My family runs an adventurer's guild.

Looking at the Iron Garfield suit, also painted in gold and red, and the blue-glowing, magical version of the Arc Reactor on the chest, Phili felt nothing but reverence and a desire to befriend Tony Stark: He's so adept at combining science and magic; he truly deserves to be called the chosen one of destiny, and a super-powerful figure who was once the Sorcerer Supreme in some parallel universe—no, a powerful meow!

Chapter 252, Iron Cat Hero Favored by the Gods

"...Meow, I haven't been wearing the Iron Man suit lately, and it feels a bit off, meow. I figured that to really make a name for myself in this other world, I should at least get myself a new suit, so I tried making this thing..."

Lord Tony Garfield, the Great Technician Stark, stretched out his chubby cat paw and patted the Garfield-sized Iron Man suit next to him, or rather, the Iron Cat suit, with a smug look on his face as he showed off to Phil.

"...I initially thought it would be difficult to create an Iron Man suit in this backward world, but after actually getting started, I found it to be quite easy—this world already has alchemical golems like golems, and there are mature magic spells to replace the technical hurdles like hydraulic transmission and information feedback. The screen can also be projected using a crystal ball. The only problem is the power source. The magic crystals commonly used here have an energy density equivalent to the lithium batteries in our mobile phones. Golems and the like require sacrificial rituals to activate, which is really troublesome, meow."

So, to make the newly created Iron Man suits functional, I also built an Arc Reactor in this world—a magical version, of course. Once I actually got my hands on it, I discovered that converting nuclear energy into magic is actually much easier than generating electricity from nuclear power, meow…”

"...Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!" Phil was speechless at Tony's incredible skill in crafting this divine weapon; all he could do was shout "666!"

However, what shocked him even more, leaving him completely bewildered, was yet to come!

"...The court mages were very envious of my arc reactor, so the Dragon King shamelessly came to ask for it. Seeing that they've been treating me with genuine hospitality and utmost respect lately, I decided to reveal the manufacturing process of this magical arc reactor..."

In fact, if it had been any earlier, Tony Garfield, the tech genius Stark, might not have been so generous as to offer his signature Arc Reactor as a favor. That original version of the Arc Reactor, both Tony and his father Howard, were like medieval alchemists hoarding their treasured possessions; they had no intention of selling the finished product, treating it as a closely guarded family secret. Just like the Coca-Cola formula, they didn't even apply for a patent, simply keeping the technical data hidden in a safe.

However, in the plot of *Iron Man 2*, another Soviet scientist, Anton Vanko, and his son, Ivan Vanko, also created the Arc Reactor and an armored exoskeleton. Ivan even became the villain "Whiplash," engaging in a series of battles with Iron Man Tony Stark… Although Iron Man Tony Stark ultimately won, the Arc Reactor production technology inevitably spread through Ivan Vanko, and even Russia unearthed Anton Vanko's research data from old archives.

At this point, it's completely impossible for Iron Man to keep the Arc Reactor for himself.

Therefore, Stark Industries took advantage of its technological accumulation and launched its own genuine reactor to seize the market, transforming itself into a high-tech clean energy group—as a result, even more forces understood the principles of the Arc Reactor.

In Tony Stark's view, since the Arc Reactor was no longer a secret, it was best to do the favor himself—although such a transformation of science and magic was not easy to accomplish, there were still "gods" in this world, these unscientific things that defied common sense and created miracles...

And indeed, Tony quickly reaped the rewards after announcing the magical version of the Arc Reactor.

"...First, the priest of the Goddess of Magic came and announced that I had received divine grace, which improved my magical level. Now, I can cast sixth-level magic." Tony said, feigning nonchalance, but his face was filled with joy.

Whether it's magic or technology, they are essentially about acquiring and utilizing energy. Just like magic crystals and batteries are energy storage devices.

When Tony Stark was captured, he pieced together the first power core of the Iron Man armor in a cave in Afghanistan. When that miniature Arc Reactor was installed on his chest, its output power reached 3 billion joules per second, equivalent to one-seventh of the power generation of the Three Gorges Dam.

