Strength Soars, Ronan

"Soul binding? High-end stuff."

Bert Wang smiled in satisfaction and sent his soul aura into the Spear of God. The Spear of God suddenly trembled, radiating brilliant holy light as it danced endlessly within the Space Stone like a puppy looking for its owner.

Sensing his connection with the Spear of God, Bert Wang raised his hand and removed the seal. The Spear of God immediately flew into his hand. Gripping it, he burst into laughter. So what if it was a Godly Armament? It was his now, wasn’t it?

"Using the Spear of God to kill angels would definitely feel awesome."

Bert Wang chuckled and stored the Spear of God in his soul. Then he looked toward the Power Stone and discovered that its glow had dimmed by roughly half.

The Power Stone was extremely unwilling, but it had no way to resist Bert Wang. After all, it was only a stone.

The Reality Stone, meanwhile, felt immensely relieved. Thankfully, it had not been the one sacrificed. Thankfully, that guy had promised not to devour it.

One Infinity Stone sacrificing another Infinity Stone—this was the first time such a thing had happened since the birth of the universe.

"Pretty effective. Half was enough to get it done."

After thinking for a moment, Bert Wang said, "I sacrifice the energy of the Power Stone in exchange for rapidly absorbing the Eternal Fire and the Space Stone."

The Aether flashed and began altering reality. Under its influence, the energies of the Eternal Fire and Space Stone poured crazily into Bert Wang’s body, gradually turning him into a being of light.

Sacrificing the Power Stone so the Reality Stone could help him devour the Space Stone—if the Power Stone and Space Stone could speak, they would surely recite a poem through tears.

Beanstalks burn beneath the pot; beans weep within. Born from the same root, why torment each other so cruelly?

An hour later, the wish ended. The Power Stone dimmed completely, seeming like an ordinary rock. Of course, it was not broken. As long as it had enough time to absorb Cosmic Power, it could return to normal—though that might take centuries.

Bert Wang was still a being of light. Feeling the surging power within his body, he laughed loudly. He had officially reached the God-Devil Level, the level of Hell Lords and Demon Gods.

Of course, that was only in terms of power. In essence, Bert Wang was still human, not some cosmic god or demon.

With a broad smile, Bert Wang said, "Demon Gods, when you come again, I’ll give you a huge surprise."

Bert Wang was delighted, but Rocket was having a miserable time. When the Earth Federation representatives said they did not know the little raccoon, the Nova Corps immediately canceled his special treatment and sent him, along with Star-Lord and the others, to Kyln, Xandar’s maximum-security prison in space.

Inside Kyln Prison, Star-Lord, now dressed in prison clothes, sneered at Rocket. "Didn’t you say you had connections up there? Why did you get locked up here with me?"

"The Blood God just happens to be away. When he gets back, he’ll definitely rescue me. We’re super close."

Rocket snorted. "Unlike you, you bastard. Pretending to be an Earthling? Do you even know what it means to forget your roots?"

"I am an Earthling!"

Star-Lord shouted indignantly. Gamora said irritably from the side, "We have to escape. Ronan is looking for the Orb. If he comes here, none of us will survive."

"Instead of worrying about Ronan, you should worry about yourself first. Haven’t you noticed that all the prisoners here are watching you?"

Rocket sneered. "Thanos’s adopted daughter—lots of people want to kill you. Come talk to me about breaking out after you survive tonight. Groot, let’s go."

"I am Groot."

Groot said. Rocket sneered, "Help her? Did you hit your head or something? We don’t even know her."

Gamora glanced at Rocket and snorted. "Someone is offering four billion for the Orb. If you get us out, the four of us split the money."

"Four billion?"

Rocket and Star-Lord both cried out. Rocket immediately thumped his chest. "Gamora, don’t worry. With the friendship between us, I won’t let these bastards touch a single hair on your head."

"I am Groot."

Groot covered his face. Rocket viciously kicked him. How dare he say Rocket was shameless?

That was two billion. Forget his teeth—he could even give up his face.

Once he had money, he would become a super-rich tycoon like Mr. Wang.

Gamora directly gave Rocket the middle finger. After that, under the protection of Star-Lord, Rocket, and Groot, Gamora successfully survived. Star-Lord even talked Drax the Destroyer into joining them.

The Guardians of the Galaxy were officially complete.

Rocket truly was an expert at prison breaks. The very next day, he successfully escaped with the others. Then they flew their ship toward Knowhere.

