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Nick Fury looked at Maria Hill with a dark expression and asked, "Has there been any movement from Jane Foster's side yet?"
"Not yet."
Maria Hill carefully observed her Officer's expression and cautiously replied, "In the past few days, Thor has not appeared, nor has he actively contacted her…"
"Motherf*cker!!"
Feeling that everything was going wrong, Nick Fury slammed the table fiercely, then ordered in a strong tone:
"Starting today, raise the surveillance level on Jane Foster. If necessary, she can be placed under house arrest first."
"Ah?!"
Maria Hill was a bit confused, not knowing what was wrong with her boss, so she tentatively asked:
"Officer, has something happened? If we really do this, will Thor have an opinion on S.H.I.E.L.D. after he finds out?"
Nick Fury glared with his single eye and immediately cursed mercilessly, "Don't you understand? Ronan's invasion of Earth has pushed S.H.I.E.L.D. into the eye of the storm…"
"Now S.H.I.E.L.D.'s position has become precarious. How the hell do I have time to care what Thor thinks?!"
In fact, Nick Fury's actions were not a spur-of-the-moment whim, but rather a proactive measure.
Because if Carol Danvers failed to successfully retrieve the Tesseract, Nick Fury was prepared to use Jane Foster to play the emotional card and make Thor 'willingly' return the Tesseract.
Although such an approach was dirty and despicable, and might even anger Thor, causing him to withdraw from the Avengers and become hostile towards S.H.I.E.L.D.,
compared to the value of the Tesseract… no, to be precise, the value of an infinity stone, losing a powerful external ally who was offline 99% of the time was nothing.
And this was Nick Fury's true thought.
"Thor, don't blame me for being so heartless this time!"
Nick Fury turned to look out the window, muttering to himself with a complex expression, "It's that bastard Karl Merks who's pushing me to the brink."
"I had no choice but to resort to this desperate measure."
"If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for getting a bit too close to him recently… it really makes me uneasy!!"
Maria Hill, having been thoroughly scolded, saw her boss turn away and stop ranting, so she quickly said 'Yes' and hurried away to follow the order.
...
...
A few days later, Xandar.
"My Lord Supreme, after examination, the headless body brought by Star-Lord and others is indeed the body of Ronan the Accuser!!"
A staff member in a blue uniform reported to the white-haired Nova Supreme. The latter's tense expression immediately relaxed upon hearing this, and she smiled brightly as she looked at Star-Lord, Gamora, and others, who were 'protected' by several Denarian warriors whose helmets had a red four-pointed star symbol resembling a 'cross' and whose combat suit chest armor had symmetrical 'o' shaped energy symbols on the left and right sides. She spoke with sincere and slightly apologetic tone:
"Please allow me, on behalf of the Nova Corps and all Xandarians, to extend our sincerest gratitude to you… oh, the Guardians of the Galaxy!!"
"Thank you for eliminating this murderous maniac who loved to slaughter the innocent and for saving Xandar."
"Later, I will have your previous records expunged, and from now on, the gates of Xandar will always be open to you. Xandarians welcome you, our friends, at any time."
It was evident that Nova Supreme was genuinely happy now.
She never expected Ronan to die on Earth in such a way.
Previously, when Star-Lord sent a message to Xandar that Ronan might wage war, she had been truly anxious for quite some time.
After all, no one knew whether the Nova Corps could withstand the attacks of Ronan's fleet, especially after he had obtained the Power Stone.
But now, all problems were solved with Ronan's death!
The shadow of war hanging over Xandar finally dissipated.
So… today was undoubtedly a good day!!
However, Nova Supreme was a bit curious about how Star-Lord and the others defeated Ronan, who possessed the Power Stone.
And on Earth, a Planet with very backward technology and civilization?
"Alright, save those meaningless words of thanks."
Rocket Raccoon said impatiently, "The reason we came all the way from Earth with Ronan's body is not to listen to your thanks…"
"Be quick about it, when can we get the bounty? I heard it's several hundred million?"
The comical Star-Lord, having been warned by Gamora not to speak carelessly before arriving, could only purse his lips and nod his head continuously like a pecking chick.
Hurry up and pay!
What are you still dawdling for?
"Of course, those bounties are what you deserve."
The overjoyed Nova Supreme was not angered by Rocket Raccoon's teasing and offense. There was nothing she could do; she really wanted to get rid of Ronan, but who could blame her Nova Corps for being ineffective?
Nova Supreme could not wait to personally inform all Xandarians of Ronan's death.
She could even foresee that this news would cause an immense sensation.
After all, the Xandarians had suffered under Ronan for too long!
However, she still had something to say at the moment, so she pointed to a Centurion standing beside her and said to Rocket Raccoon and the others:
"Later, you can follow Commander Roman Dey to collect the bounty…"
"Hmm, what does 'later' mean?" Rocket Raccoon and Star-Lord, who were extremely sensitive to money, immediately became alert.
"Oh, my dear friends, please don't misunderstand."
Nova Supreme raised her hand and made a calming downward gesture towards Rocket Raccoon, then slowly explained:
"Don't worry, I think you will be very willing to hear this news that is closely related to you…"
Then, Nova Supreme slightly reined in the smile on her face, looked at Star-Lord, and continued with a slightly serious tone:
"I believe Mr. Quill must still remember those annullas batteries we found on you, right?"
"Huh? What's wrong? Are you going to return those batteries that belong to me?"
Star-Lord was a bit confused as to why the other party would suddenly bring up those batteries at this time, but he still subconsciously nodded.
Are you perhaps dreaming of eating farts?
