Ivan Vanko watched the strange guy who interrupted his entrance with caution. He had seen everything clearly through the Iron Soldiers' cameras.
This guy was infinitely more dangerous than Tony!
Ivan opened his Iron Man suit's faceplate and looked at Zed.
"What's your goal? Are you with Tony Stark?"
Zed shook his index finger, negating Ivan's guess.
"Tsk, tsk! Tony and I are just drinking buddies. I'm not here for him, I just want to beat someone up."
"Oh, thanks," Tony interjected awkwardly.
"Drinking buddies? What does that mean?" James Rhodes didn't understand the term.
Tony couldn't explain this profound term, so he changed the subject. "Forget about it, let's just fight."
"Alright, let me use the Ex-Wife Missile to blow him away," Rhodes said confidently, opening the weapon slot on his left shoulder.
Both Zed and Ivan knew what the Ex-Wife Missile was all about and stood to the side, ready to watch Rhodes make a fool of himself.
Whoosh! Ding!
The Ex-Wife Missile slammed aggressively into Ivan Vanko's Iron Suit, and then… it fizzled out.
"Hammer's weapons?"
"Uh, yes."
(⊙︿⊙) Zed already knew the situation wouldn't actually be funny, but he still wanted to encourage Rhodes.
Clap clap clap!
Rhodes ignored Zed's sarcastic remarks and immediately raised his arms, firing at Ivan. Rhodes's actions instantly ignited the entire battlefield.
Because of Natasha's attack, Ivan had left Hammer's company early, and Tony and Rhodes hadn't dealt with the Iron Soldiers yet.
All the Iron Soldiers activated simultaneously, targeting Zed, Tony, and Rhodes.
Boom boom boom!
A barrage of ammunition instantly surrounded the three. Tony and Rhodes could only rely on their Iron Suits to withstand the damage while looking for opportunities to counterattack.
And Zed elegantly weaved through the hail of bullets, her skirt flowing, a picture of grace. (Heavenly Dao Body Technique)
James Rhodes caught a glimpse of this out of the corner of his eye and widened his eyes.
"God! Tony, is that guy even human?"
Tony rolled his eyes. "You're asking me? I'd like to know too!"
Zed calmly walked towards Ivan Vanko, who was staring at the approaching figure as if facing a great enemy, his forehead covered in cold sweat.
Zed moved in a straight line, dodging all the attacks with minimal body movements.
Ivan's eyes could barely keep up with this short-range burst of speed, relying on his Iron Man suit to barely match Zed's rhythm.
Zed got closer and closer to Ivan, increasing the pressure on him. When Zed stepped into the range of Whiplash's attack, Ivan immediately lashed out with his whip.
Zed tilted her body slightly, avoiding Ivan's attack. She then bent down to dodge the follow-up strike.
Ivan's consecutive whips were all dodged by Zed by a hair's breadth. Angered, Ivan abandoned his signature whip and raised his hands, preparing to fire directly at Zed.
"Run? I'll make you run!"
Boom! Ivan Vanko was sent flying like a meteor, crashing through several trees before landing with difficulty.
Zed slowly retracted his right foot, which was raised in the air, and sneered, "Pathetic!"
Zed walked towards Ivan Vanko, who was lying on the ground, step by step. "Get up, I haven't had enough fun yet. If you don't get up, I'm going to enumerate your sins."
Ivan Vanko didn't understand what enumerating sins meant, but he immediately raised his hand to fire.
Zed turned his head to dodge the bullet aimed at his head, but as soon as he turned around, he found Ivan Vanko already above him.
"How could I let you succeed?"
Zed snorted softly, spun his body, and flipped backward, delivering a perfect overhead kick that struck Ivan Vanko.
Whoosh!
Ivan Vanko was sent flying again, but then a maniacal laugh echoed out.
"Ha, ha, ha! Fooled you! This is my escape route! You can't outsmart me! I only had one goal from the beginning!"
In mid-air, Ivan Vanko whipped out Whiplash, its electrical arcs cutting across the night sky like a comet's tail.
The thrusters on Ivan Vanko's Iron Man suit were running at maximum power, roaring with a deafening noise. Coupled with the initial velocity from Zed's kick, he was almost instantly beside Tony Stark.
"Die! Tony!!!"
Ivan Vanko screamed hoarsely, his eyes bloodshot behind his faceplate.
Faster! Faster! Victory is within reach! "Stop, time."
The hands of the clock froze at that moment, and Zed, her skirt swaying, walked through the stopped world. She flicked her fingers, deflecting bullets and debris, and slowly walked to Ivan Vanko's side.
Zed tapped Ivan Vanko's faceplate with his finger, testing the quality of the steel. Then, Zed walked in front of Ivan Vanko and gently pressed the power-up button on the driver.
A Roman clock reappeared, with twelve numbers appearing one by one at Zed's feet. Zed's foot lightly brushed the ground, leaving a trail of golden particle light.
"Time, begin to flow."
Boom!
The moment the hands returned to zero, Ivan Vanko slammed into Zed's counter-clockwise spinning kick.
