Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1315 An Annoying Personality Trait (First Update)

The Emperor and Stephanie Malik's dinner tonight will be held at the Mount Athena Orphanage. Before their private jet even took off, top food suppliers had prepared and transported the expensive ingredients to their final destination. Colonel Helmut Zemo, the diplomat, and his wife will be invited to an informal court dinner, where all the ingredients will come from Wakanda's finest farms, allowing them to enjoy many dishes never before seen by outsiders. Only Regent Victor von Doom's dinner stands out considerably from the others. After removing his steel mask and dark green royal cloak, he selects and purchases high-calorie, high-fat foods favored by the nearby workers from a food cart on a pedestrian street in Latvinia, not far from the newly established armory.

Having previously enacted food hygiene laws and regulations, and having conducted private investigations into the enforcement agencies, Victor von Doom was quite confident in the food's safety, believing the food on the food truck perfectly matched the expectations of its target audience. However, he was eventually found by Amon, a member of the Royal Guard patrolling near the capital, who clearly understood that now was not the time to disturb him. Victor von Doom did notice the hovering airships overhead; after all, aircraft aren't entirely silent. He quickly finished his Moussaka (a Greek dish similar to lasagna, primarily made with stir-fried eggplant and tomatoes or zucchini, often with minced meat) and quietly apologized to those around him who had been disturbed.

"There are still many official duties awaiting your attention, Your Majesty." Summoned, Amon landed the hovercraft beside the street. The nearby civilians were clearly uncomfortable with Amon's presence. Even though these superhuman warriors had appeared and aided them in the battle to breach the royal city, and many even idolized these powerful and dazzling Royal Guards, superhuman phobia wasn't an easily overcome psychological barrier. However, the Royal Guard didn't care at all. He had been very careful while maneuvering the hovercraft. "If you feel hungry, we can launch a quick raid on the kitchen."

"When he created you, he must have added a lot of humor to the pot. Your master often disguises himself and roams the streets, observing the lives of ordinary people. Why don't you bother with him? You're the Imperial Guard!" Amon shrugged, indicating he couldn't control you. Victor von Doom rolled his eyes, boarded the hovercraft, quickly looked around, and then locked onto his target. "Great, you even added an assassin to the security sequence!"

The newly constructed rail transit system is expanding outwards from the city center. Their hovercars fly over the construction tracks, and numerous welding drones, under the direction of technicians from the Mars Foundry and the rail transit department established in Latvia, methodically and precisely weld the suspended steel. The electronic eyes on the Regent's iron mask easily locked onto a figure in the shadows cast by the rail transit system—a figure clad in a black, form-fitting synthetic leather suit, wielding an Olympus-type explosive sniper rifle—speeding through the city's planned infrastructure with ghostly lightness.

Alternating rail lines is just one aspect of countless urban planning projects.

Atop the distant mountains, the base of a colossal orbital tower, its branches gradually reaching towards the sky, casts a long, dark shadow over the city. The city's rail transit system extends straight towards the tower. All of the city's transportation infrastructure serves the orbital tower; it is Latvinia's most vital facility. Possessing the tower allows for the acquisition of vast quantities of supplies from Mars and space stations, enabling the construction of a star system. This will be Latvinia's lifeline. Many nations are interested in this lifeline, making it one of the Guardian's key defensive positions. Several various types of automated combat robots, anti-aircraft radars, anti-aircraft missiles, and single-person mechs patrol the area continuously.

"Don't tell me that he (the emperor) added those assassins on his own initiative."

"It's the Commander-in-Chief who believes you also need protection. You're high on the CIA and MI6 assassination lists, so appropriate security measures are necessary," Amon said. "Given the randomness of your food choices and the reactions of those around you, I can assume your meal is quite safe."

"This is terrible," Victor von Doom complained. "Do you know that Constantine fought me to a draw in a longsword duel?"

"The Commander-in-Chief said so, but he claimed it was just a meaningless performance."

"He truly inherited that annoying personality perfectly."

Viktor von Doom frowned as he opened the information panel of the Guardian Order's hovercar to check what had happened while he was away. Steve Rogers, James Buchanan Barnes, and Sam Wilson were two hundred kilometers from the capital, accompanying a military police armored vehicle on a mission to combat bandits. Amon's patrol vehicle was capable of receiving real-time communications from an armed drone. The information displayed on the holographic screen indicated that the armed drone was equipped with air-to-ground missiles with the Type 3 Plasma Cluster Warhead, typically used to destroy permanent fortifications or airfields, and had achieved considerable success during the attack on the US military base in Albania.

"I don't think the captain and the Wild Chapter know about this, right?"

The regent received the answer he had expected from Ammon.

The Wild Chapter and Steve Rogers were completely unaware of the drone's existence, much less aware that a missile capable of vaporizing a criminal organization's bunker lay overhead. Before the Emperor and Regent arrived, the Balkans were the world's most notorious hub for terrorist arms procurement, money laundering, drug trafficking, and transnational extremist transport. Countless heinous crimes converged there, sometimes involving entire villages and towns, who would even cover up any terrorist intelligence or kill officials sent to restore order.

This situation only gradually decreased as genetically modified soldiers joined the war and the regency's purges were carried out.

Now, Steve Rominger's team and the Wild Chapter team are facing remnants of terrorists. Although these people still possess heavy firepower, it's mostly at the level of man-portable anti-tank missiles. Since TOW missiles can't destroy the Legislator armored vehicle, there's no need to use drones for asymmetric warfare like the US military does in counterinsurgency operations. The Regent, who controls the treasury, knows exactly where to save money. "Isn't this kind of firepower a bit too much?" the Regent asked. "This is a hostage situation; the Wild Chapter is quite experienced in this. If they can't handle it, they can send the First Secret Regiment. There's no need to blow all the hostages up. Or is the Guardians planning to start another program?"

"It's not time yet, this is just routine surveillance," Amon replied. Neither of them mentioned the other plan, as both were well aware of the Emperor's contingency plans; Steve Rogers was always a disposable figurehead. "Those Syrcarian mercenaries haven't proven their loyalty. The Wild Chapter isn't entirely the same free organization that once steadfastly resisted the Nazis; they're mercenaries driven by money. If it weren't for our Lord bringing them back, they would have fallen sooner or later, regardless of Silver Sablinova's ideals. That's why we spared that woman's life."

"Hmm, the Imperial Guard is certainly qualified to say such things, but I believe it's better to keep this lack of human touch hidden." Victor von Doom shook his head. He knew that the "woman" Amon was referring to wasn't Silver Sablinova, but another woman connected to Sylcaria, who had close ties with the Regent and the Emperor during the Latvian Liberation War and the First War of Expansion. "I imagine there's an emergency meeting waiting for me in the castle, isn't there?"

"Yes, Your Excellency," Amon said in a light tone. "Now it's Diana Lister who convened a meeting with the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and reiterated the 'Information Confidentiality Clause' to silence all officials who know about this matter, lest they think they can leak things to the media for fame, and we can't do anything about it. She did this without using the regular army, which is very admirable given her age and experience."

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(End of this chapter)