Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1146 Small Country with Few People (Second Update)

Regardless, the enthronement ceremony and military parade will proceed as scheduled.

All Wakandas, either directly or through television broadcasts, witnessed T'Challa, now Black Panther, inspecting soldiers in his magnificent attire. Wakanda's military equipment has remained largely unchanged for nearly three centuries. Lacking external combat needs, hovercars capable of carrying twenty people have become the standard troop transport. Their vibranium-forged bodies are lightweight enough that even fully loaded hovercars maintain considerable speed. Because of the need to conceal Wakanda's existence, Wakanda's aircraft possess extremely strong stealth and jamming capabilities. Firepower and carrying capacity have never been primary objectives; therefore, over the years, Wakanda's Talon fighters have evolved into a form of special operations equipment.

However, to demonstrate military strength to Latvinia, the royal family also brought out some unused weapons and equipment from the warehouse. Standing behind the emperor, the commander of the Royal Guard, Constantine, carefully observed Wakanda's military equipment, comparing Wakanda's unilateral military needs with the equipment before him—due to a lack of experience in large-scale warfare, Wakanda's weapons and equipment, while technologically advanced, had always lacked weaponry to cope with all aspects of the battlefield. The Wakandas also failed to realize that quantity could also be a qualitative advantage; all military equipment was developed with a relentless pursuit of high-precision technology, neglecting the clustering effect and battlefield practicality.

The Wakandas lacked tanks and armored personnel carriers. Their open-top hovercraft, while sturdy, could be wiped out by a single, well-placed heavy bomb. The Talon fighters, though available in various models, lacked sufficient payload even at their largest, making them more like reconnaissance aircraft infiltrating enemy airspace. Furthermore, Wakanda lacked heavy artillery capable of providing large-scale firepower coverage, and individual heavy weaponry was severely deficient. Advanced directed-energy anti-aircraft weapons were also ineffective due to their scarcity. All these shortcomings can be attributed to a lack of experience. After all, Wakanda's largest wars of conquest were against uncivilized African natives or European colonists exploring its territory, with each conflict involving no more than five thousand people.

When the Fire Knights of Latvinia entered the Royal Palace Square, the pragmatism and bloodthirstiness revealed by their weaponry deeply shocked the Wakanda who had just experienced the siege of the Golden City. A tracked armored personnel carrier capable of carrying a five-man tactical squad was 4.2 meters tall, with twin directed-energy weapons mounted on the sides and heavy frontal armor, all designed to quickly transport heavy infantry to the center of the battlefield. The variant self-propelled artillery with turrets could unleash star-like plasma heat or gel flames of heavy firepower in urban warfare or the more chaotic center of the battlefield.

The main battle tank, standing 4.8 meters tall and 8.2 meters long, can fire its large-caliber main gun at a rapid-fire rate. Its advanced fire control system and modular design allow for a wide variety of main weapons. The unique design ensures that the main battle tank can unleash astonishing and sustained firepower coverage in the center of the battlefield. However, the most impressive weapon is undoubtedly the super-heavy tank, which is a full twelve meters long. When these steel beasts drive onto the battlefield as the spearhead of assault forces, their astonishing firepower can destroy anything in their path.

In addition, there are many other types of vehicles, such as those with the same technology as Wakanda's hovercraft, but with thicker armor, more powerful engines, and more armed hovercraft. Although they reduce the number of people they can carry, they have the advantages of flight and speed. There are also multi-barrel missile launchers built on the chassis of armored personnel carriers, self-propelled siege guns used to destroy fortifications and obstacles, and armored personnel carriers that sacrifice the number of people they can carry but have more powerful firepower.

However, compared to the weapons and equipment and the perfectly aligned heavy infantry, what was even more captivating was Emperor Latvinia standing on the high platform. All the Wakandans saw a giant in golden armor standing on the platform, his radiance even overshadowing the Wakandan king, who should have been the protagonist. It was a feeling that could not be described in words, as if he were moving gold, solidified flames, blinding lightning, and towering mountains striding towards the sky—a synonym for majesty and brilliance walking on earth. In just an instant, Emperor Latvinia had captured all eyes. Supernatural spiritual power spread outwards, shaking the hearts of all the spectators in the most direct way, so much so that many people had a hazy memory of the ceremony that followed, and even could not recall the Wakandan king's speech.

