Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1240 Midnight Oracle (First Update)

The artillery fire originated from the town where Camilla's squad had set out over 300 kilometers away. It traversed the dense forest, landing precisely within 200 meters of the heavy armored vehicles. The heavy armored units, hovercraft, and assault teams marched alongside the overhead barrage, bathed in flames and ash, silently unleashing their death upon the enemy. Only an army with discipline and composure etched into its very soul could possess such coordination and capability. Even King T'Challa of Wakanda felt a pang of envy for the army's teamwork, and even Laura Croft, who had never witnessed such a scene of warfare, was awestruck by the spectacle before her.

Although she stayed as far away from the counterinsurgency battlefield as possible during her expedition in Syria, she still witnessed firsthand the US military attacking local armed groups. The intensity of that firepower was vastly different from that of the 30-kilometer-long killing zone. Watching from 10 kilometers away from the killing zone was almost equivalent to joining the battle. She could almost hear the gunfire of the genetically modified sniper.

"So...where is Chuckcher's dagger?" Laura Crawford asked.

Now that she had Ischel's silver box, she was worried that a large-scale shelling would damage Chuckchel's dagger. She had spent some time making sure she was clean and presentable. Nakia, the only woman in Dora's guard who hadn't shaved her head, was a great help, and Hammurabi also used his medical kit from his pouch to treat her wounds, covering the open abrasions on her forearm with artificial skin spray and promising that no scars would remain.

"I've sent the photos you took to the tactical terminals of every genetically modified soldier. If they find Chuckcher's dagger, bring it back." The Emperor returned Laura Crawford's digital camera to her. He said sarcastically, "By the way, I really liked your selfie with the penguin statue."

Laura Crawford, her face flushed, snatched the digital camera.

"That was a gift!" she protested. "I was planning to give it to you after the adventure."

After each adventure, she would give her patron some small gifts she had obtained during the adventure.

During her previous expedition into Siberia, she had brought the Emperor a Maltese cross inlaid with numerous jewels, found in an ice cave, along with a large collection of 10th-century Byzantine religious artifacts, completely disregarding the high prices they could fetch at auction. The Emperor reciprocated by providing her with even more financial support, even lending her his private jet and covering all expenses, including the crew and hangar. However, a plastic penguin was certainly not a particularly impressive gift compared to her previous presents, but the Emperor still gladly accepted this amusing present.

He doesn't care about the historical significance, monetary value, or cultural meaning of cultural relics; all he wants is something interesting.

He told Laura Crawford that the plastic penguin doll, if left in the right place for a thousand years, would become a remarkable artifact. He said he would be quite happy to keep it as a collectible and have it displayed in the British Museum, imagining how much future archaeologists would struggle with it.

When Hannibal met the Emperor, King T'Challa of Wakanda and Dora's guard had already left. The Emperor had given them a complex task involving post-battle arrangements, so now was not the time for the Wakandans to make their appearance. Hannibal presented the Emperor with his chained spoils, handing them to Hammurabi before stepping aside to whisper his findings to the Emperor.

Only Laura Crawford remained with the Emperor, accompanied by Amun and Hammurabi, but the female archaeologist was already quite impatient. If the Emperor hadn't repeatedly urged her to stay and said that there was still danger at the front, Laura Crawford would have rushed out like a hunting dog that had spotted its prey.

Queen Yasok, who had been squealing and spitting, fell strangely silent upon seeing the Emperor. Before Hammurabi, who was holding the chains, could give any instructions, the tightly bound Queen Yasok knelt down before the Emperor's golden boots, making Hammurabi tense. He even gripped a short sword (a short sword for the guards) in his hand, ready to slit Queen Yasok's throat at any moment.

"I have some questions for you," the Emperor said softly. Queen Yasok looked up at the Emperor's face hidden in his hood, but unlike Queen Paititi Onuratu, she did not experience dizziness or memory loss. "Who are you? Where did you come from? I need an answer, and only you can answer these questions, Chakcher."

Upon hearing the emperor say her name, Queen Yasok began her narration in a low voice and in an incomprehensible language.

She claims to be Crimson Fire, Chakcher, the leader of the Yaaxil tribe, a tribe created in this plane by the goddess Xquic to protect Chakcher's dagger and Ischer's silver casket. Xquic is the daughter of a blood collector, a lord of the underworld in Mayan mythology, and the mother of the heroic twins Hunahpu and Xbalanque in Mayan mythology. After their final mission is completed, the Yaaxil, created by the goddess Xquic, will pass through a silver gate to the underworld to return to the realm of Xquic, ending their mission in the material universe.

Originally, Paititi's ancestors knew about the Yasok tribe because they had settled there for the same purpose. However, with the passage of time and the loss of wisdom, Queen Onuratu of Paititi is now unaware that she has an ally who has settled nearby.

Prior to this, Yasok had attempted to intimidate the Paititi people and the newly arrived Laura by throwing stones at unrelated individuals, keeping them away from their caves. However, things changed when Yasok discovered that Trinity possessed the Chakcher dagger. Yasok began hunting down Trinity mercenaries in the shadows. Had it not been for the direct intervention of the Royal Guard's Amon that night, Trinity's counterattack against Yasok would have been swiftly completed, and all of Yasok's men would have perished at Trinity's hands.

However, the intervention of the Jacques' Amon allowed Laura Crawford to retrieve the Ischel Silver Casket from the San Juan Caves, where the Yasok lived—the burial place of Andrés López, a Trinity missionary sent to South America during the Spanish colonial period. This triggered a hunt for Laura Crawford by the Yasok tribe. Under the protection of Amon, neither Trinity mercenaries nor Yasok hunters could take Laura Crawford's life. This caused the Yasok tribe's attitude towards Laura Crawford to change drastically, and they even began plotting their next hunt.

Not everyone could understand every word uttered in Queen Yasok's deep voice like the Emperor. The Royal Guard, through their linguistic systems implanted in their brains, could barely comprehend it, but they still needed to rely on databases when it came to more obscure divine terms. Laura Crawford, however, couldn't understand at all, and had no idea why Yasok was staring at her so fiercely. The Emperor listened patiently for a while, then asked his question, "What is the purpose of Chuckcher's dagger and Ischer's silver box?"

"Sacrifice," Queen Chakcher of Yasok whispered. "Sacrifice Kukulkan."

"I understand," the Emperor nodded. He had Queen Yassok stand up, removed her chains, and then explained the whole story to Laura Crawford and the Royal Guard. The former was ashamed of her ignorance and hoped the Emperor could convey her apology and express her willingness to return the Isschel Silver Casket, as Yassok shared their vision: to prevent the awakening of Quetzalcoatl.

The Emperor relayed Laura Crawford's message to Queen Chakcher of Yasok, but the latter said she knew the Emperor's purpose was to end the Yasok people's mission. Therefore, she agreed to let Laura Crawford temporarily hold the Ischel Silver Box and had no complaints about the Emperor's Royal Guard's massacre of the Yasok people, because they died on the way to complete their mission, and she would meet them in the Kingdom of God in the future.

As for how she knew the Emperor's purpose, Queen Chakcher of Yasok simply claimed it was an oracle she received in her dream the previous night, offering no other explanation. Hammurabi and Amun exchanged a glance, finding many inexplicable and bizarre things amiss. They couldn't believe that the false god worshipped by the Yasok tribe would so conveniently give instructions, but considering the Emperor's multiple schemes and arrangements, Hammurabi felt this situation was quite reasonable, suggesting that there must be many strange secrets involved that even the Royal Guard couldn't access.

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(End of this chapter)