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"What in the world is an Earth Guardian?"
Nova Supreme, who was standing nearby, was utterly bewildered, but she could tell from the reverence on Star-Lord and the others' faces that this 'Mr. Karl' they mentioned must be incredibly powerful, which was why Star-Lord considered him his last resort.
Wait a minute, did the Guardians of the Galaxy defeat Ronan with the help of this Earth Guardian?
The more Nova Supreme thought about it, the more likely this possibility seemed.
After all, based on her understanding of Star-Lord and the others' strength, even if Ronan hadn't had the Power Stone, they would never have been able to defeat him.
"Alright, let's go," Gamora urged, fearing that these fools would cause more trouble.
"Speaking of which... we still seem to have a wanted criminal on our hands, don't we?"
Rocket Raccoon pinched his chin with his small paw, muttering softly as he walked, "I'm thinking, should I wait until I've spent all the money before turning in that blue woman for another reward?"
"Hey, Rocket, how can you be so heartless? That's Gamora's sister. You're not actually going to turn her in for the bounty, are you?"
Star-Lord's expression became exaggerated as he reminded him, "Besides, her bounty isn't even close to Ronan's, alright?"
"What do you know? A mosquito, no matter how small, is still meat."
Rocket looked at Star-Lord with disdain. "And her relationship with Gamora is so bad; she almost killed Gamora before... I don't think Gamora would stop me from doing this, would she?"
"Rocket, I advise you not to do that. You know how fierce Gamora can be when she gets angry."
Star-Lord said with lingering fear, "I think their relationship will eventually mend. If they both come after you then, you'll be in big trouble."
Rocket Raccoon shrunk his neck upon hearing this, a look of 'missed out on a fortune' helplessness on his face.
Afterward, Gamora, Star-Lord, and the others left Xandar after collecting their massive bounty.
They decided to find a comfortable vacation Planet to enjoy themselves first, and then decide what to do next.
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Carol Danvers, who had been wandering around the Solar System for several days, finally managed to find Asgard.
In the grand square in front of the Heavenly Palace, two Black Stone Obelisks stood tall, one on each side, reaching into the sky. Many Asgardians, dressed in magnificent attire, were gathered together, enjoying a play.
After Thor brought these Black Stone Obelisks from the Hyperspace Group, which could suppress the erosion of Chaos energy, the Asgardians, who had been living in constant fear, were finally able to regain their former elegance and composure.
To commemorate this hard-won peace, at the instruction of Odin, the theater troupe re-arranged several plays, which they performed for free for the Asgardians in their leisure time.
And among them, the one that pleased Odin the most and was the most touching was titled "The Tragedy of Loki of Asgard"...
At this moment, on the makeshift stage in the center of the square, a male actor, dressed in Loki's iconic dark green attire, with a face somewhat similar to Loki's but overall much rounder, lay on the stage floor, looking at the male actor kneeling before him, whose appearance and clothing were very similar to Thor's, but also much rounder than the original, and said:
"Oh, brother, I'm afraid I'm really dying this time..."
"My foolish brother."
The actor playing 'Thor' said with a face full of indignation and self-reproach, "You've always been like this since you were a child, never willing to listen to my advice."
"You're right, it's always been my fault," 'Loki' said weakly, clutching his chest.
'Thor' saw this and immediately shouted, "Sif, go find a Doctor quickly! I will never let my brother die in front of me, never!"
As his voice fell, a female actress, originally standing at the edge of the stage, dressed in Valkyrie armor, shouted with an exaggerated expression, "Someone! Come quickly and save us! Prince Loki is injured..."
At this moment, 'Loki,' lying on the ground, seemingly on his deathbed, said with a trembling voice:
"I'm sorry, brother, everything that happened before was my fault. I was completely blinded by jealousy and hatred back then."
"Loki, don't talk about the past anymore."
'Thor' nervously comforted him, "I've already forgiven you. The Doctor will be here soon. You must hold on!"
But 'Loki' shook his head, insisting, "I'm sorry, I really shouldn't have chosen to conquer Earth back then..."
However, before he could finish, 'Thor' loudly interrupted, "No, it is their blessing that the Earthlings can be conquered by you."
'Loki' showed a hint of relief, "And about the Tesseract, I'm sorry, I almost caused you great trouble that time, but sometimes I just can't control myself... I am a cunning and deceitful person."
"Stop talking, Loki, I understand, you are indeed especially cunning, but you are my most beloved bro... Hey? Look, a meteor seems to be flying this way?"
"Hey, you... why aren't you following the script? There's no line like that in the script... Oh, damn it, there really is a meteor flying this way!"
Just then, a bright ball of light, trailing a long fiery tail, descended from the sky and hovered above the square.
All the Asgardians in the square were startled.
'Odin,' disguised by Loki, who was wearing pajamas and lounging in the arms of a beautiful woman, eating grapes and sipping fine wine, suddenly sat up and looked at the ball of light with an unfriendly gaze.
He's not here for good, is he?
Then 'Odin' waved his hand, summoned a confidant, and whispered, "Go to Heimdall immediately and tell him to teleport Thor back at once!"
"Yes, My Lord."
Soon, the light in mid-air receded, and a strong figure gradually emerged, none other than Captain Marvel, Carol Danvers.
"Hey, excuse me, who is the King of Asgard? I have something I need to discuss with him," Carol Danvers said directly to the crowd below.
"How dare you! Who are you, that you don't kneel before this King?!"
'Odin,' holding the Eternal Spear, adopted an extremely arrogant posture, hands on his hips, and said.
"Oh, I presume you are Odin."
