Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1122 Converging Undercurrents (Part 2) (Second Update)

The venom of hatred gnawed at his heart. When he saw Ulysses Klaue fire rockets at the primitive thatched hut, he didn't stop the vibranium dealer from killing his own people. Arrogance, the arrogance of the Wakandans, pierced his heart. Erik Killmonger, a Wakandan raised in an African American community, always knew his father had two distinct identities: an ordinary, poor Black man forever trapped in his community, destined for drugs, gang warfare, and life imprisonment; and a noble heir to the Wakandan throne. His father abandoned the latter, choosing the former, forging a new path that could completely solve the problem.

To this day, Eric Killmonger still considers his father to be incredibly great.

His father gave up the material comforts that came with his status and devoted himself to saving countless ordinary Black Americans. He educated young Black people in science, led adult Black people in the community away from crime and drugs, and even personally participated in gang fights to eliminate criminals in Black communities. Eric Killmonger vividly remembers the gunshots outside the Black neighborhood and the bullets that hit the wall just centimeters from his head. As a young boy, he hid in fear under the covers while his father, head held high, weapon in hand, went out to drive away the Black gangs.

His father taught the young Black men in the community, who had been swept away by the hippie movement, to earn money legitimately. He instilled in them sound principles, particularly the belief that armed resistance was necessary and that only in this way could racial discrimination be truly overthrown and Black people gain real rights. These were ideas that the US government could not tolerate, yet his father and some like-minded friends persisted in their resistance.

Many Black Panther Party leaders were later persecuted to death by the FBI, and others believed his father died from gangland revenge or the FBI. But Erik Killmonger knew how shameful his father's death was; his father didn't die for his dreams, but was murdered by his own blood. King T'Chaka of Wakanda killed his own brother because his father led the discriminated-against people in rebellion, which T'Chaka believed would expose Wakanda to the eyes of powerful nations and provoke war.

Unlike his father, T'Chaka arrogantly believed, in Eric Killmonger's eyes, that his father shouldn't help ordinary people. He believed that T'Chaka never truly considered ordinary Black people as his own people. Wakanda wasn't even willing to help its neighboring countries, watching adults starve to death on mud cakes and children die of malnutrition, emaciated and with swollen bellies, because they feared doing so would expose Wakanda's true strength.

Erik Killmonger always believed that his father was the true king, not the murderer who used the safety of Wakanda as an excuse to kill his own kin. His father was the truly kind and righteous Black Panther. Although his father had fallen into the mire, his soul was infinitely nobler than those high-ranking cousins.

When the disguised thatched huts used as Wakanda outposts were attacked, Erik Killmonger felt a surge of exhilaration rise from his chest to his head, the image of his father's body lying on the floor when he returned to his apartment as a child flashing before his eyes again. But then, a more complex emotion overwhelmed him, for in his eyes these people were also his compatriots, those who had died for T'Chaka's rule.

He took a deep breath of air thick with dry bushes, dust, and tiny flying insects, suppressing the urge to issue the attack order and engage Ulysses Klaue in firefight. He forced himself to remain calm, while simultaneously reassuring his men not to launch the first attack, but to wait for Klaue to walk into the ambush. This wasn't out of any concern for the lives of these mercenaries and hardened criminals, but because they were crucial to his entry into Wakanda. They couldn't die here; they had to die meaningfully, including Klaue, who was also part of his plan.

"Twenty seconds left..." Eric Killmonger aimed the optical sight of his M82A1 at the Humvee convoy speeding across the plains, locking it firmly onto his target. The Humvees kicked up dust as they greedily raced towards their destination. Eric Killmonger silently counted down, "Ten, nine, eight... three, two, one!"

On the count of one, he pulled the trigger without hesitation. The deafening gunshot and the high-pressure gas from the muzzle kicked up a cloud of gray dust. The high-speed, large-caliber bullet pierced the driver's seat, turning the upper bodies of the driver and passenger in the vehicle containing Ulysses Crowne into mincemeat. The Humvee speeding through the middle of the convoy flipped over, kicking up a cloud of mud and grass before crashing back to the ground; the fate of the target in the back seat was unknown.

