Just as the entire world thought the Ten Rings' Amba City was about to be obliterated by bombardment, an astonishing scene suddenly unfolded.
Dozens of massive gun emplacements rose from the ground around Amba City in an instant.
Then, an even more shocking sight appeared before the world...
The rows of barrels on the emplacements fired brilliant, piercing beams of energy, precisely shattering the missiles filling the sky.
Deafening explosions rang out without end as fire erupted high overhead. Not a single incoming missile slipped through; every last one was intercepted and destroyed in midair!
The media, senior government officials, researchers, and ordinary citizens around the globe watching the live broadcast were instantly stunned, their faces filled with shock and disbelief.
The high-energy weapons firing beams across the sky completely overturned their understanding of modern conventional warfare.
"Oh my God, are those alien weapons?"
"This isn't modern warfare at all!"
"Those are science-fiction-level energy weapons far beyond our time!"
"Bastards!!!"
Inside the US military's frontline command base, the general in command stared at the missiles being completely wiped out on the screen, his eyes bulging with fury.
He slammed his palm onto the table and roared in savage rage, "They've definitely gotten their hands on Stark's technology! Without nuclear fusion power, there's no way they could operate high-energy weapons of this caliber! This isn't equipment an ordinary armed group should have!"
At once, the other officers in the command room echoed him in utter shock.
Meanwhile, Tony, clad in his Iron Man Armor, had already flown at full speed to the outskirts of Amba City.
He witnessed the high-energy weapons shooting down the missiles with his own eyes, his expression dark and his heart filled with fury. He had never expected the Ten Rings to have manufactured so many high-energy weapons either.
"Damned thieves!"
In a towering rage, he flew his armor straight toward Amba City, intending to find Vanko and his son and confront them and the Ten Rings face-to-face.
"JARVIS, take over!" Tony shouted.
"Yes, sir." JARVIS instantly took control of the armor.
Just as he was about to approach the city, ten laser cannons aimed at him. JARVIS instantly scanned the emplacements' targeting trajectories and plotted the optimal maneuvering route in a flash. Before the barrels could lock on and fire, the armor kept changing course.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."
Countless golden-red lasers streaked past, grazing the Iron Man Armor and instantly covering it in countless marks of damage.
"Sir, armor damage at 5%... 10%! Ten plasma cannons detected locking on! Sir, I recommend retreat!" JARVIS advised.
"Shut up and keep going!" Tony snapped, ordering JARVIS to charge down regardless.
He kept evading the cannons' targeting and forced his way into the sky above the city.
On the rooftop of a building in the city, Wenwu watched Tony draw closer and smiled slightly, marveling, "Artificial intelligence certainly is useful, constantly plotting routes to evade the cannons."
With that, he turned to Razor Fist beside him and said, "Go take him on."
Razor Fist was wearing specially made Second-Generation Armor. A precise, powerful mechanical prosthesis had been implanted in his right forearm, perfectly adapted for armored combat without affecting his weapon handling in the slightest.
In his left hand, he held a pure Vibranium Shield modeled after Captain America's standard design. In his right, he gripped a short-handled broadsword with vibranium incorporated into its blade.
"Yes, my lord."
Razor Fist nodded and lowered his armor's faceplate, then shot into the air to intercept Tony head-on.
At the sight, Tony immediately cursed, "Bullshit! That armor's structural design follows exactly the same approach as mine! Ten Rings, you're asking for death!"
As he cursed, blue light charged in his palm cannon and erupted into a high-energy beam that blasted straight at Razor Fist's face.
But a moment later, the entire high-energy beam struck the Vibranium Shield, which perfectly absorbed its kinetic energy, rendering it completely ineffective.
Seizing the opening when Tony's attack failed, Razor Fist abruptly closed in. With a forceful twist of his wrist, he slashed viciously with his vibranium broadsword, its edge gleaming coldly.
"Clang-!"
A piercing metallic crash erupted as the broadsword struck the waist and abdomen of Tony's armor. The tremendous impact sent the Mark Armor shuddering violently. Tony was knocked flying by the terrifying force, tumbling repeatedly through the air as he fell.
Although vibranium was tough and sharp, it also had the property of absorbing kinetic energy.
When the blade struck Tony's armor, much of its kinetic energy was absorbed, allowing Tony to narrowly survive rather than being cleaved in half at the waist.
Even so, the blow still severely damaged the armor's structure.
"Thud!"
Tony crashed heavily to the ground, smashing a large crater into it. After he landed, a long gash lay across the abdomen of his Mark Armor, with blood faintly seeping out.
"Damn it, what kind of weapon is that... how is it so sharp?"
Tony's face twisted from the impact as he muttered a curse. This time, he had truly been too impulsive and underestimated his enemy.
"Sir, armor damage at 30%. Your abdomen is injured. I recommend immediate evacuation!" JARVIS's voice sounded in Tony's ears.
"Does it look like retreat is still an option for me?"
Seeing Razor Fist holding the large blade capable of slicing through his armor across his neck, Tony complained helplessly.
In just two moves, the internationally renowned Iron Man had been defeated and captured!
The live broadcast's chat fell silent for a second, then erupted completely.
Hundreds of millions of viewers had witnessed the lightning-fast clash firsthand. Watching Iron Man get effortlessly crushed and captured left them in utter uproar and shock.
Far away in Stark Tower, Pepper Potts turned deathly pale as she watched Tony being captured on the live broadcast.
Filled with anxiety, she immediately contacted the US military's senior leadership without hesitation, urgently requesting help.
Yet even now, the Ten Rings' live broadcast had not been shut off.
On-screen, Hamid spoke again. "The US military ignored our warning and continued launching missiles at Amba City."
His steady voice carried around the globe through the signal. "The Ten Rings do not wish to slaughter innocents, but neither will we sit and wait to die. Our counterattack will target military facilities only, not ordinary soldiers."
The moment he finished speaking, the heavy metal covers over Amba City's underground launch silos slowly slid open to either side.
"Initiate the counterattack sequence. Prioritize their radar, missile positions, and frontline command facilities," Hamid ordered in a deep voice.
Missiles burst out of the silos one after another, rising into the sky with a ghostly blue glow trailing behind them. Those were not the blazing white exhaust flames of conventional fuel, but jets of pure energy.
More than a dozen anti-radiation missiles led the way, following electromagnetic signals straight toward the US military's radar stations. Close behind them, more than a dozen stealth cruise missiles took to the air, advancing at low altitude along the undulating desert surface, using the terrain as cover to evade radar detection.
There were also several arc tactical missiles with particularly unusual designs, longer blue jets streaming from their tails. Thirty-six missiles in all continued accelerating, their speeds far exceeding those of conventional missiles.
Experts from various countries watching the broadcast instantly broke into an uproar.
"That energy signature! It's energy from an Arc Reactor. They've actually integrated it directly into the missiles!"
Inside the US military's frontline command base, the general's pupils contracted as he stared at the rapidly approaching missile formation on the screen. He shouted sharply, "Activate all air-defense interception systems! Shut down the radar immediately!"
The radar operator frantically pressed the shutdown button, but by the instant the signal vanished, the anti-radiation missiles had already locked onto their trajectories and were screaming toward the radar antennas.