"Ronan's ship is charging towards Xandar! All Nova pilots, establish a blockade immediately!"
No sooner had the order been given than Ronan's massive ship was seen charging through the clouds towards Xandar. The Nova fighter ships hastily aligned their formation and began to create an energy net to block Ronan's vessel.
Moreover, the remaining Chitauri and Ronan's forces suddenly descended at high speed, attempting suicide attacks as they assaulted Xandar.
Boom! Bang!
As Xandar's cities began to burn, with buildings exploding one by one from the suicide attacks, the leader of the Ravagers—likely Stakar Ogord—urgently issued a command.
"Ravagers! Protect the city!"
At that command, all the Ravagers moved towards Xandar's cities to block the Chitauri and Ronan's forces attempting suicide attacks. I couldn't just stand by either, so I started deliberately crashing my drones into the enemies to trigger explosions.
Blam! Pop! Kaboom!
"Damn it! The Chitauri mothership from space is also charging towards Xandar!!"
In such a desperate situation, even Irani, the head of the Nova Corps, spoke emotionally.
'Sigh... I didn't want to use this, but...'
I immediately flew up into space, summoned the battlecruiser Hyperion from StarCraft's Raynor's Raiders, teleported inside the ship, and gave an order to the AI, Matt.
"Matt!"
"Yes, Master."
"Prepare the Yamato Cannon right now!"
"Understood."
I had drawn this from a gacha long ago and summoned it once, but it was too large for me to operate alone. After integrating the system and modifying it with AI for solo control, I had stored the Hyperion in my inventory. Its size was over 1 km, making it impractical to use easily.
"Another massive ship has appeared in the sky!"
Chaos erupted again on Xandar. So, I reassured them immediately.
"No need to worry. It's an ally."
"Ah... That's a relief."
Then, the AI Matt notified me that charging was complete.
"Master, the Yamato Cannon is fully charged."
"Good! Fire the Yamato Cannon at that mothership charging towards the planet!"
"Understood."
At my command, the Hyperion turned towards the Chitauri mothership, aimed, and a tremendous energy gathered along the line below the bridge before a powerful plasma cannon struck the Chitauri ship.
Kaboom!!!
The destructive power of the Yamato Cannon was truly astonishing. It obliterated the Chitauri mothership in an instant, its force comparable to a nuclear bomb—like a nuclear blast fired as a beam.
"Whoa... I had no idea it would be this powerful..."
"The next Yamato Cannon will be available in one hour."
The AI Matt informed me of the cooldown time. Cheers echoed through the comms from Xandar as they watched.
"Wow~~~!!!!"
I rode the Hyperion, swiftly passing through the atmosphere, and as soon as I landed on Xandar, I began to quickly subdue Ronan's forces.
Rat-a-tat-tat!
Blam! Pop! Pop! Kaboom!
As the Hyperion's numerous turrets spat fire and opened fire, Ronan's forces started to be cleared at an incredible rate. Designed to handle swarms of Zerg, this number might have been child's play for the Hyperion.
However, the Chitauri fighters were nowhere to be seen; likely, as with the Avengers, all Chitauri shut down and crashed when their mothership was destroyed. Why they were designed that way was a mystery.
"This should be enough."
After cleaning up the area, I went back into space, stored the Hyperion in my inventory, switched to a Nova fighter ship, and returned to Xandar. Immediately, the Nova Corps contacted me.
"Ronan's ship is still there. Did that powerful ship leave?"
"Yes, it said there were too many allies around, so it had no choice but to return."
"I, I see... That's too bad."
The Nova Corps was quite disappointed that the Hyperion had left.
'I've done this much; you guys should handle the rest.'
This was why I hesitated to use such things. It was the same with abilities; since there are many crises in every story, if I solve everything with overpowered abilities, the main characters don't develop, leading to a 'do it for me' attitude that diminishes the enjoyment. Of course, if the original story might be ruined, I have to use them.
Anyway, with only Ronan's ship left flying, I called back my drones. But only two returned—one badly damaged, struggling to fly. I had lost 198 out of 200 drones in this battle.
"Damn, that's a huge loss... Ronan, you bastard, just you wait!"
Unlike in the original, Ronan's ship had its speed reduced by the Nova Corps blocking it from the front, while the Ravagers concentrated fire from behind, damaging it. As a result, its propulsion systems were in no shape to function.
Losing its propulsion, Ronan's ship began to crash slowly into a remote plain under the Nova Corps's guidance. I landed my fighter ship nearby and disembarked.
Crash!
As the ship slowly crashed, the remaining Ronan's forces, Ronan, and Nebula jumped out and fired at Xandarian ships, but it was futile. The Xandarian ships were already shielded, making it hard to damage them.
"Drop your weapons and surrender!"
Then, Ronan made a final desperate move, attaching the energy mass I had previously faked and placed in the Orb to his hammer, shouting. It seemed Thanos, knowing the Orb didn't contain the Power Stone, had given it back to Ronan to use.
"Xandar!!! You're coming with me!!!!"
Observing the energy flow with [Naked Eye], Ronan seemed to intend to use the massive energy in the coronatite for a suicide attack, raising his hammer skyward before trying to slam it down.
"This bastard, really!"
I rushed at incredible speed, blocked the hammer, and landed a powerful kick to his abdomen.
Thud!
"Guh!"
The kick was so strong that a cracking sound came from Ronan's abdomen as he slammed hard into his own ship behind him.
Crunch!
"Cough..."
Ronan spat blood, staggered, and started to get up. Then, Drax—who had arrived unnoticed—screamed madly and charged at Ronan.
"Ronan!!! I'll avenge my wife and daughter!!"
As Drax tried to attack Ronan, his underlings rushed to protect him, but the Guardians of the Galaxy members and Yondu's family arrived and fired at the underlings.
