Occupying the Celestial Head

On the Dark Aster, Nebula said to Ronan, whose face had remained dark, "Someone sent me a video related to the Collector."

"Play it."

Ronan spoke coldly. Nebula nodded, and a holographic projection shot out from her eye, showing the Collector fleeing with his collection.

"Tivan fled with his collection? Does that mean he already got the Power Stone?"

Ronan naturally came to that conclusion. He asked, "Who sent you this video?"

Nebula fell silent for a moment before answering, "The one who sold us intelligence before."

Ronan’s hand clenched abruptly. He said coldly, "Sounds like a trap."

"Very likely."

Nebula nodded and asked, "Ronan, what should we do?"

Ronan hesitated, then said, "We split up. I’ll pursue the Collector, while you investigate Knowhere. No matter what, we must obtain the Power Stone."

"Alright."

Nebula nodded. Soon, Ronan changed course to pursue the Collector, while Nebula led a small fleet toward Knowhere.

Half an hour later, Nebula stared dumbfounded at Knowhere, where fighting had broken out everywhere. "What happened here?"

"I got the Power Stone! I’m about to get rich, just like that Earthling!"

At that moment, a Ravager snatched the Orb and immediately stuffed it into his clothes before turning to flee toward the Mining Area.

"The Orb."

Nebula’s warship scanned the Orb and immediately led everyone in pursuit.

Just then, with a boom, Rocket blasted the Ravager to death with a cannon shot. The Orb rolled away to one side.

"Finally got it."

Rocket immediately ran toward the Orb. At that moment, Gamora suddenly appeared and seized the Orb with a roll.

Rocket flew into a rage, hoisting his cannon and aiming it at Gamora as he shouted, "Gamora, hand over the Orb, or don’t blame me for getting rough."

Gamora held the Orb and was about to say something when she suddenly sensed danger. She hurriedly dodged as a row of Energy Bullets struck behind her in succession, punching small holes into the ground.

Gamora turned around and saw Nebula and her fleet. Her heart sank, and she hurriedly shouted to Rocket, "Rocket, run! They’re Ronan’s people."

"Gamora, you can’t escape."

Nebula was about to attack again when an enormous figure, even larger than the Celestial Head, appeared in Knowhere and looked coldly down at everyone.

Everyone was terrified and immediately stopped fighting. Even Yondu and Star-Lord swallowed hard. Where had this terrifying powerhouse come from?

"Blood God."

Gamora and Rocket were stunned. Rocket lowered his gun in frustration and said, "Looks like the Power Stone doesn’t belong to us."

Gamora was more accepting. "It’s not a bad thing if the Power Stone falls into the Blood God’s hands."

Wang Bert was quite satisfied that the fighting had stopped. He said, "From now on, everything on the Celestial Head belongs to me, including all of you."

The crowd erupted in uproar, gripping their weapons and preparing to fight. He wanted them to surrender and become slaves? In his dreams! Everyone here was a wanted criminal who lived with a blade at their throat. "Kill Gamora."

Nebula had no intention of surrendering either and led her people in continuing to fire at Gamora.

"Courting death."

Wang Bert snorted coldly and reached out through the air. Nebula’s entire fleet was crushed flat and exploded. Everyone else died miserably, while Nebula barely survived. When Wang Bert released his grip, she fell to the ground amid a heap of twisted metal.

Nebula crawled miserably out of the wreckage, her face filled with terror and disbelief. How could anyone be this strong? Those watching from afar were equally dumbfounded. This was far too terrifying. Everyone’s thoughts immediately shifted from resistance to escape.

They had no choice. They simply could not win.

Seeing that Nebula was still alive, Wang Bert flicked out a Blood Spear toward her. Gamora was horrified and rushed in front of Nebula at once, spreading her arms as she shouted, "Blood God, don’t!"

Nebula was utterly stunned. She had never expected Gamora to risk her life to protect her! The Blood Spear stopped before Gamora. Wang Bert asked coldly, "Give me one reason not to kill her."

Nebula shouted, "I don’t need your fake kindness to save me."

"Shut up. You’re my sister. I won’t let you die."

Gamora turned back and shouted at her. Then she raised the Orb and said to Wang Bert, "Blood God, I’m willing to offer you the Power Stone in exchange for Nebula’s life."

Nebula roared in grief and fury, "Sister? When have you ever treated me as your sister? Every time we competed, you had to win, and Thanos kept replacing my body with mechanical parts because of it."

"I…"

Gamora had no answer. She finally understood why Nebula hated her so much.

Wang Bert suddenly said, "Why is someone always looking to die?"

