High Priestess Ayesha’s Miserable Defeat

"Ah…" Nebula instantly forgot her hatred, her worries winning out instead. She screamed and shouted anxiously toward Zhan Liu, "Go save her! She’s dying!"

Valkyrie casually tossed aside the wine jug in her hand and was about to go down and rescue her.

"Forget it, I’ll go instead!" Zhan Liu stood up and stopped her. "You don’t know how to heal. Going down there would be useless."

Remembering how Zhan Liu had instantly healed her injuries that day, Valkyrie relaxed. She bent down, picked up the wine jug, and continued drinking.

Zhan Liu took one step forward and appeared outside the battleship.

Although the cells in his body had not yet completely transformed, he had already developed some degree of spatial affinity. This small test of his ability went smoothly, and he teleported out of the battleship.

No matter the power system, the hardest step was always going from zero to one. Once that breakthrough was achieved, everything else was merely a matter of familiarity and control, requiring nothing more than time and steady practice.

To practice his newly mastered teleportation ability, Zhan Liu did not use his near-light-speed flight. Instead, he advanced by flashing forward one step at a time. The more he used the skill, the more familiar he became with it, and the distance of each leap naturally grew larger.

Soon, Zhan Liu reached Sovereign and landed in the enormous crater.

Zhan Liu reached out and pulled the dying Gamora over. His Magnetic Field Rotation ability activated, rapidly stimulating the cells in her body and pulling her back from the brink of death.

Her missing limbs and bones rapidly grew back. In just a few seconds, Gamora had completely recovered. However, her injuries had been too severe and her mental damage too great, so she fell into a deep sleep.

Cellular Reconstruction of this level was effortless for Zhan Liu. Everyone aboard the battleship in space was seeing this for the first time. They were astonished to see someone restore severed limbs with such ease, their eyes widening with envy.

Nebula was especially affected. After seeing this, her heartbeat and breathing nearly stopped. If Gamora’s body could grow back, could her own half-ruined body also be restored?

Her half-human, half-mechanical body was the eternal pain in Nebula’s heart. Much of her hatred for Gamora had actually stemmed from envy and jealousy toward Gamora’s intact body.

But now, she saw hope of returning to normal!

Nebula’s heart stirred. She decided that once Zhan Liu returned, she would beg him to save her. She was even willing to betray Thanos for it, no matter the cost.

On the ground, Zhan Liu carried Gamora in one hand and gazed into the distance.

A large number of remote-controlled robots were filling the space swept clear by the earlier explosion, charging toward them. From far away, various powerful weapons began bombarding this position.

Because of what had happened to Gamora earlier, most of this attack was actually a feint. The true killing move still relied on the Super Energy Batteries as its core. The Sovereign had mixed missiles containing hidden Super Energy Batteries among the ordinary missiles to confuse Zhan Liu and prevent him from intercepting them midway.

But all their efforts were wasted. With one casual glance, Zhan Liu could identify which missiles had excessively high energy levels.

Still, Zhan Liu had no interest in intercepting them. He simply stood there openly, watching the missiles strike the Astral Energy shield around him and explode with a thunderous roar. Another enormous mushroom cloud rose above the planet, expanding the already gigantic crater once more.

Yet explosions of this level could not break through Zhan Liu’s Astral Energy at all. Not only was he unharmed, but even Gamora dangling from his hand suffered no damage.

After personally experiencing the power of the Super Energy Bomb, Zhan Liu had lost interest in it.

Although the technology behind the Super Energy Battery was advanced, it held no secrets after he scanned it once. He could now use Matter Reconstruction to create these Super Energy Batteries out of thin air.

His figure shot into the sky like a table knife, slicing straight through the center of the mushroom cloud before heading directly toward the palace. Along the way, Super Energy Batteries with even greater yields were fired at him like missiles, but they could not slow him down in the slightest.

Large numbers of remote-controlled fighters charged forward like suicide squads, using their own bodies to block Zhan Liu’s advance. The result was that they were smashed to pieces like toy models.

High Priestess Agatha and the others were terrified by Zhan Liu’s unbelievably overwhelming performance. They immediately fell into chaos, scurrying around like ants on a hot pan, no longer able to maintain their former arrogance and poise.

