Chapter 1110: Counter-Attack

With a resounding crash, the alloy dual blades of the Iron Man suit struck fiercely at the emptiness before Loki. Clearly, having recalled his staff, Loki had instantly cast an invisible defensive spell.

However, even though Loki’s spell managed to intercept the Iron Man suit’s strike, the power emanating from the colossal Iron Man machine was beyond what Loki, as a sorcerer, could withstand.

Exhale!

Consequently, despite Loki tightly gripping his staff to halt the Iron Man suit’s dual blades, holding them at a distance of about half a meter from his front, as J.A.R.V.I.S. increased the Arc Reactor’s energy output, the two alloy longswords pressed down on Loki, forcing him towards the pit’s bottom.

When it came down to sheer strength, Loki was at a disadvantage.

“Analysis complete, energy attack viable.”

As Loki withstood the descending onslaught of the Iron Man suit’s attacks, J.A.R.V.I.S. within the suit continued its ongoing analysis of its adversary, tailoring its fighting strategy accordingly.

When Loki once again employed this type of magic, J.A.R.V.I.S., armed with the magical knowledge of Earth sorcerers, promptly launched an energy attack.

Boom!

So, just as Loki furrowed his brows, pondering how to deal with the metal behemoth before him, a brilliant white light flashed before his eyes as J.A.R.V.I.S. unleashed another laser beam!

Similar to the two alloy longswords that were stopped about half a meter from Loki’s body, the abruptly fired laser beam from J.A.R.V.I.S. was also halted at a similar distance before Loki.

However, it was evident that a distinct magical energy fluctuation occurred where the laser beam was obstructed. This magical ripple, gradually intensifying under the force of the laser beam, soon manifested as a faint blue magical barrier surrounding Loki.

Magic, although wondrous, ultimately remained a form of energy— albeit a unique one. Ever since Tony had encountered Earth sorcery several months prior, he had been studying this domain.

Though he hadn’t succeeded in creating a suit centered around magic, he had gained some understanding of magic’s underlying energy nature.

Before Tony developed the semi-lifeform mechanical armor powered by Extremis, he had already designed a specialized Iron Man suit that could simulate magic’s principles using other forms of energy for offense.

However, the creation of such a suit was immensely complex and, due to an inability to accurately mimic the operation of the Magic Cube, the attack power was comparatively weak. Consequently, Tony had temporarily halted further upgrades in this direction.

Throughout his battle with Loki, J.A.R.V.I.S. had been ceaselessly analyzing the opponent. Upon recognizing Loki’s use of techniques resembling those of Earth sorcerers, J.A.R.V.I.S. promptly devised countermeasures.

It could be said that the Iron Man suits under J.A.R.V.I.S.’s control surpassed even the one piloted by Tony in terms of power, given J.A.R.V.I.S.’s superior reaction and computational capabilities. Of course, Tony possessed his own strengths.

Buzz, Buzz, Buzz!

“Do you really think I’m defenseless against you?” As Loki’s magic defense continued to dissipate under the laser’s consumption of energy, he spoke through gritted teeth, a mix of irritation and ironic amusement.

Next, Loki’s figure, protected within the magical barrier, seemed to momentarily blur before vanishing altogether. Simultaneously, the faint blue magical shield shattered upon Loki’s disappearance.

The two alloy longswords, previously poised at his sides, intersected without finding their target, leaving an empty swing. As for the laser beam, it was unimpeded and shot forth, leaving a blackened streak hundreds of meters long in the Sahara desert.

“Target lost.” As Loki’s figure vanished unexpectedly and the Iron Man suit’s attacks missed their mark, J.A.R.V.I.S. swiftly scanned the surroundings. However, Loki’s presence couldn’t be found again; he seemed to have vanished into thin air.

Exhale!

As J.A.R.V.I.S. retracted the dual blades, the enormous flower that had fallen silent in the pit suddenly surged upward, gaining over ten meters in an instant.

It lunged towards the Iron Man suit from below, its previously closed petals swiftly opening. In a rehearsed move, the flower attempted to engulf the Iron Man suit from below, just as before.

From J.A.R.V.I.S. controlling the Iron Man suit’s close-quarters domination over Loki to Loki’s sudden disappearance, and then the massive flower surging from below—it all happened in the blink of an eye.

Although the colossal flower moved at incredible speed, J.A.R.V.I.S.’s reactions were nothing short of impressive. While unsure of the flower’s capabilities, J.A.R.V.I.S.’s instinctual response was to prevent the Iron Man suit from being engulfed.

Thud!

At the moment when the flower’s petals fully enveloped nearly half of the Iron Man suit, the propulsion system beneath the Iron Man suit’s feet surged again. In a critical moment, the suit managed to gain altitude, narrowly escaping the flower’s engulfing grasp.

However, as if sensing its prey’s attempt to escape, the roots supporting the massive flower shot out once more as the Iron Man suit ascended.

Without waiting for the flower to completely encase the suit, its open petals swiftly began closing inwards, seemingly aiming to seize the Iron Man suit’s lower legs first.

Bang, Bang, Bang!

Just as the petals were about to close in and capture the Iron Man suit’s legs that hadn’t yet escaped, explosions erupted from various joints of the Iron Man suit. The colossal suit began to disassemble from its foot region into separate components, each equipped with a propulsion device.

At the very moment the flower’s petals closed in, this Iron Man suit disintegrated into dozens of smaller components that scattered and flew in different directions.

Exhale!

As the massive flower’s petals finally closed shut, it had managed to engulf only a single-foot component of the Iron Man suit. In the grand scheme, the loss was minimal for the entire Iron Man suit.

Moreover, after being swallowed by the flower, the foot component didn’t struggle much; it simply self-destructed its miniature Arc Reactor in the next instant.

Rumble, Rumble!

Amid a deafening noise, the massive flower emitted intense energy fluctuations from within, slightly weaker than those when it had consumed Jack’s magic circle earlier. The closed petals shook for a few moments in mid-air, then in a swallowing motion, transmitted a white light downwards along the root beneath.

However, for the other scattered components of the Iron Man suit that had flown high into the sky, the massive flower seemed to have no means of attack left.

Swish, Swish, Swish!

The Iron Man suit components that had evaded the flower’s engulfment flew through the air for a while before regrouping, seemingly preparing to reassemble into an Iron Man suit once more.

However, right as these components were about to come together, Loki, who had vanished just moments ago, suddenly reappeared.

……

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