LRAB Chapter 372 Betrayal
Chapter 372 Betrayal
Chapter 372 Betrayal
"It's the accuser, Ronan!"
The Kree, a star-sea military empire, is essentially a warlord-based political system. The so-called "accusers" are members of the "Accusation Council," the upper echelon of the Kree Empire that holds military and political power, and are one of the warlords within the empire.
The undead battleship that fired the cannon was Ronan's fleet flagship, and he usually commanded from there. Now that the warship had entered the fray, Ronan was naturally among them.
The Kree battleship's shot pierced through the upper level of the prison space station's public area, immediately triggering alarms throughout the entire prison.
Under the influence of the external vacuum, the air inside the entire space station began to flow outwards along the two large holes.
The surging airflow swept away many unfortunate prisoners and guards who had gathered on the upper level to watch the commotion, throwing them into outer space before they could even utter a scream.
But soon the emergency airtight shield on the outer layer of the prison was activated, re-isolating the vacuum of the outside world, and the artificial gravity system also returned to stability. Star-Lord, who hadn't reacted at all, finally regained his breathing: "Damn it, Ronan just used his own ship's cannon to shoot right through the Nova Empire's prison."
Doesn't this amount to tearing up the treaty and starting a new war?
Although Star-Lord's information network was not very good, he had been operating on the border between the Nova Empire and the Kree Empire for a long time, so he knew that the two empires had just signed a peace agreement.
"Just for 400 million? Is it really worth it!"
The cost of firing this one shot could be tens of millions, not to mention that once the cannons fire, the subsequent war will burn through hundreds of billions of dollars and at least hundreds of millions of lives.
"I'm talking about that bastard," Rocket Raccoon said, not believing that someone of Ronan's caliber would be short of four hundred million. "What exactly is inside the Sphere?"
"It's Superman!"
Joey grabbed Rocket by the scruff of his neck, lifting the unruly and restless raccoon aside like a cat or dog, and darted away: "Wait for me here!"
"And what about you, Thanos's daughter?"
Rockets then turned their attention to Gamora: "Since you were able to find a buyer, you must know something, right?"
'
"Perhaps my father Thanos knows, but he couldn't possibly tell me." Gamora also knew nothing about what was inside the Sphere, but one thing was absolutely certain: "In any case, what's inside is definitely beyond what credits can measure; four hundred million is just the highest price I can get."
The reason Ronan was so concerned about the Orb, even going so far as to personally travel to this desolate prison, was because Thanos made him a condition he couldn't refuse: "Thanos told Ronan that if he found the Orb, he would help Ronan once and destroy Xandar, the capital of the Nova Empire."
The Kree and Nova, two interstellar empires, had a long-standing feud built during their millennia-long war. Ronan's father...
My grandfather and many of my ancestors died in this long-running Kree-Nova War.
Not long ago, the Emperor of the Kree Empire and the Nova Supreme reached a peace agreement, and both sides were prepared to rest for a while before resuming the war. However, Ronan, who had made the destruction of the Nova Empire his lifelong ambition, was unwilling to wait that long.
As one of the most powerful accusers, his influence was essentially equivalent to half of the Kree Empire, and no one within the empire could restrain such a madman.
The paltry 400 million credits couldn't entice Ronan, but the annihilation of billions of people on Xandar was a dream come true for him.
"As expected, the big shots at the top really do business on a grand scale, completely different from us small fry."
O
When the topic turned to the deaths of billions of people, Rocket seemed particularly indifferent, even adding a sarcastic remark: "We people value money more than life, but these big shots treat human lives like money."
If the Mad Titan made a promise, he could naturally keep it; it wasn't the first time he had slaughtered and destroyed an entire planet or a civilization.
It goes without saying what will happen to the Nova Empire after its capital is destroyed, surrounded by the Kree.
They were just thinking about how the mastermind would spend the four hundred million after selling the Sphere and becoming wealthy, but what Thanos could offer Ronan was something that transcended the concept of money; it was the lives of hundreds of billions of people in the Nova Empire.
"You can rest assured, none of this will happen."
While the Rockets were talking, Joey had already changed into his battle suit and retrieved the prisoners and guards who had been swept into outer space by the airflow.
It has to be said that most of the people who survived in this prison are really quite capable. The ionizing radiation from that energy cannon shot, combined with the low temperature and vacuum environment of outer space, didn't kill these unlucky guys.
He casually tossed the nearly frozen prisoners and guards to the ground, carefully heated them with his thermal vision, and the huddled bodies began to regain their vitality in the prison's survival environment.
