"How dare you kill him!"

Tony felt an overwhelming rage at that moment!

For a long time, he had been upholding justice as Iron Man.

He had saved many people—individuals he usually wouldn’t have noticed—but since surviving that ordeal, he understood the preciousness of life.

Yet before him was this monster, who had the audacity to murder someone right in front of him!

"How dare you!"

His face was contorted with fury, and in his gaze towards Bante, it seemed as if the faces of those terrorists appeared.

"Why shouldn’t I?" Bante retorted.

"You think he was a good person?" Bante sneered.

If Dennis Caladine was truly a good person, his name wouldn’t be found in the police records.

In fact, Dennis was a notorious gang member.

Robbery, theft…

He had been arrested by the police numerous times, not to mention the crimes he hadn’t been caught for. Besides, he had participated in gang fights, and his hands weren’t exactly clean.

Moreover, even if Dennis had once been a good person, Bante wouldn’t let him go.

For Bante, family was the most important thing.

Bante certainly knew that his actions could hardly be called justice.

He also knew Uncle Ben and Aunt May would never want him to do something like this, but he didn’t want to see a day when his “mercy” ended up costing Uncle Ben or Aunt May their lives.

As long as he could protect his family, he wouldn’t hesitate to get his hands covered in blood.

"And you, Tony Stark? How much better are you than me?" Bante asked.

"What?"

"Do you have fewer lives on your hands than I do?"

"I only kill terrorists!" Tony shot back.

"You know that's not what I mean." Bante shook his head. "Isn’t Stark Industries' current prosperity achieved through arms sales?"

"Or do you think that only killing someone with your own hands counts as murder?"

Tony fell silent immediately.

Selling weapons was the biggest mistake he had made, and he was already trying to make amends.

Shutting down the weapons division, fighting against terrorists…

He was doing his best to atone.

"I never intended to sell weapons to terrorists; I didn’t know about this..."

"Didn’t know, or didn’t care?" Bante scoffed.

It must be admitted that the future Tony Stark was a great hero; Bante had liked him when he watched the movies.

But it must also be acknowledged that before he became Iron Man, he was a jerk.

He didn’t manage his own company and was controlled by Obadiah; that couldn’t be used as an excuse.

Not to mention that even if Obadiah hadn’t sold weapons to terrorists, Stark Industries was still directly cooperating with the authorities.

Is the United States, this country, waging wars that are just wars?

How ridiculous.

Think of those people killed in Gaza!

Did they really have guilt?

"Didn’t you think while making weapons that they would be used to invade other countries and kill innocent children?" Bante asked.

"You’re not unaware; you just don’t care."

Bante's words struck home.

What else is a weapon for but to kill?

Tony certainly understood what kind of mess this country was, stirring up trouble around the world under the guise of being the world’s police; how many wars had they instigated?

He knew it all too well.

It was just that until the missiles really hit him, Tony never cared.

The deaths of those far-off people had nothing to do with him.

Would the plight of homeless children affect his champagne toasts and nights with beautiful women?

No!

In fact, the larger the scale of the war and the more deaths there were, the more Stark Industries would profit, allowing him to enjoy an even more luxurious life.

Every penny Stark earned was bought with lives!

"So I shut down the weapons factory," Tony said in a deep voice.

But sins cannot be balanced out.

Not to mention that shutting down the factory doesn’t count as atonement; it just means he wouldn’t continue doing so in the future.

Just like a bully stopping bullying doesn’t mean he’s a good person.

Nor does it mean that those he hurt should forgive his wrongs.

Why do good people need to suffer for countless lifetimes to become enlightened, while evildoers only need to put down their knives?

In fact, Tony couldn’t refute Bante's words because he knew Bante was right.

It wasn’t until he nearly died in the Middle East that he truly understood how terrifying war and weapons were, and realized that no matter how much he did now, it was hard to repay.

No matter how many people he saved, the living had no right to replace the dead in forgiving him.

In truth, Tony felt immense guilt and self-blame for his past ignorance, which is why, when Captain America called him selfish, he ultimately sacrificed his life to snap his fingers.

But self-blame is one thing; being seen through by others is another.

Especially since this monster before him didn’t even know the details, no matter what, Tony couldn’t let the other side go because of Stark Industries’ past.

"I’ll say it again, hands up, surrender!"

Seeing Tony emerge from his guilt, Bante wasn’t surprised; someone self-centered like Tony couldn’t possibly lose his will because of a few of his words.

At that moment, Bante did raise his hand.

However, he extended his palm: "I’ll finish you in three minutes!"

After saying this, Bante moved; he was so fast that there was no shadow!

In an instant, he leaped high, kicking Tony’s arc reactor right in the chest.

Before Tony could react, he used Tony's body as a springboard, twisting mid-air with astonishing agility, and his black tail immediately struck like a whip against the left side of Tony's head!

"Clang!"

Tony Stark, along with his armor, was sent flying, crashing through the factory wall!

Although the Quick Flash didn’t have any powerful offensive capabilities, speed is power, and a raptor-sized monster crashing at a speed of hundreds of kilometers per hour not shattering Iron Man's suit was already Bante showing mercy!

Not to mention he added a tail swipe afterward.

If Tony hadn’t been wearing the suit, that blow could have smashed his head like a watermelon!

In fact, even with the armor on, Tony's head was buzzing for a long time, and even now he felt a bit dizzy and ringing in his ears.

"Sir, you have a mild concussion," Jarvis kindly informed him.

Tony ignored him.

"You brought this on yourself, kid!"

He was absolutely furious!

The armor's propulsion system was fully activated!

Tony charged in again; clearly, before he spoke, the palm cannon had already fired!

"Boom!"

But Bante was already prepared.

"You’re too slow, Tony," Bante taunted.

To be honest, the moment Tony raised his hand, it was already predetermined that he wouldn’t be able to hit Bante.

"Congratulations, sir, finally someone said you’re slow."

Jarvis sincerely congratulated.

Tony: …