Not long after Rocket and the others left, Ronan arrived at Kyln Prison aboard the Dark Aster. Kyln Prison was alarmed. It resisted while calling Xandar for reinforcements.

"A bunch of fools. If they had run away immediately, they might have had a chance to live. Now, they are doomed."

Aboard the Dark Aster, Ronan, his body painted and the Universal Weapon in hand, said disdainfully, "Nebula, lead the Death Fleet and kill every Xandarian."

Nebula, Thanos’s adopted daughter whose entire body was mechanical, accepted the order. "Ronan, I will complete your mission."

Under Nebula’s fierce assault, Kyln Prison suffered heavy losses, and its defensive lines collapsed one after another. The warden roared over the public channel, "Ronan, Xandar will not let you go."

"I am the one who will not let them go. I will destroy Xandar. Only cowards would make peace with you."

Ronan said coldly, "You are doomed. No one can save you. But don’t be sad, because Xandar will surely follow in your footsteps."

"Not necessarily."

The warden sneered. "Earth Express can save us."

"Earth Express? At a time like this, you’re actually counting on a delivery service to save you?"

Ronan laughed mockingly. "It seems death has put so much pressure on you that you’ve started talking nonsense."

"You know nothing about delivery services."

Before the warden finished speaking, a space portal appeared outside the prison and rapidly expanded. Then a large number of small combat ships flew out of the portal and attacked the Necrocraft Fleet wildly. Caught off guard, the Necrocraft Fleet suffered heavy losses.

Ronan shouted in disbelief, "Impossible! How could Xandar possess such teleportation technology?"

"They finally came."

The warden let out a huge sigh of relief. Earth Express really was reliable, though its prices were truly a little too expensive.

At Nova Corps headquarters, Nova Prime asked Bert Wang, "Mr. Wang, can you keep opening portals?"

"Of course. As long as you need them."

Bert Wang smiled. "The customer comes first."

Nova Prime said murderously, "Good. Please open portals to connect the other bases. Ronan has delivered himself right into our hands. This is the perfect opportunity to eliminate him."

"No problem."

Without further words, Bert Wang immediately opened portals to the other bases. He had delivered goods to those bases before, so he knew where they were.

"Eliminate Ronan!"

Nova Corps ships passed through the main base as a transfer point and rapidly joined the battlefield. As more and more ships arrived, even the powerful Ronan began to look somewhat battered.

Xandar had been able to make peace with the Kree Empire because it naturally possessed sufficient strength. Otherwise, the Kree Empire would have wiped it out long ago.

"Damn it, what is going on? All forces, retreat."

Ronan was furious beyond measure. Gritting his teeth, he ordered a retreat. The Xandarians pursued relentlessly behind them, intending to destroy this formidable enemy.

Unfortunately, though the Xandarians were extremely brave, the Dark Aster ultimately escaped by sacrificing its rear guard. Nova Prime slammed a fist onto the table in frustration. Such a perfect opportunity had gone to waste.

Bert Wang watched coldly without any intention of acting. On one hand, the Nova Corps had not asked him to intervene. On the other, Ronan was still useful.

Bert Wang reminded her, "Nova Prime, Ronan would not have appeared there for no reason. I think you should investigate what happened at the prison."

Nova Prime nodded. "Thank you, Mr. Wang. We will investigate thoroughly."

"That’s good. I wouldn’t want anything to happen to Xandar. I like Xandar very much."

"It is our honor."

Nova Prime smiled, though inwardly she complained, If you like us so much, why not give us a discount?

Space portals were indeed incredibly useful, but their prices were outrageously steep.

Aboard the Dark Aster, Ronan’s expression was ugly beyond measure. He had never expected that attacking a mere Kyln Prison would result in such devastating losses, even forcing him to flee in defeat.

Ronan roared, "Investigate! Find out what this Earth Express is!"

"Yes."

Nebula immediately hacked into Xandar’s network. A moment later, she said, "Earth Express was founded by an Earthling who possesses the Space Stone…"

"The Space Stone?"

Greed flashed through Ronan’s eyes. He sneered, "Possessing such a treasure yet using it to run a delivery service—what a terrible waste. If it were me, I would have used it to conquer the universe long ago."

Nebula reminded him, "Ronan, do not underestimate the Blood God. Even Thanos considers him a formidable enemy."

"The Blood God?"

Ronan hesitated briefly before deciding to give up for now. This was not the time to invite additional trouble.

Thinking of something, Ronan frowned. "I hope this has not alerted them. If the Orb falls into Xandar’s hands, things will become troublesome."

