Four Symbols Formation!

After a day and two nights on the road, the brothers Goku and Wuchen were drawing ever closer to the third Dragon Ball.

Yet the more they looked at the mountains and rivers below, the more familiar they seemed.

"Is that... Mount Fry-Pan?" If they went any farther, they would reach Mount Fry-Pan, where Ox-King lived.

"Is Uncle Ox-King looking for the Dragon Balls too? That can't be right." Yes, the brothers now called Ox-King "Uncle."

After all, Wuchen and Goku had become Master Roshi's disciples. If they kept using the old forms of address, wouldn't that get confusing?

"Goku, speed up!" Wuchen was growing anxious. The Dragon Ball was a hot potato, and if the fighting spilled over here, the consequences would be unthinkable.

"It's nearby. Goku, head down!" Soon, the brothers were very close to the Dragon Ball signal, and Wuchen immediately told Goku to descend.

Once they had dropped to a certain altitude, Wuchen saw nothing unusual on the ground, but the Dragon Ball was still moving.

"In the sky?" Wuchen immediately left the Flying Nimbus and flew up by himself, searching with the Dragon Radar.

"There it is!" He soon spotted a blue Pterosaur. Wherever it flew, the Dragon Ball signal shifted in the same direction.

Without a word, Wuchen closed in and struck the back of the Pterosaur's head with his elbow.

Like a kite with its string cut, the Pterosaur wobbled and plunged down until it crashed to the ground.

And sure enough, the Dragon Ball was in its mouth. Wuchen took it out and smiled. It was the Six-Star Ball.

"Wuchen, is that you? Have you found your grandfather's keepsake?" The commotion had drawn quite a crowd, including Ox-King and his daughter, Chi-Chi.

"You're just in time. I have something to discuss with you. By the way, where's Goku?"

"Big brother... Oh, it's Uncle Ox-King, and Chi-Chi, who's going to give me a wife." Goku arrived just as Ox-King finished speaking, and Ox-King's face lit up with delight.

Chi-Chi, standing beside her father, blushed bright red.

Well, that was convenient. Wuchen didn't even need to ask what Ox-King wanted to discuss. He turned to Goku. "A wife? Goku, you... what wife?"

Having been reborn for over a decade, Wuchen naturally knew what "wife" meant: a cultivation partner.

"Chi-Chi said that when I come back after finding the Dragon Balls, I can take away a wife or something. She said it several times. She seems to have lots of wives, so she'll give me some. Big brother, don't you know what a wife is either? Isn't it something delicious?"

Goku's innocent words were astonishing, but Wuchen breathed a sigh of relief. There was no doubt that this was some kind of misunderstanding.

"Wuchen, I think Goku and Chi-Chi are a perfect match. They'll make an exemplary couple one day. Don't worry about it. I'll take care of the whole wedding."

"..." Wuchen was at a loss for words, but this wasn't the time to explain. "Uncle Ox-King, we'll discuss this another time. Goku and I need to leave right now, or else..."

Before he could explain, Wuchen suddenly turned toward a nearby hill. Several furtive presences were lurking there, watching them.

Farther away, an even denser cluster of presences was closing in!

Well, there was no need to explain now. He had meant to draw the enemy out, but by a twist of fate, he had led them here instead. The Dragon Ball really was a hot potato.

This was getting troublesome. He and his brother had nothing to fear, but they couldn't ignore the people of Mount Fry-Pan Village. And it was already too late to evacuate them.

Wuchen immediately spoke to Ox-King.

"Uncle Ox-King, gather everyone right away."

"Huh? All right!" Ox-King didn't know what was going on, but he hurried off to gather everyone.

"Goku, help me." Wuchen took out a Hoi-Poi Capsule, which transformed into a large box filled with flags of various colors.

"Take all the red and gray flags and set up the formation in the south. Do you remember the southern seven stars I told you about—the Well, Ghost, Willow, Star, Extended Net, Wing, and Chariot Constellations? Use the red flags as the foundation to set up the southern Vermilion Bird's Seven Mansions, then use the gray flags to link east and west in a curve, connecting them straight to the central area."

