Crisis

The spaceship, propelled by the Kamehameha, reignited its engines, much like a trapped dragon ascending to the heavens, free from all constraints once it broke free.

Raditz suddenly felt the pull of the ground on them weakening, as if the Kamehameha strike had scared it into submission, daring not to make another move.

"Let's go."

"Wait! Look there!" Goku pointed to the direction where a hole had been blasted into the ground, his expression grim.

Raditz followed his gaze and froze for a moment.

The dark golden surface collapsed and caved in, rapidly tracing a peculiar pattern. It looked like a forest painted with black ink, and from it, dozens of long, rod-like mechanical arms burst forth! A faint glow emanated from the mechanical arms, and the armor covering them slid open section by section, revealing gun muzzles!

Bullets spread out, and a hail of gunfire poured forth, striking from all directions without blind spots. As they attacked, the long mechanical arms continuously extended, attempting to ensnare the spaceship.

"It's changed its strategy," Raditz exclaimed in alarm, firing off consecutive energy blasts to shield the spaceship. He swiftly maneuvered around the edges of the mechanical arms, knowing that severing them would stop the firing. "Goku, blow up the main body directly!"

Explosions echoed in the air. Raditz had already eliminated several long mechanical arms, and their metal claws, reaching high into the sky, fell powerlessly.

However, more mechanical claws surged from the ground towards the spaceship with incredible speed. These were even larger and thicker, their outer armor more formidable and dense, with sharp spikes at every joint, attacking like ravenous beasts.

"Damn it!"

"Here they come!" Goku dodged a claw attack that came straight at him, watching the seemingly endless mechanical hands surge out of the black cavern below.

They were trapped by the numerous mechanical arms and couldn't break free. While their strength was considerable, these things were individually weak, no match for even a single blow from them. But in terms of numbers and sheer annoyance, these mechanical constructs undoubtedly held the advantage.

Amidst the chaotic battle, a large number of mechanical claws entangled the spaceship, forcibly dragging it towards the planet with brute force.

Countless battles had taught Goku that the opponent's target wasn't them, but the ship.

At this moment, Vegeta also leaped out of the main cabin, cutting through the mechanical arms like a warrior, blasting away a large cluster of them with his Ki.

"Raditz, Kakarot, what are you two dawdling for?!"

"Vegeta, be careful."

"Hmph, I don't need you to tell me what to do," Vegeta retorted, unleashing a powerful Ki blast. The continuous explosions reverberated with deafening force.

The black cavern seemed to fear losing, pausing its supply of mechanical arms. The remaining ones swayed in the air, resembling densely packed trees in a forest.

Although the attack was suppressed, the spaceship remained bound and was slowly being dragged towards the ground.

The crisis was far from over.

The patterns on the metal planet's surface expanded again, and the slender mechanical arms receded outwards, clearing the central area. From the dark golden luster, a colossal, pitch-black behemoth emerged. The solid metal ground suddenly split open, creating deep rifts and chasms.

The giant's figure towered between heaven and earth, its form continuously rising. Its shape was not dissimilar to a human. Initially, it only had a metallic skeleton and main framework, complete from head to shoulders, spine, and arms. Gradually, all the surrounding metallic elements converged towards it, filling its internal meridians, blood vessels, muscles, and even mimicking the hair on its surface!

Only its upper body could move, while its lower half was deeply embedded in the black cavern. Even so, it was unimaginably tall, as if it could reach the sky with a mere stretch.

"What in the world is this thing?! It's huge..." Goku exclaimed in astonishment.

"Who cares what it is, we just need to defeat it!" Vegeta didn't bother with pleasantries and charged forward, unleashing a barrage of attacks. Ki blasts shot out wildly, and shining orbs of light rained down on the giant, sending debris flying everywhere.

Vegeta's attack was indeed effective. He had spent the longest time training in the gravity chamber, and his Battle Power had long surpassed the 100,000 mark. Now, a casual energy sphere could obliterate his past self.

The energy gathered in his hands possessed an overwhelming advantage, striking the giant's body and sending it crashing to the ground. The mechanical arms surrounding and trapping the spaceship also snapped under the onslaught of shooting stars, falling limply.

Raditz returned to the spaceship, consulting the operation manual as he prepared to restart the super-jet system.

"Beep beep beep beep..."

Just as Raditz was following the procedure, a series of warning data flashed across the screen, with four lines of prominent red text occupying the main display.

Seeing these words, Raditz froze.

"What's wrong?" Piccolo asked urgently.

"Power supply is temporarily unavailable, we'll have to make an emergency landing..."

Raditz pointed to the text on the screen, his voice growing weaker. Although they had escaped pursuit, the spaceship's power system, having operated at full capacity for an extended period, could no longer function and needed to rest. Otherwise, an explosion was highly likely.

"So, that means we have to land on this planet?" Krillin asked, his face filled with panic. He had witnessed the terrifying events that had just transpired. "Ah... is there any other way?"

Tien Shinhan also broke out in a sweat, leaning on the transparent protective shield. "Are we going to die?"

"Not necessarily. We don't know what this planet is truly like yet, so it's too early to make a conclusion."

"But a metal planet won't have food or water, and we'll die eventually," Krillin croaked.

Raditz shook his head, preparing for the emergency landing. He carefully reviewed the data he had just obtained. "The scan just now indicated that the planet's atmosphere is suitable for us to survive, and there are reactions indicating water and soil, though very small. In other words, even though metal occupies most of the area, there's at least a small patch of land where we can survive." He then looked at Krillin. "Besides, who said we're staying long-term? We only need five hours to take off again."

As he spoke, Vegeta flew backward, passing by the spaceship!

Raditz was shocked. He pressed the landing button and immediately flew out, followed closely by Piccolo.

"This..."

They saw a metal warrior even larger than the previous giant. Pure gold pupils rotated in its eye sockets, its dark body reflected a faint glow, and its armor was covered in jagged spikes. Dark liquid flowed slowly through its metallic tubes.

Goku, following Vegeta, was also sent flying backward, caught by Raditz from behind.

The sheer power forced even Raditz to retreat a considerable distance before he could stabilize himself.

"Be careful, it can absorb our energy, Ki blasts are useless against it!" Goku said, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth, breathing heavily.

At this moment, Vegeta returned, his anger palpable, his fists clenched tightly, his erupting aura filled with killing intent.