Chương 126: Chapter 126: Testing the Enchanted Arsenal 

Early the next morning, Luke was still deeply immersed in a highly pleasant dream when his bedroom door was abruptly and violently shoved open. 

"Wake up, Luke! It's time to field-test the new magical weapons!" Tony Stark announced, striding into the room with aggressive enthusiasm. Without a second thought, he casually grabbed the edge of the blanket and violently yanked it off the bed. 

The 'seal' of the warm blanket broken, Luke instantly bolted upright, glaring blearily at Tony's incredibly smug, annoying smile. 

After being ruthlessly hurried through his morning routine, Luke, grumbling internally, grabbed two steaming baskets of soup dumplings and followed Tony out to an isolated, reinforced training courtyard in Kamar-Taj. 

"Alright, let's get started," Tony said, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. 

"Mm," Luke nodded sleepily, popping a dumpling into his mouth. 

Behind him, several Standard Shadow Ninjas silently materialized from the darkness. They were each holding different prototypes of the newly forged, magically enchanted weaponry. 

After negotiating the production contract with Mordo yesterday, the newly established Kamar-Taj magical armory had primarily focused on producing standard-issue Ninja armaments: katanas, bo staffs, and specialized shurikens. These were the primary weapons utilized by the vast majority of Luke's forces. 

Luke had also formally requested massive, reinforced gauntlets and heavy bludgeons for his Troll Ninjas. However, due to the Trolls' absolutely massive, inhuman physiology, the Kamar-Taj blacksmiths didn't currently possess the necessary specialized molds or heavy-duty forges. It would take them a few weeks to retool their production lines to accommodate the giant-sized weaponry. 

Tony casually tapped the side of his sleek, highly advanced sunglasses. Luke noticed several complex data streams and targeting reticles flashing across the lenses. It was clear Tony was actively recording and analyzing the weapons' performance metrics in real-time. 

"We need some proper targets before we begin," Tony said, turning to Luke. He noticed Luke staring at his high-tech glasses and wiggled his eyebrows smugly. 

Luke completely ignored him. He mentally commanded a few Troll Ninjas to haul out a massive stack of incredibly heavy, highly weathered, reinforced training dummies and line them up across the courtyard. 

Before testing the new magical weapons, Luke ordered a squad of regular Shadow Ninjas to aggressively attack the dummies using their standard, non-enchanted katanas to establish a baseline. 

The standard-issue Shadow katanas were incredibly sharp; they could effortlessly slice through solid steel plating and thick industrial cables like butter. However, as the Ninjas aggressively hacked and slashed at the bizarre, ancient training dummies, the blades only managed to bite a few inches deep before getting completely lodged in the unknown, hyper-dense material. 

The Ninjas forcefully yanked their blades free and stepped back. 

Luke and Tony walked up to inspect the damage. Tony ran a finger along the shallow, highly uneven gash left by the blade, raising an eyebrow in genuine surprise. 

The sheer density and resilience of the unknown material were incredible. Looking at the countless, deeply scarred, weathered training dummies scattered around the courtyard, Tony realized that any object capable of surviving centuries of daily, highly aggressive abuse by Kamar-Taj battle-mages had to be forged from something extraordinary. 

Luke also inspected the shallow gash. Noting the rough, torn edges of the cut, he correctly deduced that if the Shadow Ninjas didn't possess terrifying, superhuman physical strength, their standard blades likely wouldn't have left a single scratch on the dummies. 

Having mentally recorded the baseline damage depth, and possessing absolutely zero reverence for the centuries-old training equipment, Luke and Tony stepped back. 

Luke signaled the squad of Ninjas holding the newly enchanted prototypes to step forward. 

The Ninjas, wielding various distinctively designed magical katanas, casually spun the blades in their hands, rapidly acclimatizing to the slightly altered weight distribution and balance of the enchanted steel. 

They planted their feet firmly, dropping into aggressive combat stances. Having observed the extreme durability of the dummies during the baseline test, they knew they had to utilize their absolute maximum physical strength for this strike. 

