Preparing for War

Stark Seaside Villa.

Inside the underground Laboratory, Tony stared at the last set of data in front of him and angrily threw the cup beside him to the ground.

It failed again.

Tony slumped in his chair, dejected. For the past few months, he had handed over all the company's affairs to Pepper Potts, while he himself, apart from occasionally going out to fulfill his Iron Man duties, helping disaster victims and fighting illegal armed forces in the Middle East, had devoted himself entirely to trying to find substitutes for Palladium.

In order to develop a suitable alternative product as soon as possible, Tony has not favored Playboy cover girls for the past few months. He doesn't know which bastard got the cover girls for the last few issues.

However, after such painstaking efforts and trying every known element, Tony dejectedly discovered that the latest technology of the Arc Reactor was miniaturization, and no element could replace Palladium.

Tony, slumped in his chair, stared at the ceiling above him, a sense of desolation rising in his heart. Giving up the identity of Iron Man could save his life, allowing him to shoulder the responsibilities of Iron Man, but he himself wouldn't live much longer.

After thinking for a long time without coming up with a good solution, Tony finally decided to talk to Charlotte and ride a Blue Snake to relax.

"Jarvis, dial Charlotte Doyle's number."

"Yes, sir!"

"Sir, we are not in the server area; the call cannot be connected."

Tony sighed when he heard that he couldn't reach Charlotte.

"Never mind, I'll think of something else."

Tony then sat up and began looking through the documents, trying to find a way to make a breakthrough.

······

One night passed.

Charlotte practiced all night at the Training Ground and gained a certain level of mastery over the newly learned Ninjutsu.

Realizing it was already the next morning, Charlotte left the Training Ground and immediately checked in through the system.

Ding! Sign-in successful! You have received 200 Ninja Jade!

Charlotte pocketed the sign-in rewards but didn't check the Ninja Fragment Shop. She needed to save her Gold Coin for unlocking battle positions and control her spending.

Charlotte had just finished washing up after exiting the System Space when a House-elf knocked on Charlotte Room Door, asking her to come downstairs for breakfast.

Following the House-elf, Charlotte arrived at the Dining Area, where a large, long table was set up, with her subordinates, teachers, and junior brothers seated on both sides—a total of 12 people.

After Charlotte took her seat at the head of the table, a Legion of elves carried food and placed it on the table before retreating, observing everything that had been prepared.

Let's eat!

Once Charlotte spoke, everyone began to eat breakfast.

After everyone had finished breakfast, Charlotte spoke up, "Professor Balthazar, I wonder if Ginny and the other three have the aptitude to learn magic?"

At this moment, Ginny and the others looked at Balthazar with anticipation in their eyes. In the past few days, they had gained some understanding of magic, and if they could become powerful mages, it would be a very good choice for them.

After all, they were increasingly aware of their own inadequacy, and even the Cross Father and Son were suffering from insufficient firepower; they no longer had enough guns.

Balthazar looked at Charlotte and shook his head regretfully.

"I've already tested them, and none of them have any talent for magic. On the other hand, the others could become Mage if they wanted to."

Charlotte felt a little disappointed to hear that Tsunade, Shizune, and Iruka, who didn't need to become Mage, could become Mage. However, thinking about the Merlin lineage's requirement that one must have magical power, and that ninja Chakra could be used as magical power, she understood.

At this moment, Tsunade and the others refused Balthazar's offer. They had no intention of becoming Mage; being a ninja was a path they didn't need to change.

Ginny and the others, who were deemed to have no magical talent, showed a hint of disappointment. Seeing this, Charlotte said, "Don't worry, there will always be a power that suits you."

Encouraged by Charlotte, Ginny and the others suppressed their sadness. Since they couldn't become Mage, so be it. Thinking of the Super Soldier Serum that Tsunade and the others were developing, they still held onto hope for the future.

At this moment, Becky, who had been sitting next to Dave, spoke up, "What about me? Do I have a chance to become Mage?"

Balthazar looked at Becky and shook his head, silently conveying his message.

"Okay, I knew this would be the outcome. Dave, you'll have to protect me from now on."

Dave looked at his girlfriend with affection and said that he would protect her and not let her get hurt in the slightest.

Charlotte looked at the crowd before her, then at her teacher, Balthazar, and said with a grave expression, "There's something bad I need to tell you all in advance."

"This matter also requires the teacher's and Dave's help."

Dave paused for a moment when he heard he was needed, but Balthazar, sitting next to him, immediately asked, "What happened?"

"Last night, the Sorcerer Supreme, the Ancient One, found me and informed me that the defensive zone that originally belonged to Prime Merlinian would be handed over to us after a period of time."

"At that time, we will need to lead our Mage to prepare defenses and stop the invasion of Mephisto, the Hell Lord."

Balthazar nodded. "This is indeed our job. It used to be handled by my teacher Merlin. Now that you've taken over, Kamar-Taj certainly won't be doing this defense work for us anymore."

Apart from Balthazar and Veronica, who seemed to know more about the matter, everyone else looked completely puzzled.

Ginny asked in even greater surprise, "Hell Lord?"

"Does Hell really exist in this world?"

At this moment, Tsunade and the others were also drawn to the topic of Hell, and all looked at Charlotte and Balthazar.

Seeing the eager looks on everyone's faces, Charlotte gave a brief explanation of the Hell Dimension and its Hell Lord Mephisto.

In Charlotte's introduction, Mephisto, the Hell Lord, is a powerful cultivator from the Hell Dimension, which is a world with an extremely harsh environment.

In Charlotte's words, it was people from another planet who wanted to attack and occupy this place.

Upon learning that Hell was not what they had imagined, nor was it the world that bad people had to go to after death as in myths and legends, but rather a Supernatural World, a place similar to Magic World, the worries in everyone's hearts lessened considerably.

What do you need us to do?

"Professor Balthazar, since the handover of Kamar-Taj also requires some preparation time, I need your help to assemble a team of Mage during this period."

······

My new book is launching, please subscribe, vote, and tip!

The support of all my fellow readers is my motivation to Pencil!