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Chapter 283 - Chapter 284: Uncle Yondu Was Taken by Onii-chan

Chapter 284: Uncle Yondu Was Taken by Onii-chan

On a strange, unfamiliar planet…

Allen took a moment to rest.

A streak of red light pierced the sky and shot directly toward him.

"Ohoho, another Red Lantern Ring delivery!"

Allen happily accepted the ring, but didn't put it on immediately. With a mischievous look on his face, he muttered, "These guys definitely sent me a nerfed version of the ring. Do they think I'm dumb enough to fall for it?"

Once bitten, twice shy. Naturally, he'd learned to be more cautious.

The Violet Ring was a perfect example.

He might be crazy, but he wasn't stupid. How could he not see through the true intentions of the Lantern Corps leaders? Granting him a ring was just a way to lock onto his location.

All he had to do was not put it on and bind with it—that alone would be enough to ruin their plan.

"A nerfed ring—what good is that supposed to do?"

The Violet Ring on his hand was already a prime example. It couldn't even generate basic violet crystals—completely useless, just a glowing ornament at best.

He examined the new ring closely, studying its inner workings.

As a mage, Allen could clearly sense the intricate emotional magic within the construct.

And with his background as an alchemist, he was already contemplating how to reforge the ring.

"All ring functions come from the Lantern Beast… so what if I just install a new one?"

In that moment, a bold idea flashed through Allen's mind.

Meanwhile, the six Lantern Corps leaders had returned to planet Korugar.

Atrocitus had sent a ring, but with no response whatsoever—it was like casting a stone into the sea, vanishing without a trace.

"Could he be getting suspicious?" Atrocitus asked, starting to doubt.

It was certainly a strong possibility. A mistake like that shouldn't be repeated twice.

"Not necessarily."

Sinestro offered a different perspective. "I think Allen's mind is a bit… off. He's bound to do something completely irrational."

"How about I send him a Blue Ring?" Saint Walker suggested.

"Let's just give him the Indigo one too," added Indigo-1.

Indigo-1 agreed. As long as he swore allegiance with any one ring, they could instantly lock onto his location.

And one person could only bind with one ring per Corps.

The standard procedure was for the leader to recite the welcome oath and activate a forced recruitment protocol.

Little did they realize, this was a meat bun thrown to a dog—never to return.

Blue and Indigo beams streaked across the sky, vanishing into the distance.

Looking up, they were surprised to see Larfleeze appear.

The temporary agent of the Orange Lanterns seemed to have stepped out of his mental shadows, likely here to propose cooperation.

Though greedy, Larfleeze hadn't lost his mind.

Their target also possessed a Yellow Ring, so it was clear that Sinestro wouldn't let this go easily.

"What are all of you doing here?!"

The moment Larfleeze saw the six leaders gathered, he grew uneasy, quietly wondering if they were ganging up on him.

"Perfect timing."

Abin Sur quickly explained the situation to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings.

In truth, they had been struggling to locate Allen—only for him to walk right into their net.

"So that's it. We share the same goal," Larfleeze nodded, taking out the Orange Lantern Battery and remotely cutting off its energy stream to give Allen some trouble.

Once the Orange Ring ran out of power, the rest of the rings would just become useless accessories.

"I've got a question—does the Green Ring on our target's hand still receive energy from Oa's central battery?" Indigo-1 asked.

Indeed, the main problem was the Green Ring. As long as it had a steady energy supply, the Orange Ring as an intermediary wouldn't be able to cut it off completely.

At best, the other rings could be used to lock onto his position.

"Don't worry. If the Green Ring isn't officially registered, the central battery won't provide any energy."

Still, Abin Sur was curious. What kind of Green Ring did Allen have, that it could function independently from Oa? It made no sense.

If they ever saw the full power of the Phantom Ring, it could well become their worst nightmare.

After all, the Phantom Ring evolved from the Green Ring and fused with the anti-universe's Oa central energy.

For now, they could only wait quietly for Allen to swear the oath and bind with one of the new rings.

At the same time, the various Lantern Corps forces were summoned to Korugar.

After their previous failure, there was no way they'd lower their guard again. They planned to capture the target swiftly and decisively.

Back in Knowhere.