All the drivers in the convoy panicked. Some got out of their vehicles and fired randomly in the direction of the gunfire, while others tried to escape or simply ran around in all directions. In the chaos, several vehicles even collided. "Fire!" He pulled the trigger again, sniping the Humvee that was trying to escape. Eric Killmonger shouted an order for the machine gunner beside him to fire on the vehicles, and also ordered everyone not to use the few RPG-7s they had.

"Leave no survivors!"

He was one of the first to enter when the banquet began. The Wakandan royal master of ceremonies read out a long list of titles, bestowing upon the Latvinian Emperor the highest honors. Although the royal guards carrying the military standard drew much attention, the Latvinian Emperor, clad in dark gold ceremonial armor, remained dazzling. The Wakandan royal family had specially prepared a chair large enough to support the weight of his power armor. As a gift for tomorrow's coronation ceremony, the royal guards, on behalf of their master, presented him with a vibranium-toothed chainsaw sword.

The captain of the King's Guard, standing behind T'Challa's seat, felt his eyelids twitch a few times.

She remembered the chainsaw sword that had appeared in the training grounds; the wound under the artificial skin bandage on T'Challa's thigh was caused by that very sword—a wound no ordinary martial arts training could inflict. However, compared to the captain of the guard's anger, T'Challa couldn't help but smile; if the occasion weren't so serious, he might have burst into laughter.

"Relax," he whispered to the captain of the guard, "it's a tacit understanding between men."

"Ha, men." The captain of the guard rolled his eyes discreetly.

As one of Wakanda's most important allies, Emperor Latvinia received cheers from the large number of Black Panther tribe nobles below—the other tribes had no intention of attending the banquet, so only those from the Black Panther tribe were present in the palace. Having brought considerable benefits to the Black Panther tribe during the early stages of cooperation, he deserved this welcome—among everyone present, only the Queen of Wakanda, the spouse of the previous King T'Chaka, was somewhat unwelcoming to Emperor Latvinia. This was not only because of the potential damage his and the Royal Guard's heavy armor might cause to the marble floor, but also because she personally disliked the influence Emperor Latvinia's influence as a friend had on T'Challa; she had even strongly opposed T'Challa's studies abroad.

She didn't understand why her husband had changed his mind so drastically many years ago after bringing back news of their blood relative's death from America. He began actively pushing for reforms, creating tensions with the Black Panther tribe's nobles, and unusually cultivating close relationships with other tribes. To some extent, the conservative Wakandan aristocracy, represented by the Queen, disliked the ambitious T'Challa and the open-minded previous King T'Chaka. The process of fully opening Wakandan to the world was repeatedly delayed due to their obstruction, until T'Chaka's death and the new king's renewed push, fueled by his reputation for apprehending criminals.

Faced with the impending reforms following T'Challa's ascension to the throne, the conservative nobles of Wakanda knew their interests would inevitably be harmed. However, they could not change the course of events by overthrowing the royal family, as the Black Panther God only recognized this bloodline. If consuming the Heart-Shaped Herb did not grant power, then no matter how high-sounding the excuse, it would not be a reason for the Temple of Bastet to support them. Furthermore, tribes representing other gods had been excluded from the Black Panther tribe's nobility from the very beginning. In any case, this was an internal struggle, and there was no need to invite trouble.

Emperor Latvinia first bowed to the empty Wakanda throne, then greeted the members of the royal family, and finally took his seat under the guidance of the master of ceremonies. His seat was separated from T'Challa's by Princess Shuri, whose status at this banquet far surpassed that of some of the Black Panther tribe nobles. As soon as he sat down, Shuri couldn't help but lower her voice and begin to speak of court gossip.

"My brother seems really unconvinced," she said. "He wants to challenge you at the ceremony tomorrow."

"Did the Queen agree?"

"Mom doesn't know yet." Su Rui couldn't help but laugh. "I know this is breaking tradition. No one has ever opposed the succession of a king in a ceremony, so he wants to have an exhibition match with you."

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(End of this chapter)