At that moment, Peter Quill's face filled with shock.
No, it was fear.
That was Drax.
The Destroyer.
Drax possessed terrifying strength and defense, making him one of the strongest members of the entire Guardians of the Galaxy.
Even with his awakened divine power, Peter knew defeating Drax would be extremely difficult, almost impossible.
Drax's only weakness was his lack of intelligence.
Yet such a powerful warrior had been instantly defeated by Thanos.
And now he lay on the ground, barely clinging to life.
With an enemy like this, how were they supposed to win?
While Peter Quill trembled in fear, Tony Stark's voice rang out.
"Hold him off. Don't try to take him head-on."
Tony Stark's expression was calm, his voice steady.
Inside, he was also terrified of Thanos. The sheer power of Thanos had already exceeded his imagination. But after the brief fear, he forced himself to think clearly.
Their goal was to defeat Thanos. Even if they could not, they needed a chance to escape.
Fear alone would not change anything.
Hearing Tony's words, everyone snapped back to reality.
Yes. They had only been shaken. The battle was not over yet.
It was not decided.
With renewed determination, they charged at Thanos again.
Thanos remained calm as he faced their assault.
He simply held the Tyrant Blade in his hand. Just as Quicksilver rushed in, Thanos' eyes suddenly shifted.
He turned his head toward Quicksilver's direction.
Quicksilver's pupils shrank.
The Tyrant Blade rose instantly.
Quicksilver reacted fast, trying to retreat.
But Thanos was too quick. Even with Quicksilver's speed, he could not fully evade the strike.
A cold sensation flashed across his back, and he crashed heavily to the ground.
"Damn it."
Quicksilver cursed.
A long wound had been carved across his back. If he had been even a fraction slower, he would have been killed.
But even so, the injury was serious.
After striking Quicksilver, Thanos did not pause. His gaze immediately shifted to Tony Stark.
He swung the Tyrant Blade down once more.
Tony tried to dodge, but it was already too late. He did not have Quicksilver's speed.
Boom!
A deafening impact rang out as Tony Stark was sent flying.
The blade struck his Vibranium armor directly.
Even with the armor absorbing part of the force, Tony still felt as if he had been struck by lightning.
He coughed up blood.
In an instant, three of them had lost their combat capability.
Thanos looked at them with a mocking expression.
To him, this battle was nothing more than playing with toys.
Across the universe, only one opponent had ever truly pressured him.
That mysterious man from Lock Technology, Nolan Locke.
That man had even forced him to use the power of the Infinity Stones and still escaped.
That was someone worth acknowledging.
But these people in front of him were nothing more than children.
Seeing Thanos' overwhelming power, the group's fighting spirit began to collapse.
Yet Peter Quill still roared and charged forward.
Thanos sneered and raised his blade again.
A single strike wounded Peter Quill.
But before the second strike could fall, a scream echoed.
"Leave them alone! I'll go with you!"
Gamora rushed forward, her face filled with pain.
Thanos paused.
The blade slowly lowered.
He looked at Gamora, his expression complex, but he still spoke.
"In that case, come with me."
He ignored the heavily injured Peter Quill lying on the ground and walked toward her.
Gamora looked back at Peter Quill, her eyes filled with regret.
This departure might be forever.
She did not know exactly what Thanos intended to do, but she knew that once she returned, it would not be easy to leave again.
Nebula's eyes burned with hatred.
She had always known it.
No matter what Gamora did, no matter how many mistakes she made, Father would still forgive her.
Why?
She refused to accept it.
But there was nothing she could do. She could only suppress her hatred.
Thanos reached Gamora and placed a hand on her shoulder.
No one dared move.
Just as Gamora was about to be taken away, a whistle cut through the air.
A Yondu arrow shot forward.
Thanos tilted his head slightly. The arrow brushed past his ear and left a thin line of blood on his face.
Thanos turned around.
Yondu stood there, whistling, controlling the arrow.
He would not allow Gamora to be taken so easily.
Because she mattered to Peter Quill.
Yondu wiped the blood from his face, his expression turning cold.
It had been a long time since anyone had managed to injure him.
The arrow returned to his side.
"You think everyone has to listen to you, Thanos?" Yondu said coldly.
Thanos raised the Tyrant Blade again.
The atmosphere turned instantly tense.
The battle was about to restart.
But Gamora suddenly grabbed Thanos' arm in panic.
"Father…"
Her voice carried a plea.
Thanos hesitated, then slowly lowered his blade again.
"No more next time. Otherwise, I will wipe the Ravager planet from existence."
Yondu's body stiffened.
He knew Thanos was capable of it.
In that brief hesitation, Thanos had already returned to his ship with Gamora.
Nebula's hatred deepened even further.
She did not realize that Thanos had allowed them to live for a reason.
Back on the ship, Thanos looked at Gamora and gently touched her face. His expression was complicated beyond words.
Soon after, Nebula returned to the ship as well.
Thanos spoke calmly.
"Let's go. I promised you I would spare the Guardians of the Galaxy."
"But if they come after us again, I will show no mercy."
"They won't," Gamora quickly replied.
She could not be sure, but she knew she could not provoke him further.
Thanos said nothing. He simply nodded.
He would not be angry at anything she said.
As Thanos departed, those left behind on the planet wore grim expressions.
"Damn it!" Yondu cursed.
He walked over to the heavily injured Peter Quill.
"Hey, kid. Still breathing?"
Peter Quill froze for a moment.
"Yondu… I will get Gamora back," he said through gritted teeth.
Yondu nodded.
"Good. I'll help you."
Later that night, the survivors regrouped.
Tony Stark woke first.
"That bastard… this isn't over."
Drax growled, already recovering.
"I will kill him next time."
Peter Quill turned to Tony Stark.
"So what now?"
Tony Stark frowned.
He did not know.
Before coming here, he had confidence. But after facing Thanos, he realized the truth.
They were not ready.
"Then we prepare," Tony Stark finally said.
"If we are going to face Thanos again, we do it properly."
Everyone fell silent.
Far away, on Thanos' ship, Nebula's hatred burned.
And Gamora sat quietly, unaware that the real danger had only just begun.
Thanos had returned to his base.
Nebula stood nearby as Gamora stared at her.
"After all these years, you still don't understand," Nebula said coldly. "Father trusts you no matter how many mistakes you make."
"Why?"
Gamora sighed.
Because they were once "daughters" of Thanos.
But they both knew the truth now.
Thanos was not a father.
He was a conqueror.
Nebula smiled bitterly.
Thanos had given her an order before leaving.
To uncover the location of the Soul Stone.
He knew Gamora held that secret.
And now, Nebula would extract it from her memories.
"Tell me where the Soul Stone is," Nebula said. "Or I'll search your memory myself."
Gamora's expression darkened.
"Nebula, you can't do this."
But Nebula ignored her.
She activated the memory extraction.
A memory surfaced.
Not the Soul Stone.
But something else.
A shared past.
A moment when Gamora had once saved Nebula without hesitation.
Nebula's eyes landed on the scar on Gamora's body.
For the first time, she learned its origin.
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