"Honestly, I really admire Tony's nerve."
"How boring would this world be without Iron Man?"
Wenwu leaned back in his chair, watching Tony turn and walk away on the live broadcast. A smile curved his lips, and his fingertips tapped twice on the armrest.
After smiling, he narrowed his eyes slightly, his thoughts already turning to the next step.
How should he sell the New Element so that Tony would appreciate the favor without making the Ten Rings look too subservient?
"My lord, what do we do next?"
Ching-Lin and Razor Fist stood side by side in front of the desk, their tone carrying its customary deference.
"There's no hurry. I'll make the arrangements."
Wenwu didn't turn around. He simply waved a hand, his expression composed.
Soon afterward, Anton and his son Ivan were brought in, one after the other.
Anton still looked ashen, but unlike before, when he had lain helpless in bed, he could now stand on his own.
Wenwu had previously had someone inject the old man with a little Origin Substance. He hadn't recovered his health immediately, but at least he could walk, stand, and speak.
Ivan stared at his father's trembling fingers. His Adam's apple bobbed, and a flicker of barely concealed excitement flashed in his eyes.
For a moment, a thought even crossed his mind: Why not join the Ten Rings for good? At least... Father can stay alive.
Wenwu didn't waste words. He simply outlined the next part of the plan.
After hearing him out, Anton clutched the armrests of his chair, his thin hands tightening until his knuckles turned white. His voice was hoarse but excited as he said, "Expose Howard? My son and I are one hundred percent willing!"
A day later, Amba City.
Ivan sat at a makeshift broadcasting station, his fingers flying across the keyboard as code streamed down the screen like a waterfall.
He took a deep breath and pressed enter, cutting into the live feeds of major media outlets around the world simultaneously.
News that the Ten Rings were going to broadcast live worldwide struck public discourse like a bomb. The major media outlets were shocked at first, then became wildly excited, scrambling to adjust their channels and broadcast the footage around the globe.
In emergency meeting rooms in governments around the world, television screens lit up at the same time.
Tony was in his mansion tinkering with his armor when he heard JARVIS's voice. "Sir, the Ten Rings are starting a livestream on major media platforms worldwide. Would you like to tune in?"
"A terrorist organization dares to hold a global livestream?"
Tony raised an eyebrow, his tone openly contemptuous. He picked up a glass of whiskey from the bar. "They've got some nerve."
He swirled his glass, the ice clinking crisply, though a hint of interest entered his eyes. "Let's see whether they're trying to threaten and intimidate people or beg for mercy on their knees."
"Sir, I must remind you."
JARVIS's voice remained steady, but grew more serious. "The Ten Rings are no ordinary terrorist organization. Based on the available clues, this is a force that has existed for at least a thousand years. Its exact size... has yet to be determined."
"A thousand years?"
Tony's glass froze in midair, and his brow furrowed sharply. He thought he had misheard.
"Yes, a thousand years."
JARVIS repeated it without the slightest change in tone. "According to some legends, the leader of the Ten Rings is a man who has lived for a thousand years."
"A Mutant?"
Tony set down his glass, his tone growing more serious. "Some Mutants do live much longer than ordinary people..."
If that was true, then this force carried an entirely different weight.
For the first time since the hearing, he began to take the organization seriously.
When he first heard the name "Ten Rings," he had assumed it was some street gang, or an ordinary terrorist organization at most. He hadn't expected rumors like these to lie behind it.
"Put on the livestream."
Tony's expression darkened, and he tapped the tabletop with a fingertip. "Let's see what they're up to."
"Yes, sir."
A holographic screen unfolded in front of Tony, showing a Middle Eastern face.
It was Hamid.
Tony wasn't the only one watching. At S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury and Coulson stood side by side in the command room, staring at the screen.
Pierce sat in his office, his fingers interlaced beneath his chin.
In government meeting rooms around the world, countless pairs of eyes watched the screens at the same time.
Hundreds of millions of viewers around the globe saw the scene at that same moment.
Under the high-definition camera, Hamid wore a solemn black suit. His expression was calm and cold as he looked straight into the lens and slowly began to speak:
"Yesterday, at the United States hearing, Senator Stern accused us of kidnapping Mr. Tony Stark and stealing his armor technology, and branded the Ten Rings a terrorist organization. These are fabricated charges without a shred of substantive evidence."
He paused, his tone still steady but carrying unquestionable force. "The claim that 'the Ten Rings kidnapped Iron Man' is a deliberate slander fabricated from beginning to end. Extremist terrorists merely used the name of our Ten Rings to commit evil, yet we were made to bear the condemnation of the entire world."
As soon as he finished, the livestream switched to a split-screen comparison.
On the left was a city under the Ten Rings' control.
The streets were clean, traffic was orderly, children chased one another and played in the square, and elderly people sat on benches basking in the sun. The whole scene was peaceful and serene.
On the right was a region ravaged by years of war: shattered walls, ruins scorched by shellfire, and displaced refugees huddled in corners. The devastation was shocking.
Hamid raised a hand toward the two images, his voice steady and forceful. "The Ten Rings intervened in the conflicts of the Middle East not to cause trouble, but solely to end the fighting and protect the people.
"We put down conflicts, eliminated violent mobs, and restored order, all to keep people trapped in turmoil away from shellfire. These scenes are the truest evidence."
Hamid's tone abruptly grew grave, his gaze sharp as a blade. "Now, United States ground forces have invaded across the border without cause, targeting our Ten Rings. They want this land to remain caught in seemingly endless war.
"We of the Ten Rings have never feared might, nor have we feared hegemony! Today, we make this public vow:
"Should any foreign enemy invade, we will resist to the death and fight to the bitter end!"
He looked straight into the camera, every word ringing out. "For decades, wars across the greater Middle East have destroyed countless families and shattered cities. At the root of it all is the hegemonic intervention of the United States of America! The terrorist organization that truly stirs up turmoil around the world and creates the suffering of war has always been the self-proclaimed righteous United States of America!"
"We of the Ten Rings vow to fight to the death against state terrorism that relies on military force and recklessly wages war!"
As those final words fell, hundreds of millions of viewers around the world witnessed the open challenge, and public opinion erupted.
This was an outright declaration of war!
Yet many countries around the world had long resented the United States' hegemonic behavior, its bullying and wanton interference in other nations' internal affairs. It was just that no force had ever dared to confront the world's foremost power so openly and directly.
The Ten Rings' candid statement and well-founded accusations instantly struck a chord with people around the world.
For a time, media outlets and public opinion in countless neutral countries swung to the other side, openly siding with the Ten Rings and condemning the United States military's unjustified invasion.
Even the Mutants admired and revered the Ten Rings for their courage.
They had suffered terribly from persecution by the United States military over the years.
Unfortunately, they had never had a regular army of their own, or they wouldn't have suffered so badly!