"Fenris, you really do get me."
Seeing that Fenris had understood his meaning so quickly, Magneto nodded repeatedly. "After the Arctic base was attacked, Bolivar already knows perfectly well that we've become aware of their existence."
"In that case, why should we keep hiding and sneaking around? We might as well cut loose and hit him before he can react."
"And most importantly, the last battle already proved it. The two of us together are fully capable of utterly overwhelming the previous generation of Sentinels."
As he watched Fenris's eyes flicker after hearing him out, with the faintest trace of hesitation in his expression, Magneto grew anxious and hurried to add, "Besides, even if we run into a truly massive base, with your portals, we can leave whenever we want."
"With our mobility advantage, the moment those bases hiding in the shadows are exposed, the initiative is completely ours."
"And on top of that, this kind of constant harassment would greatly divide their attention and slow down their research progress."
"It's a win on every front. Well?"
Magneto looked at Fenris expectantly.
"I think..."
Just as Fenris nodded and was about to agree, Professor X suddenly spoke up, cutting off the conversation between the two of them. "Erik, shouldn't we wait a couple of days before acting?"
"Wait a couple of days?"
Magneto frowned, his eyes full of displeasure. "How can something like this wait two days? Are we tired right now?"
"Who knows what that man is plotting in the dark at this very moment? Every extra second means extra danger. Don't tell me you don't understand that."
"Erik, I admit you have a point, but you can't always be this rash."
Looking at the irritable Magneto, Professor X shook his head and tried to reason with him in a calm voice. "First, we finally managed to get clues about the enemy's main nest. Right now, they know us inside and out, while we still don't know enough about them. So why can't we wait until I've figured everything out before making plans?"
"Charles..."
Seeing that Magneto was about to argue again, Professor X raised a hand, signaling for him to let him finish first. "Second, you saw the combat strength of those children just now. Asking them to face tens of thousands of the newest Sentinel robots is absolutely impossible."
"And do you know how many sub-bases Bolivar has? After the Arctic base was destroyed, he still hasn't chosen to make a move for all this time. That means he's still lying low, waiting for the right moment to strike."
"Once the children are all equipped with vibranium suits, and their physiques have been enhanced by the Heart-Shaped Herb, then we strike decisively and go straight for the Sentinel program's main base. As long as Bolivar dies, this crisis will naturally collapse on its own."
Professor X looked straight into Magneto's eyes and spoke with calm, solid logic. "Besides, if you push him too hard now, what if he panics and launches an all-out attack? Can we really hold back a massive swarm of Sentinels?"
"We can!"
Just as Magneto, unconvinced by Professor X's argument, was about to fire back, a firm voice suddenly rang out.
"We can hold them."
"Fenris?"
Professor X turned his head and saw Fenris standing there as though nothing were amiss. "Do you know what you're saying?"
"I do, Professor."
Fenris toyed with the exquisite little axe in his hand as he spoke, one word at a time. "Even if Bolivar released thousands or tens of thousands of the newest Sentinels right now, I could hold them off by myself."
"You just need to protect the children."
The Titan Encyclopedia deep within his consciousness rippled faintly. Fenris glanced at the endlessly rustling pages within it. "I can take responsibility for what I'm saying."
"..."
Looking at Fenris's decisive expression, the certainty in his voice and the absolute confidence radiating from him left both Professor X and Magneto dazed for a moment.
The two of them looked at each other, then both turned back toward Fenris.
In the next instant, they smiled at the same time.
"What do you want to do?"
Professor X completely dropped the stubborn resistance he had shown his old friend just moments before.
"We're hitting the sub-bases, and we're definitely hitting the main base too. Not only are we going to fight, we're going to use this war to temper the X-Men and make them stronger!"
"If I still had some hesitation before, then now I can tell you with complete certainty: unless Bolivar can somehow pull out a hundred thousand Sentinels that are at least twenty-fifth generation or higher, we don't need to worry about a thing."
The axe at his fingertips visibly expanded in his hand, then slammed heavily against the ground with a dull thunderous boom.
Fenris said each word like a verdict.
"We will win."
"Good!"
Magneto slapped Fenris hard on the shoulder, the light in his eyes almost impossible to restrain. "This is what we should have done from the start. Charles is always waiting, but when is there ever going to be a day when everything is completely ready?"
His emotions running high, the magnetic field around Magneto began surging wildly.
Where his palm met Fenris's shoulder, two completely different magnetic fields collided. The charged particles gathering there actually sparked into a faint, gorgeous aurora.
"Fenris, we'll do it your way."
Professor X gave Fenris a long, deep look, then led those captured criminals straight into the prison cells the school always kept prepared for Brotherhood members.
"Kid, are you really that confident?"
Magneto walked shoulder to shoulder with Fenris toward the outside, his mood suddenly turning exceptionally bright. "If all that was just talk, you still have time to back out."
"What's said is said. There's nothing to take back."
Fenris replied indifferently, "I refuse to believe Bolivar can create some kind of super-material that can restrain you and still stop my axe."
"That's true."
Magneto nodded and pulled his gaze back from the axe at Fenris's fingertips.
There was something deeply strange about the weapon. Even though its main body was made of vibranium, it seemed to have undergone some sort of miraculous transformation.
Changing size at will was one thing. But more importantly, it seemed to have perfectly synchronized with the bizarre magnetic field around Fenris. Not even Magneto's control over magnetism could interfere with the axe in the slightest.
The two of them had just left the massive castle and were preparing to head to Hank's lab when the scene before them made Fenris's pupils suddenly contract.
"What is this...?"
The X-Mansion, already grand and magnificently maintained, now looked as though it had been completely reborn.
Across its enormous grounds, the surrounding layout and buildings seemed to have been renovated from top to bottom. The original atmosphere and landscape had been preserved, but the new design was far more refined and elegant.
At the same time, countless trucks were rolling steadily in from outside the grounds.
Their trailers were packed with every kind of equipment imaginable, from teaching instruments to research machinery.
Looking farther out, in the most remote corner of the school, even Fenris's three-story reaction chamber had been completely rebuilt. Its height had increased by nearly five times.
"Where did Charles get this kind of money?"
Even Magneto could not help clicking his tongue in amazement as he looked around, marveling at his old friend's generosity. "Renovating the entire school like this... how many millions of dollars must this be burning?"
"Maybe Dr. Connors's research has entered a new phase?"
Fenris blinked. Even he was not entirely sure.
Ever since Dr. Connors came to the school, the profits brought in by his research, combined with Professor X's handling of things, had grown increasingly staggering.
Through his share alone, Fenris now had an impressive stream of income coming in even if he did absolutely nothing.
Rumble-
Just as the two of them were still staring in surprise, a tremendous roar suddenly rolled in from the distant sky toward the school.
Almost as though it were deliberately showing off, when Fenris looked up, he saw an unmistakably gaudy red-and-gold figure streaking across the heavens, trailing a beautiful arc behind it.
"That's..."
Fenris focused his eyes. The instant he recognized the unmistakable silhouette, he suddenly failed to hold back a laugh.
"What is it?"
Magneto looked puzzled.
Fenris grinned.
"I think I know who's rich enough to renovate the entire X-Mansion from top to bottom."
(End of Chapter)
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