Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1712 (Chapter 1708) The Hunting Plan

Cuneiform characters are complex and varied. This complex primitive writing system was invented shortly after the invention of pottery, serving as a means of exchange for small clay tablets and engraved on stone using a sharpened reed pen. This hieroglyphic script gradually became standardized and formalized in the 31st century BCE, and was simplified and abstracted during the Assyrian period (1000 BCE). The script taught by Eridu today is an abstracted version, easier to write on clay and wax tablets, and also easier to standardize and recognize.

Miller, as the nominal high priest of the emperor, promulgated the standardized cuneiform script, which was his primary task now and in the future. In the name of the temple of the god of wisdom and the emperor, this relatively advanced and convenient writing system was taught in the schools established by the emperor and adopted by the city's inhabitants; any eligible citizen and school student in Elidu could learn it. For students aspiring to become scribes or other professions, simply learning to write was insufficient; they also had to learn how to sharpen reeds, pound clay to make tablets, and perform calculations.

As an ideographic script that evolved from transaction documents, cuneiform expresses numbers in a completely different way than the Arabic numeral system. However, because the decimal and sexagesimal mathematical expressions of cuneiform were too cumbersome and simplistic, and incompatible with the binary devices brought by the emperor, High Priest Miltiades also had to teach the selected students the Arabic mathematical system and advanced mathematics. The knowledge that the emperor allowed the students to learn in this era was something anyone would be willing to pay any price for, including every merchant in Elidu. Without sophisticated mathematics, merchants could not calculate profits and expected prices, and the temple could not collect taxes from them.

"The plan will be carried out by mortals, and the plan of the gods of the Sea of ​​Souls will also be carried out by mortals. Neither I nor they can afford the cost of a direct confrontation. This is the Mexican standoff; neither side has a safe way out, and the standoff will continue forever," the Emperor said. "For humanity of this era, the best outcome is MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction), which means safety. This may be the best outcome the veiled gods can accept, but it is not mine."

"Do you know the original purpose of the Knights of the Round Table, child?" the Sorcerer Supreme said. "It was to eradicate the remaining divine monsters on the islands of England and Ireland. The expulsion of the Germanic tribes was merely a byproduct of the Knights of the Round Table. You have studied true history; you should know that the Second Advent signifies the end of the era in which the gods walked upon the earth, but not all gods accepted their fate. This is a dangerous age; the powers of the ancients still linger in this world, and some truly existing gods remain powerful. Your school, and the way you spread civilization, have already attracted the attention of some of the Old Gods. Human civilization is driving out the civilization of the gods. The knowledge you teach, every stroke of your pen, represents the process of the era of the gods' demise. This will alert all the Old Gods."

The Sorcerer Supreme stopped discussing the topic. The Emperor already knew all the facts he needed to know from history lessons. The Sorcerer Supreme seemed somewhat gloating; the Emperor had no idea why his teacher felt this way. It seemed that losing his physical body and the heavy burden had made the Sorcerer Supreme more cheerful. As a powerful soul wandering the Sea of ​​Souls, it was indeed easy to be happy, not having to worry about the trivialities of the material world.

"However, I believe that when that deity comes to you, your maids will no longer need to train female officials for you."

"Training those girls was just to give Diana something to do, otherwise she would express her dissatisfaction with everything in this era."

"That's your opinion, not hers. Fourteen is the legal age to get married in this era, and your little maid has already accepted that reality. She can't find any virgins over twenty in Eli... You lose your sense of humor once you get into work mode, my child. You've accepted your immortality, and if you don't find something interesting to do, your long life will drive you to the brink of collapse."

"I don't think there's anything wrong with that."

"That's because you haven't yet experienced the first millennium of your long life. How long did you spend in the time of Agamotto, half a hundred thousand years ago? Five hundred years?" The Sorcerer Supreme tapped the tablet in the Emperor's hand. "Why not maintain a sense of anticipation, and consider what role you might play in history? You need to adapt to your life, my child."

The Emperor decided not to argue further. The Sorcerer Supreme was his teacher and family, and as a human who had personally experienced a long life, the Sorcerer Supreme was indeed qualified to lecture him in this regard. He truly didn't know how to spend such a long life, especially since his plan required pilot testing, which meant he had to remain in this era until the feasibility of all the plans in the scheme was verified. This was the result of his discussions with Regent Victor von Doom; only He had the time and ability to verify the plan's feasibility without the watchful eyes of those behind the veil.

"That deity has been lingering near Elidu for a long time, observing you and your royal guards. Your defenses of the city are too strong; having witnessed your power, she certainly won't take a hostile stance. Moreover, the people of this city call you Enki, perhaps she sees you as one of their own. Do you intend to speak with her?"

