Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1757 The King's Insidious Treachery
The shockwaves that cleaved the sound barrier and easily tore through flesh were merely echoes of the deafening clash of weapons. Water vapor in the air, due to the sudden drop in pressure, formed a white mist before the armor and weapons. The battle between the Emperor and Hela became a death trap for ordinary people from the very beginning. Even knights in power armor had to retreat, as the psionic heat in the air instantly melted an ancient Asgardian hero wielding a battle axe and clad in fur; even Asgard could not protect his soul.

As a former general who led the expansion of the Asgardian military group, Hela and the Emperor had nothing to say to each other; their only option was to fight to the death. Therefore, the battle escalated from the very beginning. Fists clashed, blades clashed, and the intense psionic heat and misty white vapor from the collisions couldn't prevent the Emperor from seeing the fierce expression on Hela's face.

Hela's rage nearly froze the air. Imprisoned in Nelfheim for a thousand years, Hela had believed that once freed, Asgard would be within her grasp, allowing her to easily launch an expedition. But with a formidable foe standing before her, she could only watch her dream expedition recede further and further away. This stark contrast between reality and ideal was driving her to the brink of madness. She charged at the Emperor, attempting to carve holes in him with her black sword, Nightfall.

She dared not, as before, recklessly trade blows and rely on her powerful regenerative abilities to drag her enemies to their deaths. The Emperor's holy sword posed a great threat to her; she clearly felt that once struck by this burning holy sword, even her soul would be harmed.

No one could approach the battlefield between kings. The pitch-black night sky and the bright, dazzling Excalibur collided countless times in a mere second, and the scorching arcs of electricity that splashed out melted rocks and armor like melting ice.

Three minutes after the conflict broke out, good news came through the communication channel.

The golden shield enveloping the Golden Palace flickered twice and then disappeared.

Constantine immediately ordered a squad of the Royal Guard to form a spearhead, leading a makeshift squad of knights to squeeze through the gap in the Asgardian defenses. Intense close-quarters combat became the most common method of fighting between soldiers. The knights, wielding heavy explosives, advanced in orderly formation, their rapid-fire shots tearing through and molten steel and flesh, creating a swarm of blood and gore. The Royal Guard and knights surged forward with unstoppable momentum, charging toward the Golden Palace.

The Asgardians launched an unprecedented counterattack, using the cover created by their artillery fire to fight the knights alongside every rock. Their melee weapons weren't purely melee; they were capable of unleashing plasma and lasers, and the Asgardians' close-range fire inflicted considerable casualties on the knights.

But the Asgardians could not stop the knights' advance, for heavy armored vehicles entered the battlefield, their tracks brutally crushing the noble private soldiers who stood in their way, turning the living into mincemeat bit by bit. The screams of the dead were immediately drowned out by the sounds of tearing metal, gunfire, and engine roars.

The super-heavy assault tank stopped on a gentle slope—this slope didn't originally exist, but the rocks thrown up by the shelling from the port created this huge crater—the tank fired a shot at the Asgardian defenses, and the giant plasma ball instantly cleared the defenses and blasted the gates of the Golden Palace.

Hammurabi, leading his Praetorian Guard, stormed through the burning remains and molten metal fragments of the Golden Palace. For millennia, in all the long years the Golden Palace had stood, no creature other than Asgardian had ever entered this magnificent palace with its master's permission. At the palace gates, three armored knights were slaughtering the surging guards; corpses piled at the feet of the First Knights. Their armor was tattered, deep wounds exposing bone through steel and flesh, their own blood and that of their enemies staining the stone beneath their feet.

Even so, they continued fighting, their powerful hearts delivering combat serums to their modified organs and muscles, providing strength to the genetically engineered warriors. Hammura led his squad forward, blasting the Asgardian resistance to shreds with overwhelming firepower, and took the place of three knights who were nearly unconscious.

Hela tried to break away from the battle, but the emperor grabbed her arm.