The arc reactors on subsequent Iron Man suits had their output power increased more than tenfold, with one unit equivalent to two Three Gorges Dams.

The magical version of the Ark Reactor that he has now tinkered with in the steel workshop outputs energy that is at least comparable to the Three Gorges Dam, which is an astonishing level for a pre-industrial society—not to mention that it is a continuous and sustainable energy supply!

This is equivalent to giving magicians an inexhaustible supply of magic crystals!

"...Next, the priest of the God of Craftsmen also came to me, saying that their god had sent down a divine decree, making me a chosen one...and then I gained the ability to freely shape and assemble various parts, it felt like a mind-controlled 3D printer, quite useful..."

Before Tony Stark brought standard operating procedures and scientific thinking, the artisans in this world conducted research and development much like the Ghidorah in the Warhammer universe—without any summarization or analysis, relying entirely on intuition, inspiration, and luck. They would simply slap their foreheads and mutter, "I think... it might work..." and then tinker and tinker, creating some seemingly impressive but ultimately baffling gadget. For example, there were flying cars that could carry people into the sky—the problem being that no one, including the inventor, knew how to land them; and magic swords that could absorb the souls of enemies—but once you held one, you couldn't let go... There were many more seemingly powerful gadgets that would fall apart and explode in no time, and could never be replicated.

However, through the modern Earth science thinking introduced by Tony Stark, they finally learned the right way to upgrade from craftsmen to scientists.

"...Then, the priest of the goddess of agriculture came to me and gave me a medal in recognition of my work on fertilizers and pesticides..."

At this point, Tony pouted, still somewhat dissatisfied, "...but it seems I can't bring this medal back to America, meow..."

Phil was completely speechless.

It's true what they say, comparing people is infuriating, and comparing cats is infuriating! This is what you call the real protagonist's halo!

However, Tony's incredible display of skill led to a technological explosion in the Golden Dragon Kingdom, starting from the pre-industrial era. It completely skipped the First and Second Industrial Revolutions, launching the "cold fusion" project before even inventing the steam engine...

Isn't this leap in productivity development a bit too big? Won't it backfire?

"Forget it, it's none of my business even if it's a mess..." He shook his head, then brought up the important matter with Tony: "...Mr. Stark, it's like this, His Majesty the Dragon King is preparing to tour the border, so he sent me to ask you if you would like to go to the Westfall with him?"

"...The western wilderness behind the great cliffs? Of course I have to go! My new magical Iron Man suit can finally be shown off!"

Chapter 253, Iron Cat Tony on the Great Cliff

Starting from the capital city of Thousand Sails, where sails obscure the sun and the waters ripple, pass through the lush Dragon Forest, cross the majestic Dragon Roar Volcano, and then skim across the vast plains on the northern side of the Golden Dragon Peninsula, you will arrive at the westernmost tip of the peninsula, the Dragon Neck Isthmus, where the Golden Dragon Peninsula connects to the mainland.

If travelers were to walk the entire journey on foot, it would likely take at least half a month. However, if they were to fly, it would only take a few hours.

At this very moment, two golden dragons, one silver dragon, and a flying steel cat are circling and soaring above the Dragonneck Isthmus.

On the back of the silver dragon, specifically on the back of the silver dragon lady Lulutia, were two cats, one orange and one black. The orange cat was naturally her magical pet, Firi—as the silver dragon's pet, "riding on the back of a silver dragon" was nothing new to Firi; it was just a normal part of daily life... However, his primary experience before was taking a nap while lying on the back of his equally soundly sleeping mistress.

The black cat is another superhero from the Marvel universe, the crown prince of the mysterious, high-tech African kingdom of Wakanda, and the future "Black Panther" T'Challa who has been studying law in the United States for the past few years... Of course, he is currently the black cat T'Challa—because all the members of the Earth expedition team have turned into cats in this world, Phil didn't recognize this black panther at first.

