114 Chapter 113: Devouring Neutron Stars, Fusing with the Power of the Phoenix
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Just as Thanos' fleet prepared to change course, heading to conquer Earth.
In the distant horizon, a golden stream of light appeared.
Under the leadership of a Centurion adorned in armor, wearing a helmet with a star-shaped symbol atop, the Nova Corps arrived in a hurry, to aid Xandar.
The Nova Corps was a special organization dedicated to maintaining order in the universe.
Similar to the Green Lantern Corps of the DC Universe.
Comprised of over 500 members.
Their power stemmed from a unique force known as the Nova Force.
This ability was generated and controlled by a supercomputer with extraordinary perception.
Each member of the Corps was endowed with power according to their rank.
The ranks in the Nova Corps were divided into four levels, with the highest rank(not Nova Prime) being Centurion.
And at this moment, upon receiving news of Xandar's crisis, a Centurion and hundreds of other members of various ranks were dispatched to provide support.
"The Nova Corps?"
Naturally, Thanos was familiar with this organization in the universe.
Before, he might have been wary of the Nova Corps.
But now, feeling the purple glow emanating from the gem on his left glove, and the immense, boundless power, Thanos feared almost no one!
The next moment, he declined all requests for battle from his subordinates and, alone, sat on his throne, slowly flying out of the warship to confront the Nova Corps.
"The cosmic overlord, Thanos? Are you planning to destroy Xandar?"
Seeing the figure before them, the Centurion leading the Nova Corps instantly recognized Thanos' identity.
"Destroy Xandar? No, no, no, my ambitions reach far beyond that."
Thanos calmly sat on his throne, speaking indifferently.
"This universe is sick. Its resources are finite, yet the desires and greed of life are infinite."
"And I will be the one to truly act upon the universe's long-term plan."
Thanos' expression remained calm, but there was an unquestionable authority in his tone.
"You take pleasure in the slaughter of entire cosmic races, a blood-soaked executioner who hypocritically claims to be working for the future of the entire universe. Don't you find that utterly laughable?"
Wherever Thanos went, blood washed entire planets.
This had become a widely circulated nightmare throughout the universe.
Now, facing the real Thanos, the Centurion's face was filled with anger.
"You don't understand. When I truly accomplish the great plan in my heart, all the remaining life in the universe will be grateful to me."
"Because I have saved them, and saved the future of the entire universe."
"Even if it's in a way that not everyone can accept."
"But, I am destiny!"
With a solemn tone, Thanos slowly raised his left hand, and the purple gem embedded in the golden glove instantly emitted a strange purple light.
"This is bad..."
As soon as the Centurion saw the purple gem, his face changed drastically. He hurriedly mobilized powerful energy to cover his body, forming a golden energy barrier.
And the other members of the Nova Corps, those who reacted in time, did the same.
However, those who were unable to erect their defenses in time saw their bodies crack instantly, from which burst forth radiant purple light.
"Ah!"
Accompanied by screams, countless bodies exploded instantly, leaving no trace behind.
"The Power Stone, how is this possible?"
The Centurion watched everything unfold, his gaze filled with fury.
...
Meanwhile, in the distant expanse of the cosmic sky.
The battle between the Collector and Peter had reached a fever pitch.
The power displayed by both was terrifyingly immense.
Planets the size of Earth were instantly annihilated under their attacks.
Even space itself was shattered, fracturing like a broken mirror, forming vast spatial rifts and wildly turbulent flows.
In just a few minutes, their figures had appeared in countless cosmic systems.
Hundreds of planets were destroyed by the aftermath of their battle.
Reduced to cosmic dust.
Yet, their powers seemed undiminished.
At this moment, as space shattered once again, the two traversed through the rifts, arriving in another galaxy.
And where they found themselves was at the center of the universe.
Beside them, a brilliant blue neutron star radiated intense heat and dazzling light.
"How can this guy's power be so formidable, even stronger than mine!"
As the Collector battled, he grew increasingly shocked.
He had thought himself to be one of the strongest beings in the universe.
Apart from his brother, the Grandmaster, there were few entities that could match him in combat.
Even those who could were ancient godlike beings from the distant past.
But now, he found himself suppressed by a mere human.
"The Collector's strength is indeed remarkable."
On the other hand, Peter, too, marveled at the Collector's power. He was the strongest individual Peter had encountered to date.
Truly worthy of being an ancient creature existing since the dawn of the universe.
Moreover, he possessed various unique abilities, such as manipulating space and various cosmic energies.
