While everyone else was off touring Sakaar, Bant and Kayla made their way to the Plumbers' containment vault.
The place was practically an Asgardian treasure vault; all manner of precious artifacts were stored here. Of course, the vault was still a bit bare at the moment. Sakaar lacked deep foundations, after all—they only possessed three Infinity Stones, and one of them was still kept on Earth.
Bant secured the genuine Infinity Stone, then turned to Kayla. "Find a time to have Brunnhilde send the Destroyer armor to Nidavellir. Odin promised the dwarves would repair it for us."
This was one of the things Odin had agreed to when they were last on Asgard.
"Yes." Kayla nodded obediently.
Bant was about to leave the vault when, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the Casket of Ancient Winters sitting there as well.
Noticing his gaze, Kayla explained, "Loki placed it here of his own accord."
"Why would he do that?" Bant asked, puzzled. The Casket of Ancient Winters was nothing like Mjolnir; it had always belonged to Loki. When he had given the Casket to Loki on Earth, he'd never expected to take it back.
Kayla smiled. "Because you and the Red Wind Queen conquered Jotunheim. He said that you are not only the King of Sakaar, but also the Conqueror of Jotunheim. The Casket is your trophy, proof of the giants' defeat."
That went back to the time when Luma—the Red Wind Queen—was on Jotunheim. She had been attacked by Corvus Glaive and Proxima Midnight. When Bant arrived, he not only killed Thanos's two "children" but also set Jotunheim in order. Calling him the Conqueror of the giants wasn't far-fetched at all. Besides, Loki had no real attachment to the Casket. If he didn't want it, Bant was happy to let it be.
He and Kayla walked out of the vault together, listening as she reported on Sakaar's current state, summarizing various matters and the progress of their projects. Refitting Bill's massive warship was no easy task. Fortunately, the Korbinites were numerous, and with help from the Sakaarans, progress was swift. Now that they had Kree technology as a reference, it might even go faster.
The number of plumbers was increasing as well. Kayla, acting like a H.A.M.M.E.R. agent, had established a ranking system for the plumbers. The lowest rank was Plumber Trainee; after completing an assessment, they'd become a Level One Plumber. The highest rank was Level Ten. Only those rated Level Ten could participate in the selection of Security Officers. Different ranks came with different levels of clearance.
"As of now, the total number of official plumbers has reached seventy thousand," Kayla reported.
Most of them were converted from the former military. That number was really not large. But Sakaar's population was small to begin with. To gather an army of hundreds of thousands, let alone millions, was nearly impossible unless the entire planet became soldiers.
"It's enough." Bant nodded. Cosmic warfare wasn't won by numbers alone. The quality of soldiers and the level of technology mattered far more. What Sakaar needed to do now wasn't blindly increase the number of warriors, but raise the strength of the plumbers.
"In the Andromeda galaxy, on the planet Klyntar, there lives the Klyntar race. I've made contact with them before. We might be able to form an alliance."
"The Klyntar?"
"A species of symbiotes. They call themselves Cosmic Knights, and their overall goals are similar to the Plumbers'," Bant explained. The symbiotes' combat power was there for the taking; it would be a waste not to use it. He had already confirmed that most symbiotes in this universe were on the side of good—only that Venom was an oddball. If Sakaar could cooperate with the symbiotes, it would benefit both sides.
So Kayla immediately went to prepare a courier ship, intending to send someone to Andromeda.
On the other side of the cosmos.
In deep space, Ronan, believing he had obtained the Power Stone, was preparing to launch his assault on Xandar. Although Bant and the others had caused him considerable trouble on Morag—even stealing a Kree warship—he had no desire to track them down right now. With the Power Stone in hand, the fire of vengeance in Ronan's heart burned ever hotter. Everything else could wait until after Xandar was reduced to ash.
However, before he could even leave the Morag system, a black spacecraft larger than all Kree warships combined suddenly appeared overhead. The Sanctuary had arrived. The Sanctuary, in truth, was Thanos's personal warship. The Destroyer of Titan had used this mothership to raze countless worlds; throughout the universe, it was a name that struck terror into all who heard it. Even the three great empires dared not confront Thanos directly.
