Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1549 The Lunar War (Sixty-One)

Black Bolt showed no sign of annoyance at the sudden interruption of the meeting.

He already had the Royal Medical Department's report, the text and data of which were far more precise than Crystal's stammering, tearful account. Black Bolt knew that although Richard desperately didn't want him to know the fact that mind readers could protect Medusa's mind and brain, he wasn't in charge of the Royal Medical Department; it was Crystal's parents. However, he knew this wasn't the time to reintegrate Maximus into Attilan society, even if Maximus was the most powerful mind reader in the royal family besides Crystal, even if it was a matter of life and death for the Inhumans of Attilan.

Once Maximus is freed, it means he has betrayed his parents, the previous King and Queen of Attilan, and the royal family members who supported him. If he does so, it's easy for other royal family members and even other clans to perceive him as a ruler who prioritizes personal feelings over public duty, a betrayal of his long-held ideals. The reason warriors and scientists from other clans joined his clan alliance was because his publicly announced governing philosophy was "uniting all Inhumans," abandoning clan concepts and returning to the identity of the Inhumans, creating an imagined community and a sense of belonging within that community. Black Bolt was completely unaware that the Emperor in golden armor was willing to make an irrational decision, granting him, the King of Attilan, a dignified death, partly because this ideal, which transcended narrow racial prejudices, was identical to part of the Emperor's "United Truth," except that the Emperor left no room for the so-called royal system to survive. The so-called royal family consisted only of Him; even the witch could not benefit from His political position.

"I see."

Black Bolt glanced at the two seats occupied by the only people in the Gene Council.

Of the clan alliance warriors he sent to take over the Inhuman army, and of the other clan matriarchs, only the Ghost Clan and the Villain Clan matriarch came to the Commoner Clan and sat in their rightful seats. However, Attilan Fortress's radio communications and data networks now seemed to be compromised; very little information could be transmitted completely and smoothly to other clan settlements unless the hardwired communication system used when Attilan Fortress was first established was employed.

The system was damaged during the Inhuman Civil War. Although the Attilan royal family later oversaw the repairs, many less important locations that should have been able to communicate remained unconnected and unrepaired. The Villain Clan Matriarch requested to use the Attilan royal family's hardwired connection to make a call, while the Ghost Clan Matriarch silently stared at the crystal, seemingly only able to express her dissatisfaction with the interruption of the war council after using it.

Black Bolt noticed the gaze of Evo, the matriarch of the Ghost Clan, and unconsciously frowned. He truly couldn't understand why, at this point, the other clans were still unwilling to unite and cooperate. Why were these people—including members of the Attilan royal family—still so intoxicated by their power, even starting to fantasize about how to redistribute spheres of influence and exchange benefits, when most of their production facilities had been controlled and destroyed?

Since those people were still members of the Attilan royal family, and given his previous loss of control, during which he killed a highly respected elder within the royal family, even Black Bolt had no excuse to harm his own kin. Sitting on his throne, feeling the cold, resolute back of the chair, he had more than once fantasized about human assassins storming the Attilan royal family and wiping out those greedy individuals. However, fantasies are just fantasies; they solve nothing. He had to continue the war council, building a new defensive network. Simultaneously, he needed to arm the civilians, dragging the human army into the complex terrain of the clan settlements. He also needed to utilize the citizen files within the Attilan royal family to classify and group registered individuals with special abilities, creating complementary squads to attack and harass the genetically modified human warriors.

"Understood, Crystal." Black Bolt typed text into the data panel, which was automatically converted into speech. "Now I need you to coordinate the allocation of medicines in the wartime medical department. That will determine the success or failure of this war."

"We have already lost, Your Majesty. When do you intend to tell the girl the truth?" After Crystal left, Evo, the matriarch of the Ghost Clan, bared her fangs. "Even if we were to win, the price would be unacceptable. Has the enemy revealed to you their reasons for attacking Attilan? Is there any possibility of compromise between us and the enemy?"

Black Bolt gave her a deep look.

Other Inhuman council members also pricked up their ears or other auditory organs, awaiting Black Bolt's answer.

So far, only Black Bolt and his clan's allied forces have made contact with the leaders of the human army. Although it's unknown when the human army breached the Chimeraian clan's settlement and spoke with Black Bolt, this remains their only interaction with a human monarch, and any information is crucial. In fact, Black Bolt's complete silence on the matter after returning to the Genesis Council has already fueled suspicion among many. With the frontline casualty ratio soaring, the heavy casualty figures, the shrinking wartime population, and increasingly strained logistical supplies, these doubts are deepening.

"No. There is no possibility of reconciliation," he said, holding up his data tablet. "Humanity simply wants us exterminated, nothing more."

"Then it's time for us to launch the interstellar missile." Alardi Koeker, the matriarch of the Rogue Clan, turned and whispered to a clansman beside her who bore a similar appearance, before reaching a conclusion. "We've been preparing for this. Once the Terrigen warhead reaches Earth, all potential Inhumans will awaken."

"No, I will not agree to take such measures." Black Bolt shook his head. "The interstellar missile is very likely to be intercepted by the human void fleet. Launching the Terrigen missile now means that we have lost our last bargaining chip in the war."

"The Terrigen missiles are the only weapon the enemy fears," said the young rogue clan girl beside Matriarch Aladi Koeker. She had the long, braided red curly hair typical of rogue clans, and her green skin was covered in scars. Matriarch Aladi Koeker didn't object to her sudden statement, for this girl was her daughter and possessed psychic precognitive abilities. "It was the decision to launch the Terrigen missiles at Earth that sparked this war."

"What did you say, girl?" shouted Evo, the Ghost Clan matriarch. "How could humans possibly know we possess Terrigen missiles? That's classified!"

"Because the enemy possesses an extremely powerful psychic, Matron Evo," Dara Ko Eke said calmly. "That person is incredibly powerful. Combining His Majesty Black Bolt's description, that psychic is very likely that human king. I attempted psychic abilities at the start of the war, but all attempts failed. All the psychics under my command who participated in the psychic rituals were burned to ashes by white flames. The only future I could glimpse was an endless golden glow... That wasn't physical light, but the reflection of psychic power in the material universe. I've never seen a creature with such power..."

"You're not saying that human king is a god, are you?" said Evo, the matriarch of the Ghost Clan.

“I didn’t say that, Mistress Evo.” Dara Ko Eke shook her head. “I was saying that the human king has great power and influence in the non-material universe. If he wants to know how we deal with it, he only needs to ask the ghost. We have no secrets from him.”

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(End of this chapter)