Chapter 82 Blackwatch Divides—The Mass-Produced Iron Man Armor Is Made of Flesh?!

“This is Manhattan Defense Sector Thirteen, JTF Battle Group Twenty-One! Requesting immediate reinforcements! We are under attack by unidentified hostiles!”

“Repeat, we are under attack!”

Manhattan Defense Sector Thirteen encompassed two city blocks.

Fortifications constructed from military-grade panels, sandbags, and wooden barricades had transformed the former fire station into a JTF stronghold.

The exhausted civilians crowded inside stared in terror at the battle raging between the Joint Task Force and the unidentified attacker.

Ever since Obadiah’s mass-produced Iron Man armor ambushed the JTF during its operation to reclaim New York, every unit had remained on high alert.

Sure enough, it was not long before mass-produced Iron Men began attacking defensive sectors throughout New York.

Reports of attacks by unidentified armed forces also emerged from several other cities.

Then an entirely unexpected development occurred.

Blackwatch, the secret federal force responsible for controlling the infected zones in each city, suddenly fractured into opposing factions and began slaughtering its own personnel.

The situation became so chaotic that neither the American military nor S.H.I.E.L.D. could immediately determine what was happening.

More JTF positions came under attack amid the confusion.

In New York, nearly all the forces assaulting JTF defensive zones were heavily armed, mass-produced Iron Man suits.

The attacker currently assaulting JTF Battle Group Twenty-One in Sector Thirteen was one of Obadiah’s mass-produced models.

Compared to the genuine Mark II armor, its weapons and systems had clearly been stripped down.

It lacked the Mark II’s iconic repulsors in its chest and palms and therefore could not fire repulsor beams.

To compensate for this deficiency, the suit was equipped with specially designed infantry Gatling guns, miniature rocket pods, antitank rocket launchers, and other conventional weapons.

Its mobility had already been inferior to the original Mark II. Once burdened with all that heavy weaponry, it became even more cumbersome.

Nevertheless, despite possessing only a fraction of the genuine Mark II’s combat power, these mass-produced suits still left the JTF virtually helpless.

The defenders in Sector Thirteen had detected the attacker almost immediately and launched a counterattack.

Unfortunately, they soon encountered the same problem as every other JTF unit.

Ordinary JTF forces lacked effective countermeasures.

Most weapons capable of reliably hitting the mass-produced Iron Men were conventional firearms.

That created an awkward problem.

The average soldier carried standard NATO weapons, primarily M16 or M4 assault rifles chambered in 5.56×45 millimeters.

Even when loaded with M995 armor-piercing ammunition, those rifles could do little more than scratch the mass-produced armor.

Even the 7.62-millimeter rounds fired by M14 rifles struggled to penetrate it.

Only 12.7-millimeter weapons—such as the M2HB heavy machine gun or Barrett anti-materiel rifles loaded with armor-piercing ammunition—could inflict meaningful damage.

However, heavy machine guns and anti-materiel rifles were far less maneuverable than ordinary firearms, making it difficult to hit such fast-moving targets.

Man-portable Stinger missiles also struggled to lock on to targets this small and agile.

Consequently, although the mass-produced armor was much less maneuverable than the original Mark II, it still caused enormous trouble for the JTF.

The ammunition carried by each suit was limited. Unless it managed to strike an ammunition depot, fuel storage area, or another vital position, a single attack rarely caused catastrophic casualties.

However, the suits harassed JTF units like persistent flies.

Their constant raids, combined with the ordinary JTF’s inability to destroy them, left defenders throughout the city exhausted and frustrated.

The same pattern was unfolding in Sector Thirteen.

Just as the attacking Iron Man prepared to withdraw, a faster figure colored red and gold streaked across the sky.

Two miniature missiles locked on and launched.

Traveling at approximately Mach 10, they struck the mass-produced suit before it could evade.

The soldiers defending Sector Thirteen had endured several attacks without being able to retaliate effectively.

Upon seeing the enemy shot out of the sky, they erupted into cheers.

“Now let’s see what you really are.”

The newcomer was Tony Stark, returning to the battlefield.

Wearing his Mark IV armor, Tony landed steadily before the downed enemy suit.

The two miniature missiles had inflicted severe damage. Its exterior armor was warped, cracked, and falling away.

Tony had already agreed with Coulson that they needed to capture one of these mass-produced suits.

With the target unable to escape, half of their objective had already been accomplished.

Yet despite the operation’s apparent success, Tony’s expression was grim.

He had originally assumed these mass-produced suits were crude imitations controlled by primitive artificial intelligence.

However, their movements looked far more like those of human pilots.

Despite being severely damaged and barely able to move, the downed suit suddenly raised its weapon and attempted to attack Tony.

Was someone actually piloting this thing?

Tony raised his palm and fired a repulsor blast.

The beam struck the crippled suit and completely shattered its right arm.

“JARVIS… what is that?”

“Is that part of a human body?”

“Sir, according to my analysis, it appears to be human tissue that has been partially carbonized by intense heat.”

“If this thing is human… Damn it, it’s still struggling.”

Tony watched the crippled armor writhe on the ground.

“It’s even trying to fight back. Is it really human?”

Tony stepped forward and planted one armored foot on the struggling suit.

He seized its helmet and increased the power of his armor’s servos.

With a violent pull, he tore the helmet away.

“Holy shit!”

“What the hell is this monster?!”

What appeared beneath the helmet could only barely be described as humanoid.

It was a mass of twisted crimson flesh, tightly fused with the armor surrounding it.

Tony felt his scalp crawl.

The entity controlling the mass-produced Iron Man suit was a grotesque fusion of flesh and machinery.

“JARVIS, enter analysis mode.”

“Analysis complete, sir.”

“This appears to be an organic life-form. Its nervous system and flesh have completely fused with the mechanical armor.”

“The organism may once have belonged to a species known as Homo sapiens.”

“Absolutely disgusting.”

Tony stared at the humanoid head.

It possessed no skin—only exposed crimson muscle, nerves, and pulsing tissue. The flesh-machine hybrid appeared to be releasing a silent scream of agony.

Tony slowly raised his right palm.

A single repulsor blast ended its suffering.

Coulson, Agent May, and a fully armed S.H.I.E.L.D. anomalous-response unit quickly arrived beside the wreckage.

Looking at the now-motionless mass-produced Iron Man, Coulson turned toward Tony.

“Mr. Stark, did you just kill its pilot?”

Tony gestured toward the interior of the armor.

“Do you honestly think that thing is still human?”

“I’d suggest not touching it until you’re wearing proper protective equipment.”

Only then did everyone notice the twisted crimson flesh fused throughout the armor’s interior.

“What the fuck?!”

“What kind of monster is that?”