After a tense night of work, the armor was finally almost ready. With Rimuru taking part, it seemed to have been built a little faster than before, and the programs had all been entered and were ready. The terrorists hadn't come by this point. It looked like his involvement had sped up the plot.
With the armor ready, Tony relaxed considerably and began looking for a chance to get back at Rimuru with words.
"That was a little faster than I expected. Good work, Yinsen. And you, little blue-haired girl, have you studied mechanics before, or are you just gifted in that field? You actually managed to keep up with me."
Rimuru glanced at him. This guy was definitely doing it on purpose. He had already told him he was a boy, yet Tony still called him a little girl.
"Didn't I already tell you? I'm a boy. A boy, got it? Did the wound in your chest affect your brain's judgment too?"
Rimuru bared his teeth and put on a fierce face, making the mood even more cheerful. Yinsen watched Rimuru hopping around, though it wasn't clear what he was laughing at.
"All right then, little boy," Tony said, smiling as he held out his hand. His tone sounded strange no matter how Rimuru listened to it.
"Let me introduce myself. Or perhaps you already know me. I'm Tony Stark. You can call me Mr. Stark, or just Tony. So, what's your name?"
Listening to Tony introduce himself, Rimuru thought for a moment. He didn't seem to have introduced himself when he arrived, so Tony apparently didn't know his name. That was understandable, but why was he still so full of himself when introducing himself? Did Yinsen really have to be sacrificed before that could change?
"My name is Rimuru Tempest. You can call me Rimuru."
"That's a rare surname, but it goes very nicely with that cute appearance of yours."
Nice compliment, but why does it feel so off? And what's with the way he stressed "cute"?
The brief moment of relaxation came to an end. After all, they were still trapped in the cave.
With Rimuru and Yinsen's help, Tony soon had the Mark I on. At first glance, it was a little ugly, but the more Rimuru looked at it, the more it had a rugged sort of beauty.
Yeah, we really do have a lot more time. We don't even need to plant a bomb on the door.
Suddenly, a commotion broke out outside. The terrorists had probably noticed something wrong on the surveillance cameras. With an extra living person like Rimuru there, the terrorists weren't stupid; they realized something was off and rushed over with their weapons.
Damn it, the armor was finished faster, but the terrorists found out sooner too. Don't those just cancel each other out? Yinsen isn't going to grab a gun and rush out to his death again, is he?
The small window in the door opened, and the terrorists started jabbering about something. They were even preparing to open the door and rush in. But Rimuru and Yinsen weren't worried in the slightest, because Tony was ready beside them and eager to get started. He was going to vent all the frustration he had bottled up over the past three months.
"Watch closely, little Rimuru. This is how the genius Tony Stark turns the tables on these bad guys."
Good! He's fired up. Tony's about to show off.
The iron door was finally kicked open, and several terrorists carrying AK-47s charged in, shouting. When they saw the iron giant standing in the middle of the chamber, they visibly froze.
That moment of shock was all it took to send them off to sleep like babies.
"Good evening, gentlemen." Tony's voice held a hint of playfulness. Then he punched each of the two men once, sending them straight to sleep.
"Quick! Stay close to me!" Tony shouted to Rimuru and Yinsen as he strode forward, his steel boots landing on the rubble-strewn ground with a loud clang. Like a humanoid tank, he headed for the cave entrance.
"On the right!" Yinsen warned nervously. More terrorists appeared from a side passage and opened fire.
Tony swung his left arm across, precisely deflecting the incoming bullets with his thick steel forearm. Metal clanged and sparks flew. Braving the gunfire, he slammed the terrorist into the wall with the outside of his left arm, sending him to meet his great-grandmother on the spot.
Rimuru and Yinsen followed carefully as Tony charged this way and that ahead of them, looking like he was having the time of his life.
