neat rows in front of light tracked armored personnel carriers, ready to board and depart at any moment. Behind them were rows of trucks, all painted with the special military operation logo and the "Exemptor" elite squad's black background and red lightning bolt insignia. Shells and rockets continued to hurtle overhead, relentlessly targeting anti-tank firing positions marked by reconnaissance drones within the city—their mission was to penetrate deep into the royal city under the cover of rockets and artillery fire, guide the troop carriers behind them to transport civilians to the outskirts of the city, and eliminate any firing positions that had not been detected by the reconnaissance drones before the resistance forces entered the city. This mission required immense courage; not everyone could remain unfazed by the imminent impact of artillery fire. Even high-tech, bulletproof armor could not shield their hearts. However, the "Exemptor" squad was the elite of the elite; they were capable of this mission, and they only needed orders to complete it.

The rubble and dust on the ground were pushed aside by the instantly expanding air. The ozone smell from the ionization dissipated rapidly in the shockwaves and gales from the continuous explosions nearby. Large amounts of gravel-like debris struck the composite bulletproof armor of the [Immunizer] elite squad. Upon hearing the sound, Sophia subconsciously glanced at her timer and immediately ordered everyone to stand at attention for inspection—two giants clad in golden power armor emerged from the shockwave of the sonic boom. The one in front was not wearing a helmet, and a golden glow seeped from his eyes.

The moment everyone present saw him, an inexplicable surge of courage welled up from the depths of their hearts, as if they were willing to step forward with their heads held high, whether it was a battlefield or hell ahead. No explanation was needed; the soldiers knew who he was. The soldiers of the [Exemptor] squad saw their lord bow his head and say something to the political commissar, then turn and leave. But the giant in golden power armor, wielding a halberd, remained, standing beside Sophia.

Sofia nodded calmly, then turned and ordered the soldiers to board the armored personnel carriers. Her voice was drowned out by the explosions and muffled by gas masks, but it still reached Salomon's ears through the encrypted communication channel. Logically, she shouldn't be in command of the "Exemptor" squad; she was merely the discipline officer. However, the captain leading the squad had been injured by an improvised explosive device (IED) during an operation and was currently receiving treatment in a field hospital. The well-trained soldiers were ready to depart in a very short time, and the three main battle tank formations behind them bypassed the armored personnel carriers and took the lead, replacing the heavy mortars to suppress the enemy's firing positions on the city's outskirts.

"Hammurabi, are you ready?" Sofia asked before getting into the car.

The guard, straddling his anti-gravity jet motorcycle, nodded. "I will assist you on your mission," he said, "but my primary task is to protect you; you have a place in our Lord's plan."

Meanwhile, the Latvian resistance's mechanized infantry, assembled ten kilometers outside the city, were preparing for battle. Soldiers from the Immortal City stood alongside them, both sides bearing the bronze eagle emblem on their bulletproof armor. Victor von Dum stood silently before all the tanks and armored vehicles, waiting until a golden giant appeared out of thin air before the army. Only then did he salute the figure as if a statue had come to life. All the soldiers cheered, golden courage spreading like morning mist throughout them.

"We are ready," Viktor von Dum said, "for unification."

"According to reports from frontline correspondents, the Latvian rebels launched a sustained artillery and bombardment attack on the Latvian royal family around 7:00 AM today. We have seen a lot of unusual military equipment here, and it is currently unknown how the rebels obtained this weaponry; the involvement of other countries cannot be ruled out. Perhaps the Latvian rebels are not as we imagine..."

On numerous television screens, the same scene played, told in different languages, all conveying the same message. Self-propelled artillery fired incessantly, while missile launchers fell silent, even beginning to withdraw. War correspondents from around the world stood in this remote location, guarded by soldiers in dark green bulletproof armor. No one dared to leave the military-designated area—many had been captured by reconnaissance units and shoved here, while many more "war correspondents" had been dragged away and executed. The remaining correspondents, having passed identity checks, were only permitted to use their cameras to record blurry images of the final conflict of the Latvian Civil War.

They all knew that those executed were spies, but they didn't understand why the resistance was able to identify them so quickly, nor why they didn't reveal their identities and use it to gain moral advantage in international relations. If Viktor von Dum had heard their questions, he would have answered: because the world was about to enter a new order, and the old order meant nothing to Latvian.

In a world rife with greed, the weak suffer. Unrestricted capital and insatiable greed must be controlled. Those in power are unwilling to take responsibility, instead using it as a means to satisfy their greed. Worthless offspring are born with possessions others could never achieve in a lifetime. In the future, there will be no pointless internal strife. Corruption parasitizing human society must be eradicated, corrected with the strongest measures and the cruelest trials. The concept of nationhood will be shattered; everyone will have only one identity: humanity. Everyone will be rewarded for their efforts, and all humanity must unite to reach the stars and realize their greatest value. Nothing is too precious to sacrifice for the continuation of the human race. There will be no alliances or United Nations; these will only lead to endless buck-passing and division. The future world will operate under a cold, efficient system: a government with unparalleled execution capabilities, a noose to destroy neoliberal capitalism, a sword dedicated to eradicating all poverty and inequality, a wounded giant stumbling and waving its war flag across the galaxy, fighting for survival space for the human race.

The book *Unified Truth* was distributed to every war correspondent. They saw within it a terrifying resolve: an ideal destined to antagonize the entire world, absurd boasting and nonsensical ravings of a small agricultural nation. But soon no one dared underestimate the Latvian resistance, for these war correspondents would be transported to the SkySword space station in ten minutes, where the world would witness the high technology possessed by the new Latvian government—provided the Western media would release the footage instead of deceiving themselves by hiding it. However, according to the Ministry of the Interior, the latter was more likely; the military-industrial complex and NATO would not miss this opportunity to expand their influence and make a fortune.

"Alright, time to board the plane, you bunch of spies." The soldier guarding the war correspondents spat on the ground. This was a soldier who had received extra training from the Immortal City's intelligence department, specifically responsible for assisting the intelligence department in battlefield operations, namely, identifying spies and assisting reconnaissance units in intercepting MI6 and CIA agents. "Take all your equipment, don't linger, and don't take pictures without permission. Dropping bodies from high altitudes is a very troublesome thing."

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(End of this chapter)