The Guardians of the Galaxy had been enjoying a carefree life in Allen's absence—eating, drinking, and wasting their days away in full-on slacker mode.

With plenty of credits on hand, they could afford to party for quite a while.

And they hadn't been sent on any missions recently.

"Did you guys hear? The Yellow Lanterns and Green Lanterns made peace."

"No way. Aren't they mortal enemies? That can't be true—you probably got some fake news."

"Impossible. It came from a high-ranking figure in an advanced civilization. I've even got the footage."

"Let's see it."

The others, still nursing hangovers, perked up when they heard the next table talking about the Yellow Lantern Corps. They all turned their attention over.

They remembered Allen joining the Yellow Lanterns and heading straight to their headquarters.

If not for overhearing this, they might never have thought about looking for him again.

"Show me the footage."

Hela strode over to the neighboring table, imposing as ever.

The bounty hunters sitting there didn't dare make a sound.

Just days ago, the Guardians had beaten up an old veteran Ravager crew—Hela had shined in that battle, holding the line on her own.

Plus, the Guardians had generously treated bounty hunters in the bar before, so out of respect, the crowd kept quiet.

The bounty hunter activated a 3D projection of the video.

Sure enough, it showed the Green and Yellow Lantern Corps chasing a three-colored figure.

Hela zoomed in on the Yellow Lanterns, searching for Allen. The others all crowded around to help.

"Where's the boss?"

"Don't tell me he got kicked out already?"

"Rumor has it Yellow Lantern Corps expulsion means death."

Suddenly, they couldn't help but worry.

Though their time with Allen had been short, the idea of losing a familiar friend still made them feel heavy inside.

"Not necessarily dead."

Hela shifted the view, locking onto the figure surrounded by a tri-colored aura.

Everyone's faces scrunched up like wilted flowers.

Good news: Allen was alive.

Bad news: Allen was being hunted by both Corps.

None of them had expected that.

But thinking back on it, it kinda tracked. This was very on-brand for Allen—so much so that he might've provoked both sides into a temporary truce just to take him down.

"Nice weather. Let's all drink up."

Yondu didn't even mention rescuing Allen, instead raising a toast for another round.

What a joke—Lantern Corps weren't just some Ravager gang. There were thousands of them. Even with Death Goddess Hela on their side, they might be able to handle a few dozen or a hundred at most—but no way could they face off against a whole Corps.

"Didn't drink enough yesterday—today we go all out!" Frank agreed.

"Brain stew, I want roasted brain stew!"

Everyone avoided talking about Allen, knowing deep down that getting involved would be suicide.

Woooooo...

Suddenly, alarms rang out across Knowhere.

"What's going on? Are we under attack?"

"Who'd be crazy enough to mess with the Collector?"

"I gotta see who's got the guts."

The residents of Knowhere all flooded into the streets, looking up at the enormous starship hanging in orbit.

The ship's dark exterior exuded an overwhelming sense of dread, as if it could crash down at any moment.

At the same time, the Collector's security forces rose into the sky, forming a standoff.

"That's Apokolips' fleet!"

Uxas' face went pale the moment he recognized the ship's design.

The distinct style of Apokolips was unmistakable, and an ominous feeling crept into his heart.

Moments later, countless winged, skeletal Parademons clad in armor poured out from the ship's hangars.

Parademons were soldiers created by Apokolips, transformed from enemy captives into expendable suicide troops.

They were armed for various missions—brutal and mindless.

Apokolips was notoriously cruel, even to its native people, let alone subjugated worlds.

Uxas had once tried to change all that. Unlike his ruthless brother Darkseid, he'd hoped to seize the throne and transform Apokolips into something less hellish.

Unfortunately, he'd failed—spectacularly. If not for allies who shared his ideals, he might've already been turned into a mindless Parademon himself.

"Drax, are you really going to defy the authority of the Elder Council?"

A massive projection appeared, displaying the Collector draped in his signature fur cloak, calmly questioning the intruders.

Knowhere's defenses were more than enough to suppress low-level bounty hunters and Ravagers, but against a second-tier galactic power like this? Not even close.

So the Collector brought out the big guns: the Elder Council.

Immortal beings, each ruling over at least one planet—their combined strength was enough to make even top-tier empires hesitate.

"Collector, I have no intention of starting a war."

