Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1616 Kamar-Taj: Catastrophe

Amon's gaze sent chills down the spines of the craftsmen of the Immortal City.

The latter took a deep breath of the pure air inside his mask and refocused his attention on the data on the single-molecule grinding machine panel in front of him. The Royal Guard placed great importance on its weaponry. These complex and advanced pieces of equipment were handcrafted by the Emperor's private artisans. Production was extremely limited, but their power was immense; they could even pierce the armor plates of main battle tanks. Therefore, every member of the Royal Guard would maintain their equipment themselves whenever possible. Amon watched intently as the artisan rewired the Guard Spear, replaced parts, and updated the software. Then, the disassembled and maintained electric detonator was reinstalled onto the Guard Spear, named "Truth." He took the weapon, turned on the power, and tested it. After confirming a smooth connection with the power armor's aiming system, he fired at the target mounted on the armor plate.

"I've replaced the barrel, and the accuracy has improved."

The craftsman couldn't help but feel a little nervous facing the three-meter-tall giant. This garrison spear required three automatons equipped with engineering exoskeletons to lift and place it on the machine tool; the excessively heavy weapon could only be easily wielded by warriors in power armor, displaying both elegance and lethality in the hands of the Royal Guard. The craftsman glanced at the target, melted by the starlight's intense heat from the explosive warhead, and once again marveled at the Craftsman Lord's exquisite craftsmanship—as far as he knew, even the barrel strength of humanity's main battle tanks might not be able to withstand the chamber pressure released by this Royal Guard-specific explosive shell, and the complex structure and precision manufacturing of that warhead were beyond the technological reach of most human nations at this stage.

"Thank you for your help, Master Pandion." Amon nodded. The Emperor did not intend to use the standard for this trip; otherwise, he could have once again demonstrated his skill in using the eagle on the standard to decapitate the enemy, a skill he displayed during the Battle of Attilan. "I hope the Morning Star gunships of the Guardian Order in the hangar have also been maintained. This operation must be carried out in secrecy, and the electronic warfare equipment must be tested before departure."

"It's already been tested; radars throughout the Indian subcontinent and the Tibetan Plateau region will be jammed. The shield system has also been repaired and tested, so there's no need to worry about it being detected when launching ground-attack missiles," the master craftsman said worriedly. "You know this will trigger detection after the mission, right?"

"Thank you again, Master Pandion."

Amon opened his arms, accepting the routine cleaning of his armor by the armory officer, remaining silent about the master craftsman's concerns. He certainly knew what it meant to disable the air defense radars of the Indian subcontinent and the Tibetan Plateau using electronic warfare equipment; that was far better than being directly detected and having his assault transport ships and gunships open fire. If intelligence were leaked, it would mean a full-scale war with another country not part of their short-term plans, a situation the Emperor and Regent absolutely did not want to see. They now had to focus all their energy on expanding their power, accumulating resources, and uniting with other human nations to combat the alien threat.

Another member of the Royal Guard was also performing equipment maintenance in the same workshop. As the Royal Guard guard remaining to oversee Kamar-Taj, he provided several reports to the Royal Guard's archives, corroborated by data from the Astronomical Tower's observation system of the material and immaterial realms. Amon had already reviewed those reports before the routine equipment maintenance process. He discussed them with Royal Guard member Amphitriteon and determined the tactics and equipment required for the operation, including plasma cluster bombs, thermal bunker-buster bombs, air-dropped fire bunkers and prefabricated defensive works, low-altitude access to control key nodes, heavy mortar fire support, and so on.

This was a swift assault, with Amon and Amphitriteon devising the attack route. After the Emperor activated the psychic shield around Kamar-Taj, special operations teams from the First Secret Service would attack from different directions, while the Royal Guard would accompany the Emperor directly into the Kamar-Taj.

"Anti-pseudo-army?"

"The neural stabilizers have been distributed to the First Class Regiment. They've all undergone implant modifications and are capable of running the neural stabilization program. The all-environment combat suits and neural stabilizer modules work well, having passed multiple extreme tests and psionic noise tests," Amphitryon said while compiling the report. "They participated in the mission to eliminate the wizards alongside the First Army, and their psychological assessments were positive. Having received the Regent's training, these soldiers possess the mental fortitude to fight wizards, and the human girls from the Sorority will also participate in the First Class Regiment's offensive missions, so there's no need to worry about morale. Does He have any concerns about this operation?"

"It doesn't exist, otherwise we wouldn't be preparing thermonuclear warheads. If Kamar-Taj cannot be used by Him, then Kamar-Taj has no reason to exist."

"I saw Wanda Maximoff's name on the mission list," Amphitrite said. "Her recent psychological evaluation report has been uploaded to the archives, and her danger and instability levels remain deep red."

"Her shuttle will arrive in twenty minutes," Amon said. "She received orders to prepare to depart before the Battle of Attilan ended. She will stand by the Emperor's side as long as he issues the order, so there's no need to worry about her stance. The Emperor intends to meet with her personally and explain the purpose of this mission. The witch might be a destabilizing factor, so we must lure her away beforehand. I hope He will grant us the opportunity to implement the security regulations."

"This requires advice."

"He will accept this suggestion. The witch's relationship with Him cannot sway His mind."

