I work as an editor at Marvel.

"Jace! Viktor! Stop pretending, you two, come here!" Heimerdinger shouted as soon as he entered the hall.

Jess and Victor, who were pretending to copy books, shuddered and walked up to Heimerdinger with a little fear, exchanging glances.

Have you been causing trouble lately?

No, you're not trying to play the victim, are you?

"You've been copying for so long, five hundred times and you still haven't finished. Do you think you're ordinary people?" Heimerdinger scolded.

Jess and Victor lowered their heads and remained silent.

"Alright, let's put the copying of the book aside for now. The Ancient One has been assassinated. The enemy is Mephisto, the Lord of Hell, and his seducer Kaecilius. The exploration of the parallel universe by the Kiran mage is also nearing its end. Reinforcements will arrive a day later. Tell me, what should we do next?"

Heimerdinger, as a researcher, is not very good at this kind of thing, but since he is currently the strongest person in the Clock Tower on Earth, he has to take responsibility.

“Mentor, we don’t have enough manpower. The institute only has about six or seven hundred adaptive mechanical bodies. If we send them all out, we can’t even cover the United States, let alone the Americas and Europe,” Victor said after calculating in his mind.

These mechanical beings were created by him during his recent slack-off period. To be honest, creating mechanical beings is much more interesting than copying books.

Heimerdinger looked at Jess.

“Professor, don’t look at me like that. You know me. I’m good at fighting and doing research, but I’m not good at these kinds of things.”

Jess scratched his head, then suddenly remembered someone. "Mentor, do you think we should ask Tony Stark? He knows more about the surface world than we do, and although his IQ is a bit lower than ours, it's still not bad. It won't make me feel like my brain has been smashed."

“Tony Stark…” Heimerdinger recalled the man. He had seen him before; his armor was rudimentary but still quite interesting.

Okay, he's the one!

However, Heimerdinger didn't plan to call Tony over. In special times, special measures were needed. He directly located Tony Stark's position via the network and then teleported there with Jayce and Viktor.

Tony is currently at home, standing by the window looking at the sky.

The dark clouds in the sky severely affected the transmission of the signal and also brought him considerable psychological pressure. From the moment the dark clouds appeared, he had a feeling that a great disaster was about to befall him.

When Heimerdinger appeared in the hall with two men, Jarvis immediately locked onto the three of them, and machine guns emerged from the ceiling.

Heimerdinger's equipment flashed, and all the machine guns immediately retracted.

"Intruder detected... Alert deactivated... Command conflict... System self-check..."

Jarvis was caught in an internal conflict and began to reboot repeatedly.

"Jarvis, shut down," Tony ordered. If this continued, Jarvis would definitely break down.

"Is this how the Clock Tower operates?" After dealing with Jarvis, Tony turned around and frowned at the uninvited guest.

"I'm sorry, it's urgent," Heimerdinger apologized.

Jess then briefly explained the situation.

“Master, the Heavenly Court has sent us a message. They have made contact with the official Chinese government. China is currently in a state of national mobilization. Do you think we should contact the government here?” Victor said.

"In addition, the person who came was Li Xiaoyao, the leader of the Shu Mountain Sect. He also brought a message that Casillas may have gone to the Middle East."

“It’s no use,” Tony Stark said. “The system in China is suitable for concentrating resources to accomplish big things. It’s not suitable for us. Putting aside everything else, the president would never agree to having everyone stay home at night.”

“Once this order is issued, his approval rating will plummet to a level he cannot accept, and those who consider freedom everything will not listen to it.”

"So you mean to find S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Heimerdinger asked back. He had investigated S.H.I.E.L.D. after coming to Earth. It was just that the ban hadn't been lifted at the time, otherwise he would have wiped out S.H.I.E.L.D. long ago. What a lousy organization, nine out of ten of its members were undercover agents.

“S.H.I.E.L.D. is even less effective. Their information defenses are practically fake; who knows how many problems are hidden within them?” Tony was also troubled. “Well, I have partnerships with many military units. I’m sending messages to them, the president, and S.H.I.E.L.D., but the effect certainly won’t be as good as with China. Do you have any other ideas?”

