In the sky, Ronan's ship advanced relentlessly.
Three of Shinra's special forces were slashing down Nova Corps' fighter jets, like slicing fruit.
And just as the Nova Empire's top brass prepared to send more reinforcements to the Nova Corps, on the ground, led by Shinra's special forces, the main force of the security maintenance troops also began attacking several critical locations.
In an instant, from the skies to the ground, the entire planet Xandar was engulfed in a sea of war.
It wasn't until this point that the high-ranking officials of the Nova Empire realized how much armed strength Shinra had cultivated, and just how powerful their combat capabilities were.
The citizens, no longer interested in watching the spectacle, began fleeing in all directions. The entire world seemed to be plunged into chaos.
Once a prosperous civilization with a prominent place in the star system, the Nova Empire was now facing an existential crisis in a matter of moments.
While the entire capital planet fell into chaos, Su Ye was still inside the church, arranging flowers with Aerith.
The flowers Aerith raised were beautiful—both the leaves and blossoms thrived. Even though Su Ye had been helping her sell flowers outside recently, the flowers at the church didn't seem to have decreased.
So, at Su Ye's suggestion, Aerith began to try her hand at flower arranging as an art form.
So, the flower arranging was quite serious.
Flower arranging is an art. What initially looks like a chaotic mess of weeds and petals, when carefully manipulated, can turn into a visually pleasing artistic arrangement.
The same plants and flowers could double or even multiply in value.
The simpler flower-selling tasks were handed over to some children from the slums.
This was also a kind of poverty alleviation—rather than giving them money directly, it was better to give them a chance to earn it.
If possible in the future, Aerith also wanted to teach them how to grow flowers.
However, the land in the slums was not suitable enough to support the growth of fresh flowers.
If she truly wanted to change the lives of people in the slums, the best way was to first change their living environment.
So now, Aerith had two plans to choose from: one was to use her connection with the planet to transform the entire world into arable land.
The other was to liberate the barren land of the slums from Shinra's control.
It was precisely because of Shinra's mining of "Mako" that the blackened land of the slums existed.
Aerith wanted to visit Earth as Su Ye had suggested before making a decision on what to do.
But before Aerith could take action, war suddenly descended.
In the sky, Ronan's Dark Aster was surrounded by countless small necro-ships, which scattered like little bees from the sky, instantly filling the air above the capital city of the Nova Empire.
The scene reminded Su Ye of the previous battle in New York.
Back then, it was also countless small spacecraft filling the sky, with the only difference being that one involved a portal, while the other was a spaceship.
Wait, there's another difference.
In New York, the villains were only from the sky; there were no traitors on Earth.
But now, the Nova Empire had to deal with both Ronan's army and the traitorous Shinra forces.
Wait… this isn't the kind of thing I should be thinking about right now!
Su Ye frowned—he suddenly realized a big problem.
Why, as Shinra's 3rd Special Forces soldier, had he not been notified about this major event?
Had Shinra deemed his combat abilities unworthy, or had his undercover status been discovered?
"Zack! What's going on? Where are you?"
Su Ye hurriedly contacted Zack through the communication device.
On the other end, Zack responded in a confused tone.
"Me? I'm out here executing surveillance duties outside the church. Where else could I be?"
"Look outside! Look at the sky! The fighting has started—why don't we have new orders?"
Su Ye pointed at the sky—Sephiroth and the others' actions were visible to nearly half the people in the Nova capital. Of course, the two of them noticed it as well. But they weren't yet aware of the ground troops' movements.
The slums were too poor—Shinra's security forces hadn't even considered attacking this area.
"I'll check in!"
On the other end, Zack hung up the call for a moment, then quickly called back.
"I got through. The boss said he's busy—busy killing people. He told us not to get involved in the battle outside. Our only task now is to monitor the target and make sure she doesn't get hurt!"
"Is this surveillance or protection?"
Su Ye couldn't help but complain.
Zack's mentor, Angeal, wasn't exactly a villain in the original work. He played a significant role in Zack's development and provided him with a lot of guidance.
So, his refusal to let them help might carry some deeper meaning.
Su Ye didn't dwell on it. Since Angeal didn't want him to act, he would wait for now. Let Ronan and Sephiroth test the strength of the Nova Empire and the Nova Corps first.
In the movie, maybe to make way for the Guardians of the Galaxy, the strength of the Nova Empire and Nova Corps was greatly diminished.
The Nova Corps soldiers were even reduced to mere pilots who could only intercept invaders in jets—their individual power was practically nonexistent.
But in the comics, the Nova Corps members were all powerful superheroes.
Some Centurions even had Superman-level strength.
If there had been a Centurion-level figure in the movie, not even Ronan, let alone Thanos, would have been able to easily destroy Xandar.
Unfortunately, such heroic figures never appeared from start to finish.
Perhaps, as Xandar and the Nova Empire were destroyed by Thanos, powerful superheroes will appear in the subsequent storyline?
That's a problem for the screenwriters.
Su Ye was in this world now—his world was no longer under the writers' control. So Su Ye really wanted to know—did this world have any Nova Centurions?
In the sky, the battle continued.
Sephiroth and the others had destroyed many Nova Corps jets in an instant.
But as the capital of the Nova Empire, Xandar had a massive number of Nova Corps fighters—far more than Earth's 13,000+ jets.
And without a special effects budget limit, Nova Corps jets could fly freely across the skies.
When tens of thousands of jets took off, even Sephiroth and his crew were quickly overwhelmed.
Nova Corps jets had only been caught off guard at first—they weren't helpless lambs. Once they regrouped, they launched a counterattack.
Not only did they manage to fight back against Sephiroth and his team, but they also successfully fended off the attacks from Ronan's necro-ships.
The aerial battle grew intense, and on the ground, Nova ground forces clashed fiercely with Shinra's security forces.
"The Nova Empire is a cosmic-level civilization after all. They've got deep foundations. Looks like our involvement—or lack thereof—doesn't really matter!"
Outside Xandar's atmosphere, a Ravager ship floated.
It was Yondu's ship, carrying Ravagers, Great Wall Guardians, and the Guardians of the Galaxy.
Among the three groups, the Guardians were the most eager to assist Xandar.
It was as if they believed if they didn't come, Xandar would fall and the Nova Empire would perish.
Given the composition of the Guardians of the Galaxy, it was strange that they thought this way. It was even stranger for a small team to think they could save a whole civilization.
And in the end, they really did succeed, with a ridiculous and awkward dance move that no one in the universe could have anticipated.
Frankly, that movie kind of dragged the audience's IQ through the mud—then spit on it and called them idiots.
Eat a few more peanuts and maybe the plot would make more sense.
Of course, that was just Su Ye's opinion. The screenwriters, directors, and audiences worldwide all loved it—that's what mattered.
One person's opinion meant nothing.
But right now, in Su Ye's world, with the Nova Empire facing Ronan and Shinra's joint army, and the battle reaching its peak, the Guardians and Ravagers could barely make a difference.
On the ship, Yondu looked at the battle below and sighed.
However, Star-Lord beside him strongly disagreed.
Even now, he still saw himself as the savior—if they didn't come, Xandar would surely fall.
"Yondu, you can't say that. Even civilizations have blind spots. And with a battlefield this big, it's exactly where we can shine."
"We need to play to our strengths. While Ronan and the Xandar rebels are tied up, we strike from behind and catch them off guard. Then we wipe them out."
"At that point, we'll be the saviors of the Nova Empire. Forget the wanted poster; if they don't give me tens of millions in bounty, that'll be unacceptable."
Star-Lord's plan, theoretically, wasn't problematic. Ronan was fully focused on attacking Xandar, pouring all his energy into the atmospheric and ground forces. He wouldn't care about threats coming from space outside the atmosphere.
Or rather, as long as Xandar and the Nova Empire were destroyed, Ronan wouldn't care if his rear was stabbed.
Yondu had originally planned to give up on the direct assault. With Nova Corps fighting fiercely, Ronan wouldn't win quickly. Attacking at this point wouldn't be wise.
It would be better to wait until they've fought it out, when Ronan's forces are weakened or retreating, and then strike, which would be much easier.
The bounty didn't matter—lifting Star-Lord's wanted status was enough.
That would be good enough.
As a result, the two even had a pirate-style argument. Star-Lord nearly pulled a gun, only to be stopped by Yondu's arrow inches from his eye.
Watching the two argue, the Great Wall Guardians didn't join in. Instead, they stood by, laughing and watching the spectacle.
The "melon-eating crowd"—people who just watch the drama unfold—is a widespread and timeless phenomenon.