"I have no time for such trivial matters, nor any interest in talking to an ancient god destined for extinction. This is not in my plans." The emperor frowned. "As long as the ancient god does not interfere, she will not be my enemy."

"Since you've come to this era, you should adapt to how it operates, instead of focusing solely on your own tasks. Humanity won't be destroyed because of a single day of relaxation, at least not now." The Sorcerer Supreme shook his head. "The Old Gods don't necessarily all perish. Take Athena and Bastet, for example, even though humanity in this era can only worship those illusory reflections from the collective memory of what existed before civilization. But as long as you remember Athena, she won't disappear; as long as Wakanda exists, Bastet won't perish. So why not offer some terms and talk to potential allies? You might gain something unexpected. I believe there are still many remnants behind the veil in this era, and those things aren't exactly appealing, are they?"

"You don't need to use that tone to trick me into swallowing the potion, teacher. I'm over 100 years old."

"Back when you were only a few years old, you always seemed crazy outside of work, and you even made Mordo look silly. Otherwise, why would I have tricked you into taking the medication?"

The Supreme Master and the Emperor discussed many things, including the arrangements the Emperor made before making the time jump.

Despite having completed his grand magic and now roaming the vast ocean in spirit form, the Sorcerer Supreme is not omniscient or omnipotent. Many of the Emperor's preparations before his departure were conducted in absolute secrecy to minimize the view from behind the veil; no one but those directly involved knows the full picture. Even now, the Sorcerer Supreme can only find this era through his connection with the Emperor via the Divine Sword—a weapon forged by the planet itself for defense, a true planet-destroying weapon. As the two wielders of the Divine Sword, the connection between the Sorcerer Supreme and the Emperor extends beyond mere instruction. Without this metaphysical connection, without precise temporal and spatial coordinates, it would be impossible to see the Emperor. This is why the Emperor is not currently being watched by the gaze behind the veil; to find Him, every Planck of time must be dissected. Even a second too much or too little will place the observer and the Emperor in two different parallel universes.

“I must thank the Father of the Gods for his gift,” the Emperor said, stroking the golden armlet on his right arm. Every day, this armlet provided him with a constant supply of gold, which he used to recruit artisans, purchase land, and build centralized workshops. He stood up and pressed a finger on the tablet screen. His fingers still bore the slight burns from blowing glass. In this era, he had to personally create all the experimental equipment. The Sorcerer Supreme wasn't asking the question out of concern for responsibility, but out of boredom. The Sorcerer Supreme's duties were over; as a spirit far removed from the material plane, his relationship with the material plane consisted solely of the Emperor.

"But I have already decided on the relationship between humanity and the Aesir. When Paul decided to lead that group of more evolved humans away from Earth, Agamotto and Paul made their choice. Agamotto's choice is also my choice. The Aesir are not the masters of humanity or Earth. Since they have chosen to leave Earth to enjoy a long lifespan, there is no reason for them to pollute the human gene pool."

"You killed Professor Randolph, that berserker who came to Earth and fell in love with humans?"

"Use a thermomelting cannon to ensure no biological traces are left behind," the Emperor said. "Now there is a more pressing matter, Master. Not all enemies come from behind the veil. The spirits wandering among the stars tell me that the Kree are coming, their war with the Skrulls is fierce, and they are here to find slaves and soldiers. My Custodians have found witnesses to the Kree headhunters, and their research teams are approaching Earth."

"What do you plan to do? You should know that if you had stopped this, Hydra would never have been born."

An eagle perched on the windowsill, its wings flapping loudly, its eyes gleaming with the frozen light of lightning. The emperor's eyes held the same light. The eagle glanced one last time at the palace, then leaped down, embracing the humid, hot winds rising from the damp plains as it soared into the sky.

"The Kree will abandon this bio-project; its expected returns will fall far short of the initial investment," the Emperor said. "I'm interested in a hunt, soon. The prey won't be the Kree, but the experimental equipment. I'm sure the Kree will generously provide the prey. I'm also eager to know what progress the Kree have made in their genetic experiments on the human species and the Celestials."

Diana turned her head.

She watched with satisfaction as the huge, dyed linen cloth hanging by the window fluttered gently in the breeze. Sunlight shone on her elaborately washed and treated white wool robe with gold trim and tassels, adorned with the emperor's gold armlets. The gold and gems offered by merchants, forged in the forges of the Royal Guard, became earrings and pendants that symbolized the emperor's status. Just having the emperor here filled her with a deep sense of pride and attachment; no one in the world could be closer to him than she was. She noticed that the crystal wine glass, once filled with ruby-colored wine, was now empty, with only a thin layer of liquid clinging to its rim. This discovery alarmed her. The girl holding the glass also noticed this, and a look of fear immediately crossed her face.