Once he figured out the black cat's true identity, he was immediately startled. He then quickly invited his future Black Panther comrade to ride a dragon with him, hoping to build some rapport. He completely ignored the suspicious looks from the many upright cats in the Earth expedition team behind him. Because the Kingdom of Wakanda had long adhered to a policy of "seclusion" and was very good at disguising itself (its high-tech poverty-pretending skills were MAX), Wakanda's external image on Earth in the Marvel universe was that of "the poorest and most backward third-world country," with almost zero presence on the international stage.

The crown prince of such a "backward country" is probably less valuable than the boss of a big company. What is there to win over?

After much thought, it seems the only explanation is "the blind worship of royal power by subjects in a backward feudal system"...

Getting back to the main point, the Dragon Neck Isthmus, located at the junction of the Golden Dragon Peninsula and the New World, is a narrow isthmus, only a little over 100 meters wide at its narrowest point and a little over 500 meters wide at its widest. It is said that when strong winds strike, huge waves can crash from one side of the isthmus into the sea on the other side.

Therefore, in such a crucial military location, the Golden Dragon Kingdom built a military fortress, Dragonneck City, long ago, as the western gateway to the entire kingdom. Opposite Dragonneck City lies the Great Cliff, which runs along the eastern coastline of the entire New World.

The three dragons and three cats hovered in the sky above Dragonneck City, gazing at the towering cliffs ahead.

"...Your Highness T'Challa, I've heard that your homeland is also a plateau continent? I wonder if it has such a landscape?" Phil asked.

"...Uh, my homeland Wakanda is a landlocked country, quite far from the ocean...but it does have waterfalls."

Gazing at the magnificent, towering cliffs rising abruptly from the sea and stretching to the horizon to the north and south, the future Black Panther was quite awestruck. "...If Africa had such towering cliffs for protection, perhaps the white colonists wouldn't have been able to get in? Well, that might not be entirely a good thing...after all, we also need the advanced culture and technology of the white people..."

—In short, at this point, Black Panther seems to be just like in later episodes, exhibiting both low emotional intelligence and a tendency to talk to himself...

The so-called "Great Cliffs" are a series of huge plateaus and mountains that hug the eastern coastline of the New World. From the sea, they look like a copper wall and iron barrier thousands of meters high standing on the coast, seriously hindering explorers from going deeper into the inland areas of the New World.

— Simply mooring a sailboat close to a cliff (with potential reefs below) is dangerous enough; if one then has to brave the raging sea winds and climb thousands of meters to reach the shore, it becomes even more daunting.

What's worse, this "great cliff" stretches from the far north ice sheet all the way to the southernmost tip of the New World, making it very difficult to go around.

Fortunately, between the Great Cliff and the sea, there are scattered, unconnected coastal lowlands that allow explorers who have crossed the ocean to stop and rest, slowly figuring out how to cross the Great Cliff and venture deeper into the New World. Furthermore, the Great Cliff itself is not a monolithic structure, but rather has a few narrow passes formed by collapses and erosion, allowing travelers to cross from the coastal areas and then venture further inland.

The various immigrant nations of the New World all chose a small, isolated, flat coastal area between the Great Cliff and the ocean to build a port and establish a foothold. They then spent hundreds of years gradually expanding, eventually climbing the Great Cliff and advancing inland.

On the opposite side of Dragonneck, there is a narrow pass on a great cliff, which is also the only land route for the Golden Dragon Kingdom's immigrants to cross the cliff and reach the Western Wilds. But this road is still very difficult to travel—because this pass was carved out by a waterfall.

A wide river flows into the sea in this area, then rushes out of a large cliff and plunges into the sea below. Due to the height difference of thousands of meters, it forms an extremely spectacular waterfall. Because of the huge and deafening sound of the water, it is named "Dragon's Roar Waterfall".

Under the constant erosion and scouring of the Dragon's Roar Falls, even the sturdy cliffs gradually collapsed and disintegrated, forming a gap. Then, under the impact of the falls, this gap continued to widen and recede, eventually becoming a relatively gentle pass that allows travelers to climb up from the coastal lowlands and reach the inland area above the great cliffs.

