Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1129 The Shadow of the Coup (First Update)

Without exception, everyone in the audience gasped in shock at the ferocity of the gladiatorial combat.

Princess Surrey let out a cheer, but she didn't make a big fuss in the noisy arena.

Despite the devastating blow to the head, En Jadaka didn't stop fighting, nor did he even stagger backward. He had experienced grenades or stun grenades exploding right in front of him several times before, and the flashing pain in his head couldn't stop him from continuing to fight. He closed his eyes, which were obscured by the blood streaming down his forehead, and instinctively raised his leg to kick T'Challa in the inside of his knee. Then, with his bleeding arm, he swung a blood-dripping short spear, thrusting it into T'Challa's neck like a dagger.

T'Challa dodged the fatal attack by falling backward, and then rolled over in the stream before N. Jadaka could launch another attack, getting back to his feet. The flowing water washed away the blood around the wound, but the violent movement caused the torn flesh to bleed again, and those in the stands closer could even see the flesh beneath T'Challa's wound.

The short spear pierced flesh, leaving a large wound. Taking advantage of T'Challa's unsteady stance, En Jadaka lunged, his other hand holding the spear behind his back, ready to strike at any opportunity. T'Challa quickly withdrew his shield to defend, then deflected the spear upwards. However, En Jadaka used the blade to slice along the edge of the shield, creating a large gash in T'Challa's shoulder and the weapon-wielding hand. Simultaneously, the weapon in his injured arm thrust upwards towards T'Challa's chest and abdomen. Although T'Challa deflected it with his own weapon, he was forced to retreat again, enduring the pain, only to face another rapid attack.

En Jadaka's attack did not stop, and the difference in combat experience made it difficult for T'Challa to cope.

He was more tolerant of pain and more capable of retaliating when attacked; these weren't skills learned in training, but rather abilities honed through countless real battles. En Jadaka etched the names of every life he killed into his skin, each loss bringing him new knowledge and techniques—something T'Challa couldn't and wouldn't do, which doomed T'Challa to a disadvantage in this fight.

En Jadaka parried T'Challa's thrusting weapon, then slammed his bleeding shoulder into T'Challa's shield, closing the distance between them to a point where neither could swing their weapons. In this situation, En Jadaka avoided the disadvantage of his injured arm, inflicting maximum damage with minimal movement. Although his arm wound was still bleeding, he didn't seem in a hurry to inflict a fatal wound on T'Challa, but rather, like a feline toying with its prey, he slowly added new wounds to T'Challa—each time he managed to strike T'Challa's shield or abdomen with his knee, forcing T'Challa to retreat and then close in again, he managed to inflict a fatal wound.

With just one strike that pierced T'Challa's body, victory would have been within his grasp, but he didn't. He slashed, spun, and rammed with effortless ease, repeatedly pushing T'Challa to the brink of death as if showing off his martial arts skills, displaying his killing intent like a beast showing off its claws.

The brief silence in the stands erupted again, a buzzing sound spreading like grease smeared onto a blazing bonfire. The turn of events in mere seconds made Princess Shuri restless. Even though she knew nothing of close combat, she could see that the situation in the arena was entirely controlled by En Jadaka. But Emperor Latvinia reached out just in time, following Princess Shuri's hand as she reached for the plasma weapon.

"If I were you, I wouldn't choose to cry at this time." Emperor Latvinia looked at Princess Shuri expressionlessly and said in a low voice, "How many people in Wakanda can you trust? How much armed force do they have? Go and gather them. Once T'Challa is defeated, you will have to take action."

"But I have evidence!" Princess Shuri exclaimed, both anxious and angry. "I have evidence that En-Job colluded with Ulysses Klaue, smuggled vibranium, and committed treason. In principle, En-Jadaka's right to succession should be invalid."

"History is written by the victors, Shuri. Justice delayed is justice denied. If only one bloodline of the Golden Tribe remains in this world, then he can become the Black Panther no matter what happened in the past. The mining, trading, and river tribes had no choice, because they had already sworn allegiance to the bloodline of Klangka."