"Stop him!" Agatha cried out in panic, issuing orders at random.

"Use ten times the power of the Super Energy Bombs… no, a hundred times!"

The fleet commander grimaced and urged her to reconsider. "We can’t use Super Energy Bombs at a hundredfold level. It would blow up the entire planet!"

"Then use the strongest level available…"

Before High Priestess Agatha could finish speaking, the golden, glittering dome above them burst open with a thunderous crash. A massive figure fell heavily into the center of the great hall amid the fragments of the dome.

"Ah…" Everyone inside the hall was terrified and fled in all directions, while the guards outside swarmed in and launched a desperate charge at Zhan Liu.

Zhan Liu lightly flicked a finger. Every armed warrior around him exploded from within as though a bomb had been buried inside their bodies, bursting apart into chunks of flesh. Blood, bones, and gore covered the entire hall.

"Ah…" High Priestess Agatha screamed as she frantically wiped herself with her golden robe, now spattered with flesh and blood. The other nobles did not behave quite as terribly, but the bloody scene still drove them nearly insane.

The entire hall was filled with the stench of blood, screams, and the sounds of people vomiting everywhere.

Zhan Liu frowned as he looked at the pathetic group before him, completely losing the desire to finish them off.

"Tsk!"

"What a sorry sight!"

"You have the arrogant bearing, but none of the corresponding dignity. How embarrassing!"

"Forget it. I can’t be bothered to kill petty nobodies like you. I’d only dirty my hands!"

Zhan Liu reached out and activated his magnetic field ability, changing the skin color of every noble in the hall. He then looked them over carefully, nodded, and said with satisfaction:

"Not bad. Now this is much more attractive!"

"That gaudy gold was too glaring!"

"Silver-white skin all over is much prettier!"

After meting out this small punishment as a warning, Zhan Liu rose and flew away, leaving everyone in the hall staring blankly at one another.

A moment later, screams even more miserable than before rang out.

"I’ll kill him!"

"I definitely have to kill him!"

"I’ll never let him get away with this!"

After leaving the hall, Zhan Liu saw that his own battleship had also slowly descended from space. Its troop bay opened, and the Ravagers once again charged out amid cheers, rushing toward the planet’s prosperous cities.

Sovereign had fallen. All of its powerful remote-controlled battleships and fighters had basically been destroyed, leaving the planet’s defenses weaker than ever. Those hyenas who excelled at fighting only when victory was assured naturally would not miss this chance to make a fortune.

After changing the skin of High Priestess Ayesha and the others, Zhan Liu was in an excellent mood. He ignored their revelry and carried Gamora back toward the battleship. Nebula excitedly rushed out from inside to meet him.

Zhan Liu handed Gamora over to Nebula and was just about to speak when a violent spatial fluctuation suddenly came from the sky. A Super Battleship even larger than Zhan Liu’s emerged from the void and slowly descended toward the ground.

The moment she saw the doughnut-shaped Super Battleship, Nebula’s face turned deathly pale. Her body trembled as she said in a quavering voice, "It’s Thanos!"

"Thanos is here!" Nebula shouted in terror.

Gamora had been unconscious, but the moment she heard the name Thanos, her body shuddered and she instantly woke up.

Quill and the others also hurried to Zhan Liu’s side and nervously gazed into the sky.

After a moment, everyone realized that the Super Battleship in the sky belonged to the Black Order. The Ravagers could no longer be bothered with their looting. Without a word, they immediately turned around, returned to the battleship, and hid inside again.

A person’s reputation cast a long shadow. Merely hearing the name made everyone present tense. Only Drax fearlessly brandished the twin blades in his hands and roared at the sky, showing no sign of fear.

Looking at this group of outwardly fierce but inwardly timid people, Zhan Liu sighed, missing the ignorant and fearless disciples he had back on Earth.

"It’s only Thanos. Do you really have to be this afraid?"

Zhan Liu speechlessly looked at Valkyrie standing among the crowd with the same battle-ready expression as everyone else and said irritably, "As far as I know, although Thanos is powerful, he may not surpass Odin, right? Valkyrie, why do you look so serious too?"

