Kree Civilization: Peril

"Fuck! I got too caught up shooting the shit with you guys!"

Feeling the Milano shake, Rocket Raccoon hurried toward the cockpit. "That just now felt like we hit a meteor. I hope the cockpit’s okay…"

"What!?"

Star-Lord couldn’t sit still after hearing that either. "Hey, hey, that’s my ship!"

"Isn’t it because you slacked off and never came back?"

Rocket Raccoon cursed as he ran. "It was almost time to switch shifts and have you fly, but you went and slacked off. And your ship’s autopilot is utter garbage. You haven’t done any maintenance since it left the factory, have you?"

"Factory? What factory?"

Star-Lord said directly, "Yondu cobbled this ship together for me from spare parts. It never had anything like that. Besides, everything he gave me had to be the best parts…"

"Why did I ever pick such a junk heap of a ship!"

Their bickering voices faded into the distance, eventually disappearing into the cockpit.

"I…"

Drax thought for a moment, then looked up at the Thorn Treant and Groot before simply turning away. "Sounds like we’re almost there, so I’m gonna use the bathroom first."

With that, he left carrying his frying pan.

After everyone else had left, only Groot and the Thorn Treant remained, staring at each other.

Groot was famously a kind old fellow. Now that he saw his grandson… uh, or perhaps great-grandson? In any case, he was a little excited and kept trying to communicate with him.

The Thorn Treant, meanwhile, looked rather confused.

Though he had also only just been born, the Thorn Treant was far inferior to the little Ender Dragon. At present, he could only haltingly repeat what others said, looking somewhat dim-witted.

But that wasn’t really his fault.

If the Ender Dragon followed DND settings, the nature of its power symbolized the end of all things. It was clearly a Dragonkin of an extremely high rank, perhaps even born with some kind of ancient inherited memories. Once it grew up, its potential would be limitless.

As for the Thorn Treant…

Groot himself was already a little slow on the uptake, yet the Thorn Treant had inherited only half of Groot’s bloodline. The other half came from the Twilight Thorn. Did that thing even have a brain?

But Groot didn’t seem to care much about any of that.

Even though the Thorn Treant could only repeat things, Groot still looked delighted. He even grew a flower from his hand and gave it to him.

After seeing the flower, the Thorn Treant pondered for a moment, then opened his hand as well. But instead of growing a flower, he grew a thorn spike as thick as a chopstick.

"Damn, that gift really gets right to the point…"

Fang Mo couldn’t help making a quip, but before the other party could react, the ship suddenly jolted violently again.

"Hm?"

Even Fang Mo found that strange.

He glanced at the Thorn Treant and Groot. The two were getting along fairly well at the moment, and it seemed the Thorn Treant could understand what Groot was saying. After all, half of their bloodline was the same.

So Fang Mo headed straight for the cockpit.

Pushing open the cockpit door, he immediately asked Rocket Raccoon and Star-Lord, "What happened? You two playing spaceship shake in the cockpit?"

"Only you would do that."

Rocket kept working the controls. "Actually… our ship ran into a Kree patrol. They’re driving us away."

"…There’s actually something this good?"

After hearing that, a delighted expression appeared on Fang Mo’s face.

"Can’t be helped. The Kree aren’t as friendly as the people of Xandar. Their attitude and how troublesome they are are second only to the Sovereign… Wait, did you just say this was a good thing?"

Rocket Raccoon, who was operating the controls, froze and looked at Fang Mo in disbelief. "What… are you planning now? Isn’t one frying pan for Drax enough?"

"Hey, hey, why do you think I’m such a bad guy?"

Fang Mo smiled. "Get the Kree on a video call first. I’ll have a chat with them. Our Rocket Team is a great organization devoted to maintaining peace in the galaxy. There’s no need to always resort to violence. Just listen to what I have to say…"

"No need. The Kree have already contacted us."

Star-Lord glanced down at the screen, then pressed a button. A display instantly appeared before them, showing several blue-skinned Kree.

Before Fang Mo could speak, the Kree had already begun talking arrogantly.

"Stupid Ravagers, this is the border of the great Kree Empire." The leading Kree held an enormous energy rifle and spoke with utter disdain. "The Supreme Intelligence will not permit vermin like you to offend the Empire’s dignity. Get lost immediately! Otherwise, we’ll open fire and destroy you…"

"…"

Upon hearing that, both Star-Lord and Rocket Raccoon felt their hearts skip a beat.

Almost simultaneously, the two looked at Fang Mo.

"Oh? Are you sure?"

Just as they expected, Fang Mo immediately revealed a dangerous smile. "Do you know what happened to the last guy named Ronan who talked to me like that?"

"Ronan?"

The Kree on the other side looked at each other, then burst into mocking laughter. "You mean Supreme Accuser Ronan? A bunch of cosmic scavengers like you? Just look at the ship you’re flying… Hahaha! If Lord Ronan really appeared before you, you’d probably piss and shit yourselves."

"I’m in a good mood today, so I’ll give you one last chance."

Fang Mo said, "If I really get angry… honestly, you can’t bear the consequences. So why don’t you ask the Supreme Intelligence, or some other superior, first? Don’t mistake ignorance for courage."

"You’re in a good mood?"

The Kree leader suddenly revealed a cruel smile. "What a coincidence. I’m in a very bad mood today. Since you refuse to get lost obediently, don’t blame us for being rude."

At that, the Kree gave his subordinates an order. "Open fire. Kill these little thieves who invaded the Empire’s border."

"Excellent. I like people who are so eager to die."

Fang Mo smiled and nodded. "I’m sure Ronan would be very pleased to see this. Rocket, hurry and drag Drax out of the bathroom. Let his frying pan get a good look at what’s happening here…"

After saying that, his entire body flashed blue and vanished from where he stood.

And the instant Fang Mo disappeared, the Kree warship attacked again. Star-Lord hurriedly maneuvered the ship to evade, but the left wing was still hit. The hull immediately shook violently.

"No, wait… where did he go?"

Star-Lord shouted as he piloted the ship. "The Kree’s cannons are way too powerful! If we take a few more hits, this ship’s gonna break apart, okay!?"

"Don’t panic. He already went outside."

Rocket Raccoon rubbed his forehead. He felt as though he was almost getting used to scenes like this. He jumped down from the console, turned, and headed toward the bathroom, waving a hand as he went. "Just stay here and keep flying the ship…"

"Fine, I see him too."

Star-Lord urgently maneuvered the ship around a particle cannon blast, but then suddenly froze. "Wait… why did he pull out a Chest?"