CHAPTER 112: CHAPTER 112: SEIZE THE ORB! THE BATTLE ECHOES ACROSS THE UNIVERSE!

Thanos finally grabbed the artifact and fled. It must have been precious, but certainly not worth his life.

The three Transformers scanned the surroundings after watching him vanish, confirming he was truly gone. They then retracted their weapons.

Whoosh—

Bang!

At that moment, the other Transformers who had finished wiping out Thanos’ remaining troops flew over. Still in their fighter-jet forms, they transformed mid-descent. They landed, kneeling on one leg with a fist striking the ground to absorb the impact. Then they stood and walked over to the three, saying,

"He must be the leader of this army."

Of course, they meant Thanos.

The three Transformers nodded.

"That thing he teleported away must be some kind of treasure, or magic, or ability. We haven’t figured it out yet."

The others patted them on the shoulder.

"The Elders are analyzing whether this magic or ability can be integrated into us."

"Yes. If it can, then we’ll be able to use those abilities too."

"The question is, which is more efficient—magic missiles or magic teleportation?"

The Transformers immediately launched into discussion. The Elders were analyzing the same questions. If they succeeded, the Transformers would wield mechanical magic. That way, they wouldn’t be at a disadvantage against sorcery in the future.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

At this moment, fifty thousand Transformer soldiers marched onto the battlefield. They automatically locked onto the remaining warriors of Thanos’ legion and opened precise fire.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

In no time, Thanos’ forces were annihilated. Black Dwarf had also fallen. With his death, the Black Dwarf army—one of Thanos’ five legions—was completely wiped out. Not a single survivor remained.

Once the Transformers had finished clearing the battlefield, it was as if Thanos’ legion had been replaced entirely by their own.

But here was the difference:

1. Over 200 Transformers who had just fought evenly with Thanos were still standing at the front.

2. Fifty thousand robot warriors now covered the battlefield—matching Thanos’ army in numbers.

3. Twenty flagships, each the size of Thanos’ mothership, now hovered in space.

4. And the massive energy cannon that destroyed Sanctuary II—an unknown weapon to the Nova Corps—was still at their disposal.

When this data came through, the Nova Corps’ captain grew even more nervous than when Thanos first arrived.

Thanos’ army had beaten them to the brink of collapse. But the Transformers? They had destroyed Thanos’ legion with virtually zero losses. And no one knew their true purpose.

"Captain, the queen is already... The Nova Corps has only half its forces left. We must try to communicate first."

A Nova soldier at his side urged him. The captain nodded—he was thinking the same thing.

If they waited until the Transformers acted, the Nova Empire was finished. At least if they tried to open dialogue, there was a chance.

So, after a moment’s thought, the captain piloted his ship into the no-man’s-land between the two armies. He disembarked himself, walked forward, and spoke aloud,

"Thank you very much for your help. Without you, the Nova Empire would have been on the brink of destruction."

Boom. Boom. Boom.

Hearing his words, a massive Transformer approached. Each step made the ground quake—and the captain’s heart trembled with it.

Slowly, he raised his head, falling silent as he looked at the towering figure before him.

Then the Transformer spoke.

"Now the Elders will answer."

"Do not thank us, and do not fear, soldiers of the Nova Corps.

We destroyed Thanos’ legion for you, and stopped half your empire from being slaughtered.

So once we receive the reward we are due, we will leave."

Only the first sentence was the Transformer’s own. The rest was relayed through the Elders.

But when the captain heard they would leave after receiving their reward, he finally exhaled in relief.

If the Transformers had come to fight them, it would have been worse than Thanos himself.

Why? Because Thanos only killed half.

But these Transformers looked like they’d wipe out the entire planet—literally erase it from existence.

In that case, Thanos would almost be preferable. At least then, half would remain.

But a new question arose: What kind of reward would the Transformers demand?

Still, no matter what, the Nova captain was the first to speak.

"I will prepare a generous reward for you."

"No."

What Captain Nova didn’t expect was that the Transformers immediately replied.

"We only need two items."

