Chapter 26 — Planet Xandar
Two years later — Planet Xandar.
This was the home world of the Nova Corps, a planet where technology had advanced to an astonishing level. It was here that the core military and administrative power of the Nova Corps was stationed. This world had also appeared in the storyline of Guardians of the Galaxy.
Planet Xandar was located in the Andromeda Galaxy and had a permanent population of twelve billion. Besides the native Xandarians, the planet was home to countless intelligent lifeforms from many different races and worlds across the universe.
Unlike Earth, Planet Xandar orbited not one, but three stars.
In other words, it had three suns.
And at this moment, Blake Thorne had already been living on this planet for a full year and six months.
Two years ago, he had piloted his spacecraft alone through the cosmos, searching for Loki's trail for more than half a year. But the result was nothing—there wasn't even the faintest clue about the whereabouts of that slippery trickster.
At first, the search had been nothing more than a passing whim. But when it kept leading nowhere, Blake lost interest in wasting any more time on it. By coincidence, Planet Xandar happened to be relatively close to his position back then.
So in the end, Blake decided to take a break here.
If his memory served him right, the Chitauri race seemed to harbor a deep grudge against the Xandarians.
Yeah… the Chitauri were the alien race that had tried to invade New York City two years ago.
In Marvel's history, the Chitauri and the Xandarians had gone to war many times. The hostility between them had lasted for ages—it could practically be called a blood feud.
— — —
In the original version of the Marvel Universe, the leader of the Chitauri was named Ronan the Accuser, and he was in the middle of a plan to destroy Planet Xandar.
To achieve that goal, Ronan was constantly searching for the Cosmic Orb, an artifact that concealed within it the Power Stone—one of the Infinity Stones.
At first, Ronan made a deal with Thanos: if he successfully found the Orb, he would hand it over to Thanos, and in return, Thanos would help him destroy Planet Xandar.
But after Ronan managed to obtain the Orb and realized the terrifying power of the Power Stone inside it, he felt that he no longer needed Thanos.
Even if Thanos stood right in front of him, Ronan believed he was now far stronger and completely invincible.
To secure the Orb, Ronan even announced an extremely high bounty within the Intergalactic Bounty Hunter Coalition network.
In the end, however, the Orb was discovered by a bounty hunter named Peter Quill—who would later be known as Star-Lord, the protagonist of Guardians of the Galaxy.
Peter Quill successfully stole the Orb from Ronan's hiding place, and in order to escape from his adoptive father, Yondu Udonta, he brought the Orb to Planet Xandar with the intention of selling it to the traders there.
But once he arrived on Xandar, his plan fell apart.
Not only did he fail to sell the Orb, he was instead captured by Gamora—Thanos's adopted daughter—who had come to seize the Orb by force.
Just as Gamora was about to finish Peter Quill off, the two of them were suddenly ambushed by Rocket Raccoon and Groot, the towering tree-like creature.
It turned out that the moment Quill double-crossed Yondu and stole the Orb, Yondu immediately issued a live-capture bounty through the hunter network. Rocket had come to Xandar to complete that contract.
As the fight between Peter, Gamora, Rocket, and Groot exploded across the streets of Xandar, the Nova Corps finally stepped in.
In the end, all four of them were arrested and sent to the Xandar prison.
— — —
Right now, Blake Thorne was lounging comfortably on a luxurious sofa inside his private villa on Planet Xandar.
As he lay there, he replayed the storyline of Guardians of the Galaxy in his head.
At the same time, he opened his digital brain terminal and checked the official website of the Intergalactic Bounty Hunter Coalition, scrolling through the latest list of active bounties.
Yeah, to pass the time—and also to earn a bit of "Galactic Credit" to buy a house and vehicles on Xandar—Blake had registered himself as a member of the Coalition.
He was now known by the codename:
"God of Destruction (Intern)."
Interestingly enough, he was the only bounty hunter in the entire intergalactic network who held an SSS-rank rating.
For over a year now, Blake had completed dozens of dangerous missions that no other hunters dared to take, simply because their difficulty levels were absurdly high.
But with his overwhelming strength and mastery of Space-Time Magic, Blake could clear those missions in an incredibly short amount of time.
While other bounty hunters had to pilot their ships for months—sometimes even years—Blake could finish his assignments in a single day.
In fact, the time it took the Coalition to review and approve his mission reports was often longer than the time he spent actually completing the missions.
By now, among bounty hunters, Blake had become something of a living legend.
There were even rumors that the "God of Destruction (Intern)" was actually a real god in disguise.
Even the luxurious home he lived in now was a gift from the Coalition—given to him for free as a sign of respect.
— — —
Suddenly, a notification popped up on his digital brain terminal:
"Mr. Blake, the Nova Corps Supervisor of the Planet Xandar branch is requesting a video call. Would you like to accept?"
Blake frowned slightly, then replied calmly,
"Switch it to a voice call. Then connect."
A few seconds later, the Nova Supervisor's voice came through the device.
"Lord God of Destruction, please forgive the interruption to your rest. We've just received the highest bounty mission in the last three years. This mission comes from Ronan the Accuser, leader of the Chitauri, who is offering eighty-six billion Galactic Credits to anyone who can locate the Cosmic Orb."
"Additionally, the Supreme Commander of the Nova Corps—the highest leader of the Xandarian people—has entrusted me with a special message for you."
"If you are willing to hand the Orb over to Xandar, our government is prepared to offer one hundred and fifty billion Galactic Credits in return."
Blake touched his chin and thought for a moment.
"So this means the Guardians of the Galaxy storyline has finally begun…?"
In a calm voice, he simply replied,
"I understand."
Without saying anything else, Blake cut the communication.
— — —
As for going out to search for the Cosmic Orb himself?
He had no intention of doing that.
Who knew where that thing was even hidden?
Besides, wasn't it much more comfortable to just wait for the Orb to be delivered right to his doorstep?
As for selling the Orb to either Xandar or the Chitauri?
That was even more impossible.
The Power Stone, even if it didn't directly increase his personal strength, still held a value that went far beyond something as trivial as Galactic Credits. Not even hundreds of billions could compare.
On top of that, if he managed to claim one of the Six Infinity Stones for himself, then even Thanos—the so-called "Purple Potato"—wouldn't be able to snap his fingers so easily.
But then, Blake thought of something even more… dangerous.
"If Thanos manages to collect all six Infinity Stones and snaps his fingers… will I disappear too?"
He even found himself wondering—
"What if… I just let Thanos gather all six Infinity Stones, and then see what happens?"
— — —
One month later — Fountain Plaza, Xandar City.
A young human man in a brown leather jacket walked forward with relaxed steps and an overly confident swagger.
Blake raised an eyebrow slightly.
He already knew.
His galactic delivery had arrived.
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