He disarmed the black sword with his sword parry, then punched her in the abdomen.

The resilient goddess of death spun around, her legs locking firmly into the emperor's arm and shoulder armor. The black sword Night Sky, which had been knocked away, suddenly appeared in her hand. She gripped the sword in reverse, its tip aimed at the emperor's face, but was blocked by an invisible barrier. She was slammed to the ground, but in doing so, she broke free from her grip.

Hela rolled away, dodging the burning holy sword that pierced the stone slab. Her gleaming black sword arced upwards, forcing the emperor to retreat. She attempted to advance and pursue, but the emperor quickly drew his gun and fired, forcing her to swing her night-sky black sword, cleaving through the explosive shells. The powerful impact sent her staggering backward. Suddenly, a cannonball exploded behind her, sending a deluge of dirt and debris crashing down. Hela glared fiercely at the emperor, then turned and ran into the smoke and dust that blanketed the battlefield.

Immediately afterward, the Asgardian defenses began a full retreat, and more dark magic corpses surged forward, using their rotting, stiff flesh and bones to block the knights' swords. Asgardian heroes, wielding shields, held the forefront, delaying the knights' advance. Several chariots, seemingly made of gold and engraved with ancient epics, burst out of the smoke, driven by magic, crashing into the sides of tanks and armored vehicles. The heavy armored vehicles were even overturned by the seemingly small chariots.

The Asgardian driving the chariot jumped onto the top of the armored vehicle, pulled open the hatch, and attempted to kill the gunner and driver inside. But the knights would not surrender easily; they even dragged the Asgardian into the vehicle and, in the cramped space where he could not stretch his limbs, strangled the nobleman's private soldier in the most cruel and violent way.

Blood splattered, bones shattered, and sticky, foul-smelling bits of flesh clung to the dials and displays. The knights wasted no time; after killing the nobles' private soldiers, they immediately seized the passage to the Golden Palace according to plan, while the remaining super-heavy armored vehicles poured into the palace gates, blocking the entrances and exits.

More and more knights formed squads, taking over every passage and every door at the entrance.

The Emperor's data panel displayed a map of the Golden Palace, with red squares indicating areas already occupied by the knights. Lorelei's intelligence work was quite thorough, and given her Asgardian nobility, it wasn't surprising she obtained this information. On the map, there was an area marked by a sphere—the location of the Golden Palace's shield generator, which had now been detonated by the knights who had infiltrated the palace.

The next key area is the Throne District, followed by the Treasury.

Upon receiving the order, the knights quickly assembled behind the emperor, led by the commander of the royal guard, Constantine, and followed him swiftly toward the Silver Hall in the throne room. This was the true purpose of the emperor's expedition: the High Throne, Hildeskelaf. The throne was a symbol of Odin as the king of the nine realms, but the emperor was not interested in its symbolic significance.

Legend has it that the throne possesses the ability to observe the Nine Kingdoms, and according to Kamar-Taj's research, Hiledskelaf's abilities extend beyond this. Before the Aesir fully mastered the Bifrost technology, Hiledskelaf was responsible for guiding spaceships. The Emperor came here to take away Hiledskelaf's construction technology and the Hiledskelaf himself, and then rebuild one on Earth as a low-cost temporary solution before the application of Bifrost technology.

Low cost, but for a facility on a galactic scale, so-called low cost is relative. Hopefully, Viktor von Dum won't be too upset; such equipment requires a considerable amount of energy, and hopefully it won't affect domestic industrial electricity consumption.

The battle to capture the Throne District and the Library did not last long. Hela did not devote too much power to these areas. The Aesir, who supported Hela, retreated to the Treasury District with their private armies. They were unwilling to waste soldiers' lives at the front. It is unknown whether Hela's supporters will quarrel with her because of the temporary retreat, or whether Hela will care about the lives of these supporters.

In any case, the emperor believed that Hela's concession would not last long, and they had to hurry.