It was these special abilities that enabled him to turn the tide whenever Peter's power seemed to overwhelm him.
"It seems I'll need to rely on some special powers."
Looking at the nearby neutron star, Peter hesitated for no moment and instantly approached it.
Though this neutron star's mass was larger than Earth's sun, its diameter was countless times smaller, measuring less than ten kilometers across.
Not even as large as a small asteroid.
It was even smaller than Peter's current stature!
Yet, the heat and light it emitted far surpassed that of the sun.
The moment Peter neared the neutron star, he could feel his own power growing stronger.
However, instead of quickly absorbing the star's energy, Peter slowly opened a blue spatial rift.
From it, he retrieved the container that once held the power of the Phoenix.
Without hesitation, he shattered it.
In the next moment, the golden energy warped continuously, instantly forming a miniature image of the Phoenix.
Clang!
Instantly, a strong screech echoed throughout the universe, even carrying a hint of joy, as if celebrating its liberation.
"What is this human doing?"
At this moment, the Collector, watching Peter's actions, was puzzled and didn't act rashly.
It wasn't until the sound resembling the cry of a Phoenix resonated that his face instantly changed.
"This... is the ancient power of the Phoenix? This human actually possesses such a precious cosmic treasure?"
At this moment, besides shock, greed filled the Collector's face.
He had heard of the power of the Phoenix, something he also coveted dearly.
In the next moment, without hesitation, he manipulated his enormous form, opened his palm, and sought to seize the liberated power of the Phoenix!
...
"Hmph!"
However, Peter had long prepared to absorb the power of the Phoenix, so how could he let the Collector succeed now?
Thus, under Peter's control, the biological force field suddenly expanded countless times, not only instantly enveloping the Phoenix's shadow but also covering the nearby neutron star.
The Collector's attacks pounded against the expanded biological force field.
Instantly, a strong shockwave erupted, causing space itself to rupture under such immense power.
"Damn..."
But the Collector's face changed abruptly.
After hesitating for a moment, he clenched his fist and continued to strike Peter's biological force field with even greater force.
Thud, thud, thud!
With each trembling of the force field, Peter reached out and grabbed the Phoenix's shadow, which had been condensed again!
The re-captured Phoenix's shadow emitted a mournful cry, filled with resentment and sorrow.
However, Peter remained unmoved.
Slowly, he pressed the Phoenix's power in his hand against his own chest.
As the Phoenix's power touched Peter's body and was squeezed by immense force, it gradually began to merge into Peter's body.
Instantly, a powerful aura erupted from Peter's body.
The golden Phoenix's power began to merge with the energy within his body.
A brilliant golden flame ignited upon his body, born from the fusion of these two energies.
On his body, a dazzling golden flame surged, and the intense fusion of these two energies caused Peter's body to endure a constant agony of burning and tearing.
However, Peter's determined face showed no expression.
He had known that forcibly merging with the power of the Phoenix wouldn't be easy.
So, instead of rushing the fusion, he had waited until now.
"But now, everything is ready!"
Peter cast his gaze towards the nearby neutron star.
Without hesitation, he began to absorb its immense energy.
Instantly, all the energy released by the neutron star was drawn towards Peter, forming a massive particle storm, like a colossal hurricane with Peter at its center.
Countless energies were swept up by the storm, rapidly converging around Peter, being devoured by him.
The terrifying energy caused the golden flames on his body to take on a deep blue hue.
Under the assault of the colossal energy from the neutron star, the previously difficult and slow fusion of the Phoenix's power began to accelerate.
Meanwhile, the flames burning around Peter gradually expanded and transformed into the form of a phoenix.
Strands of golden flames resembled clusters of golden feathers, forming golden wings on either side of his body.
Clang!
With a universe-shaking phoenix cry, the two golden wings suddenly spread wide, and a crimson-golden flame fluttered in the cosmos.
Instantly, an invisible force of annihilation surged forth from Peter's body.
The neutron star, which had already dimmed slightly, was the first to bear the brunt and was instantly destroyed by this violent force.
All the colossal energy was completely swallowed by Peter into his body through the eye of the storm.
In the next moment, a lifelike phoenix figure appeared around Peter.
The dazzling golden light almost enveloped the entire galaxy.
...
"Damn it, he actually succeeded!"
As the phoenix cry sounded, the Collector, who was attacking with all his might, couldn't help but change his expression.
Immediately, without hesitation, he prepared to escape.
Without merging with the power of the Phoenix beforehand, Peter would have been difficult to defeat.
