Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1214, Chapter 12100: The Great Flood (First Update)

According to the prophecy of the madwoman who dwells in Kamar-Taj and can talk to stones, the time for Quetzalcoatl's rebirth is approaching.

The Day of the Dead, now dedicated to Mictēcacihuātl, incorporates traditions from the Spanish colonists, resulting in the Day of the Dead as we know it today. In Aztec legend, Mictēcacihuātl was responsible for overseeing the remains and presiding over ancient death festivals. She was believed to have died as an infant, and this goddess of death, devoid of flesh and blood, appeared outwardly as a pure skeleton.

Logically speaking, the Day of the Dead has little to do with Quetzalcoatl, but time in the outer dimensions cannot be calculated according to Earth time. The winter solstice, when outer-dimensional energy is active each year, does not completely follow the calendar. There is an unpredictable error involved. Therefore, the madwoman's prophecy is not entirely wrong.

As the most fearless, Indiana Jones-esque adventurer and archaeologist the Emperor had ever encountered, Laura Crawford undertook the task of uncovering the truth. Through clues on ancient ruins, the remains of corpses from brutal sacrificial rituals, and the deciphering of lost texts, she pieced together the ancient truth of the feathered serpent rituals and legends. She did not blindly follow the knowledge in the Borgia Codex to understand the ruins she saw; she inherited the respect and equality that Richard Crawford brought to archaeological research. It was for this reason that she conveyed a message through Camilla that the Emperor could not ignore—the resurgence of the feathered serpent would bring a great flood. Geological research teams funded by the Immortal City, examining the rock formations of South America, also proved that an unprecedented flood had occurred in history. The Sorcerer Supreme believed this was very likely an ecological disaster caused by the first awakening of the feathered serpent, involving events from the ancient god wars before the birth of humankind. Current data cannot determine whether the feathered serpent was a purely extradimensional being or an alien being corrupted by extradimensional energy, or even perhaps a corrupted dragon.

Worse still, last year (2015), Paraguay and other countries were hit by floods, turning 16 Paraguayans into refugees, and the soaring waters of the Uruguay River forced 2 Argentinians to flee their homes. At the beginning of this year (2016), central South America also experienced frequent large-scale rainfall. Meteorologists predict that around Day of the Dead, South America may experience another period of extremely severe weather—frequent heavy rainfall, combined with Laura Crawford's interpretation of the ruins, suggests that the massive floods brought by Quetzalcōhuātl will be even more devastating, a catastrophic disaster that modern human engineering facilities would absolutely not be able to withstand.

Laura Crawford's research demonstrated her value, making her worthy of the Emperor's assignment of a Royal Guard and protection from a battle-hardened force led by Camilla. Initially, she was curious as to why she hadn't discovered the Trinity's mercenaries, but after Camilla was allowed to tell her part of the truth, Laura Crawford realized that her old friend had solved most of the problems of the material universe for her, and the Trinity Order, which had long plagued the Crawford family, was no longer an issue.

The Trinity Order, operating under the Knights Templar model, has long held high positions, many with noble titles. Following the expansion of the British Empire, its members have spread to the majority of modern capitalist countries, making the Crawford family a minor player in comparison. Referring to the evolution of the conservative Hydra, the Trinity Order, while also a secret society, has been infiltrated by the tightly-knit and parasitic conservative Hydra through its looser expansion methods, such as university associations and business alliances. This has resulted in a secret society within a secret society, its development history resembling that of the Illuminati, which originated from Freemasonry.

Essentially, the conservative Hydra and Trinity share almost identical goals: to gain wealth and status in the material universe through supernatural powers, which is why they can coexist harmoniously. The only difference is that Trinity's sphere of influence is too concentrated in the financial sector and archaeology, and it is overly superstitious about supernatural powers. It has too little involvement in the American political situation, military industry, and high-tech fields of the time, and therefore cannot fill the gaps faced by the Emperor in developing the Immortal City. Consequently, it has no value in being acquired.