"Ahem!"
The first to regain consciousness was a prison guard, but before he could even catch his breath, Joey grabbed him and turned him to face Star-Lord and his gang: "Where are these people's confiscated personal belongings stored?"
The prison guard, still recovering from shock, hesitated, but Joey's next words forced him to speak: "For the sake of me saving you from outer space and allowing you to go home and see your wife and kids again, use your brain and save me some time, okay?"
"The item is on the T floor of Zone B—"
"Hold on."
For a Kryptonian like Joey, entering and leaving this supposedly "heavily guarded" prison was easier than walking into his own backyard.
Before long, Joey carried back two large boxes and distributed them to their original owners.
"Wait a minute, where's my cosmic orb?" Star-Lord immediately reached into his pockets after getting the equipment, but couldn't find the four hundred million.
"No," Joey held the metal sphere containing the Power Stone in his hand, "it's my Cosmic Orb."
In the first place, Star-Lord stole the ball from him. If it weren't for this guy's clever trickery and unexpected complications, Joey would have already returned to Earth to start preparing to find the next gem.
"What time is it? Can't you use your brain, Quill?!"
Even a bounty hunter like Rocket, who values money more than life itself, could tell that the cosmic orb was something they couldn't possibly get their hands on.
A life of extravagance is wonderful, but if you have the life to earn money but not the life to spend it, then it's not so wonderful.
"Guess what, Quill?" Rocket picked up the machine gun that had been confiscated earlier and aimed it at Star-Lord, who was still dawdling. "I was thinking that maybe Groot and I should be more practical and just tie you up and take you to the Marauders, exchange you for forty thousand dollars!"
Upon hearing this, Star-Lord instantly donned his full weaponry, arming himself to the teeth, and drew his dual pistols, aiming them at Rocket: "Then don't even think about it!"
In just a few seconds, the relationship between Rocket and Star-Lord changed from amicable partners in selling stolen goods to a tense hunter and prey relationship.
Upon seeing this, Groot frowned, protesting, "I am Groot!"
However, his race's language only has a few syllables and expresses content solely through tone and intonation, so apart from Rocket, no one present could understand what he was saying.
"Objection overruled!" The rocket launched its safety, and the weapon began charging. "Quail, I advise you to surrender immediately!"
Star-Lord also released the safety on his weapon, his reinforced mask covering his face, ready for a firefight: "Then be prepared to be riddled with bullets!"
"Fire!" x2
The two men, their eyes locked in a tense standoff, exchanged glances, but in the next second, they simultaneously and in perfect unison turned their guns around, unleashing two maximum-powered freeze bullets at Superman.
This type of ammunition is not lethal, but it can stun a target for a long time. For raiders and bounty hunters like Star-Lord and Rocket, it is an essential tool for interstellar travel, murder, and robbery.
In the brief span of a dozen seconds, the two had already reached a consensus through their eyes and tacit understanding: rather than running away empty-handed, they might as well take a big gamble.
The saying goes, "Fortune favors the bold," but isn't that just being hunted down by Thanos, Ronan, the Marauders, the Nova Empire, and Superman all at once?
With four hundred million dollars before them, Rocket and Star-Lord knew which to choose: to remain a poor, unknown nobody or a world-renowned outlaw.
Groot's expression turned to disbelief again, and he loudly condemned the two who had just been putting on an act: "I am Groot!"
Superman just saved over a dozen lives and helped them retrieve their equipment, how could these two bastards treat him like this?!
Unlike Groot, who was tricked and became agitated, Gamora remained calm throughout the entire process, observing the situation undisturbed.
Her assessment of this was—"Those two are absolute idiots."
Firstly, Star-Lord and Rocket, these two guys wandering the lower rungs of the galaxy, have no idea what level Superman is. If they did know, Gamora doesn't believe they would still have the guts they have now.
Secondly, you should know that, apart from Star-Lord and Rocket who were just putting on an act, and Groot who was completely kept in the dark, who else is as calm as Gamora?
As the lightning and smoke from the stasis bomb dissipated, Joey, still holding the cosmic orb, was engrossed in figuring out how to open it.
Regardless of what those stasis warheads are, they cannot affect the Kryptonians covered by the biofield.
Having already been scammed once, he insisted on opening the package and seeing what was inside before leaving.
As for Star-Lord and Rocket's performance just now, Joey could only say it was a bit too exaggerated: "It was all emotion, no skill. If I had to give it a score out of five, I'd only give it three."
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