Cooler's Wishful Thinking

Directly beneath the Cooler Legion.

A crowd of flying Great Apes saw the spaceships in the sky suddenly come to a halt, and they couldn't help but stop their own movements as well.

"What's wrong with the enemy? Why did they suddenly stop? Not a single person has come out yet; is this really the enemy King Saigao spoke of?"

"If you ask me, the enemy must have been scared silly after seeing our combat power and are now too afraid to move. They're probably panicking and scrambling to come up with a countermeasure right now!"

"Brother, I agree with your assessment. That's exactly what I was thinking!"

"Get lost! You didn't say that a second ago, and now you're claiming you 'thought the same thing'? How shameless!"

"I've had enough of you two. Hurry up and ask the captains whether we're going to fight or not. We can't just stand here waiting forever! I still want to go back and train!"

"What's the rush? I heard King Saigao once taught the captains something like, 'If the enemy doesn't move, we don't move; if the enemy moves, we must deliver a thunderous strike.' Since the enemy is intimidated, we shouldn't strike first. We must have a righteous cause, understand? That's what King Saigao said. Don't be impatient, stay steady!"

"Brother, you're always so well-informed! I'd never heard of that! Amazing!"

"That goes without saying! Hey, brother, my back is itching a bit, help me scratch it!"

"You got it..."

Saigao used Instant Transmission to arrive at the very top of the Great Ape swarm. Looking at the fifteen spaceships hovering silently high in the sky, he was also puzzled. Strange, this wasn't in the simulation?!

In the simulation, didn't Cooler choose to charge in directly? What is going on here?

Just as Saigao was wondering, Vegeta III in his Great Ape form flew up and asked in a hushed voice, "King Saigao, what is the situation? Should we continue the attack?"

Bardock had also flown up alongside him. He intended to face the enemy in his human form, at least until he was forced to transform into a Super Saiyan if he couldn't hold his own.

Bardock was equally confused, his gaze falling on Saigao; it was clear he wanted to ask the same question.

Saigao looked up for a moment before saying, "Hold the attack for now! But do not lower your guard! If anything goes wrong, attack immediately! Captain Vegeta, go back down and steady the warriors. Tell them to keep their cool. I want to see what kind of tricks the enemy is playing!"

"Yes! This subordinate obeys!"

Vegeta III, in his Great Ape form, looked at Bardock with his crimson eyes, filled with envy, before descending.

Just as he was descending, the central spaceship hovering above suddenly opened its hatch. A purple-and-white humanoid figure slowly drifted out, a long white tail trailing behind it.

"That person is Cooler!" Saigao recognized Cooler's identity at a glance. He quickly shot a look at Bardock and said, "Captain Bardock, do you feel it? This person's energy is incredibly powerful. Even if you transform into a Super Saiyan, you are no match for him. Fall back!"

When the Cooler Legion was circling Planet Saiyan, Bardock had proposed to Saigao that he wanted to test his strength against Cooler. Saigao hadn't agreed at the time, saying they would see once they met him.

"Is this Cooler? Truly powerful, powerful enough to be suffocating!" After sensing the energy radiating from Cooler, Bardock couldn't help but break into a cold sweat. He clenched his fists in deep frustration, yet his eyes remained resolute. "King Saigao, this subordinate still wishes to try!"

"Please grant me permission!"

Saigao furrowed his brows, studied Bardock for a few seconds, and finally agreed. "Then be careful! Come, let's go up and see what Cooler is planning!"

Whoosh! Whoosh!

In the blink of an eye, the two of them flew directly in front of Cooler. Before they could even speak, Cooler chuckled.

"Heh! I presume this burly warrior is the current King of Saiyans, yes?"

From start to finish, Cooler kept his gaze fixed on Bardock. As for Saigao beside him, he looked like nothing more than a little brat, the King's son, and not worth his attention.

"I am the Cosmic Emperor, Cooler. I have come here because there is a matter I wish to discuss with the King of Saiyans!"

Saigao immediately tugged on Bardock's battle armor and leaned in to whisper, "Don't contradict him. Let's see what he wants!"

"Then this subordinate shall be offended!" Bardock turned his head slightly and whispered back.

He then looked up at Cooler, his expression somber, and said, "Speak your piece. With such a grand display, I thought you were here to invade our Planet Saiyan!"

Cooler chuckled and replied with a straight face, "New King of Saiyans, you are truly rude. You don't even know the most basic etiquette. This Emperor doesn't even know your name yet!"

"However, it doesn't matter! This Emperor intends to conquer you Saiyans. Let us have a duel, King against King! The winner shall have absolute authority over the loser! If you win, my entire legion will surrender to you. If this Emperor wins, you Saiyans will obey my commands! King of Saiyans, what is your opinion?"

Bardock sneered, "Enough talk. Let me see how much strength you actually have!"

As he spoke, he instantly transformed into a Super Saiyan and lunged forward, his powerful fist striking directly at Cooler's face.

Facing Bardock's assault, Cooler didn't change his expression, maintaining his smile. It was only the moment Bardock transformed into a Super Saiyan that a look of "so that's how it is" appeared on his face, tinged with slight surprise.

Bang! Bang-bang-bang...

"So this is the legendary Super Saiyan? King of Saiyans, your strength has indeed increased quite a bit after changing your appearance!" Cooler said, lazily blocking Bardock's repeated attacks while mocking him. "However, it is not enough to deal with me, the Cosmic Emperor Cooler!"

"Is this your full power? King of Saiyans?"

Cooler suppressed the nausea in his heart. Every time he said the words "King of Saiyans," he felt sick to his stomach; he wished these damned wild monkeys would just die immediately.

But to minimize the losses to his legion, he had no choice but to do this!

It was precisely because Cooler valued his subordinates so highly that his prestige within his own legion was far beyond what Frieza could ever hope to achieve.

"Shut up! Show me your real strength and let me see what this so-called Cosmic Emperor is capable of!" Bardock knocked Cooler back with a punch. Taking advantage of the moment, he caught his breath, his own breathing ragged, and retorted.

Deep down, however, Bardock was sinking into self-doubt.

Damn it!

None of my attacks are having any effect at all!

This monster!

What on earth do the Frost Demon Race eat to grow up so strong?

Though Bardock felt a tremor of fear in his heart, he refused to let his momentum falter in the slightest.

Even if he were to lose, he would lose while charging forward!

"Heh! King of the Saiyans, if this is the extent of your true strength, then I shall graciously accept the right to dispose of your Saiyan race!" Cooler suppressed the churning bile in his stomach and said with a smirk, "I hope the King of the Saiyans keeps his word!"

"Oh, that's right, you haven't announced your decision to your clansmen yet. Why not take this time to inform them? Otherwise, I fear that once I unleash my true power, you won't have the chance to speak to them anymore!"

Cooler had been constantly worried that the dozens of Saiyan Great Apes with power levels in the millions floating below would suddenly launch an attack. Even with his formidable strength, his fleet was so close that he was not confident he could intercept all the Saiyan Great Apes in such a short amount of time.