"Uh… Old Man Odin was already incredibly powerful, all right? Isn’t it normal for me to be a little nervous?" Valkyrie shrugged.

"Leave Thanos to me. I’ve been wanting to test myself against him anyway." Zhan Liu truly did not take Thanos, who had not gathered the Infinity Stones, seriously.

Although Sovereign lacked a magnetic field environment, preventing him from displaying the full power of his Magnetic Field Rotation Realm, dealing with Thanos should still not be a problem. He was confident about that.

Gamora glanced at Zhan Liu. Worried that the powerful ally she had finally found was being too arrogant, she patiently advised him:

"Martial God, you’d better not underestimate Thanos."

"Now that Nebula and I have followed Thanos for many years, we’ve witnessed him destroy countless planets and civilizations. Some of those civilizations had warriors far stronger than the two of us, but in the end, everyone who refused to submit was slaughtered by Thanos."

"Thanos has crossed the universe and become a tyrant whose name inspires terror for a reason. He absolutely isn’t an enemy who can be defeated easily."

Zhan Liu burst into laughter. "That’s perfect! The stronger, the better!"

"I’m already worried that my spatial power and cell fusion are progressing too slowly. A fierce battle will be just what I need to stimulate them!"

"What fun is there in fighting weak enemies?"

"At the very least, the opponent should be evenly matched!"

"If he could be just a few steps stronger than me, that would be the perfect situation!"

"Then I’d have enough motivation and passion."

"To surpass him!"

"To blast him apart!"

"To crush him!"

"Hahaha…"

Seeing Zhan Liu reveal his madness, Gamora was extremely worried. A layer of gloom inexplicably shrouded her heart regarding the outcome of this battle. Nearby, Nebula and Quill’s eyes flickered as they each began making their own calculations.

"WM, our chance to avenge Yondu has arrived. In a moment, we’ll take advantage of the situation and hit that Zhan Liu bastard hard!"

Quill lowered his eyes and looked at the ground, but inside his mind, he was engaged in an intense argument with Worldmind.

"No, Quill. I don’t recommend attacking him now."

"I never planned to kill him in one blow. But while he’s engaged in a fierce battle with the enemy, I can seriously injure him and then use the enemy to kill him."

"No, Quill. You’re making a superpowerful being sound far too simple. Zhan Liu’s physical strength is far beyond your imagination, and he can also control Cellular Reconstruction to heal his injuries instantly. Until we find his fatal weakness, I recommend that you not fall out with him. Otherwise, you won’t escape his counterattack."

"I won’t give him a chance to counterattack. After the attack, whether it succeeds or fails, I’ll run immediately. That will also prevent me from being dragged into danger if the enemy kills him."

"Quill, you’re blinded by hatred. You made this decision too hastily. I hope you’ll wait until you’ve calmed down before deciding."

"No, no, no, WM, I’m perfectly calm! This is our best chance! Is there an enemy in this world stronger than Thanos? If we can’t succeed in taking revenge under these circumstances, I don’t think I’ll ever find another opportunity."

"…I understand. Quill, you’ve been crushed beneath the pressure of avenging yourself against Zhan Liu. The power Zhan Liu displayed just now was too shocking, and it became the final straw that broke you."

"How could that be? I’ve crossed the universe for years. How could this little pressure crush me? I made this decision after careful consideration!"

"If you had carefully considered it, you should know that the most important thing in an ambush has never been combat strength. It’s understanding the enemy’s weaknesses and openings, along with grasping the right moment to strike."

The two of them argued back and forth for a long time, but neither could convince the other.

The Black Order’s Super Battleship finally landed on Sovereign. Its doors opened, and a figure walked out. Seeing this, Gamora and Nebula simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief. After exchanging a glance, they more or less understood each other’s thoughts.

Gamora was delighted that her sister had finally come to her senses and was no longer blindly loyal to Thanos. At the same time, she was relieved that Thanos himself had not come.

She smiled and introduced him to everyone: "This person is Proxima Midnight, one of the Black Order. It seems Thanos doesn’t consider us worth his attention and merely sent one of his subordinates here."

Quill’s face darkened, and he could no longer continue arguing with Worldmind.