Xandar, Headquarters of the Nova Corps.
In the vast cosmos, among the three great empires, the Skrull Empire had already been completely dismantled by the Kree. Without the intervention of Captain Marvel, the remaining Skrulls would likely still be living on the run, hunted down relentlessly.
As for the Nova Empire, one of the three major powers, they couldn't even handle a minor Kree faction led by Ronan the Accuser. Even when Ronan's forces approached their doorstep, they hesitated to launch an immediate counterattack.
In his past life, Blake had read and watched countless movies and books about advanced civilizations. Many of these works portrayed such civilizations as peaceful, noble, and no longer reliant on material pursuits.
The more advanced a civilization became, the weaker its military strength often grew, unwilling to resort to war easily or maintain significant military power. On the surface, this seemed like a good thing—a step towards peace.
But true peace is enforced through the threat of overwhelming power. As Tony Stark's father once said, "Peace means having the biggest stick."
A great figure from Blake's homeland also said: "Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun!"
Though the contexts were different, the underlying principle held true. Unity and peace are often built on the foundation of strength.
Unfortunately, it seemed the Nova Empire didn't quite grasp this concept.
The Kree Empire pursued relentless militarization, while the Nova Empire had swung to the opposite extreme. This massive intergalactic empire relied solely on the Nova Corps for its defense.
Even after Ronan's blatant provocations, the Nova Empire didn't strengthen its defenses or military power. Instead, they pinned their hopes on Blake and his companions.
Their price for seeking help?
The mining rights to three resource-rich planets, a trove of advanced technological data centuries ahead of Earth, and even manpower to assist in terraforming the Moon and Mars, transforming them into secondary habitats for humanity.
These were the terms offered to enlist Blake and the others to deal with Ronan.
"With all due respect, the price you're offering should be more than enough to arm yourselves and eliminate Ronan, shouldn't it? After all, he's already lost the support of the Kree Empire," Natasha pointed out.
She, too, found it hard to understand how a massive galactic empire could be so threatened by a single fleet, to the point of fear and unrest.
"We have a peace treaty with the Kree Empire. Both sides dismantled a significant portion of their military forces. The galaxy needs peace. Ronan violated the treaty, but we cannot unilaterally rearm. Even if I believed it necessary, the elders would never approve," Nova Prime replied with a shrug, as if she saw nothing wrong with her stance.
Blake exchanged a glance with Tony, and Tony asked, "If we weren't here, what would you have done? Wait for them to attack first?"
"Ronan's forces are blockading us. He cannot breach the Nova Corps' defenses, and he poses no direct threat to our homeworld. If you hadn't come, we would've issued a galaxy-wide bounty. Though Ronan is notorious in the universe, an increased bounty would attract plenty of bounty fleets and Ravagers to deal with him."
Blake rolled his eyes, thinking, No wonder Thanos wiped you out so effortlessly in the movies.
In a universe filled with hostile forces and powerful, unpredictable third parties, putting faith in peace while cutting military strength was a recipe for disaster. If the Nova Empire didn't collapse, who would?
But seeing the utterly self-assured expression on Nova Prime's face, Blake wisely decided not to argue further.
Blake straightened up with an air of seriousness and began spouting nonsense: "Your dedication to and love for peace is truly admirable. I've heard that the Nova Corps has a certain energy-linking technology for battleships, which serves as an excellent defensive measure. I wonder if this technology is... accessible?"
He crossed his legs leisurely, his words intentionally vague yet his intent crystal clear: the current offer wasn't enough. That technology needed to be added to the deal.
This particular energy-linking technology was a core asset of the Nova Corps. Nova Prime's face showed a trace of hesitation at the request.
Apologizing briefly, she asked Blake to wait and turned to head into another room—clearly to discuss the matter with others.
Blake wasn't in a hurry. With the Space Stone in his possession, even if they refused outright, he had other ways of acquiring it.
Instead, he turned to chat casually with Tony and the others.
"I never imagined our first stop in space would involve fighting a fleet and then becoming mercenaries for an empire. We're just hillbillies from Earth!" Tony joked, a glint of amusement in his eyes. After all, this deal was incredibly profitable for them.