"Didn't you just say that talking to the president and S.H.I.E.L.D. was useless?" Victor asked.

"What I mean is they're unreliable, but they're still somewhat useful. They're a legitimate organization, not a pig farm." Tony Stark knew those people's character very well.

"In that case, mentor, do you have enough points? I think we should hire some Ouroboros. Their operators should be more reliable than these guys," Jess asked in a low voice.

"That's all we can do. If the main target is the Middle East, bringing out all the mechanical units should be enough to stabilize the situation." Heimerdinger was very troubled. Even a skilled cook can't cook without rice. With insufficient resources, even he didn't have many options.

While Heimerdinger was troubled, Artoria was in an even more predicament, facing a situation that was even more absurd.

If China is united in its efforts and the United States is just making do, then John Bull is dragging his feet.

The underhanded tactics of the leaders of the United Kingdom have taken effect, and the anti-establishment sentiment among the people has been thoroughly aroused. A large group of people have begun to attack everything related to King Arthur in the past. As long as King Arthur is portrayed positively in these things, they will oppose him, regardless of whether the opposition is right or wrong.

Artoria stood at the window watching the people marching in the street under the dark clouds, and her heart sank.

Look at the signs they're holding.

Protests against glorifying the enemy as a hero!

King Arthur was a clown who knew nothing about governing!

King Arthur was not worthy of being called king!

All those who praise King Arthur, get out of the land of John Bull!

Looking at these things, Artoria recalled the words her subordinates had said when she stubbornly tried to save the British Empire.

At the time, she couldn't understand why even the Saxons didn't support her, which was one thing for the Celts among the knights to oppose her.

In retrospect, they really do understand some people in the United States.

Am I really being too idealistic?

Artoria removed the crown from her head and rubbed it with her hands. The dazzling gems were still sparkling, but they no longer attracted her as much as they had at first.

Chapter Ninety-Eight: The Kamar-Taj Mage Rekindles Her Spirit of Glory

As Artoria was reflecting, there was a rapid knocking on the courtyard gate downstairs.

Artoria's expression turned serious as her thoughts were interrupted by the sound. She leaped from the top floor and landed in the courtyard, behind the London Temple mages who had knocked on the door.

After being defeated by Artoria, this group of London Temple mages voluntarily allowed Artoria to drag them back to the former headquarters of the Knights of the Round Table.

The reactivated battle formation in the courtyard and the natural energy activated by Avalon made this place the best defensive position. Putting everything else aside, these London mages, without outside help, simply could not leave this place.

"What do you want?" Artoria asked calmly, looking at the London mages before her.

The London monks exchanged glances, then pushed forward the former London official.

"Your Excellency King Arthur," the London representative took a deep breath and spoke slowly, "we have a question for you: what exactly happened to the Ancient One?"

Why do you ask that?

"We are restricted to our area of ​​activity, but we are not blind yet. The sky is covered with dark clouds, which is completely against the normal pattern. Normally, the Ancient One would have already taken action to solve the problem by this time and would not have allowed such an abnormal event to continue for so long."

The London representative shared their deductions, "Furthermore, even if the Ancient One doesn't care about us, she shouldn't be indifferent to the London Sanctum, which is one of the four nodes monitoring Earth. It's been so long, and she hasn't shown up yet. Could it be that Dormammu isn't planning to leave this time? Or has something happened to her?"

"Didn't you guys hate the Ancient One's supervision? Why are you suddenly interested in her now?"

“We are not used to being monitored, but we are Earthlings after all, and we are well aware that there is only one Sorcerer Supreme in this world. It is hard to imagine anyone else who can take on the responsibility of fighting against dimensional invasions.” The unease in the heart of the London Temple leader intensified. If nothing had happened, King Arthur would probably have just kicked them out.

"She's dead," Artoria said softly, looking at the group of mages before her.

died? !

The mages' first reaction was disbelief, but they also knew that Artoria wouldn't lie to them about this.

