Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1119 Border Turmoil (First Update)

"Brothers," Eric Killmonger said to the group of criminals around him, "it's time for us to make our money."

Since Eric Kerman led his gang of hardened criminals to the Wakanda border aboard a cargo ship, his forces have clashed with local smugglers more than once in their quest for survival. He intentionally draws these criminals into conflict, using war to purge the weaker members of his ranks, and constantly seeking opportunities to absorb neighboring military organizations and mercenary groups. Within months, Eric Kerman's forces have more than doubled in size, their membership a motley crew—they raid foreign-owned businesses along the East African coast, operating in a manner indistinguishable from past African warlords. Furthermore, they have received secret invitations from several Central African governments to sabotage businesses and border operations in neighboring countries.

Eric Kerman accepted the invitations, but he cleverly avoided some seemingly orderly places. He knew that the Immortal City had businesses in East and West Africa, controlling the lives and even governments of the local people through its companies. Although the armed forces of those African countries were no match for even the local warlords, Eric Kerman didn't want to fall out with his boss for the time being. Without the high-quality weapons provided by the Immortal City, most of this ragtag organization would have to spend on weapons and equipment, leaving very little for themselves. This would only lead to the organization quickly falling into infighting and disintegrating. Eric Kerman knew full well that the people he had recruited were cowards who bullied the weak and feared the strong, but in his plan, these cowards were also an essential part. He needed to temporarily maintain control of these fools and incite them to act on his behalf.

"Do you know Wakanda?" Eric Kerman looked at a convict who had followed him from New York to East Africa. This man had previously joined the rebels in an attempt to seize power, but Eric Kerman hadn't held a grudge after his surrender. He said, "Do you know vibranium?"

“Captain America’s shield, of course I know that,” the convict said with a laugh. He touched his sunburnt neck; the stripper tattoo on his arm had been destroyed long ago by a bullet wound. “What does that have to do with Wakanda?”

"Because Wakanda has vibranium, you idiots." Eric Kerman pointed to the man sitting on the ammunition crates, an intelligence agent from the Immortal City. "An old friend of mine gave me this information. Tonight, a shipment of vibranium will be transported from Wakanda's border to another city. If you knew the price of vibranium, you'd never rob banks of gold again."

"Is the information accurate?" asked a black mercenary in the group, carrying a G3 rifle. The group's weaponry was a mixed bag, with various models from different countries. This was a deliberate tactic by the Immortal City's intelligence department, designed to make those familiar with the organization believe they were no different from other African warlords. "I've heard about vibranium smuggling, and I've heard about Ulysses Klaue's fate. Boss, have you found a sales channel? MI6 or the CIA?"

Eric Kerman lowered his eyes. "Of course, the people who gave us the information are our buyers. They'll buy this shipment at a very high price." He didn't give the mercenaries and hardened criminals detailed information. There was indeed a shipment of vibranium that needed to be transferred, but due to Ulysses Klaue's previous smuggling and looting, Wakanda had significantly increased its security personnel. Furthermore, with the death of the previous King T'Chaka and the Queen's regency, Wakanda was in a state of turmoil. This operation was bound to provoke a strong backlash from Wakanda.

How many?

Eric Kerman presented a staggering figure. He smiled and promised everyone, "After this deal, we won't have to work for the next ten years. This is a 20% deposit; if you agree, the money will be deposited into your account first. How about it, are you in?"

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The twenty assault transport ships of various models carrying the Fire Knights landed west of Wakanda's border, leaving behind a pungent stench from friction with the air. Upon landing, the genetically modified soldiers quickly established a defensive line of fire, arranging reconnaissance missions in the surrounding area while contacting their intelligence providers in Africa to ensure the safety of the mission's departure point. The makeshift camp was constructed of prefabricated panels, lightweight and easy to assemble, capable of withstanding RPG-7 attacks, serving as a temporary defensive measure until follow-up troops arrived. Previously, this region was rife with warlords and child soldiers supported by European corporations; however, since the Immortal City reclaimed some diamond and metal mining companies, the number of these AK-47-wielding warlords had significantly decreased.

Over the next dozen or so hours, shuttles carrying various types of military equipment and other heavy assault transport boats carrying the Fire Knights landed one after another in the temporary military camp set up by the knights, unloading all the personnel and equipment on board. As the starlight disappeared below the horizon of the grassland, a large number of industrial lighting equipment illuminated the grassland. Many flying insects whose species were indistinguishable to ordinary people swarmed towards the lights and were burned into smoking corpses by the high temperature. Furthermore, packs of hyenas watched from a distance outside the fortifications, trying to figure out the strength and number of these new neighbors.

The number of soldiers under Markel's command continued to increase, as did the number of fighter jets, gunboats, engineering equipment, artillery, armored vehicles equipped with various types of weapons, and main battle tanks. There were even a considerable number of missiles equipped with plasma warheads and thermoelectric warheads. In a very short time, high-strength quick-drying concrete was used to build a standard fortress and some outposts, and artillery positions, fire positions, air defense positions, and a standard makeshift airfield were set up.

Aside from the genetically modified warriors already on their mission, the more than a thousand fully armed Infernal Knights who arrived were capable of conquering the nation within a day. This was a campaign of attrition, not a decapitation strike, and it had a high probability of escalating into urban warfare and counterinsurgency. For the former, Malcolm preferred to order armored units to crush the enemy in such situations; for the latter, he wanted to combine his past experience serving in the US military and Navy SEALs to experiment with and combine tactics suitable for genetically modified warriors. He also provided his and his colleagues' opinions in his advisory to the Emperor, sincerely hoping that the Emperor would adopt his ideas—Wakanda's military strength had been distributed to every company commander as reference material; for Latvinia, Wakanda's military technology might be very advanced, but its numbers were too small. Small and sparsely populated best describes Wakanda; the five tribes that make up Wakanda are wary of each other, and the Black Panther tribe, responsible for external defense, has an army of several thousand, the largest of all the tribes.

Even so, Malcolm did not underestimate Wakanda's ambitions; he only wanted to perfectly achieve the Emperor's tactical objectives, namely, to fully preserve Wakanda's industrial capabilities and research facilities. Because electricity was prioritized for the information processing center below command headquarters, the lighting in Malcolm's personal room was not very bright. It was a gray room, the bed made of heat-treated stone smooth and flat, empty, as the necessities for their short stay had not yet arrived.

The quartermaster's reports piled up on his makeshift desk, detailing ammunition quantities, fuel reserves, and other information that required his confirmation. The pharmacist would provide updates on the combat recovery status of the genetically modified soldiers with prosthetic limbs. Only after processing this information could Malcolm finally find time to go to his room and draft tactical plans. He took a deep breath, pulled out the notebook he'd used on the assault transport ship, and poured out his aggression fueled by the genetic modifications, condensing it into his own thoughts. Meanwhile, the Emperor's "Tactical Canon" lay nearby as a reference. He'd read this book countless times; from organizational structure to contingency plans, this thick reference book contained detailed descriptions, even specifying how to navigate side streets and control intersections to create firing points. Each time, Malcolm found new knowledge within its pages.

The First Legion, the Fire Knights, was an experimental legion, a test of the large-scale application of genetically modified warriors. As the legion commander, Malcolm needed to summarize the lessons learned to help the Emperor build other legions. This potential war would be a good opportunity for Malcolm to experiment with his tactics.

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(End of this chapter)