If it weren't for the clock face, this kick could have ended Ivan Vanko's game immediately. But even though Zed had held back, Ivan Vanko still fell to the ground, unconscious.
The speed at which Ivan Vanko flew towards Tony Stark was already too fast to react to, and Zed's time stop was even more incomprehensible.
Tony Stark could still make some guesses, but James Rhodes was truly clueless.
"What exactly happened just now?"
"How would I know!"
Zed ignored the Iron Soldiers that were automatically attacking, walking towards Ivan Vanko on his own. Tony Stark and James Rhodes could handle them anyway.
Zed kicked the broken metal shell, not even using much force. It was like a noisy alarm, hammering against Ivan Vanko's nerves.
Cough, cough…
Zed bent down and flipped open the broken faceplate, revealing Ivan Vanko, whose head was covered in blood.
Ivan Vanko couldn't stop coughing. Each breath was a painful torment.
After a long while, Ivan Vanko calmed down and looked at Zed.
"You… you won. Cough, do it, cough, now. Cough, cough."
Zed shook his head.
"Kneel down and beg me."
Ivan Vanko was so angry at Zed that he burst out laughing: "Cough, cough, haha~ Do you think I'm afraid of death? Cough, you want me to beg you? Impossible! I don't care about my life anymore."
Tony Stark, watching from the side, couldn't stand it anymore. Even he wouldn't humiliate a dying man like that.
"Just give him a quick death! This is pointless!"
Zed turned his head and looked, then said curiously: "When did I say you were begging for a chance to live?"
"Huh?"
James Rhodes and Tony were both stunned, and Ivan Vanko was also bewildered.
Zed shook his finger, then leaned close to Ivan Vanko's ear:
"I'm offering you a chance to go back in time. A chance to see what happened in the past with your own eyes.
The feud between Stark and Vanko is right there in front of you. Don't you want to see it? What did Howard do? What did Anton do? Aren't you curious about any of this?"
Zed's invisible blade struck directly at Ivan Vanko's heart. Although old Anton had always said that Howard was the one who harmed him, Ivan did indeed believe his father.
But nothing could replace seeing it with his own eyes. Ivan wanted to confirm that the path he chose was right. He wanted to confirm that his efforts had not been in vain.
If that were the case, even if everything ended here, he wouldn't have any regrets.
Ivan stared fixedly at Zed, then struggled to sit up, gritting his teeth as he spoke: "Please."
"I can't hear you."
"Please!"
"What are you saying?"
"Please!"
"Hahaha! See, it can be done." Zed gestured in the void. "Setron, take him to have a look, but don't let him interfere. If he misbehaves, make him a limited edition."
"Understood."
After Setron responded, he grabbed Ivan Vanko and threw him into the cabin, then disappeared into the night sky.
"Wait!"
Tony Stark and James Rhodes couldn't just let Ivan Vanko leave like that, especially since Zed's words clearly indicated he was wary of them.
Tony and James Rhodes nodded to each other telepathically. Then, James Rhodes charged at Zed, while Tony Stark pursued the Time God Machine in the direction it was leaving.
Zed didn't care about Tony's movements, and while toying with James Rhodes, he muttered to himself:
"The outer walls of this ecological park are all glass."
A shrill sound came from the glass outer wall. Tony, who had just flown here, was struck by a red tail and sent flying backward, almost kissing the ground.
"Jarvis, what was that just now?" Tony gasped, feeling a tightness in his chest.
Jarvis's scanner swept across the spherical glass outer wall, detecting unusual energy fluctuations.
Beep, beep, beep, the alarm sounded. Tony immediately looked in the direction of the highest energy index. He saw ripples appearing on the glass, followed by a high-pitched dragon roar as the Unrivaled Dragon charged towards Tony.
"Oh my god! A mechanical dragon in the mirror!" Tony hurriedly dodged.
Zed had already dealt with James Rhodes and sat down, using War Machine as a cushion.
Zed looked up at Tony:
"You can't catch Ivan now, still want to play? Tony~"
Hearing Zed's mocking words, Tony's temper flared immediately:
"You think I've already lost? I don't even take that little snake seriously! Watch how I take care of it!"
The new Arc Reactor remained strong even after so much fighting, but Tony's ammunition reserves were long gone. Now, apart from his palm repulsors and chest-mounted laser, Tony had no other means of attack.
Jarvis anticipated the Unrivaled Dragon's flight path, firing palm repulsors ahead of the target, one after another.
Although the Unrivaled Dragon was large, its movements were extremely agile, making 360-degree turns without any restraint, turning Jarvis's predictions into a joke.
A dragon's roar sounded, and then Tony heard Zed's loud voice from below: "It says you can't aim!"
"Damn it! You even know Draconic! Ugh~"
Tony wasn't an astronaut. The frequent turns made Tony dizzy, nauseous, and he dry-heaved. Even with Jarvis controlling the suit, Tony's body couldn't handle it.
Meanwhile, Ivan Vanko had already returned to the past.
-----------------------
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(End of Chapter)