Chapter 152: The Robust Defense of the Iron Man Suit

During the Mark II's flight tests, Chen Mo had vehemently halted its ascent at 150,000 feet.

While the Mark II encountered no icing issues at that altitude, which surpassed the operational ceiling of conventional aircraft, this did not guarantee the Iron Monger's safety.

It's crucial to remember that the Mark II had undergone numerous enhancements and reinforcements under Chen Mo's guidance, creating an immeasurable disparity between it and the original Mark I design.

The Iron Monger, hastily constructed by Obadiah in a short timeframe based on the Mark I blueprints, possessed significant bulk, offering advantages in raw strength and armor. However, its overall performance in other aspects was simply incomparable to the Mark II. This was particularly true in areas Tony hadn't even considered, such as the complexities of high-altitude icing. Tony, relying on his suit's superior speed, deliberately maintained distance from Obadiah, leading him towards the upper atmosphere.

Although the Iron Monger's thrusters were immense, and the flames they expelled were far thicker and more visually striking than those of Tony's Mark II, the significant technological gap meant its actual propulsion was considerably weaker than the more compact energy engine integrated into the Mark II.

Furthermore, the Iron Monger's sheer weight hampered its actual flight speed. Consequently, Tony strategically throttled his own speed, maintaining a near-reachable distance. This ensured that a red-eyed Obadiah, intent on killing Tony, blindly pursued him skyward.

Despite the controlled pace, the two combatants swiftly ascended to tens of thousands of feet.

Seeing himself closing in on Tony, Obadiah jeered with excitement.

"Tony, your design is impressive, but unfortunately, my suit is more advanced!"

Indeed, judging by their performance since the engagement began, Tony's Mark II was clearly outmatched. The Mark II itself lacked the raw power of the colossal Iron Monger and was equipped with minimal weaponry, devoid of any heavy ordnance, posing little threat to the heavily armored behemoth.

However, Obadiah, fixated on his pursuit, failed to notice the gradual formation of ice on the Iron Monger's armor. As they climbed higher, this icy layer rapidly thickened.

"Then how did you solve the icing problem?"

Tony glanced back at the accumulating ice on the Iron Monger and retorted.

"Icing problem?"

Obadiah was perplexed. As a businessman, he lacked technical expertise.

Their current altitude had not yet reached the 85,000-foot ceiling achieved by the SR-71 Blackbird high-altitude, high-speed strategic reconnaissance aircraft, but it had already exceeded the operational limits of conventional airplanes.

Just as Obadiah finished speaking, the Iron Monger's thrusters sputtered and died with a series of muffled thuds. The suit's operating system, overwhelmed by the extreme low temperatures, also crashed. The entire suit lost power and plummeted downwards.

Tony exhaled in relief and halted his ascent. He had considered the Mark II near-perfect, yet actual combat had exposed unforeseen vulnerabilities. He realized that without Chen Mo's enhancements to the Mark II, he would have been unable to counter Obadiah this time. The Iron Suit clearly required further upgrades.

He watched the Iron Monger descend with mixed emotions. When it disappeared from view, Tony steered the Mark II towards the ground, returning to the Stark Industrial Park where their battle had begun.

The intense confrontation had left him physically and mentally drained. His immediate desire was to disengage the suit and rest.

But just as he retracted his helmet, preparing to take a breath, the Iron Monger, which should have crashed, suddenly reappeared behind him. Before Tony could react, Obadiah's powerful right mechanical arm clamped firmly onto the Mark II.

The previous high-altitude chill had indeed caused a significant layer of ice to form on the Iron Monger's exterior, and its internal control system had momentarily succumbed to the low temperature. However, Tony had underestimated the Iron Monger's sheer size and the thickness of its armor.

While it had initially frozen and fallen, the situation wasn't as dire as it seemed.

The temperature inside the Iron Monger had merely dipped below the control system's lower operational threshold. During the rapid descent, the ambient temperature began to rise, and the high-speed fall, coupled with intense friction against the air, generated considerable heat. The ice on the surface fractured and shed under the impact of tumbling and the airflow, and the internal temperature quickly recovered.

Moments before impact, the control system rebooted, and the thrusters reignited, allowing the Iron Monger to execute a controlled landing.

Subsequently, Obadiah, who had narrowly escaped a fatal crash, concealed himself, waiting for Tony Stark to land.

When Tony, believing his opponent had plummeted to his demise, relaxed his guard, Obadiah burst from his hiding place, landing stealthily behind him.

Before Tony could react, Obadiah, leveraging his superior strength, seized him, pinning him against his chest. Simultaneously, he raised his left arm, now fitted with a massive impact hammer, and brought it down with brutal force on the Mark II's head.

The instant Tony realized he was being constricted, he swiftly sealed his helmet and struggled fiercely. Unfortunately, compared to the Iron Monger, which dwarfed him several times over, his strength was insufficient. Unable to break free, Tony gritted his teeth and braced for impact.

The heavy impact hammer slammed into the Mark II's head with tremendous force. The resulting shockwave reverberated through the entire suit. Obadiah within the Iron Monger could feel the immense vibration, and the area directly struck visibly deformed.

