NOVEL NEXT Chapter 39: CHAPTER 39
Liberty Star—a Marauder-controlled neutral world where no private skirmishes were permitted.
Despite its designation as a sanctuary for outlaws, it often remained desolate.
True predators despised excessive rules. They thrived in chaos, violence, and the lawless fringes of the cosmos, not in a so-called haven of neutrality.
But today, Liberty Star was anything but deserted.
A gathering of unprecedented scale was taking place.
A Call to Arms
The Marauder faction consisted of over a hundred independent groups. Some of the most notorious warlords, including Justice Starka and the Giant, had once commanded vast fleets.
Yet, despite their numbers, they had never truly unified—until now.
With Ragna 's conquest of Andromeda, the power balance had shifted.
The Cosmic Mercenary Union—an organization specifically engineered to dismantle the Marauder ecosystem—was ripping out their roots, faction by faction.
While not all warlords answered the summons, thirty-four faction leaders had arrived on Liberty Star.
Most operated within the former domains of the Kree, Skrulls, and Shi'ar, the very regions Ragna had begun pacifying with brutal efficiency.
The Council of Predators
The Hall of Freedom, a crude chamber once built as a symbol of pirate unity, was now a battleground—of words.
The leaders of plundering fleets stood in a vast circle, some seething, others brooding.
Then, the quarrel began.
The Debate on War
"We have fleets! We have warriors! We have recently acquired advanced Kree warships through the black market! Why wait?
I say we strike now—raid Andromeda directly, burn their planets, and raze this so-called 'Cosmic Mercenary Union' to the ground!"
The one who spoke was a beast-like Marauder, a hulking, fanged warlord, emboldened by the superior firepower now at his disposal.
His arrogance was palpable—as if a few Kree warships had made him invincible.
"I agree," rumbled a stone-skinned Marauder from the Rockborn Clan, pounding his chest.
Others nodded in support. The recent influx of powerful weapons and ships had emboldened them all.
But many remained silent, unmoved.
Then, a skeletal, insectoid Marauder let out a mocking hiss.
"Why stop there? Let's not just raid Andromeda—let's wipe out the 'Holy Heavenly Palace' entirely! Let's rule Andromeda ourselves and build a Predator Empire!"
The stone-skinned warrior pounded his chest again.
"I agree!"
This time, no one seconded him.
A figure clad in frost-laced armor let out a cold laugh.
"So you believe yourselves invincible?"
His words cut through the room like shattered ice.
"Your fleets grow, your weapons improve… and you think this is a coincidence?"
A red-skinned, hunched Marauder nodded knowingly.
"Exactly.
How is it that weapons we once struggled to obtain now flow so freely into our hands?
Have any of you stopped to ask who is pulling the strings?"
A murmur swept through the hall.
The smarter ones were already suspicious.
The sudden influx of advanced Kree and Shi'ar tech had come too easily.
Had they been baited into war?
The Cosmic Power Rankings—Truth or Deception?
Despite their doubts, one sentiment remained unchallenged:
The Cosmic Mercenary Union had to be destroyed.
Without its commissions, without civilizations using it as a buffer, the Marauders' way of life would collapse.
"We all agree on that," the Frost Marauder declared. "But how?"
Then, another question arose:
"And what do you all make of the rankings?"
The Cosmic Mercenary Union had recently published a list of the most powerful forces in the universe—a ranking meant to establish galactic order.
A warlord scoffed.
"It's nonsense! A fabrication! The Holy Heavenly Palace clearly paid them to manipulate the rankings!"
"Exactly! Who are half these forces? Unknown names! Forgotten myths! I've personally killed self-proclaimed 'God-Kings' before!"
Laughter erupted.
But some leaders stayed silent.
And others… were deeply uneasy.
Then, a holographic projection appeared before them—a glowing list of cosmic dominions, ranked by the Cosmic Mercenary Union:
Cosmic Power Rankings (As Determined by the Cosmic Mercenary Union)
1st: The Gods
• Origin and number unknown.
• Their rank is unclassified, but at minimum, they surpass Fourth-Tier Power.
• Believed to be super lifeforms that emerged directly from the fabric of the universe.
• They maintain balance in ways beyond mortal comprehension.
2nd: The Watchers
• Ancient beings of vast knowledge and immeasurable technology.
• They never interfere with the natural course of civilization, only observe.
3rd: The Elders of the Universe
• A collection of near-immortal beings, each driven by a singular obsession.
• Rarely interfere in cosmic affairs but possess reality-warping abilities.
4th: Asgard
• Despite suffering recent turmoil and heavy losses, Asgard remains a galactic superpower.
• As long as Odin lives and Bifrost stands, Asgard is untouchable.
5th: The Holy Heavenly Palace
• A newly risen power that singlehandedly defeated both the Kree Empire and the Shi'ar Empire simultaneously.
• Its elite warriors, known as 'Angels,' roam the universe enforcing its will.
• The presence of the Heavenly Palace Lord is spreading across the cosmos.
Denial and Fear
A deep silence followed.
Then, the mockery returned.
"Hah! These are fairy tales! Legends! Nothing but exaggerated myths!"
A Marauder sneered.
"Have we not slain 'God-Kings' before?"
More laughter followed.
But the Frost Marauder—and a handful of others—did not laugh.
They knew better.
There were forces in the universe they had never encountered, beings that existed beyond mortal comprehension.
And as much as they loathed the idea…
The Holy Heavenly Palace was now among them.
For the first time, some of them wondered…
Had they already lost?
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