The moment Yondu saw Thanos' army closing in on the Ravager Planet, he understood their intent.
He had been preparing to retreat, but now he roared instead:
"Everyone, get ready to fight! This is the Ravager Planet. This is our territory!"
At his command, Ravagers poured out of their ships, shouting wildly as they armed themselves.
They were just scavengers of the cosmos, drifters with nowhere else to go. This planet was the only place they could truly call home.
Unless they had no other choice, they would never abandon it.
Earlier, the overwhelming bombardment from Thanos' forces had filled them with fear. That kind of enemy was beyond anything they could fight.
But now things were different.
A ground battle?
That was their specialty.
They had fought countless raids like this before. Back then, they had been poorly equipped. Now, they wielded advanced weapons from Locke Technologies.
Excitement surged through them.
"Kill them!"
"Take those bastards down! This planet is ours!"
"No one takes the Ravager Planet from us!"
"Thanos' army? Good. That's exactly who we want to fight!"
War cries echoed across every front.
Meanwhile, Ebony Maw quickly ordered his fleet to land. The pressure from ground-based firepower was becoming unbearable.
The technology used against them might not surpass their own, but the defenders had the advantage of a planetary base. Thanos' forces, by contrast, relied only on their ships.
That imbalance made victory in a long-range exchange impossible.
Landing was their only option.
But the moment Ebony Maw and his forces touched down, they were met with a shocking sight.
In his memory, the Ravagers were nothing more than disorganized rabble with outdated gear, little more than space debris.
What stood before him now was a disciplined, mechanized army of steel.
"Damn Locke Technologies!"
He immediately understood what had happened, but regret came too late.
"Charge!" he shouted.
At this point, all he could rely on was the elite strength of Thanos' army.
But the next second—
"APU units, open fire!"
Yondu's voice rang out with excitement.
These cost-effective exoskeleton suits had become standard equipment for nearly every Ravager. Within a planetary battlefield, their firepower was devastating.
Gunfire erupted in a deafening storm, forming a relentless curtain of bullets.
Though they were still ballistic weapons, the impact was terrifying.
In just one exchange, Thanos' soldiers were thrown into chaos.
Each bullet could tear a soldier apart instantly, reducing them to nothing but blood mist.
These APU exosuits had never been designed to fight ordinary humans.
Against Thanos' forces, they were overwhelmingly superior.
"Return fire! Hold your ground!"
Ebony Maw's voice cut through the chaos.
"Anyone who retreats will be executed!"
To make his point, he killed a fleeing soldier on the spot.
Under his threat, the troops suppressed their fear and charged forward once more.
But the battle had only just begun.
"Deploy the Terminator units!"
Yondu shouted, his excitement growing.
This was the first time they had engaged in combat on such a massive scale, and the performance of the APU units had far exceeded his expectations.
They had used this equipment in smaller raids before, but nothing like this. A fully organized mechanized force was something they had never imagined in the past.
The Terminators surged forward, fearless and relentless, clashing head-on with Thanos' elite forces.
On one side were tireless machines with no fear of death.
On the other, battle-hardened veterans.
But the strength of the machines far exceeded biological limits.
Thanos' soldiers were powerful, chosen from countless worlds, but if every one of them could match a Terminator in direct combat, then Asgard's warriors would not hold such a terrifying reputation across the cosmos.
This was a massacre.
"Damn it!"
Ebony Maw cursed under his breath.
If the losses grew too severe, he knew his master would not tolerate failure.
With that thought, he stepped forward himself, gripping his staff as he began to chant.
Moments later, massive spheres of energy spread outward.
Each one exploded violently upon impact with the ground.
As one of the most powerful sorcerers in the universe, his magic was no trivial force.
Yondu watched him, raising his whistle arrow, ready to face him directly.
But just then, a Ravager rushed over.
"Boss! The Titans are fully charged and ready!"
Yondu immediately lowered his whistle arrow.