After disbelief came a deep sadness and an unconcealable emptiness that spread from the bottom of my heart.

There once was a supreme sorcerer who took on the responsibility of fighting against other dimensions. Now that sorcerer has fallen, they are free, but the responsibility seems to have fallen as well.

"Who...who did this?" the London Temple official asked, suppressing his emotions.

"Mephisto and his inside man, Casillas."

The head of the London Temple closed his eyes, his mind filled with the words of his ancestors. The Ancient One had once single-handedly brought their entire family down to the mortal realm, which was a major reason why they opposed her. However, they also had to admit that since the Ancient One appeared, the living environment on Earth had improved by more than one level.

“King Arthur! I, as an ordinary Kamar-Taj sorcerer, request that I participate in the battle!” The head of the London Temple raised his right fist and looked earnestly at Artoria as he spoke.

"Me too..."

A cacophony of voices clamoring for battle erupted behind him, and the atmosphere fell silent for a few seconds before all the mages raised their right hands.

"We are all of them. We represent ourselves and a Kamar-Taj sorceress who once protected the Earth, and we request to fight for you!"

As Artoria looked at the mages in front of her, each one burdened with the crime of dereliction of duty, the flame in her heart, which had been extinguished by the protesting crowd outside, was rekindled.

"In the name of King Arthur, in the name of the Knights of the Round Table, and in the name of the Guardian King of the British Empire, I accept your request!"

As King Arthur spoke, a shining banner materialized in the sky, and the battle formation that had originally restricted all mages in the courtyard reversed its operation, transforming into a series of blessing halos that enveloped the mages.

"In the name of the Supreme Head of the London Temple, a Saxon noble mage, I hereby swear that for the time to come, we will be completely under your command. Give us your orders! We will absolutely not allow Hell to set foot on Earth!"

Looking at the mages who had stood in formation in front of her, Artoria seemed to see the Knights of the Round Table who once fought for glory, dividing the mages into small teams and assigning them the task of guarding various cities in the Kingdom of John.

As Artoria led the group out, she suddenly found Morey and a large group of Kamar-Taj mages standing in front of her door.

Looking at his colleagues, who were burning with fighting spirit, Morey understood immediately without saying a word.

"King Arthur, I have passed Mr. Blaze's vetting. The next objective is to lead elite mages to the Middle East!" Morey stepped forward and declared loudly. "Casillas was once the Kamar-Taj sorceress. These troubles were caused by our people! It is our responsibility to resolve them!"

Artoria glanced behind Morey and recognized a few people in the group, including Shi Chengzhong, the former head of the Hong Kong Temple.

"Are these all the mages you selected?" Artoria asked.

“No, some of them are support personnel provided to you by the Hong Kong Temple. The situation is best in China; they have sent all the Temple mages. Before we came here, some of our personnel had already arrived in New York,” Morey explained succinctly.

Artoria nodded, then turned to look at the mages who stood ramrod straight behind her awaiting orders. "Some of you will be going to a more brutal battlefield. Anyone who objects, step back!"

Snap! Thud! All the monks took a step forward without retreating. Among the entire group of monks in the temple, those like the deputy head of the Hong Kong temple were an absolute minority. At that time, many of the foreign monks in Hong Kong were also coerced followers who did not put in any effort when breaking the seal. Otherwise, they would not have failed to break even the first layer of the seal from beginning to end.

Seeing the mage's actions, Artoria gave Morey a satisfied nod.

Morey stepped to the front of the line. "All mages who have passed the elite assessment, step forward!"

Thud! One-fifth of the mages stepped out of the line, with the London coordinator standing at the very front.

Immediately afterwards, dozens of elite mages behind Morey stepped out and joined the ranks.

Then a huge portal was erected in front of the courtyard.

"Everyone! Salute to the advanceers!"

With a series of quick salutes, Morey led the way into the portal.

Chapter Ninety-Nine: Kaecilius's Hellish Army

While Morey was preparing his mage army, parts of the Middle East were already engulfed in war.

With China, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the United States all making significant moves, coupled with the lingering shadows over most regions, the world was already on edge.