Carol Danvers slowly landed on the ground, politely bowing slightly to 'Odin,' and then continued:
"Respected My Lord, I apologize for disturbing your party. I have previously heard many heroic legends about your conquests of the Nine Realms in the Universe…"
"Stop with the flattery!" Before the other party could finish, 'Odin' interrupted him with an annoyed expression:
"My people and I were enjoying a play, and the dramatic and touching plot was about to reach its climax when you suddenly interrupted us. This greatly affected my continuous enjoyment of the show, so… I have a good idea. How about you just go back to where you came from? What do you think?"
Carol Danvers, who had been preparing to butter him up before asking for the Tesseract, was stunned.
She hadn't expected the legendary powerful My Lord who ruled the Nine Realms to speak so crudely. She immediately dropped the smile from her face and said in a grave tone:
"My Lord, although my visit this time was indeed somewhat rushed and reckless, it was for a reason… I am here on behalf of S.H.I.E.L.D. on Earth to negotiate with you, hoping you can return the Tesseract to S.H.I.E.L.D. for safekeeping."
"So, you're from S.H.I.E.L.D.?"
A flicker of imperceptible killing intent flashed in Loki's eyes. Two years ago, when he led the Chitauri to invade Earth, if S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers hadn't interfered, he might have already become the Master of Earth.
Then he wouldn't have had to specially borrow the power of the Chaos Gods to assassinate Odin and play a Cosplay game here!
Therefore, out of hatred for S.H.I.E.L.D., even though Loki knew that the Tesseract had already been taken to Earth by Thor to exchange for Black Stone Obelisk with Hyperspace Group, he still didn't intend to tell Carol Danvers the truth.
You want the Tesseract, don't you?
Just you wait!
I'll tell you when I'm in a good mood!
Not only that, but later I'm going to have that big idiot Thor teach you a good lesson!
After making up his mind, 'Odin' looked at Carol Danvers with a half-smile, mocking her with an unfriendly tone:
"What is S.H.I.E.L.D.? I've never heard of it before."
Carol Danvers's brows furrowed even deeper upon hearing this. She didn't quite believe that the My Lord in front of her wouldn't know what S.H.I.E.L.D. was.
After all, his son Thor is a member of the Avengers, and he is also the strongest among the original 'Three True Cores'.
So, it seemed there was only one explanation left.
This old bastard was deliberately making things difficult for her!
However, considering the other party's identity and his legendary formidable strength that had been widely spread throughout the Universe, Carol Danvers still forcibly suppressed the rising anger in her heart and earnestly persuaded him:
"My Lord, I know that making such a request suddenly is a bit abrupt, but the Tesseract has actually been under S.H.I.E.L.D.'s safekeeping for decades already…"
"And more than two years ago, after S.H.I.E.L.D. foiled your younger son Prince Loki's plan to invade Earth, it was out of consideration for safety and establishing a stable alliance that Prince Thor was allowed to take both the Tesseract and Prince Loki back to Asgard."
Before coming here, Carol Danvers had specifically asked Nick Fury for a lot of information, comprehensively understanding the major events related to Asgard that had occurred on Earth in recent years.
There was no other way, who made Odin's reputation so widespread?
So much so that Carol Danvers was also unsure. If the other party absolutely refused to return the Tesseract, and it came to a fight, would she really be Odin's match?
Therefore, on this trip, it was best to avoid fighting if possible.
However, it was better that she didn't mention that past history; as soon as she did, it immediately made Loki, who was impersonating Odin, gnash his teeth in hatred.
Alright, alright, you're talking bad about me right in front of me, are you?
Just wait and see if I don't deal with you later!
"Silence."
'Odin' mercilessly interrupted Carol Danvers, sneering, "You just said the Tesseract has been under S.H.I.E.L.D.'s safekeeping for decades?"
Carol Danvers nodded, bewildered, "Yes."
"Then guess who placed the Tesseract on Earth in the first place?"
'Odin' reprimanded with extreme arrogance: "In my eyes, S.H.I.E.L.D. is nothing more than a thieving little scoundrel who doesn't know his place…"
"They not only stole the Tesseract that I placed on Earth centuries ago, but they shamelessly claimed it as their own."
"And now, they even send you, not knowing your place, to Asgard to demand it from me?"
"Heh heh, it seems I've been too benevolent in my attitude towards Earth these past years, so much so that Earthlings have forgotten who their true Master is… It's time for Earth to return under Asgard's rule."
Then, he subtly glanced in the direction behind Carol Danvers and said loudly:
"Go back and tell S.H.I.E.L.D. that their reckless act of offending the My Lord today will be met with the most severe punishment!!"
Upon hearing this, Carol Danvers's expression became somewhat complicated. She never expected that the Tesseract was actually placed on Earth by Odin.
If that were truly the case, then her forced demand for the Tesseract would become somewhat unjustified and illogical.
However, she then thought about it and realized that Odin's statement contained many illogical points.
One might ask, what normal person would hide a valuable 'treasure' of their own in someone else's garden?
And hide it for over seventy years?
Who would believe that if you told them?
Moreover, given Odin's strength and status, he couldn't possibly be unaware that there was a Space Stone inside the Tesseract.
If he still chose to place it on Earth despite knowing there was a Space Stone inside the Tesseract, then either Odin had a problem with his brain, or he no longer wanted this Space Stone.
Therefore, no matter how one looked at it, the Tesseract still belonged to S.H.I.E.L.D.!
After some thought, Carol Danvers felt that she couldn't be polite any longer; she had to show some attitude for the other party to talk to her properly.
So, she immediately activated her power, and dazzling light once again erupted from her body, like a rising supernova.