Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1053, Part 1049: The Vengeful Prince (First Update)

This near-kidnapping, mafia-style tactic is the cheapest and most peaceful solution Salomon has come up with. Other solutions involve either weapons of mass destruction or genocide, both resulting in massive casualties, and the Immortal City doesn't have time for those. Negotiations and cooperation will be handled by Victor von Doom; Salomon has considerable confidence in the Regency's domestic capabilities. He himself needs to return to Latvinia to oversee defenses and prevent NATO from resorting to desperate measures and launching weapons of mass destruction against Latvinia.

Regarding the devastating bombing at the Vienna International Centre, Latveria has obtained "evidence" proving it was the work of Hydra remnants. The Sisterhood has handed this over to all news media and released it beforehand, portraying it as an insurmountable fact to prevent the media from spreading conspiracy theories. In Western political circles, King T'Chaka of Wakanda is merely a black dictator from an African country; they will only express condolences and then completely forget about him. To politicians, King T'Chaka is less useful than the families of the deceased security personnel.

From beginning to end, Wakanda, with its "vibranium depletion," was never important. King T'Chaka's actions were merely wishful thinking. If it weren't for the Wakandamen who died in Nigeria benefiting the Sokovia Accords, he wouldn't have had this opportunity to speak, nor would he have died under a bomb because of it. Although T'Chaka was destined to die, he wouldn't have died so tragically.

After the Wakanda King's body was handed over to the Wakandan Guard's aircraft in the super-heavy shuttle, Prince T'Challa resolutely refused to return to Wakanda to succeed to the throne, completely disregarding Salomon's pleas. He had already seen the "evidence" and clearly expressed his desire to remain in Vienna to track down the killer. The negligent King's Guard could not force the future king to overturn this decision, but since they also had to return to Wakanda, only a few could remain to assist Prince T'Challa's revenge journey until reinforcements arrived from Wakanda.

The King's Guard Captain told Constantine of the Royal Guard that the bombing had made her acutely aware of their inadequacy in protecting the King. She requested that the Immortal City, as their ally, provide weapons to arm the Guard members still remaining in Vienna; Wakanda absolutely could not afford to lose its future King. This request was granted. Constantine provided the Wakanda King's Guard with a batch of laser and plasma weapons. The initial development of these weapons bore the imprint of Wakanda's research departments, and the Wakandans were intimately familiar with these two types of equipment, requiring minimal training to operate. The King's Guard Captain hastily thanked Constantine before leading the dejected King's Guard onto Wakanda's spacecraft.

Both the Immortal City and Wakanda have ignored local air defense capabilities and sovereignty issues.

"My Lord commands me to convey his apologies. He must return to Latvinia to defend against intercontinental missile attacks," Constantine told T'Challa, who remained behind. Salomon was unwilling to face anyone in Wakanda, not even the understanding Prince T'Challa. When T'Challa said he understood Salomon's decision to protect others instead of saving his father, Salomon turned ashen-faced as if a sword had pierced his heart. Even though he didn't regret his actions, he still sent Constantine to confront T'Challa, returning alone to Latvinia to set up anti-aircraft defenses. "But before you leave, my Lord gives us orders: the Immortal City will support all your actions, including intelligence gathering and the large-scale deployment of armed personnel."

“Thank you, but this is a matter I must handle personally.” T’Challa pursed his lips, stroking the blood-stained ring on his finger—the symbol of the King of Wakanda. He didn’t blame Salomon for his seemingly premeditated actions, nor for failing to save his father while protecting all the political figures, because he always knew the Immortal City’s guiding principle was “to let the majority live.” However, he had to make a choice. Wakanda’s political system couldn’t guarantee his succession, and Princess Shuri, who had contacted him from the Immortal City, strongly advised him to remain in Vienna to investigate the killer. “But I do need help; I need intelligence. They won’t agree; they’ll use this as…political leverage.”

"Of course, the Immortal City will do everything in its power to support us." Constantine nodded thoughtfully and returned to the super-heavy shuttle. Prince T'Challa's judgment was almost identical to the monarch's: King T'Chaka of Wakanda would be used against them, something T'Challa absolutely could not tolerate. Compared to politicians in Europe and America, T'Challa was less shrewd; he believed that Wakanda could not rely on the king who had tragically died in this attack to gain international recognition. Constantine knew the monarch admired this Wakandan prince, but he also knew the monarch was currently distressed. However, all of this was for a grander goal, for which anyone could be sacrificed. Constantine, Hammurabi, Victoria Hand, Stephanie Malik, Dita, Dinah… even the monarch himself.

Constantine watched Prince T'Challa of Wakanda get into the car, then instructed the technicians, still engrossed in their fortress-like combat robots, to unload the munitions from the shuttle and hand them over to the King's Guard. He then led a group away from Earth to the S.W.A. space station. His next task was to ensure that the visiting dignitaries didn't get themselves killed during their tour of the space station and the Martian foundry, or to order the execution of a few fools attempting to steal secrets. Beyond that, his most important task was to strike the locked NATO satellites. As the commander of this operation, the monarch was determined to force NATO back to World War II-era communication methods, completely crippling its missile navigation systems.

After returning to his office in Latvia via the portal ahead of time, Salomon arranged defenses while continuing to analyze the upcoming events. Seven days later, he would go to the UN Security Council to demand answers: cooperation or destruction—a simple choice, but the process of reaching that conclusion was destined to be anything but peaceful. Diana Lister had just gone to Latvia's official television station to schedule the broadcast of his recorded speech in Vienna during prime time. Immediately afterward, Salomon had her return to the Immortal City via the teleportation chamber built beneath the castle to retrieve the latest local arms production list and next week's food consumption list from Stephanie. After finishing his work, he listened to a report from the head of the military and police departments, and then spoke with the personnel from the Ministry of Internal Affairs responsible for establishing factories and coordinating production, as well as Martian technicians.

Diana Lister had moved the throne, which originally belonged to Latvinia, into this room that was now the royal hall, and even hung a bearskin rug behind it. Sitting on the throne in his power armor was quite uncomfortable, partly because the chair wasn't very large, and partly because he found the throne somewhat tacky; the bearskin rug also made his neck itch. After Diana Lister removed the table, he couldn't even sneak a bite of yogurt anymore, and could only lean back on the throne, arms outstretched, facing the empty hall alone. Everyone except the person on the throne was happy, including Diana Lister behind the scribe's table; she thought it was very imposing and befitting the status of the Immortal City and the Queen of Latvinia.

"My lord," Hammurabi said, opening the door, "would you like some tea?"

“Of course, Baldric, what a brilliant idea.” Salomon tilted his head, using a reference from the old British sitcom *Blackjack*. He compared himself to Blackjack and Hammurabi to Baldric, the silly, filthy henchman whose intelligence and personal hygiene standards always declined along with his master’s. Hammurabi, however, took this as a compliment and gave a perfunctory bow, for Baldric was eternally loyal, even in the face of his master’s harsh words—the highest praise for the Royal Guard. Hammurabi’s humor made Salomon wonder more than once if he had been too harsh on Constantine’s mental adjustment. Even Hammurabi, the newcomer, had begun to develop emotions, while Constantine remained as cold as steel. “I think I should go home now, what do you think?” Salomon asked. “I can already imagine what’s for dinner.”

"I hope to have meatball spaghetti tonight instead of nutty tonic, which is all Supilulius can eat right now."

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(End of this chapter)