The fallout from the Asgardian disaster didn't ripple as far as one might expect, despite the wreckage left in its wake. In reality, the conflict had flared up and burned out in a mere half-day; while lives were lost, the casualties remained relatively low.
Even if it feels wrong to treat lives as mere statistics, in the grand calculus of war, these losses amounted to little more than a "minor figure."
If one looked closer, however, there were lasting impacts. The Dark Elves' suicidal charge had acted as a bucket of ice water, drenching the fires of rebellion across the Nine Realms.
Thor's swift, decisive suppression of the uprising ensured that the sparks of insurrection vanished as quickly as they had appeared.
Asgard remained Asgard—and if anything, it had emerged stronger than before.
News of Herta's presence in Asgard leaked out, and tales of how the two powerhouses had teamed up to humiliate Malekith, treating him like a circus clown, began to spread throughout the realms.
The Golden Realm, envied by the cosmos, and the rising, formidable planet known as The Blue were no longer at each other's throats. Instead, they sent a clear signal of harmonious coexistence and mutual aid.
This newfound alliance placed a heavy weight on the shoulders of two powers who had just reached a secret understanding of their own.
"Thanos, we cannot be certain that Asgard will stand by if we launch an offensive against The Blue."
Within the bowels of a colossal starship, Thanos sat upon his command throne, staring at the translucent particle projection before him.
His face was a mask of stone, betraying none of the indifference he felt for such concerns.
"Asgard's fate is already written," Thanos rumbled. "In less than ten years, they will meet the destruction foretold in their prophecies. Once that happens, they won't have the luxury of looking toward The Blue. Besides, our target was never that planet—it is Herta."
The source of the projection, Ronan, who was currently stationed at the edge of the Xandar front, narrowed his eyes.
As the leader of the Accusers and a high-ranking Kree of pure, powerful lineage, Ronan was not one to be trifled with. If anyone other than Thanos were speaking, he would have suspected they were a fool lost in their own delusions.
Asgard, at the peak of its glory, destroyed in less than a decade? It sounded like a bad joke.
And the goal isn't the planet, but Herta?
Was that supposed to be a comfort? To Ronan, destroying a world seemed infinitely simpler than killing Herta.
Sensing Ronan's skepticism, Thanos chose not to elaborate. Asgard's fall would be proven by time, and as for Herta… rather than bickering over her, he was happy to offer his temporary ally a "sweetener" to bolster their mutual trust.
"Xandar's relief forces will be arriving soon."
At those words, Ronan's expression softened considerably.
Xandar had been their greatest enemy for a thousand years. If the Skrulls were like annoying flies buzzing around the Kree, then Xandar was a jagged stone—hard enough to break their teeth.
They had waged war for a millennium, yet that thousand-year blood feud had been forcibly put on hold by the sudden emergence of The Blue.
Xandar possessed immense military power but was guided by pacifist ideals. This philosophy mirrored that of The Blue, leading the two to hit it off and establish a fast friendship as soon as the latter made its mark on the galactic stage.
Once Xandar's peaceful ideology was confirmed and they became allies with The Blue, the Kree—who had been trying to conquer Xandar forever—naturally became the party that The Blue viewed with disdain.
Because of The Blue's subtle political maneuvering and their supply of advanced weaponry, the balance of the front lines began to tip. While it wasn't enough to flip the war entirely, it was more than enough to infuriate the Kree.
For a moment, they even ignored the Skrulls, dispatching a fleet toward one of The Blue's satellite planets. They didn't fire a shot, but the message was loud and clear.
The threat backfired. Instead of backing down, the tension escalated until the Kree's aggression finally ignited a full-scale conflict.
But when the shooting started, the Kree realized just how bottomless The Blue's depths truly were.
On the front lines, it wasn't that the Kree were being overwhelmed; it was just that every single step forward was a grueling, agonizing crawl.
This two-front war placed immense pressure on the Kree. Although neither The Blue nor Xandar launched an aggressive counter-offensive—choosing instead to hunker down behind their "turtle shells"—those defenses were enough to give the Kree a massive headache.
Ultimately, the Kree signed a peace treaty with both parties, though it was far from what the people wanted.
The one holding the reins of the Kree Empire was the Supreme Intelligence—a massive AI.
Kree civilization was one led by artificial intelligence, meaning its decisions were purely rational.
Even if the common citizens or high-ranking officials like Ronan were dissatisfied, the AI would still execute the "optimal solution" it had calculated.
It was a simple enough concept to understand.
As a fusion of the collective consciousness of the Kree, the Supreme Intelligence undoubtedly represented the "will of the people."
When it claimed to put the needs of the people above all else, it meant it. However, the people were often clouded by emotion and didn't always realize what they actually needed from a cold, logical standpoint.
The people might feel they need revenge, but in reality, they don't.
The Supreme Intelligence and the will of the Kree were never truly divided; what was divided was the people's own hearts—the conflict between their passion and their reason.
That didn't stop Ronan and many other Kree from treating the peace treaty like a piece of garbage.
From the ruling class who couldn't care less to the commoners protesting in the streets, the treaty was a failure in every sense of the word.
And now, this alliance between Ronan and Thanos was forged to wipe out Xandar and Herta simultaneously. To the iron-blooded Kree, both were targets of their undying hatred.
Thanos's motives, however, were more complex than Ronan's.
By now, three Infinity Stones had fallen into Herta's hands, and another was on Earth—effectively under her nose.
If he wanted to purge Herta from the universe, the Infinity Stones were his only hope.
He hadn't been in a rush before; after all, there was no point in rushing when you couldn't exactly snatch a stone out of Odin's hand. Odin was old, and his death was imminent. That would have been the perfect time to strike.
But… Herta had reached Earth before him. She had shown an interest in the Stones, and now more than half of them were in her grasp.
This wasn't a matter of patience anymore. With her ability to remain eternally young, Herta would certainly outlive him. And once he was gone, who would be left to show this universe true mercy?
Thanos was out of options. Regardless of the cost, he had to gather more power. And first… he had to get his hands on the stone currently held on Xandar.
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T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
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If you guys wanna check it out.