Nebula was about to say something when she suddenly found a piece of intelligence. She hurriedly said, "Ronan, someone is selling the location of the Orb on the black market network. They specifically state that the Orb is no longer in Kyln Prison."

Ronan hurriedly asked, "What? Buy it immediately!"

"I have no money. They want ten million."

Nebula spread her hands. All her money had gone toward upgrading herself. She was utterly broke.

"Ten million?"

Ronan’s teeth hurt. In the past, this would have been a trivial sum, but now he was a wanted criminal. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Buy it. I’ll have someone in the Kree Empire transfer you the money. Many people in the Kree Empire still support me."

"Fine."

After a while, Nebula received the money and bought the information. After reading it, she said, "Star-Lord and the others are taking the Orb to Knowhere. The Collector there is offering four billion for it."

"Four billion, and the Collector? It seems this time there will be a major haul. Change course. We’re going to Knowhere."

Ronan snorted. "Once I obtain the Power Stone, it will be the end of Xandar—and that Blood God."

Nebula said coldly, "Ronan, the Power Stone must be offered to my father."

"I can offer it after using it. It won’t be too late then."

Ronan said this with no sincerity whatsoever. Nebula’s eyes flickered, but she did not stop him, because she hated Thanos more than anyone.

What kind of father replaced his daughter’s body piece by piece with machinery?

Nebula gritted her teeth inwardly. Thanos, and Gamora, I will make you pay.

"Ronan really is rich. I should’ve set the price higher."

Looking at the number in his account, Bert Wang smiled faintly. Ronan truly was a good man. First, he had given Bert Wang a major order worth hundreds of millions, then he had transferred another ten million to him.

Then Bert Wang tapped the screen. The price instantly changed from ten million to ten thousand, with a special note stating that the Orb was the Power Stone.

"Natasha, you can begin."

Bert Wang ordered coldly. They actually dared threaten him. If he did not teach the Elders of the Universe a lesson, they might really think he was afraid of them.

"Alright."

Natasha nodded sharply and efficiently. She was somewhat excited. After lurking for so long, it was finally time to begin.

Aboard the Dark Aster, Nebula quickly noticed the price change. After hesitating, she still told Ronan about it.

Ronan’s face instantly darkened. He did not care about the money, but he could not tolerate being played.

"This matter will not end here."

Ronan gritted his teeth and commanded loudly, "Full speed ahead. Don’t let anyone else beat us to it."

In a tavern somewhere on Knowhere, a Ravager stopping there asked the others in a low voice, "Have you heard the story of Bert Wang, Xandar’s super-rich tycoon?"

A red-skinned alien beside him sneered. "Stop showing off your ignorance. Who doesn’t know about that Earthling? We even know all about him sleeping with a Nova Corps Centurion."

The surroundings erupted in laughter. That Earthling’s life was the stuff of countless people’s dreams, so news about him had spread quickly and far—including all that gossip.

"Ignorant? You dare call me ignorant?"

The Ravager was enraged. He shouted, "You’re the ignorant ones! You don’t even know that the Power Stone is about to arrive on Knowhere!"

The tavern suddenly fell silent. A moment later, a blue-skinned alien approached and asked, "The Power Stone, one of the six Infinity Stones?"

Watched by so many people, the Ravager felt somewhat afraid. He took a deep breath, stiffened his neck, and said, "That’s right, the Power Stone. It will soon arrive on Knowhere. Whoever gets it can become a second Bert Wang."

"A second richest man on Xandar?"

Everyone’s breathing quickened. Who did not want to be a god-tier tycoon like Bert Wang? Who did not want to take female celebrities shopping every day? Who did not want to date Nova Corps Centurions? The blue-skinned alien asked, "How do you know this?"

"Information bought on the black market. The Power Stone is in the hands of a guy called Star-Lord. He’s on his way here to sell it to the Collector. Do you country bumpkins know how much the Collector offered?"

The Ravager said arrogantly, "Four billion. That’s right—not four million, but four billion."

"Four billion?"

The tavern erupted in shocked cries. That sum was enough to buy an entire planet.

"Kill Star-Lord and take the Power Stone."

Without hesitation, everyone immediately made their decision. The blue-skinned alien gritted his teeth slightly. "Quill, you idiot."

It was not just this tavern. People were talking about it throughout Knowhere. Before long, all of Knowhere was in an uproar. The chance to get rich overnight and change their lives was right before them.