The North American portion of the Trinity Order was eliminated by the conservative Hydra, led by Gideon Malik, when the radical Hydra overthrew S.H.I.E.L.D., to prevent the repercussions of the "internal investigation" against the radical Hydra from affecting the family. Those Trinity Order members still in Europe, due to the expansion of the Immortal City's influence and betrayal by the conservative Hydra, were either wiped out by agents or suppressed and absorbed by political enemies and corporations manipulated by the conservative Hydra, losing their former status and wealth.

Even so, they could still afford to spend a large sum of money to hire a large number of veterans who had participated in wars in Syria, Afghanistan, and Yemen to solve the problem. However, the remnants never expected their mercenaries to be so weak; their past counterinsurgency experience was completely inadequate for the current situation. Those protecting Laura Crawford completely disregarded the local government's opinion, even deploying ground attack aircraft to attack their mercenary convoys and using artillery to deal with snipers. Even the local politicians they bribed and the cartels they deployed were powerless against them. After all, neither the cartels nor the government forces could handle the combined tactics of ground attack aircraft, rockets, and roadside bombs—a mix of conventional and unorthodox methods.

The Trinity Order's methods, which had succeeded hundreds of times, failed to achieve the desired results. Instead, they led to the downfall of cartel groups, the removal of corrupt politicians from power, and other situations that weakened their own strength. A new force supported a politician who returned to power, influencing the entire situation in South America. Even the CIA's attempts to assassinate disobedient politicians were always thwarted by the guerrillas, as if these politicians had all become Castro. If Indiana Jones's stories hadn't lost their former popularity, this story would have been enough for Hollywood to make a dozen or so mainstream, individualistic hero movies.

"Hurry, hurry, hurry!" Laura Crawford jumped onto the armored personnel carrier, clutching a heavy slab of stone. Her hair and cheeks were covered in damp mud, and the skin on the inside of her elbows, where she was holding the slab, was chafed and bleeding from the rough edges. Long hours of outdoor work had given her a healthy tan, and her irregular, outdoor lifestyle had left her smelling strongly of dirt. Camilla yanked her into the crew compartment. Laura Crawford and the slab of stone rolled onto the floor, but Camilla had no time to care for her. The former Peruvian rebel leader fired a few shots outwards, then immediately slammed the battered hatch shut and yelled at the driver to start the vehicle.

Camilla inwardly grumbled about Supilulius's failure to eliminate the drug cartel entrenched deep in the mountains beforehand, while enduring the bumpy road and the driver's reckless driving. The trail Laura Crawford had been following was completely erratic; her armed forces and the Immortal City's agents couldn't possibly have eliminated local cartels or corrupt politicians in advance, thus relying heavily on intelligence and protection from the Royal Guard. But now Supilulius was nowhere to be found. When Camilla's head slammed against the cabin roof for the twelfth time—the hardest impact of the entire journey—she felt herself nearly faint. She finally snapped, yelling, "Are you a child? Don't drive the car into the mud again!"

"It wasn't me!" the driver shouted innocently as he turned around. Bullets fired from behind thudded against the armored vehicle. "They fired RPGs!"

"We've been shot?"

"No, this girl is even tougher than we thought," the driver said. "Also, the heavy explosive machine gun is ready, and the automatic feeding system somehow fixed itself."

"I'll operate the heavy explosive rounds!" Laura Crawford volunteered and walked to the machine gun seat on the roof of the vehicle.

After spending a long time together, Camilla realized that Laura Crawford was not a weak scholar, but a warrior even stronger than the average commander. Therefore, Camilla tacitly approved of Laura's actions and even instructed her teammates to fire from the observation window to provide cover fire for Laura. The .0.75 caliber explosive machine gun is a thoroughly heavy individual weapon for ordinary people, requiring a tripod for use. Compared to the explosive machine guns used by the Sorority or genetically modified warriors, the explosive machine gun mounted on the armored vehicle lacked many of the sophisticated electronic components, making it more practical and durable.

Laura Crawford pulled the trigger, and the heavy-explosive shells, designed to penetrate the thick armor and low-altitude anti-aircraft defenses, began to roar at an astonishing speed.

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(End of this chapter)