Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 555 Filthy Knowledge (Second Update)

After Salomon's successful boarding maneuver, he seized the ships that hadn't yet escaped the gravity trap, successfully forming a fleet. He even executed the casino tycoon in front of all the crew members, officially appointing himself as the fleet's commander-in-chief. All crew members could choose to join, or be dropped onto the planet below to await rescue by passing ships—no one chose the latter. The casino tycoon's men were outlaws, with little loyalty to their former boss.

Rather than being buried with them, it's better to follow a rising pirate star; anyone would make that deal.

Merlin greatly admired Salomon's methods, offering detailed evaluations of the tactics and strategies employed. Merlin had previously served as King Arthur's strategist and military advisor, and if Dave proved capable in the future, he too would assume the same role. Merlin lavished praise on the battle initiated by Salomon, calling it a textbook example of how space pirates could achieve victory against overwhelming odds.

This is Salomon's testing ground. Under the threat of death, the pirates became the best experimental tools, used to test various tactics and training methods envisioned by Salomon. Their organizational ability was astonishing, even far surpassing that of the free-spirited Xandar. Salomon even lectured these pirates during the long voyage, imparting tactics, strategies, art, and culture.

Aside from a holographic projection screen, his teaching tools consisted of swords and whips. Only fear and pain could keep these unruly individuals focused. In addition, he organized a large-scale modification surgery for the pirates to enhance their combat abilities. If these cowardly cowards had any fighting skills, they would have already joined raiders or similar organizations; he wouldn't have needed to recruit them.

Salomon quickly consolidated the supplies and put them under the management of First Officer Alex.

He organized the crew to burn corpses, clean the ship, and repair damaged compartments, giving the newly joined rogues something to do. Within days, the crew rapidly differentiated into different classes, with combatants and technicians at the top, followed by logistics and damage control personnel, and finally, slaves. Salomon implemented a complete and utter autocracy within the fleet. As an isolated island in space, a small society was forming, its unique cultural assimilation and political system spreading extremely smoothly. Every pirate who underwent surgery, received education, and was enchanted felt different from before; they began to have life goals, and their loyalty to Salomon began to develop in a fanatical direction. Especially First Officer Alex, who, unable to tolerate the harsh society of Hala (the Kree homeworld), now devoted himself entirely to Salomon's brutal rule.

Of course, a few minor rebellions were not a big problem, and Salomon solved all the problems with his magic.

He also noticed the crew's mental state, but said nothing.

Only Dave, who had never witnessed the dark side of society, found it hard to accept. In his view, using slaves was extremely immoral, and feudal autocracy was an uncivilized act. Yet now, no one wanted to pay him any attention; even Merlin let him wander around the cabin. Salomon's last words to him carried great weight; if Dave remained so naive, he was unworthy to become a swordsman. In fact, Merlin had originally intended to find a suitable candidate from the En-Garai wizarding order to become Salomon's assistant. If it weren't for Dave's exceptional talent and his undeniable progress, Merlin wouldn't have bothered with him at all.

He needed a profound blow, and Merlin prepared an even grander trial for him.

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Wanda knocked on the wall, and the moldy tiled wall responded with two dull thuds.

Since Salomon's temporary departure, Wanda hadn't seen her brother except for routine checks. She hadn't yet mastered the transfiguration or teleportation Salomon had mentioned, and couldn't bring him from the next cell. However, she could still transmit her thoughts—through a secret technique taught by Salomon, a method to prevent emotions from overriding reason during spellcasting, the so-called state of "concentration." This was a gradual process that penetrated deep into the mind, using the Hermetic Kabbalah system, though Wanda couldn't yet fully utilize it effectively.

However, she still received a red rose and a golden cross badge from Salomon as an incentive for her unfulfilled ambitions. Only after completing her course could she wear this badge on her chest, symbolizing her achievement. She was currently studying the Enoch language curriculum left behind by Salomon before his departure, learning about the Enoch magical system using a 49x49 character array and being wary of demons with a value of 333. In addition, she was studying a book specially selected by Salomon, the *Seven Chapters of the Mystic Lord*.

This book was dark and profound, completely different from the *Vluspá* and the handwritten *Book of Atum* placed beside it. The *Vluspá*, the first and most famous work in the poetic Edda, tells Odin from the perspective of a female prophet about the creation, end, and rebirth of the world. The *Book of Atum* tells of the prophecy of the world's end and return to chaos. The *Seven Secret Chapters of the Mysterious Lord* was profound and terrifying; ordinary people would likely suffer a mental breakdown after reading it, and Wanda did not want her brother to see these things.

He belonged to the light of science; mathematics and physics shaped him. Pietro's thirst for scientific knowledge far outweighed his interest in superpowers; this filthy knowledge did not belong to Pietro, it belonged to me. Wanda closed her eyes, gradually sinking into the depths of her mind—focus, focus, focus, this is the prerequisite for spellcasting. If you cannot control your instincts to cast spells, then you must remember to focus; you must do the same if you are learning black magic.

You must remember that your heart belongs to yourself; you must always remember that.

She remembered every word Salomon said, and she did just that. When the wizard realized he couldn't eradicate Wanda's inherent nature, he changed his educational approach. Wanda learned many things from the wizard, including the sacred city of R'lyeh, buried deep in the sea, the Eye Demons and Set, the ancient war waged by Gaia, the Earth Mother, and the history of the birth of many gods.

This is priceless history of the magical world; some would be willing to kill for this knowledge. Wanda clearly didn't yet realize how precious the knowledge Salomon had given her was; as always, she absorbed it with an insatiable thirst. Somehow, she felt her talent for these dark magic magics was terrifyingly high. The spells taught by Salomon that would take her a long time to learn, she could memorize those dark magic spells in one go.

She resisted the temptation to cast spells and patiently continued her studies.

Unseen by her, the red rose and golden cross badge tucked into her pocket gleamed faintly. Wanda involuntarily recalled the golden giant and the feathered tree entwined with a giant serpent from her dream; the whispers that had been lingering around her vanished, and she delved deeper into enumeration.

Please vote for me!

(End of this chapter)