Morag

Josh and the others continued moving forward.

But after Josh explained the Power Stone's abilities, the atmosphere became a bit tense.

After all, the Power Stone was extremely powerful. Even though Carter trusted Josh, she couldn't help but feel a little unsure.

Josh could clearly see this, but he didn't explain. There was no need to.

Soon, the three of them reached the ruins.

But at that moment, Josh suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong?" Carter couldn't help but ask.

"Guests are coming, so let's wait a bit," Josh said with a shrug.

As soon as Carter heard that, a loud whistling sound came from the sky.

Five spaceships appeared above and quickly began descending toward them.

"Those trackers you mentioned earlier?" Carter asked, her face changing when she saw the ships.

"That's right," Josh tilted his head, looking at the ships, which looked a bit old and worn out.

"They don't seem friendly. Shouldn't we do something?"

Seeing how calm Josh and Margaret were, Carter started to get nervous. She wasn't as relaxed as they were. Even if the ships didn't look fancy, the large guns pointing at them were definitely real. These were clearly warships.

She didn't think the people inside were here for a friendly chat.

"Don't rush. Let's see what they want first," Josh said calmly, seeing Carter getting anxious.

Carter had no choice but to raise her shield and draw the long sword from her back, getting ready for a fight.

Soon, the five ships landed around them from different directions, cutting them off from their own ship and stopping them from escaping.

As the doors opened, dozens of armed aliens in power armor stepped out and surrounded the three by the ruins.

Soon, both sides were standing face to face.

"Human, I heard you're a good friend of Dracula?"

One person, who looked like their leader, stepped out and removed her helmet, speaking to Josh and the others.

Under the helmet was a woman whose appearance was almost no different from a human from Earth.

At the same time, Josh's translator picked up the language—they were speaking something called Dekronian, from the planet Dekron.

This planet was now the central territory of the Blood Lord, Dracula.

Well, that solved the mystery.

They were being followed because of Dracula.

These people were clearly rebels who refused to be ruled by him.

Because Josh and his group were warmly welcomed by Dracula on Contraxia, they were probably added to Dracula's "friend list."

It was just unclear how they planned to deal with Josh's group.

But after seeing the woman's face, Josh finally understood why Dracula had chosen to target Dekron—because people from this planet looked almost exactly like humans from Earth.

Before this, Josh even thought the planet was named by Dracula himself, since "Dracula" and "Dekron" sounded so similar.

So it clearly wasn't what Josh had thought at first.

"So what if we are? So what if we're not?" Josh said with a calm smile, now understanding the full context.

"So what if you are? So what if you're not? Easy for you to say!" The woman was instantly angered by Josh's casual tone. "Dracula took our homeland by force, slaughtered our people, turned them into monsters—and you call yourselves his good friends! Tell me, how should we deal with you?"

Her soldiers raised their weapons, aiming at the three of them.

For people who carry deep hatred for a lost country or dead loved ones, it's not easy to stay calm when facing their enemies—or the enemies' allies.

In another situation, Josh might've felt some sympathy for them.

But unfortunately, this time, he was the one being held at gunpoint.

"I can hear the pain in your voice, and I believe Dracula did terrible things to your people. I sympathize with you. But I have to say—you've picked the wrong target."

Josh shook his head.

"Hmph! You—"

The woman was just about to snap back when something cut her off.

In the next instant, she felt a shadow fall over her.

She looked up sharply and was stunned to see a massive triangular warship—over 700 meters long—appearing out of thin air in the sky.

This warship wasn't especially big by galactic standards—only a mid-sized escort ship among the fleets of major civilizations.

But to these Dekron rebels, who were little more than scattered resistance fighters flying 40–50 meter-long combat shuttles, this ship was overwhelming.

"Damn it—it's a trap!" the woman shouted in alarm as soon as she saw the ship.

But it was already too late.

As soon as the triangular ship appeared, its four heavy turbolasers and twelve smaller defense cannons locked on to the Dekron ships on the ground—and opened fire.

In a single salvo, all the ships—except Josh's luxurious transport—were blown to pieces.

The Dekron fighters, unwilling to give up, immediately fired back at Josh's group.

Carter rushed forward, raising her shield to protect Josh and Margaret.

But to her surprise, it wasn't her who reacted fastest—it was Margaret. The usually gentle and quiet girl took a step forward, raised her hand slightly, and a glowing shield appeared, blocking every shot aimed at them.

At the same time, what looked like an empty, silent ruin behind them suddenly erupted with movement.

Countless soldiers in strange white armor emerged, accompanied by large numbers of robotic troops, all opening fire on the Dekron fighters.

Faced with such overwhelming firepower and numbers, the Dekron resistance was crushed in minutes. Only the female leader and a few others were spared and taken prisoner.

"…Who are these people?" Carter asked in shock, staring at the strange army and the massive warship.

But when her eyes landed on the robotic soldiers, something stirred deep in her memory—something long buried.

Memories of the time when she had been controlled by Druig of the Eternals…

And the battle she fought against waves of machines.

This memory had originally been lost when she was knocked unconscious during the battle against the robots.

