Chapter 318: The Approaching Invasion

Observing Tsunade's actions, both Tony and Rhodey shivered. Tony quickly grasped the situation and immediately went to inspect the broken Steel Soldiers, discovering that all of them had self-destruct devices added to their reactors.

Without hesitation, he called Rhodey to clean up the wreckage.

Charles walked up to Tsunade, patted her shoulder, and then said, "The base is almost ready, and there are better laboratories and medical equipment over there."

"Let's go back and see what else we can use."

Charles snapped his fingers, and the Steel Giant Eagle descended from the sky, carrying the two of them away from the battlefield.

Tony, using J.A.R.V.I.S to scan, was amazed by the Steel Giant Eagle that carried Charles and the others. He said, "A new type of familiar?"

Rhodey was also surprised. "What are you talking about?"

"Nothing, let's continue working!"

…

Meanwhile, on the other side-

At Charles Agency ruins-

A hand reached out, gradually pushing aside the debris that pressed down on the figure. Lying in the ruins, gasping for breath, the wounds on her body were slowly healing under the moonlight. The survivor turned out to be the vampire Selene.

Soon, Charles and Tsunade rushed back. After seeing Selene still alive, Tsunade approached, used medical ninjutsu to treat her injuries, and then took her to help dig through the rubble.

Charles released Shizune and woke her up. He then summoned the Steel Soldiers' wreckage into the system space.

However, the next moment, Charles heard the voice of the Ancient One in his ears: "Two days later, there will be a magic array transfer. Prepare for the defense against the invasion of Hell."

"The most likely places for Hell to invade are coordinates XXX."

…

The next day-

New York Continental Hotel-

Ginny hurriedly arrived at the conference room. She received the message before dawn that the agency had been bombed again.

"BOSS, you're not injured, are you?"

Looking at Ginny's anxious face, Charles remained silent for a moment before speaking, "I am unharmed, but except for William and Alexander imprisoned in the basement, as well as Tsunade, Shizune, and Selene who were present, all other personnel perished in this attack."

Hearing Charles's reply, Ginny also fell silent. Then she said, "I will compensate their families according to the highest standards."

Charles nodded, then continued, "I have transferred everything from the agency's underground vault. You arrange for personnel to rebuild the agency."

"Tsunade has made progress with the serum, but it won't catch up before the hell invasion situation this time. During this period, you lead John and others to take care of the reconstruction and the funerals for the sacrificed personnel."

Upon hearing Charles's words, Ginny nervously asked, "Is the invasion from the Hell Dimension about to begin?"

"Yes, it's about to start."

Ginny hugged Charles and said seriously, "You must come back safely."

"It's not as dangerous as you imagine. In this battle to defend against Hell, injuries are inevitable, but the danger is not as great as you might think."

Despite not being a vampire, Charles now possessed immortality, significantly enhancing his ability to survive.

Ginny released Charles and nodded solemnly. "I'll lead the team to the agency immediately for the reconstruction work."

"Go ahead!"

Watching Ginny leave, Charles picked up his phone and called Tony.

"Hey, buddy, what's up?"

"I'm currently in communication with the government. They're determined to award us a medal this time. I plan to have Senator Stan personally present it to us."

"Hahaha, I can already imagine that guy's expression changing."

"Tony, let's postpone the award ceremony. The matter I told you about last time is about to start. I'm waiting for you in the top-floor conference room at the New York Continental Hotel."

"So soon? Wait for me, I'll be there in no time."

Tony donned the Iron Man armor, holding two suitcases, and flew out of his mansion towards the direction of the Continental Hotel.

At this moment, all the ninjas received Charles's message and rushed back to the Continental Hotel.

In the conference room, Charles looked at the assembled ninjas and spoke, "Tomorrow is the time to defend against the invasion from Hell. Later, I will lead everyone to the magical world. Combat supplies will be distributed now. Take what you need."

"Yes!"

With everyone responding in unison, Charles waved his hand, summoning a vast array of shinobi tools from the system store, including kunai, explosive tags, Fuma shuriken, short swords, and many more. He placed them in front of the assembled ninjas.

Everyone approached to collect their combat supplies based on their requirements. Explosive tags were distributed quickly, and seeing that some items were still left, Charles retrieved them.

…

At the same time, Tony arrived at the entrance of the New York Continental Hotel in his Iron Man suit. His descent caused a commotion, and the hotel staff, as well as the seated mercenaries, couldn't hide their surprise.

The doorman, looking incredulously at the Iron Man, thought, "Uh-oh, Iron Man is here to clean up the bad guys."

Tony walked into the hotel's entrance, and everyone inside, including the hotel staff and lazing assassins, changed their expressions. The atmosphere in the room instantly became tense.

Tony opened his faceplate and asked, "Which way to the meeting room? I have an appointment with Charles."

Hearing Tony's words, the many assassins present wiped the cold sweat from their foreheads. As long as he wasn't here to cause trouble, that would be fine.

If Iron Man came here to fight, they wouldn't know how to resist unless they brought out Charles Doyle. Tony followed the service staff member to the meeting room with his two suitcases.

As the meeting room door opened, Tony entered. Charles greeted, "Everyone is finally here. We can set off now."

Tony, entering the room, looked at the thirteen people present and said, "Buddy, I brought three sets of equipment. Should be enough, right?"

Seeing Tony in his armored suit, Charles smiled and replied, "I'm not sure about that. I hope you find them useful."

"Now let's get ready—

Tony turned around, ready to leave the conference room.

"Tony, Tony, not outside."

Tony halted, turning back to Charles Doyle. He looked puzzled, "Didn't you say we're leaving?"