A vicious grin spread across Obadiah's face. Today, he would finally eliminate Tony Stark, the primary obstacle to his complete dominion over Stark Industries.

Fortunately, the Mark II's defenses were remarkably robust. Tony Stark within the suit felt a jarring impact that left him momentarily disoriented, but he sustained no significant injury.

In the movie, Tony Stark, wearing the Mark III, had endured a direct hit from a tank shell and a subsequent high-altitude fall that created a large crater upon impact. Yet, only the suit's surface suffered minor damage, leaving the wearer completely unharmed beneath its protection. This demonstrated the formidable defensive capabilities of the Iron Suit.

Beyond the inherent strength of the gold-titanium alloy armor, the most crucial element of the suit's defense system was a specialized shock-absorption and buffering system.

This technology could be considered the very core of the Iron Man suit's design. It was this system that allowed the relatively small Iron Man suit to possess defensive capabilities exceeding those of heavy tanks.

This shock-absorption and buffering system, a true marvel of engineering, was also what Chen Mo valued most. Were it not for Tony Stark, it might have been impossible for even Hydra's considerable resources to replicate it within centuries.

Only Chen Mo, having personally participated in the Mark II's design and manufacturing process, truly understood the most invaluable aspect of the suit.

While the design of the Arc Reactor's energy output, the flight thrusters, and the overall suit's drive system were highly advanced, they were not entirely beyond replication.

In Iron Man 2, Hammer Industries had produced armor similar to the Iron Man suit. Although rudimentary at the time and significantly inferior to Tony Stark's designs in many aspects, it was only with the assistance of another brilliant scientist, Ivan Vanko, that it was fully realized and possessed actual combat capabilities.

Even then, these were merely remote-controlled steel automatons with average speed, defense, flexibility, and controllability.

Crucially, without the core shock-absorption and buffering system developed by Tony Stark, any human piloting such a suit would be instantly killed by the immense impact forces generated by a strong attack or a fall.

Ivan Vanko's whip-cable mecha appeared formidable, but in reality, it primarily relied on two flexible and powerful energy whips to deter close-quarters combat. Its own defensive capabilities were weak, relying mainly on the superficial steel armor for protection.

However, Tony Stark's shock-absorption and buffering system could significantly mitigate the impact forces on the outer layers of defensive armor, rendering the force transmitted to the pilot negligible. It could be said that as long as the outer alloy armor remained intact, the occupant was essentially safe.

Therefore, Obadiah's attack did not instantly kill Tony Stark as he had hoped. However, the gold-titanium alloy used in the Mark II's outer defensive layer, while a highly specialized alloy utilized by the Seraph military satellite, was not indestructible. Under the repeated assault of the heavy impact hammer, it began to exhibit slight deformation.

Obadiah showed no anger at his initial failure to kill Tony with a single blow.

"What a surprise! It seems you've also upgraded your defense system!"

Obadiah couldn't help but admire the Mark II's formidable resilience.

"Tony, you truly are a genius!"

"Unfortunately, you must die today!"

Obadiah's face contorted into a ferocious mask as he spoke. He allowed Tony to struggle futilely under the crushing grip of the Iron Monger's thick mechanical arm and raised his left arm's impact hammer once more, unleashing a series of brutal blows upon the Mark II's head.

Despite the protective layering of the defensive armor and the mitigating effects of the shock-absorption and buffering system, Tony's brain was still reeling from the continuous and powerful impacts. He could only thrash instinctively, unable to formulate a coherent counterattack.

"Head armor integrity at fifteen percent!"

Jarvis's synthesized voice echoed in Tony's ears. A schematic diagram of the Mark II's full armor appeared in his shaking vision. A red alert indicator blazed on the head section, and a damage progress bar displayed the rapidly decreasing integrity.

As the Iron Monger's heavy impact hammer relentlessly pounded the Mark II's head, the armor's damage intensified rapidly.

"Sir, head armor integrity decreasing rapidly, now at thirty-seven percent. Estimated structural failure in twenty-four seconds!"

Jarvis's urgent warning sent a jolt of anxiety through Tony Stark, but at this point, he was utterly powerless to resist.

Just as he desperately racked his brain for a solution, the head armor's integrity plummeted to ninety percent. It was clear that a few more strikes would completely breach it, and his head would be exposed to a fatal blow.

Still trapped and helpless, Tony could only watch the damage counter continue its inexorable climb. A familiar feeling of powerlessness washed over him. He had experienced this crushing despair twice before.

Once in the desolate Afghan desert, lost in the vast expanse of scorching sand, and again when Obadiah had subdued him with a nerve paralyzer and stolen the second-generation Arc Reactor from his chest. Both times, Chen Mo had intervened in the nick of time, saving him from the brink of death.

But this time, Chen Mo was likely still at the beach villa and couldn't possibly reach him in time. Even if he did arrive, he probably wouldn't stand a chance against Obadiah's Iron Monger. It seemed his end was truly at hand, but Pepper...

Just as Tony surrendered his last vestige of hope, preparing to face death with a lingering sense of regret and unwillingness, an incredibly bright silver sword light flashed above his head.