The Ninjas synchronized their breathing. After a two-second windup, they simultaneously, violently swung their enchanted blades! 

Instantly, highly complex, glowing runic arrays flared to life along the length of the katanas! 

Luke immediately heightened his focus. Thanks to his superhuman reflexes, the Ninjas' blindingly fast movements appeared in extreme slow motion, allowing him to meticulously analyze the magical discharge. 

He observed the raw magical energy violently erupting from the storage reservoirs in the hilts. Guided perfectly by the intricate runic arrays etched into the steel, the energy rapidly converged along the cutting edge. Using the physical blade as a highly focused conduit, the magical energy formed a terrifyingly sharp, glowing extension of the blade. 

Without shedding a single fraction of their momentum, the enchanted katanas violently slammed into the hyper-dense dummies... and effortlessly, perfectly cleaved them completely in half! 

Without pausing, the Ninjas smoothly rotated their wrists for a backhand strike. 

This time, the secondary elemental enchantments activated! 

Violent, crackling lightning, roaring hellfire, and absolute-zero frost violently erupted from the different blades! The elemental strikes painted devastating arcs of destruction through the air, effortlessly slicing through several more dummies as easily as a hot knife through butter. 

In a fraction of a second, the demonstration was over. The Ninjas executed a flawless, synchronized motion, sheathing their blades with a sharp click. 

Tony, lacking superhuman reflexes, blinked in confusion. He had only registered a few blinding flashes of colorful light before the Ninjas were completely still again. 

"Are they finished?" Tony asked, looking at Luke. 

The exact microsecond he spoke, the massive, hyper-dense training dummies slowly, diagonally slid apart and crashed heavily onto the courtyard floor. 

"Absolutely incredible," Luke murmured, staring at the cleanly severed dummies. 

This level of destructive power was beyond his expectations. With this enchanted weaponry, even his basic, low-tier Shadow Ninjas could easily unleash burst damage equivalent to his mid-tier specialized units. If he could eventually upgrade the baseline quality of the enchanted steel, the weapons could significantly enhance the lethality of his elite units as well! 

Tony stared at the fallen dummies, then looked at Luke's highly satisfied expression, shaking his head helplessly. Compared to these terrifying, magical superhuman entities, his un-augmented biological body was pathetically fragile. 

However, technology was the ultimate equalizer. Tony tapped his glasses, pulling up the high-speed, 10,000-frames-per-second video F.R.I.D.A.Y. had just recorded, meticulously analyzing the magical discharge frame by frame. 

After reviewing the footage, Tony snapped back to reality and hurried over to where Luke was already closely inspecting the ruined dummies. 

Even having seen the devastating power in the slow-motion video, seeing the physical aftermath was still awe-inspiring. 

The dummies, which had easily withstood the full force of the standard katanas, had been effortlessly diced into multiple chunks. Tony grabbed one of the severed pieces and examined the incredibly smooth, mirror-like cross-section of the cut. He looked at Luke in genuine astonishment. 

"This specific cut was produced entirely by the 'Sharpness' runic enhancement," Luke explained, casually kicking another severed chunk over for Tony to inspect. 

"And these highly erratic, heavily charred and shattered surfaces are the direct result of the secondary elemental enchantments—lightning, fire, and frost." 

The secondary cuts weren't nearly as smooth, but the massive, violently blasted craters and deep scorch marks clearly demonstrated the terrifying, explosive kinetic energy of the elemental strikes. 

"Are all of these enchantments genuinely this devastating?!" Tony asked, absolutely fascinated. Even his most advanced, proprietary titanium-gold alloys weren't significantly more durable than these ancient dummies. A direct hit from one of these swords could potentially breach his armor! 

Luke patted Tony's shoulder reassuringly. "Don't panic. These specific runic arrays were explicitly designed by the Kamar-Taj sorcerers to completely maximize raw, unmitigated destructive output, with absolutely zero regard for efficiency or energy conservation. That's why the burst damage is so absurdly high." 

