Chapter 66

The passionate military music began to play as the lights flashed. In the center of the stage, a door gradually opened on the stage floor.

Justin Hammer loudly proclaimed, "Army Iron Soldiers!"

Under the attention of all the guests, two rows of eight steel robots were lifted onto the stage by elevator and made their grand appearance.

These were all real humanoid robots. Each of them stood over two meters tall with a sturdy build. Their bodies were covered in thick armor plates, and they were armed to the teeth.

As soon as these khaki-painted steel soldiers appeared, countless guests in the audience opened their mouths wide. Hammer Military Industries had actually achieved such revolutionary technology? This would undoubtedly be a milestone in the arms industry!

Even Black Widow and Pepper Potts in the audience showed surprised expressions at this moment. Especially Black Widow.

S.H.I.E.L.D. had received no intelligence on this matter. When had Justin acquired this technology?

The Black Widow's beautiful eyes narrowed dangerously...

On the stage, Justin waved his hand and announced loudly again, "Navy Iron Soldiers!"

As he spoke, a door opened again beneath the stage. The same number of humanoid robots with different shapes slowly came onto the stage. These steel soldiers, painted in sea blue, had missile launchers installed on both shoulders, carrying a large number of ex-wife missiles.

"Air Force Iron Soldiers!" Justin declared.

The stage floor opened up again, revealing two rows of silver-grey humanoid machines.

At this moment, the entire venue was filled with thunderous applause. This expo had clearly given the attendees a huge surprise. But no one knew that the real "surprise" was still to come.

"And—Marines!" Justin shouted, his voice full of pride.

The last to appear were two teams of humanoid robots painted in dark green camouflage.

The scene completely boiled over! Reporters were celebrating, already sensing the big news for the night. Hammer Industries was the clear protagonist of the evening.

Pepper Potts and Black Widow sat in the audience, their faces serious, each lost in their thoughts.

"Yeah! Yeah!" Justin Hammer shouted excitedly. He basked in the loud cheers, savoring them. "They are much better than the cheerleaders!" he added sarcastically, mocking Tony Stark's invitation of a large group of beautiful cheerleaders at the Stark Expo not long ago.

Justin reveled in the warm atmosphere, unaware that these iron soldiers on the stage had been secretly controlled by their creator, Ivan Vanko.

"War Machine is coming."

Luke, watching from the air, remembered this scene clearly, knowing that this was the moment when things would take a turn.

"While this is revolutionary technology, real soldiers are still needed on the battlefield. Ladies and gentlemen," Justin said on stage, "I am honored to introduce the first prototype, the Comprehensive Anti-Threat Combat Armor, and his pilot—Air Force Colonel, James Rhodes!"

The so-called "comprehensive anti-threat combat armor" was, in reality, a modification of the Mark 2 generation.

The war machine rising from under the stage had been transformed beyond recognition by Hammer Military. It was equipped with armor as heavy as a tank, and all of its armor had been made by Hammer Military.

Especially the thick and long Gatling gun hanging behind the shoulder, which was extremely eye-catching.

Amidst the applause from the audience, War Machine Rhodes saluted on stage.

Behind him, a group of steel soldiers saluted in sync.

Justin Hammer also gave an American military salute, performing it very professionally.

The audience applauded and whistled, and the atmosphere reached its climax for the evening.

"Hammer Industries reports to the United States and its allies..." Justin began.

Before he could finish his words, a sudden sound of something breaking through the air interrupted him.

Everyone off the field turned around and looked outside. The venue was an open stage. In the night, a meteor streaked across the sky and quickly headed towards the venue.

Upon seeing the "shooting star," Pepper's expression immediately became a little strange.

The "meteor" came very quickly.

The Mark VI, with its classic red and gold color scheme, displayed an impressive inverted triangle Ark reactor on its chest. Tony Stark made a stunning appearance wearing the freshly made Mark VI, landing with flair on the stage!

Instantly, Tony grabbed the attention of the entire audience. The guests stood up and cheered!