Without worrying about how much Goku understood or remembered, Wuchen took the remaining flags and began setting up the formation.

Using black flags as the foundation, he set up the Dipper, Ox, Girl, Emptiness, Danger, Encampment, and Wall Constellations—the northern seven mansions of the Black Tortoise.

Using white flags as the foundation, he set up the Legs, Bond, Stomach, Hairy Head, Net, Turtle Beak, and Three Stars Constellations—the western seven mansions of the White Tiger.

Using blue flags as the foundation, he set up the Horn, Neck, Root, Room, Heart, Tail, and Winnowing Basket Constellations—the eastern seven mansions of the Azure Dragon.

Then, using purple and yellow flags in the central area, he set up the Five North Pole Stars and the Four Auxiliary Stars.

Finally, he joined Goku in using gray flags to support the Four Symbols' twenty-eight mansions, corresponding to the nine central stars!

That was right. Wuchen was setting up a formation: the Four Symbols Formation, or rather, the Lesser Four Symbols Formation.

The true Four Symbols Formation obviously couldn't be made by simply planting a few circles of specially made flags.

Even so, this Lesser Four Symbols Formation was enough.

"Uncle Ox-King, have everyone stay in the center of the formation. Tell them not to move around." There were two reasons for setting up the formation. First, it would keep innocent people from being caught in the crossfire.

Second, he intended to take down every enemy he had lured out. Weakening the enemy as much as possible, restricting their movements, and intimidating them were all part of the plan.

Ox-King had great authority, so Wuchen put him in charge of keeping order.

Ox-King relayed Wuchen's instructions, and everyone, young and old, men and women alike, obediently crowded into the center of the formation.

He was no longer the fierce, savage man he once was, but his lingering reputation still carried weight, and people listened when he spoke.

Then Wuchen infused the flags with spiritual energy, and the formation activated!

The four directions and four symbols each underwent a transformation. Four formation diagrams sent up pillars of light in four colors, which then spread into gray mist, enveloping everyone like a thin membrane.

"What is this?" The villagers inside the formation weren't the only ones stunned. General Blue and Colonel Violet, who had just arrived, were equally astonished.

General Blue in particular immediately ordered his troops to surround the area.

Armored units, machine-gun squads, artillery teams, and aerial combat units rapidly deployed, surrounding Wuchen, the others, and the entire Lesser Four Symbols Formation so completely that not even a drop could escape.

"Artillery, begin a saturation strike! Aerial units, bomb in rotating shifts!"

At General Blue's command, the artillery and tanks launched an indiscriminate barrage.

More than a hundred planes split into several V-shaped formations and swept repeatedly over the formation, dropping specially made bombs like eggs to intensify the bombardment!

In an instant, smoke and dust engulfed all of Mount Fry-Pan. Bombs, shells, and missiles poured down as if they cost nothing, blooming like fireworks meant to take lives.

Yes, General Blue had seen the footage of Silver's defeat and didn't dare take any chances.

He couldn't worry about mechs or anything else. If he could bring back the three Dragon Balls, then even if he earned no merit, at least he would avoid blame.

Under such a reckless, costly bombardment, Mount Fry-Pan seemed to become the Mount Fry-Pan of old, with fires burning year-round!

No one who witnessed the scene could imagine anyone walking away alive. No—not even an underground earthworm could have left so much as a trace of dust.

"Cease fire! Mobile units and special operations teams, get ready. As soon as the smoke clears, go search for the Dragon Balls."

As you could see, General Blue was already preparing to search the ruins for the Dragon Balls.

But he was still too young. He didn't know the ironclad rule: thick smoke did no harm.

When the smoke cleared, Mount Fry-Pan had indeed been flattened into a... basin. Yet one pillar stood alone, a towering column of earth and stone.

Perhaps it was an illusion, but atop the earthen pillar, it seemed as if a gigantic turtle-like creature was sheltering everyone beneath it. Not a single person had been harmed!