A warrior with a power level in the millions could easily pursue and destroy spaceships. If dozens of Saiyan Great Apes with power levels in the millions attacked together, the losses would amount to at least several spaceships and tens of thousands of soldiers. Cooler couldn't accept that.
That was why Cooler was willing to swallow his pride and take the Saiyans without bloodshed, which had led to everything that had just happened.
Saigo, who had been watching from the sidelines, finally understood why Cooler had come out alone.
So that was it!
Cooler was worried that his men wouldn't withstand the assault of several Saiyan Great Apes. The losses would be too great, and he couldn't accept them!
To be fair, Cooler was a good leader—far better than Frieza, who killed people at the drop of a hat!
Now that he knew what Cooler was up to, Saigo called out to Bardock, who was preparing to attack again. "Captain Bardock, come back! You're no match for him!"
As he spoke, he moved to Bardock's side, ready in case Cooler suddenly attacked him.
"King Saigao, I've let you down!" Bardock said apologetically.
Cooler saw this, and his blood-red eyes narrowed in disbelief. He stared at Bardock in astonishment and asked, "You're not the King of Saiyans?"
He looked Saigo up and down. The boy was barely a meter tall. Then he sneered. "Are the Saiyans so short on people that they made a little brat who's barely weaned their king? You're a Legendary Super Saiyan, yet you grovel before a kid. What a joke! Hahaha!"
"You!" Bardock was even more hot-tempered in his Super Saiyan Form. The moment he heard Cooler disrespect Saigo, he made to charge forward, even though he knew he was no match for him.
"Captain Bardock! Keep your emotions in check!" Saigo barked.
Fortunately, he stopped Bardock in time. Otherwise, they might have had to rescue him from Cooler all over again.
With a sharp screech, Bardock came to an abrupt halt. He took a deep breath, reined in his anger, and shot Cooler a cold look, as if he were already dead.
Then he turned and returned to Saigo's side, waiting silently. His eyes stayed fixed on Cooler, like a loyal and diligent guard.
Seeing that the Saiyan child could actually order Super Saiyan Bardock around, Cooler was startled again. Could this really be the current King of Saiyans?
Saigo paid no attention to what Cooler might be thinking. He flew a little closer and looked at him with a cheerful smile. "Cosmic Emperor Cooler, right? I'm the current King of Saiyans, and my name is Saigo. You can call me 'King Saigo.' That's what all my people call me!"
"By the way, I'm very much in favor of your proposal. The question is, will you keep your word?"
Cooler's face turned livid. He was so furious his lungs felt ready to burst. And the brat expected him to call him "King Saigo"?
In his dreams!
Did he expect the great Cosmic Emperor Cooler to bow down to a Saiyan—some snot-nosed little monkey?
Were these wild monkeys all so ignorant of their place?
That smug face was disgusting. It made him sick!
How dare they look down on the great Cosmic Emperor Cooler!
He'd make sure every last one of these wild monkeys died!
Forcing a smile, he replied as if it were only natural, "Of course I'll keep my word. I, King Cooler, always honor my promises. But can you really speak for the Saiyans, little King?"
Cooler believed himself powerful enough that he had nothing to worry about. Instead, he doubted and looked down on Saigo's ability to make the Saiyans obey him.
Saigo knew exactly how strong he was, so he was even more confident. He ignored Cooler's contempt, smiled faintly, and turned to Bardock. "Captain Bardock, hear my command!"
"At your service!"
"Go and deliver this order: I will fight the enemy king one-on-one. The victor will have absolute authority to decide the fate of the loser's side. Ask them if they have any objections. If they don't, have them shout 'King Saigo is invincible!' three times. Understood?"
"Yes! I understand!"
Bardock had been holding back his anger, and his loud response let it out. He answered without a moment's hesitation.
"Take care!"
With that, he flew down without sparing Cooler another glance.
Saigo continued to watch Cooler with a cheerful smile, making Cooler feel even more irritated.
Fifteen breaths later, three shouts of "King Saigo is invincible!" suddenly rang across the heavens, each louder than the last. The entire sky echoed with them.
When they were done, Saigo held out his hand and asked, "My men have no objections. What about yours?"
Clap, clap, clap!
Cooler was pleased. He hadn't expected the Saiyan kid before him to be able to command the entire troop of Saiyan monkeys. He began applauding sincerely. "Excellent! My men wouldn't dare defy the word of the great Cosmic Emperor Cooler, either!"
Saigo smiled at him without saying a word, keeping his hand extended.
His meaning was clear.
With a thump, Cooler's anger surged. A huge breath caught in his throat, but he quickly composed himself. His smile returned, only to vanish again in an instant. He raised his head and shouted, "Salza, come down here!"
At Cooler's call, a few seconds later, Salza came plunging down from the spaceship in a rush, his yellow hair and pale blue skin surrounded by a white aura. In the blink of an eye, he landed beside Cooler.
"King Cooler, what are your orders?" Salza asked respectfully.
At the same time, he glanced at Saigo out of the corner of his eye. He couldn't understand why the Saiyans had chosen a child for their king. When he saw the battle power on his Scouter, he was even more baffled. The Saiyan child's battle power was pitifully low, barely 5,000. What qualified him to rule a people?
If they'd chosen the yellow-haired Saiyan from earlier instead, Salza would have been less confused. His battle power was at least over 200 million, and he had the bearing of a king.
"Deliver my order: I'm about to fight the Saiyan king over there one-on-one. The stakes are this—the victor will have absolute authority to decide the fate of the loser's side! Pass the order along. If anyone objects, I want you to punish them according to military law! Is that clear?" Cooler said confidently.
He believed the so-called King of Saiyans before him had been training for nearly a year and could have reached at most 900 million in battle power—still no match for Cooler in his first form!
Certain he had victory in hand, he saw no problem with giving such an unusual order.
Normally, Cooler wouldn't have issued an order like this. He valued his subordinates' lives and often reminded them to keep the soldiers' survival rate high. That was one reason he commanded such great respect in his army; his strength was only one part of it.
Salza looked at Cooler in astonishment, as though he were meeting him for the first time. He asked cautiously, "My king, are you sure you want to give that order?"
Within the Cooler Legion, Salza was the only one who dared question Cooler's orders.
Salza was both the captain of Cooler's most elite unit, the Armored Squadron, and the strategist of the Cooler Legion.
Cooler often discussed plans with him for invading other planets, such as how to occupy and rule a target planet while minimizing casualties among the troops.
So when Salza voiced his doubts, Cooler didn't get angry. Instead, he added, "Tell them that I, the Emperor, will not lose! Carry out the order!"
Seeing how resolute Cooler was, Salza knew it was pointless to argue. More importantly, this was happening in front of someone else. If he embarrassed Cooler by contradicting him, even if he managed to change his mind, Salza would pay for it!
"Yes! I'll go deliver the order right away!"
Salza still had a little scheme of his own. He planned to make some other arrangements once he got back. But just as he was about to leave, Cooler stopped him.
"Deliver the order here, so no one can claim they didn't believe it!"
Before you continue