Rat-tat-tat~
"Eek!" "Gah!"
With the underlings dealt with, the second duel between Drax and Ronan began. But Ronan, likely severely injured from my kick, moved sluggishly, unable to properly defend against Drax's attacks and taking wounds all over. Nearby, Gamora was trying to persuade Nebula.
"It's over, Nebula! You know it too. Whether Thanos succeeds or fails, there's no future under him! Come with me."
"What difference does that make? And do you think he'll just let us be!?"
Gamora hesitated for a moment at the question, then spoke to Nebula.
"At least we could be real sisters."
At those words, Nebula looked quite flustered.
"Damn! Damn!"
Nebula threw her weapon to the ground, kicked the dirt, and slumped down. Drax's fight seemed to be wrapping up.
Slice~!
"Gah!"
Drax deeply cut Ronan's thigh, forcing him to his knees.
"Finally... I can achieve my revenge."
Looking at Drax, Ronan spoke.
"I remember. Your dead family..."
Slash~!
"Guhk!"
Ronan couldn't finish his sentence. As soon as his family was mentioned, Drax immediately sliced deeply into his neck. After taking the blow, Ronan grabbed his throat, trying to say something, but collapsed and died.
I first picked up Ronan's hammer lying nearby, removed the coronatite embedded in it, and stored it in my inventory. Seeing how Ronan used it, it seemed dangerous to leave it, so I decided to keep it.
After everything was settled, the Guardians of the Galaxy members and I paid the Ravagers their fee. But the amount was larger than expected; when I asked, it was agreed at 150 million per team. With four teams from Yondu's family and six from Stakar's Ravagers—ten teams total—it came to a whopping 1.5 billion units.
So, we decided to split it, each bearing 250 million. Still, we ended up with over 400 million. Rocket was dying over the money loss. Anyway, after dividing the payment, as everyone was about to leave, Yondu hesitated, then went to Stakar and greeted him formally.
"Captain, long time no see."
Stakar, receiving Yondu's greeting, made an angry face, then turned his gaze away to cool off before speaking to Yondu again.
"Sigh... We ended up taking the same job, but you breaking the rules hasn't changed."
"But that's..."
Yondu tried to explain, but Stakar cut him off and continued.
"Still, your flying skills have improved."
With those words, Stakar gestured to his underlings and left for his ship. He probably found it hard to harshly criticize a comrade he fought alongside. Anyway, Yondu watched Stakar leave until he disappeared from sight, then turned and called Quill.
"Quill!"
"Yondu."
"This time, we made a big haul, so I'll let it slide, but if you do it again, there won't be any leftovers!"
"Yeah, yeah."
Yondu signaled to his underlings to leave.
"Let's go!"
And so, all the Ravagers departed from Xandar. The Nova Corps took the sole survivor, Nebula, into custody and asked us for details. Fortunately, things went well, and Nebula ended up exiled, thanks to the Guardians of the Galaxy members and me vouching for her.
Interestingly, the Guardians of the Galaxy only received a single new spaceship, while I got 1 billion units as compensation. The reason was that Quill had a prior record of stealing vibranium, and they were all criminals, so it couldn't be helped.
The Nova Corps inquired about the Hyperion, but I brushed it off, saying it was a ship operated by a group called 'Raynor's Raiders,' and I had coincidentally contacted them for support. The Nova Corps seemed skeptical, but when I insisted, they didn't press further.
Afterward, I separately asked the Nova Corps to see Ronan's body and moved to the morgue. I made money from this, but since Ronan caused me massive losses, I planned to make him work as my slave forever.
"Rise."
I tried using the [Shadow Lord] ability. I wasn't happy that the first shadow soldier was Ronan, but I had no choice. The reason was that the [Assassination Plunder] ability and [Shadow Lord] ability didn't synergize well; in fact, they clashed. If I killed someone, [Assassination Plunder] would absorb their abilities, and even if I made a shadow soldier, since the abilities were already taken, it would just be a useless soldier with no powers.
Making shadow soldiers out of those with unappealing abilities would only increase the number of worthless troops. This was also why I didn't turn the dark elves into shadow soldiers. So, I chose those who were physically powerful. The first target was Ronan.
From Ronan's corpse lying in the morgue, a black shadow shimmered, and a shadow soldier resembling Ronan rose, kneeling on one knee and saluting me.
"I greet the king."
[??? LV. 1]
General Grade
Thanks to [Gacha Life], I could see the names and levels of shadow soldiers even without a level system.
"Your name remains Ronan."
"Understood, my king."
[Ronan LV. 1]
General Grade
"Take this and go inside for now."
I took out Ronan's hammer from my inventory and tossed it to him. Ronan naturally caught his weapon and, following the order, disappeared into the shadows. With that done, I left the morgue and spent the night in the accommodation provided by Xandar.
The next day, the Guardians of the Galaxy prepared to leave. Nebula, acting tsundere, decided to join them. I secretly planted the shadow soldier Ronan among them. This way, I'd know when the Guardians encountered Ego. They finished their preparations and were about to board the ship provided by Xandar, the 'Benatar.' I bid them farewell.
"This is as far as I go with you guys."
Everyone seemed surprised at that. Quill asked why.
"What? Our teamwork was great!"
"I'm sorry too, but I have a lot to do. I can't help it."
Quill was quite disappointed.
"I see, that's too bad. But if you change your mind, let me know anytime."
"Will do. Have a good journey."
I exchanged goodbyes with the Guardians of the Galaxy and watched them leave.
'The difference from the original is that Nebula joined the Guardians early... Well, it should be fine.'
After seeing them off, I teleported to Knowhere. I planned to take over Knowhere entirely based on documents from the Collector.