Princess Surui felt a chill run down her spine at the Emperor of Latvinia's words. Although highly intelligent, she had never considered this possibility, as Tchaka had never allowed her to engage in any political affairs, instead keeping her focused on research and development, tinkering with high-tech products. Just as the Emperor of Latvinia had said, there were only three people in the world with Klang blood, and two of them were already in the arena; she was the third.

"Now, run." Emperor Latvinia handed Princess Surui a tracking device the size of a palm. "Don't come back until it's safe, and don't come back alone."

Princess Surrey took a deep breath and glanced at Queen Ramonda, who was sitting opposite her in the audience.

"Do I have time to say goodbye?"

"As soon as possible." Emperor Latvinia nodded, looking down at T'Challa and En Jadaka, whose blood was still splattering in the arena. "Once the coronation ceremony begins, no one can stop it."

"Don't worry," Surrey quickly regained her composure. She pointed to the Jabari tribe, clad in furs, near Queen Ramonda. "Mbaku has followed tradition against the Black Panther; he can buy us some time."

"Very good, I like your rational style. Once you find my soldiers, remember to tell them the location of the electromagnetic barrier's central hub in the Golden City and how to shut it down. Without dismantling the electromagnetic barrier blocking the outside world, my army cannot enter the Golden City, understand? I repeat. This is war, a war that kills. Until everything is over, all resistance fighters will die under the gunfire. Are you mentally prepared to watch living people bleed and die before your eyes?" Before Princess Surui could answer, the Emperor of Latvinia shoved her. "I believe the Queen can make a choice. Now go and tell her your decision, and then respect her choice."

Princess Surrey immediately stood up and ran towards the Queen. Thirty seconds later, Queen Ramonda nodded gratefully to Emperor Latvinia, then pushed aside the anxious Princess Surrey and sat down in the audience.

"Have the Infernal Knights prepare for teleportation; we're about to face a war," Emperor Latvinia relayed to the Royal Guard via a communicator hidden in his neck armor. Immediately afterward, a Wakanda communication bead was slipped into the Emperor's hand by members of Dora Mirajane's party who were passing by with Princess Shuri. After a brief agreement between Emperor Latvinia and Queen Ramonda, the bead was tossed back.

The emperor stared intently at the two figures in the arena below.

The space between T'Challa and N'Jadaka was shrinking. The smooth, flat rock slabs stretched towards the waterfall, the current growing increasingly swift as they approached. T'Challa repeatedly tumbled into the water, each time managing to rise quickly, but his wounds continued to bleed. His crimson cloak billowed from his shoulders, thinned, and dripped with translucent blood into the babbling brook, finally cascading down the waterfall into the deep canyon, staining the place where countless black panthers had been buried throughout history—his face grew paler, his breathing faster, his movements slower. The massive blood loss was affecting him far more than it was affecting N'Jadaka; eventually, T'Challa even realized he couldn't stand, a black veil spreading around his eyes, blurring his vision.

His veins were cut open, bleeding like an animal awaiting slaughter. The pain had long since turned into numbness; he felt cold, but it was the dry season.

Blood loss had impaired his thinking, but a glimpse of Princess Shuri quickly leaving the stands and Emperor Latveria nodding at him gave T'Challa an immediate understanding of the situation and what his friends had done for him. He was grateful for his old friend's actions, but also anxious that he couldn't delay the duel.

"Don't even think about it." He felt the rusty taste spreading in his mouth, and he felt that his words were just a whisper rolling in his throat, unable to even drown out the sound of weapons clashing. "I won't let you hurt them."

En Jadaka seemed to hear T'Challa's mutterings.

“I am not your father. Don’t think I’m the same kind of person as you, cousins.” En Jadaka said expressionlessly. “I will not hurt them. I will do better than you and your father. I will be fair and merciful, just as my father would have wished. I assure you, in the name of my father, En Job.”

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(End of this chapter)