Violent purple energy danced wildly at Peter's fingertips.
The Power Stone was like a top-tier wild stallion, clashing frantically against Peter's fingertips, trying to slip away.
Anyone else enduring this level of energy impact would have been reduced to ashes in a matter of minutes.
But the current Peter was enough to ignore this impact, even tossing the Power Stone into the air and catching it casually like he was playing with a glass marble.
"Give it back to me!"
Ronan, lying in the ruins, saw this and his eyes instantly turned blood-red.
A Beast-like roar escaped his throat.
Dragging his heavy body, he stared fixedly at the purple gem in Peter's hand as if possessed, shouting deliriously:
"A lowly commoner like you has no right to wield it."
"That is the power of a god!"
"Only I, only the great Ronan the Accuser, am qualified to possess it!"
Peter couldn't help but scoff, not even giving the guy a direct look:
"I have to say, you really have a talent for making me laugh."
"A piece of trash like you, who can't even hold onto a stone, dares to call yourself a god in front of me?"
Thoroughly enraged by this humiliation, Ronan lunged recklessly at Peter's calf, his hands grasping forward greedily.
Seeing his insatiable greed, Peter sighed mockingly and then casually tossed the Power Stone into Ronan's hand.
"No!"
Seeing this, Irani almost had a heart attack on the spot!
She was terrified that Ronan would truly be restored to full health after being buffed by the Power Stone, completely reversing the tide of battle!
"Mine! It's mine!"
Ronan lunged at the Power Stone like a dog diving for food, gripping it tightly in his hand.
But he had forgotten that without the help of the Kree's high-tech power hammer, even in his prime, he wouldn't have been able to master the stone's power.
Now, for one, he was weakened after inhaling the pollen from the Deep Forest Emergence.
Secondly, the previous kick from the Wood Golem Jutsu had shattered all his defenses, leaving half his bones in pieces.
How could he possibly control the Power Stone in this state?
The moment his fingers touched the Power Stone, the terrifying power caused countless cracks to split across them.
The cracks continued to spread at an incredible speed, and in the blink of an eye, his entire body looked like a piece of porcelain about to shatter.
Even so, Ronan still refused to let go, unwilling to give up the power within his reach.
So, Peter nonchalantly raised his right foot.
He stomped down hard on Ronan's head.
Crack!
The scalp-numbing sound of cracking bones echoed clearly through the silent dark aster.
Ronan the Accuser, the supreme figure of the Kree Empire, didn't even get to utter another word before his entire body exploded completely like a ripe watermelon.
As the wind blew, countless fragments scattered through the air, causing everyone present to gasp in shock.
"He... just stomped Ronan to death like that?"
"That was Ronan... even without the Power Stone's buff, he wasn't someone we could easily deal with!"
"Where on earth did that Earthling come from?" Yondu couldn't help but widen his eyes.
He wondered to himself, are Earthlings really this terrifying?
"Wow~ I can't believe that big guy shattered even more thoroughly than I did!"
Suddenly, a voice spoke up; though weak, it couldn't hide its roguish tone.
Hearing this voice, Gamora and the others were startled, then let out high-pitched screams.
It was Star-Lord, who had previously been hit by the Power Stone's energy surge and left covered in cracks, now crawling up from the ground at some point.
His body was still covered in cracks, but he spoke as if nothing were wrong.
Seeing this, the Destroyer thought Star-Lord's corpse had come back to life; despite his muscular build, he jumped into Groot's arms like a frightened little girl.
"I am Groot!" Groot was also startled, hopping and jumping around, nearly stepping on Rocket's tail.
Gamora's eyes welled up. Ignoring the gazes of others, she threw herself into Star-Lord's arms, pounding his back hard:
"You're alive! That's wonderful!"
"Cough, cough!" Star-Lord coughed with difficulty:
"Uh... I feel a little bit dead now!"
While the Guardians were busy clowning around, Peter ignored the shock and noise of the others.
He simply picked the Power Stone up from the ground again.
Just then, a system notification sounded in his ear.
[Detected golden sacrificeable item: Power Stone]
[Power Stone: One of the six Infinity Stones formed at the birth of the Universe, possessing infinite energy and extremely high combat value]
[Sacrifice to obtain points: 300,000]
"Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousands... hundred thousands?!"
Seeing that exaggerated string of zeros, Peter couldn't help but gasp.
"Holy cow, three hundred thousand! What a fortune!"
Although the number was staggering, Peter regained his composure after the brief shock and couldn't help but complain:
"No way, system. I remember when I took gungnir from Loki, that thing provided 150,000 points.
This Power Stone is the strongest of the six Infinity Stones, and you're only offering 300,000 sacrifice points?!"
The system was silent for a moment before responding:
[The value of this item indeed exceeds 300,000 sacrifice points, but because it is too dangerous and ordinary people cannot wield it, there is a lack of market demand]
"But you still can't just offer 300,000! For that little money, I'd rather hoard it myself!"
After waiting for about a few seconds, the system indeed adjusted the price.
[System loophole detected, repairing...]
[Sacrifice to obtain points: 400,000]
"System, how about you repair it some more?"
This time Peter waited a long time, but there was no response.
Fine!
It seemed 400,000 was the system's limit.
Although he still felt it was a bit of a loss, Peter chose to sacrifice it.
Mainly because he really didn't need the Power Stone that much.
Because the Power Stone can only be used to amplify the power of other stones, not the power of other energy systems.
In other words, even if Peter kept the Power Stone, it would just be an extra Power Stone mode that couldn't be mixed with his other energies.
For the current Peter, this was quite redundant.
After all, whether it was Dual God Resonance, Cosmic Energy, or the Celestial Genes he was about to obtain, the combat power they could exert was not inferior to the Power Stone.
Furthermore, because he had the Horse Talisman, he wasn't lacking in recovery.
Besides, keeping the Power Stone might draw Thanos's attention and could give him a chance to snap his fingers.
For Peter, the disadvantages completely outweighed the benefits.
So, rather than keeping the stone and having Thanos covet it, it was better to sacrifice it for a richer combat system, while simultaneously putting an end to Thanos's thoughts of snapping his fingers!
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