Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1658 Threat Preparation

Five soldiers from the First Class Regiment immediately began clearing potentially threatening defensive equipment. They not only shut down the power to the residences and warehouses but also closed the workshops with their own power supplies to prevent Tony Stark from operating his armor or other equipment. While the soldiers were busy eliminating the threat, Derrick had already positioned himself in front of Tony Stark, and the five soldiers surrounding him immediately turned to join the effort to eliminate the threat.

By the time the Imperial Guards had the situation under control, Tony Stark was completely defenseless. Even his portable transforming gauntlet, disguised as a watch, was sliced ​​off by Derrick—before Tony could react, the Imperial Guards had severed the watch with a dagger. Tony belatedly jumped up, frantically checking his wrist. Derrick reached out and grabbed Tony's shoulder, looking down at him. At this moment, Tony had calmed down. Although the wet grass clippings in his ankles and the mud soaking his shoes were annoying, he remained calm because he knew he wouldn't be killed today.

"We have limited time and we must talk." Derrick slowly released his grip. "The joint security mechanism between this residence and the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI has been temporarily disabled, but that doesn't mean those two agencies are unaware. We must explain the situation before the relevant personnel arrive."

Just as Derrick spoke, another action team was already leisurely collecting the spent shell casings. Inside the safe house were two bodies. One lay on the sofa, shot in the chest and forehead, a ring of scorch marks around the muzzle, hot blood quickly seeping into the sponge. The other body was less intact; a large-caliber bullet had destroyed the shoulder and part of the ribs, white bone fragments and thick blood splattering across the wall. This action team was used to such bloodshed; they were seasoned mercenaries and field agents, recruited by the First Secret Service specifically to handle the dirty work the Emperor didn't want to know (though he actually knew it all too well).

The Homeland Security safe house, located two kilometers away, was destroyed by another action team.

The drones hovered in the air. After de-silencing, the jet thrusters on the anti-gravity swarm drones activated, and they headed towards the direction designated in the operational plan. This was alert mode. When special operations forces discovered that a safe house had lost regular communication, they would use a reconnaissance team or satellite reconnaissance. If the special operations forces' budget in the area was unclear, the swarm drones would undertake preliminary tasks such as surveillance and interception. Whether it was a convoy or a drone, the bombs and machine guns carried by the swarm drones could handle the situation.

These two kilometers represented an unspoken distance between Tony Stark and the security services. He refused surveillance but not protection, thus this two-kilometer distance effectively blocked communication. Tony Stark was completely unaware that all the agents responsible for his protection had died. More precisely, he didn't even know how many people were protecting him, nor did he know that the "paralysis" Derrick had mentioned was now filled with bloodshed, nor that the so-called "temporary" referred to the agents' next scheduled contact, and even less did he know that every Imperial Guard operation was accompanied by a full-scale war.

The emperor would rather lose half of the country than lose a single member of the Imperial Guard.

"Our A10 reconnaissance drone formation has locked onto the airfield and is ready to provide fire guidance. The A11 reconnaissance drone formation is preparing to drop decoys to draw enemy radar activation." The command group relayed the information to Derrick via encrypted radio. "Our fighter jets are approaching the coastal area and are implementing directional jamming. Target data is complete, and our naval battle group is ready for combat. Anti-ship missiles are ready to launch at any time, and Corona fighters are initiating electronic jamming. We will have a maximum of five minutes of fog of war, sir." The female officer in the command group switched channels to the Guardian Order's communication channel and said in a half-joking tone, "Mind showing them a Mach 16 terminal acceleration missile, sir?"

"Keep the pressure on," Derrick replied first. "Don't fire first."

"You can send an email!"

Tony Stark's eyes widened; he absolutely hadn't expected that the golden-armored demigod standing before him could issue orders to destroy Cheyenne Mountain at any moment. "Didn't you even consider sending an email, or just having the postman drop the letter in the mailbox? Or you could just throw a package here—anything would be better than storming in! If there were other people here today, would you plan to kill them?"

