The explosion disappeared leaving only smoke and debris. The Nova team, having lost a member already, had no time to grieve for their fallen comrade. They were about to continue their attack on the Black Order forces led by Ebony Maw. Suddenly a tractor beam descended from the sky above. The next second, Thanos dressed in black armor emerged from the beam. Black Dwarf and Supergiant appeared with him.
"Thanos is coming!"
When this sentence rang out in the command room, everyone fell silent immediately.
Sebastian looked at the black-armored Thanos on the projection screen. His eyes narrowed slightly. Although he did not see Thanos directly in person, Sebastian could vaguely sense that Thanos was different now compared to before. Thanos was definitely several times more terrifying than the last time they fought. But he did not know where this change came from.
Sebastian was determined to obtain the Power Stone no matter what. Originally, he was confident that he could seize it even if Thanos came to Xandar. So he had not been too anxious about timing. However, it now seemed that Thanos's strength had greatly increased due to unknown reasons. If he wanted to obtain the Power Stone safely, it would be necessary to act preemptively.
With this in mind, Sebastian's concerns faded away. With Thanos' arrival on Xandar, the disaster was now unstoppable. So the Nova Corps's perception of him became irrelevant.
As for the Guardians of the Galaxy, with the exception of the rather irritated Drax the Destroyer, they were clearly displeased with the Nova Corps. The leaders disregarded the danger to the people of Xandar just to secure the Power Stone for themselves.
Furthermore, the Guardians had given Xandar the Power Stone in good faith. Now Xandar had not only used it to develop weapons, but had also ignored their opinions when discussing its ownership. Naturally, the Guardians of the Galaxy harbored no good feelings towards these Nova Corps leaders.
Of course, even if the Guardians objected or sided with the Nova Corps' leaders, Sebastian would not change his mind about taking the Stone.
Taking a slight step backwards, Sebastian instantly disappeared around a corner. He went unnoticed by everyone.
At this moment, Sebastian transformed into a puff of black smoke. He swiftly followed the ventilation vents into a heavily guarded, empty room. In the center of this empty room stood a spherical metal containment chamber with a single circular entrance. Inside, he could see the faintly glowing Power Stone. It was housed within some kind of technological instrument.
"So it is here."
Sebastian thought to himself. He instantly vanished from his original position. He reappeared within the spherical metal room. Looking at the Power Stone within the containment device, even now Sebastian chose not to touch it directly with his bare hands. Although his physical strength had greatly improved over time, he did not want to risk his life unnecessarily.
After all, Sebastian's strength had never been purely physical. It was rather magical in nature.
His sudden appearance before the Power Stone had already attracted the attention of the security systems. But he ignored them completely. He cast a magical barrier spell. This completely sealed off the area and prevented anyone from interfering with him.
He then produced a vibranium-based tridecahedron container from his storage. With a flick of his wand, it opened automatically. Sebastian then removed the Power Stone from the containment device carefully. He placed it inside the tridecahedron. The container then closed again automatically, storing the Power Stone within safely.
Without any hesitation, Sebastian immediately left the room. He reappeared beside the Guardians of the Galaxy in the command room. As soon as Sebastian appeared, most of the soldiers in the command room raised their weapons. They aimed at him with hostility. However, Sebastian did not waste time with them.
With a flick of his wand, the weapons flew out of their hands. They landed at his feet in a pile.
The Disarming Charm was, at times, quite effective for situations like this.
Looking at the Guardians of the Galaxy, Sebastian addressed them directly. "Thanos is acting strangely right now. My advice is to avoid any contact with him and leave Xandar immediately. I will use the Power Stone I just acquired to lure Thanos and his forces out of Xandar. This should ensure the safety of this place."
Just as Sebastian finished his words, a series of explosions erupted outside.
Turning to look, Sebastian raised an eyebrow. Thanos yanked his double-bladed sword from the chest of a Nova Centurion. He lifted the body of the dying Nova warrior into the air. He sent it exploding in mid-air with a burst of energy.
Meanwhile, Thanos looked at the two remaining Nova Centurions. He charged at one of them again with his sword. However, just as Thanos approached, the Nova Centurion chose to self-destruct. He hoped to inflict heavy damage to Thanos with his own detonation. However, as Thanos emerged from the flames completely unharmed, the Nova warrior's plan had undoubtedly failed.
"It is beyond my expectation that there are warriors like you on Xandar. If it were me in the past, I might have had to use some effort to deal with you. But for me now, you are all insignificant!"
As the words fell, Thanos raised one hand. He gently squeezed it. A ball of dark power was born in his hand. With a single wave of his hand, the dark power directly bombarded the last person standing. Richard Rider, the captain of the Nova Centurions, was blasted away. He fell into a nearby building. His life or death was unknown.
At this time, Thanos looked in the direction of the Nova Corps command room. He vaguely felt a familiar and infuriating aura there. When Thanos was about to step forward, a figure suddenly fell from the sky. It was Beta Ray Bill holding the Black Thunder Hammer!
Earlier, Bill and Corvus Glaive had fought barehanded as Bill had promised. The fighting skills Bill had honed in the Sakaar Arena gave him a significant advantage over Corvus Glaive. He ultimately defeated him. Bill snapped Corvus Glaive's neck with his bare hands. Unfortunately, Bill was unaware of the properties of Corvus Glaive's enchanted blade.
Corvus Glaive's soul resided within the blade itself. Without destroying the blade, there was no way to truly kill him permanently. Just like Sebastian's previous encounter with him, even if Corvus Glaive was slain, he would still be resurrected by the blade's power eventually. Of course, Bill did not know this now. He believed he had already slain Corvus Glaive. So his momentum was at its peak.
Looking at Thanos directly, Bill took a deep breath. He raised his Black Thunder Hammer high. He whispered to Thanos. "Thanos, we finally meet face to face. Let us settle our accounts today!"
Come support and get the advanced chapters:
patreon.com/Daoist_Kalyug