However, it remains an exceptionally rugged and arduous road. Pedestrians and vehicles can only inch their way up the mountain along the winding path carved out from the edge of the cliff. Because of the massive waterfall cascading down overhead, creating a persistent mist in the narrow pass, this mountain path is always extremely slippery. A single misstep can send you and your vehicle tumbling into the jagged, turbulent torrent, where you will be instantly killed.

Even more critically, the final stretch of the path leading to the top of the great cliff is also the closest point to the Dragon's Roar Waterfall. If, due to a storm, earthquake, or any other reason, the waterfall's flow shifts by even a dozen meters towards the mountain road... then a considerable section of the mountain path will become a raging river, and the rushing floodwaters will instantly sweep away any obstacles in its path!

To mitigate such risks, craftsmen carved caves into the mountainside along the road, creating shelters above the road surface. This way, when a flash flood struck, nimble pedestrians could take refuge in the caves. However, their wagons and supplies were unlikely to survive the flood, not to mention the inevitable accidents caused by slow-moving individuals during each disaster… Moreover, if the flood triggered a landslide, even taking refuge in a cave might not be safe—the only difference would be dying instead of falling from a height and being buried alive.

Of course, besides the rugged and slippery deadly mountain road, travelers can also choose another way to climb the great cliff: the winch elevator. The dwarven craftsmen of the Golden Dragon Kingdom carved more than a dozen elevator stations into the cliff, each station staffed with burly giant laborers responsible for using huge winch elevators to pull travelers and supplies up or down one station at a time...

However, this winch elevator, which at first glance resembles a primitive sightseeing elevator, is actually not so reliable. Because of the strong winds that frequently blow off the cliffs overlooking the sea, people are often blown off the cliffs every year. Accidents such as rope breakage and pulley jamming are also common occurrences.

What's more troublesome is that the winch lift has a very limited load-bearing capacity; even if it operates from morning till night, it can't transport too many people or goods. Moreover, if the weather is slightly bad, such as during heavy rain or strong winds, the winch lift must be stopped.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

"...This place is really...much more dangerous than the Grand Canyon! At least the canyons there aren't as deep, the winds aren't as strong, and there's no big waterfall overhead to cause trouble...Aside from that thrilling little path that looks like a swimming pool slide, and that winch lift that looks more dilapidated than a primary school student's craft project, don't you have any more reliable means of transportation?"

Now dressed in his new suit, Tony Stark, transformed into Iron Cat, peered at the struggling streams of people and vehicles along the mountain road in the distance, then leaned close to Phil and shouted at the top of his lungs, "What do you mean?"

—Because the sound of the water from Dragon's Roar Waterfall is so loud, and with the added interference from the sea breeze, you have to shout to talk in this area.

"...Well, there once was a dragon who had made a mistake and was punished by being forced to do hard labor here in Dragonneck City, carrying travelers up and down the steep cliffs every day..."

Before Phil could speak, his mistress Lulutia took over the conversation.

"...So what's next? Is it because the dragon's sentence is over, and it's no longer doing this?"

Tony looked around but didn't seem to see a giant dragon carrying passengers and luggage going up and down, so he continued to ask.

"...No, it's because such frequent takeoffs and landings are too physically demanding, so much so that he has to eat at least a whole roasted whale every day just to fill his stomach. On average, the transportation cost is just too high, several times that of a winch elevator, which is simply unaffordable for ordinary passengers."

The dragon king Alaric, currently in the form of a golden dragon, replied, "...so I only had him carry passengers for a month before I had to stop the business and instead had him fly long-distance transoceanic flights between the Old and New Worlds—the ferry fare couldn't be raised that high."

"...Also, there's a short-range magical teleportation array in Dragonneck that can transport people or goods to Stromgarde on the cliff top. However, activating this teleportation array isn't cheap; it costs 1000 gold coins each time, and it can only teleport one or two people at most..."

Another golden dragon accompanying His Majesty King Alaric on his tour, Prince Lambert continued, "When His Majesty King Alaric granted fiefdoms to his children, Prince Lambert's fiefdom was Dragonneck City, so he knows a great deal about the place."

"...Why is magic teleportation so expensive, meow?" Tony Meow pressed.

"...because each activation of the teleportation array consumes a large amount of energy, burning up a low-grade magic crystal..."

