Dawn Frozen in Ice, Steel Showdown! Completely Pulled Back into the Main "Ghost" Plotline!

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Early in the morning, Yu Xian and Tony were jolted awake by violent knocking.

"Ah~"

Yu Xian rubbed his eyes and sat up from the sofa, looking irritated. "Who the hell is disturbing people's sleep this early?"

"JARVIS, check the door," Tony mumbled, still feeling the aftereffects of the alcohol.

"Sir, Sheriff Joe Ferguson is outside. It appears to be an emergency."

Tony staggered to his feet while Yu Xian lazily stretched. "What could possibly be so urgent this early in the morning?"

The moment the door opened, Sheriff Joe Ferguson rushed inside, drenched in sweat. "Mr. Stark! There are power outages all across the country!"

"Obadiah Stane has taken control of Stark Industries! He's using steel armor to attack power facilities! He intends to control the nation's energy supply!"

"What?" Tony instantly sobered up. "What did Obadiah do?"

"You didn't know?" Sheriff Joe Ferguson was stunned. "He's wearing a black suit of armor called Iron Monger. He wiped out an entire army!"

"Seventy percent of the country's power facilities are under his control!"

"That's impossible!" Tony could hardly believe it. "The Arc Reactor technology should only belong to me—where did he find someone capable of building that?"

Before he could finish, the roar of engines suddenly came from outside the window.

"Watch out!" Yu Xian lunged at Tony and knocked him to the ground.

Boom!

One side of the villa collapsed in a thunderous explosion.

As the smoke cleared, ten steel armors hovered outside the villa, the reactors in their chests shining with blinding blue light.

"Tony Stark, Mr. Obadiah sends his regards!" the lead armor said in a mechanical voice.

The ten steel armors floated outside the villa, energy cannons in their palms beginning to charge.

Yu Xian narrowed his eyes, visibly annoyed. "Tch, they really won't even let people get a proper night's sleep."

[Detected that the host is in a bad mood. Pleasure Points -50]

"Mr. Stark, hurry and leave! I'll cover you!" The sheriff forced himself to his feet and aimed his gun at the armors.

"What a pain." Yu Xian's gaze turned cold. His right hand lightly brushed the seemingly ordinary sword hilt at his waist, and an icy aura began spreading from his body.

A wave of frost surged from the scabbard. The blade instantly lengthened, while an iron chain sprouted from its end, terminating in a crescent-shaped tip.

"Bankai—" Yu Xian's voice was calm and cold, as if it had come from the depths of thousand-year-old ice.

"Thousand-Year Ice Prison!"

The sky abruptly changed. In an instant, heavy snow began to fall, and the temperature around them plunged below freezing.

The moisture above the sea froze instantly, forming countless ice crystals that hung in the air.

"W-What the hell is this?" the armor squad's leader cried out.

Dozens of enormous ice pillars erupted from every direction, soaring into the heavens as though they would pierce the sky.

Before the steel armors could react, the ice pillars impaled and surrounded them.

Waves of frost spread at astonishing speed. In the blink of an eye, all ten steel armors were frozen in midair, forming a spectacular ice sculpture.

The entire process took less than three seconds.

"All done. Time to wrap up."

Yu Xian clapped his hands and turned to leave, as though he had merely done something insignificant.

Joe Ferguson's eyes widened, his mouth hanging open in an O shape. "Th-This... what kind of ability is that?"

Tony had no time to be shocked. He rushed toward the workshop. "JARVIS, initiate the Mark 3 assembly procedure immediately!"

"I'm going to stop him."

"This is all my responsibility."

"I shut down the weapons division, but I never thought Obadiah would go this far and do something like this."

Tony, now fully equipped, looked at the injured sheriff before him, filled with guilt and self-reproach.

Yu Xian asked, "What are you planning to do?"

Tony replied, "Obviously, I'm going to stop him!"

Yu Xian took a bite from the apple in his hand, looking utterly relaxed. "Then good luck!"

The next second, the Mark 3's thrusters ignited, and Tony streaked toward the horizon in a red-and-gold flash.

