Tony transferred control of his suit to J.A.R.V.I.S. under the emergency escape protocol, and J.A.R.V.I.S. made his escape with the suit.
However, this put Rhodey, who had come to assist Tony, in a difficult situation.
Rhodey's War Machine was a modification of the Mark II. In terms of raw materials, it was certainly inferior to the suit Tony was wearing. Even with added external steel plates for armor, it was as good as nothing against the attacks from Zhong Su.
At this moment, Rhodey had also fallen unconscious. Unlike Tony, Tony's suit was still at least 3% intact, while Rhodey's suit was completely wrecked, with its artificial intelligence offline.
Without an emergency escape plan and in a state of unconsciousness, Rhodey was now like someone sealed in a tin can and dropped from a height, accelerating all the way down.
If he hit the ground at this speed, even if War Machine could withstand it, Rhodey inside would be pulverized into a bloody pulp by the impact.
Just as Rhodey was about to fall to his death, at the critical moment, a rope wrapped around him. The grappling hook at the end of the rope then caught onto the wall of a skyscraper, and Rhodey slammed heavily against it.
Cracks appeared all over the skyscraper's wall from the impact. It was likely that Rhodey inside had at least broken three ribs from this crash; however, at least his life was saved.
Watching Tony fly away, Zhong Su, standing amidst the wreckage, raised his right hand to deliver a finishing blow. But after a few seconds, with Tony already far away, Zhong Su did not strike and instead lowered his hand.
Using that last move had put considerable strain on Zhong Su's body, leaving his legs weak, akin to how a human feels after a whole night of exertion.
"What's going on? Is it because I just left Hell?"
The terrifying aspect of Hell wasn't its ability to weaken demons or to separate the dark energy from their bodies. More importantly, Hell could erode the intellect of demons, making them dull and unwilling to think.
This was less of an issue for intelligent demons like Zhou Lan, Xiao Feng, and Xi Mu, as their intelligence had a high ceiling. Upon discovering this characteristic of Hell, they would force themselves to think daily to minimize its impact.
Although they discovered this trait of Hell, they did not inform the other demons.
Just as humans have their schemes and plots, demons were not a monolithic entity. Even though the Eight Great Demons acted like brothers every day, it was only because they were all in Hell, where one fool amused another. To put it plainly, the relationship between the Eight Great Demons was one of fair-weather friends who could endure hardship together but not share prosperity. Once they left Hell, they would revert to their old ways, fighting fiercely over territory.
Rather than expending all their effort and energy later, it was better to weaken their opponents now using Hell's properties, so they could gain greater benefits after leaving.
Zhong Su was currently suffering from the after-effects of Hell. His life there had made him averse to thinking, and even excessive thought would make him increasingly irritable.
Therefore, after a brief period of contemplation, Zhong Su simply attributed his current state to the influence of Hell, which had greatly weakened his strength.
What he needed to do now was not to kill one or two humans who provoked him, nor to announce his return to other humans. Zhong Su knew very well what he needed most right now: strength. He needed to quickly regain the power he had lost in Hell, to prevent that damned Holy Lord from going back on his word and making a move against him.
Alas, Zhong Su's wish was not to be.
Just as Zhong Su was about to leave Stark Tower to absorb the electricity of the entire city of New York, a laser beam shot directly at him. Under the scorching heat of the laser, Zhong Su was once again sent crashing into Stark Tower.
"Oh dear, Zhong Su, life in Hell seems to have made you much weaker."
Upon hearing this voice, Zhong Su became enraged. He brushed off the debris from his body, and with his anger mounting, Zhong Su stood up and glared at Bai Qi, who stood not far away, shouting, "Holy Lord, what do you mean by this!"
"What do I mean?" Bai Qi raised an eyebrow and played the victim.
"I should be asking you! The fire energy you gave me is incomplete. Now, hand over all the fire energy of mine that you have, or I will make you pay the price."
It wasn't that Bai Qi was being unreasonable; Zhong Su was indeed in the wrong.
After receiving the fire energy, Bai Qi discovered that the fire energy Zhong Su gave him was completely different from what Bo Gang had given him earlier. Comparatively, what Zhong Su provided was significantly less.
After all, when the Holy Lord had mortgaged his fire energy to the Seven Great Demons, each demon had received an equal share, with no favoritism.
Therefore, there was only one conclusion: Zhong Su had withheld a portion of Bai Qi's fire energy and not given it all.
In truth, Zhong Su hadn't intended to withhold Bai Qi's fire energy; he simply couldn't produce it.
The reason was simple: during his time in Hell, Zhong Su had been affected by its influence, and his strength had gradually waned. To preserve his own power, Zhong Su had used the fire energy that the Holy Lord had mortgaged to him, consuming it to counteract Hell's effects on himself. Thus, when Zhong Su returned the fire energy to Bai Qi, it was much smaller than what Bo Gang had given.
Bai Qi seized this opportunity to confront Zhong Su, even shooting him down with his laser eyes as Zhong Su attempted to leave.
Of course, even if Zhong Su hadn't used Bai Qi's fire energy to offset the erosion from Hell, Bai Qi wouldn't have let him go. The fire energy was merely an excuse to trouble Zhong Su; the main reason was that Bai Qi was buying time for his father's magic preparations.
"No, I've returned all the fire energy I had to you. You are being completely unreasonable. Even if I, Zhong Su, have been weakened by Hell, I am not someone you, the Holy Lord, can bully at will."
Faced with Bai Qi's accusations, Zhong Su refused to admit anything, adamantly claiming he had given Bai Qi all his fire energy.
In a sense, Zhong Su wasn't lying to Bai Qi; he truly had no fire energy left on his person.
But Bai Qi didn't care. He attacked Zhong Su ferociously, using the power of the Ox Talisman to pin the weakened Zhong Su, who had just returned from Hell, to the ground. Then, he unleashed his laser eyes and dragon breath simultaneously, striking Zhong Su with a barrage of attacks.
Zhong Su was no pushover either. After being suppressed by Bai Qi, he retaliated fiercely, fully mobilizing his lightning powers and launching a furious assault on Bai Qi.
Even with Bai Qi's tough hide, he couldn't withstand Zhong Su's prolonged electrotherapy. The massive current would still cause Bai Qi damage, and although this damage would be quickly healed, the pain was very real.
And so, the two demons engaged in a fierce battle within Stark Tower, fighting from the top to the bottom, and from inside to outside. The aftermath of their fight caused immense destruction to the surroundings, and even many civilians were killed as a result.
"The Holy Lord!? What is he doing here?"