Chapter 112: What a Weak Steel Suit

After chatting for a while, Marcus suddenly stood up and looked at the steel suit in the showcase.

"Put on your medical equipment and let me see what you can do with your iron skin!"

As soon as he said this, Pepper covered her mouth in surprise. This was Tony's ironman suit they were talking about. None of Hammer's robots had been a match for Tony. How could Marcus possibly challenge him?

"Wait... what did you say?"

Tony was equally surprised. Although he knew Marcus was a skilled fighter, no matter how powerful a person was, they shouldn't be able to match his suit.

"You can wear whatever you want. If you think you can hurt me, you're dreaming!"

Although Tony hadn't planned on using the battle armor, he was already wearing the vibranium gold battle suit Howard had helped him make, reinforced with amplitude crystals.

Unless Marcus could somehow destroy vibranium, hurting Tony was absolutely impossible.

Seeing Marcus so eager for a beating, Tony decided to grant his wish. Besides, he'd been wanting to put Marcus in his place for a while.

Tony walked to the equipment platform specially designed for suiting up. Under the control of numerous mechanical arms, a red and gold suit assembled around his body.

In no time, the streamlined Iron Man stood before Marcus.

"Ready? I can't wait to punch you."

"Heh, you're just relying on your glorified crutch?"

Smiling, with a flash of light, an energy blade materialized in Marcus's hand.

Twirling the sword casually, Marcus stepped lightly and appeared before Tony almost instantly.

Energy flickered along the blade as it hummed through the air, slashing toward Tony's armor.

squeak~

Accompanied by an unpleasant sound, a deep cut appeared on the steel battle suit. If Marcus hadn't held back, the blade could have sliced through the armor completely.

"This is what you're relying on? Pathetic!"

Withdrawing the energy blade, Marcus curled his lips dismissively. The suit's materials were decent—the strongest metals available short of vibranium.

However, the energy blade in his hand had been enhanced by numerous amplitude crystals, dramatically increasing its destructive power. Against Tony's suit, it cut through easily.

Tony and the others remained frozen in shock. What kind of blade could possibly damage Tony's armor like that?

"Jarvis, did you record what just happened?"

"Yes, sir. The blade in Mr. Marcus's hand uses high-frequency vibrations generated by energy to damage the suit," Jarvis answered.

The AI had begun calculations the moment Marcus attacked. According to its analysis, Marcus's blade could have cut through both the suit and Tony himself.

thump~

While listening to Jarvis's report, Tony was suddenly kicked across the room, crashing hard into the floor. The steel suit's hard shell shattered the smooth flooring.

"Losing focus during battle is never smart!"

While speaking, Marcus rushed forward again. The energy blade in his hand flipped around, and he slammed the back of it against the steel suit.

clang~

The suit collided with the energy blade, producing a crisp metallic sound.

Then the energy blade in Marcus's hand suddenly vanished, replaced by a pair of gloves with bladed knuckles.

Gloves · Iron Hook Gauntlets

These were weapons Marcus had specially designed for Atlas [Sky Shaker], meant to maximize the power of his strikes.

The gauntlets had also been reinforced with amplitude crystals, making a deep resonant sound as Marcus swung his fist.

dongdong

Two punches landed on Tony's body in rapid succession. His streamlined suit suffered significant damage from these blows. Fortunately, Tony had installed an anti-shock system that dispersed the force of Marcus's attacks. Without it, he would have been severely injured by the powerful impacts.

Tony staggered backward. He finally understood why Marcus had been able to save his parents from their attackers.

In his eyes, Marcus seemed like a monster, comparable to the Hulk himself.

Though Tony was the one wearing armor, the situation felt reversed—it seemed like Marcus was the armored one.

snort~

Taking advantage of being knocked back, Tony raised his hand toward Marcus, his palm lighting up as he fired a yellow energy beam.

But the scene Tony expected—Marcus being knocked into the air—didn't happen. Marcus stood his ground, taking the full force of the repulsor blast.

Afterward, Marcus's fists suddenly glowed, and he slammed his hands together violently.

BOOM!!!

A powerful shockwave burst from Marcus's gloves. The ground cracked under the impact, and Tony, despite his armor, was slammed directly into the wall.

"No way... your skills are too powerful!"

After sliding down the wall, Tony slowly got up, feeling like his waist had been twisted by the impact.

With one hand on his lower back, Tony stared at the smiling Marcus.

"How did you do that? It's unscientific! How can a normal person have that kind of power?"

Tony suspected Marcus could probably beat both of them into the ground.

That powerful attack was just the shockwave from Marcus clapping his hands together, and it had thrown Tony straight into the wall.

"Is your suit that weak? And your combat skills are truly terrible."

After criticizing Tony, Marcus turned to look at Happy and Pepper, who stood there dumbfounded.

"Help him out of that thing. From the looks of it, he's sprained something."

Hearing Marcus's voice, the two rushed forward. Both were shocked by Marcus's strength. This was the first time they'd seen anyone who could challenge the Iron Man armor.

And it hadn't even been a fight—Tony had been completely demolished.

Their reactions differed slightly. Pepper simply marveled at Marcus's strength, how he'd crushed Tony so effortlessly.

Happy, meanwhile, was filled with pure admiration. Marcus had been his idol for nearly 20 years, and he was still amazingly powerful.

He could only imagine how desperate Hydra must have been when they attacked the Starks, choosing to go after a man this powerful.

With their support, Tony, now out of his damaged armor, leaned against the sofa with one hand still on his waist.

He felt like someone had punched him hard in the kidney, then drilled into it with a power tool.

Even so, he didn't forget to look at Marcus, asking between labored breaths:

"You still haven't answered me. Why are you so strong? Your combat ability is beyond what humans can achieve."

Facing Tony's question, Marcus smiled and rolled up his sleeves. His already muscular arms gradually transformed into a silvery-white metallic color.

"This is the battle suit I'm wearing. Howard made it from the vibranium I brought back. That metal can absorb and release energy."

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