"Your two daughters are truly useless. After such a long time, they haven't retrieved the Cosmic Orb. You disappoint me, Thanos. And to think you are called the Destroyer Monarch."
In the blue, transparent light screen, a blue-skinned alien mocked Thanos, who was sitting on a floating throne, without any mercy. He did not fear Thanos. Regardless of the reputation Thanos held in the Universe, he was also a renowned warrior in the Universe: Ronan the Accuser. Under his warhammer, no one could escape.
"I have great confidence in my daughters. Furthermore, when have I ever failed? Kid, you can either watch from the sidelines or go do it yourself."
He waved his hand to suppress the indignant emotions of the Black Order—now only four members. He had lived for such a long time; it wasn't as if he hadn't seen such youths before. But most of these kids would die due to their own impulsiveness. He saw things more clearly than Ronan. Besides, he didn't expect to get the Infinity Stones this time. The setting of the Infinity Stones had a specific order; if placed randomly, it would overwhelm anyone.
"Hmph! Just watch! Thanos, I will let you see the scene where I retrieve the Cosmic Orb and destroy Xandar. Of course, after that, I'll take your life as well."
Ronan looked at Thanos with contempt, left those extremely arrogant and conceited words, and unilaterally cut off the connection with Thanos. Ronan's attitude made all four members of the Black Order furious. They really wanted to go up and slaughter this poser right now. As the most loyal subordinate to Thanos, Corvus Glaive's eyes were almost glowing red.
"Great Master, Lord Thanos, let me slaughter this kid with my own hands!"
Kneeling on one knee, Corvus Glaive requested to fight from Thanos, who was sitting on the floating throne. He wanted to sanction this kid who dared to despise his god, to let him know why flowers are so red, why Planets are so round, and who he absolutely could not afford to offend. The Kree kid should wash his neck and wait.
"No need. Regardless of whether this kid succeeds or not, he does not know the mission bestowed upon the Infinity Stones. And I am the one chosen to execute this mission. I am Destiny."
To Corvus Glaive's surprise, Thanos did not agree to his request. Thanos was very satisfied with Corvus Glaive's loyalty, but he had his own plans. He did not believe that the Kree kid, Ronan, had the capacity to perfectly use the Infinity Stones. No one was more suitable to use the Infinity Stones than he, Thanos. He believed that he, Thanos, was Destiny. Saying these confident words, Thanos stood up from his throne, looked down at his subordinates imperiously, raised his thick arms, and declared to the entire Universe.
"Offer your loyalty to the great God of Death, Lord Thanos."
The incredibly witty Ebony Maw elegantly knelt on the ground, expressing his loyalty. Seeing this guy act like this, Cull, who wasn't very bright, understood what to do. The Black Order, which made the outside world tremble in fear, had now become the four members of the Black Order, and they all knelt down to express their loyalty to their Master.
They probably didn't know that Thanos didn't care at all whether they were loyal or not at this moment. In his mind, if it was to achieve his goal, he could sacrifice everything, including his 'most beloved' daughter. But recently, he didn't know what was wrong with him; he could always recall the Earth woman he saw through Proxima Midnight when attacking Earth. Even using the one cursed with knowledge, he couldn't fully understand this woman.
"Artoria Stark, I feel like you will hinder me."
Thanos weighed this silently in his heart; his subordinates did not know about these things.
"Truly an eye-opener. Some of the creatures in this Universe certainly grow up too casually."
Not going to the prison to find the Cosmic Orb, Artoria continued to wander around Xandar. Watching the creatures that looked similar to the Old Gods, Artoria's eyes were full of curiosity. Since she had come to the Universe, how could she not take a good look at the customs and scenery of other Planets? In a good mood, Artoria started shopping like an ordinary little girl. When she encountered interesting weapons or small animals, Artoria would spend money to buy them. Most importantly, she replenished some food supplies.
"Hello, could I ask you for directions?"
Artoria stopped a girl with a great figure, but whose body was mostly mechanically modified. Of course, Artoria wasn't lost; with Saturday's navigation, how could she not know the way? It was just that this girl was very familiar: Nebula, Thanos's second adopted daughter, a girl even more tragic than Gamora. Being adopted by Thanos was not a good thing, especially since this guy seemed to have a bit of a psychological abnormality. His attitude toward Gamora was much better than toward Nebula. Clearly, Gamora was more like a biological daughter than Nebula, but if one traced it to the root, Thanos didn't love either of these daughters.
"Get lost, or I'll kill you."
A hoarse female voice came from Nebula's throat. She looked at Artoria with disdain. A woman like this didn't look like a warrior at all; she was probably a flower from some greenhouse! People who hadn't seen hell weren't worthy of talking to her. Nebula had no interest in Artoria at all. Brushing past Artoria, she quickly left Artoria's side, not giving Artoria any space to speak. Usually, if anyone blocked her path, she would have gone up and killed them with a blade. Now, she just needed to find someone and couldn't attract too much attention, which was why she didn't take action.
"Interesting, truly interesting."
Artoria, who had been labeled a 'vase' and 'let go' in Nebula's impression, took a strange-looking fruit she had bought out of her bag with her right hand and took a light bite, tasting the flavor of the fruit from another Planet. Since she had seen Thanos's eldest and second daughters so quickly, it meant she could now go to the 'Knowhere' and wait for them.
"Saturday, prepare for departure. Destination: 'Knowhere'."
Artoria could have waited on Xandar for Star-Lord and his group to arrive, but she insisted on heading to the Knowhere. After all, the severed head of a Celestial was truly intriguing. She wondered who had managed to decapitate such a being. Judging by the size of the head, this Celestial's power must have been extraordinary. Furthermore, the fact that no other Celestials had come to collect the remains was unexpected. Could the person who cut off the head be so powerful that they forced the Celestials to allow it to be mined?
Of course, a dead Celestial head alone wouldn't have been enough to make Artoria set sail, but the individual residing in the Knowhere could not be overlooked. The Collector was rumored to be the brother of the Grandmaster—a setting in the comics that was completely opposite to the films. He belonged to a highly intelligent race that appeared shortly after the Big Bang, was immortal, and was a member of the Elders of the Universe, possessing immense power.
As for exactly how powerful his brother, The Collector, was in this setting, Artoria would have to see for herself. Compared to Artoria's leisurely and happy life, things were not going well for Star-Lord and his group in prison, especially after Gamora's identity was exposed. Drax the Destroyer, who was a bit dim-witted, believed that since Gamora was the daughter of Thanos, she had to sacrifice her life to atone for the Deaths of his wife and daughter.
"I am truly sick of this big guy."
Although she lacked weapons, her unarmed combat skills were formidable. However, this was a prison, and getting into a fight would only bring trouble, which was something she wanted to avoid. Moreover, no matter how much she told this guy that she was actually a victim and that she also wanted to kill Thanos, he simply wouldn't believe her. They were just trying to have a meal, and being stared at so intensely by him made it impossible to eat.
"I have a plan. Do you want to hear it? It might just get us out of here."
The less than 1.5-meter-tall Rocket, accompanied by Groot, sat down in front of Star-Lord and Gamora and spoke in a low voice. His furry face wore a smile that could only be described as cunning; it seemed he was very confident in his plan.
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