"...Meow! Got it, meow! Now watch me, meow!" Tony Garfield Stark said confidently.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

About half a day later, in the courtyard of the Wizarding Guild in Dragonneck, everyone was stunned to see Tony Garfield Stark draw a huge teleportation circle on the floor with gold and silver threads.

Uh, a huge teleportation array that almost occupies the entire courtyard and is big enough to hold twenty carriages.

"...My God! Such a huge teleportation magic circle?! It's big enough to teleport a small warship, isn't it?"

The president of the Dragonneck City Mage Guild, an old mage with a white beard wearing a purple pointed hat, along with his subordinates and apprentices, were all stunned by the enormous teleportation magic circle that appeared before them. "...How many magic crystals do you plan to use to activate it? A thousand, or two thousand?"

As the spellcaster who had maintained the teleportation magic circle for many years, this white-bearded old mage was well aware of the energy required to activate such a magic circle and considered it a complete waste. After all, magic crystals were not cheap.

Using a thousand magic crystals to teleport a patrol boat from here to the Great Cliff would cost enough to build a hundred similar boats on the Great Cliff!

However, the reason he held this wrong view was entirely because he did not understand the extent of the power of the Chosen One and the Great Master.

"...Magic crystals? No, no, no! I have something better! I made a few extra of these in the capital just in case!"

Tony casually waved his hand, retrieving a magical version of the Arc Reactor from the spatial ring given to him by His Majesty the Dragon King, and connected it to the massive teleportation array. The next moment, the large group of salted fish used as test subjects in the center of the teleportation array vanished instantly in a flash of light.

Next, accompanied by another flash of light, twenty bewildered kobold soldiers were teleported down from the cliff.

"...Excellent! The experiment was a success! You can use it for teleportation from now on! You can teleport at least several hundred times a day!"

Tony the Cat patted his paw and said to the stunned onlookers around him, "...As long as the space inside the teleportation array is large enough, no matter how heavy the cargo is, it shouldn't be a problem! For a small project like this, the energy of the Ark Reactor is practically limitless! As for the fee, considering the maintenance cost of the teleportation array, I think charging each human-sized passenger about two or three silver coins would be about right..."

Before he finished speaking, a five-colored ray of light poured down from the sky, accurately enveloping Tony the cat in its glow.

Immediately afterwards, accompanied by holy and ethereal music that seemed to rise out of nowhere, Tony the cat was pulled by some kind of powerful and holy force and slowly rose into the air about four or five meters high, his whole body radiating a bright light that was hard to look directly at.

Above Tony's head in mid-air, there was a holy emblem formed of divine power, which was constantly flashing and rotating.

Everyone present heard an indescribable voice continuously singing and praising...

"...This is...this is the grace of the God of Travel! A miracle! A miracle! A new benefactor has been born!"

The president of the Mage Guild in Dragonneck City, the old white-bearded mage, was so moved that tears welled up in his eyes, and he looked like he was about to have a heart attack.

Ferry and T'Challa, the future black panther, well, the current black cat, exchanged a glance, their faces filled with speechlessness and sighs.

Tony, how come he's received another divine blessing... uh, why do I say "another"?

—A chosen one of this world, blessed with such good fortune and boundless blessings, is someone that makes it impossible to even feel jealous!

Chapter 254, From Stromgarde to Cold Harbor

In the eyes of the subjects of the Golden Dragon Kingdom, the Great Cliff is generally regarded as the dividing line between civilization and barbarism. The coastal lowlands to the east of the Great Cliff are the "civilized world" with laws and order. The inland plateau to the west of the Great Cliff is the chaotic and disorderly "western wilderness".

Stromgarde, situated on the edge of the Great Cliffs, at the boundary between civilization and the wilderness, is the largest city of the Golden Dragon Kingdom in the Westfall, though its population is less than 20,000, at most slightly larger than Totoro Town. However, as the first stop for Golden Dragon Kingdom travelers entering the Westfall from their homeland, and a bridgehead for years of expansion into the wilderness interior, Stromgarde's market is relatively prosperous.

