Nova Corps Headquarters, Supreme Command Center.
When Dante led his Sanguinary Guard and appeared directly in the hall through precise teleportation, it was as though all the air had been sucked from the command center in an instant.
The Nova Corps soldiers, the elites who normally defended Xandar, felt unprecedented suffocation and insignificance before these giants, each over three meters tall on average, clad in dark crimson power armor and radiating icy killing intent and a martial aura.
It was an absolute suppression at the level of life itself, like lambs facing a pride of lions.
Their palms were drenched with sweat as they gripped their weapons. Some even unconsciously took half a step back, breathing with utmost care.
Nova Corps commander Ilani Rael suppressed the tremor in her heart, stepped forward, and did her best to maintain her composure as she spoke with Dante face-to-face.
Dante's voice passed through his mask, cold and direct, laying out the Hilling Empire's ideals of order and its determination to claim this world.
He made no threats. He merely stated the facts calmly, yet the confidence born of absolute power was more oppressive than any threat.
After the discussion ended, Ilani immediately convened Xandar's senior leadership for an emergency consultation.
The argument in the conference room was fierce.
"Join them? Then what would become of the freedom and democracy our Xandarian people have pursued for generations? Wouldn't we become vassals?"
"Not join them? Look at the wreckage of the Kree Empire fleet outside in the stars! What right do we have to refuse? Survival comes first!"
"Their strength... is too terrifying. Those warriors, that fleet... we cannot contend with them."
"Perhaps... integrating into a stronger order would not be entirely bad? At least they seem to... reason with others, and they eliminated that