Harry hadn't expected Tony's progress to be this fast. It hadn't been long since he'd gotten the Uru alloy, and he'd already almost finished developing the magic armor. Harry asked curiously, "You're almost done already? How's the magic armor performing?"
"At least triple the combat power. If it's controlled by a sorcerer, it can go up to five times!
The Uru alloy's strength is higher than the gold-titanium alloy, and its magic conductivity isn't even in the same league.
Unfortunately there's still too little Uru. I had to substitute some parts with the old materials, so we lost a bit of performance.
Right now the schematics for Magic Armor 1 still have plenty of flaws. It'll take some more time before I can finish assembling it.
Anyway, Harry, what did you need me for?"
Harry told Tony about Obadiah.
"Obadiah came to see me today. He wants to buy the shares in my hands, and he's got it in for me. I suspect he might be the one behind your kidnapping."
Tony's first reaction was denial. After all, Obadiah was his father's friend and the elder he was closest to.
"That's impossible. I trust Obadiah. He'd never betray me!"
Harry shrugged, staying calm.
"You know I wouldn't joke about something like this. Maybe you should investigate it quietly. Whether it's hiring the Ten Rings to kidnap you or anything else, something that big is bound to leave traces."
"…Got it." Tony's voice sank. The swagger from earlier was gone.
…
Time passed little by little. During this period, Harry had spent tens of millions of dollars on a villa in Manhattan, and his family had moved in.
The villa had about a thousand square meters of floor space. It was more than enough for a family of four.
On top of that, Tony had also built a new villa beside his Malibu cliffside estate and given it to Harry.
Harry had taken the time to visit that villa and leave a magical trace there, so he could open a portal to it at any time.
After all, portals could only reach places he had been to or observed.
On this day, Harry was getting ready to go to the Crossroads Dimension again to restock. He was just wondering whether to ask Tony to come along when Tony suddenly called him.
Tony's voice was weak and urgent. "Harry, help me!"
Boom!
Tony's words had barely left his mouth when Harry heard a string of explosions on the other end, along with Tony's pained groans.
Harry frowned. What on earth could hurt Tony?
Right now the magic armor was already in its early completed stage, and Tony's combat power was nothing to scoff at—even Harry had to take him seriously.
Had he been attacked by some abyssal demon?
Or were alien raiders attacking Earth?
Realizing how serious this might be, Harry asked gravely, "Where are you? What happened?"
Tony was panting heavily; he was obviously still fighting—and it sounded like he was getting completely thrashed.
"I had Pepper secretly dig up evidence of Obadiah's crimes. Turns out he's been illegally selling weapons to international terrorist groups. The Ten Rings that kidnapped me before were hired by him!"
"And what's going on now?"
Tony sounded clearly embarrassed.
"Obadiah ambushed me. He paralyzed me, took the freshly assembled Magic 1 armor, and yanked the arc reactor out of my chest. If Rhodey hadn't shown up in time, I'd already be dead.
Right now I'm at Stark Industries headquarters, fighting Obadiah. He's wearing Magic 1, and even though he can't use magic and can't draw out the armor's full potential, I still can't beat him."
Harry was speechless. Tony really was unreliable.
He'd already told Tony that there was something wrong with Obadiah, and Tony had still let himself get ambushed. That was one spectacular way to throw away a winning hand.
But as Tony's guiding sorcerer, Harry couldn't just ignore him. "Hang on. I'm coming right now!"
…
The Stark Industries tower rising over Manhattan was without a doubt one of the brightest landmarks in this bustling city.
It was like a monument to future technology that had appeared ahead of its time, a testament to Stark Industries' leading position in global science and tech.
Although Stark Industries' stock price had plunged after Tony Stark announced the shutdown of the weapons division, some sharp-eyed people had already noticed that the company had begun to roll out a series of new energy technologies.
Those new forms of energy were more than enough to pull Stark Industries out of its slump—and might even push it further ahead.
Tonight, however, the city wasn't going to know peace. In one of New York's busiest districts, explosions were ringing out around the Stark Industries tower. Some people even managed to film two futuristic-looking robots trading blows in the sky.
At this moment, the red-and-gold suit was at a complete disadvantage, getting pounded by another armor whose surface was carved all over with strange patterns. It looked like it was about to lose.
Obadiah, piloting Magic 1, stomped hard on Tony's chest plating and sneered arrogantly:
"Hahaha, my dear Tony, at first I just wanted your arc reactor. I didn't expect such a bonus prize.
I've never doubted your brilliance. You really broke through and created such a perfect weapon.
With this weapon in my hands, Stark Industries will become a power the whole world has to reckon with.
Now let me send you on your way, Tony. Your ideas are too naive. You're not suited for the Stark Industries of today!"
After briefly knocking Obadiah back with an incendiary blast and hanging up the call with Harry, Tony finally let out a sigh of relief.
With portals in the mix, Harry might already be somewhere around the Stark Industries tower.
Suddenly, he noticed the air in front of him give a faint ripple before settling back to normal. He instantly realized what that meant, and his playboy bravado snapped right back into place.
"Obadiah, did you really think you'd already won? You idiot who only knows schemes and backstabbing—if Stark Industries was left to you, the company would be circling the drain in just a few years!"
Obadiah was clearly enraged—because the truth hurts most of all.
He'd been dissatisfied with the Starks for a long time. The only reason he'd held back from acting until now was because they were the money trees of Stark Industries.
Without the Stark father and son, Stark Industries would never have reached its current heights.
A cruel smile twisted Obadiah's lips. He raised his palm repulsor toward Tony as the runes etched into the magic armor began to glow, amplifying the power of the blast.
"Don't worry, Tony. I've already backed up all the data on the arc reactor and the Iron Man armor. Stark Industries won't decline. Now go and meet your dear dead father!"
The energy at his palm swelled to the limit as the concentrated laser and magic beam intertwined, unleashing power far beyond that of a standard Iron Man suit.
Even a casual shot from this would be on par with a tank shell—never mind a fully charged blast.
Obadiah didn't understand the principles behind this armor, but its overwhelming power was undeniable.
Even though it wasn't as big as the Iron Monger armor he'd built in secret, it surpassed it in both strength and speed.
He could already picture Tony's body melting under the combined energy beam.
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