Kyle pinched the small blade between his fingers while watching Gamora flee in panic. The transition from seeing her to contemplating killing her happened in the blink of an eye.
Since the thought had crossed his mind, there was no room for hesitation. In the next moment, he put his thoughts into action—
He ignited a switch inside him, and sparkles of dazzling energy emerged from Kyle's fingertips. The alloy blade he had been holding suddenly burst open from the tip with cracks branching out and spreading rapidly along the blade. Each crack emitted a faint glow.
"Go," Kyle uttered calmly and the blade exploded into countless small, sharp shards, glimmering as they pierced through the air like projectiles aimed at Gamora's back, who had already fled ten meters away.
As Gamora continued her desperate sprint, she couldn't shake off the chilling sensation creeping up her spine. Her extensive combat experience gave her a terrifying illusion that no matter how she ran forward, rolled tactically, or dodged left and right, she couldn't escape the man's attack from behind.
The flying shards had completely sealed off her escape route, leaving her feeling like a prisoner with a blade held to her throat, unable to resist or flee.
"It's over..."
Gamora's mind went blank. As she thought this, she suddenly felt a tug at her waist and was swiftly pulled towards Rocket, who was standing nearby. Then, thick and sturdy branches quickly formed an umbrella-like shield around them, protecting them from the onslaught of sharp metal shards.
"Hiss, Hiss, Hiss!"
The alloy shards, like reinforced Gatling bullets, pierced through the thick and tough tree body of Groot, leaving some wounds visible from the front to the back scene, embedding themselves into the wall with undiminished speed.
"Oh? You actually managed to save them. No wonder you're considered the strongest support in the future Guardians of the Galaxy..." Kyle murmured with slight surprise as he looked at Groot, who was protecting Gamora and Rocket, and whose own body was riddled with holes.
Groot slowly lifted his withered arm, revealing Gamora and Rocket inside his embrace. Rocket, holding his firearm, swallowed hard, his eyes wary of Kyle who was a dozen meters away. "My God, what was that just now? It's the first time I've seen Groot sustain such serious injuries!"
"You don't need to tell me that, I already know," Gamora muttered to herself.
Groot, let's go!" Rocket quickly said while raising his guns and aiming them at Kyle, firing a fierce barrage of shots.
Seeing Kyle not reacting, his appearance as a disguised guard shifting in the flickering light, the black liquid expanded and covered his entire body, shaping into a form-fitting dark battle suit.
"Ding, Ding!"
The bullets that landed on Kyle all rebounded, falling to the ground with a series of crisp sounds.
Kyle took a step forward, but his limbs were bound by the vines that came flying towards him.
This was Groot's handiwork. Its hands split into four tough vines, combined with the strength of a Superhuman being, its binding abilities were far stronger than high-tech iron chains.
Rocket, seeing that conventional firearms were ineffective against Kyle, revealed an incredulous expression. After Kyle's limbs were bound by the vines, he sighed lightly and said, "Give it up. Once you're bound, no one can break free from him."
"Is that so?" Kyle smiled faintly, not resorting to the power of fire god or fusion energy. He simply extracted the strength of his muscles. Despite his limbs being firmly bound by the vines, he laboriously lifted his feet, accompanied by the sound of the vines creaking and tightening, and took a calm step forward.
With the first step taken, soon came the second, the third... Kyle ignored the vines' restraint and walked towards Gamora with increasing ease.
"Don't slack off, put some effort in, Groot!" Rocket wiped the sweat from his forehead and patted his old friend's head. It wasn't until Gamora gestured and pointed to the ground that Rocket realized, to his horror, that Groot's feet were deeply embedded in the floor, and the dense roots had even torn through the Iron floor of the prison!
Despite Groot exerting his full strength, he couldn't stop the man's footsteps.
"Damn it! Gamora, he's after you, hurry, run!" Rocket shouted urgently as Kyle drew closer.
"What about you?" Gamora clenched her fists.
"Do you think I want to do this? We've known each other for less than two days, and now I'm risking my life for you. But right now, Groot can't escape, so I have to stay!" Rocket gritted his teeth, starting to reload his firearm.
"Then I'll stay too. If it weren't for you guys just now, I would've died," Gamora took a deep breath, flicking her dark-red hair.
"This is really a tough spot." Rocket sighed repeatedly.
As Kyle approached within five meters, Rocket and the others were preparing for a desperate fight. Suddenly, a tattooed, bald man with a muscular upper body rushed forward from behind Kyle, firmly grabbing his arms.
"Drax the Destroyer?" Rocket exclaimed in astonishment.
Gamora was equally surprised. Just a few days ago, this Destroyer had wanted to kill her for his avenge, but now he was unexpectedly on their side.
"Don't overthink it. I'm not trying to help you. It's just that if you die, there will be fewer people willing to oppose Ronan!" Drax growled, exerting all his strength to pull Kyle back.
With Groot and Drax exerting their forces, Kyle's movements finally came to a halt.
"Are we all here now?"
Kyle's expression remained calm even in this situation. Looking around, almost all the future members of the Guardians of the Galaxy were present, except for Star-Lord.
In this situation, should he eliminate Gamora, or should everything come to an end?
As Kyle pondered, Drax, panting heavily behind him, suddenly taunted, "What's wrong, did you run out of steam, kid?"
The hall suddenly fell silent.
Rocket and Gamora looked at each other with wide eyes, feeling frustrated. Why dod this muscle-headed guy provoke him like that?
Just now, they realized that Kyle's intent to kill was pure but not strong, like a fleeting thought that might fade away in the next moment.
But now...
"Then let me show you the real power."
A smirk played on Kyle's lips as his pitch-black pupils turned into shattered gold, and a faint golden flame erupted from his body.
The moment the golden flames appeared, the temperature in the prison area soared, and Groot and Drax let out extremely agonizing screams one after another!
(End of the chapter)
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