Nova Supreme ignored Star-Lord's flirtatious remark and continued, "After you left Xandar last time, I sent people to return those annullas batteries to Sovereign Star."
"Originally, I thought this matter was officially over, but who would have thought that an unexpected disaster would occur soon after…"
Speaking of this, Nova Supreme's face showed a helpless, bitter smile, and then she shook her head weakly, "Those annullas battery that were returned seem to have been corrupted by Chaos energy on the derelict ship earlier, so when the Sovereign people used these batteries, an unprecedented explosion occurred..."
"This massive explosion not only instantly corrupted the landscape of the entire area but also opened a small Warp Rift, from which countless demon armies surged forth, catching the Sovereign people off guard and causing heavy casualties!"
"In the end, it was the Nova Corps that went to Sovereign Star, and only after paying an extremely heavy price did they successfully seal that Warp Rift, preventing the situation from further deteriorating..."
Recalling that battle, which was arguably the most tragic in the Nova Corps' history, Nova Supreme still felt lingering fear.
The most crucial point was that if it weren't for the Imperial Truth in Centurion Karson Sal's possession, a book no one else could read, which successfully sealed and banished that Warp Rift, then the two Nova Corps forces she sent for support would have been completely annihilated by the demon army.
Now, Nova Supreme fully believed Centurion Karson Sal's and Star-Lord's previous 'exaggerated' descriptions of the Eye of Fear and the Warp.
She had never thought that a Warp Rift (referring to the Eye of Fear) so far away in the Solar System could affect Sovereign Star, which is 2.54 million light-years from Earth?
This was clearly not a good omen!
But what worried her even more was that, although most Xandar people did not yet know what happened on Sovereign Star, some Nova Corps members who had gone to Sovereign Star, and their families, had already started to follow Centurion Karson Sal, believing in the so-called Emperor and Imperial Truth.
For Nova Supreme, neither the threat from the Warp nor the threat from Ronan was as troublesome and headache-inducing as the faith coming from 'heretics'!
It is well known that members of the Nova Corps do not possess any superpowers themselves; the immense power they display all comes from their Nova Corps battle suits.
And the extraordinary Nova Force within the Nova Corps battle suits are all obtained from the Super Life Computer Worldmind.
Because of this, this Super Life Computer Worldmind, which possesses the ability to generate almost infinite power, has been revered as a 'god' by the Xandar people for generations!
But the 'appearance' of the Emperor and the Imperial Truth inadvertently shook the Xandar people's faith in their 'gods'.
However, Nova Supreme currently did not know how to solve this problem.
Because if other Warp Rifts and Chaos corruption were to appear again, she would inevitably have to rely on Centurion Karson Sal's 'ability' to resolve them.
Otherwise, if the Warp Rift were allowed to corrupt the real World, then Sovereign Star, where half of the Planet has already become a 'dead zone', would be the best example.
Therefore, even though Nova Supreme deeply wanted to execute Karson Sal on charges of 'heresy' as a warning to others, in reality, she had to bestow honors upon him as a 'hero'!
"See? What did I tell you before?"
Star-Lord, completely unaware of the seriousness of the situation, looked at Nova Supreme triumphantly and said, "I told you all those things were true, but you just wouldn't believe me and even slandered me..."
"If you had believed me then, such an accident would definitely not have happened later."
"I'm sorry, Mr. Quill, I am ashamed of our past reckless behavior," Nova Supreme said with a bitter smile.
"Things are indeed just as you and Centurion Sal described..."
"Not long ago, some of our fleet sent to salvage that abandoned freighter also encountered exactly the same situation as you two, and in the end, no one survived."
Nova Supreme seemed unwilling to waste too much time on this heavy topic, so she changed the subject and continued from before:
"Oh, right, after that great disaster occurred on Sovereign Star, even though I had already explained the Eye of Fear and the corruption of Warp energy to High Priestess Ayesha, she still suspected that you had tampered with those annullas battery, so she has now issued a warrant for your arrest."
"Considering that High Priestess Ayesha is currently furious and won't listen to anyone's persuasion... So, I suggest you two best avoid the star system where Sovereign Star is located recently, otherwise, you might face pursuit from the Sovereign Legion!"
"Huh?" Star-Lord was instantly dumbfounded.
No, what does that explosion have to do with me? I didn't cause it!
Is that High Priestess Ayesha an idiot?
Aren't they just blatantly extorting us?
I refuse to accept it!
"Oh, Quill, look at the good job you idiot did."
Rocket Raccoon crossed his two small hands over his chest, putting on an elder's air and teasing, "I was originally planning to spend a good amount of money in that star system after getting paid."
"The parts there are excellent and cheap, but now it's all ruined because of you... I think I should just take the Captain's position!"
Star-Lord retorted with a bitter expression, "Rocket, cut it out, this has nothing to do with me, okay? I was clearly framed!"
Seeing that these two clowns were about to argue again, Gamora quickly interrupted, "Alright, let's hurry and get the bounty, then get away from that star system!"
"Gamora is right."
Star-Lord, whether intentionally showing off or genuinely angry, pulled out the pager Karl gave him when they parted, and said angrily:
"Hmph, don't forget, we still have this 'talisman' in our hands... If those Sovereign idiots dare to come bother us, I'll definitely call Mr. Earth Guardian to come and kill them!"
"Idiot Quill."
Rocket Raccoon rolled his eyes and reminded, "Did you forget what Mr. Karl said when he gave you the pager... Calling for support costs money, who knows if we can afford his appearance fee!"
Gamora also looked at Star-Lord with the eyes of someone looking at an idiot.
This fool is truly beyond saving!
I really don't know why Mr. Karl gave him that pager...