Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1239 Efficient Tactics (Second Update)

"Hannibal, Constantine."

Supiluliumas nodded to his colleagues, who returned a brief reply. His armor was stained with blood—blood from the Trinity mercenaries, the Kukulkan Order, and Yasok. When he entered the cave, Yasok and the other two were engaged in an asymmetrical war, which Supiluliumas single-handedly ended, driving all three out of the cave. Had he failed, the genetically modified warriors who had attacked would have, as planned, flooded the cave with various poisonous gases, efficiently killing everyone inside.

"You're moving too slowly, Supilulius," said Constantine, commander of the Imperial Guard, looking at his colleague with a serious expression.

Supiluliumas completely disregarded the criticism, believing his actions to be entirely justified and reasonable. The commander of the Praetorian Guard did not dwell on the matter; each member of the Praetorian Guard had a distinct style, and judging the right and wrong among them was a matter for the emperor and himself. However, he would not exercise his right to criticize at this time. Only after an investigation confirmed that Supiluliumas had indeed made a mistake would the commander issue an order for Supiluliumas to correct it.

"What's the pollution situation?" Constantine asked, removing his helmet. "Is a mass extermination necessary?"

This is a valley similar to the mountain stream where the tribal warriors reside, containing numerous ancient and primitive man-made structures. Murals and statues praising ancient false gods are neatly arranged on high platforms, only to be destroyed by the war that swept through the land. The rock walls were shattered by explosives, armor-piercing shells, plasma cannons, and laser cannons; large chunks of rock crashed down, and thriving trees were set ablaze by the artillery fire, the flames still burning. The genetically modified warriors' giant armored vehicles and hovercraft traversed the valley filled with rubble and mud. These heavy armored formations, forming offensive arrays with the assault infantry, achieved unimaginable overwhelming firepower the moment they engaged in battle, crushing all Trinity resistance strongholds as if the god of war had stepped into the fray.

The air was thick with the lingering stench of ignited propellant, the heat of plasma weapons, and the exhaust fumes from engines. Even the fierce winds whipped up by aircraft engines couldn't dispel the lingering stench of war. The mangled corpses of Trinity mercenaries, the Kukulkan Order, and Yasok lay scattered across the ground before the Royal Guard and the Fire Knights. Blood seeped into the soil, eventually flowing into small streams under the force of gravity, turning the entire area crimson.

The battle ended incredibly quickly, faster than any other army of similar size on Earth would perish in the same situation. The Emperor endowed the Fire Knights with extraordinary speed and strength, sturdy armor, and brutal weaponry; the genetically modified warriors unleashed their death upon the enemy. The Fire Knight Company was renowned for its highly efficient tactics, combining siege warfare, rapid assaults (ground and air), and decapitation strikes. In the future, as the number of Fire Knights increases, the Fire Knight Company will expand several times over and be reorganized into battalions and regiments, including the Company One. At that time, this army will possess even greater combat capabilities, implementing a series of highly efficient tactics devised by the Emperor, including the tactic of launching nuclear missiles to eliminate targets.

Company Commander Aparisha, known as the master of slaughter and executioner, remains dissatisfied with the war.

Even though some Trinity mercenaries and Kukulkan followers had mutated, they were still quickly and swiftly destroyed by the onslaught of brute force. This intensity of war failed to satisfy him; he could not extract enough honor from those weak enemies. He also did not participate in the dialogue between the Imperial Guards, but instead led the Fire Knights Company on an in-depth exploration, continuing the mission of eradicating the scattered resistance forces of Trinity.

The Pegasus heavy assault transport and the Eagle assault transport, hovering low in the air, gained altitude and moved away from the burning land, which was filled with blood and black mud. Supilulius looked up at the aircraft's movements, compared them with the battle plan on the HUD screen, and after giving orders to one of the Eagle assault transports to fire sentry guns at the other exit of the cave, he shook his head and rejected part of Constantine's plan.

"A flamethrower will suffice. The Paititi people haven't entered this area; they haven't been contaminated." Supiluliumas pointed at Hannibal and asked, "And what is this thing?"

“A man, a woman.” Hannibal gripped the arm of a Yasok tightly; his golden power armor was also stained with blood, indicating his deep involvement in the battle. Hannibal’s voice was fervent, as if even the mind-altering procedures following his genetic alchemy couldn’t calm his restless soul. “Can’t you see her special qualities, comrade?”

"Thank you for your insightful answer." Supiluliumas rolled his eyes. "Of course I could tell that I wasn't asking 'what,' but 'why.'"

This Yasok was a woman, and like the other Yasoks, she had cut off her upper lip and painted her face and body with red and white pigment. She sharpened her teeth and pierced her nose with bone spurs as decoration, but unlike the other Yasoks, she had a large sapphire studded in her chin and even wore a jeweled crown made of metal and bone. The differences didn't stop there; her limbs were long and muscular, indicating she had received ample nutrition in her past life, while the other Yasoks were emaciated, proving their difficulty in obtaining food. This attire and physique revealed her identity: she was the ruler or leader of all the Yasoks. Even though he didn't know the social conditions of the Yasoks, Hannibal didn't kill her as he had killed the other Yasoks.

Today, Queen Yasok continues to struggle, roaring, cursing, and even spitting at Hannibal in a low, rough voice—because she has no upper lip, spitting is quite difficult for her, so much so that saliva constantly flows from between her teeth, dripping down her chin onto her bodice made of hundreds of tiny bones.

Supiluliumas could hear the same words repeatedly coming from her mouth, proving that language has logic. He deduced it was some kind of Quechua variant from the Andes, though it had become difficult to discern over time. Even so, he could still make out some names of deities from colonial-era records. Her eyes could follow Hannibal's fingers and the movement of his weapon, proving that she was conscious and had not taken any of the hallucinogenic drugs or plant sap commonly used in primitive religions that would damage brain receptors.

"Whether the Paititi people have been corrupted requires the judgment of professionals; we do not possess the certain talent to detect corruption and decay." Constantine glanced at the still defiant Yasok Queen. "He (referring to the Emperor in the conversation among the guards) believes that perhaps clues can be obtained from this Yasok Queen to dispel the mythical fog and uncover the truth about this place."

"Who will come to inspect the Paititi people? I hope this work can be done in more detail."

"Aren't you being overly concerned about the Paititi people, Supilulius?"

"The pollution must be eliminated, Commander."

Constantine looked at Supiluliumas's face, then nodded solemnly, as solid as a fortress forged of steel and stone. "The Scarlet Witch will lead a group of Kamar-Taj sorcerers on this mission; her abilities are trustworthy. Few can influence Wanda Maximoff besides him."

"Five minutes and twenty seconds, that's really...efficient."

T'Challa pondered for a moment before finding the right words to describe the Infernal Knights' fighting style, leaving the other Wakandans unable to laugh. The Emperor's invitation to the Wakandan King to witness the battle made it clear to everyone present that the Infernal Knights had been quite restrained during the Golden City civil war; otherwise, Golden City would be nothing but ruins, devoid of any buildings taller than a person. The coordination between artillery bombardment and the heavy armor formations was astonishing, especially when the artillery fire landed only meters away from the heavy armor. The genetically modified warriors still moved in perfect unison, forming three-on-three formations to unleash an irresistible barrage of firepower on the enemy. In close-quarters combat, bullets and jet motorcycles whizzed past the tactical squads, yet no one panicked.

This was a direct display and demonstration, which greatly displeased Dora's guards, but they couldn't quite put their finger on why, so they could only silently sulk. However, the most shocked was Laura Crawford, who stood with the Emperor, overlooking the entire battle from a high vantage point.

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(End of this chapter)