"The engineering equipment will take another hour to arrive, my lord."

The emperor removed his helmet and listened to Constantine's report.

He had completely handed over the battlefield to the commander of the Imperial Guard, as everything that had happened so far in this war had proceeded within the planned parameters. The emperor's role here was simply to act as the supreme military force to prevent Hela and her allies from interfering with the operation. The emperor now judged that Hela had retreated deep into the Golden Palace, possibly to her rear quarters and treasury.

To buy time for the construction machinery and for moving books from the library, and to allow time for the other side to rest and recover from their injuries, the Emperor and Hela tacitly refrained from launching the first attack. "I have caused irreversible damage to Hela's soul; she can do nothing now," the Emperor said. "Take what we want as soon as possible. We didn't come here for Hela."

The firefight continued, but the knights halted their advance after securing several key passages, instead beginning to install defensive structures such as automated turrets in the corridors and important rooms. Aparisha could see the Asgardian on the other side of the courtyard, separated by crimson leaves and a pool of gold-edged limestone water. Aparisha washed his blood-stained and flesh-scraped axe blade in the pool, while the Asgardian simply stared at him blankly, unresponsive to the provocation. "He probably can't smell the Asgardian scent," the knight's lieutenant said pessimistically. "The stench of death here is too strong."

The sorority accepted the moving work, and Tita went to the Emperor to report on their work.

Regardless, Tita was extremely dissatisfied with not being able to participate in the battle. Then there was Diana, who approached the Emperor with a glass of wine, shoved it into his hand, and expressed her discontent without a word. The Emperor smiled, and Diana's emotions grew increasingly intense, though she usually didn't show them in front of others.

“I really like this brandy, probably because it was given to me by you, Diana.”

The android maid remained expressionless, but the emperor could tell she was actually quite happy.

“I want to entrust the garrison work to you, Tita,” the Emperor said. “Aparisha needs the cooperation of the Sisterhood, and some doors are not wide enough for the knights.”

"I will, my lord."

"Now I'm going to see the World Tree projection." The Emperor entered the library, where only one battle had taken place; the bodies of the Asgardian defenders had already been dragged out, and few documents had been damaged. Martian technicians were attempting to use laser cutters to open a door sealed by runes.

The emperor walked over, moved his finger, and the door opened.

This room houses the projection of the World Tree. Countless astronomers and court sorcerers once worked here, observing the projections of the Nine Kingdoms and providing prophecies for Asgard. But now the Emperor sees only the corpses of the sorcerers and bloodstained manuscripts; their bodies have been cut open, their entrails scattered and soaking the parchment. He sees black mist emanating from the roots of the magnificent World Tree projection at the center of this grand room.

The diviner's final manuscript contained observational data on the Nighold phenomenon.

But before the library could issue a warning, Hela arrived at the library and killed the scholars who refused to obey.

The Martian technicians, carrying rolls of parchment, were so excited they were practically spitting fire. The library contained not only astronomical observation data and stellar navigation data from the Aesir, but also tens of thousands of years of technological accumulation. The Martian foundry provided a large number of engineering machines and bipedal mechs for moving these parchment scrolls and data storage crystals.

If conditions allowed, Martian engineers would prefer to use a super crane to carry the entire structure away. However, the Sky Carrier didn't carry such heavy machinery, and the Emperor wouldn't wait for the next batch of ships to arrive before starting the war just to satisfy the Martian foundry's wishes. What He needed was technological information about Hildeskerav. If He couldn't find this information, the expedition would be a failure; any technological barrier takes time to overcome.

What they lack most right now is time.

The Emperor opened a dark room, followed closely by the Commander of the Royal Guard, Constantine, and Diana, while the others stood outside to prevent anyone else from approaching. The room was empty, devoid of any documents or equipment, containing only some soft benches. It was a lounge, a meeting room, a room described in the Kamar-Taj Library, along with murals depicting the Aesir gods on its walls.

