Chapter 276: The Accuser Ronan's Ambition
On Planet Wundagore, the citizens waved both hands high into the air, bidding farewell to a departing starship.
The matter had been resolved, so naturally, there was no reason to linger.
Santiya gifted the Guardians of the Galaxy an interstellar ship from a military base to serve as their means of space travel.
"What a waste of a trip."
Allen lay idly on the couch, petting Mimi the cat.
The team had gained a new member, but no one objected—after all, it was just a pet cat.
Now that they knew it had all been a conspiracy, there was no way they would hand over Ayesha in exchange for a reward.
"Captain, we have a problem."
At that moment, Hela appeared, dragging Ayesha along.
Allen's eyes widened in surprise. "Why is she on the ship?"
They hadn't planned to bring Ayesha along when they departed—primarily because their missions were dangerous and they might not have the time to care for her.
"I want to go on an adventure with Daddy," Ayesha said stubbornly.
While the ship was being prepared, an unwilling Ayesha had snuck onboard.
"Your kid," Hela said with a calm smile. "You take care of her."
Ugh…
Allen's face twisted into a bitter expression. If he had known, he wouldn't have shot his mouth off earlier—now he'd gotten himself into trouble for no reason.
"Mama, I don't have any experience with kids. How about you help out?"
Allen slid over and clung to Hela's leg, putting on a full display of shameless pleading.
"Grandma, please! I want to stay too!"
Ayesha hugged Hela's other leg. The two of them clung to her left and right like decorative keychains.
Hela felt a sudden headache. How had they both ended up latching onto her?
It was already bad enough having a mentally unstable son. Now there was also a seemingly clueless granddaughter. This family was hopeless.
…
Large Magellanic Galaxy.
A starship loaded with Blackwater material entered the territory of the Kree Empire.
As one of the three great empires of the universe, the Kree Empire's territory was sacrosanct—no other force dared to invade.
Known for its militarism, the Kree Empire dealt with foreign threats with brutal efficiency, deterring countless would-be aggressors.
However, internal issues still plagued the empire.
The Kree were a singular, war-hungry race, and dissenting voices naturally existed.
Many Kree didn't approve of being ruled by an artificial intelligence.
"Captain, we're detecting spatial fluctuations!"
Warning lights flashed across the ship's monitors.
The crew transporting the Blackwater immediately became alert.
The Kree envoy furrowed his brow—he couldn't think of any faction reckless enough to try something here.
In the next instant, the nearby space twisted, and several warships exited from warp speed, blocking the envoy's fleet in formation.
"Accusers?!"
The crowd immediately recognized the insignia on the incoming fleet—it belonged to a radical political faction within the Kree Empire.
The ships docked, and soldiers belonging to the Accuser faction stormed the vessel.
A fully armored Kree, wielding a long-handled warhammer, entered the command bridge.
The envoy shouted in fury, "Ronan! Are you betraying the Empire?!"
Publicly looting a ship could land him in a military tribunal—at best, exile; at worst, execution.
"Hmph!"
Ronan sneered. "Who are you to define my loyalty?"
As the leader of the Accuser faction, ordinary accusations held no real power over him.
Besides, he had long looked down on the current Empire leadership and hoped to seize power through more 'traditional' means.
Unfortunately, in practice, that was easier said than done.
Thus, the idea of using force took root.
Having learned of the Blackwater shipment, he had set up an ambush at this precise location.
As container after container of Blackwater was carried off, the soldiers on board dared not resist—Ronan's faction was known for its violent, increasingly unrestrained actions.
This wasn't something grunts could handle—they could only leave it to the nobility.
After securing the cargo, the Accuser fleet quickly retreated.
From the command bridge, the envoy watched helplessly as the fleet entered warp speed and vanished into the vast void.
While it was possible to track their spatial trail, doing so would only provoke them further.
"Return to Hala and report everything to the Supreme Intelligence."
"Yes, sir!"
The envoy's fleet stood no chance against Ronan's. All they could do was endure the humiliation and await the Empire's decision.
Meanwhile, Ronan was overseeing tests to verify the authenticity of the Blackwater.
