Whether it was the Avengers in the sky, the civilians on the ground, or even the kree warship far away in space, every creature who witnessed this scene through various means had their brains crash.
Tathos remained frozen mid-air, his hammer-wielding posture held in place.
He looked down at the bare hammer handle left in his hand.
Then he looked up at the black-haired man opposite him, who was completely unharmed, not even a single strand of his hair out of place.
His blue skin began to lighten due to extreme shock and fear.
"No... impossible..."
He muttered in disbelief.
"My... Universal War Hammer..."
That was one of the Kree Empire's highest technological achievements.
It was a weapon bestowed upon him by Ronan.
Indestructible, capable of breaking anything.
He had once used this war hammer to conquer countless planets and judge countless civilizations.
But today, right here, on this Earth, which they considered a low-level civilization, it was shattered by a guy who looked like a mortal, with a single punch?
This isn't real! This must be an illusion!
"It just broke?"
Tel-Rol retracted his fist, pouting in dissatisfaction.
He watched the metallic-sheened fragments float down past him.
"I thought it would at least make me use a little force."
This understated complaint made everyone present shiver involuntarily.
Tony Stark's smart faceplate was flashing red with frantic warnings.
"Warning! Unintelligible physical impact detected!"
"Target's instantaneous peak punch force has exceeded sensor limits!"
"Recalibrating... Recalibration failed!"
"Recommendation... Immediate retreat advised!"
"Retreat?"
Tony looked at Tel-Rol, who stood in the air as if nothing had happened, feeling his worldview being repeatedly rubbed into the ground.
"f.r.i.d.a.y., tell me, how do I retreat from a monster who can shatter UFO-grade material with one punch?"
On the other side, Thor's expression was uglier than if he had swallowed a fly.
He knew the hardness of that war hammer better than anyone.
Earlier, he and Tathos had clashed for a long time, and his Mjolnir had only left scratches on it.
But now... he glanced at his own Mjolnir in his hand, then at Tel-Rol's seemingly ordinary fist.
If his hammer were to meet his fist in a punch... Thor dared not imagine.
Carol Danvers, the former ace pilot who had traversed the universe and witnessed countless grand spectacles, was completely stunned.
The light around her flickered erratically, mirroring her master's immense shock.
She had seen the most powerful Titans and the most bizarre Cosmic Celestials.
But she had never seen, nor heard of, any race capable of achieving such a feat with pure physical strength.
"You... what exactly... are you?"
Tathos dropped the hammer handle in his hand, his body drifting backward uncontrollably.
"Thing?"
Tel-Rol's brow furrowed.
He didn't like that term.
"I'm not a thing."
"No, I am... emmm..."
He looked at the terrified Tathos and shook his head.
"Forget it, there's nothing to say to a weakling like you."
"You've disappointed me greatly."
"Not even as strong as Kara."
With that, he slowly raised his right foot.
His body shifted slightly.
This movement was very slow, slow enough for everyone present to see clearly.
But Tathos couldn't dodge at all.
He could only watch, wide-eyed, as that foot grew larger and larger in his vision.
The next second, Tel-Rol's foot connected with his lower abdomen.
Tathos, in his entirety, transformed into a blue streak, shooting towards the edge of the sky at a speed that surpassed everyone's comprehension!
He directly pierced through the colossal warship in the sky, causing a massive explosion.
He instantly broke the sound barrier, leaving rings of white sonic boom clouds in the air.
Then came the second, the third... In everyone's sight, he became an increasingly smaller black dot.
In the blink of an eye, he vanished into the azure expanse of the sky.
Silence. A silence even more terrifying than before.
Everyone looked up at the empty sky, motionless, as if collectively petrified.
After a full ten seconds, f.r.i.d.a.y.'s report, filled with electronic static and equal shock, came through Tony's communicator.
"Sir..."
"Target... has escaped Earth's gravity."
"Currently... traveling at third cosmic velocity, heading towards... beyond the solar system."
"Estimated... will not be returning."
Tony opened his mouth, wanting to say something, like "Holy crap," or "Oh my god."
But he couldn't utter a single word.
He just stared blankly at the black-haired man who had retracted his foot, an expression of "nothing special" on his face.
The warship in the air lost power and began to fall towards the city below.
Everyone was alarmed, but just as they were about to react, another bright light illuminated the sky.
Tel-Rol formed his hands into claws, palms facing each other, power converging between them.
"Ha!!"
With a push of his palms, a thick energy beam shot out, completely engulfing the falling warship.
The Kree Soldiers inside the warship were still frantically preparing to evacuate when they felt a blinding light.
The energy beam directly blasted the warship into smithereens, leaving only dust to fall.
"Good thing, otherwise if something that big crashed, cousin would be troubled again."
Just then, a red and blue figure finally arrived, belatedly.
It was Superman, Clark Kent.
Upon arrival, he witnessed this bizarre scene.
The Avengers were frozen mid-air, like a flock of terrified quail.
The kree and his warship's aura had vanished without a trace.
And his good cousin, Tel-Rol, stood in the very center, boredly picking his ears.
Clark was utterly bewildered.
Had he arrived too late?
As he neared, he had felt a massive energy burst, only for it to disappear within seconds.
He steeled himself and flew to Tel-Rol's side.
"Tel, you..."
He was about to ask, "What did you do?"
Tel-Rol turned his head and looked at him with a disdainful expression.
"cousin, what took you so long?"
"I was almost bored to death."
"There's no one here who can even put up a fight."
With that, he gestured towards the group of utterly stunned Avengers below, and said in a critical tone, like someone picking cabbages at a market:
"Hey."
"You guys."
"Is there anyone stronger?"
"If not, I'm leaving."
"This planet is truly disappointing."