Chapter 804: The First Nova - Rhomann Dey |
The current situation was genuinely unpredictable.
Some of the most potent forces in the universe had gathered on this small life-bearing planet.
The Black Order, Accuser Ronan, and the Nova Centurion—each side had its agenda, and all were here to fight for the Power Stone.
Such a large-scale conflict was a once-in-a-lifetime event.
Meanwhile, observing from the sidelines, the Ravagers were trembling with regret. They couldn't believe they had gotten themselves involved in this mess.
Wouldn't it have been better to mind their own business?
Why hadn't they just stuck to raiding Xandarian convoys or plundering energy planets? Instead, their greed had brought them to assist Xandar.
The name "Ravagers" might sound intimidating, but they were nothing more than space pirates, a ragtag group of nobodies.
Any of the three powerful factions here could easily crush them like ants.
Had they not listened to Star-Lord's nonsense, they wouldn't have ended up in such a predicament, surrounded by three major forces.
"Captain...?" One of his crew members, whose face looked like it had been burned by acid, nervously asked, "Should we... maybe slip away?"
"Moron! Are you full of crap for brains?" Yondu glared at him, furious. "I'd bet my life that if we so much as twitch, the Dark Aster's orbital cannon will turn us into ashes in less than ten seconds!"
"So... what should we do?"
Another crew member asked, shivering with fear.
"We wait... and hope they finish quickly."
Yondu clenched his arrow tightly, considering their enemy's overwhelming numbers. Even if he talked his way out of this, there was no guarantee they could escape. With a sigh, he resigned himself to waiting.
The only reason they hadn't been killed yet wasn't because the three factions feared them but because they had been entirely ignored. If they tried to flee, the operator aboard the Dark Aster wouldn't hesitate to use some weapons to eliminate them first.
So, their best option was to stay put and pray that these three Titans had forgotten about the pirates.
Yondu fixed his eyes on the battlefield, a flicker of worry in his gaze.
Though he often said he would skin Star-Lord alive or make him pay, Yondu had long considered Quill his own son deep down.
Now, Quill's fate was unknown.
The three powerful factions were locked in a tense standoff, with the sky above filled with warships.
The Nova Corps, led by their Centurion, faced off against the Black Order and the massive Sanctuary II, while Ronan's decimated Sakaaran army still had a fleet of Necrocraft.
The atmosphere was suffocating.
The fleets from the three factions formed a triangle in the sky, with their weapons aimed at each other. The energy buildup from their cannons stirred the clouds, and a fierce intergalactic war seemed imminent.
"This is your final warning!"
The Nova Centurion, surrounded by golden light, declared coldly, his killing intent palpable as the countless Nova warships lined up behind him. His voice echoed across the sky, "Surrender the Power Stone immediately and leave the capital of the Nova Empire, or we will take this as an act of war and initiate a galactic conflict!"
"Thanos... does not fear threats."
Ebony Maw sneered, his thin, skeletal face twisting in mockery. "The Black Order and the Sanctuary II are here. Do you really think, Centurion, that you can defeat us alone?"
"Give me back the Power Stone!"
Ronan, on the brink of madness, could not stand the emptiness inside him after losing the Power Stone.
Having once tasted ultimate power, there was no way he could accept being so weak now. He wanted to reclaim the Power Stone and once again... become a god.
But no one paid attention to Ronan.
The Black Order's eyes were fixed on the Centurion, knowing he was their only obstacle in acquiring the Power Stone.
"Centurion, I admit you're strong,"
Ebony Maw said, crossing his hands behind his back as telekinetic stones floated around him. His sunken eyes gleamed coldly. "But there is only one of you, and there are five of us. Are you sure you want to fight us?"
"If we do go to war..."
"Who knows who will win or lose, but I can guarantee that not a single life on Xandar will survive."
"Are you really willing to sacrifice the entire Nova Empire for a single Infinity Stone, Centurion?"
Ebony Maw was sure that the Nova Centurion wouldn't gamble the fate of the entire Nova Empire for the Power Stone.
However, after hearing this,
the Centurion smirked and said slowly, "Who told you there is only one Centurion in the Nova Corps?"
These words shocked everyone.
As the Centurion finished speaking, thunder echoed in the distance. Suddenly, seven or eight beams of golden light appeared, cutting through the sky like meteors, leaving rainbow-like trails of dazzling light behind.
In an instant...
Nine golden figures stood in the sky, their brilliant golden light illuminating the sky like suns. The overwhelming energy they radiated sent shockwaves through the clouds.
There were nine Nova Centurions!
"What a Nova Empire!!!"
Ebony Maw's skeletal frame shook, his ugly face contorting further in shock. He gritted his teeth in frustration. "To think there are this many Centurions... You were the ones hiding the deepest secrets!"
"No... impossible..."
Ronan was dumbfounded.
Weren't there supposed to be only one Centurion?
Why had so many Centurions suddenly appeared, each identical in strength to the first and radiating the same aura, as if they had been cloned?
"If there were nine Centurions, why did the Kree Empire almost wipe out Xandar during the war?" Ronan could not accept what he saw, as if the scene before him had shattered his beliefs.
Ebony Maw, too, had the same question.
The power of nine Centurions could have shifted the balance of an intergalactic war. So why had Xandar suffered such heavy losses and nearly been destroyed by the Kree Empire in the past?
"Back then, there was only one."
The first Centurion spoke coldly, "Rhomann Dey. He was the only Xandarian out of billions who could bear the Nova Force, but unfortunately, he was the only one."
Ronan and Ebony Maw exchanged uneasy glances, realizing the truth but choosing not to interrupt.
The Centurion seemed lost in thought, his voice tinged with an indescribable emotion as he continued, "Rhomann Dey was Xandar's hero."
"It was because of him that we won that difficult war."
"But he quickly realized that one man alone could not protect Xandar. So he began searching for someone who could inherit his legacy, someone who could protect Xandar's civilization and lead the Nova Corps."
"Sadly, after hundreds of years of searching, even as Rhomann Dey grew old, he never found a second person who could inherit the Nova Force. He was a unique existence, an unrepeatable miracle."
"In the end, Rhomann Dey came up with a plan. He would separate his consciousness and merge it into a supercomputer. Using its processing power, he would forcibly control the power of the Nova Force."
"Later, through advanced genetic engineering, his body was perfectly cloned. These clones would collectively share the burden of the Nova Force, like a multi-threaded machine."
"And that supercomputer, after merging with Rhomann Dey's consciousness, became a new entity—known as the Worldmind."
"We... are all Rhomann Dey!"
As the final word fell from the Centurion's lips, his eyes flashed with violent intent. "Now that you know Xandar's secret, you will never leave this place."