Tony's gaze swept the area, immediately landing on the listless, defeated form of the Mandarin. The man looked utterly drained, his spirit broken.
His hands were a bloody mess, and the ten famous rings were nowhere to be seen.
There was no doubt about it. The Ten Rings had lost. The Mandarin had lost. And he had lost spectacularly.
Tony realized that even though he'd rushed over the moment he got the news, he was still too late.
Aside from Antonio's fight, which was still ongoing, the entire battle had reached its conclusion. There was no room for him to intervene.
The Ten Rings foot soldiers had all been rounded up by the security team. They were tied together, twenty to a rope, strung up like kebabs on a skewer.
Tony clicked his tongue, a pang of frustration hitting him as he looked at Clark. "You work fast!"
Seeing Clark's eyes widen in sudden offense, Tony quickly realized how that sounded.
"Misunderstanding! A misunderstanding!" he backpedaled. "I meant you resolved this trouble too quickly! You didn't even leave me a chance to lend a hand."
He sighed with genuine regret. "I was hoping to test the combat performance of this Mark I suit. Looks like I missed my chance."
Clark pointed towards the still-clashing figures of Antonio and the Snake-Man. "You can try your luck over there. Might be your chance to shine."
Tony watched the brutal, fist-to-flesh exchange between Antonio and the Snake-Man. A quick analysis from J.A.R.V.I.S. made his decision immediate. "No, no. According to J.A.R.V.I.S.'s data, the Mark I's steel plating has weak points. It can't withstand that kind of impact."
"J.A.R.V.I.S. calculates that a single solid hit from either Antonio or that giant snake would warp and deform the suit's armor. This thing is a pain to repair—I designed the whole thing myself. I'm not looking for that kind of hassle!"
Tony couldn't help but complain, feeling utterly helpless.
Clark followed up, "This suit is an upgraded version of that iron can I saw in the cave when I rescued you?"
"That's right," Tony confirmed. "The Mark I is indeed an evolved, upgraded modification based on that prototype. I call that original the Mark Zero, so this upgraded version is the Mark I."
Tony was reluctant to discuss the Mark suit in detail. The fact that he single-handedly researched and built it spoke volumes about how precious it was to him.
In his eyes, this suit was far more valuable than any magazine cover model.
...
The battle between Antonio and the Snake-Man raged on. The Snake-Man was fighting for his life because Clark had shouted a promise: if he beat Antonio, he could go free!
If he lost... Antonio wouldn't show any mercy.
With that ultimatum, the Snake-Man had no choice but to go all out!
Antonio, not to be outdone, met the challenge head-on. His muscles swelled, and he was clearly using his full power. While he didn't have the pressure of a death sentence hanging over him, he had his own stubborn pride and refusal to lose.
Pushing his body's limits like this came with risks.
After this fight, Antonio would probably need to spend a few days in bed recovering.
But he thought it was worth it!
At his level of strength, finding a truly well-matched opponent was incredibly difficult. Having finally encountered the Snake-Man, Antonio didn't want to let this chance slip away!
Tony watched, utterly fascinated.
A brawl between high-level mutants like this wasn't something a billionaire like him got to see every day!
Through his connections and resources, Tony Stark could easily acquire footage of mutants fighting.
But a life-and-death battle between peak-level mutants? That existed almost solely in rumors. This was Tony's first time seeing one with his own eyes!
Both Bloodtooth and the Snake-Man were renowned figures in the mutant world, considered first-class among their kind.
Their fight had started in the middle of the open main street.
But as their conflict escalated, any building or structure they got near had only one outcome: complete collapse.
Just a glancing blow was enough to warp and twist steel until it snapped under the pressure, let alone brick and stone structures.
They had even come dangerously close to Saint Kent Academy's perimeter wall.
However, under the terrifying, death-glare pressure from Jean Grey's gaze, both men suddenly felt an immense weight bearing down on them and hastily shifted their battlefield elsewhere.
Clark estimated that, barring any other variables, these two could probably keep this up for three days and nights based on their stamina alone!
Watching the fight, Tony felt a twinge of envy. "I wonder when my upgraded Mark armor will be powerful enough to reach that level."
The Mandarin, who had been staring intently at the battlefield, couldn't resist sneering at Tony Stark's musings. "A mere ordinary human like you, dreaming of possessing such power? Keep dreaming, Tony Stark. You can have anything in your dreams!"
The Mandarin didn't dare direct any sarcasm toward Clark, but mocking Tony relieved his stress and vented his tangled, complex emotions.
Trembling, he raised a hand and pointed at the two combatants. "With the rise of modern civilization, the power of mutants has been suppressed, even persecuted."
"But in the ancient past, powerful mutants were often mistaken for gods, worshipped and revered by ignorant ordinary people."
"Bloodtooth and the Snake-Man... they have both reached the peak of their abilities. In the past, mutants like them were called... Walking Natural Disasters!"
The Mandarin looked at Tony with open mockery. "Do you know why they were called that?"
Tony shook his head, confused.
Aside from having more money than the Mandarin, he was no match for the ancient villain in terms of esoteric knowledge and experience.
The Mandarin sighed, a hint of sentiment in his voice. "Powerful mutants were called Natural Disasters because the destructive power they wielded was on par with cataclysmic events, and they could move."
"A mutant of that caliber could influence the outcome of a modern localized war, let alone in the past during the age of cold weapons!"
"Mutants are natural disasters! They are the very definition of power!"
"And that is precisely why," the Mandarin concluded, his voice turning cold, "when modern society arrived and ordinary humans grasped power for themselves, their first order of business was to suppress mutants with all their might and establish human dominance!"
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