The most immediate consequence of this ceremony was that the Wakandan people, who had previously harbored resentment towards Latvinia and the Fire Knights, immediately changed their stance. Aside from those Wakandans affected by the coup and civil war, many uninvolved Wakandans were captivated by Emperor Latvinia's speech—he spoke of unity and the inevitable challenges humanity would face on its journey to the galaxy. He discussed the changing times, the human tragedies caused by the shortsightedness and greed of other nations, and emphasized that Wakanda and Latvinia, as the most technologically advanced nations on Earth, should unite to confront the approaching alien fleet and adhere to the fundamental principles of humanism. For the Wakandans, who had never seen him or heard such pronouncements before, this rhetoric was refreshingly different from Wakanda's long-standing isolationism. Aside from a few radical environmentalists, anti-war activists, and animal rights activists inevitably cultivated by their privileged environment, the vast majority had no objections to Emperor Latvinia's speech.

Apart from Queen Mother Ramonda, she had no idea what had happened with that off-track ceremony speech.

"Wakanda's importance far surpasses that of the United States. We must completely control Wakanda and elevate our infiltration and incitement to the highest level. However, we cannot use the methods employed in capitalist countries; under a monarchy, there is no room for the bourgeoisie to operate freely." This voice seeped into the heart of the Latvian embassy consul like venom. Sunil Bakshi nodded, struggling to suppress his excitement, and indicated in a calm tone that he understood the upcoming mission. He didn't know who was on the other end of the phone, nor was he interested in knowing. This highly confidential mission would not allow any information to be shared with unauthorized personnel—it meant he had been promoted from laboratory director to a more important position, which was uncommon within the conservative Hydra.

In conservative Hydra organizations, these politician-like infiltration positions are generally reserved for trained and educated individuals from conservative families. These individuals possess family connections, capital, education, and a broader perspective, making it easier for them to infiltrate the elite circles. Background indicates credibility, and education suggests membership in the networks built by Ivy League student councils—a quick and reliable way to identify insiders, far more effective than wearing an expensive suit in high-society salons.

But for the other ordinary people in Hydra, such background and education were unattainable. If they did not align themselves with the radicals, Sunil Bakshi, a street kid, would ultimately have to work for those who were essentially nobles for the rest of his life within the rigid class system of the conservatives. If he had not come from the radical youth academy, General Hale, who is now a general, might have remained in his current position forever.

Relying on family alliances and annexations, and then selectively involving them in the operation of the parasitic regime, this old-fashioned bourgeois expansion method made the conservative Hydra far slower than the radical Hydra in terms of expansion speed. It often took decades or even longer to see results. For the radical Hydra, this sluggishness was unacceptable—with the influx of a large number of talented people, the radical Hydra began to show new vitality. However, the more it expanded, the more greed and lust for power needed to be satisfied. The radical Hydra expanded so astonishingly that it destroyed the original principle of tranquility and became a mixed and chaotic organization.

Even though it imitated the religious rituals and secret organization model of conservative Hydra, the downfall of Alexander Pierce proved that the expansion strategy of radical Hydra was quite flawed, and the alliance of interests built by those haphazardly recruited officials was incredibly fragile. Wearing a small brooch on a suit lapel doesn't mean someone is completely devoted to the organization; it only proves that, driven by money and power, they can serve the organization. Nothing more. Without money and power, there is no power.

In internal investigations conducted by agencies such as the White House, the Pentagon, the CIA, and the FBI, the network of connections established by conservative Hydra agents once again proved effective. Almost all conservative Hydra agents escaped unscathed, and those implicated were almost all corrupt officials recruited by radical factions. Now, Sunil Bakshi, the consul at the Latvian embassy, ​​will employ radical methods to infiltrate the Wakanda nobility. While the upper echelons' attitude towards this task is to let it unfold naturally, Bakshi is seizing this opportunity to demonstrate his abilities to the Executive Yuan.

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(End of this chapter)