The moment he first got his hands on the Power Stone, Ronan's ambition had swelled to the point where he feared no one—not even Thanos. At that time, he had even imagined that after Xandar fell, he could destroy Thanos, use the Mad Titan's death to restore the Kree's glory and honor, and then wipe out the Skrulls entirely! But his battle with Bant had sobered him somewhat. The stone's power was ultimately just an external force. It might be an unstoppable weapon against Xandar, but against the true powerhouses of the universe, even with the stone in his hand, victory was far from guaranteed. Not to mention, he couldn't even draw out the stone's full power. One could even say that no one could wield an Infinity Stone's full might, because only when all six stones were assembled would their true power be revealed.
So the moment the Sanctuary appeared, it was as if a bucket of ice water had been dumped over Ronan's blazing fire, extinguishing it completely.
Soon, swarms of Black Order warriors flew out from the Sanctuary. After the two ships docked, Ronan finally stood face to face with the man named Thanos. By cosmic standards, Thanos's appearance wasn't particularly remarkable. He wasn't even the tallest of races; at a little over two meters, he didn't seem all that intimidating at first glance. But only those who knew him understood just how terrifying that purple-skinned monster truly was.
"Thanos…" Guided by the Black Order, Ronan finally stood before Thanos. The purple titan remained seated on his throne. But Ronan was so tense his hands were sweating. Neither the Universal Weapon nor the Infinity Stone gave him any sense of security; they merely granted him the right to stand and speak.
"Thanos, you want the Power Stone. I can give it to you, but our agreement…"
After weighing his options, Ronan decided to give up the stone. Fighting Thanos, he lacked confidence, but he wasn't exactly terrified either. His only worry was that if he fought Thanos here and now, his enemies on Xandar would remain untouched. Rather than risk that, he might as well hand over the stone from the start.
Thanos, however, did not follow up on the topic of the stone. He sat on his throne, his right fist propping up his cheek, his eyelids drooping as if weary and inscrutable. After a moment, he asked quietly, "Where are my daughters?"
Had Nebula known he used the plural, she would have been moved to tears. But Ronan was not Nebula. He couldn't fathom it—were Gamora and Nebula more important than an Infinity Stone? Besides, when Thanos slaughtered all those races, many of the dead were actually his own offspring from his early wanderings across the universe. You butchered your own flesh and blood without flinching, yet you care about two adopted daughters? Ronan found it absurd. He couldn't understand it, nor did he intend to meddle in Thanos's family affairs. He simply answered truthfully, "I was attacked… Gamora and Nebula are missing. I don't know who they were, but the one who attacked me had a black-and-green, hourglass-shaped circular mark on his chest."
The moment he heard that, Thanos understood instantly. "The Plumbers…"
This organization, which seemed to have appeared overnight, had blocked his path more than once. Of his Black Order, four were dead, and Supergiant was captured, her fate unknown. Now Gamora and Nebula had fallen into their hands, and their fate was likely no better. The only good news was—
Thanos's gaze finally settled on Ronan—or more precisely, on the Infinity Stone set in the Universal Weapon. Such immense energy! Such dazzling radiance! Without a doubt, this was the Infinity Stone he had long sought, and the most powerful among them—the Power Stone! Thanos thought to himself that if he hadn't set his sights on Earth so early, perhaps the Soul Stone would also be in his grasp now. Sending the Black Order had been a mistake. The stones were only truly secure in his own hands! Thankfully, it wasn't too late.
Thanos rose from his throne and stepped down. His shadow fell over Ronan, engulfing the Kree. Ronan bowed his head and raised his arms high, lifting the Universal Weapon above his head and presenting it before Thanos. Thanos grasped the hammer's handle, examined the weapon briefly, then disdainfully pried the stone from it and tossed the hammer to the floor. The vast sanctuary echoed with the clang of metal. But no one cared, because every gaze was fixed on the stone. The Power Stone's boundless energy surged into Thanos, and Ronan watched with a pounding heart. He could barely touch the stone for more than a moment, yet Thanos held it as easily as if it were an ordinary pebble. That was the gap between them! Thanos could perfectly harness the power of a single Infinity Stone.
Ronan was about to say something, but another voice cut him off.
"So this is the Infinity Stone you spoke of? With it, can you truly do anything?"
Startled, Ronan looked toward the darkness behind the throne. Only then did he realize there was another person present. From the shadows, a tall figure slowly emerged.
Thanos turned his head and said in a low voice, "You will see its power, Mogus."
/-\
Enjoying the story? Want to read ahead?
Support the novel and unlock early access to unreleased chapters!
~ +20 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon! (+1 Chapter daily)
https://p-atreon.com/Its_Zack
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access Patreon normally)