"Huh?" For a moment, Captain Nova’s mind froze. Only two?

"We need the Orb, and a little Nova Force."

!!!

The moment he heard those two names, Captain Nova’s face darkened.

No wonder they only asked for two. They were demanding the two most precious things of all.

Captain Nova fell into silence. This wasn’t something he could easily agree to.

From a distance, The Collector had been watching, and he instantly understood.

The Transformers’ request was essentially forcing the Nova Corps to hand over part of their very foundation.

But given the current situation, such a demand was... possible.

So The Collector decided to step in.

"I’ll go speak with him, Elders."

At that moment, the Elders were still watching the planet.

"Agreed."

Swish—

The Collector activated his teleportation ability. Moments later, he appeared before the Nova Captain.

The instant the Captain saw him, his eyes widened.

"Collector!?"

"Yes." The Collector nodded, clasping his hands together. "Perhaps I can help the Transformers communicate with you?"

Nova Captain glanced at the towering figures standing behind The Collector. Should he talk to the Transformers, or to The Collector?

The answer was obvious. It was far easier to talk to another person.

So The Collector and the Nova Captain moved into Nova Corps headquarters, where several other commanders were already waiting.

As soon as they sat down, the Nova Captain asked,

"What kind of civilization are they?"

This was something the entire universe would know soon enough, so there was no need for The Collector to conceal it.

"The Transformers civilization."

Hearing that, the Nova Captain and the others exchanged puzzled looks. Clearly, none of them understood what that meant.

Seeing this, The Collector explained,

"All you need to know is that they are mechanical lifeforms. Every Transformer has its own soul."

"They are powerful—far beyond anything you can imagine."

"The army dispatched this time represents only a fraction of Cybertron’s true force..."

The Collector raised his fingers, calculating.

There were only ten Elders present here. In total, there were one thousand. Which meant...

"Just a tiny bit."

He made a gesture—like an OK sign, but with a small gap between his thumb and index finger.

"The army you see here is only a tiny fraction of Cybertron’s total might."

"What?!"

The Nova commanders were stunned. This force... was just a fraction?

If the entire army arrived, what chance would they have?

They turned their eyes toward the battlefield. More than two hundred Transformers, each towering over fifteen meters, stood like a living wall. Some carried massive cannons, others held ten-meter-long blades, and others, with intricate scanning optics, turned their gaze directly toward them.

Looking further upward, twenty colossal warships hovered in orbit. Their main cannons remained locked onto Xandar. On ten of those ships, titanic mechs sat waiting—each one as large as the warship beneath it.

Warships tens of thousands of meters long, and mechs just as massive.

It was overwhelming. Terrifying.

And this was only "a tiny bit"?

The Nova Corps was left speechless.

If you asked them now whether they preferred Thanos or the Transformers, most would probably answer Thanos.

At least Thanos left half alive. The Transformers looked ready to erase everything—reduce their world to dust.

Seeing their stunned expressions, The Collector’s confidence solidified. This was exactly the effect he wanted: raw intimidation.

He continued,

"The Transformers helped you destroy Thanos’ legion. But they will not harm you, the innocent."

"They only want two things."

"First: the Orb. You can’t safeguard it anyway. If the Transformers leave and Thanos returns with another army, what will you do?"

"If he comes back, they might be harvesting resources in another galaxy, and you won’t be this lucky again."

"Second: The Nova Force. They only want a little."

"Just a trace of energy—not enough to create another Nova. They’re simply curious, they want to study it, not take all of it."

The Collector laid it out clearly.

The Orb—you cannot protect it.

The Nova Force—they only want a fraction.

The Transformers have just saved you from losing half your empire to slaughter.

Isn’t handing these things over the right choice?

If you can’t keep the Orb, why not let someone else ’safeguard’ it?

The Nova Corps listened. And gradually, they began to think it made sense.

"But..."

The Nova Captain still hesitated.

"If the Orb falls into the wrong hands, the entire universe could be in danger."

Although not many people can wield the Orb, if even one person can, they become nearly unstoppable. After all, even if someone fumbles in using an Infinity Stone, its power still reaches Sky Father–level. And if fully mastered, a single Infinity Stone could reach Universal-level.