Forget the value of the three resource-rich planets; just the opportunity to terraform Mars and the Moon alone opened unimaginable possibilities for Earth's development. Given Earth's current technological capabilities, focusing all resources on transforming the Moon was conceivable, albeit bit by bit. But Mars? That was entirely out of reach.
"I didn't expect that either," Natasha said with a wide smile. "Who knew we'd get three planets and Mars' terraforming just from a little scuffle!"
"Oh, and don't forget," Tony added, his mind racing ahead. "Immigrating to Mars will require a lot of transport ships. Let's not waste time retrofitting; let's add another clause—have them prepare transport ships for Mars' migration."
Blake rolled his eyes dramatically and gave Tony a thumbs-up. "Trust the genius billionaire to think of everything."
Barely ten minutes later, Nova Prime rushed out of the room. Judging by the relieved expression on her face, it seemed the issue had been resolved—no doubt a testament to how much Ronan's harassment was driving them to the brink.
"The elders have agreed to your requests. However, there's one condition: this technology can only be used by Earth and its future affiliated planets. It cannot be transferred or shared with third parties in any form."
"Don't worry! This is for protecting ourselves—we'll make sure it doesn't get out," Blake assured her.
With the key issues resolved, the transport ships seemed trivial in comparison, especially since they had already given away core technology and planets.
The transfer of the three planets was swift, merely requiring registration in the Nova Empire's records. Until Blake's team sent people to take over, the Nova Corps would temporarily guard them.
As for the terraforming of Mars and the Moon, the Nova Empire would immediately dispatch teams to assess the environment and execute the plan.
When it came to dealing with Ronan, Blake and his companions were responsible for the action, but the Nova Empire would provide intelligence on Ronan's whereabouts.
Though the Nova Empire's stance on military readiness was naive, their status as one of the three major galactic powers wasn't for show.
In just a few days, news of Ronan's location reached them.
*******************************************
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"According to our intelligence, ever since Ronan was defeated here by your team last time, he went to seek out the Mad Titan, Thanos. Meanwhile, one of his small squads headed to a planet called Morag."
"We're not sure of their objective yet, but our people have been keeping a close watch in the vicinity. Once Ronan leaves Thanos' territory, we'll arrange for you to carry out your mission."
Thanos.
The name echoed in Blake's mind as he mulled it over.
Tony, however, couldn't resist breaking the silence.
"Mad Titan? That doesn't exactly sound like the nickname of a good guy. Who is he? One of Ronan's allies? If needed, we could take both of them on—just sweeten the deal a little, maybe throw in a few extra planets or something," Tony quipped.
Tony's offhand remark made the faces of everyone from the Nova Empire turn pale.
Even Blake silently gave Tony a mental thumbs-up for his boldness—straight-up proposing to skip levels and tackle the final boss? That takes guts.
Sensing the awkward tension, Tony quickly followed up, "Did I say something wrong? Is this Mad Titan really that hard to deal with?"
"Thanos, the Mad Titan, is one of the most powerful beings in the universe in recent years," Nova Prime began, her voice tinged with both awe and dread. "Since the ancient Celestials fell, two entities have been universally acknowledged as the closest to their level of power: Odin, the All-Father of Asgard, and the Mad Titan himself."
She sighed softly before continuing her explanation to Tony, Blake, and the others. "Unlike Odin, no one truly knows what Thanos' goals are. He controls thousands of planets, and the combined strength of his forces surpasses even that of the three great empires."
"He rarely takes action himself, but when he does, every planet he visits suffers the same fate: half its population is slaughtered. It's completely random, utterly indiscriminate. There's no rhyme or reason to it—it's just senseless slaughter."
"This is a terrifying individual. He alone can annihilate powerful fleets. No one in the universe willingly provokes him unless absolutely necessary."
Nova Prime's tone carried a sense of exasperation when discussing Ronan, but when she mentioned Thanos, it shifted to deep-seated fear and apprehension.
The palpable fear in her voice was enough to stop Tony from further attempting to negotiate. Instead, he asked directly, "If this Mad Titan is so untouchable, and Ronan has gone to him, wouldn't taking on Ronan risk provoking Thanos' retaliation?"
Nova Prime shook her head slightly, as though trying to dispel the terrible name from her thoughts, before responding. "No, he wouldn't. Thanos has never avenged his subordinates' failures. His massacres are completely random and purposeless. If his subordinates fail, he simply lets it go. You can rest assured on that front."
