Fortress Defense Network

"Rocket, watch your back! Fighters are on your tail!"

Star-Lord shouted a warning.

"Watch yourself! These little grunts can’t hurt me!" Rocket grinned, yanked the controls, and sent his fighter sweeping through a graceful arc. It looped around as fierce firepower poured out, blasting the pursuing Kree fighters into fragments.

"Guess I really can’t underestimate him," Star-Lord muttered, driving his fighter into a sharp charge forward.

"We’re heading up front. Ronan’s warship has already descended into the atmosphere and is about to reach the ground. If it lands, the consequences will be unimaginable!" Gamora said gravely.

"I know!" Star-Lord shouted back, calling over the comm channel at the same time, "Yondu, how’s it going on your end?"

"Ronan’s ship has one hell of a shield. It won’t be easy to blast through it!" Yondu directed his warship’s main cannons against Ronan’s defenses, but breaking that shield was not something that could be done in a moment.

"Your Majesty, what do we do now? Ronan’s warship has broken through the planetary defense layer and is about to descend upon the city!" A minister looked nervously at the middle-aged woman seated above. She was none other than the Empress of the Nova Empire, the highest-ranking figure on Xandar. Even now, her expression was solemn.

"This is Xandar’s most critical hour. How is the evacuation of the city’s residents going?" the Empress asked in a low voice.

"Most have already been evacuated. A small portion is still being relocated, but they need a little more time!" A middle-aged officer stepped forward and reported.

"They still need time?" The Empress fell silent for a moment before saying, "Order the garrison forces to activate the Fortress Defense Network in full. The Dark Aster must not be allowed to land!"

Dark Aster was the name of Ronan’s warship, while the Fortress Defense Network was the Nova Corps garrison’s planetary defense system. It could link countless fighters together into a defensive net and prevent enemy vessels from landing.

At the Empress’s command, every garrison fighter received the order.

"Beginning target lock. Preparing link. Link established!"

"Target lock, link established…"

Fighter after fighter successfully linked up. Ronan’s Dark Aster was firmly blocked by a defensive net formed from hundreds, even thousands, of fighters. Its descent slowed dramatically, buying precious time for the evacuation below.

"Rocket, break through already! We have to get into the Dark Aster, find Ronan, and stop his evil deeds!" Star-Lord shouted, firing without pause as Kree fighters were blasted to pieces one after another.

"You don’t need to tell me. I’ve already broken through. I found a weak point on the Dark Aster and I’m about to attack it. You need to get over here and cover me!" Rocket’s voice was somewhat rushed.

"I’m coming!" Drax sounded even more impatient. He had endured countless hardships on this journey to avenge himself on Ronan. He had fought Ronan inside the head of an ancient god and been beaten senseless. Now, he was going to get his revenge.

Rumble…

Rocket was a violent little raccoon. After finding a weak point on the Dark Aster with his fighter, he immediately launched an unceasing assault. Countless bullets rained down, and at last, he blasted open a breach.

"Hey, guys, time to work!"

Rocket whistled and took the lead, charging into the warship.

"Gamora, let’s go!" Star-Lord’s eyes lit up. He piloted his fighter in after Rocket, while Drax and the others followed close behind with Groot.

Once inside the Dark Aster, the passages were too narrow for their fighters. They could only abandon the craft and proceed on foot. Along the way, countless armed Kree tried to intercept them, but they were dealt with one by one.

Just as they were fighting fiercely, Xiao Hen stepped out of Super String Space. Seeing the chaotic city, the dark mass of fighters overhead, the wreckage exploding and roaring everywhere, and the Dark Aster descending from the sky like Mount Tai pressing down upon them, he smiled. Ronan had come, and so had the Power Stone.

Under Xiao Hen’s Divine Sense, everything on the battlefield was reflected clearly before his eyes. There were no secrets to be found.

Inside the Dark Aster, Star-Lord and the others were searching for Ronan. After overcoming layer upon layer of hardships and obstacles, they finally found him in the Main Control Room.

Star-Lord held a powerful weapon, a high-explosive launcher made by Rocket, intending to finish Ronan in one shot. Unfortunately, when he fired, Ronan blocked it with the Power Stone. It did not harm him in the slightest.

"All vermin who stand in the way of my revenge, die!" Ronan roared and slammed down his hammer. Star-Lord and the others were sent flying by the terrifying force of the Power Stone. Though none of them were ordinary and their bodies were incredibly tough, the Power Stone’s impact still left them gravely injured and unable to rise and fight again.

Unlike in the movie, this Ronan clearly had far less to say. With revenge so close at hand, he was desperate to land on Xandar’s soil and had no time to waste tangling with these little insects.

The Dark Aster was blocked by the defense net linked from countless fighters, but it could not stop Ronan once he possessed the Power Stone. With a single swing of his hammer, the Power Stone’s immense force erupted, blasting thousands of fighters into fragments.

Seeing so many fighters blown apart, everyone at the Nova Empire command center on the ground fell silent. Those were human lives. Thousands of lives had vanished in an instant, killed by Ronan’s single strike. The Dark Aster continued its unstoppable descent, carrying an apocalyptic aura as though it would crush every obstacle in its path.

Nothing could stop the Dark Aster as it fell. Ronan stood atop the warship, laughing wildly like the birth of a great demon king. He truly was like one now, intending to destroy everything on Xandar, perhaps even the planet itself. His hatred for the Nova Empire burned like raging fire, never to be extinguished.

At last, the Dark Aster crashed into the ground with a thunderous boom, like a comet striking a planet. The earth shook violently, and the tremendous sound carried far into the distance. Buildings throughout the city cracked apart from the impact. Along the Dark Aster’s path of descent, every structure was crushed into rubble. Fortunately, the city’s residents had already been evacuated. The crash could destroy countless buildings, but it could no longer cause catastrophic casualties.

"Xandarians, pay for your sins!"

Ronan gripped the hammer embedded with the Power Stone and leaped from the warship with a boom. Raising his warhammer high, he prepared to drive it into the ground and unleash the terrifying power that would destroy Xandar.

At this moment, Star-Lord and the others were either unconscious or too badly injured to move. Everyone—whether the Empress of the Nova Empire, the corps commanders, or ordinary Xandarian citizens—could only watch the screens in despair, waiting for death and destruction to descend.

Looks like I have no choice but to act. I didn’t expect the Plot to change anyway!