Luke casually snatched an enchanted katana from one of the Shadow Ninjas. Bizarrely, he felt a faint, telepathic wave of reluctance from the Ninja as it handed the weapon over. 

Luke shook his head helplessly. "Relax, I'll give it right back." 

He noticed the other Shadow Ninjas who hadn't received prototypes were all staring at him with intense, silent longing in their glowing red eyes. 

Luke chuckled. "Don't worry. Once full production starts, everyone gets one." 

He turned back to Tony and held up the hilt of the katana, pointing to the small, specialized magical reservoir embedded within the pommel. The reservoir, which had been glowing brightly before the test, was now completely dark and empty. 

"The two massive strikes you just witnessed completely depleted the weapon's maximum energy capacity. Until it is manually recharged, it's just a regular, highly durable sword. We were strictly testing maximum burst damage today. In a real combat scenario, they will be explicitly ordered to conserve the energy, relying on the 'Sharpness' rune rather than the highly expensive elemental bursts, so the charge lasts longer." 

Luke stared critically at the small energy reservoir. He desperately wanted to increase the total energy capacity of the weapons. However, the physical structure of the hilt inherently limited the size of the reservoir. If he hollowed out too much of the steel to increase the capacity, the hilt's structural integrity would be severely compromised, and the blade would likely snap off during intense combat. 

But... what if I completely replaced the standard magical reservoir with one of my highly compressed Dark Energy Crystals? 

Luke pulled a massive, 100,000-point Dark Energy Crystal from his inventory. The crystal was roughly the exact same size as the standard pommel reservoir, but its total energy density was astronomically higher! A single crystal could easily power the elemental enchantments for an entire, prolonged, high-intensity battle! 

However, there was a major logistical flaw: the crystals were currently highly volatile, single-use consumables. If he had to manually replace the crystal in every single weapon after every skirmish, it would be manageable for a small squad. But in a massive, million-man planetary war? He would spend days doing nothing but frantically reloading swords! 

Perhaps... I can convince the sorcerers to engrave highly complex stabilizing and energy-siphoning runes directly onto the surface of the crystals? That way, they wouldn't violently shatter upon depletion. They would act as rechargeable batteries! After a battle, I could just dump all the empty crystals back into the Dark Dimension, where they would passively, automatically recharge themselves! 

Luke nodded to himself, highly satisfied with the brilliant logistical upgrade. He would discuss the 'rechargeable battery' concept with Mordo later today. 

Having finalized the data on the melee weapons, Luke signaled Tony and ordered the remaining Ninjas to test the enchanted bo staffs and ranged weaponry. 

Naturally, applying a 'Sharpness' rune to a blunt staff was highly illogical. Therefore, the staffs were heavily inscribed with various kinetic manipulation runes: 'Acceleration' to increase swing speed, and 'Concussive Force' to amplify the impact. 

Furthermore, the tip of each staff featured a highly simplified, foundational runic array for the 'Fireball' spell. Highly skilled Kamar-Taj sorcerers could utilize this specific array as a catalyst to rapidly cast devastating, high-tier spells like 'Meteor Swarm.' However, for the magically inept Shadow Ninjas, it simply provided them with a highly reliable, rudimentary ranged magical attack. 

Thanks to the aggressive, destructive modifications implemented by the Kamar-Taj sorcerers, these weren't standard fireballs. While they lacked the raw concussive force to completely shatter the hyper-dense dummies, the explosive impacts violently launched the heavy dummies several meters through the air, smashing them against the courtyard walls. 

This was a massive tactical upgrade! It finally provided his standard infantry with a highly effective, highly disruptive anti-air capability! 

After thoroughly testing the entire arsenal, Luke nodded in absolute, profound satisfaction. 

The Standard Shadow Ninjas constituted the absolute vast majority of his total forces. If he could successfully mass-produce this enchanted weaponry and arm every single infantry unit, the overall combat effectiveness of his army would skyrocket exponentially! 

