- In Marvel: I Start by Marrying Scarlett Witch [Complete]
- MWM Chapter 333
After escaping from Halfworld, every time Rocket thought about the death of his three friends, he wanted to immediately return and take revenge on the High Evolutionary. However, the High Evolutionary’s influence in the universe was vast and powerful—far beyond anything Rocket could handle alone. He was lucky enough to have escaped in the first place.
“I told you, I know a lot about your story,” Leo said with a mysterious smile.
Rocket was silent for a moment before replying, “If you really know about the High Evolutionary, then you should understand just how powerful he is and how extensive his influence is. Even with your abilities, you wouldn’t stand a chance against him. It’d be suicide.”
“That’s not necessarily true. How about this? If you don’t believe me, you can join us first. Before I help you get your revenge on the High Evolutionary, I’ll pay you a salary—20,000 a month.”
Leo offered a financial incentive.
“I am Groot!” Groot chimed in, leaning his head forward.
Rocket raised four fingers. “It’s the two of us, so make that 40,000 a month.”
“Deal,” Leo agreed without hesitation.
For him, 40,000 a month was pocket change.
Just then, a new task notification rang in Leo’s ear. Opening the task panel, he scrolled to the side mission tab:
**Side Mission: Kill the High Evolutionary, help Rocket Raccoon take revenge. Reward: 1 year of Little World Time.**
“It really triggered a mission,” Leo’s eyes lit up as he read the new task.
The reason he had offered to help Rocket avenge his friends by killing the High Evolutionary wasn’t just to recruit Rocket into the Guardians of the Galaxy. He could have done that with money alone. No, he had deliberately raised the issue to see if it would trigger a side mission.
Sure enough, it worked, and the reward was a full year of Little World Time.
“Hopefully, when I encounter Ronan, I can trigger another mission. That way, I won’t have to worry about running out of Little World Time.”
“Can you believe this? Forty thousand a month! Groot, we’ve hit the jackpot!” Rocket grinned widely, his excitement evident.
For bounty hunters like Rocket and Groot, 40,000 units a month was a huge sum—especially as a steady income. It was like going from a monthly salary of barely enough to get by to someone suddenly offering you a million every month.
Only a fool would turn that down.
“I am Groot,” Groot nodded in agreement. Rocket was smarter, so following Rocket’s lead was always the right choice, something Groot had learned well in prison.
“Captain, we’re ready to go. Destination: Planet TS-214,” Leo called out to Star-Lord, now seated at the helm.
With a grin, Star-Lord pulled the lever to full throttle, and the ship shot off toward Drax’s planet.
…
**Five days later, near Planet TS-214.**
“Captain, we’ve arrived at TS-214, but we’ve got a problem!” Star-Lord called out.
Awakened from his meditation by a knock from Gamora, Leo hurried to the cockpit with Wanda by his side. As they approached the front of the ship, a blue-green planet came into view, but something was clearly wrong. Above the planet hovered a massive, city-sized battleship unleashing a relentless attack below. Countless smaller ships flitted about, providing support for the onslaught.
“That’s Ronan’s *Dark Aster*. I didn’t expect to run into it here,” Leo observed.
“Captain, I’m starting to think killing Ronan might not be as easy as we thought,” Star-Lord gulped, staring at the massive ship and its terrifying firepower. The *Milano* was like an ant next to an elephant—if the *Dark Aster* so much as glanced in their direction with its weapons, they’d be obliterated.
“Wait, are you guys serious? Killing Ronan? Just the five of us?” Rocket jumped up from his seat, disbelief on his face.
“Not us—just me,” Leo replied, stroking his chin thoughtfully. He turned to Nebula and said, “Send a message to Nova Prime, let them know we’ve found Ronan and that they should prepare to take control of the *Dark Aster*.”
They had been away from Xandar for nearly two weeks without receiving any updates from the Nova Corps about Ronan’s whereabouts, only to stumble upon him themselves. But this was just as well—killing Ronan and picking up Drax along the way would save time.
As he processed this, another familiar notification rang in Leo’s ear:
**Side Mission: Kill Ronan and his forces, prevent the destruction of Planet TS-214. Reward: 1 year of Little World Time.**
“Perfect,” Leo smiled, pleased with the reward.
A few moments later, Nebula reported back, “Nova Corps has responded. They’re mobilizing all nearby planetary forces to come to our aid.”
“That’s fine, as long as someone can pilot the *Dark Aster* back,” Leo replied. He knew Nova Prime didn’t fully trust them to take down Ronan, so he didn’t bother explaining further. He then turned to Wanda, “Make sure to keep them safe. I’ll be back soon.”
“You can count on me, Captain. As long as I’m flying, nothing will happen to us. I’m the best pilot in the galaxy!” Star-Lord enthusiastically replied, thinking the instruction was meant for him.
Gamora and Nebula exchanged eye rolls, knowing that Wanda wasn’t some fragile tagalong—she was a powerful sorceress who had already demonstrated her strength by taking down dozens of armed Ravagers aboard Karkala’s ship.
“Please be careful. That ship doesn’t look like it’ll be easy to deal with,” Wanda said, concern evident in her voice as she gazed at the massive *Dark Aster*.
Though she had immense faith in Leo’s abilities, they were facing an unknown alien enemy and a colossal warship. If Leo hadn’t insisted she stay behind, she would have joined him in the fight.
“Don’t worry. If things get tough, I’ll just use Apparition and come right back. I won’t take any unnecessary risks,” Leo reassured her.
The last thing he wanted was for Wanda to lose control if he got hurt. That would probably mean the end of the *Dark Aster*, which he planned to keep as their base.
“Today, you’ll all see the full extent of my power!”
After calming Wanda, Leo instructed Star-Lord to keep the ship in a safe zone. Without donning any protective gear, he Apparated directly out of the ship.
“Susanoo!”