After securing his throne, Jason Spartacus wanted to reunite with his wife. But just as he planned to return to Earth, Prince Gars stopped him, revealing that his wife had died in childbirth.
Initially, Jason did not suspect anything. But later, he noticed inconsistencies. If he were to send someone to Earth at that time and it turned out to be true, it could easily upset Gars.
So he asked Gars how he had learned the news. Gars told him that when he found out from Jason that his older brother had a wife on Earth, he immediately sent someone to look for her but only found her tombstone.
Jason felt something was wrong. Before his exile to Earth, he and Gars were never close. Why would his little brother go out of his way to find his sister-in-law as soon as he knew about her?
But he didn't rush to Earth. Instead, he started a secret investigation into Gars' subordinates and discovered that Gars had ordered his wife's murder. There had also been some complications when they kidnapped his child.
Jason was furious, but at the time, Gars was still useful. Jason decided to keep him, but he had to find his child first.
So he contacted the well-informed interstellar pirates and hired Yondu, entrusting him with the task of bringing his child back from Earth.
It sounds simple to say, but in practice, it was almost impossible due to the difficulty of smuggling into the Nine Major Kingdoms.
The only possible opportunity was when Odin goes to war. Upon discovering this, Yondu told Jason he could only wait for an opportunity.
However, more than a decade ago, Odin had already become aware of the problems with Asgard and had ceased his frequent military campaigns. The waiting took several years.
During this time, Jason's rule became more stable, and the Spartacus Empire continued to improve. He inevitably nurtured grander ambitions, wanting to elevate the Spartacus Empire's status in interstellar society.
But not every civilization is like Asgard, capable of participating directly in the negotiations with the Three Great Empires. At least the Spartacus Empire hadn't reached that level yet.
So Jason Spartacus planned to join the Galactic Congress within the Milky Way, gradually seize power within it, and use it as a springboard to reach the interstellar stage.
But the probability of the Spartacus Empire joining the Galactic Congress was not that high at that time, so Jason had to ensure no unexpected incidents occurred.
After studying the rules of the Galactic Congress in detail, he discovered that his illegitimate son on Earth was indeed an issue.
So he urgently halted Yondu's infiltration and handed him a letter, telling him it would be a long-term mission. A prince with Spartacus's blood could not stay on Earth forever. He warned Yondu to pay close attention and help when necessary.
As Quill said, Jason wanted both power and family. He wanted to gain his rightful son as an heir for free. So he hedged his bets, unwilling to give up either.
Having figured all this out, Quill felt sorrowful. But after all these years without any contact with his biological father, he didn't have much emotion towards him. Disappointed, he could only sigh.
He looked at Jason and shook his head, saying, "All right, if that's your decision, I won't interfere with your choices as a king. We will leave the Spartacus Empire and never come back."
After he finished speaking, he turned to leave. But as he was about to push the door open, the cold glint of the guards' weapons reflected on Jason's icy face.
"Peter, you cannot leave now. I have questions for you."
Quill's hand immediately moved to his gun, and the other members of the Guardians of the Galaxy pulled out their weapons. However, more guards appeared at the door, and Quill turned around incredulously to look at Jason.
"You just came back from Earth, right?" Jason stepped forward, looking at Quill and asked, "Tell me what exactly is going on with the human race now?"
Quill clenched his jaw tightly, his face showing his anger and heartbreak. But just as he was about to rebuke Jason, Rocket Raccoon jumped onto his shoulder, patting him on the back of the head, signaling him to calm down.
"Your Majesty, you're not trying to force us to disclose information about Earth, are you?" Rocket Raccoon flicked his ears, narrowed his eyes revealing his sharp teeth, and then said, "Do you really know what you're doing?"
"This is not coercion." Jason shook his head, "I just want to know Earth's current state."
Quill was even angrier, he pulled out his gun and pointed it at Jason's head, "You won't get anything from me, nothing at all, you damn traitor!"
"Peter, please understand that I don't want to force you." Jason spread his hands looking at Peter, "Right now, the entire Galactic Congress wants to know what has happened to human civilization, and why they seem to have suddenly woken up."
The worry in Jason's heart was stronger than he had let on. If the previous warnings about humanity became a threat, now the human behavior can be summed up in one phrase, "Oh no, they've really caught on."
First, the mutants migrated en masse to Andromeda, occupying the region illegally. This made weaker civilizations envious. Then, the business at the Holy Sanctuary of the Nine Realms was non-stop, making many other civilizations who rely on interstellar trading jealous.
What shocked Jason the most was that Asgard had returned to interstellar society, allowing humans to rise with it. They skipped over the stages of stars, clusters, and territories and were taken by Asgard to the negotiating table of the Three Great Empires, or perhaps they were supporting each other.
Jason had worked so hard here just to achieve mediocrity in the Galactic Congress, yet still so far from reaching the center of interstellar society's power. How can he strike a balance?
