Sudden Arrival

Alex and Warlord were actually about evenly matched. More precisely, at their level, truly injuring one another required energy a full tier above their own.

So whenever Alex and Warlord fought, it always ended in a draw. But what Warlord was doing today clearly was not a fight. He was deliberately trying to "humiliate" Alex, and Alex had no way to stop him.

Struggle? Warlord’s strength was no weaker than Alex’s, perhaps even slightly stronger. Energy Impact Beams could at most make Warlord feel a little pain. Metal Control? Ordinary blades would curl the moment they struck Warlord’s skin!

In the end, Alex simply gave up and let Warlord toss him around for fun, treating it like a roller coaster ride.

After playing around for a while, Warlord found it boring and finally released Alex. Still, just to be safe, he immediately retreated far away after letting him go.

"Relax, I’m not looking for trouble today!" Alex sat cross-legged on the ground, tilted his head to glance at the distant Warlord, then let out a long breath and said solemnly, "I’m leaving soon. I just wanted to have a proper talk."

Warlord froze for a moment, and the tension gradually faded from his face. With a flash, he appeared beside Alex.

Only then did Warlord notice the sly grin on the other half of Alex’s face. Realizing something was wrong, he immediately tried to flee.

"Trying to run now? Too late!" Alex leaped up with a laugh, grabbed Warlord’s hands, and copied his earlier movements, throwing him over his back again and again.

As the Captain of the Imperial Guard, how could Warlord endure such humiliation? Naturally, he struggled without pause. Unfortunately, he was facing Alex, someone not the slightest bit weaker than him. No matter what abilities Warlord used, he still could not harm Alex in the slightest.

"Is that enough?" After being thrown around by Alex for so long, Warlord could not help speaking up. Beneath his calm tone was a hint of pleading. "I’m still the Captain of the Imperial Guard. Could you at least give me some dignity?"

"Ten more throws!" Alex chuckled and gave Warlord an answer that left him laughing helplessly.

Fortunately, Alex kept his word and truly let go after ten throws. But just like Warlord, he immediately moved away and did not forget to threaten him, "Stop now, or I can outlast you!" With Energy Absorption, Alex’s endurance was something most people simply could not match.

Warlord had initially wanted revenge, but when he heard Alex say that, he was left speechless. Shaking his head with a bitter smile, he said, "Fine, we’ll stop!" The two had fought once before, and that battle had lasted nearly a month. In the end, Warlord had been forced to admit defeat because he had completely run himself dry!

Alex used Teleportation to return to Planet Feather, where he got a bottle of wine and two glasses. The two sat together again, drinking and chatting about this and that.

"How have things been lately? Any news from the two empires?" Over the past six years, Alex had gone from initial anxiety to his current calm acceptance. Asking this question, one he had asked countless times before, he sounded much more casual and relaxed.

Warlord shook his head, slowly savoring his wine before saying unhurriedly, "No idea. The war will probably take some more time, but the smaller provocations have been escalating constantly. I’d say they’ll definitely start fighting within five years."

"No wonder Danger Bird is sending me out now." Alex leaned back against the sandy ground and looked up at the brilliant stars. His mood quietly sank. "It’s been six years. I wonder how they’re doing now."

Hearing this, Warlord turned to look at Alex, then quickly looked away again, a trace of helplessness on his face. "I want to send you back too, but the Milky Way is sealed off now. The Stargate simply can’t be opened…"

"I know." Before Warlord could finish, Alex cut him off. His expression did not change in the slightest, but his eyes grew increasingly deep and distant.

With a long sigh, Alex began telling his story—his story with them. "You know, I once left them for a full ten years because of an accident. Ten years!"

"Ten years passed in a flash. When I returned and saw how they had aged, my heart broke." As he spoke, Alex’s tears began falling uncontrollably. "Back then, I swore that I would never leave them again, not for all eternity. But now, I…" By the end, Alex was sobbing too hard to continue. Tears flooded from his eyes, blurring even the stars overhead.

Warlord sat silently beside Alex. After a long while, he finally said, "Soon. Really soon."

Alex cried for a long time before abruptly stopping. He turned to Warlord and demanded resentfully, "Why? Why wait so long? Why do we have to wait until they go to war before acting?"

This question had lingered in Alex’s mind for a very long time. During the first year or two, it had not occurred to him. It was only after two years had passed and he had begun growing impatient that he suddenly realized he had overlooked it.

If the Shi’ar Empire wanted to stop the war between the Kree Empire and the Skrull Empire, why not intervene early and crush it before it could begin? Why wait until the war had started? Wouldn’t that be too late by then?

Alex had once asked Danger Bird this question. At the time, she had merely smiled meaningfully and given him no answer. Afterward, Alex asked many others, even secretly using telepathic hypnosis on people, but he never found an answer.

When Warlord suddenly heard Alex ask this question, he froze on the spot. Turning toward Alex, he asked in surprise, "You don’t know?" Warlord had heard that Alex was asking people everywhere about this. Later, when Alex stopped asking, Warlord had assumed he had learned the answer!

"I don’t know!" Alex looked at Warlord in astonishment, his face full of confusion. Seeing Warlord’s rather strange expression, he grumbled unhappily, "Nobody told me. How was I supposed to know?"

Warlord looked at Alex speechlessly and sighed with feeling. "Alex, you really aren’t suited to being a leader."

"Just say it. Stop beating around the bush!" Embarrassed into anger, Alex grabbed Warlord’s wrist and made as if to throw him over his back again.

Warlord’s face went pale, and he hurriedly explained, "The Shi’ar Empire has always been suppressed by the Kree and Skrull Empires. Once those two start fighting, they’ll inevitably drain their national strength. Then the Shi’ar Empire will have a chance to rise."

Alex stared blankly for a moment, then sneered mockingly, "Ugly, disgusting politics!"

Just then, a figure suddenly descended from the sky. It was a member of the Imperial Guard.

The newcomer glanced at Alex, then turned to Warlord and called out, "By order of the Empress, Lord Warlord is to proceed to the Imperial Capital immediately!" After a brief pause, he turned to Alex and continued, "Alex is to come as well!"

"What happened?"