The Counterattack Begins Now

Five minutes earlier, on Xandar.

After much coaxing, Roman Day finally brought Nova Prime, the next Nova Prime in his arms, back from the emotional wreck Hela had left her in. The excessive fat on his cheeks trembled three times with excitement.

Heavens had eyes. Xandar’s future leader had not become an idiot.

"Commander!"

"Urgent alert! The Planetary Defense System has detected the Cosmic Gang!"

"What did you say?" The report from her subordinate jolted the newly recovered Nova Prime awake, pulling her out of her daze.

"Based on the available data, the Cosmic Gang has deployed a number of warships equivalent to ten Kree Empire army groups." The guards responsible for Xandar’s security broadcast the footage captured by the surveillance system directly before Nova Prime’s eyes.

Even with the blinding sparks of explosions, Nova Prime’s attention immediately fixed on the blond figure weaving freely through the warship formations, leaving corpses and wreckage in his wake—Beckett, Son of Thanos!

"That guy…"

"Was he really that strong?"

Beckett’s utterly terrifying destructive power made the mid-to-high-ranking Xandarian officials led by Nova Prime and Roman Day feel their scalps tingle as they sucked in cold breaths.

The endless fleets of warships seemed like battered children’s toys in that man’s hands. One punch shattered them, one kick crushed them.

The Son of Thanos was terrifying indeed!

If he had started fighting directly on Xandar just now… Roman Day shuddered at the thought, having witnessed Beckett’s destructive power firsthand. The color drained further from his round cheeks.

"Activate our Planetary Defense System! Set it to the highest Alpha level. Now! Hurry!"

As Xandar’s highest-ranking commander at the moment, Nova Prime, having returned to normal, immediately decided to keep the enemy at a distance.

"The remnants of the Cosmic Gang have grown far more powerful than they were back then. All we can do is defend until reinforcements arrive."

Her mind was perfectly clear.

The Nova Corps on Xandar was currently understaffed. Charging out to fight the revenge-seeking Cosmic Gang head-on would only get them slaughtered horribly.

As a leader with a brain, Nova Prime naturally would not do that.

"Prime, what about Thanos’s son and Odin’s daughter?" Watching the figures struggling in the vast universe, Roman Day handed the choice back to Xandar’s future empress.

"…The plasma Star Destroyer Cannon should still be usable, right?"

After a long silence, Nova Prime rubbed the finger marks Hela had left around her throat. Her gaze was glacially cold, so cold that Roman Day could not help shivering.

"Also, send some people to track the purple sphere." Only after shifting her eyes away from the screen and no longer seeing Beckett or Hela did Nova Prime’s expression ease somewhat.

She did not believe the Cosmic Gang’s appearance was an accident.

That purple sphere had originally belonged to the Cosmic Gang and had been kept at the Xandar Nova Corps headquarters for a long time. Now Beckett had suddenly reached out to claim it, and with the massive battle raging beyond Xandar, she suspected Beckett had been betrayed by his allies.

"I understand." Roman Day nodded and waved a hand to order the activation of the planetary weapons, their barrels aimed at Beckett and the others retreating toward Xandar.

"That is…"

Just as the Nova Corps prepared to stab them in the back, Jack Jones, a former high-ranking member of the Cosmic Gang who had recovered his strength and was preparing to sneak away from Xandar, stopped as he was about to close the door and looked up in shock. His restored strength had granted him exceptional vision, allowing him to witness the fierce battle unfolding in space.

Every warship scattered across the boundless void bore the Cosmic Gang’s distinctive insignia.

"That is… Brother Seven’s symbol?!" Jack Jones’s body began trembling uncontrollably with excitement.

No, that was not right. Brother Seven was dead.

After the brief surge of excitement, Jack Jones quickly regained his composure.

He remembered clearly that every high-ranking member except himself had been wiped out by the Nova Corps during their surprise attack.

"Were they Brother Seven’s former subordinates?" Looking up again, Jack Jones was completely calm, though a bloodthirsty gleam flickered in his eyes. Sparks flashed from the bracelet on his left wrist, and his figure gradually vanished…

The chaotic, clamorous universe.

Surrounded on three sides, Beckett and Hela stood back-to-back. With both hands supporting a shield large enough to protect a spaceship, they finally gained a brief chance to rest amid the siege.

"Hey, what exactly did you do?"

"Why are these people so determined to keep coming after you?"

Hela tilted back the Nutrient Fluid Beckett handed her, rapidly restoring the injuries within her body. Her chest rose and fell sharply, and her labored breathing did not stop.

"Woz." Sweat slid down Beckett’s forehead, but he did not answer. Instead, he called for the Artificial Intelligence responsible for analyzing the enemy’s origins.

"There are still no results, His Highness Beckett." Inside the spaceship, which remained relatively safe beneath the energy shield, Woz the robotic cat extended eight mechanical arms from his back and methodically analyzed and cracked countless streams of data, yet he still found nothing.

At this time, both the Kree Empire and Skrull Empire were among the greatest forces in the universe. The core technologies mastered by their elite forces were no worse than Woz’s, despite his origins in the Dark Order. Seeing through their true identities in a short time was indeed difficult for Woz.

Boom!

Under the overlapping firepower from three directions, the energy shield lasted only three minutes before beginning to shake. Fine cracks had even appeared across its surface.

"At this rate, both of us will die here, Beckett!" Hela’s expression grew increasingly grim as she looked around.

The densely packed warships did not appear to have diminished much, while behind them, Xandar’s Planetary Defense System watched like a tiger, occasionally preparing to strike and draw blood from them both.

"That is only what you think."

Beckett looked back at Xandar, then at the fleet formations steadily closing in. There was not a trace of despair in his eyes. Instead, a flicker of excitement could vaguely be seen.

It vanished in an instant. Hela did not see it clearly and was not sure whether she had truly seen it.

"His Highness Beckett! Our forces have reached the battlefield!" Aboard the spaceship, the Chitauri chieftain holding a scepter finally breathed a sigh of relief after sensing his people’s presence.

In one corner of the magnificent universe, the vast shadow of the Chitauri fleet gradually emerged.

"You brought an army too?" Still panting, Hela stared dumbfoundedly as the Chitauri warships fearlessly began drawing away the Cosmic Gang fleet’s firepower.

You could have just said you had an army!

"Then, are you ready, Hela?"

Beckett turned sideways. Golden flames erupted from beneath his feet, nearly blinding The Other aboard the spaceship.

"Ah, of course." The power of death surged forth. With part of the pressure lifted, Hela licked her lips, bloodthirsty light dancing in her eyes.

After being suppressed by such fierce firepower for so long, even a clay figure would have some anger.

"The counterattack begins now!"