Gamora thought Wang Bert was talking about Nebula. Her expression changed drastically as she hurriedly shouted, "Blood God…"

At that moment, a wave of shrill screams came from the distance. She turned and saw a group of people explode into bloody fragments, their blood splattering across the ground and walls.

That group had tried to escape and had been discovered by Wang Bert.

"I’ll say it again. From now on, you are all my property."

Wang Bert said coldly, "Without my orders, no one is allowed to leave. Otherwise, die."

The crowd was so frightened that they fell completely silent, not daring to make another move. This man was simply too terrifying.

Wang Bert ordered coldly, "Fire Spider, bring everyone under control."

"Yes, Blood God."

Natasha accepted the order and led her subordinates in disarming everyone. One group was somewhat unwilling and said something defiant. Their bodies immediately exploded.

Seeing this, no one else dared to resist. They honestly surrendered.

Wang Bert shrank down and appeared before Gamora and Nebula. He glanced at Nebula and said, "I can see hatred in your eyes. Serve me as your master, and I will kill Thanos for you."

Nebula struggled to her feet and knelt before Wang Bert. "If you can kill Thanos, I will be loyal to you forever. But if you can’t, I’ll kill you and use your corpse to regain Thanos’s trust."

"I’m starting to like you."

Wang Bert burst into laughter. He turned to Gamora and said, "Gamora, Thanos should already know about your betrayal."

Gamora handed the Orb to Wang Bert and said, "It was worth it. I didn’t let him obtain the Power Stone."

Wang Bert did not take it. With a wave of his hand, Star-Lord, who had been sneakily trying to escape, appeared before everyone.

Wang Bert looked at Star-Lord and asked, "Tell me, is that Orb real?"

Gamora and the others stared at Star-Lord in shock. Star-Lord swallowed hard, forced out a smile, and said ingratiatingly, "That one is fake. Mine is the real one, great being. I’m willing to offer it to you."

As he spoke, Star-Lord took an Orb from his bag and presented it to Wang Bert. Gamora and the others gritted their teeth. This bastard had played them all.

"Very good."

Wang Bert beckoned, and the Orb flew into his hand. He said, "For the sake of your half-Earthling bloodline, I’ll spare you this time."

"Thank you, Blood God. Huh, wait, half-Earthling bloodline?"

Star-Lord breathed a sigh of relief, then suddenly realized what had been said. He asked in astonishment, "Blood God, I’m one hundred percent Earthling."

"No, you only have half-Earthling blood."

Wang Bert shook his head. Rocket burst out laughing. "So you’re a mutt."

Star-Lord snapped, "Shut up, you experiment."

"What did you say?"

Rocket flew into a rage. Just as the two were about to start arguing, Wang Bert said, "Argue all you want. Gamora, Rocket, stay here as guests for a while. Once I’ve settled things, I’ll let you leave."

Gamora thought of something and hurriedly said, "Blood God, Ronan may be here soon."

"He won’t come. He went after the Collector."

Nebula said, "Someone sent a…"

Nebula realized something and did not continue. The one who had sent her the video was very likely the Blood God.

Wang Bert gave Nebula an approving look and said, "Don’t worry, Ronan is nothing. Stay here peacefully as guests. Nebula, come with me."

"Yes, Blood God."

Nebula respectfully followed Wang Bert away. A moment later, Drax rushed over carrying two machetes and shouted, "Ronan! Where’s Ronan? I’m going to kill him!"

Everyone looked at Drax speechlessly. Rocket sneered, "Big guy, you’re really lucky. If you’d come earlier, you’d already be dead. If you’d come later, you’d still be dead."

"What do you mean? Why would I die?"

Drax did not understand. He asked, "Also, where’s Ronan? Why didn’t he appear? Were you lying to me before?"

Everyone became even more speechless. At that moment, Groot walked over as well. Seeing that he was unharmed, Rocket finally breathed a sigh of relief. He said, "All that effort for nothing. What do we do now?"

Star-Lord sighed. "It’s more than just wasted effort. My ship got blown up, and I ran into Yondu and his people too… Huh, wait. Yondu and his people are prisoners, while I’m the Blood God’s guest. Ha, I’m going over to give them trouble."

With that, Star-Lord left excitedly. Rocket mocked him from behind, "You’re a prisoner too, alright? Hmph, if you didn’t have half-Earthling blood, you would’ve exploded like those unlucky bastards."

Star-Lord gave Rocket the middle finger without looking back. Rocket snorted, thought for a moment, and said, "Let’s stay here for a few days. Once things are over, we’ll ask the Blood God for a ship and leave. He’s so rich, he definitely won’t care."

Gamora said worriedly, "I’m still a little concerned about Ronan. He definitely won’t let this go."

