Chapter 144: Outnumbered?

"Do you really think victory is assured?" Ronan sneered disdainfully. "This is my warship—I began making my preparations as soon as you arrived. Here, I command tens of thousands of soldiers. How do you intend to deal with them?"

Ronan pressed a button on the control panel. Instantly, the walls of the command hall—and even the alloy ceiling above—slid apart, transforming the space into a vast chamber spanning several thousand square meters. Overhead, a deep, shadowy starry sky stretched across the heavens.

Gaps yawned open in the floor around them, and from these openings rose countless mechs and Kree soldiers, filling the hall in a densely packed formation. Judging by the sight, there were undoubtedly many more hidden beneath the surface.

Seeing the swarm of Kree encircling them, Rocket muttered dejectedly, "We're done for—so many enemies that even if they lined up for you to slaughter, you'd be exhausted!"

Centurion Rider's brow furrowed as well. Before forcefully boarding the enemy vessel, he hadn't expected that intruders would already be operating inside Ronan's warship. They had originally planned to minimize casualties and end the battle quickly, but now it was clear that had been a grave mistake—perhaps they should have attacked from outside from the start.

He wondered silently how they had managed to infiltrate the ship, thereby foiling Ronan's meticulously arranged plan for a swift decapitation.

Without hesitation, he sent a covert signal to the Nova Corps warship that was currently surrounding the Meteorite ship. "We are completely surrounded within Ronan's warship; the plan is in jeopardy. Proceed immediately to disable this vessel's power system."

After all, a behemoth like the Meteorite wasn't so easily destroyed; its power had to be cut first.

Ronan's gaze swept over Nebula, who was perched on Abomination's back. "Thanos has planted someone by my side to keep an eye on me. I deliberately sent Nebula to her death—and yet, you let her live."

Under control, Nebula's face remained impassive, though inside she seethed with anger. Transformed into this wretched form by Thanos, she had long harbored resentment toward him. Originally, she had intended to defect to Ronan's side, but now that notion was utterly dead.

Surveying the Kree soldiers with their weapons raised all around them, Garus recalled that last time he had refrained from showcasing his summoning abilities before Ronan. Perhaps their enemy's plan was to overwhelm them by sheer numbers.

Ronan stepped back a few paces. At his feet, a thick metal wall shot up, isolating him from the others. "I admit I'm no match for some of you," he declared, "but I have no intention of fighting you."

At that moment, countless beams of light erupted from the weapons wielded by the Kree, lashing out at everyone in the hall. Before the enemy could close in, a golden shield materialized around the members of the Nova Corps—a barrier forged from Nova force that intercepted the Kree assault. Around Garus and his companions, a green shield sprang into existence, enveloping them in its protective embrace.

As the dazzling light filled their vision, even Drax—who had been eager to exact his revenge—had no choice but to huddle within the shield's safety.

Faced with such a concentrated barrage, it was only a matter of time before their anti-magic barrier would be breached. A proactive counterattack was imperative.

From within Garus's spatial storage drifted forth the Helm of Domination and the Runic Armor. The Helm bolstered his mental resolve as his deathly power merged with the void, bridging the world of the living and that of the dead. In response, a bone-chilling wind swept through the hall.

At the feet of the Kree, arcane sigils materialized. From each, a hideous hand emerged, dripping with green pus. In an instant, Garus's undead legion appeared—and their numbers far outstripped the Kree soldiers.

Ronan, stationed at the control console, could only watch with eyes wide in disbelief. An undead legion! he thought.

Observing everything, Centurion Rider's expression changed in an instant. As a high-ranking member of the Nova Corps, he was privy to certain secrets. Legend spoke of one of the universe's five great deities—the Goddess of Death—who commanded a legion composed of the dead, a force strikingly similar to the monstrosities before him. Rumor had it that Thanos himself had been driven to a frenzied spree of slaughter under her lure. What, then, did these Earthlings have in common with the Goddess of Death? But for now, since they weren't yet outright enemies, he set such thoughts aside.

The Nova force shield—born from the collective might of their team—began to disintegrate under the enemy's assault, jolting Rider back into focus. "Disperse and attack!" he commanded. At his order, the Nova Corps members split up, launching a counteroffensive against their foes. Each possessed physical capabilities far beyond those of ordinary humans, yet with enemy numbers so overwhelming, casualties were inevitable.

Meanwhile, Star-Lord and his allies—shielded by the gargoyles summoned by Garus—continued their assault. Garus's summoned ghouls, stitched abominations, and other low-level undead creatures encircled the Kree, their fetid maws latching onto enemy armor. Star-Lord and his crew even deployed confiscated weapons to pick off the Kree, and soon the hall devolved into utter chaos.

Crack! The low-level ghouls, feeble by nature, could barely withstand the onslaught. A single swing of a Kree battle-axe could cleave them in two—though Garus had never intended for these expendable undead to bear the brunt of the fight.

"Corpse explosion!" A ghoul among the Kree ranks erupted in a violent detonation. Corrosive, plague-ridden flesh fragments burst outward, splattering over faces and arms. The searing pain of corrosion sent the soldiers into agonized shrieks. Even those who escaped direct hits found themselves infected by the airborne miasma of plague—a disease so alien it left their bodies weakened and instantly stripped of combat capability.

Meanwhile, a banshee's piercing shriek split the air, inflicting splitting headaches on the Kree. Their grip on their weapons faltered as a result. This indiscriminate area attack affected friend and foe alike, but fortunately, the members of the Guardians of the Galaxy were anything but ordinary—and for now, they managed to hold on.

Behind an alloy wall as he manipulated his warship, Ronan turned ashen. In this world, anyone capable of summoning the dead was recognized by the Goddess of Death and wielded formidable power. He couldn't help but think just how unlucky he was.

With Garus's relentless summoning, the numbers of undead soon overwhelmed the Kree soldiers. Ronan's hopes were dashed as every Kree in the hall was eliminated, leaving nothing but a floor littered with corpses and remains—not only those of the Kree, but also of the various undead conjured by Garus.

"Ugh!" Star-Lord's face went pale as he couldn't hold back his revulsion and vomited. "I'm never eating meat again!"

Then, a brilliant golden radiance enveloped Centurion Rider. The power of Nova force transformed him into a miniature sun, and in an instant, the encroaching plague dissolved like melting snow.

Garus could confirm without doubt that this power was identical to the Holy Light of Azeroth.

Nova Force…

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