No matter when, no matter where, Iron Man would always be the center of attention!

"We're in big trouble, Rhodes," Tony began, speaking to his old friend.

Rhodes mistakenly thought Tony was referring to the fight between the Iron Men from a few days ago. "Tony, there are civilians here. I am following orders, don't fight here," he cautioned.

At that time, he had been ordered to seize an Iron Man suit as part of an assignment from the U.S. military. But, in reality, it was just a gift Tony had given to Rhodes due to their long-standing friendship.

If Tony didn't want to give it away, no one in the world could take an Iron Man suit from him.

Tony waved to the audience and whispered, "Wave to the audience. Listen to me, everyone here is in danger. We have to save them. Now, you have to believe me."

"The last time I trusted you, I ended up getting beaten up badly at your house," Rhodes replied.

"Listen, I think Justin Hammer is working with Ivan Vanko."

"Who?" Rhodes asked, surprised.

Roddy was in a daze. Tony walked up to Justin and immediately began questioning him, demanding to know where Ivan was.

Justin played dumb, his expression innocent. "Who?"

"Tell me! Where is Vanko?"

"What are you doing here, man?" Justin continued to feign ignorance.

Just at that moment, "Uh... Tony," Rhodes in the War Machine suit suddenly noticed that the operation interface in front of him had flashed red. His control of the War Machine had failed. At the same time, the display in front of him showed that the weapon was aiming.

The person being targeted was Tony.

The Gatling gun behind Rhodes suddenly powered up and aimed directly at Tony in full view of everyone.

"Did you do this?" Tony asked in a deep voice.

"No, it's not me. I can't move. I'm locked outside!" Rhodes said nervously.

At this moment, all the Hammer Steel soldiers on stage moved in unison, pointing their weapons at Tony.

The whole audience erupted in an uproar!

Rhodes immediately shouted, "Go! He has taken control of the entire system!"

It was clear who was behind this. Ivan Vanko had taken action.

His goal tonight was the same as his last attempt at the Monaco Circuit. He wanted to defeat Iron Man Tony in front of the world's eyes, to erase the shame his family, the Vanko family, had suffered over the years.

Justin Hammer, full of arrogance, was the first to jump off the stage. Then, the entire audience began screaming and rushing out of the venue.

"Let's fight outside." Tony leaped into the air and flew out from the top of the venue.

All the Iron Soldiers, including Rhodes' War Machine, fired at Tony without hesitation. "Da da da!" The roar of gunfire became one with the barrage, tearing the glass dome above the venue into pieces in an instant!

The crowd in the venue screamed non-stop, trying desperately to escape.

"No, no!" War Machine suddenly took off and chased Tony, completely out of the control of Rhodes inside.

On the stage, two teams of steel soldiers also fired streams of fire from under their feet, taking off one after another, chasing out of the venue.

The most excited ones were the reporters, who were fearless in their pursuit of the news.

The live television signal broadcast this sudden incident from the conference venue to the American people.

Reporters had realized that big news always seemed to be happening lately, which had made all news media extremely excited.

Black Widow rushed out of the venue and immediately reported the situation to Nick Fury privately.

"Sir, there are too many of them. And there's also the suit being controlled. Tony may not be able to handle it alone," Black Widow said, quickly assessing the situation.

Nick Fury was not in New York at the moment. He had set off for the Arctic Circle many days ago.

"Find a way to get this situation under control, Agent Romanoff."

"Sir, I'm the only one here."

"Who else from S.H.I.E.L.D. is in New York? Who's closest to there?"

"Hawkeye is still in New York. But, sir, there is still one person..."

"You mean, him?"

...

Luke, who was invisible in the air, was using the onboard radar to track Tony, who had just passed by him, and the large group of Iron Soldiers who were following Tony.

He was slightly stunned when he received the call from Black Widow.

"Aunt Natasha, do you have something to ask me?"

Outside the venue, while urging Happy to drive quickly, Black Widow pursed her lips and smiled. "Little guy, it's time to fulfill your promise to S.H.I.E.L.D."

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