"Stark!!!"
Ivan Vanko's roar was like a clap of thunder. The two high-energy electric whips behind him let out a piercing hiss, turning into two frenzied blue venomous snakes that tore through the air and lashed out fiercely at Tony Stark.
Tony expected the sound of metal shattering and sparks flying, but it didn't happen. The electric whips struck the Mark V Armor's chest and arms solidly, producing only muffled thuds. Then, an astonishing scene occurred.
The complex golden patterns on the armor's surface suddenly burst with blinding light the moment they were hit by the electric whips. The high-energy current from Ivan's whips seemed to have found an outlet, unexpectedly swallowed and absorbed by those Runes, then funneled entirely into the square Arc Reactor on Tony's chest!
"Sir," Jarvis's voice was calm, "External high-energy current injection detected. Energy reserves are rapidly recovering and have reached one hundred and twenty percent."
"Thank him for me, Jarvis," Tony's voice was full of banter. "I was just worried that this portable equipment wouldn't have enough battery life."
"What did you do?!?!" Ivan could hardly believe his eyes.
Answering him was Tony's merciless Repulsor Cannon blast, along with several playing cards that shot out from the shadows of the battlefield like ghosts, precisely wedging into his armor's knee joints.
"A good actor must always learn to utilize his opponent's props," Lin Huai's voice rang out across the battlefield. Like a top-tier stage assistant, he always managed to harass from angles Ivan could never imagine at the perfect moment, doing the right things with exaggerated expressions and comical movements to disrupt the Whiplash Armor's balance and transmission structure.
The two coordinated seamlessly. After another round of fierce exchanges, Tony tanked Ivan's desperate whip strikes, and the Repulsor Cannon in his palm blasted directly at the shoulder joint of Ivan's armor. The massive impact caused the drive mechanism there to emit a tooth-grinding "creak," and the movement visibly slowed by half a beat. Simultaneously, the last playing card thrown by Lin Huai became the straw that broke the camel's back, precisely severing the hydraulic lines in Ivan's left arm.
The two electric whips hung limply, their flickering light fading rapidly as the energy supply was cut off.
With a "boom," the completely disarmed Ivan Vanko knelt on one knee, his massive armor letting out an overburdened wail.
"It's over, Ivan," Tony slowly landed in front of him.
But at that moment, Jarvis's urgent alarm rang through the communication channel: "Sir, warning! Intense crustal movement and a high-intensity energy source detected right beneath us!"
Before he could finish, the hard ground of the Expo Plaza suddenly began to vibrate violently, and massive spiderweb-like cracks spread rapidly! With a deafening roar, the entire plaza's ground was overturned from below by an irresistible force!
A behemoth composed of countless thick, interlocking deep-black armor plates slowly rose from underground amidst a cloud of soaring dust and debris! It was a War Machine full of primitive, crude, and violent aesthetics. There were no extra weapons on its massive main body, only three python-like slender metal necks extending from its torso, each topped with a hideous snake-skull-like turret. Its massive body, covered in heavy armor, caused the metal sheets to slide layer by layer like scales with every movement, producing a heart-palpitating grinding sound.
"Haha... Hahahaha!" Looking at the behemoth that had suddenly emerged, the kneeling Ivan Vanko laughed maniacally. "See that, Stark?!?! There are... too many people in this country who want you dead!"
The Mechanical Behemoth's three "heads" locked onto Tony simultaneously, their muzzles lighting up with a terrifying red glow. In the next instant, three bucket-thick scarlet lasers in a triangular formation tore through the air, shooting straight at Tony!
The laser's speed was absurdly fast. Tony only had time to barely turn his body, and one laser grazed him, slamming fiercely into the left shoulder of the Mark V Armor.
Amidst the piercing sound of melting metal, his left shoulder armor was instantly melted through, and a burst of electric sparks exploded!
"Warning! Left shoulder armor damaged by seventy percent! Unknown high-intensity radiation energy Erosion detected!"
"Damn! The stats on this portable armor are still too low!" Tony cursed in pain, desperately pulling away. "This thing's attack can burn right through my armor—it's burning me up! Lin! Do we have backup? My plane is arriving soon, and Dr. Banner is on his way with my special gear!"
Almost at the same time he shouted, a quinjet whistled over the battlefield, its hatch swinging open.
A vigorous figure leaped down from inside, wearing a tight-fitting custom combat suit. The deep blue attire was covered in a large number of radiant silver-white mysterious patterns, and even his resolute face had symmetrical silver markings. The newcomer was none other than Captain America, Steve Rogers!
The Mechanical Behemoth immediately turned one of its heads toward the new enemy. A scarlet Destruction Beam blasted out!
Steve didn't dodge. He slammed his Vibranium shield in front of him and let out a sky-shaking roar!
"Buzz—!"
A layer of pure White Energy Shield, radiating a divine aura, suddenly expanded from his shield! The scarlet laser slammed into the shield, but it was like a clay ox entering the sea, only stirring a ripple before being completely absorbed and neutralized!
He pushed against the laser, his feet plowing two deep furrows in the sand, but he didn't retreat a single step. Steve's gaze was as steady as a mountain as he began to advance proactively against the laser! In just a few breaths, he had rushed to the behemoth's feet! He tossed the shield upward; the shield, trailing a whistling white light, precisely severed a giant Hydraulic Rod in the behemoth's leg like a boomerang. Then he leaped up, his right fist wrapped in holy white light, and slammed it hard against the behemoth's knee armor!
With a loud "clang," a visible dent was actually smashed into that thick armor!
"My god..." Tony's jaw nearly dropped at the sight. "This old man... has he also upgraded with a cheat?"
The Mechanical Behemoth was completely enraged. Its three heads turned toward Steve simultaneously, the main cannons charging again, and three Destruction Beams thicker than before blasted down. Steve retreated quickly, deploying the energy shield once more. This time, the shield didn't last long before it began to flicker violently, the silver-white patterns also pulsing erratically.
Steve's face turned pale, and he immediately performed a standard tactical roll, diving behind the ruins for cover.
"...Seems this cheat has a cooldown period," Tony couldn't help but snark.
At this critical juncture, a wild and furious engine roar, coming from afar, reached the entire battlefield!
"The real support has arrived!"