Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1592 The Lunar War (104)

The armored convoy drove down the deck, which had been reinforced by Martian technicians after the collapse. Tita, as the Sorority's chief commander, stood atop an armored vehicle painted black with gold lilies, excitedly awaiting the Emperor's arrival in his command vehicle. Genetically modified soldiers and troop carriers from the First Secret Regiment passed her in a long line under the cover of infantry. Sorority androids and trained, enhanced girls joined the convoy in perfect unison. Only Tita and a few other Sorority commanders boarded the Emperor's massive command vehicle.

"This war is going too smoothly," Amon said over the communications channel. He wasn't unaware of the casualty reports; the mortal army had suffered over 2000 casualties, and the genetically modified warriors over 50, but in the eyes of the Royal Guard, such casualties were negligible in such a high-intensity combat environment. "Every time Our Lord is present, the war ends exceptionally smoothly. What if those human armies become dependent on Our Lord on the battlefield? He has other work to do; He can't waste it all on the battlefield."

"Reasonable concerns, but premature."

Hannibal walked alongside the command vehicle. Although reconnaissance drones had already scouted a relatively safe path for armored vehicles, guided by the coordinates provided by the Kamar-Taj sorcerers, the Royal Guard remained vigilant. They scanned every crevice and shadow on the deck with astonishing dynamic vision, assessing the engineering prowess of the Martian technicians while remaining alert for potential assassins. Hammurabi, also wielding a shield and greatsword, did the same, but he didn't participate in the discussion—the genetically modified warriors had performed exceptionally well in this battle. Even those fatally wounded could still kill the massive, dark-magical-infused aetheric behemoths with their bare hands, each warrior exceeding three hundred kills—and that was just the count on the kill counter. However, the Royal Guard didn't envy that ferocious fighting style. Their combat was known for its efficiency, precision, and composure, not for brutal fighting and rage. The genetically modified warriors moved quickly, but the Royal Guard was even faster, for they were the pinnacle of creation, crafted and refined by the Emperor himself.

"This is just a star fortress, just a small human army."

"But that's already the most resilient part of the human army," Amon cautioned. "Not every human soldier can withstand the pressure of fighting in the void; don't forget how vulnerable they are. If He weren't present, if He hadn't deliberately confined the human soldiers' activities within His psionic aura, those human soldiers wouldn't have performed as they have. We've witnessed the effects of etheric energy on the human mind. We should be prepared for this and take appropriate measures. We can't completely trust the political commissars and military police; they are mortals too. According to established procedures, the mortal army and genetically modified warriors will forget the fact that they encountered the etheric entity. Our Lord will not publicize the details of this battle to avoid contaminating the mind with knowledge. Only the Royal Guard can face such an unconventional enemy without being corrupted."

"A reasonable agenda, we will discuss and make recommendations," Hammurabi suddenly said. It was the duty of the tribunes to adopt the agenda of the temporary study group and to provide recommendations to the Emperor; Hammurabi's position was that of tribunes. He looked at another member of the Royal Guard, Superuliumas, who had originally been on Earth carrying out another task until the Emperor used psionic energy to teleport him directly from Earth to the Star Fortress to take over the hidden pawns arranged by Regent Victor von Doom.

"Should we recycle it?"

"Retrieved," Supiluliumas said.

Hammurabi nodded and did not inquire further; Commander Constantine already knew the information.

Superuliumas's job was to receive the assassin the Regent had dispatched to Attilan Castle ahead of time—the assassin who had severed the head of the villainous clan matriarch and destroyed the Inhumans' decisive organizational power. That assassin used a compound unique to Skrulls to disguise himself as the Ghost Clan matriarch, making contact with many important figures in the Inhuman royal family and relaying intelligence, including information about Inhuman military movements, to command.

In fact, the assassin didn't only kill the villainous clan matriarch; only her head remained intact. Other important Inhuman targets were killed by a molten metal bomb, leaving not even ashes. Another assassin who killed Queen Medusa of the Inhuman royal family was also recovered by Supiluliumas. As a high-value asset, both the modifications the assassins underwent (including physical modifications and induced hypnosis) and the specific compounds used (currently secreted only by clones of Skrull tissues and organs) were extremely precious. An assassin's cost was higher than a genetically modified warrior's, and their tactical value was far greater; therefore, they had to be recovered intact.

"My Lord," Tita clenched her fists nervously under Diana's gaze. Supiluliumas's warning had deeply worried her. Tita knew the Emperor knew what she was doing, but simply didn't want to ask now. However, she felt it was better to be honest with him—would the Sisterhood go against the Emperor's will? But Tita didn't know if this action violated the Emperor's principles—before she could speak, the Emperor shook his head. He was in a psychic conversation with someone and had neither the time nor the inclination to interfere in such trivial matters as the Sisterhood's internal affairs.

When the call ended, the Emperor looked at Tita's nervously blinking eyes but made no comment. Tita, however, seemed to suddenly realize something and jumped off the command vehicle with the other Sisters commanders, returning to her armored personnel carrier. When the other androids asked her what the Emperor had said to her, she just smiled and refused to answer.

"What do you think Tita knows?" Diana whispered in the Emperor's ear. Even though the chainsaw sword, a gift from the witch and powered by psychic energy, was an incredibly powerful weapon, her departure from the manor and island to Fort Attilan wasn't for battlefield glory, but rather to take care of the Emperor's needs. Although this task couldn't be fulfilled due to the Emperor's busy schedule, she insisted on staying by his side, and he tacitly accepted this.

"I don't know, but I don't want Tita's ideas to have any effect in the future."

The Emperor frowned, tapping the shaft of the Holy Lance with his hand. Commander Constantine of the Royal Guard glanced at Diana. As one of the participants in all of the Emperor's plans, he was the only one present who understood what the Emperor meant. It was a meticulously calculated model, and Constantine himself was a participant in, even a driving force behind, this prophetic model—arguably one of its most important components. "But that's not important now," the Emperor continued, tapping the spear shaft with his fingers encased in armor. "I hope the mage Hamil can be with me in the meantime. It's time we discussed the matter of Kamar-Taj."

"You have taken control of Kamar-Taj," Dinah said. "The Sorcerer Supreme has handed over power to you."

"This matter is not as simple as you think, Diana," the Emperor said calmly. "Summon the mage Hamil. Constantine, you stay here; you must listen to the entire conversation."

Updated at 12 noon

(End of this chapter)