From the starship stepped a tall, muscular man who looked quite a bit like Uxas.

He was Drax, the new ruler of Apokolips—and Uxas' older brother.

"No intention of war? Then why bring a fleet?" the Collector pressed.

Showing up with a mothership wasn't exactly a friendly visit.

"I'm hunting down an Apokolips fugitive. I ask that you hand him over."

Drax raised a hand, revealing a hologram of Uxas' face.

On the ground, all eyes from the bounty hunters turned toward the Guardians.

No doubt, this intel came from the High Evolutionary or Ronan the Accuser.

"Fine."

The Collector warned, "You may take him—but no harm to anyone else."

He had no choice but to compromise. No one wanted to get into trouble with Apokolips.

Despite being "only" a second-tier force, none of the three major empires dared provoke Apokolips lightly. The reason? Its former ruler, Yuga Khan, and his terrifying legacy.

"With me here, you're not taking any of my teammates!"

Just then, Hela stepped forward with Mjolnir in hand.

Apokolips or not, she was Asgardian. She gave no quarter.

Uxas looked at her with a complicated expression—touched, perhaps. At least someone cared enough to stand up for him.

"The Goddess of Death?"

Drax's pupils narrowed, a flicker of wariness in his eyes.

While Asgard wasn't well known among ordinary civilizations, to the ancient powers, it was a different story. Earth was… special. Even Yuga Khan had warned never to invade it lightly.

"If you want to take Uxas…"

Hela was about to say something bold when Mjolnir flew out of her hand, transforming into lightning and streaking off into deep space.

Everyone stared. The room suddenly felt awkward.

"…Just take him," Hela said dryly.

She immediately realized that Allen must've summoned Mjolnir.

Seeing how stuck they were, Uxas stepped forward calmly. "This day was bound to come. Don't die for me."

He raised a hand to stop his teammates from speaking and walked toward the waiting Parademons.

He held out his hands to be shackled.

As his teammates looked on in frustration, Uxas ascended the starship in a beam of light.

They watched the ship disappear into the stars, powerless to stop it.

Without Mjolnir, Hela couldn't access her full strength.

"Boss lady… should we disband the team?" Yondu asked nervously.

"Not yet," Hela said solemnly. "I can sense Mjolnir's location. We're going to find Allen—then storm Apokolips and bring Uxas back."

On the unfamiliar planet…

Allen raised his right hand and waited for quite a while before muttering, "Why the heck is Meow Meow Hammer still not here? Am I really that far away?"

Indeed, Allen was summoning Thor's hammer.

He needed to reforge the Lantern Ring, and for that, he needed a handy tool. Naturally, he thought of borrowing Thor's hammer.

What he hadn't expected was everything that had happened in the Void Realm.

Even in her prime, Hela might not have been a match for Drax. There was a real possibility that Uxas had died on the spot—possibly even dragging the rest of the team down with him.

Boom!

A bolt of lightning struck down from the heavens.

As the smoke cleared, Allen's hair and face were scorched black, as if he'd been hit directly by lightning.

Cough…

He exhaled a puff of white smoke.

Allen was momentarily stunned.

It was obvious that the hammer had a bit of a temper. After all, crossing countless star systems just to answer a call—of course it had to punish the one who summoned it.

"Aw, come on, Meow. I called you in for a little overtime—of course you're annoyed, but hey, don't be mad just yet," Allen said in a consoling tone.

The hammer gave a slight tremble in protest.

Allen grabbed the waistband of his underwear with one hand and held the hammer in front of his crotch with the other, threatening, "Look, I'm not an unreasonable guy… but don't make me pee on you."

At that, the hammer went completely still—clearly unwilling to suffer that kind of humiliation.

"Let's do this!"

Allen raised the hammer high and shouted, "Balala the Magic Fairy—transform!"

In an instant, the divinity of the Thunder God descended upon him, covering his body inch by inch in armor, granting him the full might of a thunder god.

"The Hammer God… makes his dazzling debut!"

He struck a pose like a magical girl—utterly embarrassing.

Luckily, there was no one else around. Otherwise, someone would've definitely recorded it just to replay and mock him endlessly.

Of course, Thor's hammer wasn't just a smithing tool—its divine essence could also grant terrifying divine power.

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