"You really don’t need to worry about that," the Collector said directly after hearing the Nova Captain’s concern.

"If the Transformers were an evil force, they wouldn’t be sitting here negotiating with you. Besides, the Transformers are bound by the Creator. They won’t act recklessly, only focus on advancing their own civilization. So there’s no need to worry."

The Nova Captain frowned slightly, puzzled.

"The Creator?"

Clearly, the name caught his attention.

But the Collector quickly waved his hand and shook his head.

"Don’t pry about the Creator. I’ve only seen him once. He’s a legendary existence, a mysterious figure who only appears occasionally to guide the Transformers’ development."

"It’s also because of him that the Transformers don’t plunder resources at will. Otherwise, for mechanical beings like them, not taking carbon-based life forms seriously would be natural. To them, we might be nothing more than fat, juicy insects."

The Nova Legion members exchanged glances at those words and nodded. Different life forms think in different ways.

They were glad they were negotiating with the Collector. If they’d had to face the Transformers directly and accidentally offended them, that would have been the end.

After a long silence, the Nova Captain finally waved his hand.

"Bring the Orb from the vault."

When he finished speaking, he unclasped the golden Nova from his shoulder and placed it in the Collector’s hand.

"There’s enough Nova Force in here."

"Captain!"

The others gasped when they saw him hand over the Nova directly. The energy within it far exceeded what the other side had asked for! Novas were hidden reserves, backup energy sources!

But the Nova Captain only raised his hand.

"This is necessary. Otherwise, half of the Nova Empire would have perished today. Now, only half the Legion has fallen. Compared to losing half the population, half of the Legion is far less."

Hearing this, the others reluctantly agreed.

Soon after, a Nova soldier handed the Collector a box containing the Orb. The Collector accepted it, opened it, and found the Orb inside. Still, he pulled out a pair of glasses to check.

After confirming that the Infinity Stone was indeed within the Orb, he put away the glasses and smiled.

"I will deliver this to the Elder Transformers."

The Nova Captain returned his smile.

"Let’s hope we can all be good friends from now on."

The Collector smiled faintly but gave no reply. He wasn’t qualified to speak for the Elder Transformers.

Having lived so many years, the Collector was far too clever for that.

...

With the Nova in his left hand and the Orb in his right, the Collector walked across the battlefield. Passing through the Nova Legion, he stopped before the descendants of the Transformers.

"Everything is here."

The eyes of the Transformer lit up, and the Elders spoke through it.

Looking at what the Collector held, it nodded and said,

"Good. Return now. We should leave for Cybertron."

At the Elders’ command, all the Transformers turned in unison, stepping back. Then, with a leap, they shifted midair into fighter jets, engines roaring as they shot toward the twenty warships in orbit.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

The 50,000-strong robot army followed suit, marching beneath the ships to be retrieved by the warships’ gravity beams. The Collector also returned aboard.

Before long, once all the robots had been recovered, the Elders issued their command through the terminal channel:

"All Transformers, return to Cybertron."

The engines of the warships ignited. Then, in unison, they jumped into hyperspace and vanished.

Just like that, the Transformers had come swiftly—and left even faster. They arrived empty-handed, suffered zero losses, yet departed with the Nova Force and the Orb.

It should be noted that the Nova Empire is highly inclusive. Xandar wasn’t home only to its own people but also to Skrulls, Sovereigns, Contraxians, Sakaarans, and many more. All of them had witnessed this war.

From the invasion of Thanos’ army to its crushing defeat, from the Transformers’ arrival to the end of negotiations and their departure—everything had unfolded in just a few short hours.

The speed left everyone stunned.

Xandar had once fought the Kree Empire for a thousand years, yet today it had nearly faced destruction. Now that safety was restored, hearts raced with excitement. Hands trembling, people rushed to send the news to other civilizations through their terminals.

Photos, recordings—everything was there.

And in the blink of an eye, the news that Thanos’ army had been crushed by the Transformers spread across the universe.