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"What? What are they doing in Sokovia?"
Nick Fury's eyes widened sharply, his face filled with bewilderment.
But he quickly reacted, roaring furiously, "I understand! It must be that bastard Karl Merks's doing..."
"There's no mistake, it must be him. There's no one else but that bastard. I'm afraid even the disappearance of the Dark Aster is inextricably linked to him."
"Fury, who is this Karl Merks?"
Seeing her usually calm and composed old friend become so unhinged just by hearing a place name, Carol Danvers couldn't help but show a hint of curiosity, and at the same time, she developed a strong interest in this man named Karl Merks.
However, no one within S.H.I.E.L.D. seemed willing... No, it should be said that no one dared to mention that name in front of Nick Fury.
But Carol Danvers still guessed from Nick Fury's hysterical and abnormal reaction that the other party's relationship with S.H.I.E.L.D. was not good, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he was Nick Fury's sworn enemy.
After all, based on her understanding of Nick Fury, he was definitely not someone who would be so easily enraged.
The reason he had become like this was likely due to some deep-seated grudge he had experienced during the years she was away.
Or perhaps he had been severely wronged by the other party?
Interesting!
Just as Carol Danvers was thinking about how she would subtly learn more about Karl Merks, she saw Nick Fury, who had been fuming, suddenly turn his head and look at her.
"Carol, I need another favor from you."
"Huh?"
Carol Danvers looked at him with a bewildered expression.
"I'd like to trouble you to go to Sokovia and find out if the Power Stone is in Karl Merks's hands."
Nick Fury tried hard to quell the anger in his heart, speaking word by word:
"This man is always a threat to Earth. He's like a ticking time bomb that makes me restless, so I must accurately assess his danger level."
"If the Power Stone truly falls into his hands, it will be an incalculable catastrophe for both S.H.I.E.L.D. and Earth..."
In fact, what Nick Fury was trying to tell Carol Danvers, implicitly, was that she should ideally help him eliminate this threat directly.
But most of the people present knew about his old grievances with Karl, and he was somewhat too proud to say it outright.
Even so, Captain America and the others, who had already heard the unspoken meaning, all cast disdainful glances at Nick Fury.
I don't believe you, you bald black guy, you're wicked.
What kind of assessment are you talking about?
You're just purely jealous of him and want to use someone else to do your dirty work, aren't you?
"Alright."
Carol Danvers agreed without hesitation, as she was now full of curiosity about the man named Karl Merks.
She really wanted to understand what kind of man could tame so many powerful Titans and possess a flight squadron capable of easily crushing a Necron fleet.
"Well..."
Just as Carol Danvers was about to leave, Nick Fury, who finally couldn't hold back, spoke in a subtle tone that he hoped the other party would understand the true meaning of:
"Carol, if possible, please bring the Power Stone back to me!!!"
"Ah???"
...
At the same time.
Sokovia.
Gamora, Star-Lord, and their group, accompanied by the blonde secretary and two First Generation Thunder Warriors, arrived at Karl's office.
"Miss Gamora, I didn't expect us to meet again so soon."
Karl sat on the Golden Throne, smiling and waving to the members of the Guardians of the Galaxy, as if greeting them.
"Wow, Quill, look! It's a chair made of gold! How much gold must that be...?"
Rocket Raccoon, unusually sensitive to precious metals, rubbed his hands excitedly and whispered to Star-Lord, "If we could find a way to swipe it, we'd be rich."
Although gold does not play the same important role as a monetary base in the Universe as it does on Earth, it is still a very valuable precious metal.
If they could really sell Karl's Golden Throne, they would definitely make a small fortune.
"Shut up, Rocket!!!"
Gamora was afraid that these idiots would anger Karl, so she quickly lowered her voice and threatened, "If any of you dare to cause trouble here, I promise I'll personally send you back to Kling Prison."
"Tsk, why are you getting angry? I was just joking."
Seeing that Gamora was extremely serious, Rocket Raccoon couldn't help but pout, dismissing his earlier thought.
Seeing this, Gamora straightened up again, looked at Karl with a slightly awkward smile, and then said, "Sorry, Mr. Karl, I've made a fool of myself."
"It's alright."
Karl waved his hand indifferently. He already knew what kind of people these jokers were, so he naturally wouldn't take that little interlude to heart.
Gamora felt a secret sigh of relief when she saw how magnanimous Karl was, then said with a conflicted expression:
"Mr. Karl, we've come here presumptuously because we just want to confirm one thing with you..."
However, before she could finish speaking, she heard Karl say from across the room, "You want to ask if Ronan and the sudden disappearance of the Dark Aster are related to me, right?"
"That's right."
Gamora kept observing the changes in Karl's expression, and said with a very sincere tone, "Since the Power Stone in Ronan's hand was stolen from us, we absolutely cannot watch him use that Power Stone to wreak havoc..."
"But please don't misunderstand, Mr. Karl, even if the Power Stone is in your hands, we have no intention of asking for it back."
"Because compared to you, we clearly don't have the ability to protect this infinity stone!"
Karl nodded slightly at her words and said without concealment, "You guessed right. The Dark Aster was indeed pulled into another dimension by me. As for Ronan... you no longer have to worry about him, because he's already dead!"
"What? You said... Ronan is dead?!"
Except for Gamora, Star-Lord and the others all shook their heads, indicating that they didn't believe this claim.