"Captain, you're not really planning to stand by and do nothing, are you?" Catalina, who had fortunately escaped the attack, stared intently at Yu Xian, trying to read something from his abyss-like eyes.

Not even this surprised the captain?

What could possibly stir his emotions?

Yu Xian shrugged. "Of course not. I'm still counting on Tony to customize a suit of armor for me."

"Let's first see what our Mr. Iron Man can accomplish."

"I'll head over first. You and the sheriff can follow afterward."

After a brief pause, Yu Xian noticed the battered sheriff and gestured for Catalina to heal him. "Oh, right, Catalina. You need to practice your Crazy Diamond more. Heal the sheriff."

After this battle, Tony would be able to truly grow. Yu Xian would no longer have to protect him like a nanny at all times.

Without waiting for Catalina to respond, a pair of massive crystalline ice wings abruptly spread out behind Yu Xian.

The twin ice wings flapped once.

Boom!

Yu Xian had vanished from the spot, leaving behind only a faint chill.

S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, the Triskelion.

Nick Fury was holding a video conference.

Those attending included Hawkeye—Clint Barton, Black Widow—Natasha Romanoff, and Agent Coulson.

Hawkeye said, "How is headquarters going to handle this Iron Monger incident? This has already entered the realm of the extraordinary! Ordinary people and the military can't handle it!"

Black Widow said, "Do you need us to return and support headquarters?"

Nick Fury said, "No. Focus on your missions. I already have arrangements for this matter!"

Coulson said, "Who did you arrange? This incident can't be taken lightly. Can you tell us who it is?"

Nick Fury said, "Agent Yu Xian!"

Hawkeye said, "What? That guy? He spends every day either eating or fooling around. Are you serious?"

Black Widow said, "Heh. The last time I went on a mission with that guy, he nearly pissed me off to death. You actually picked that thing?"

Coulson said, "Ah, that guy who slacks off all day?"

Hawkeye said, "Director, are you sure you want to hand something this serious over to him?"

Black Widow said, "It's not that I'm looking down on him. I just don't think he has the strength to resolve this incident!"

Listening to everyone's objections,

Nick Fury gave a mysterious chuckle. "You all have underestimated him!"

Above the Stark Industrial District.

Obadiah controlled Iron Monger as it hovered in midair, surrounded by orderly ranks of the steel armor legion.

Suddenly, an alarm sounded.

"High-speed flying object detected approaching."

The corners of Obadiah's mouth curled upward. "He's finally here."

A red-and-gold figure tore through the sky and charged straight toward the Stark Industrial District.

Tony controlled the Mark 3, activated the shoulder-mounted micro-missiles, and fired them at the ten steel armors ahead.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Explosions rang out one after another. The ten steel armors broke apart amid the blasts, components scattering in every direction.

This was the first time the Iron Legion had suffered actual damage since the battle began.

"Obadiah!"

Tony hovered in the air, glaring furiously at the giant black armor in the distance. "This ends here!"

Obadiah's voice came through the loudspeakers. "Tony!"

"You always arrive too late."

"I have already taken control of seventy percent of the nation's power grid."

"Before long, the entire world will bow beneath my energy hegemony."

Tony activated his palm cannons and began charging them. "I won't let that day come."

Obadiah Stane burst into laughter. "Look around you, Tony."

"I have an army, and you only have yourself."

The moment Obadiah Stane finished speaking, hundreds upon thousands of steel armors rose from the factory buildings, surrounding Iron Monger and forming a wall of metal that inspired despair.

Tony looked at the hellish scene below: wreckage strewn everywhere amid the sea of flames, countless corpses, a horrifying sight.

Rage burned fiercely in his heart, nearly consuming him. "Obadiah, you madman! Why are you doing this?!"

"Why? For power! For money! For this world!" Obadiah Stane's voice became crazed and twisted. "Tony, you're too naive! What this world needs isn't peace, but order!"

"You're wrong, Obadiah. You're not saving the world at all. You're destroying it!"

"Destroying it? No, I'm saving this world!"