PFC Chapter 4181 is about the Supreme Sorcerer (21)
Chapter 4181 is about the Supreme Sorcerer (21)
Chapter 4181 is, The Supreme Mage (Twenty-One)
“You’ve been a space pirate for so long, haven’t you ever thought about going ashore? You’re also one of the founders of the original Guardians of the Galaxy, and you have a few friends in the Nova Corps. Can’t you just quit this job?” Star-Lord said, frowning.
To his surprise, Yondu didn't vehemently refute him this time. He simply remained silent for a moment, then sighed and said, "You were born on Earth, and you've always been arrogant, looking down on us thieves who make a living by robbing and pillaging. But what you don't understand is that not everyone is like those lunatics from the Nine Realms, who don't take the Three Great Empires seriously. You know, any one of those three empires could crush us tens of thousands of times with a flick of their little finger. They ignore us simply because we're too weak to threaten them, and they can use us to maintain their own power and help them cultivate the image of a great hero."
Yondu looked at Star-Lord and said, "I don't deny that space pirates never have a good ending. From the day I entered this line of work, I knew that I would eventually turn to dust under the muzzle of a cannon. But I also know that without me, space pirates will still exist. It's just that even more people will suffer, do you understand?"
"I'm not saying I'm a great philanthropist. It's just that not everyone can grasp the right balance. A tiny insect can carve through a planet, while insects like us, though we fight to the death, can't even bite off a piece of flesh from others, but if we really do something bad at a crucial moment, the universe could be overturned."
Star-Lord had never heard his adoptive father say such a thing before. He stared at Yondu, somewhat bewildered, and asked, "What do you mean?"
Yondu suddenly laughed and said, "You're such a fool. Since you already know that I formed the original Guardians of the Galaxy and have a good relationship with the Nova Corps, haven't you ever wondered why I became an outlaw?"
"So you've become a bandit? But I heard you started out as a poacher..."
“That’s all ancient history,” Yondu waved his hand and said, “When I was young, I was just like you, wanting to do something to change the world. So I formed the Guardians of the Galaxy, and together with the Nova Corps, maintained order in Centaurus. But later I realized that heroes alone can’t change many things. So instead of letting those fools do the bad guy part, I’d rather be the bad guy. Hasn’t Centaurus been peaceful ever since?”
Star-Lord opened his mouth, seemingly understanding yet not quite. After thinking for a moment, he said, "The thing you said can't be changed, is it the three great empires?"
“You’ve finally shown some intelligence.” Yondu slammed his gun on the table, began adjusting the parts, and said, “In the era I was born, the three great empires had already established an interstellar order that we could neither shake nor change. To survive in the cracks, we had to find another way. That’s why Centaurus is now the most free star system. I can’t attribute all of this to myself, but at least, the idea that I and the Nova Corps had back then succeeded.”
Star-Lord pursed his lips and said, "Do you know about the Halfworld?"
"That cosmic mental hospital?"
"Yes, but it was actually an experimental base of the Kree Empire. The Skrulls may have tampered with it there as well. The rockets came from there. I heard it used to be a nice place, and then the three great empires destroyed everything."
"You have to admit, the three great empires did do some good things; they built the Ring District quite well. But that's about it."
Star-Lord couldn't help but start thinking. Was the thriving interstellar landscape he perceived an illusion? Probably not. Whether it was the Nine Realms or the civilizations on the interstellar internet, they all seemed to be doing quite well.
But is the situation in the half-world a hoax? Probably not; the raccoon is a living example. While being an ordinary animal might not have meant such freedom, the evil and cruel transformation process was an indelible and painful experience. Even though Rocket appears optimistic and strong, Star-Lord can sense that he has never forgotten that hatred.
Star-Lord opposes interstellar wars. His Guardians of the Galaxy, while primarily mercenaries, never engage in war brokerage. While they may show some bias towards Earth, they have never participated in any wars of aggression.
But judging from Yondu's attitude, this stagnant interstellar order might not be a good thing. Too many people are caught up in it, unable to control their own destiny. From Star-Lord's personal perspective, if a major reshuffle of the cosmic order could free his adoptive father from the profession of space piracy, then he could probably stand by and do nothing.
After all, he wasn't exactly a great hero. He had his own bottom line, but he was better at avoiding trouble altogether. During the multiverse war, he stayed on Earth, even when the Guardians of the Galaxy from other universes were running rampant in space, he insisted on taking Rocket, Gamora, and Drax on vacation to Earth.
“The world is about to change,” Yondu said. “The three great empires may think that having a human as the chairman is a delaying tactic, but they don’t understand human greed. Throughout the history of this race, they have been like a broken engine, never knowing how to move forward slowly. They will not know when to stop, and they will not even overcome their instinct for fear. They will just keep running forward and eventually drag everyone down with them.”
Star-Lord took a deep breath and said, "If the three great empires can no longer control the universe, can you quit this job?"
Yondu laughed again and said, "Stop dreaming. Even if it can't control the universe, controlling a galaxy is a piece of cake. Centaurus has developed into what it is today, a piece of fat meat in the eyes of the three great empires. The weaker they are, the more they need places like this to bleed them dry. Your old man isn't going to retire anytime soon!"
Yondu walked out with his gun, and Star-Lord sighed deeply before following him. But as soon as they stepped out of the tent, Roman, a centurion of the Nova Corps, flew over in a hurry.