In addition, next to [Warriorsport], [Dragon's Roar Waterfall], formed by the Cold River rushing out of a large cliff, is also a well-known natural landmark.

Unfortunately, in this backward era when tourism was still underdeveloped, [Stirring Fortress] was known for its bad reputation among the people.

—Because the cliff has a drop of over a thousand meters, and the Cold River has a vast volume of water, the sound of the Dragon Roar Waterfall crashing against the bottom of the cliff is truly as loud as a dragon's roar. As a result, the streets of Striking Fortress are filled with deafening rushing sounds from morning till night. Consequently, a considerable number of Striking Fortress residents have become hard of hearing at a young age, and they have to shout to be heard.

Other, even more unfortunate individuals, while not hard of hearing, still suffer from insomnia night after night, even with cork earplugs, which naturally leads to neurasthenia and various other ailments...

Therefore, ever since the Church of Hypnos began its missionary work in the Westfall, sending priests to Stromgarde, they were immediately welcomed by the local inhabitants, who enthusiastically contributed their time and effort...

In just a few months, a meticulously constructed temple of the Sleeping God, or rather, a temple-style capsule hotel, has been basically completed. It's just waiting for its consecration and opening so that citizens suffering from insomnia can lie down and rest inside.

Firi and his silver dragon mistress, Lulutia, were representing the headquarters of the Church of Sleep to attend the temple consecration ceremony in Stromgarde.

—Due to the rapid expansion of the Church of Hypnos this year, there wasn't enough time to train all the pastors serving Hypnos, and the existing number was simply insufficient. As a result, the representative representing the church headquarters at the ceremony had to be a senior believer like Lulutia, who has made outstanding contributions.

But when they actually arrived, thanks to Tony Garfield's inventions, the Arc Reactor was installed on the magical teleportation array connecting Dragonneck below the Great Cliff and Stromgarde above it. This reduced the transportation cost between the two places, which had an elevation difference of over a thousand meters, to one five-thousandth of the original cost, and also increased the frequency of use of the teleportation array many times over.

So, the citizens of Stromgarde, who had long suffered from insomnia, were overjoyed. They couldn't even bother to lie down and rest in the Temple of the Sleeping God. They all rushed to do something else—that is, first and foremost, satisfy their appetites and go on a seafood feast!

—Although Striking Fort is located on the edge of a great cliff, allowing local residents to overlook the vast ocean and feel the salty sea breeze every day, the cliff's thousands of meters of elevation difference makes transportation between the top and bottom extremely difficult, making it hard to transport marine products to the top.

That rugged, winding mountain road was not only difficult to travel, but also extremely slow; it would take a freight wagon three whole days to travel from the bottom to the top of the cliff. The winch elevator was a bit faster, but it couldn't be used if the wind was even slightly strong, and its carrying capacity was very limited. It was also very expensive—the amount of food consumed daily by the giant laborers responsible for turning the winch was enough to fill a wagon! When there was no cargo to haul, they had to work as construction workers to make a living.

Therefore, even in the market of Stromgarde, which is blown by the sea breeze every day, only sea salt can be barely kept in sufficient supply. This is because each person consumes relatively little salt, and the surplus capacity of the winch elevator is enough to carry some. As for the heavier pickled seafood and dried fish, they are often in short supply in the market of Stromgarde, and the price is at least ten times higher than in Dragonneck below.

As for fresh sea fish, crabs, and shellfish that are difficult to preserve, they are delicacies that only the wealthy can enjoy occasionally. Ordinary people can only eat freshwater fish from cold rivers...

At the same time, Longjing City, a fine fishing port adjacent to the large fishing grounds, has been facing the predicament of unsold seafood for many years.

Now, because Tony the Cat has greatly improved the magic teleportation array between the two places, the insurmountable barrier has been turned into a thoroughfare in an instant, causing both cities on the top and bottom of the cliff to be extremely excited.

Dragonneck City teleported up five tons of fresh fish, shellfish, and crabs in one go, while Stromgarde...

Naturally, everyone was overjoyed and treated themselves to a seafood feast to reward their stomachs. Oh, and also to welcome the great Dragon King!