Charles shook his head, "Yes, we are leaving, but not in the way you think."

Charles then walked to the center of the conference room and began constructing a Merlin teleportation array. As chakra transformed into magic through the Dragon Ring, a massive magic array suddenly appeared on the ground, burning with azure flames.

Watching the ground aflame with blue fire, Tony was startled and even lifted one foot.

"Buddy, what's this? It doesn't look like ninja stuff at all, more like magic."

"Step into the array; we are about to depart."

Everyone, including Tsunade, entered the array. Seeing this, Tony also stepped in.

"Hey, you don't tell me you know magic besides ninja techniques."

"I'll explain when we arrive."

Charles's chakra surged, activating the array. In the next moment, everyone felt a sensation of weightlessness, and their surroundings blurred. Suddenly, they appeared inside the Merlin Magic Tower.

Seeing the changing scene, Tony loosened his grip, dropping the two suitcases, attempting to rub his eyes, but seeing his armored suit, he gave up.

Tony walked out of the magic array, looking at the unfamiliar surroundings. Turning to Charles, he shouted, "Mate, what kind of technology is this?"

"Time-space teleportation, spatial wormhole, or magic and ninja techniques!"

"This is just unbelievable."

Tony crouched down, examining the traces of the magic array on the ground.

"Tony, this is a magic array. We are currently in the magical world."

"Real magic!"

"J.A.R.V.I.S, where are we?"

"Sir, I've lost contact with the mainframe. If Mr. Charles is correct, we might not be on Earth at the moment."

At that moment, the door of the magic tower opened, and Balthazar appeared with David.

"Welcome back to the magical world."

Seeing the unfamiliar duo, Tony looked at Charles, hoping for an explanation.

"Master Balthazar, David."

Charles walked towards the two, then spoke, "David, take charge of someone for me, educate Mr. Tony here about this world."

David approached Tony, who was still in his Iron Man suit, and began to explain. After a few taps from Tony, the armor transformed into a suitcase.

"Everyone, feel free to explore. Master Balthazar and I have some matters to discuss."

Charles then exited the magic tower.

Outside the tower, Charles performed a sealing gesture, causing his wooden clone in the magical world to dissipate. He also absorbed the memories of the clone.

After a brief pause outside the tower, Charles spoke, "Master Balthazar, tomorrow is the day of the magic circle handover and the invasion from Hell."

Balthazar nodded, and as they walked, he said, "We have everything prepared here, just waiting for the handover of the magic circle."

"The mages guarding the magic tower are all senior mages from the Merlin Knights, and there is no problem with them operating the magic circle."

"As for the mage group defending against Hell's invasion, they are all assembled. The key is where the invasion from Hell will begin."

Considering the information given by the Ancient One, Charles led Balthazar to a large abyss in a plain in the magical world.

"The spatial barrier is weakest here, and it's the closest point to Hell's dimension. According to the Supreme Mage, the invasion from Hell will start here."

Balthazar looked at the vast abyss, and as he gazed downward, it appeared pitch black, seemingly endless. The wind blowing from the abyss carried eerie sounds.

"Later, we'll gather all the mages here and prepare for defense. We won't let Hell's creatures cross the plains."

"While we still have time, we can set up some more magical traps here. It's also an opportunity for the ninjas I brought to prepare in advance."

After inspecting the battleground, Charles and Balthazar returned to the Merlin Magic Tower.

...

Triskelion-

Nick Fury, holding a report in his hand, had a headache.

The Steel Soldier attack from yesterday had caused massive panic among the civilians and resulted in numerous casualties.

Civilians attending the expo were also attacked by the Steel Soldiers. Though efforts had begun for consolation and compensation, Justin Hammer was immediately taken into custody and held responsible for the main charges of the attack.

Hammer Industries was frozen for compensation.

However, when Nick Fury tried to contact Tony for communication, he found he couldn't reach him. Charles agency had turned into ruins, and he couldn't establish contact with them either.

As Nick Fury was dealing with these issues in his office, a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent entered.

"Director, someone saw Tony wearing the Iron Man suit entering the New York Continental Hotel, reportedly to meet Charles."

Hearing the report, Nick Fury realized the two were together but didn't know what they were discussing. He put down the preliminary Avengers Initiative plan he had prepared specifically for Tony.

...

New Mexico-

At the landing site of Thor's hammer, an old man driving a pickup truck watched the hammer in the ground but couldn't lift it.

Realizing he couldn't take the item, he called others to try. Soon, a crowd gathered, attempting various methods to lift Mjölnir.

But no matter how strong the town's renowned strongmen were, they couldn't lift the hammer. Even attempts to use a pickup truck and chains failed to move it an inch.

Amused by the attempts, the old man called more people to join. Humorous incidents occurred, and despite the efforts, no one could lift Thor's hammer.

Meanwhile, Coulson, driving a car, arrived at the scene and joined the crowd.

At the scene near the deep pit, observing the crater, a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent reported, "Director, we've found it."

Meanwhile, Thor, who had just escaped, was once again hit by Jane Foster's car and brought back.

...

Magical World-

As David explained, Tony understood that this was another world, one attached to Earth but in a different dimensional space.

"No wonder we couldn't find you; turns out you people weren't on Earth at all."

"Mr. Stark, I'm actually a graduate student at New York University."

"······"

David smiled and, along with Tony, strolled around the nearby streets, allowing him to better grasp the feel of the magical world.

During their casual walk, David received a message and then told Tony, "Mr. Stark, my senior brother called us to gather at the Merlin Magic Tower. We need to go back now."

Tony put down the toy frog in his hand, saying, "OK, looks like it's time to get serious."