"My God, Yondu, what are you still doing here?!"
Yondu was stunned for a moment, then said, "I'm not here, where am I? In your fucking guts?!"
Star-Lord couldn't help but turn his head away. But Roman showed no politeness whatsoever; he walked over and said sternly, "Don't you fucking go online?! Look at the hottest topics on Toutiao!!"
Yondu then took out his phone, glanced at it, and immediately swore. Star-Lord also picked up his phone and glanced at it; his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
"The Interstellar Council is facing a massive deficit; 20 trillion in assets have been used to fund interstellar pirates?!"
"The truth behind the persistent problem of interstellar piracy! The source of cosmic cholera is actually this!"
"Exorbitant funding! The Interstellar Council is colluding with foreign enemies, and exorbitant tax revenues are being used to support its own enemies and enhance its own power!"
Star-Lord's brain couldn't comprehend the words for a moment. He recognized the individual words, but he didn't know what they meant when put together. So he looked at Yondu and asked, "What's wrong? Who's sponsoring you?"
"I had the same question!" Yondu couldn't help but curse again. "I've worked so hard for so many years, just to support these few hundred people under my command, and now it's all funded by the Interstellar Council?! Twenty trillion! That shitty security minister didn't even shoot that much!"
Star-Lord continued reading and then said, "This doesn't look fake. It's said that the Minister of Propaganda revealed it, saying that the three great empires deliberately altered the data to cover up the truth and make him take the blame. He had no choice but to reveal it."
"Do you think I don't know whether I received funding or not?! Besides, if I really had 20 trillion, would we be hiding in tents on this tiny, broken planet?! Do you really think I'm one of those useless people from the Armed Forces? If I were that rich, I could crush the entire Ring Star Region!"
Star-Lord thought Yondu was exaggerating, but there was some truth to it. The raiders weren't pretending to be poor; they genuinely had no money. While space piracy was a risk-free business—just robbing caravans every day—it still had significant expenses. They needed to replenish their weapons and equipment on the black market and pay compensation to the fallen. Yondu, on the other hand, was a relatively conscientious boss, personally subsidizing his crew.
That's why the Raiders have been able to survive to this day. Although Star-Lord has always followed a group of pirates, he feels more like the Raiders are a big family. But after leading a team himself, he realized that building such a team atmosphere definitely requires a lot of money.
Star-Lord himself doesn't have much money right now. Repairing the ship costs money, buying weapons costs money, and getting Rocket to do research costs money. Even he and Gamora need to buy some decent outfits so they can represent the Guardians of the Galaxy in social situations. He's practically a bottomless pit of money.
Star-Lord knew how frugal Yondu was; if he weren't such a thrifty person, the Marauders would be a million times worse off. But precisely because of this, if Yondu had that much money, he would definitely spend it wisely. The Marauders, while not necessarily dominating the universe, would at least control Alpha Centauri. Which black market boss wouldn't have to defer to them? Would they really be reduced to having to be extremely careful even when scavenging for scraps?
"So you didn't get the money? Where did it go?" Star-Lord asked.
"How the hell should I know!" Yondu took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. He said, "Something's definitely up here. I need to find a way to contact my friends in the council..."
"You have friends in parliament?!"
“Of course! Otherwise, how come I always manage to escape every time the Security Department raids pirate sites?!” Yondu turned and walked back, picking up his communicator to contact his informant. Star-Lord was curious, but after glancing at Yondu and then at Roman, he ultimately decided to stay and ask Roman.
"Do you know what's going on, Centurion?"
“Like your dad said, there must be something going on here.” Roman nodded and said, “Compared to politics, the looting of space pirates is as clean as a freshly washed towel. Both the Raiders and the Nova Corps have been victims of politics more than once, and we’re used to it.”
Hearing this, Star-Lord felt a surge of anger. He went into the tent and saw Yondu looking serious, speaking to him in a language he couldn't understand. He came out of the tent again and, looking at the somewhat shabby tents in the base, became even angrier.
Even though they were pirates, they didn't take the money, so why are they being framed? And even if they did give them a little, they should at least throw a bone to a dog, right? Judging from the looters' actions, they probably didn't take a single penny, yet they're firmly holding onto the blame. These politicians deserve to die!
Star-Lord grew increasingly angry, so he pulled out his communicator. However, instead of messaging the Guardians of the Galaxy, he contacted S.H.I.E.L.D. directly. Despite not being a pure-blooded human, he had grown up on Earth and contributed to its development; the Guardians of the Galaxy had done their fair share of errands for Earth, and S.H.I.E.L.D. held them in high regard. He had powerful backers!
He made a direct call to Nick Fury, the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. At that moment, Nick, dressed in a sharp suit, his bald head gleaming black, was answering the phone in the permanent office of the Security Committee under the Interstellar Council's Security Department. His voice booming as he spoke to the person on the other end of the line:
"Oh, sorry, Sorcerer Supreme, I got a call. It's probably Star-Lord calling. I'll tell him to cooperate, don't worry. He may be a bit of a hothead, but Yondu is a smart guy, I guarantee there won't be any problems."
“If I have time, I’ll arrange a meeting with him to make sure everything goes smoothly…” Nick smiled and continued, “Yes, Sorcerer Supreme.”
A series of funding loops