"None of these measures can guarantee the timeliness of the information," Derrick said calmly. "We had to come here to let you know the seriousness of this matter, Tony Stark. The New Territory entered the non-material realm, and the passengers on that ship suffered a fate far worse than death. The Couple rescue ship will face the same fate. We cannot allow any of the New Territory or any of the Couple's materials to return to Earth, or the consequences will be horrific."

"If you want to end this conversation as soon as possible," Tony Stark took a deep breath, "then tell me what happened, what you know about the New Territory and Project Pegasus. Or would you like to come with me to the living room for a glass of brandy, but I suggest you don't damage my furniture or floors."

"I can't tell you everything," Derrick replied bluntly, completely disregarding the feelings of his audience. He rejected the suggestions made by the command group. This command group served only the Guardian Order's overseas operations, but its military priority was extremely high. "You have everything you need to know."

"I need all the information; this is my last chance!"

Tony Stark stepped forward, his finger attempting to touch Derrickson's breastplate. For a fleeting moment, anger replaced his fear of Derrickson's imposing golden-armored demigod form, but he realized this would require him to stand on tiptoe and raise his arm as high as possible, forcing him to abandon the idea. Tony Stark's expression gradually contorted, and Derrickson could even sense the rage emanating from him; he strongly suspected that Tony Stark would leap up and kick his kneecap.

"I refuse to be kept in the dark, you genetically modified humans, these self-proclaimed superior humanoids! I refuse to make a choice based on a few words. If your master wants to achieve something through me, then he should tell me the truth. Even Nick Fury can't hide things from me, and neither can your master."

"To ensure your safety and the safety of other humans."

"Then convince me," Tony Stark said. "Convince me that he's going to do the right thing."

"The righteous path that our Lord has followed is a great undertaking that you short-lived mortals cannot fully comprehend, but even with the limited understanding given by your brains, you can comprehend the future that our Lord has envisioned for the human race. This is why so many vested interests oppose our Lord, including the many interest groups you belong to, because our Lord will not allow a corporate alliance that can control government departments to exist."

Derrick first noticed Tony Stark's disgusted expression, and he couldn't help but frown, for Tony Stark's dullness exceeded his expectations. He had originally thought that Tony Stark's intelligence would be able to understand the Emperor's actions, but now it seemed that the man before him had disappointed him to the point that he had to repeat himself to a mortal, like a tireless preacher reciting the "United Truth" to a devout village woman.

"All you need to know is that in order to prevent the New Territory and the Co-op from returning to the material universe, we are willing to bombard Houston and the landing site thoroughly, even if it means the deaths of innocent people. If you were there, we would declare you dead. Our Lord wants you to see your child born. Do not fail our Lord's blessing, Tony Stark. Your abilities are invaluable to the future."

"Your master is truly despicable."

“I don’t understand what you mean, Tony Stark. But if you continue to insult my lord, I will cut off your head,” Derrick said first. “I’m not good at torture; you will have a clean and tidy death.”

"As expected." The Regent frowned. "The arrogant Tony Stark refuses to accept reality. I think he'll still head to Houston. All we can do is jam Houston's signals. Notify SkySword Orbital Command to begin our attacks on the satellites. We need a high-profile space war, not a covert operation. This is an opportunity we traded four F-35Bs for; we can't waste it. But bombing Houston is too dangerous. We can't start World War III. At least not now. He has other missions to complete and doesn't have the energy to deal with wars in the physical universe."

"Victoria Hand is very nervous; she's worried we'll be engaging in combat with the US military." Commander Constantine of the Royal Guard sat at the other end of the long table. "She doesn't understand the gravity of the situation. Should we tell her about the New Territories' extradimensional contamination?"

"It's time for him or her to know the truth," Viktor von Doom said. "Her loyalty is guaranteed; she, like you, is an extension of His will."

"I do not understand."

"Victoria Hand died at the hands of Hydra. The reason Victoria Hand is still alive today is entirely due to His will," Victor von Doom said. "She has no memory of that death; every cell in her body is kept alive by His psychic power."

(End of this chapter)