Chapter 42

A thick orange-yellow beam of light shot from Tony's chest, blasting Obadiah, who was piloting the Iron Monger, and sending him crashing through the wall, burying him in the debris of the collapsed structure.

The Mark IV armor had a reduced weight compared to the Mark III, retaining the same defensive capabilities while incorporating an independent energy supply system. Only when the energy supply was exhausted would it draw power from the arc reactor embedded in Tony's chest. 

This solution had come to Tony after he faced energy shortages while battling Obadiah previously.

"Abel, how about it? I'm not running low on energy this time."

"Don't be careless. I still feel like something's off. Obadiah doesn't seem to have any intention of killing us right now."

"Really? You think he's conscious? I find that hard to believe."

Shaking his head, Abel replied, "It's not that he's awake. He still harbors a great hatred toward us and wants us dead. But it seems he didn't intend to kill us in this attack. That's what feels strange to me."

"Well, it doesn't matter. As long as we can kill him or capture him again, there won't be any issues, right?"

"That's true. Let's do this, then."

"I'll charge in; you cover me from behind!"

With that, Tony immediately rushed toward Obadiah, who had just risen from the ruins of the collapsed wall.

Tony brimmed with confidence now that he was in his armor.

Abel shook his head, casting a Levitation Charm on himself, following Tony while keeping a safe distance. Unfortunately, Tony and Obadiah's thermal imaging capabilities rendered invisibility spells ineffective. 

Tony was soon sent flying through the air as Obadiah swung at him, propelled by jets of fire from his suit.

While wearing the Mark V earlier, Tony had barely managed to defend himself, not having fully analyzed Obadiah's Iron Monger II. Now that he had a clearer view of Obadiah's armor, he realized the thickness and sturdiness of the outer layer far exceeded his expectations. It would be challenging for his current weapons to inflict any damage.

With such heavy armor, Obadiah's energy consumption must have been high, but the arc reactor provided ample power. Obadiah's fighting style didn't drain much energy, making him a tough opponent.

As these thoughts raced through his mind, Tony circled Obadiah with agile movements, using the arc pulse cannons in his palms to continuously harass him.

Raising a hand to block his face, Obadiah scoffed. "Tony, your armor has impressive technology, but no matter how advanced it is, if it can't translate into combat effectiveness, it's meaningless. The purpose of battle armor is to fight, not to be a mere accessory. You're wasting your creativity and talent!"

Once he finished speaking, Obadiah activated his thrusters, bursting forward with tremendous speed, and slammed into Tony, who barely managed to dodge in time.

Abel waved his wand and shifted a piece of concrete that had nearly struck him to the side. Using the Levitation Charm, he quickly exited the house and stood outside the now-dilapidated villa. After surveying the damage, he raised his wand and unleashed light patterns over the entire structure.

"Bombarda Maxima!"

Click, click…

Crunch…

Boom!

The entire house trembled slightly before collapsing entirely. The once-sturdy villa was reduced to rubble, burying Tony and Obadiah in the process.

In that instant, Abel lifted his left hand and waved his wand, creating a portal made of countless sparks. On the other side was a concrete fragment from the collapsed house, along with Tony.

Gently touching Tony with his wand, he made a dragging motion. Suddenly, Tony flew out of the portal and landed safely on the ground, avoiding being crushed by the debris.

However, Obadiah saw the portal's opening and charged toward it, trying to escape. Just as Abel closed the portal, severing Obadiah's hand, it was merely the hand of the Iron Monger. Obadiah's arm was intact, and he suffered no real injury.

Boom…

The house fully collapsed, leaving Obadiah trapped beneath the rubble.

Tony approached Abel and cautioned, "The house's collapse won't deal much damage to Obadiah. Don't let your guard down."

Boom!

As soon as Tony spoke, a figure emerged from the ruins, hovering in mid-air. It was Obadiah in the Iron Monger suit, with his right hand severed and electric sparks flickering from the exposed edge.

Just when Tony prepared to rush toward Obadiah, four figures approached swiftly across the surface of the nearby sea. Soon, four bulky robotic warriors appeared, rapidly closing in on Tony and Abel.

Obadiah laughed at the sight of them. "Tony, and the mysterious superhuman. You two are fortunate this time, but next time, I will completely wipe you out."

With that, Obadiah turned and fled, quickly disappearing from view.

Seeing Obadiah about to escape, Tony unleashed high-powered energy, shooting two orange-yellow energy blasts from his palms, destroying one of the robotic warriors, and prepared to chase after Obadiah.

But in that moment, one of the robot warriors spotted Pepper hiding nearby and raised the alarm, causing her to scream. Without hesitation, Tony dashed toward Pepper's location.

Realizing he wouldn't be able to catch up this time, Abel sighed and waved his wand. The two pursuing robot warriors collided with each other, and with a flick of his wrist, two red threads shot from the tip of his wand, striking the two robotic fighters one after another. The resulting explosions echoed as they were blown to pieces.