"He's never valued your hard work and now you're still acting as his security guard?! Old Andro was right, the only decent thing that bastard Howard ever did in his entire life was hiring you as his watchdog!"
The Iron Monster across from him remained silent, leading General Johnson to take a step back and address Rhodes on the other side. "See? This is your future! You're always following Stark around, at his beck and call. Friend? Hah, if he truly considered you a friend, he wouldn't have given you outdated technology!"
"Our friend across from us has been Howard's watchdog his whole life! What has he gained? He doesn't even dare to resist!"
Just as Rhodes and Stark were about to speak, Jarvis issued a severe warning: "High-energy reaction detected! Please evade immediately! Please take cover! Please take cover! 3! 2..."
In an instant, another intense mushroom cloud erupted. The explosion from the behemoth that General Johnson was piloting was extraordinary, leaving a huge crater hundreds of meters in size on the ground, and half the factory was shattered by the blast.
Nobody expected him to detonate so decisively. Iron Man did not have time to dodge; his Mecha was nearly shattered, and the suit Rhodes was wearing was utterly ruined. The Iron Monster had quite high defense, but it seemed to be struggling to get up.
Perhaps General Johnson had prepared in advance. While he was at the epicenter of the self-detonation, he wasn't killed but stood up from a safe compartment, holding a remote control.
"You might think it ends here, but on the contrary, this is just the beginning!" General Johnson said.
Stark, battered and bleeding, wiped his eyes and helped Rhodes up from the Mecha, stammered, "Your boss really does have quite the temper."
"That's exactly why I was driven into a corner." Rhodes replied with self-derision.
"You still don't know any better, Colonel Rhodes! Everything Howard promised Obadiah, nothing was fulfilled. He continued to care only about his son. Little Stark could shut down the most crucial military system with a word, destroying the lifelong efforts of an older generation. How ridiculous!"
"For him, you have repeatedly turned down my requests, only giving me a set of outdated Mecha technical data, but what did that bring you? You're just a backdrop for Iron Man. He's celebrated, you're obscure, just like Howard and Obadiah...."
"...The ranting of a loser." an voice came from the Iron Monster still lying on the ground.
"We chose Old Andro back then because you were too stupid. Even after all these decades, you haven't changed, which is why I still didn't choose you, you moron."
The tone of Obadiah was slow and gentle, not at all like someone on a battlefield, which only infuriated Johnson even more.
He gritted his teeth and fiercely press a button on the remote control, as several dozen robots flew over. They were smaller than the self-exploded robots, but they seemed more advanced.
"You don't have your Mechas now, but I have mine." General Johnson said, "Just like old Stark back then, who defeated my army with his new invention, now it's my turn!"
"Cough...Even after all these decades, there's one thing you haven't grasped." Obadiah's voice echoed, "A suit of Iron is useless."
Hearing this, Stark let out a sigh, slowly relaxed his shoulder muscles, and muttered to himself, "...Maybe he's right, maybe they're all right. Just having an Iron suit really isn't enough. It won't make things any easier for me."
As Rhodes stared ahead, the towering robots made them look even smaller in comparison. He said, "Enough with the sentiments, don't you think we should be figuring out what to do now?"
Stark looked up at the encircling robot army and turned to Rhodes, "Do you think we're like them?"
"No, you're worse than your father."
On a land scorched and blackened by the explosion, Stark touched his chest. Compared to those massive robots around them, they appeared inferior, but Stark did not seem worried. His tone was relaxed as if chatting with an old friend.
Then, under the pitch-black night sky, only the faint glow of the Robot's eyes flickered like twinkling stars. Stark turned to Rhodes and asked: