Marvel: What If Thanos Adopted A Saiyan?-Chapter 207 - 208: Etching the Chronicle in Flesh and Blood
"Commander!"
"Should we fall back?!"
"The enemy reinforcements have arrived!"
Onboard the flagship of the Kree Empire, the Supreme Accuser Tribunal member Rocco stared grimly at the screen.
A new, unidentified fleet had entered the fray.
While it wasn’t as numerous as his own armada, it was more than enough to divert firepower away from their target, Lothar, allowing the latter to finally move without being pinned down by a suffocating web of artillery.
"No."
"Keep attacking."
"The son of Thanos has no ability to survive independently in space. Drain him of his power."
Rocco, driven by a burning desire to avenge his father, refused to relinquish this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
If he missed this chance to kill Lothar, there might never be another.
As a member of the Kree Accuser Corps, Rocco was stationed permanently at the borders. The precarious relationship between the Kree Empire and Xandar left him no room to abandon his post. He had long resigned himself to waiting until retirement to pursue his vendetta, intending to leave the empire, reestablish his faction, and track down Lothar for revenge.
But when Lothar suddenly appeared, bold, brazen, and flaunting his presence, right in Rocco’s territory, the commander could no longer restrain himself.
Was Lothar powerful?
Unquestionably.
Based on the sparse intelligence recovered from Hala, Lothar had single-handedly obliterated two full Accuser fleets, a terrifying feat.
Although some of his tactics had been clever, even underhanded, the raw footage didn’t show him in his current golden-haired transformation.
That form radiated a combat power on an entirely different level.
Under normal circumstances, Rocco wouldn’t have acted.
Duty was duty. Vengeance was personal.
As a Supreme Accuser, he couldn’t simply abandon his post to lead a military force into the Black Quadrant, shouting for blood repayment. That would invite disaster. Thanos’ elite legions alone could crush him.
But fate had dealt him a different hand. Lothar showed up alone, seemingly without backup. Rocco would have dishonored his father’s memory, and the vow he once whispered to his swaddled son Ronan, if he let this moment slip by.
Seizing the chance, Rocco launched an all-out assault. Backed by the full might of his fleet and aided by remnants of the true Cosmic Syndicate, they unleashed a hellstorm of firepower that could annihilate even the most elite forces in the universe.
Though the results were underwhelming, the image of Lothar and Hela struggling to move under intense bombardment gave Rocco hope. Hope that his vengeance might finally be realized.
He just had to hold on. Just a little longer.
After all, according to all available intelligence, the son of Thanos couldn’t survive indefinitely in the vacuum of space.
Once Lothar’s energy shield collapsed, this uneven war would tilt in Rocco’s favor.
Everything was unfolding just as he’d hoped, until the Chitauri fleet arrived.
Rocco felt as if he’d swallowed a Skrull, nauseated and betrayed.
Without warning, these fearless fanatics slammed their ships directly into his forces, clearly willing to trade lives for lives.
"Damn it!"
"All weapons to maximum output!"
"Let the brainwashed slaves block the Black Quadrant’s army, everyone else, target Lothar!"
"Don’t let up! Hit him with everything we’ve got!"
Rocco slammed his fists against the control panel, his blue-skinned face twisting with rage as the facade of a calculating crime lord fell away, revealing the bloodthirsty warlord underneath.
He had already sacrificed too much. Turning back now would make it all meaningless.
This wasn’t "taking a step back to see the big picture," this was infuriating.
WHOOSH!
BOOM!
Every volley of cannon fire illuminated Lothar’s grim face.
With fire now redirected toward the Chitauri, the pressure on him finally eased. The golden aura around his body blazed brighter, arcs of energy crackling so fiercely even Hela flinched.
ZRRRZT—BOOOOM!
The Chitauri’s surprise attack disrupted the joint formation of the Kree and Skrull armadas, creating a fatal gap.
Lothar didn’t hesitate.
Surging waves of energy exploded from his hands, carving through the ranks of the Syndicate members with ruthless precision.
Warships erupted. Lives ended. The slaughter continued.
His golden form blazed like a wrathful god descended, smashing through the enemy lines with terrifying ease.
"Commander! This isn’t working!"
"Our firepower’s too scattered, Black Quadrant’s forces are pulling too much aggro. We can’t maintain a lockdown on Lothar!"
"If this continues, our losses will be catastrophic!"
Aboard the Skrull flagship, the commander disguised as Master Seven of the Cosmic Syndicate glared at the rapidly deteriorating battle on the viewscreen. Teeth clenched, he issued a retreat order. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂
Live to fight another day.
They weren’t the true Cosmic Syndicate, no reason to die for a fight they couldn’t win.
"Shame... if the Black Quadrant’s reinforcements had been just a little later, we could’ve captured Lothar alive. Imagine the look on Thanos’ face when we carved him up."
The Skrull commander’s face twisted with regret.
"Hm?"
"They’re retreating?"
Lothar, having borne the brunt of the assault, noticed it immediately.
"Commander! The Syndicate’s forces are pulling out!"
The Kree command deck fell into stunned silence. Rocco was caught completely off guard.
You fly the same banner as us, but you’re just gonna walk away like this?
"Lothar!" In the void of space, Hela’s eyes gleamed with delight.
"I know." Lothar exhaled, turning toward the daughter of Odin. Her face was flushed with the thrill of battle.
"Hela. Block their escape. Three minutes.
"Can you do it?"
"The ones retreating?" Her smile faded as she saw the storm behind his eyes. She understood what he was planning. Or at least she thought she did.
"Of course. You think you can just hit and run?" she sneered.
That bloodthirsty glint in Lothar’s eyes, Hela knew it well.
"You sure three minutes is enough?"
"Oh, more than enough.
"They’ll pay for their stupidity."
Before his words had even faded, Lothar blasted toward the Kree fleet in a golden flash—
Straight to the heart of the beast.
"...Quite the personality, isn’t he?"
With a wave of her hand, a sea of spectral blades manifested around her. Standing at the peak of an arsenal of death, Hela descended upon the retreating Skrull fleet.
"Attack!"
Both Kree and Skrull forces made the same call:
Self-destruct the warships. Take her down with them.
"Vanish."
Lothar unleashed his full power, hurling himself toward the Kree flagship.
Everything in his path turned to stardust beneath golden lightning.
"Rejoice!"
"For the noble Son of Titan! Esteemed Lord of Chitauri Prime, His Highness Lothar!"
"His divine figure shall be etched into the annals of cosmic history, forever remembered as the god who descended!"
"To etch the chronicle in mortal flesh!"
"And at this very moment—!"
Three minutes later, standing alone amid the wreckage of countless warships, the golden-haired warrior basked in the glow of The Other’s stirring hymn, echoing from his flagship.
The memory seared itself into the minds of every single Xandarian who witnessed it.
Even the future Nova Empress and the Nova Corps General found their breaths caught in awe.
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