Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1476 Pre-Battle Routine (Part 1)

The departure was scheduled for about a week later, a timeline set by Salomon, who believed that no dangerous events were likely to occur before then. Of course, Laura Crawford was completely unaware of the so-called dangerous events. She had no idea that just months before they were dining in the restaurant, a nuclear submarine force, several ocean-going frigates, and several low-orbit satellite missile pods had, without the knowledge of most people, aimed weapons of mass destruction at a small cabin in the Norwegian countryside. The security department at SkySword Space Station had also turned its attention to that meadow with its black mountains, snow, and hot springs, awaiting the order to deploy nuclear weapons.

Such tension was not without reason. The Quetzalcoatl event caused massive global geological activity, and the movement between tectonic plates led to numerous volcanic eruptions. Volcanic ash in the atmosphere largely blocked sunlight, preventing many warm currents and air masses in the Southern Hemisphere that should have been heated by the sun from reaching their proper temperature. This resulted in a drop in global sea surface temperature and a sharp drop in air temperature.

This makes winters in the British Isles extremely difficult, so Salomon's suggestion to spend the winter on a remote island in the Southern Hemisphere near the equator isn't surprising. To ordinary people, it's simply a natural phenomenon. However, based on Kamar-Taj's observations of the Sea of ​​Souls, various timeline fragments, metaphors, and prophecies all indicate that Fimbulwinter has arrived, and a large-scale global cooling is inevitable. Salomon himself has personally experienced the prophetic visions of Fimbulwinter, making him even more certain that Odin's death is imminent. At that time, Hela, who rules the two dead planets, will inevitably travel to Asgard via the Yggdrasil interplanetary transportation system, or worse, to Midgard to exact revenge on Odin.

All the weapons of mass destruction were prepared for Hela, the goddess of death. Perhaps she believed that on the day she was freed, the warriors who had fought her in Hel would stand before her again for a fair duel—but Salomon never intended for that. He lacked the Asgardian sense of honor; the outcome of his battle with Hela was unimportant. She would certainly not readily hand over what he wanted, even if she lost to him again. She was a warrior, not a fool. Even if she had no concept of governance, she understood that the very foundation of Asgard could not be handed over to others, especially not to the human race, considered an "uncivilized race" by Asgardians.

Hela, the goddess of death, didn't even believe that the one who defeated her was human; she was convinced that Salomon was not human at all.

Salomon planned to travel to Asgard that day to lead his army in the final battle of Ragnarok, seizing knowledge and equipment crucial to the future of humanity. His opponents included frost giants and fire giants, all using the Yggdrasil interstellar transportation system, as well as armies from the Asgardian colonies. Winning that war would be his primary concern during this period, rather than conquering North Macedonia and Greece, taking Constantinople and even the Asiatic peninsula under his control, or suppressing extreme religious populist ideologies such as "Greater Albanianism" and "Greater Serbian Holy Landism."

That was the job of Regent Viktor von Doom; he was responsible for conquest, while the Regent was responsible for governance. Under normal circumstances, Salomon, who held the core decision-making power, wouldn't interfere in the Regent's work. After all, given the current situation, Viktor von Doom's policies on developing infrastructure, digital networks, and labor-intensive heavy industry perfectly met future needs, and Salomon was happy to act as a material and spiritual (i.e., "Unified Truth") armed representative in most cases.

For the future human race, faster-than-light travel across interstellar distances will be the greatest challenge. The interstellar transportation system known to the Asgardians as the Rainbow Bridge or Yggdrasil will be the best solution, unaffected by hyperspace storms and requiring no secondary factors like navigation. However, Laura Crawford was completely unaware of this; she naturally didn't know that her vacation to the Southern Hemisphere wasn't for winter but for refuge, given the ever-present threat of nuclear war. She only saw Salomon, after returning to the manor in a helicopter, hoist Jeanne and Bayonetta onto his shoulders and stride upstairs to their room. As for Milia, who was at home, she initially wanted to rush up and grab Salomon's leg, but was ruthlessly stopped by Dinah, dressed in a suit.

"Mind if I take a look at the armory?" Laura Crawford shrugged and asked Diana, who was holding Milia. "As far as I know, the indoor firing range is still available at this time."

"Of course, Miss Crawford."

“I hope the soundproofing of the indoor firing range is as good as before.” Laura Crawford took Wanda Maximoff’s hand; Wanda’s cheeks were flushed, and she had seen the scene too. Clearly, the eager atmosphere between Salomon and the two witches had been noticed by everyone before boarding the plane. Athena merely raised an eyebrow at this situation, then gestured for an android to lead her to her cabin. “Come with me, Wanda,” Laura Crawford said. “We’d be superfluous wherever we are right now. Or perhaps you’d like to join in?”

"Stop talking nonsense! Let's go, I haven't finished my regular shooting training yet!" Wanda Maximov said fiercely. "This time I'm going to try out the bomb gun!"

The next morning, Wanda Maximoff had to summon unseen servants to fill her plate. Everyone at the table, except Laura Crawford, couldn't help but glance at her cast-up wrist. "A bomb gun," she said, holding out her hand. Laura Crawford had already written her name and a blessing on the cast, and Wanda was now planning to have others add their own graffiti. "I know I broke the rules. Please don't blame the maids; I was the one who made them leave the indoor firing range, and I was the one who ordered the air spirits to unlock the weapons locker."

"I should be glad you didn't pull out a plasma weapon or a thermoelectric weapon, or there would be one less person sitting here right now." Salomon calmly continued cutting his steak. "I won't heal you this time; you need a lesson. But I'll still sign your plaster cast and give you a heavy laser pistol. If you want some high-tech weaponry, that laser pistol will do. Miss Crawford, you get one too."

"Won't this kind of injury leave any lasting effects?" Bayonetta asked. After a night of fierce fighting, she now seemed very happy, while Athena, with a cold face and an arrogant expression befitting a stepmother, provoked the witches like needles. But both Jeanne and Bayonetta were oblivious to this, as they were in very good moods and had made many deals last night, forcing Salomon to make numerous concessions. "I really don't know that an ordinary person would use a genetically modified warrior's explosive gun without any protection. But judging from the result, it's not bad; at least she still has a nose."

"Stop laughing at me, Bayonetta, I know I was wrong."

"Girl, if someone does something stupid and others don't laugh at them, then what's the point of doing something stupid?"

Please vote for me!

(End of this chapter)