"Shut your mouth. No one's going to mistake you for a mute just because you stay silent." The Other, ever loyal to Lothar, shot a vicious glare at Astra, who was sighing at an empty bottle of liquor.
Though deep down, The Other also harbored thoughts of advising Lothar to abandon this mission. From the projections displayed by Woz, the combined fleets of the Kree Empire and the Skrull Empire had mobilized an alarming number of warships—not a force to be taken lightly.
The Other even feared that, in a fit of rage, these two empires might join forces to completely obliterate Planet N52. After all, Woz's previous scans indicated that this planet was not resource-rich and lacked even the most basic planetary defense system.
"The Kree and Skrull fleets... they're after you?" Diana, now able to catch her breath after Lothar finally released her chin, caught a flash of astonishment in her eyes upon hearing Astra's words.
"Did you desecrate the Kree's ancestral tombs?"
"Screw you!" Astra flung the empty bottle at Diana's face without hesitation.
"I'm a proper, full-blooded Kree! If I were to dig up anyone's ancestors, it'd be those damn Skrulls'!"
Perhaps because he had been so effortlessly overpowered by Lothar, Astra felt little reverence for the infamous pirate queen. In fact, he even harbored the illusion that, given the chance, he could take her on himself.
"Woz, still no way to plot a new course?" Ignoring Astra's outburst, Lothar kept manipulating the holographic screen, running simulation after simulation of an escape route that would allow him to take Astra back to the Black Quadrant via space jump.
Every single attempt ended in failure.
Out of a thousand possible scenarios Woz had calculated, not a single one led to success. Either the Kree killed them, or the Skrulls did. No matter what, Astra was doomed.
Compared to the firepower of interstellar warships, Astra was simply too weak—so weak that Lothar had no way of ensuring his safe passage to the jump point.
"It's useless. With your strength alone, there is absolutely no way you can break through while dragging along those two deadweights." Just as Lothar furrowed his brow in thought, Diana's voice reached his ears. He looked up in response, only to see her gazing at him with intrigue, having just wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth.
"Don't look at me like that. I know the Kree and Skrull fleets better than you do. I've been fighting them for over a hundred years." A hint of pride crept into Diana's smile as she spoke.
The fact that Planet N52 still existed was largely thanks to the efforts of the Seven Titans. Take, for example, a nearby planet known as 616. A century ago, its ruling coalition fell into internal strife, and the Kree and Skrulls seized the opportunity to wipe it out completely. By the time the Seven Titans of N52 learned of this and attempted to intervene, Planet 616 had already been reduced to ruins.
"A hundred years of fighting, and what do you have to show for it? Have you ever even killed an Accuser? This guy, Lothar, took down an Accuser all by himself! He hunted down Robb and killed him in deep space." Astra sneered mercilessly, dismissing her achievements. As a Kree who had lived on Torfa for years, he was well aware of the Seven Titans' so-called battle records.
Diana's eyes flickered at his words.
"I don't know why you're so determined to drag this useless Kree along, but I do know that doing this alone is impossible." She shot Astra a quick glance, then extended her right hand, raising a single finger in front of Lothar with a dazzling smile—one that momentarily dazed Astra.
"Has your father never taught you that there is strength in numbers?"
"So, let's set aside our previous conflicts and get to know each other properly. My name is Diana, born on Paradise Island of N52."
Now that she had seen Lothar's strength firsthand, Diana was quick to extend an olive branch. Her change in attitude was so sudden that it came without any warning.
Recruiting someone she couldn't defeat into her team was hardly a difficult decision for her. Besides, Lothar was far stronger than any of them.
Recalling how effortlessly he had defeated her earlier, Diana unconsciously licked her lips, her gaze toward Lothar growing more intense.
That long-dormant plan... she might have just found the perfect candidate to put it into motion.
"What are you thinking?"
Lothar wasn't so easily swayed. To him, Diana was weak. He didn't buy into her idea of "strength in numbers" at all.
If Diana was one of the Seven Titans—the strongest figures on N52—and yet was still this weak, then the others must be even more worthless. In Lothar's eyes, he could probably obliterate them with a couple of energy waves. He saw no value in such feeble allies.
"Prince Lothar, Lady Diana is extending a cooperation request." The ever-honest Woz scratched the back of his head and earnestly patted Lothar's waist, blinking his big round eyes.
"That's right." Diana shrugged as she looked at Woz, then casually shrank her golden whip into a small rod and waved it playfully in front of him.
"You seem a lot smarter than your master."
Woz merely glanced at her, unimpressed.
Lothar looked at Diana, deep in thought.
He was considering alternative ways to get Astra out safely. He already knew that any attempt to flee via warship was doomed to fail.
"Well? Will you work with me?" Unaware of what was running through Lothar's mind, Diana once again extended her invitation.
This was a rare opportunity to slip past the watchful eyes of the two empires, and she wasn't about to let it slip away.
"What exactly is this plan of yours?" Lothar raised an eyebrow. His mind had begun calculating how he could use Diana and the Seven Titans to his advantage.
If he could find someone capable of disrupting the special magnetic field link between the Kree and Skrull warships, he would have the opportunity to escape with Astra—just as he had used the Chitauri soldiers to interfere with the Kree's fleet communications before.
To achieve that, he first needed control over the Seven Titans of N52.
"The Babel Tower Project." Diana wasted no time in revealing the name.
"It's the only plan that guarantees your precious cargo can leave this star system safely."
As Lothar nodded in agreement, Diana cast a playful glance at Astra.
For something to provoke both the Kree and Skrull Empires to such an extent... she was beginning to grow very interested in the secrets Astra was hiding.
"Babel Tower?"
"Just the name of a signal tower. Internally, we call it Babel Tower—it was named by that old bat." Diana shrugged, indicating that Lothar didn't need to dwell on it.
"Go on." Lothar took a seat on the throne Diana had previously occupied, raising his chin slightly to signal her to continue.
The posture of a ruler.
Diana's eyelid twitched involuntarily, her chest surging with suppressed anger. But knowing she was outmatched, she swallowed it down.
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