"Ha! Bomb them! Blow them to pieces!"
He had been waiting for this moment.
"Boss says bombard them! Full firepower! Titans, launch!"
The Ravager ran off, shouting the command.
Soon, massive Titans rose into the sky.
While they were capable of ground combat, aerial positioning made it easier to distinguish friend from foe in a battle of this scale.
The moment Ebony Maw saw them, his expression darkened.
"Bring those Titans down!"
He unleashed spells toward them without hesitation.
But he was too late.
The first wave of bombardment had already begun.
Missiles of all types rained down across the battlefield, obliterating the rear lines of Thanos' army.
And that was only the beginning.
A second wave followed immediately.
When Ebony Maw's attacks struck the Titans, he was shocked to find their energy shields absorbing the damage.
These were not crude machines.
Back when Nolan had little else, he had used Titans like these to overwhelm Thor himself.
And now, there was more than one.
Watching their devastating performance, Yondu burst into laughter.
Their decision to pour everything into acquiring these Titans had been absolutely worth it.
For Locke Technologies, it might have been just another transaction.
For the Ravagers, it meant dominance.
Against weaker worlds, they could even conquer entire planets.
"Get lost while you still can!"
Yondu roared.
On the other side, Ebony Maw realized the battle was no longer winnable.
Even if they managed to take the planet, the cost would be the complete destruction of his forces.
Trading elite troops for Ravagers was not something his master would accept.
He raised his hand.
The retreat began.
Watching them withdraw, Yondu's excitement only grew.
"Chase them! Don't let them escape!"
Of course, he knew better.
Driving them off was one thing. Wiping them out entirely was another.
Still, victory was victory.
But the problem was far from over.
This retreat did not mean the next attack would end the same way.
So once again, Yondu headed to the Locke Technologies base.
"This time, I'm seeing your boss!"
he growled, flanked by armed Ravagers.
"Please wait. Attempting to establish contact with Mr. Locke."
After a moment, a signal chimed.
A hologram appeared.
"Yondu, it's been a while."
Nolan Locke stood before them, wearing a faint smile.
He showed no reaction to the armed crowd behind Yondu.
Clearly, they were desperate.
"So, what's so urgent?"
Yondu laughed and gestured for his men to lower their weapons.
"We just drove off one of Thanos' armies. Hard fight, but we managed."
His tone turned serious.
"But we're just Ravagers. We don't have your kind of strength. You remember our agreement. When facing Thanos, we're allies."
He paused.
"If your partners run into trouble and you do nothing, others won't be too happy about that."
Nolan smiled.
He had never expected the Ravagers to strengthen his military power.
But trade and alliances were valuable.
And he had every intention of maintaining them.
"You can relax. Locke Technologies keeps its word."
He shrugged slightly.
"As for Thanos, you don't need to worry too much. His target isn't your planet. He was just looking for something."
Yondu frowned.
"He found it?"
"Most likely."
Nolan did not elaborate.
From his surveillance near Knowhere, he had seen enough.
Thanos had withdrawn.
Which meant one thing.
He had probably found the Space Stone.
And that meant Earth would soon be next.
Nolan's expression grew thoughtful.
He needed to prepare.
The Mind Stone was already secured.
The Time Stone was with Stephen Strange.
That left one.
The Reality Stone.
And it was inside Jane Foster.
Extracting it would not be easy.
But one way or another, he would not leave it there.
Because the Infinity Stones had a way of drawing each other together.
And when they did—
Everything would change.
Meanwhile, Thor had quietly slipped away from Asgard again.
He had no love for ruling.
Power meant little to him.
Loki, on the other hand, thrived on it.
With certain limits in place, Thor trusted him to manage things.
So he came to Earth.
To Jane.
"Hey, Jane."
His smile was warm.
Jane lit up when she saw him.
"It's been a while. How long are you staying?"
Thor looked at her, his voice steady.
"A long time. Long enough that when we leave next… you'll be the Queen of Asgard."
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