But now, it had returned.

As the image of the endless sea of robots resurfaced in her mind, Peggy Carter couldn't help but shudder.

Unknowingly, her friend Josh, who had helped her many times, had already gained such terrifying military power.

From that moment, the way she looked at Josh changed—her gaze carried a touch of complexity.

Just then, she saw a tall, strikingly handsome young man, who didn't quite look human, step out from the ranks of the strange army in the ruins. After saluting Josh, he handed over a metallic sphere.

Wait—pointed ears?

Was he... an elf?

Carter suddenly noticed that the handsome young officer wasn't human—he had the long, pointed ears that only existed in legends about elves.

Without a doubt, this was the only male among Josh's five elven subordinates—the chief engineer, Thalorien.

The newly arrived army was none other than Josh's own Stormtroopers and Legion.

And the massive triangular warship floating in the sky above them was the famous precursor to the Imperial Star Destroyer—the Acclamator-class Assault Ship. Despite being labeled a landing ship, it was equipped with a hyperspace engine and capable of full-scale space combat.

Otherwise, it wouldn't have become the prototype for the Star Destroyer.

"Leader, mission accomplished!" Thalorien said as he handed the metal sphere to Josh.

"Well done, Thalorien!" Josh praised him with satisfaction.

His satisfaction came not only from retrieving the Orb but also from Thalorien's unwavering loyalty.

In fact, back when Josh and the others were still en route to Contraxia with Mar-Vell, Thalorien had already been dispatched with a ranger fleet to Morag under Josh's orders—and had secured the Orb.

During that time, if Thalorien had wanted, he could've easily discovered what was inside the Orb and kept it for himself, instantly becoming a dominant force in the universe.

Of course, Josh had prepared countermeasures in case that happened.

But clearly, Thalorien's loyalty remained rock solid. After obtaining the Orb, he simply waited for Josh to arrive without doing anything extra.

That alone made Josh very pleased.

At this stage, the role played by the high elves was still extremely important to him.

And hearing Josh's praise, Thalorien was overjoyed. Back in Azeroth, before Prince Kael'thas gained power, someone like him—a tech geek—was basically considered a heretic in Quel'Thalas.

But here, Josh gave him unprecedented respect and trust, making him serve with all his heart.

In fact, he might have the highest loyalty among all five high elves.

"To serve the leader is my greatest honor!" Thalorien bowed again, pressing a hand to his chest with fanatic devotion.

"So this is the Power Stone? It doesn't seem that fierce to me. It doesn't even look like a gemstone!" At that moment, Margaret walked up to Josh, curiously eyeing the Orb in his hand.

"This outer shell is just something the Morag people created to contain the Power Stone's energy," Josh explained as he twisted open the casing. Though tightly sealed, it was nothing for him to open now with his strength.

As the outer shell was twisted open, a dazzling purple light lit up everyone's faces.

At the same time, an intense wave of energy radiated from the gem, making everyone feel a chill that seemed to come from the depths of their soul.

"…Such terrifying power. Not even the Sunwell has ever given me this feeling," said Thalorien, who stood closest to Josh and Margaret, unable to hold back his shock.

In terms of energy sensitivity, aside from Josh and Margaret—who had both been blessed by Tiamat—only he, a high elf who had been immersed in the Sunwell's energy for over a thousand years, could compare.

Josh remained silent, his face serious. He coated his hand in layers of cosmic power and elemental magic before slowly reaching toward the Power Stone.

Even with his current strength, he wasn't fully confident he could withstand the stone's overwhelming, destructive power.

But just before he could touch the gem, a soft, pale hand landed on his own.

It was Margaret's.

She looked at him and simply nodded.

Josh understood her meaning—she was going to face it with him, no matter the risk.

He didn't refuse.

Together, their hands grasped the Power Stone.

In an instant, a massive surge of destructive energy poured into their bodies, trying to annihilate everything.

Fortunately, their cosmic powers were extraordinary.

They managed to hold back the violent energy.

At that moment, Josh didn't hesitate any further. The Sword of Rupture appeared in his hand.

Just like Ronan did in the movie, Josh forcefully embedded the Power Stone into his sword.

But his sword was far stronger than Ronan's war hammer.

Ronan's hammer barely held together after absorbing the stone, cracking all over.

Josh's sword, however, only let out a faint cry before completely stabilizing, enduring the pressure without a single flaw.

Even so, Josh could still feel the faint presence of the Power Stone's destructive force through the sword.

But this remaining power was well within his ability to control.

"What terrifying power…" Margaret finally let out a breath of relief as the gem's energy calmed down.

At the side, Thalorien stared at Josh with eyes full of fanaticism.

To wield such a terrifying force with ease—he had clearly chosen the right person to follow.

The Stormtroopers around them, as well as those aboard the spaceship, had expressions just like Thalorien's.

"Master?" On a hidden spaceship floating in the shadows of space, Sebastian cautiously looked at the silent Dracula.

"Let's go," Dracula ordered, shaking his head as he watched the fading purple light over Morag.

Just like that old witch the Ancient One… this Josh Kahn was someone you absolutely could not afford to provoke.

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