Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1543 The Lunar War (Fifty-Five)

Captain Gronov Rutov had no idea where the Emperor had gone.

After the Emperor ordered his squad to eliminate the experimental products of the Chimilian clan's sorcerers, He and Hammurabi departed. Since then, Captain Gronov Rutov and his squad had not seen a single Praetorian Guard member—the Chimilian clan's crimes were so grave that the Emperor's personal investigation was necessary. As far as he knew, after the Chimilian clan's shield was broken, all the Praetorian Guard members except Constantine had participated in the battle alongside the Emperor, but in the two hours the Emperor was away, he had not seen a single one.

The Emperor isn't here, Captain Gronov Rutov's intuition told him.

When He worked in His office in the royal castle, even without seeing Him in person or watching any news reports of the Emperor's schedule, all the commoners could sense His presence in that castle; sometimes even the weather was affected. It was an inexplicable, unspoken intuition; the Emperor's presence was so strong that even commoners without special abilities could feel it, let alone genetically modified warriors. Captain Gronov Rutov even felt that he had been too rude to the Emperor with his previous questions, but warriors didn't care about such trivialities. The Emperor's demonstrated abilities proved that He was not just a bureaucrat who wanted votes. In fact, Captain Gronov Rutov was now somewhat dazed—his once unshakable memory was beginning to lose detail. He couldn't remember the Emperor's face or tone of voice, couldn't remember the tiny symbols engraved on the power armor, but he could still clearly remember the core idea the Emperor had expressed—even now, he was still surprised that the Emperor would so humbly offer him advice and resolve his doubts.

Captain Gronov Rutov pulled the trigger again.

The bomb pierced through the brickwork and accurately struck the Chimerian mutant behind the crumbling wall who was wielding a weapon. The flash of the exploding bullet and the shattered body tissue instantly caused screams from the other Chimerian mutants. However, the genetically modified warriors of the tactical support team controlling the kill zone nearby did not follow standard tactical procedures and immediately charged towards the source of the terrified screams to decapitate him. The support team, armed with heavy explosive machine guns, also did not unleash their firepower on that spot.

They let the armed civilians scream and flee in panic, knowing there were others nearby among the Chimilian mutants. Civilians or military personnel made no difference to the genetically modified warriors; they were instilling fear. Captain Gronov Rutov fired another shot, hitting a mutant trying to escape the kill zone, then donned the optical camouflage cloak gifted by the Emperor and disappeared back into the darkness. Meanwhile, members of the other tactical squads began sniping, controlling the Chimilian mutants' escape route within a reasonable range, preventing them from crossing the kill zone.

Fear can be used as bait; it's a psychological tactic.

The Siege of Sarajevo, the longest siege in modern human history, lasting 1425 days, provided an excellent example of using snipers to exert psychological pressure in warfare, as exemplified by the famous "Sniper Alley." The role of snipers in urban warfare goes beyond simply controlling a few streets; it involves instilling fear in the enemy, causing them to voluntarily reduce their operational scope and duration. Captain Gronov Rutov advocated prioritizing the elimination of Chimilian mutants attempting to stop resistance, targeting leaders capable of organizing resistance, and then eliminating secondary targets such as resource gatherers, medical workers, and artists. He strongly discouraged sniping intelligent life forms, particularly infants. Aside from egoists, most intelligent beings have an instinctive protective instinct towards their offspring, and sniping infants is most likely to incite rebellion.

If Attilan Fortress were a city on Earth, Captain Gronov Rutov's chosen tactics would not yield results in a short time—but this was Attilan Fortress on the dark side of the moon, the settlement of the Chimilian clan, occupying one-fifth of the fortress's top floor. The multi-tiered deck structure had been dismantled and used as building materials, and most of the fortress's original functions had been eliminated. In such a relatively small and dark environment, the fear brought by the eternal darkness was far more terrifying and swift than imagined.

Panic spread like a rising tide.

Like icy seawater gradually engulfing the mouths and noses of each Chimerian mutant, slowly but firmly controlling their breathing, mercilessly yet tenderly controlling the temperature of their skin. Each gunshot was like the sharp edge of a seashell buried in the shallows. With only the light of the campfire on the beach, the Chimerian mutants couldn't discern the dangers lurking beneath the dark waters. When they discovered dead seashells tearing their skin, they didn't even feel the pain immediately. Only upon returning to the beach, losing buoyancy, and leaving a long trail of blood illuminated by the campfire, did the salt seep into the wounds assault their nerves with unprecedented pain, making them dizzy and irrational.

The massive corpse rotted rapidly, emitting a pungent, steaming stench that even the respiratory filtration system couldn't completely eliminate. Derrick leaned on his Guardian Spear, straining to straighten his spine. His magnificent golden armor was covered in deep, bone-revealing claw marks, blood and gunpowder seeping into almost every tiny relief. Amon and Hannibal were in no better shape; their battered shields were now unusable, the generators used to produce force fields flickered with electricity, and the muzzles of their Sentinel Greatswords, slung over their shoulder armor, were covered in propellant carbon marks.

They were no longer at the location of the ceremony.

Although the power of the extradimensional entity was gradually weakening along with the decline of extradimensional forces, the Royal Guard was unable to anchor the extradimensional beast to the real world. Therefore, it was a long hunt, with advantages gradually accumulated through repeated battles. Each time it suffered a fatal wound, the monster would teleport to another location within the Wizard Tower to consume the ritual offerings made by the Chimilian clan wizards. The three Royal Guards were constantly on the move, ambushing and hunting it wherever rituals took place. Until two hours ago, a sudden psionic shockwave erupted from underground, completely anchoring the Chimilian Wizard Tower to the material universe.

The psionic explosion created a brief energy vacuum. Without the support of extradimensional forces, its flesh, constructed against the laws of the material universe, could no longer sustain its body. The hundreds of eyes that had proliferated throughout its body lost their nervous system support and could no longer observe the Guardians' impenetrable movements. The supernaturally generated flesh, unable to match its blood vessels, nerves, and joints, paralyzed in the blink of an eye… In that brief instant, the Guardians seized the opportunity, pinning it to the spot. The three Guardians emptied all their magazines, unleashing all their firepower on its desecrated flesh; this time, their weapons inflicted immense damage.

"It is not truly dead; you have merely banished it," the Emperor said to Derrick. "It is not immortal, but rather it never truly had life."

"I will face it again, my lord," Derrick said calmly, feeling the sweat dripping from inside his helmet. "We will kill it countless times, until it fears the human race."

Please vote for me!

(End of this chapter)