Following behind Tony, Rimuru watched with excitement, but he didn't stay idle. Nimble on his feet, he used the chaos and cover Tony created to pick up a pistol a terrorist had dropped. Every now and then, he fired at the feet of distant enemies trying to outflank them, not aiming to hit them, only to intimidate them, create confusion, and disrupt their rhythm.
He even found time to kick a smoking object, possibly a detonator, into a puddle in the corner.
But accidents always came without warning. Tony, caught up in the thrill of landing punch after punch, lodged his arm in the rock. No matter how hard he pulled, he couldn't get it out. Clearly, Tony's attempt to show off had failed.
At that moment, a terrorist walked up and tried to blow Tony's head off with a little pistol, only to be knocked to the ground by the ricocheting bullet.
That left Tony speechless. He had been held captive for three months by people like this? How was that any different from falling into a zoo and being pinned down by monkeys? Yinsen and Rimuru, following behind him, were speechless too. How had someone that dumb lived this long?
"That was just an accident. Now watch carefully and learn," Tony said, still trying to defend himself.
As they neared the cave entrance, the terrorist leader was actually standing there alone, blocking their way. Wait, is this guy really that brave? Is he Zhang Fei reborn?
With a bang, a grenade came flying at them, bringing down half the cave entrance. Tony couldn't dodge in time because he was shielding the two behind him. Luckily, it didn't hit him squarely, and he only looked a little battered.
Tony fired a grenade back. Although he missed too, the man's arm was gone, so he was probably dead as well.
"The explosion just now seems to have damaged the armor." Tony thought the problem was with the armor, not that he had missed.
"What do we do now? There are still a lot of people blocking the way outside." Yinsen thought the situation wasn't looking very good.
"No problem. The armor can hold out a little longer. Taking out the people outside shouldn't be a problem." Tony gave the armor a rough assessment.
"Stand back. I'll take care of the people outside in no time."
Let the show begin.
Tony walked out of the cave, took a burst of gunfire, and began his counterattack.
The flamethrower roared to life, and the terrorists screamed and wailed as they burned. Stacks of ammunition crates caught fire, setting off a chain of explosions. Flames soared and thick smoke billowed. The blast waves even made the heavy Mark Armor sway.
Tony was now triumphant and swaggering. He was going to vent all the frustration of the past three months, but another accident struck. A burst of heavy machine-gun fire wrecked the leg's drive mechanism, leaving the armor standing there like a live target. That instantly brought Tony back to his senses.
Outside was an open valley, but there were still watchtowers and enemies in the distance.
Tony's attempt to show off had failed again.
"Yinsen! Rimuru! Run behind that rock over there!" Tony called out, turning his body and using the armor as a final shield against stray bullets that might hit his companions.
All right, all right, forget it. Are you messing with the two of us? Just watch me.
"What can a little kid like you do? Hurry back to cover."
I can't do it, but that doesn't mean Great Sage can't. Great Sage, get to work.
Great Sage took over. Rimuru turned his palm, and a blue vortex appeared in front of him, swallowing every incoming bullet. The strange sight brought the battlefield to a standstill.
He then picked up a gun lying nearby and began picking them off one by one. Two shots to the body and one to the head-even an immortal would shake their head at the sight. In just over thirty seconds, the entire valley fell silent.
Tony and Yinsen stared, dumbfounded. That technique, that accuracy, those clean, efficient movements-was this a child? He had to be a killing machine trained by some evil organization, right?
All right, the fight's over. What now?
The two came back to their senses and, knowing they couldn't stay here long, prepared to leave quickly. But Tony wanted to destroy the weapons here rather than leave them for the terrorists.
The leg of your armor's been shot to pieces. Are you sure you can keep up?
"Of course, because I won't be walking out in a moment. I'll be flying out."
Soon, dazzling flames lit up the entire canyon, and the rumbling could be heard outside.
A figure flew out of the canyon at high speed and crashed heavily to the ground. As it turned out, he hadn't flown out on his own-he had been blasted out.
Lying in a pile of broken parts, Tony had at least finished showing off.