Hela lay on the bench, her tone mocking, and said, "You think you've already won the final victory, so you come to me to show off?"

"I don't know what's wrong with the Aesir's education. Why do you all seem to only have one brain cell?" the Emperor said sarcastically. "Do you know why Odin stopped the expedition? Because of the cost. Hela, a king must be the most astute actuary. Only in this way can the accounts of war and economy be balanced."

Hela remained unconvinced and let out a sneer.

“Coward. Those alien creatures should have knelt down and begged for forgiveness, but my father, for the sake of his reputation…”

"Asgard now has nine kingdoms and several industrial planets, which is the result of Odin's careful calculation of the costs of rule and war. Even so, rebellions in the colonies continue, and Asgard bleeds year after year in exchange for industrial resources and labor."

The emperor found a chair and sat down.

"Asgardians have a low birth rate. Even if we colonize them, we won't see results for a long time. During this period, rebellions on resource-rich planets will continue. Moreover, without Asgardian colonists, we can't replace the culture of the original inhabitants with the Aesir pantheon. The inability to assimilate the inhabitants means exorbitant costs of governance. If we blindly expand and dilute our ability to govern the colonies, Asgard will only be dragged down by the enormous costs of governance. All able-bodied men will be forced into battle, and no one will be able to engage in productive activities. At that time, we won't even need enemies; Asgard will collapse into ruins on its own," the Emperor said. "This is a long-term plan of governance that will last tens of thousands of years, but you don't understand it. You Aesir gods seem to be inherently impatient and unsuitable for participating in such a delicate activity as governance."

Hela fell silent.

"You don't have your own administrative system, and even your logistics system was set up by Asgard. Think about who supported you when you rebelled? Now, all the nobles who support you are opportunists or ambitious people. If I hadn't occupied the spaceport and prevented them from leaving, they wouldn't have sent their private armies to help you."

The Emperor ignored Hela's expression and continued, "Once this expedition is over, I will return to Earth to begin the first phase of the conquest plan. I aim to utilize the topographical advantages of the Bosphorus Strait and the resources of the Anatolian Plateau within five years, build heavy industry to solve the employment problem, and use the discipline of the factories to train young men who can become soldiers. Then those officials of the old era can die, and the Cyprus problem can be solved... My regent is currently facing domestic protests, but he is deliberately letting them continue, waiting for the mastermind behind them to surface. My chief intelligence officer is also observing. As long as we can cut off this funding chain and spy network, NATO will have to choose to conquer Yugoslavia by force, but they dare not, because I have nuclear weapons."

Hela stared intently at the Emperor, who was deep in thought about Victor von Dum's work.

Viktor von Dum played a crucial role in the entire expedition. The trial of war criminals two years ago had already given the regent a certain amount of political prestige, but this year's situation was bound to escalate to the point of public killings. It was hoped that the comprador assets unearthed by Victoria Hand would be worth the political prestige the regent had sacrificed.

"You have no way out, Hela. Asgard is destined to perish. The fire giant Surtur will inevitably appear, and there's nothing you can do. Even if you can defeat Surtur, Asgard will have few survivors. Having lost the minimum population threshold necessary to sustain a civilization, Odin's worst fears have become a reality." The Emperor pointed out the core issue. "Even if you can repel my attack, Asgard will cease to exist. The refugees Thor took away have lost their civilization and technology; they can only become vagrants, fishermen, and experimental subjects."

“You did it on purpose. You deliberately blocked the spaceport to justify reducing Asgard’s population. Even the plan to support Thor was to collect experimental materials.” Hela’s voice was like steel rubbing against each other. “I admit, you are the true king. Your mind is as wicked and hypocritical as Odin’s.”

"When Paul took the Earth machine components left behind by the Celestials, he decided to create a race superior to humans. But he forgot that only a race capable of reproduction and possessing intelligence can control the galaxy."