Tony shrugged noncommittally and shifted his gaze to Blake.
Blake gave Tony a subtle look, as if to say, Don't take unnecessary risks. We still have Earth behind us to think about.
To be honest, now that Blake was in this world, he couldn't rely entirely on what he'd seen in the movies. Without absolute certainty, he wasn't about to clash with Thanos head-on just yet.
At the very least, he intended to wait until they had control over two more Infinity Stones before even considering a direct confrontation with Thanos.
"Then I guess we'll wait a few more days," Tony said, stretching lazily. Truth be told, he wasn't in a rush. They'd only just arrived on Xandar, and he hadn't had his fill of experiencing its exotic charm. Spending a few more days here wasn't so bad.
Blake spent his days taking Natasha out sightseeing, while Tony roamed the planet with Groot, hunting for Xandarian wines. In just a few days, Groot had already been drunk multiple times.
Nova Prime had even provided each of them with several hundred thousand units of universal currency and arranged for the Nova Corps to assist them, ensuring they enjoyed their stay. Everyone had been having a good time.
If it weren't for Captain Rogers insisting on periodic team training sessions, Tony would've been tempted to fly the rest of the crew over here for a full-blown party.
"Blake, is it really okay for Groot to be drinking with Tony every day? He's so small—won't it be bad for him?"
When it came to the adorable little tree-like creature, most women found themselves completely defenseless against his charm.
In the base, everyone led by Natasha treated little Groot as if he were a child, even though they all knew how powerful the tiny tree-being truly was.
But watching the little guy following Tony around, drinking heavily every day, inevitably left some of them feeling a bit worried.
"Blake, let's go check on little Groot. I've noticed that many people here on Xandar are carrying weapons. If Groot keeps tagging along with Tony, drinking all the time, he might get into trouble," Natasha said, her concern evident.
Blake burst into laughter. "Don't worry! With Groot's abilities, even if something does happen, it'll be others who end up at a disadvantage. Besides, the Nova Corps is keeping an eye on us in secret—everything will be fine."
"But..." Natasha still seemed uneasy. Before she could finish her sentence, Tony's voice rang out from the distance.
"Let go of me, you damn... What the hell are you? A rabbit or a squirrel?!"
The two of them instantly recognized Tony's voice. Just as they were about to head toward the commotion, another sharp voice joined the fray.
"You're the one who's a 'thing'! Listen up, my name is Rocket. Hand over that little Groot you're holding—he's family to my pet. You damned alien trafficker, I don't know where you stole that little tree guy from!"
"Idiot! Groot, save the reunion for later—it's time to fight!"
The scene unfolded on Xandar's busiest street. By the time Blake and Natasha pushed through the crowd and arrived, they were greeted by a chaotic sight:
A small, raccoon-like creature was tugging on Tony's pant leg with one hand while pointing a large energy gun at him with the other.
Standing nearby was a towering tree-being, nearly three meters tall, cradling little Groot in its massive hands. The two trees were staring at each other in utter confusion—big eyes locked onto small eyes.
It was none other than Groot and Rocket from the Guardians of the Galaxy.
"I am Groot!"
"I am Groot!"
This peculiar exchange between the two Groots, who hailed from different universes, left everyone baffled.
Blake turned to Natasha. "You keep an eye on Groot," he said, then strode forward, grabbing Rocket by the scruff of his neck with one hand and pulling Tony away with the other.
"What's going on?" Blake asked, holding Rocket as far away from him as possible, directing his question at Tony.
"Blake, you're just in time. This little stuffed animal-looking guy and that oversized tree won't stop insisting on taking Groot away! And let me tell you, this guy's mouth is even filthier than mine. I swear, I'm going to shave all the fur off his head with my razor!"
As Tony rambled on, Rocket, realizing that the situation was turning against him, called out to Groot a couple of times. When he got no response, he promptly cocked his gun in mid-air.
"Bang! Bang!"
Without hesitation, Rocket fired two shots directly at Blake's face.
*******************************************
You can get access to early chapters on patr*on.
If you like my work and you want to support me then you can become my patron on patre*n.
My patr*on account is S_Pandey_0170
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