Yellow sand filled the air. Not a trace of life could be seen on the barren planet's surface as a battered spaceship plunged from high above, trailing smoke and dust. It buried itself headfirst in a soft dune, throwing up a vast cloud of sand.
"Quick! Gamora, Nebula! Help Drax and Mantis get out of here first. Rocket and I will cover the rear!"
Clang!
Star-Lord, Peter Quill, clad in a retro dark red nineties jacket, kicked the warped hatch open. Cold sweat beaded at his temples, and his voice trembled with urgency as he kept motioning for his teammates to evacuate.
"Peter, what about you and Rocket?!"
Gamora gritted her teeth as she dragged the wounded Drax along. His heavy body made her stumble, and her eyes were full of lingering worry as she stared at the man before her.
"Go! What are you standing around for? If you waste any more time, we'll all die here!" Peter stepped forward and shoved Gamora hard twice. His brow was tightly furrowed, and his face was almost overflowing with anxiety and unease, with none of his usual carefree manner.
"Gamora, he's right. If we don't leave now, none of us will get away. This is no time for romance." Nebula's face was cold as she supported the weakened Mantis and started walking. Her voice was utterly calm, her composure almost coldhearted.
Gamora looked back at Peter, then watched Nebula's retreating figure. In the end, she suppressed the stirrings in her heart and her worry, gritted her teeth, and hurried after her, supporting Drax.
"Peter, you idiot, you finally did something worthy of a captain."
Rocket Raccoon held an energy weapon several times larger than his own body. His furry ears were rigid, and though his voice was as fierce and irritable as ever, it held a rare hint of approval.
"Groot's just gone... That bastard Thanos, I'll settle this debt with him sooner or later."
Peter clenched his hands tightly as the image of Groot dissolving flashed through his mind. His eyes churned with towering rage and grief he could hardly conceal.
"Fuck... You don't have to tell me. I'll give that purple sweet potato freak a taste of my upgraded energy cannon too."
"So how about we ambush them?" Peter turned to Rocket, his eyes filled with the resolve to stake everything on this.
"Fuck... Just what I had in mind! I'll take that purple head of his apart, piece by piece, until there's nothing left! Now, let's start our final battle!"
Rocket spat hard and quickly checked his ammunition. Then he and Peter crouched behind the dune and swiftly set their traps.
Only a few minutes later, the clear sky suddenly darkened, and an enormous shadow fell over the entire landscape.
A gigantic doughnut-shaped alien warship hovered silently above the planet. Its hull gleamed with cold, hard metal, radiating an oppressive presence.
"They're here." Peter looked up at the familiar warship, his expression instantly turning grave.
"Good timing! I've got enough ammo to give them a real beating!"
Click...
Rocket released the safety on his energy weapon and held the barrel steady in his small arms, his whole body tense and ready to attack.
Just then, a dark golden seam opened beneath the doughnut-shaped warship. A thick, blinding pillar of pale blue light burst through the clouds and slammed straight into the dune ahead.
The air warped violently in the pillar's path, and the clouds of sand were forcibly swept aside. Light and shadows rapidly coalesced as several figures in pitch-black armor slowly stepped out of the pillar, each step carrying a suffocating pressure.
The beam lasted only a few seconds before abruptly withdrawing. As the dust slowly settled, the Black Order stood on either side, with Ebony Maw in the center. His calm gaze swept over Star-Lord and Rocket as though he were looking at two insignificant ants.
He spoke softly, his voice detached and indifferent, yet it weighed on their hearts like a block of icy black iron. "You must be tired after running for so long. Your so-called resistance is nothing but a futile struggle before death."
Peter tightened his grip on his two Element Guns, his gaze turning cold. "Cut the crap! If you want Gamora, you'll have to beat us first!"
Rocket let out a low growl. A faint glow had already appeared at his weapon's muzzle, and his shrill voice was filled with bone-deep hatred:
"Don't waste your breath on this weakling! You dared lay a hand on our people, so today we'll bury you on this lousy planet!"
Ebony Maw raised an eyebrow slightly, as though he had heard something utterly ridiculous. His voice remained even, but it carried bone-deep contempt. "Your courage is admirable. Unfortunately, it means nothing before absolute power. Hand over Gamora, and I'll leave your bodies intact."
"Not a chance! Eat this!"
Rocket Raccoon swung the muzzle toward Ebony Maw and pulled the trigger without a moment's hesitation.
Boom!
A massive beam of energy tore through the air, its searing heat warping the currents around it as it blasted straight toward Ebony Maw at the front with devastating force.
Puff-
Ebony Maw did not so much as lift an eyelid. Cull Obsidian, standing beside him, had already swung out his massive axe and intercepted the energy beam head-on. The impact exploded against the axe head, but failed to budge it an inch.