In a sealed lab, a robot extracted a small amount of the Blackwater and dripped it into the mouth of a beast.
Precision instruments monitored the creature's body closely.
"Leader, we're detecting an unknown organism rapidly forming in its abdomen."
The display showed a mass resembling a tumor that was growing visibly by the second.
In less than fifteen minutes, it had grown to the size of a football. A fully formed head, limbs, and torso could now be seen—an astonishing sight.
"The bioengineering of the Engineers is terrifying."
The scientists all agreed.
The parasite developed in mere minutes, requiring little energy from the host.
If the process of creating Blackwater could be reverse-engineered, they could mass-produce biological armies for warfare.
Boom!
The beast's abdomen burst open, and a pale, alien creature emerged.
This wasn't the standardized xenomorph from the future—it was an early, animal-host xenomorph.
The xenomorphs Allen and his team had previously encountered on a distant planet were all descendants of those bearing Deacon DNA.
Inside the sealed lab, various tests were conducted to evaluate the animal xenomorph's vitality.
A flood of data was carefully recorded.
"Truly an impressive weapon."
While the Engineers had originally created Blackwater in an attempt to extend their species' legacy, Ronan and his followers saw it as nothing more than a specialized weapon.
As the isolation chamber opened, Ronan stepped forward with his hammer.
The alien creature resembled a sea animal—like a squid covered in slimy tentacles.
Thud!
With a single swing, Ronan smashed it to death.
As leader of the Accusers, Ronan's personal strength was formidable. Even without the Power Stone, he could have defeated the future Guardians of the Galaxy.
But of course, Marvel's editors didn't allow that.
In the end, the half-god Star-Lord managed to defeat him—ridiculous as that might be.
"Full speed ahead to Military Base Twelve."
The Accuser fleet accelerated instantly. Traveling through warp far surpassed lightspeed.
In fact, lightspeed travel was quite common in cosmic civilizations, but it wasn't practical—too expensive and inefficient.
The real bottleneck was the immense energy cost. Traveling between two star systems could justify it, but for journeys across thousands of light-years, warp was far more energy-efficient.
A starship's energy needs were enormous—supporting energy weapons and shields required careful management.
Another issue was that traveling via stargates risked exposing one's location.
In wars between the three empires, stargates were always the first to be attacked or ambushed.
Most battles centered around these key points of transit—whoever controlled the stargate, controlled the front lines.
Hence, warp travel allowed one to bypass stargates and execute flanking strategies.
The Accuser fleet arrived on a peculiar planet.
Half the surface, exposed to sunlight, burned at over a thousand degrees like molten metal; the other half, shrouded in darkness, was crusted with frost.
The fleet landed in a canyon.
Thermal barriers rose on either side to counter the planet's extreme conditions.
The Blackwater cargo was transported to an underground base.
Ronan entered the main research chamber, where a two-meter-tall insect egg was stored.
Its surface was pitch-black, rough with ridges like hardened fibrous material.
Unfortunately, it was a dead egg. Researchers had long tried to revive it.
"Leader, our AI simulation suggests the two genomes are incompatible."
A report lay before Ronan, stating that the insect egg's genes clashed with the Blackwater and collapsed upon forced fusion.
Ronan frowned deeply—his painstaking efforts had yielded no results. This was an intolerable setback in his pursuit of greatness.
The egg had a significant origin—it belonged to the Annihilation Insect Race from the Negative Zone.
Back when Ronan was setting up this base, he had accidentally discovered a rift to the Negative Zone and was forced into a brutal conflict.
The destructive power of the Annihilation Insect Race had shocked Ronan. Only at great cost had they managed to push them back and collapse the rift with a spatial implosion bomb.
Once the connection between the universe and the Negative Zone was severed, the captured egg became dormant.
Yet he never gave up on trying to revive it.
If the egg could be brought back to life, it would hatch into a queen, and spawn an endless swarm of insect soldiers.
At that point, Ronan's ambition wouldn't stop at the Kree Empire—he would conquer all three major empires and become the sole ruler of the cosmos.
"Leader, I have a suggestion."
