Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 984 Internal Conflicts (Second Update)

Bayonita called Wu Guiyue, the guardian of the Kamar-Taj temple, every day to inquire whether His Holiness had returned to the sanctuary in the Himalayas. She sincerely didn't want Salomon to do something so dangerous—venturing into the Dark Dimension to negotiate with Morgan le Fay, who had been banished by the Sorcerer Supreme—it was practically gambling with his life.

Salomon might have had a reason to do this if he hadn't possessed the Immortal City and the Martian Foundry, but now, with devastating weapons in hand, he had no need to take such a risk—while Bayonetta admired Salomon's cruel kindness, it didn't mean the witch wanted to trade his life for the lives of everyone in Los Angeles. The so-called witch ritual did exist, but it had nothing to do with what they did at the manor. She and Jeanne devised a plan, and the witch, like a file, subtly and gradually changed Salomon's mind, persuading him to solve the problem in a more secure way.

However, she was unaware that Salomon's connection with the Sorcerer Supreme had never been severed.

The Dark God is a formidable threat to the next era. The entire universe cannot prevent Chthon's return and rise, which will impact the entire galaxy and even the entire universe. Humanity must seize this chaos to establish galactic dominance and complete the plans that the Aesir and Odin failed to fully realize. Even though the Sorcerer Supreme despised her, Morgan le Fay is invaluable as a sorcerer who has deeply studied dark magic but has not been corrupted. Even the Dark Book is a grimoire she compiled and bound from collected dark scrolls. Her research is crucial for Kamar-Taj and the Immortal City to deepen their understanding of the outer dimensions and can aid Salomon's plans.

If there were any spellcasters in the world whom Salomon valued most, Morgan le Fay would certainly be one of them, and ranked quite high. Salomon had heard many tales of past feuds and conflicts with Morgan le Fay from the Sorcerer Supreme—stories so exaggerated, the scale of the battles unimaginable to modern people—such as the construction of Stonehenge, and the dragons and monsters on the British Isles. Years of warfare even crippled Camelot's politics and economy, leading to the city's rebellion. All these stories were summarized as lessons learned and instilled in him by the Sorcerer Supreme.

Salomon's goal wasn't merely to extract the exact number of copies of the Dark Book from Morgan le Fay—that was just one objective. His true aim was to win Morgan le Fay over. This objective couldn't be revealed to the Temple Keepers of Kamar-Taj; only the Sorcerer Supreme's tacit approval was possible. As the current wielder of the Holy Sword, Salomon possessed the right to negotiate with Morgan le Fay—not based on power, but on legal principles and the legitimacy of her rule over the British Isles. Since she desired Britain, she was willing to accept the islands if she adhered to the rules established by Salomon and the Sorcerer Supreme and helped humanity achieve its great ambitions. If she was willing to provide assistance, a human colony could also be given to her, since humanity wouldn't lack alien colonies by then.

Simply put, this is a negotiation to attract investment.

Aside from when Bayonetta or Joan of Arc extended the invitation, every possible scenario of the negotiation was constantly being considered in his mind: how to persuade Morgan Lefebvre to invest, and how Salomon and she would have to engage in a contest to establish dominance before the investment could proceed.

Meanwhile, he also had to handle intelligence from Latveria. Victor von Doom had crossed many lines he had drawn, which displeased Stephanie—Victor von Doom was exceptionally capable and cared deeply for his people; his only flaw was that he was too efficient in his work, showing no consideration for human feelings. In comparison, Salomon could be considered a person with high emotional intelligence.

At least Salomon knew that Latvian had to unite all forces that could be united, even the children of the Latvian royal family who cared for the poor, rather than as Victor von Doom believed (later revealed to be Stephanie's view of Victor's thoughts, not Victor's true thoughts. This was a subjective opinion, not an objective fact, a trick of office politics), that the old vested interests had to be eliminated—Stephanie had to increase flights to Latvian to bring those who could be reformed back to the Immortal City for short-term education, lest Victor hang them all.

Salomon determined the course of action for the future after speaking with him.

Most of these people were highly educated and had studied in Western countries; one of them was a fellow alumnus of Salomon's philosophy program at Oxford. Hearing of political instability in her hometown, she decided to return to see her family and persuade them to move to England. Upon her return, she was captured by the guerrillas. Propagandists from the Immortal City pleaded for her life, even breaking into the guerrilla headquarters and waving the banner of the Immortal City's monarch in an attempt to save her.

"Those are the people who live in the castle! The clothes they wear, the food they eat, are stained with the blood and sweat of the Latvians. They must pay this debt! The only way to pay it off is through death, the final gift the Latvians will give them!" Marek Koletsky slammed his fist on the table, roaring at the middle-aged man in the robes of the Immortal City's preacher. Veins bulged on his forehead, his rage palpable, completely ignoring the terrifying gaze directed at him from the head of the long table.

Viktor von Doom, clad in iron armor, stood with his arms crossed, coldly observing the noisy guerrilla commander inside the tent, the air thick with the stench of earth and horse manure.

Marek Kolecki was a native Latvian; his father, grandfather, and generations before him had all toiled and served the same landowner. By his generation, increasingly heavy taxes had made it impossible for the family to survive. His father died from exhaustion, and his mother, overwhelmed with grief, died in her bed five days later. At the time, Marek Kolecki was very young. He took his sister and went into the mountains to join a partisan group, where he gradually rose to prominence, eventually becoming a commander.

His guerrilla unit was so large that it was the third guerrilla unit Viktor von Dum had approached.

Marek Koletsky and his troops received supplies from the Immortal City. Their coarse cloth clothing was replaced with standard military uniforms and dark green bulletproof armor; their WWII-era firearms were replaced with brand-new laser rifles and heavy machine guns; and their chaotic organization was reorganized into combat units at the squad level. Each squad was equipped with heavy anti-tank weaponry. Regardless of actual combat capabilities, the Latvian partisans' weaponry was more advanced than that of most American troops in the Middle East.

From childhood, Marek Koletsky was taught to make those "those who live in castles" pay off their debts. In a sense, he represented the position of many commanders in the partisans, but this did not mean that Viktor von Dum would compromise with them.

The phone call from Oxfordshire at four in the morning had drawn a red line for the liberation of Latvia; he had to personally manage these guerrillas and stop the atrocities from continuing. Victor von Doom knew Salomon was right, so he changed his mind—although the Latvians were united by hatred for the upper class, this hatred could not last forever. The hatred would eventually be settled, and then the Latvians would need another goal. The Immortal City had instilled in the Latvians the ideal of becoming noble, idealistic, and far-sighted, rather than wallowing in hatred.

They were fighting not only for the Latvians, but for all of humanity. Sadly, not everyone understands this.

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(End of this chapter)