Opening the gift box, a metal sculpture came into view.
The sculpture was composed of three parts.
At the very top was an anthropomorphic Xandar brain.
The middle part featured the current leader of the Nova Empire, Irani Rael, and Lucas/Loki.
The bottom part was the base.
The edges of the base were shaped like sparks of a portal, a characteristic of Lucas/Loki.
This national gift from the Nova Empire was clearly freshly made. It combined cultural symbols of the Nova Empire with the personal characteristics of Lucas/Loki.
Lucas expressed his satisfaction with it.
Collectible + 1.
As for Loki, he somewhat regretted not using his true appearance.
As if seeing Loki's thoughts, Irani explained, "This national gift uses nanomaterials. The part representing you can adapt and adjust according to your will."
Hearing her explanation, Loki nodded in satisfaction.
Seeing this, Irani struck while the iron was hot, "How about it? Mr. Lucas, Mr. Loki, you can stay on Xandar for a few more days and let us fulfill our duties as hosts."
Ultimately, the warm invitation was hard to refuse.
As the Kree warriors on the Dark Aster gave up resistance, the Nova Corps successfully intercepted the Dark Aster and took in the captives.
The tragedy in the original plot, where the Dark Aster crashed and destroyed a city, also vanished without a trace.
This major battle, where Ronan the Accuser invaded Xandar, ended with a strong start but a weak finish.
Especially for the Ravagers and the five members of the Guardians of the Galaxy, who only managed to transmit information and couldn't do anything else.
However, transmitting information was also a significant contribution. Therefore, they were also invited to the celebration banquet hosted by Irani.
At the banquet, Loki once again became the center of attention.
As for Lucas, after he expressed his desire to focus on eating, few people dared to approach him.
And those few people were Gamora, and behind her, Star-Lord, Rocket Raccoon, Groot, and Drax.
Walking opposite Lucas, Gamora pulled out a chair and sat down, getting straight to the point, "Where is Nebula? I asked the Nova Corps, and she's not among the Kree captives."
Lucas calmly swallowed the unknown food in his mouth, which looked and tasted remarkably like cantaloupe, then slowly replied, "She is my captive."
Gamora's eyes turned cold, and she sharply said, "She is my sister."
Before Lucas could react, the other members of the Guardians of the Galaxy jumped in fright at Gamora's reaction.
Star-Lord quickly stepped forward to joke and lighten the mood, "Gamora means that Nebula is her sister. She wants to see Nebula and hopes to redeem her. No offense intended."
Lucas smiled at Star-Lord, he had no ill will towards this comedian.
"Is that so. You can see Nebula but taking her away is not allowed. I still need her to do something for me."
Hearing Lucas's words, Gamora was about to flare up again.
Seeing this, Rocket quickly gestured to Groot, and the two of them stepped forward together, pulling Gamora away, letting Star-Lord negotiate with Lucas.
Rocket, observing, noticed that Lucas's attitude towards Gamora and Star-Lord was distinctly different.
Connecting this with Gamora's past experiences working for Thanos and Ronan, it wasn't hard to conclude that Lucas had an issue with Gamora.
And the truth was pretty much what Rocket thought. Lucas had an inherent prejudice against people whose souls were as black as ink.
After Star-Lord took over the negotiation, his attitude became much more conciliatory. And under Star-Lord's questioning, he revealed why he wouldn't hand over Nebula.
"I need her to lead me to Thanos."
"Thanos?! That executioner? What do you want with him?"
Hearing news of Thanos, Gamora and Drax couldn't help but ask.
Both of them had grudges with Thanos.
Half of Gamora's homeworld's population was massacred by Thanos.
Although Drax's family had died at Ronan's hands, the ultimate source was Thanos.
Lucas's expression became serious, and he righteously said, "Naturally, I represent love and peace, to eliminate him."
If, before meeting Ronan, Nebula, and Gamora, Lucas still had the idea of physically convincing Thanos to abandon his plan to eliminate half of the Universe's life, then now, he only wanted to send Thanos to hell—Lucas's hell.
"Release Nebula, and I'll take you to see Thanos. Thanos trusts me more. With me, you'll have a better chance of getting close to him." Gamora said in a deep voice.
"Such deep sisterly affection, you make me seem like a big villain."
Lucas stood up, secretly hovering ten centimeters off the ground, looking down at Gamora.
"You can take me to see Thanos. Releasing Nebula is not an option."
"Why? Do you have a grudge against Nebula?" Star-Lord asked, puzzled.
"I'm also from Earth, I passed by there a while ago. Thanos's subordinates probably haven't been to Earth yet, right?"
"I have no grudge against Nebula. As for why?" Lucas chuckled playfully.
"You'll have to ask Gamora. What have she and Nebula been doing with Thanos?"
Gamora was silent for a long time, opening and closing her mouth several times.
Star-Lord, at the side, tried to smooth things over, "Gamora and Nebula were adopted and raised by Thanos since they were young. Becoming killing machines was not their original intention."
Lucas slowly sat down, poured himself a drink, and didn't respond to Star-Lord's words.
In fact, he was unsure how to handle such a question. Although he possessed power capable of overthrowing countless civilizations, he was still just a 26-year-old kid. Moreover, he was just a fun-seeker, not a judge.
Seeing Lucas's silence and lack of rebuttal, Star-Lord pressed harder, "Instead of killing Nebula, why not..."
Noticing Lucas's glance, Star-Lord stopped persuading and he made a zipping motion over his mouth, indicating he would shut up.
"Let's not talk about Nebula for now. I will take you to see Thanos and help you kill him."
Gamora, who had been silent for a while, finally spoke, her voice filled with hatred.
This hatred was clearly directed at her adoptive father, Thanos.
"I will also help you, Lucas." Rrax, at the side, said in a muffled voice.
Lucas put down his drink and grinned. "I really need your help."
Drax puffed out his chest.
See, even Lucas, the strong man who easily defeated Ronan, needs his help.
Star-Lord and Rocket exchanged glances. They really didn't want to face Thanos but their two teammates were already determined to fight. If they refused, this newly formed team would fall apart.
Eyes met, and Star-Lord and Rocket also made up their minds.
Let's do it!
Rocket asked, "Lucas, are you confident you can defeat Thanos? Also, what do you need us to do?"
Lucas smiled mysteriously. "I need you..."