Orm stood frozen like an ice sculpture, cold vapor continuously spilling from his body.
Seeing this, Tony finally felt a brief sense of relief—but he still didn't dare to lower his guard completely.
Everything Orm had displayed so far pointed to an inhumanly terrifying physique.
Who knew whether this so-called King of the Deep could simply endure temperatures this low?
To be safe, Tony launched another specially modified liquid-nitrogen missile.
But in the very next instant, Orm's frozen body stirred.
A flash of golden light flickered within his eyes.
Cracks spread rapidly across the ice, and before the second missile could reach him, the frozen shell shattered violently—ice fragments exploding outward in every direction.
Orm's trident turned into a streak of gold.
The missile was cleaved cleanly in half midair.
As the liquid nitrogen dispersed, Orm vanished from his original position.
Tony had already ignited his thrusters the moment the ice exploded, pulling back at maximum speed.
At the same time, armor plates on his forearms snapped open.
Dozens of white micro-missiles burst forth like a swarm of bees, flooding the space in front of him.
But in the blink of an eye, Orm reappeared precisely within that area.
The micro-missiles struck his body directly.
Yet instead of erupting in fire, they rapidly expanded—transforming into thick clouds of white mist.
"Such tricks won't—"
Orm didn't finish the sentence.
The mist reacted instantly with the moisture in the air, turning into an extremely viscous liquid that clung tightly to his armor.
As Orm attempted to surge forward, a powerful pulling force dragged at his body, forcibly halting his charge.
This was a tactical countermeasure Jarvis had calculated—specifically designed to restrain overwhelmingly powerful individual targets like Orm.
Just as Tony was choosing his next weapon, a beam of energy suddenly struck Orm squarely in the head.
A strange humming sound echoed.
Orm's tilted head slowly straightened—but the calm on his face had vanished, replaced by unmistakable fury.
Golden light pulsed across his fish-scale armor.
Water began to flow from his body.
This was no ordinary water—it carried the power of the Sea God itself.
The viscous substance clinging to him reacted as if meeting its natural nemesis, sliding off his armor in sheets.
"Damn it!"
Tony's expression changed instantly.
Instead of retreating, he surged forward.
Spent and excess modules were jettisoned mid-flight.
His superheated blade, glowing at maximum temperature, closed to within ten centimeters of Orm's head.
CLANG!
The trident snapped up, blocking the strike.
Even thousands of degrees of heat couldn't damage the trident's body.
Orm snorted softly and lifted upward.
"Not happening!"
Tony roared.
Armor plates on his arms flared open as four thrusters ignited at full output.
The blade that had been pushed back was forced down again.
"Interesting," Orm said, a look of disdain spreading across his face.
With even greater ease than before, he raised the trident again—lifting Tony's blade effortlessly.
The mocking expression in Orm's eyes ignited Tony's pride completely.
"You're not winning this!"
Eight thrusters burst open across Tony's back, all roaring in unison as he forced the blade down yet again.
"You really believe you can defeat me?" Orm shook his head.
Then he exerted force.
The entire Mark IV armor was hurled backward like a discarded toy.
Orm didn't pursue.
Instead, he spun and delivered a crushing kick—sending Deadshot, who had just charged in from behind, flying through the air.
Deadshot twisted midair, stabbing his weapon into the ground to halt his momentum.
He raised his eyes, locking onto Orm.
"Human," Orm said approvingly, "you did not flee when faced with death—and you dare return to face me. Impressive."
Deadshot said nothing.
Running wouldn't protect his daughter.
That was reason enough.
He drew his blades and spoke quietly:
"Extreme Mode—activate."
Crimson light surged across the Zoe armor.
[Extreme Mode activated. Remaining safe duration: 2 minutes 21 seconds.]
[Dad… you must not die.]
Deadshot grinned.
"Relax."
The next instant, he vanished.
His speed multiplied several times over, covering the distance in a blink.
Twin blades became blurs of light, carrying waves of fury as they slashed toward Orm.
"Foolish."
Orm sneered, spinning the trident to block both strikes.
But this time, under Zoe's high-synchronization neural support, Deadshot's blades shifted angles constantly—targeting every conceivable blind spot on Orm's body.
At the same time, Tony returned to the fray, slashing down at Orm's back.
Steel and flesh—two mortals striking together—aiming for every weak point they could reach.
CLANG!
Both attacks landed simultaneously.
Sparks flew.
That was all.
"The game ends here."
Orm swung his trident, blasting Deadshot away in a single sweeping strike.
Then he turned, fingers curling into a claw as he seized the Mark IV's armor.
The sheer force crushed even satellite-grade titanium-gold alloy, deforming it effortlessly under his grip.
"Go to hell, bastard!"
Tony laughed coldly.
The emitter mounted in his chest reactor flared with blinding light.
Temperature spiked instantly.
A focused, blazing beam erupted point-blank—slamming directly into Orm's face.
This was the most powerful weapon currently mounted on the Mark IV.
Even an 80-millimeter alloy plate would be pierced by it.
[Sir, remaining energy at 27%.]
Tony smiled bitterly.
The power was immense—but the energy cost and targeting limitations were brutal.
Without Orm standing right in front of him, landing this shot would've been nearly impossible.
THUD.
Orm slid back more than ten meters before driving his trident into the ground and standing upright once more.
The golden armor on his chest was visibly warped—but before anyone's eyes, it began repairing itself.
"Oh… no," Tony muttered.
In the next heartbeat, Orm appeared before him.
The trident slashed diagonally—
—and tore a deep gash straight through the Mark IV's armor.
_____
T/N:
For readers who would like early access, my Patreon is available for just $4 per month. You'll unlock 90+ advance chapters and help support ongoing works.
🔗 patreon.com/user?u=79514336
You may also search Translator-Sama directly on Patreon.
Your support is sincerely appreciated