"Um... Esteemed Lord Frieza."
On the screen, Nova Prime Irani Rael knelt on the ground.
Though her knees were already scraped and bleeding from the hard floor, she still forced herself to look up.
Her eyes held the last trace of stubbornness and wishful thinking of a civilization's leader.
"Regarding renaming Xandar to Planet 002 and confiscating everyone's assets..."
She swallowed hard, her voice trembling as she probed:
"Could we... could we retain some autonomy? Such as legal and administrative management?"
"After all, managing a population of tens of billions is a massive undertaking. If you turn everyone into slaves, I fear it might cause unnecessary riots, which would only hinder the progress of your spaceship construction..."
This was the common failing of politicians.
Even with a knife to their throat, they always thought about whether they could salvage some losses at the negotiation table.
She thought this was a bargaining chip.
However.
Upon hearing this sentence, the elegant smile that had been on Frieza's face vanished instantly.
In its place was a heart-palpitating indifference.
Those narrow scarlet eyes narrowed slightly, revealing a deep disgust.
"Tsk."
Frieza made an impatient sound.
"Bargaining?"
He tilted his head slightly, his tone terrifyingly soft.
"Irani Rael, have you misunderstood something?"
"I was giving you an order. I was giving your low-level civilization a way to survive."
Frieza extended a finger and tapped Nova Prime's forehead through the screen.
"I wasn't engaging in some business negotiation with you."
"Who do you think you're talking to?"
"Are you bargaining with a Galactic Emperor?! With the ruler of this starry sky?!"
As the last word fell.
A violently berserk aura exploded instantly with Frieza at the center, turning the ruins beneath his feet into fine powder!
"It seems that firework just now wasn't enough to clear your wooden heads."
Frieza sighed, wearing an "I'm very disappointed" expression.
"Since you wasted the opportunity I gave you..."
"Then let me show you what a so-called riot looks like in my eyes—a joke."
Before his voice faded.
Frieza slowly raised his right hand.
Above the tip of his index finger, it was no longer a tiny death beam.
But a dark red energy ball surrounded by black lightning.
It was condensing, compressing, and expanding at a terrifying speed!
Supernova Attack! (Planet Destruction Ball!)
Hum hum hum—!
Xandar's entire atmosphere began to vibrate madly, and the sky turned blood red.
"No... wait! My Lord!"
Nova Prime looked at the energy ball that seemed capable of swallowing everything, scared out of her wits, screaming shrilly.
"Watch closely."
Frieza ignored her wails completely.
He turned around. He didn't throw this destruction ball at Xandar beneath his feet—after all, he still needed it to build ships.
His gaze was cast towards the outer orbit of Xandar.
There were three armed satellites serving as defensive fortresses, and a resource-rich companion planet.
"This is the price of defying me."
A cruel smile curled Frieza's lips as he flicked his finger lightly.
"Go! Blow them to ash for me!"
Whoosh—!
That dark red destruction ball, carrying the will to annihilate everything, instantly pierced the atmosphere and vanished into the vast starry sky.
A few seconds later.
The sky lit up.
Brighter than three suns combined!
RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE————!!!
Even in the vacuum, that terrifying energy outburst left a patch of pure white on everyone's retinas.
Immediately following was a magnificent tableau straight out of hell.
Those three armed satellites, along with that massive resource planet.
In front of that tiny energy ball, they were like fragile eggs meeting an iron hammer.
Instantly disintegrated! Exploded!
Endless fire bloomed in the universe. Four celestial bodies turned into sky-filling debris and dust at the same time!
The massive shockwave from the explosion even caused gravitational tides on Xandar, and the ground began to tremble violently.
Countless burning meteorite fragments dragged long tails of fire, falling from the sky like a torrential rain, piercing Xandar's atmosphere.
A true meteor shower of fire!
"Oh God..."
"It's over... this is divine punishment..."
On Xandar, tens of billions of residents stared blankly at the sky.
That despair originating from the depths of their genes instantly crushed everyone's psychological defenses.
Riots? Resistance?
In front of the power to destroy planets with a wave of a hand, even having a single disrespectful thought was a sin!
[Ding! Detected Xandarian civilization has fallen into extreme terror!]
[Fear Points +100 Billion!]
[Ding! Fear Points +200 Billion!]
[Ding! Congratulations Host, current cumulative Fear Points: 2.3 Trillion!]
...
Listening to the beautiful sound of coins dropping in his mind, Frieza closed his eyes with satisfaction, taking a deep breath of the scorched air.
"Ah... that's right."
"This is the air I want, filled with the scent of awe and submission."
He opened his eyes again, looking at Nova Prime who had collapsed like mud on the screen.
"Now, Irani Rael."
Frieza's voice returned to elegance, as if the demon who destroyed worlds just now wasn't him.
"Do you have any other options you'd like to discuss?"
"For example... shall we blow up a star to liven things up?"
"No! No more! No more options!"
Nova Prime kowtowed frantically, the sound of her forehead hitting the floor transmitting through the speakers to the entire plaza.
"We surrender unconditionally! We accept all your demands unconditionally!"
"We are slaves! We are your humblest slaves! Please, stop!"
She was thoroughly terrified.
If she didn't go along with him, Xandar's fate would definitely be worse than those satellites!
"Hmph, why didn't you just say so earlier?"
Frieza pouted, bored.
"Although I am satisfied with your current attitude, however..."
"Because of your foolish bargaining just now, I am very unhappy."
Frieza extended a finger and tapped the void towards the screen.
"So, I am stripping you of your position as property manager."
"From now on, go be responsible for cleaning toilets. All public restrooms on Xandar are under your jurisdiction. If I see a single stain..."
"I will launch you into the sun to serve as fuel."
"Yes... yes..." Nova Prime didn't dare utter a single complaint, and even had to express gratitude.
Having dealt with this ungrateful local.
Frieza turned around, looking at his subordinates who had been standing behind him, rendered speechless by the scene just now.
"Charles, Erik."
The two named individuals trembled.
Professor X's hands on the wheelchair shook slightly.
Magneto, on the other hand, had fanaticism overflowing from his eyes.
This was power! This was the scene he had dreamed of!
"My King! Your subordinate is here!"
Both responded simultaneously, their postures humble.
"Since that old hag doesn't appreciate my kindness, the management rights of this Planet 002 are handed over to you."
Frieza pointed to the ground beneath his feet.
"Charles, you are responsible for ideological education. I want everyone here to wake up every day and express their gratitude to my statue as the first thing they do."
"Erik, you are the overseer. I find the architectural style here too ugly, but the metal content is high, which is perfect for you to utilize."
"I give you one month."
A sharp glint flashed in Frieza's eyes.
"I want to see a fully armed, top-tier cosmic fleet parked in front of me."
"Can you do it?"
Magneto and Charles exchanged a glance. Both saw the gravity and opportunity in each other's eyes.
Managing a highly advanced alien civilization?
For mutants who had been ostracized on Earth, this was a meteoric rise!
"Please rest assured, my King!"
Magneto knelt on one knee, his voice resonant:
"If I fail, you won't need to lift a finger; I'll dismantle myself!"
Charles also lowered his head, speaking respectfully:
"I will not fail my mission."