Chapter 401: A Massive Alien Invasion Is Underway (Part One)

Support me and be 30 chapters ahead of webnovel:

patreon.com/Draco_

*****

"Yondu, we've arrived at Terra. Should we charge straight in?"

Inside the massive spaceship, a Ravager dressed in leather turned to the blue-skinned leader, Yondu, and asked.

Yondu put down the food in his hand, walked to the front, and looked at the blue planet outside the ship. He shook his head and replied:

"No. You all stay here and provide backup. I'll take a few men in with Peter."

"This is just a low-tech civilization that hasn't even left its own star system. What's there to worry about? If you ask me, we should storm in, kill anyone who resists, and grab the Cosmic Cube as fast as possible. Otherwise, when the other Ravagers and bounty hunters arrive, things will get messy."

The Ravager beside him, whose face looked badly scarred as if electrocuted, clearly disagreed with Yondu's decision.

Three days ago, a mysterious figure issued a high-reward bounty—ten billion units—for an object called the "Cosmic Cube." They even included the name of the planet where it was located: Terra.

When Ravagers and bounty hunters across the universe saw the bounty, they went wild.

A ten-billion bounty was among the highest ever offered, and it wasn't even for a dangerous mission—just retrieving an item. Even better, the item was on a low-tier civilization like Terra.

If the mission had been on a planet like Xandar, people might've hesitated. But Terra? There was practically no threat.

So, nearly every Ravager and bounty hunter took the job.

There had been other ten-billion-level bounties before, but they were far more dangerous. For example, the second-highest on the list was to kill the mad Titan, Thanos.

Yondu and his crew had only arrived earlier than others because they'd been to Terra over 20 years ago for a mission and already knew its location.

But even that only gave them a head start of a few hours at most. Terra's location wasn't exactly a well-kept secret—any halfway competent team could figure it out.

If they followed Yondu's cautious approach, their advantage would quickly vanish.

"Fool. Do you really think this is just an ordinary low-level civilization?"

Yondu didn't tolerate backtalk. He raised his foot and kicked the dissenting Ravager to the ground before explaining:

"When I came to pick up Peter last time, I investigated. Terra is one of the planets protected by the Asgardians of the Realm Eternal. And you idiot, take a guess—why hasn't the Nova Empire stationed troops here, despite it being in the Milky Way?"

"Asgard... Realm Eternal!"

At the mention of Asgard, every Ravager in the room gasped.

The Asgardians were legendary even in the wider universe—average lifespan of 5,000 years, overwhelming combat power, superior technology. Even the Kree didn't dare provoke them.

"You really thought that ten-billion bounty would be easy to claim?"

Yondu scoffed, then turned to a skinny Ravager nearby and ordered:

"Kraglin, go wake that punk Peter up. It's time he came home."

Moments later, the Ravagers' massive spaceship cloaked itself in orbit, while a smaller ship detached and descended toward Missouri.

Three hours later, various ships marked with different insignias began emerging from jump points, heading straight for Earth.

Among them, a particularly small ship was being piloted by a raccoon.

Gripping the lever tightly, the raccoon deftly maneuvered the ship through obstructing asteroids, overtaking others. Excitedly, he shouted to the tree-like creature sitting behind him, lost in thought:

"Groot! Hahaha! Ten billion! If we find that Cosmic Cube, we're set for life—ten billion is enough for us to live carefree forever!

You worthless idiots, none of you are getting my reward!"

Meanwhile, on the desolate remains of Titan, a Chitauri elder knelt on one knee, holding a scepter of mind control. He bowed before the purple-skinned figure sitting on a throne and reported:

"As ordered, the bounty has been posted. The Ravagers and bounty hunte—"

And so, he began building a cosmic fleet, expanding his forces and influence. He relentlessly invaded other life-bearing planets, randomly killing half of the population on each one in order to achieve the balance he sought.

However, this method proved far too inefficient. At that rate, he might not achieve his goal even by the time he died.

Fortunately, he later came across a crucial piece of information—if he could gather all six Infinity Stones, he would be able to instantly erase half of all life in the universe at random, accomplishing his goal in an instant.

But collecting the six stones was no easy feat.

At present, the only one in his possession was the Mind Stone, which he had obtained through subjugating the Chitauri.

According to intelligence gathered by his agents, Odin of the Realm Eternal had once collected the Infinity Stones and even forged a gauntlet capable of wielding them—though, for unknown reasons, he had eventually abandoned the endeavor.

Still, he knew that Odin had hidden the Space Stone on Terra, entrusting it to the humans for safekeeping.

The Reality Stone had originally been in the hands of the Dark Elves but was later seized by Odin's father, Bor. It was either in Asgard or also hidden on Terra.

The Time Stone, too, was on Terra, guarded by the Ancient One, the Stone's appointed protector.

The locations of the Power Stone and Soul Stone remained unknown. He was still investigating, but had yet to find any concrete leads.

Thus, if he could successfully take control of Terra, he stood to gain three Infinity Stones at once.

But that was clearly no simple task.

Even though his fleet roamed the universe unchecked—untouchable even by the Nova Corps and the Kree Empire—he could not be certain of victory against Odin or the Ancient One.

Since brute force wouldn't work, he had no choice but to proceed in secret.

The Reality Stone's location was uncertain, and the Time Stone was guarded by the Ancient One, so his first priority was to obtain the Space Stone held by the humans.

His adopted daughter, Gamora—reputed as the most skilled spy in the universe—had never failed a mission of this sort. In addition, to distract Odin and the Ancient One, he had flooded Terra with bounty hunters and Ravagers by issuing a massive reward, effectively using them as cannon fodder.

Even if the mission ultimately failed, it wouldn't matter much. At the very least, it would help him gauge the enemy's strength and lay the groundwork for a future invasion.

He was determined to collect all six Infinity Stones. With only the Mind Stone in hand, he was no match for Odin or the Ancient One. But if he could also acquire the Power Stone and the Soul Stone...

With three Stones in his grasp, he would finally have a fighting chance against them both.

(End of Chapter)