Cull Obsidian drew back his axe and abruptly charged the two of them, his massive body surging forward with heavy strides. The earth shook violently beneath each step, sending yellow sand flying.
"Rocket, activate plan B!" Peter shouted in a low voice, not surprised in the least by what had happened.
"I hope these dog-food-fed bastards can make it through round two, or I won't get enough payback!" Rocket rapidly charged the energy cannon, and a second, even thicker beam shot out, slamming into Cull Obsidian's chest.
The immense force sent Cull Obsidian flying, and he crashed heavily into the sand more than ten meters away, throwing up a cloud of yellow sand.
Bang!
Before Cull Obsidian could get up, pale blue electrical light flared around him. A massive energy force-field cage abruptly took shape, trapping him inside.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Cull Obsidian furiously swung his axe against the force-field barrier, but no matter how much strength he put into it, the seemingly fragile barrier did not budge.
"Pointless resistance. Corvus Glaive, get that piece of trash out." Ebony Maw frowned slightly, his voice full of impatience.
Corvus Glaive held his peerless blade and walked slowly toward the trapped Cull Obsidian. But after only two steps, a powerful electric current suddenly surged from beneath the ground, trapping him and leaving him unable to move.
"Hope you like this gift."
Peter put on his mask and activated his jet boots, instantly shooting into the air. He fired his Element Guns in turn, unleashing countless energy bullets like a torrential downpour at Ebony Maw, Supergiant, and Proxima Midnight.
Ebony Maw gracefully raised his left hand, and an invisible, intangible telekinetic barrier instantly appeared. Every energy bullet struck it and dissolved into specks of light. He blocked Peter's all-out attack without the slightest effort.
"Supergiant, take control of that little insect," Ebony Maw ordered calmly.
"All right." Supergiant nodded, a dim light shining in her eyes as her immense psychic power instantly locked onto Rocket Raccoon on the ground.
"Damn mind control!" A sharp pain shot through Rocket's head, followed by a wave of dizziness. The simple mental-protection headband he wore instantly dimmed and stopped working.
Forcing himself to endure the dizziness, Rocket gave Supergiant no chance to continue controlling him. He quickly pulled out several energy grenades and threw them at the three of them.
Proxima Midnight narrowed her cold eyes and swung the spear in her hand. Several pale yellow energy beams shot out with precision, striking the grenades in midair.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Violent explosions swept outward, sending shockwaves in every direction. The shockwaves also briefly disabled the electrical device trapping Corvus Glaive.
Corvus Glaive seized the chance to escape and hurled his peerless blade with a backhand motion. Its sharp edge sliced easily through the energy cage, freeing Cull Obsidian.
"Here, Corvus Glaive," Cull Obsidian said in a muffled voice. He picked up the long blade from the ground and handed it back to Corvus Glaive.
Fixing his gaze on Peter, who was still resisting in the air, Cull Obsidian tightened his grip on his giant axe. He waited for the right moment, then hurled it.
Driven by his terrifying strength, the axe became a black blur and shot forward at astonishing speed. It accurately anticipated Peter's evasive path and slammed into his waist.
Bang!
Peter's body went rigid, and blood instantly poured from his mouth. Like a kite with its string cut, he plunged straight out of the air and crashed heavily into the sand.
Had the energy belt around his waist not absorbed most of the impact, the blow would have killed him on the spot.
"Quill!"
Rocket's eyes nearly split with rage as he looked at his gravely wounded teammate on the ground. His fury erupted.
His paws moved swiftly, and the energy cannon in his hands rapidly reassembled and expanded. In an instant, a giant energy turret three meters long and two meters high took shape where he stood.
Energy light gathered frantically at the muzzle, and the lethal shot was about to fire when a pitch-black spear suddenly tore through the air. Moving with extreme speed, it smashed the turret to pieces in an instant, scattering its parts across the ground.
"Your resistance ends here. You've already lost."
Ebony Maw did not spare so much as a glance for the two who had managed to cause a little trouble. He cast a detached look at Corvus Glaive beside him and gave the order to execute them.
Expressionless, Corvus Glaive carried his peerless blade over to Peter and raised it high. The blade gleamed with a cold light as he brought it down toward Peter's head without the slightest hesitation!
"Hold your blade!"
Rumble-!
A shout exploded like a thunderclap. The entire sky abruptly turned pitch-black, rolling thunder swept across the planet, and seven-colored lightning churned and leaped wildly through the clouds.
All the water vapor at the planet's surface was instantly drawn away, gathering into clouds in the sky. A patter of raindrops followed.
At some point, a towering figure clad in black and silver armor had stepped between Corvus Glaive and Peter.
An ancient, heavy axe held the unstoppable peerless blade firmly at bay.
Thor, the god of thunder, had arrived!