Ivan Vanko had his back turned to Blake, his attention fully focused on Tony in front of him.
Blake seized the opportunity and slashed his Tang Blade directly into Vanko's suit. Just like Iron Monger, regular alloy couldn't withstand the sharpness of a system-made Tang Blade. Moreover, Vanko's suit—now more appropriately called Whiplash—had armor far thinner than Iron Monger's.
"Die!" Blake snarled, driving the blade deeper with force.
*Clang!* A sudden jolt of resistance hit him. The Tang Blade struck something solid and couldn't go any further.
"What is this? Special alloy?" Blake hadn't had time to react before a crackling noise came from the back of Whiplash's suit.
A metallic whip, charged with energy, lashed out from Vanko's back and hit Blake square in the chest. Caught off guard, Blake was flung backward. Fortunately, he instinctively held onto his sword, or he might have lost his weapon.
After being thrown more than ten meters and rolling several more, Blake finally came to a stop. That's when he noticed it—Whiplash's spine-like exoskeleton could move, and the whip that had struck him earlier was hanging down like a tail.
Just as Blake had suspected, he was struck by this whip without warning.
"Surprised? Did you think I'd forget that Stark had you by his side? Besides this tail, I also owe thanks to that idiot Hammer. In his rush to surpass Stark, he ordered some titanium-gold alloy after I built the Arc Reactor, hoping to make his own suit. That's where I got my hands on it."
"This entire suit is lined with titanium-gold alloy. Your weapon can't cut through it! Hahaha!" Vanko sneered, slamming the tail whip onto the ground, causing cracks to spread across the floor.
Blake smirked. "You think that just because you have this turtle shell and a tail, I can't handle you? Your weapons can't harm me. I'll chip away at that shell layer by layer."
He twirled the Tang Blade confidently. Even if the suit was made entirely of titanium-gold alloy, once Vanko's energy was depleted, Blake knew he'd have the upper hand. With his inherited strength, Hulk-like defense, and rapid healing abilities, he was in no danger of losing.
"You are indeed formidable. My only option against you would be to flee. But what about Stark? Can you save him before I kill him?" Vanko taunted, tightening his grip. Tony's suit was being dragged across the ground, leaving deep furrows in the earth.
"Damn it!" Blake cursed, knowing he couldn't take the risk. He charged at Whiplash, but the tail was incredibly agile. Once fully extended, it whipped around, creating an impenetrable barrier more than three meters wide.
Blake slashed at the tail several times, but it, too, was made of titanium-gold alloy. Unless he focused on hacking at the same spot repeatedly, he couldn't break through.
"Tony, you might need to hold out a little longer!" Blake called out after exchanging a few more blows and stepping out of Whiplash's attack range, clearly growing anxious. His mind raced, trying to find a new strategy.
"Try targeting his joints. With armor that thick and three Arc Reactors, there's no way he can have all his circuits and sensors inside the lining—it can't hold up!" Tony's voice was strained, his suit already showing signs of damage from the whip.
Blake's eyes lit up at the suggestion.
Blake suddenly charged toward Whiplash's right side, taking advantage of the moment when the tail lashed out. He stomped hard on the ground with his right foot and, with a swift sidestep, appeared on Whiplash's left. However, Whiplash's tail reacted incredibly fast, whistling through the air as it swung from the side toward Blake.
"Damn it!" Blake cursed. Gritting his teeth, he took a hard hit on his back from the tail, but used the moment to tightly grab Whiplash's left leg with his left arm. With his right hand, he drove the Tang Blade fiercely into the knee joint.
A powerful force slammed into his back, but Blake held on to Whiplash's left leg with his left arm while slashing around the leg with his Tang Blade, using the momentum from the tail's strike.
Just as Tony had predicted, as the blade circled the leg, it severed internal wires and sensor systems, causing sparks to fly.
Seeing that it was working, Blake shifted his attention to Whiplash's right leg. Whiplash, realizing the danger, began to panic, but still refused to release Tony. One of the whips remained tightly coiled around Tony's neck, the arm mechanism winding tighter and tighter, further crushing Tony's armor.
At the same time, Whiplash's other whip, along with the tail, lashed out toward Blake again. However, Blake smiled slyly, pushing off the ground with both legs. He flipped head over heels and slid up along Whiplash's right arm—a move he had learned from Black Widow, though she used her legs to wrap around her opponent's neck.
Now that he had a plan, Blake moved with confidence, weaving and dodging when possible, and gritting his teeth to take the hits when he couldn't. He used the force of the impacts to propel himself around Whiplash's body, wreaking havoc as he went.
Sparks flew from Whiplash's armor with every strike, making Blake feel like he was chopping through live wires with a kitchen knife—powerful and electrified!
After an intense and chaotic exchange, the damaged circuits and sensors triggered a chain reaction. Even areas Blake hadn't attacked began to spark and malfunction. Eventually, the whips—including the tail—powered down, going limp and dropping to the ground.
Blake finally jumped off Whiplash, taking a deep breath. His body stung from the numerous hits he had taken, but with his enhanced healing, the pain soon turned into a tingling itch before completely fading away.
Tony also managed to stand up, though his neck armor was severely deformed. Any longer, and he would've been in serious trouble.
"It really comes down to money. If Justin Hammer had ordered enough titanium-gold alloy to outfit Whiplash's entire suit, I'd probably just be here avenging you today, Tony," Blake remarked.
"You don't need so many Arc Reactors in a suit like this," Tony replied, dusting himself off. "This isn't a tank. Too many reactors just ruin its agility. But I see you've increased the spin speed, and the power's definitely up. Not a bad idea at all."
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