Book 9: Chapter 20: The Battle Begins

Qin Lun and Grant exchanged a look, each seeing a trace of delight in the other’s eyes.

Madame Monica, the Queen of Sandstorm, was not particularly strong in single-target combat. She might even be weaker than Qin Lun was now. The Sandstorm bloodline also had obvious weaknesses; during the World War II World, the Allied Forces had restricted her freedom using just an Amniotic Tank. In tight spaces, a few firetrucks could control her until she died.

However, in a way, Madame Monica possessed offensive and defensive abilities surpassing those of High-Rank Apostles. If the weather conditions were right, the sandstorms and sand tornadoes she whipped up could even affect the skies, with power comparable to a regional Forbidden Spell.

“Gerthard, I truly didn’t expect you to still be alive! That Vampire Bat brought me wonderful news this time!” Monica lifted the black veil beneath her wide-brimmed hat, her beautiful eyes smiling as she looked at Qin Lun and his companion.

Her attire remained unchanged from half a century ago: the grand hat, a figure-hugging white princess dress that outlined her graceful curves. As she spoke, she removed her white gloves and extended a small hand toward Qin Lun, who was approaching.

“Madame, when did you hear about Kluge and me? Why didn’t you contact us earlier?” A hint of amusement flickered in Qin Lun’s eyes as he bent down to kiss the small hand, still smooth and delicate.

Seeing Qin Lun’s smile, Monica seemed briefly stunned. A look of nostalgia appeared in her gaze, as the image of that young soldier awkwardly fumbling through the hand-kissing ritual so long ago overlapped with the young man now before her.

“I only found out two days ago,” Monica replied regaining her composure, speaking with gentle restraint. “Wurdenbeller didn’t know my address; sending the message through acquaintances took considerable time.”

“You haven’t joined Baron von Wurdenbeller’s superhuman organization?” Qin Lun raised an eyebrow, genuinely surprised.

“No,” Monica shook her head softly. “After the war, I stopped serving Germany—neither the current government nor the previous Third Reich. War doesn’t suit women. I did all I could for Germany. It was time for me to simply bask in the sunshine.”

Hearing this, Qin Lun frowned slightly, puzzled. “If that’s the case then… why rush here now? Didn’t the Baron tell you that combat is imminent?”

“Hmph, it’s all because of you!” Monica laughed lightly, extending a soft finger to tap Qin Lun’s forehead.

“Ah?” Qin Lun rubbed his forehead, taken aback. Even his sharp mind hadn’t anticipated the usually dignified Madame Monica making such a sudden move.

The expressions of the others nearby turned peculiar, an unconscious trace of suggestive interest coloring their glances toward the pair. The moment she tapped him, Monica realized her emotions had gotten the better of her, making her behaviour improper. Her cheeks flushed pink. She shot Qin Lun a reproving look, pulled down her hat’s veil, turned, and hurriedly left the bridge.

“Probably because you saved her back then,” Grant offered, his eyes shifting thoughtfully as he recalled an event from the World War II World. Due to Keller Robert’s betrayal, Monica had once been captured by the Allied Forces, only to be rescued… by Joey.

“So that was it!” Qin Lun understood. He hadn’t made the connection earlier because Joey was the one controlling the body at that time.

“Of course, it could also be that the Queen of Sandstorm fell in love with you!” Grant chuckled mischievously over the Team Channel.

…

“Major, how do you plan to breach London’s air defense perimeter?” Qin Lun pressed his right eye against a huge optical telescope mounted on the bridge’s front.

At this distance, they could already see the dark line where the sea met the sky – the shores of England itself. Their arrival over London was precisely timed for the seventh night within this Divine Comedy World.

Through the powerful lens of the optical telescope, Qin Lun could even make out clusters of lights dotting the night landscape, twinkling like stars far below.

“The original plan was to penetrate the air defense zone using an anti-radar radiation weapon, then concentrate missiles from all three sky ships to wipe out England’s coastal defenses,” Major Montana replied with a smile. “But that was a suicide mission. We can’t use that tactic anymore.

Fortunately, a few years ago, our organization’s weapons development team devised an anti-phase technology. To radar systems of this era, the Zeppelin sky ship is effectively invisible. It’s ordinary optical telescopes that could spot us. But with the ship now cruising above 30,000 meters, shielded by clouds, enemy air assets won’t locate us anytime soon.”

“Oh, this technology… was also discovered from fragments of the unknown structures?” Qin Lun asked curiously.

“Yes. There was also an electro-plasma tech, applied to our air-to-surface missiles. You’ll see it in action soon,” Montana nodded, turning away. “However, the three ships can only provide 15 minutes of aerial support at most. After that, they must return to the Atlantic Ocean to intercept S.H.I.E.L.D.’s sky ships. From then on, you’ll be fighting alone.”