And now, with Peter fused with the power of the Phoenix, he had even less confidence in being able to win.
"This space, it's been locked down?"
However, as he manipulated the power of space to try to escape, he suddenly discovered that the space around him had long been locked down by a massive force.
No, it wasn't just locked down.
It was disrupted by a force full of destructive power, even destruction itself.
It was like a cup of beautifully patterned coffee, once disrupted, could no longer reveal its original beauty.
Amidst the chaos of space, this space had been completely sealed off, making it impossible for him to manipulate space.
And in his eyes, filled with shock and disbelief...
A huge phoenix shadow suddenly appeared before him.
"This can't be, it's absolutely impossible..."
At this moment, even as the oldest being in the universe, the Collector couldn't believe what he was seeing.
The lifelike phoenix shadow floated in the void.
Wherever the golden wings passed, space itself completely disappeared.
And Peter's body was hidden within the phoenix shadow.
At this moment, he lightly waved his fist towards the Collector.
Clang!
The next moment, the golden phoenix suddenly let out a cry to the sky.
Then, with a flap of its golden wings, it soared through the void.
Its lively eyes suddenly locked onto the Collector's body.
Immediately, like a roc descending from the heavens, it charged straight towards the Collector.
"No!"
The Collector's face was full of shock, but his body couldn't make any evasive movements.
He could only watch helplessly as the phoenix's figure suddenly descended in front of him.
Boom!
Wherever the phoenix's body passed, even space was completely annihilated.
Everything, in an instant, turned into nothingness.
As the phoenix's shadow passed through the Collector's body...
The next moment, golden flames suddenly ignited on the Collector's massive body.
In less than a fraction of a second, the Collector's body was completely incinerated by the golden flames.
Not even a trace of ash was left behind.
Clang!
Meanwhile, the phoenix still flying in the void let out a cry, and after a beautiful trajectory through the void, it flew back into Peter's body.
And in the starry sky, only a massive black hole remained.
It was as if the space seen by the black hole had completely disappeared, leaving only emptiness.
It was like a gateway to the universe beyond.
"Collector, hehe."
A smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, and a golden flame slowly emerged around Peter's body.
The golden flame caused the space to distort.
Suddenly, Peter's figure disappeared into this void of nothingness.
...
"Everyone, hurry up and move! It's best to do it before the captain returns..."
In the void, Yondo was directing the crew, swiftly moving the Collector's belongings.
"What are you doing before I get back?"
A voice suddenly rang out from beside them, startling Yondo.
"Heh heh, of course, it's to move everything onto our ship before the captain returns," Yondo said to Peter with a smile, afraid of any misunderstanding.
"Better..." Peter didn't say much, walking straight into the spaceship.
Having just fused with the power of the Phoenix, he still needed to contemplate.
"First Mate, how is that Collector?"
As Peter entered the spaceship, a crew member approached Yondo cautiously and asked.
"Don't ask what you shouldn't ask. Hurry up and move things!" Yondo replied sternly, then got up himself to move many of the Collector's belongings.
Soon, with their efforts, all of the Collector's possessions were moved onto the spaceship.
Fortunately, their ship, although only a medium-sized one, had enough space.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to fit so many valuable collectibles.
"Captain, we've emptied all of the Collector's stuff. What should we do now?"
Yondo approached Peter, suppressing his excitement as he asked.
"In the universe, where can we sell... these collectibles?" Peter asked, curious.
"Well..." Yondo pondered for a moment, then continued, "His collection is too diverse, you could say he has everything, and each item is valuable enough. Perhaps selling them on Xandar is a good choice."
"Then it's Xandar. Let's sell these things as soon as possible and go get a custom-made ship of the highest grade!"
Peter was already disdainful of the medium-sized ship. What he wanted was a ship even bigger than the Sanctuary II.
Then, going back to Earth would be quite satisfying.
"Alright, let's go with the captain's decision. Set the course for Xandar, and prepare to depart immediately!"
With Yondo's shout, the entire spaceship turned into a streak of light, traversing through temporal nodes.
After jumping dozens of temporal nodes, they finally arrived at the nearest one to Xandar.
However, before they could head towards Xandar, they noticed a figure fleeing in panic, as if they had spotted their ship and were rushing towards them.
"Bad news, the universal overlord, Thanos, has obtained the Power Stone and is now heading to Earth to claim the other stones."
"A catastrophe that will engulf the entire universe is imminent!"
Just as they entered the spaceship, the figure spoke in a panic.
...
(End of Chapter)
Word Count: 2.5K
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