A sudden gleam lit the chief scientist's eyes. "We could invite the High Evolutionary to help with the research. In the realm of biotechnology, he's second to none."
Indeed, the High Evolutionary was famed for his expertise in genetic manipulation—his skills were recognized even by the three major empires.
"Then ask him if he's interested."
However, Ronan didn't have high hopes. The High Evolutionary was notoriously arrogant and unlikely to serve anyone willingly. Ronan also feared the man might secretly sabotage him.
When his men began contacting him, they were shocked to discover that Wundagore had undergone a regime change.
"Leader, the Shi'ar Empire has issued a public statement announcing the annexation of Planet Wundagore."
Such diplomatic news wasn't a secret—anything from the three major empires immediately made front-page headlines across the galactic network. It was a warning to other civilizations that policy shifts were underway.
…
Drifting aimlessly through space, the High Evolutionary's vessel cruised without a clear destination.
He might be worth a fortune, but without his beastman fleet to protect him, he was an easy target for greedy raiders.
If captured, the ransom would be in the hundreds of millions of energy credits.
After all, the universe was a dark place. Vast wealth had to be guarded by corresponding strength.
"Master, a signal identifying itself as Accuser Ronan requests communication," a beastman reported.
"Ronan?!"
The High Evolutionary was stunned.
He didn't recall ever interacting with Ronan. The man was, after all, a top figure in the Kree Empire—far above a mere merchant like him.
"Patch him through."
Of course, the High Evolutionary wasn't worried about being extorted. That wasn't Ronan's style, and frankly, his fortune probably wasn't enough to interest the Accuser.
The screen lit up with a face of blue skin and black ink around the eyes.
Purebred Kree liked to accentuate their eyes with black markings to appear more intimidating and authoritative.
"Lord Ronan, it's an honor to meet you."
The High Evolutionary maintained a humble attitude—he knew better than to pick unnecessary fights.
"Likewise, I'm honored to meet you," Ronan replied.
At that moment, the High Evolutionary realized Ronan was here to ask for a favor.
For someone of Ronan's stature—one of the most fearsome figures in the galaxy—to speak so politely, it could only mean one thing.
"I'll be direct."
Ronan said, "I want to hire you for a biological research project. If you can succeed, you can name your price—wealth, status, power—anything."
The High Evolutionary instantly became cautious.
Clearly, it involved biochemical weaponry. This wouldn't just be about compensation—he might not even get to walk away afterward.
"May I see some of the data before deciding?"
"Naturally."
Ronan showed surprising generosity when it came to High Evolutionary, embodying the very essence of eagerness in seeking out talent.
A data report finished transmitting.
High Evolutionary patiently reviewed the entire document and quickly grasped what the other party was researching.
With scientific rigor, High Evolutionary stated, "I can handle the research. It's not a particularly difficult task for me, but I will need some time."
When it came to science, one had to stick to the facts. If he exaggerated and ended up botching the task, he could very well lose his life.
"You're willing to help, then?"
A satisfied smile appeared on Ronan's face as visions of conquering the universe danced in his mind.
"I have one condition."
"Please, go ahead."
High Evolutionary hadn't forgotten his need for revenge and candidly named his targets.
Naturally, those included the Kryptonian civilization and the Guardians of the Galaxy.
"Krypton is off-limits for now."
Since Krypton had the good sense to offer up the Blackwater, and the Kree Empire had promised to protect them, launching a private assault would only provoke backlash from rivals within the Empire. Unless the annihilation bug research succeeded—at which point wiping out a single Krypton would be trivial—he had to hold back for now.
However, there were no such reservations about the Guardians of the Galaxy.
The two quickly agreed that they would target the Guardians first.
"I need intel on them—ideally, video footage," Ronan said.
High Evolutionary transmitted a copy of a video file.
It was footage of Allen attacking a military satellite base.
"He's a Green Lantern?"
Seeing Allen wield green energy, Ronan instinctively thought of the Green Lantern Corps.
But on second thought, how could a Green Lantern become a bounty hunter? That would completely violate the Corps' code of conduct.
And so, a plan to kill with a borrowed knife began to take shape in his mind.