“It’s enough,” Qin Lun clenched his fist, a gleam of intensity flashing in his eyes. “Destroy London’s main roads and military airfields, eliminate the threat of massed armored vehicles and attack helicopters, and the remaining battle will belong only to the superhumans on both sides. For the English, tonight will be… extraordinarily long.”

Led by the Zeppelin, the three sky ships soon reached their position over 30,000 meters above London, concealed within the clouds. Exactly as predicted, British radar systems failed to detect them.

“Major, your glider wingpack.” Standing near the tail end of the ship by the jump hatch, Lieutenant Lieber handed Qin Lun a massive backpack.

Constructed from composite materials, the pack housed a pair of triangular wings made of radar-absorbent material and propulsion tanks resembling fire extinguishers. Qin Lun and Grant had tested them once during training on the Atlantic Ocean island – mastering the controls wasn’t difficult.

Tonight, they would become birdmen, descending from the night sky onto London. Initially, before Qin Lun’s “spook the snake” suggestion was adopted, they planned to land via the coast. That route would have offered better safety margins.

But once the ‘snake was spooked’, with news of the impending attack reaching the U.S. and mainland Europe, Britain naturally boosted its own defenses immensely. In the past few days, Britain’s two Invincible-class aircraft carriers and all missile frigates had been circling the British Isles, unwilling to stray too far from home.

Truthfully, this Shadow World Qin Lun inhabited diverged significantly from Earth’s history. Due to the active role of superhumans during World War II, the Divine Comedy World placed immense strategic value on superhuman capabilities.

Compounded by the influence of the 1983 Egyptian Pyramid incident, major world powers gradually shifted military development focus from weapons of mass destruction towards Superpower research. Consequently, military technology in the Divine Comedy World lagged decades behind the main Earth.

Conversely, the sheer number of superhumans was far greater here, and they appeared frequently in public view.

The Divine Comedy World possessed nuclear missiles, jets, aircraft carriers – the full arsenal. Yet, its overall technology level remained roughly 30 to 40 years behind the main Earth. In other words, its military tech mirrored Earth’s capabilities around the 1960s or 70s.

While most superhumans still couldn’t withstand missiles or heavy machine gun fire with their flesh-and-blood bodies, their nerve reflexes vastly exceeded ordinary humans, coupled with razor-sharp intuition. Firearms operated by standard troops rarely hit them unless saturation bombardment was used.

Enhanced by protective gear, superhumans akin to Captain America or Captain Hans became nearly unstoppable forces in conventional warfare. Effectively countering a superhuman required another superhuman.

No wonder the British were tense. Their domestic intelligence agency, MI7, had just suffered heavy losses. If hundreds of superhumans attacked en masse, zone attacks would become Britain’s necessary recourse. As a final resort, aircraft carriers and missile frigates would inevitably become primary front-line weapons.

…

Pushing off with the balls of his feet, Qin Lun leapt into the icy, bone-chilling wind pouring through the open hatch. Even his specially coated goggles immediately frosted over.

Qin Lun tilted his neck, feeling a creeping discomfort despite breathing pure oxygen inside the protective suit. Only a superhuman could survive at this altitude; an ordinary person would have frozen solid instantly.

The descent felt slower than expected. London’s summer winds proved surprisingly strong. At moments, he almost felt buoyed upwards. Thankfully, seasoned skydivers like Hans were in the team, and Madame Monica periodically helped adjust their course, keeping them perfectly on track.

At about 3,000 meters above the ground, the group deployed their glider wings, beginning a controlled spiraling descent. Buildings grew distinct below. The bright aviation warning lights atop Canary Wharf Tower became clearly visible at this range.

However, their planned landing zone wasn’t in London’s financial heart, the inner city, but on the suburban outskirts of a northern London borough.

Destroying London was never the battle plan’s core objective. For Major Montana, the primary goal was luring the world’s major powers’ superhuman forces, concentrating them in London, then crushing them. Before the start of this mythical era, weakening every nation’s superhuman contingent was crucial for the Third Reich’s intended resurgence.

As for Qin Lun and the other two Apostles, their aim lay in drawing the remaining Apostles and Reincarnators into London, instigating conflict between them, and profiting amidst the ensuing chaos.

The comprehensive strategy involved three distinct theaters:

1) London Theater: Managed by Qin Lun and the Millennium Bug Organization. Objective: Engage superhuman teams dispatched by major nations to support England.

2) Mainland Europe Theater: Led by Baron von Wurdenbeller, the Vampire Battalion would assault the superhumans left defending Europe, focusing on destroying Grimm Academy headquarters and its major branches.

3) Atlantic Theater: Red Skull’s Hydra forces would act flexibly – blockading reinforcements while simultaneously striking targets of opportunity. Once London erupted, their mission shifted to intercepting subsequent support from S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers Alliance.

Regardless of the theater, successfully achieving any of these objectives hinged entirely on one factor: Qin Lun’s small infiltration team had to plunge London into complete turmoil first, forcing every faction to join the fray.