Of course Ronan would not let it go. He was relentlessly pursuing the Collector.

Tivan used every method at his disposal but still could not escape Ronan. He sighed and shouted to Ronan over the public channel, "Ronan, why are you chasing me so relentlessly?"

Ronan said, "Hand over the Power Stone, and I’ll spare your life."

"The Power Stone isn’t with me. It’s on Knowhere."

Tivan said irritably, "If you go back now, there’s still time. Otherwise, someone else will take it."

"If you don’t have the Power Stone, why are you running?"

Naturally, Ronan did not believe him. He snorted coldly. "Whether you have it or not, let me board your ship and inspect it. Otherwise, don’t blame me for blasting your ship apart."

Tivan said angrily, "Ronan, do you really think you’ve got me cornered? If you push me too far, we’ll have mutual destruction. As the Collector, I have plenty of treasures."

"If you have the guts, use them."

Ronan said, "Tivan, you’re only a merchant, while I’m a warrior. Warriors are never frightened by the threats of merchants, because warriors aren’t afraid of death, while merchants are."

Tivan was left speechless. He sighed and said, "Come inspect it, then. But don’t go too far, or I really will have mutual destruction with you."

"Don’t worry. All I want is the Power Stone."

Ronan snorted and brought Tivan’s ship into the Dark Aster. Then he led his subordinates in thoroughly inspecting and scanning Tivan’s ship.

After a while, Ronan, who had found nothing, asked unwillingly, "Tivan, do you really not have the Power Stone?"

"I really don’t. If I did, I would’ve used it to kill you long ago."

Tivan said, "The Power Stone should be on Knowhere, though it might also be fake."

Ronan frowned. "It might be fake? What do you mean?"

"Someone is plotting against me."

Tivan sighed and briefly described what had happened on Knowhere. "If I’m not mistaken, you’re part of his scheme too."

"You’re saying someone used me to kill you?"

Ronan’s expression darkened considerably. He, Ronan, had actually become someone else’s pawn? "That’s right. He just didn’t expect me to be so wise. I let you inspect my ship and cleared up the misunderstanding."

Tivan said smugly. Everyone looked at him speechlessly. Wise? He was just a coward, wasn’t he?

Wang Bert had calculated everything except that Tivan would be such a coward. A dignified Elder of the Universe had surrendered so easily. Who could have expected that? At least put up some resistance.

Ronan shouted angrily, "Who is the Behind-the-Scenes Manipulator? I’ll make him pay."

Tivan gritted his teeth and said, "I can’t be certain, but Star-Lord went to Xandar. I suspect it’s that bastard, the Blood God."

Ronan asked, "Blood God? Do you have a grudge against him?"

"No grudge. I just threatened him a few times. To be honest, I can’t be sure it was him. Logically speaking, there’s no reason for one of the long-lived species to be so petty."

As Tivan spoke, a servant suddenly walked over and whispered a few words into his ear.

"It really is that bastard. He took over my Celestial Head."

Tivan cursed loudly. To find the Behind-the-Scenes Manipulator, he had deliberately left an antique Mirror in his collection hall. Just now, that Mirror had sent over an image of the Blood God.

Ronan raised his hammer and shouted angrily, "Damn it! We’re going to Knowhere. I’ll show the Blood God the consequences of plotting against me."

"If you go back now, you’ll just be throwing your life away."

Tivan said, "You’re no match for the Blood God. Don’t look at me like that, I’m telling the truth. And don’t forget, he has the Space Stone. He can call for reinforcements at any time."

"Xandar!"

Ronan gritted his teeth and said hatefully, "Are we just going to let this go?"

"Of course we can’t let this go. If I don’t avenge this grudge, what face will I have left as an Elder of the Universe?"

Tivan gritted his teeth. "Ronan, you only need to do one thing to destroy Xandar and destroy the Blood God."

Ronan asked in surprise, "What?"

Tivan smiled smugly. "Simple. Publicly announce that you intend to attack Xandar."

"What use is that?"

Ronan said unwillingly, "Besides, I can’t defeat Xandar right now. They have Space Gates and can deploy troops at any time."

"Of course it has a use. As long as you announce that, you’ll immediately gain enough forces to destroy Xandar."

Tivan smiled confidently. "A tree that stands above the forest is sure to be toppled by the wind. The Blood God has drawn too much attention. Plenty of people want to kill him and seize the Space Stone. They only lack an opportunity, and you can give them one."

"Will that really work?"

Ronan looked deeply suspicious. No matter how he heard it, this plan sounded unreliable. Still, after hesitating for a moment, he nodded in agreement, because he had no other path left.