Amon tapped a few times on the data panel, and a servant immediately retrieved a thick document from a towering bookshelf in the archives. Adjacent to this document were research and testing data on the Sisterhood's powered armor. "We need an assault transport ship. If the Kamar-Taj problem can't be solved, we must evacuate Him and then blow up the entire mountain range. We must request access to the forbidden weapons arsenal and send an engineering team to pre-position thermonuclear explosives." He unrolled a parchment scroll and spread it on the wide conference table. All the equipment in this office was prepared for demigods whose height and size far exceeded that of ordinary people, but the Royal Guard still didn't have the habit of sitting down, because it was meeting time. "This is the data from the scans and analysis of the terrain around Kamar-Taj that He once arranged for the engineering team and satellite reconnaissance. By calculating the weak points in the mountain, we can bury the Kamar-Taj headquarters with minimal cost. This is a last resort, but I suggest we begin execution now."

"Agreed, Tribunal."

"Then we need the Commander's permission to open the forbidden armory," Amon said grimly. "I hope the witch didn't waste too much of his time."

"That old man uses witchcraft to power his heartbeat, but his cirrhosis of the liver is not fully resolved. I doubt any ethereal being would be willing to trade his liver for it. Monak has tragically realized that his life is worthless, which is a painful fact, so I will not blame him or demand that he stay here."

That's a bit harsh.

"But it is precisely because Monak has a clear understanding of the costs, and knows that blindly breaking free from the limitations of human thought requires venturing into deep waters, that he has never dabbled in overly dangerous witchcraft. Many Kamar-Taj sorcerers, even under the tutelage of the Sorcerer Supreme, have failed to do this; otherwise, Kamar-Taj wouldn't have had so many traitors. I hope he stays, at least as a discipline master. I hope he has learned how to wield a whip. Joan of Arc, if possible, please do not casually rummage through my hidden cabinet… Can't the chocolates and jelly made by the professional chefs at the stronghold satisfy your appetite?"

"I had dessert on the plane, even if it was processed, semi-prepared industrial food." Jeanne glanced down at the pencil drawing in the document, thought for a moment, and then put it back. She didn't want to tell Bayonetta directly here that the Sisterhood's power armor and standard uniform actually had another version, with very little protection—the shoulders, arms, and legs were completely unarmored. "Why don't you just tell that old man you plan to let him stay? Are you too embarrassed to say it? After all, you started a massacre in front of all schools of thought on Earth; it's a bit too late to pretend to be a wise king now."

"This is a military base, and alcoholic beverages are absolutely not served except when necessary. Violators will be imprisoned. I think this will also help him quit drinking; after all, I don't need a headmaster who's drunk every day."

He reached out and pressed the doorbell on the table.

The guards who entered the office saw the Emperor, as if he had been waiting for him, pressing the electronic seal already placed on the table onto the parchment. An encryption key composed of microscopic particles was etched onto the paper. Simultaneously, a psionic emblem was attached to the electronic seal, forming an authentication mark that could not be forged. Amon frowned, staring intently at the two witches sitting on the sofa. He couldn't understand why they were still there instead of accepting their observation mission and returning to their South American island to prepare fortifications.

[Agreed to use mountain tactics]

[Agree to use thermonuclear warheads]

The Royal Guards showed no surprise as their master approved the tactical research report, without even a second's hesitation, as if their master didn't want to waste even such a short time. "Wanda will be accompanying me to Kamar-Taj," the Emperor announced to the witches. "I have given her specialized training. If the Kamar-Taj sorcerers intend to harm her, she will know what to do. Amon, prepare to receive Wanda Maximoff and ensure she has the necessary equipment."

This time, the Royal Guard, Amon, saw that neither of the two witches expressed any objection due to their shallow desires.

"After I and the Royal Guard leave this base, you will be granted temporary launch authorization for thermonuclear weapons within this base." The Emperor handed a data panel to Bayonetta. "If necessary, you can decide for yourself whether to launch missiles to attack Kamar-Taj."

Are you trying to shift the moral responsibility onto me?

"I must prepare for the possibility of losing contact with the base. I know you can be trusted, Ceresia, Joan of Arc."

Bayonetta pursed her lips, ultimately unable to utter a word. She took the data panel, her movements visibly strained, a far cry from her usual deft and efficient manner. She desperately didn't want to admit she was happy about this trust, but her anxiety about the difficulty of the mission and the current state of Kamar-Taj quickly overwhelmed that small bit of pleasure. Even when facing the Attilan campaign, he hadn't prepared thermonuclear weapons—information revealed in casual conversations between the Emperor and the Witch before the arrival of the Royal Guard—yet now, facing the most familiar and politically sensitive Kamar-Taj, he was willing to use thermonuclear warheads as one of his last resorts. One could imagine how pessimistic he was about this mission.

"Can't the two daggers the Sorcerer Supreme gave you solve the problem?"

"If things develop as I imagine, then Kamar-Taj will face a major purge. The idea that two short swords can solve the problem is too optimistic. Of the three Temple Guardians, apart from the soon-to-be-retired Mage Daniel, the other two are leading trusted arcane mages from the three temples on the moon, responsible for cleaning up the corruption of Attilan Castle. All the books, artifacts, and equipment are strictly protected by witchcraft, and the thermonuclear warheads will not cause too much irreparable damage."

As the order was given, Dinah arrived with several servants pushing armor mounting mechanisms. Bayonetta noticed that Dinah had changed into a new set of power armor; the blood-red and black armor had weapon mounting modules installed on its back. The chainsaw sword Bayonetta had given Dinah was now firmly held in place by the magnetic weapon mounting module, and it had clearly been maintained. This psionic weapon possessed power far exceeding that of conventional chainsaws; its multi-layered serrations, crafted from scales, could regenerate even when damaged, and its engine, built from an ethereal life form's heart, could operate indefinitely. This weapon was now Dinah's primary weapon; after all, without power armor, the user of such a heavy weapon would find it difficult to utilize their close-combat abilities.

(End of this chapter)