"Are we really going to wait here the whole time?"
In the end, it was the straightforward boy, Abomination, who spoke up and mentioned it.
Beside him, Hoshigaki Kisame reflexively retorted.
"What else can we do? Uncle Su hasn't given the order, we can't act on our own!"
"Before the boss left, he authorized us to use our judgment and decide when to act based on the situation. So as long as the timing is right, it's not considered acting on our own."
Sharon added from the side.
Among the Great Wall Guardians, Sharon's abilities weren't the most outstanding, but because of her background as an S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and being Su Ye's personal secretary, her position was somewhat elevated.
A lot of the time, she could take the place of half of Su Ye, and her words carried more weight than Gwen's.
After all, Gwen was just a girlfriend with no combat experience and didn't like making decisions.
Sharon, on the other hand, alongside special advisor Zheng Xian and Captain America, formed the leadership trio.
They handled all strategic decisions while Su Ye was away.
A special introduction to Zheng Xian.
At first, Zheng Xian joined the Great Wall Guardians at Su Ye's invitation, to provide ideological and political education for the team members.
Zheng Xian not only completed this task excellently but also gained the approval of nearly all the Great Wall Guardians during this time.
Especially Kisame, the straightforward and stubborn youth, who developed immense trust in Zheng Xian after a heart-to-heart conversation with him.
It might be hard for some to believe, but Kisame had more than once expressed his desire to join the Akatsuki to Zheng Xian.
However, the Akatsuki 's review process is not something that can be passed easily.
Currently, in the entire Great Wall Guardians, aside from Zheng Xian, Su Ye is the only member of the Akatsuki.
But that didn't stop Kisame from becoming an active member trying to join the Akatsuki, dedicating all his belief and effort to actually becoming a member.
After Sharon stepped forward, Captain America and Zheng Xian quickly exchanged opinions.
Captain America believed they should observe the situation for now, waiting until Ronan's army was bogged down and their morale weakened, then step in to become the decisive force in the war.
Just like they had done during the Pacific and Atlantic battles in the past.
In the later stages of the war, they would wait for the enemy to wear out and then decide the outcome, reaping the greatest reward.
However, Zheng Xian disagreed with this approach.
According to Captain America's plan, the Great Wall Guardians could gain a lot at that moment, but history remembers everything, and in the end, everything will be accounted for.
Right and wrong, success and failure, history will give the fairest answer.
Does Xandar have no satellites? You think they haven't noticed us yet?
Therefore, to truly help Xandar and gain the full friendship of the Nova Empire, the best choice is to join the war now and defeat Ronan as quickly as possible, minimizing the damage they've caused.
Honestly, Zheng Xian's approach wasn't particularly wise, because the payoff might be less than what Captain America's plan would yield.
And if they ended the battle too quickly, Xandar might not even value their arrival.
After all, things that are too easily obtained are rarely cherished.
If Su Ye were here, he might have chosen Captain America's suggestion.
But the problem is, Su Ye isn't here right now, and the Great Wall Guardians are being led by Sharon, Zheng Xian, and Captain America.
And Sharon, the thoughtful secretary, had long figured out Su Ye's thoughts. She knew he wouldn't reject decisions made by someone like Zheng Xian, a high-level figure from China, with its characteristic righteousness and big-country mentality.
So, in the end, Zheng Xian's proposal passed with a two-to-one vote.
The Ravagers directly entered the battlefield, launching an attack from behind to strike at Ronan's weak spot.
Yondu's Ravager ship was large, carrying many small spacecraft and various other models of combat aircraft, with formidable combat power.
However, when the battle began, the first to charge into the fray was a massive black-colored metal mech, adorned with red and gold stripes.
This mech was inspired by the one piloted by the female protagonist Stella Loussier in Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny. It was called the Gaia Gundam.
It was a gift Su Ye gave to Mystique (Raven Darkhölme).
Although Raven was skilled in shapeshifting, she couldn't gain the abilities of the person she transformed into. So, after Su Ye acquired the Reality Stone, he made this Gundam specifically for her to enhance her combat capabilities.
With Raven's mutant abilities, she might not be able to go into full berserk mode, but piloting this mech to fight was no problem at all.
And on the mech, the position representing its identity a small red Chinese flag was painted.
The golden star of Earth had now appeared for the first time in the interstellar civilization of Xandar.