After destroying the last tank and eliminating the heavy weaponry, Tony heard Jarvis's voice.
"Sir, the ten Mark 42 suits have been destroyed."
"What?" Tony exclaimed, glancing at the virtual screen. He saw that only two blue dots, representing his side, remained.
"Damn, that was fast."
Fortunately, Tony had already neutralized all of their heavy weapons. He and the remaining Mark 42 suit ascended into the sky. Eyeing Xu Wenwu below, Tony raised his arm, launching a missile.
"Whoosh!"
The missile, trailing white smoke, zoomed toward Xu Wenwu.
"Out of tricks already?" Xu Wenwu sneered, raising his protective shield.
"Boom!"
The missile struck the shield, creating a massive explosion. Flames engulfed Xu Wenwu's shield, but when the fire dissipated, Xu Wenwu stood unscathed.
Xu Wenwu's ten rings morphed into a whip-like form, ensnaring the airborne Mark 42. With a powerful yank, he pulled the suit down, creating a crater upon impact.
Meanwhile, the last remaining Mark 42 appeared behind Xu Wenwu. Its chest-mounted energy cannon fired at his back.
However, before the energy blast could hit, one of Xu Wenwu's rings intercepted it, blocking the attack and hurtling toward Tony.
"I've been expecting you," Xu Wenwu mocked.
"You think I can't count? I knew there were thirteen suits."
The ring pierced the Mark suit, only to reveal it was empty.
Xu Wenwu frowned, glancing at the suit he had just dragged down.
"Could he be in there?"
He directed his rings to smash the grounded suit, but it was also empty.
Tony had quietly slipped out of the Mark suit after receiving Jarvis's report, hiding in the shadows.
Seeing all thirteen of his Mark 42 suits destroyed, Tony realized he might have been too impulsive with this mission.
He formed his hands into a gun-like gesture, aiming at Xu Wenwu.
Suddenly, the disassembled parts of the Mark 42 suits flew toward Xu Wenwu, attaching themselves to him and lifting him into the air.
Despite being suddenly clad in the Mark suit, Xu Wenwu remained unfazed. As long as he had the ten rings, no scheme could threaten him.
He spread his arms, and the rings returned to his forearms, fitting over the Mark suit.
Seeing this, Tony smirked and commanded, "Jarvis, initiate the self-destruct sequence."
"Boom!"
The Mark 42 suit exploded mid-air, creating a brilliant firework display.
Just as Tony thought he had defeated his enemy, the smoke cleared, revealing Xu Wenwu still standing.
Xu Wenwu fell from the sky, his clothes in tatters, exposing his upper body. He stood up, dusted himself off, and pointed at Tony Stark, "Kid, in all these years, you're the first to make me look this pathetic."
Seeing Xu Wenwu only lose his clothes, Tony swallowed hard and made a summoning gesture.
The disassembled parts of the thirteen Mark 42 suits flew towards him. Although the chest arc reactors were destroyed, the parts could still assemble a few functional suits since Tony's own arc reactor was intact.
Xu Wenwu watched the Mark suit parts fly around and sent out five of his rings to attack the components.
"Boom. Boom. Boom!"
One by one, the Mark suit parts were destroyed by Xu Wenwu's rings. Tony's face grew grim as he thought, "I should've asked Charles Doyle if he had any vibranium."
The suits, made of ultra-thin titanium-gold alloy, couldn't withstand Xu Wenwu's attacks.
"Jarvis, are the three Mark suits under assembly ready yet?"
"Sir, weapon installation is still in progress. Estimated completion in thirty minutes."
Tony's face showed a hint of resignation.
"Once they're ready, send them immediately for support."
He had to find a way to stall Xu Wenwu himself.
Soon, Xu Wenwu had destroyed all the remaining functional Mark suit parts. He turned to Tony and said, "Without your suits, what are you?"
Tony smirked. "Why does everyone say that to me?"
"I'm more than just Iron Man!"
Tony directly kicked at Xu Wenwu.
Xu Wenwu casually dodged and countered with a powerful elbow strike to Tony's chest, sending him flying.
Tony rolled on the ground, crashing into a wall before coming to a stop.
Xu Wenwu approached the fallen Tony and asked, "How did you find this place?"
For Xu Wenwu, this was his base, the headquarters of the Ten Rings. Few knew of its location, let alone how to find it.
The recently returned Trevor had been thoroughly checked by his men; there was no tracking device on him.
Tony struggled to stand, leaning against the broken wall.
"Cough!"
Blood trickled from his mouth, indicating the severity of his injury from the recent strike.
Wiping the blood from his mouth, Tony said, "When you kidnapped Trevor, you gave yourself away."
Tony didn't know how Charles Doyle found this place, but he was aware of the ninja and Eddie's interview with Trevor and Trevor's subsequent kidnapping.
Tony wouldn't betray his friends, but he decided to blame Trevor for this.
Xu Wenwu pondered for a moment, then nodded. "So it really was because of him."
"In that case, you're no longer useful. Time to die!"
Xu Wenwu, unimpressed by Tony's suits and unwilling to control such a scientist, decided the best course was to eliminate him.
Blue light shone from Xu Wenwu's arm as he prepared to strike Tony Stark with a fatal punch.
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