Of course, these were just opinions, and didn't involve actual benefits. But the real threat that brought the Galactic Congress together to discuss the next direction of development was the rapid growth of the human race.
Previously, Earth was the object of civilizational bullying by the Galactic Congress. It was like they were throwing an amazing party, but deliberately not inviting Earth, absolutely not allowing Earth to make contact with any civilization in the Milky Way.
Isolating and bullying someone could strengthen the cohesion within a group. This is one reason why campus bullying occurs frequently. The bleak situation of Earth continuously sending signals without any responses was a source of superiority for members of the Galactic Congress.
But now that Earth had rapidly developed and turned the tables, they had to consider the possibility of retaliation. The Spartacus Empire was also within the range of retaliation.
Jason had another consideration. Now the civilizations within the Galactic Congress were terrified with no way to deal with this, mainly because they hadn't obtained the most important intelligence.
If he could gain that intelligence ahead of other civilizations, it would give him the initiative, and seizing power within the Galactic Congress would be as easy as turning his hand.
Gamora, having stayed under Thanos for so long, hadn't just learned how to fight. She was quick-witted and immediately figured out the key point, understanding the purpose of Yondu's letter.
So, she immediately placed her hand on Quill's shoulder, telling him not to be impulsive, then she looked at Jason and said, "You did betray mother and son, didn't you? You're not a good father, so no matter how many reasons you have, he won't easily accept you."
Jason took a deep breath, and his expression eased slightly. He glanced at Quill again and said, "I'll give you some time, Peter. Think about it. Now you have no family or friends on Earth, only Spartacus can be your home."
Then he commanded his guards to take the members of the Guardians of the Galaxy away.
They weren't shut in a dungeon, but rather, were confined in a reasonably spacious guest room. However, guards were stationed outside the balcony and door. Jason's intention was clearly to keep them there until they revealed some information.
"Why did you stop me?" Quill turned his head to look at Gamora a bit angrily. "I won't let him succeed. I will never tell him anything!"
He clenched his fist and said grief-strickenly in a whisper, "My mother believed him to her death. She believed that he would come back to find us, at least he wouldn't abandon me, but he betrayed us!"
"Haven't you ever thought about why Yondu gave you this letter? He wanted you to go find Jason." Gamora began to explain, "Don't forget, you admitted in front of Asgard that you are Yondu's adopted son."
Quill looked at Gamora with a somewhat puzzled expression, seemingly trying to figure out the meaning behind her words from her face.
Gamora sighed helplessly and said, "If Yondu refuses to talk in Asgard, who else could the Asgardians turn to?"
Quill was stunned.
Then he realized that Yondu purposely gave him this letter at that time, leading him to Spartacus to find Jason. He was trying to shift the blame to someone else.
Firstly, Yondu asked Asgard to release his adopted son, which was not only creating a chance for Quill's group to leave but also explaining to the Asgardians that his adopted son was important to him and is his weakness.
Then he gave this letter to Quill, who after reading it would surely feel puzzled and would come to the Spartacus Empire to find Jason. After Yondu was taken to Asgard, he started to play games there, in stark contrast to his previously cooperative attitude.
In order to get Yondu to cooperate with Asgard, they had to find Yondu's adopted son. Whether it was for intimidation or to let Quill go and persuade his adopted father, they were hoping that Quill would also go to Asgard.
But here was another issue. Quill was the biological son of Jason Spartacus. Although he wasn't an official prince, the commotion caused when Garth was killed wasn't small and nearly everyone at the center of power knew that their king only had one biological child.
If Asgard charged over furiously demanding for a person, and that person was irrelevant, most civilizational leaders would likely capitulate as there were too many people backing down to these brutes and it wouldn't be too embarrassing.
But it was a different story if the person in question was a royal offspring. To bow down to Asgard and even give away their own son, how could the king retain any prestige?
Asgard, you asking for non-residents was one thing, but you demanding the prince from someone else's realm was akin to taking a dump on people's heads. How were they different from pirates who kidnapped interstellar civilization dignitaries?
If Asgard really did that, their moral high ground of maintaining interstellar security would no longer stand.
After listening to Gamora's explanation, Quill broke out in a cold sweat. He had only vaguely sensed that Yondu might have been calculated against by Loki, but he didn't expect all of them to be millennium-old foxes. No one who managed to thrive in the interstellar society was a fool.
As an interstellar pirate, Yondu managed to rampage in interstellar society for so long not just by brute force; he was adept at fomenting discord, stirring up trouble, and playing one against another.
This time, he wanted to put Spartacus and the Galactic Congress behind him against Asgard to carve out a path for his own survival.
Soon enough, Quill heard the commotion outside. He stood by the window and watched the far-off proceedings. He saw the signature Flame of the Divine Strength Engine of the Asgard spaceship appearing outside the port of Spartacus' main star.