However, analyzing the current size and operational capacity of Kamar-Taj, Luke realized that attempting to rapidly mass-produce millions of enchanted weapons was highly unrealistic. They simply lacked the manpower. 

Perhaps... I can diplomatically convince the Ancient One to significantly expand the scale of Kamar-Taj and aggressively recruit a massive new generation of sorcerers? Basically, initiate a massive hiring drive for magical factory workers? 

If she refuses, I'll just wait until Stephen Strange takes over and convince him. 

Having finalized his grand industrial plans, the weapons test officially concluded. 

Tony, having successfully gathered massive amounts of highly complex magical telemetry data, immediately retreated to the Grand Library. He needed to study the foundational runic linguistics before he could attempt to reverse-engineer and integrate the technology into his armors. However, his arrogance remained absolute; he was completely confident he could master the ancient texts in a matter of days. 

Luke sought out Mordo to discuss the 'rechargeable crystal' battery concept. Afterward, he spent a few hours aggressively feeding Galacta, before retreating into the Dark Dimension to begin experimenting on the Dark Energy Crystals. 

Meanwhile, deep within the Ancient One's private pavilion... 

Mordo stood respectfully before the Sorcerer Supreme, having been summoned shortly after the weapons test. 

"Mordo, has there been any significant or highly unusual activity within Kamar-Taj over the past two days?" the Ancient One asked calmly, sipping her tea. 

Mordo wasn't entirely sure what she was looking for, but he answered truthfully. "The sanctuary remains primarily peaceful, Master. The only minor disturbances originate from the newly established Asgardian Royal Sorcerer Battalion. During their joint theoretical seminars with our disciples, ideological disagreements frequently escalate into highly aggressive, shouting arguments." 

Mordo sighed helplessly. He honestly didn't understand how incredibly minor theoretical differences could trigger such immediate, intense hostility. "Fortunately, whenever the arguments inevitably turn physical, the Asgardians rapidly discover that our martial arts training vastly exceeds theirs without the use of magic. After getting thoroughly beaten in hand-to-hand combat a few times, they have become significantly more reasonable and polite during debates." 

The Ancient One nodded slowly, unconcerned. The Chief Sorcerer of the Asgardian Battalion was Sylvie, her former disciple. She knew Sylvie wouldn't allow the arguments to escalate into actual, lethal magical duels. A few bruised egos and black eyes were perfectly acceptable for a cultural exchange program. 

"Is there anything else?" she prompted. 

"Ah, yes!" Mordo's face lit up. "The magical armory Lord Luke requested has been fully established and is currently operational! He just reviewed the initial prototypes and was highly satisfied. However, he also formally requested a massive, immediate increase in our production capacity. He intends to arm his entire legion." 

Mordo hesitated, looking slightly stressed. "Unfortunately, Master, while prioritizing the daily, essential operations and defense of the sanctuary, I have already aggressively recruited every single available, unassigned sorcerer into the armory division. We are currently operating at absolute maximum capacity. I simply cannot increase production without reassigning personnel from critical defensive duties." 

The Ancient One smiled serenely. 

"I am highly supportive of this industrial venture. The armory is generating a highly significant, much-needed influx of external revenue for Kamar-Taj, which will greatly assist in our global operations," she stated thoughtfully. "However, the critical manpower shortage is indeed a valid concern." 

She placed her teacup down and looked directly at Mordo. 

"Therefore, I authorize a massive expansion of our recruitment protocols. Over the next few weeks, I want you and the senior Masters to actively scour the globe. Identify individuals possessing genuine mystical potential and actively recruit them into Kamar-Taj." 

Mordo's eyes widened in genuine, profound joy. He nodded enthusiastically. Ever since he had joined the order, he had viewed Kamar-Taj as his true home and family. The opportunity to actively expand their ranks, grow their influence, and generate substantial wealth to improve their living conditions was an absolute blessing!