"It's alright, there's no need to blame her." The emperor glanced at the girls on either side of the throne steps with a complicated expression. "I just don't want anyone to know."

In this era, the vast majority of urban dwellers, regardless of gender, wore a type of wrap-around skirt called a Kaunake. Women's Kaunakes were worn diagonally across the shoulders, but the basic design remained largely the same. This layered garment was one of the world's earliest tasseled garments. Some Kaunakes, made of linen, were incredibly thin and light, their intricate weaving techniques far surpassing later styles; it's hard to imagine they were human handicrafts. Their skin, adorned with fragrant oils and perfumes, was soft, fair, and sweetly fragrant. They also wore exquisite gold crowns, necklaces, and rings in the shapes of leaves and flowers—a fashion that emerged only in Babylonian times. Craftsmen throughout Eridu were still creating precious metal jewelry for the temples, and even lapis lazuli blue eyeliner in shell containers, worth far more than their weight in gold.

There is no doubt that everything these girls need requires a lot of manpower.

In this age of scarce productivity, they were undoubtedly nobles. Families willing to sell their beautiful girls to Dinah meant they would shed their former social status and become nobles—scarcity of productivity did not equate to complete backwardness; this era already possessed rudiments of glassmaking, relatively accurate astronomical calendars, and medicine and disease prevention concepts more advanced than those of the Middle Ages. In other words, the streets of Elidu were far cleaner than those of 14th-century London—they were clearly not all girls capable of wielding chainsaws and donning power armor to fight. The initial plan was for some to become the city's obstetricians, veterinarians, and herbalists, while the rest would serve as servants to maintain the temple's operations. The empty rooms on either side of the temple were intended for them, though in Dinah's vision, these girls clearly had a different purpose.

This makes perfect sense, as these girls perform the duties of priestesses.

In this era, female priestesses shared a sacred connection with the gods, and union with them was their duty—a sacred marriage. Even setting aside religion, the word "love" in this time meant "marking land," and marriage was legally related to the distribution of property. Diana had already paid funds to the girls' families on behalf of the emperor; therefore, whether the emperor was human or divine, these girls had a marriage relationship with him protected by both religion and law. They were obligated to bear children for the emperor and could never be "returned." This fact filled the emperor with despair; he could only hope that this was just another of Diana's family management games—games she enjoyed, whether it was an Oxfordshire manor or a tropical island in the Caribbean.

Did Diana view Bayonetta and Joan of Arc in the same way she viewed these girls? The thought sent chills down His spine; this matter must not be known to a second person. Perhaps Constantine knew, but he wouldn't care too much; the Royal Guard only concerned themselves with the Emperor.

"If you don't want anyone to know, then she certainly won't." Diana subtly narrowed her eyes, glancing at the girl. The Emperor and Diana were speaking Latin, which the girls couldn't understand at all, but Diana's attitude still reassured them. "Is there anything else I can do for you, my lord?"

"I need you to prepare some fresh dates and melons, cleaned wool and fresh meat, and also a lion skin from the barn, from the lion I want to hunt."

"Next, the grain merchant requests an audience. Isn't such a gift too extravagant for a merchant? If you wish to kill that grain merchant, I think a cup of poison will suffice."

Diana was very professional and did not show any disgust towards the merchants in front of the emperor.

In fact, anyone who knew the true nature of those merchants wouldn't like them. In this era, below the emperor were livestock herders, clerks, officials, and priests; the merchants who monopolized coastal trade didn't have such high social status. Before the emperor's arrival, the city's merchants were trying every means to share power with the priests, and many of the emperor's decrees after his arrival were aimed at seizing power from the merchants that shouldn't have been shared. Diana disliked anyone who shared power with the emperor, especially since that merchant looked like a "bulldog with a failed Botox injection in its eyelids."

This assessment, coming from the emperor himself, is very objective.

"No, this gift is for another guest." The emperor gestured for the girl to fill another cup with wine, then invited Diana to drink—this wine was one he had asked Diana to make one afternoon. He was in charge of sterilizing the barrel, while Diana lifted her skirt and crushed the grapes in it—clearly, the low productivity and crude products of this era had annoyed her more than once, and a little wine could calm her down. "This gift must be worthy of that guest's status. I also need an expenditure recorded in the budget, from the religious activities section. I want to hire all the children in the city around ten years old to be escorted by the Eridu militia to pick wildflowers outside the city after finishing their schoolwork for the day, paid by weight. Only flowers, no leaves. I want to clear and block the main roads the day before the guest arrives in Eridu, and then pave a flower-lined path from the city gate to the temple."

The emperor paused for a moment. There might not be enough time to train a proper orchestra, and he had to abandon some of his plans.

Diana stopped writing, puzzled. On the data board was the memo she had just written.

"You can try walking this path first, Diana. You can think of it as something prepared for you, not someone else."