Rocket Raccoon even questioned on the spot, "Don't joke around! The Dark Aster just disappeared a few minutes ago, how could Ronan die so quickly?"
"That's right."
Star-Lord also chimed in from the side, saying, "That guy has a big killer in his hand that can instantly destroy an entire Raiders fleet, so he definitely won't die so easily…"
"And even Captain Marvel, who is invincible throughout the Universe, was miserably defeated by Ronan, so how could You have killed him in just a few minutes?"
Drax, on the other hand, pointed at Karl and said to the others with a serious face, "I can clearly feel that this Earthling is very strong!"
"Hmph, I'm an Earthling too, and one with very pure blood at that, so I'm also very strong." Star-Lord, not to be outdone, flexed his biceps and teased with a foul mouth.
"No, Quill, You're just a weakling."
Drax responded earnestly, "You can't even compare to him… He's a genuine 24K real man, while You, at best, can only be considered a sissy!"
"WTF? Drax, You're too much, calling me a sissy?"
"Enough, You all stop arguing."
Gamora quickly spoke up to stop the few troublemakers and vowed, "I believe Mr. Karl… For him, killing Ronan is not a difficult task."
Then, whether to appease Star-Lord and the others or to please Karl on the Golden Throne, Gamora quickly added, "Even if Ronan has the Power Stone in his hand!"
Although she had anticipated it, when Gamora heard Karl personally announce the news of Ronan's death, her heart was still deeply shaken.
Because she and Star-Lord and the others understood far better than anyone else how powerful Ronan was with the Power Stone in his hand.
Even Captain Marvel, who had fought throughout the Universe, was easily defeated by him.
However, such a powerful Ronan died in just a few short minutes when facing the young man sitting on the Golden Throne.
This couldn't help but make Gamora once again marvel at the terrifying strength of this Earth Guardian!
Although Gamora had imagined Karl to be as powerful as possible, if she had known that Ronan was actually killed in one move, she would probably have been scared into doubting life on the spot!
But if that were the case, she would undoubtedly ask Karl for help to kill her adoptive father, no matter the cost.
"You should still remember this weapon, right?"
Karl didn't rush to explain anything, but instead, like a magician, conjured a hammer-shaped weapon out of thin air and waved it at the members of the Guardians of the Galaxy.
"Ah, this is… Ronan's hammer?"
Star-Lord and Rocket Raccoon, who had originally been skeptical about Ronan's death, were immediately astonished when they saw the Universal Weapon in Karl's hand.
They stared with wide eyes, looking at him with disbelief, and said with a slight tremor in their voices, "You… You actually did it? That's… that's simply unbelievable!"
"Huh, wait a minute, where did the Power Stone on the hammer go?"
However, this time, Karl did not show them the Power Stone, but smiled and said,
"You don't need to worry about where the Power Stone is; You just need to know that the threat from Ronan has been eliminated."
Then, he looked at Gamora with a half-smile, "Also, one of Ronan's accomplices was caught by my subordinates while trying to escape. I think Ms. Gamora should be interested in her, right?"
As he spoke, with a crisp snap of his fingers, a Chamblue portal suddenly appeared in mid-air, and then a blue figure, tightly bound, fell out of it.
"Damn it, my father is the great Thanos, if You dare to lay a hand on me, he will never forgive You… Huh? Gamora, You… how are You here?"
Nebula, who was clearly terrified but still defiant, lost her forced composure when she saw Gamora opposite her.
Because no one understood her relationship with Thanos better than Gamora.
Although Nebula, like Gamora, publicly claimed to be Thanos's daughter.
But in Thanos's eyes, Nebula was just a dispensable subordinate.
The only daughter he truly cared about was Gamora.
It was precisely out of jealousy for this twisted paternal love that Nebula, like a child in rebellion, constantly antagonized her caring sister, Gamora, from beginning to end!
"Wow, a family reunion, what a touching scene!"
Star-Lord remained his usual humorous self, saying with a smile, "Gamora, I know she's your sister, but she was the one who blew up your spaceship before… You know, I almost died trying to save You then."
"Shut up, Quill."
Gamora looked at Nebula with a cold face and said mercilessly, "For me, she's just a string of numbers that can be exchanged for Xandar's bounty."
Then she turned to Karl on the Golden Throne, "Mr. Karl, if possible, could You hand her over to me to deal with?"
"Please, feel free." Karl waved his hand indifferently, "The reason I kept her alive was to repay You all a favor on behalf of Earthlings…"
"Oh, right, and this. If You take his body to Xandar to claim the bounty, it should be enough to cover all the expenses of your trip, right?"
As he spoke, Karl once again activated the power of the Space Stone, 'conjuring' Ronan's headless body.
Because Ronan had previously massacred the Xandarians, Xandar had offered an extremely high bounty for Ronan for a long time.
However, even the Xandarians themselves didn't believe anyone could claim this bounty.
And for Karl, who was as rich as a nation, he naturally didn't care for that 'humble' bounty now.
After taking Ronan's soul into Subspace, keeping the opponent's body had no other value except to serve as fertilizer in Nurgle's Garden.
It was better to give it to Star-Lord, Gamora, and the others now, as a great favor to them, to ensure that the subsequent plan could be smoothly implemented as planned.
What's more, compared to what Karl was scheming, the bounty that Ronan's body could exchange for was simply a drop in the ocean.
So he neither cared nor felt bad.
After all, if You want to achieve great things, You have to make the necessary sacrifices, right?