Battle of the Breaking Cocoon

In the center of the city, that massive black cocoon towered, a full hundred meters in height.

Viscous black liquid flowed across its surface, pulsing with every beat like a living heart.

With each throb, the ground shuddered, and the air grew thick with a dark aura, so chilling it made one shiver uncontrollably.

Blood-red veins crisscrossed the shell, spreading like arteries and flashing with an unsettling crimson light.

It felt as though it were draining the very energy of the Earth, bit by bit.

"What a bastard, Baby..." Jiang Che cursed under his breath, clenching his fists until his knuckles cracked.

His eyes were cold, and the rage swelling in his chest threatened to consume him.

Behind him, Son Goku called his name, his voice laced with exhaustion and, more importantly, anxiety.

Jiang Che spun around abruptly to see Son Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, and Goten rushing over from the ruins.

They looked disheveled; Son Goku's golden combat suit was in tatters, a deep gash across his chest where the blood had already congealed.

Vegeta's hair was a tangled mess, a gruesome wound marred his face, and his left sleeve was torn, revealing dark, bruised skin.

Gohan had blood trailing from the corner of his mouth and was breathing heavily, while Goten's forehead was slick with sweat, his eyes wide with tension.

Jiang Che asked in a low voice, "Why are you here?" His gaze swept over their injuries, his heart heavy with complex emotions.

"We were waiting for you." Son Goku's expression was grim. He stopped, took a deep breath, and looked Jiang Che straight in the eye. "That guy Baby has fused with the power of every human on Earth; he's far stronger than before. We couldn't even break his defense when we fought him earlier."

He clenched his fists as he spoke, as if reliving the brutal battle.

Vegeta gritted his teeth, his mouth twitching with frustration. "Can you actually beat him, kid? Don't just talk big—don't go throwing your life away!"

Jiang Che didn't answer him, asking instead, "Where is Baby? Give me his location."

Gohan immediately pointed toward the giant cocoon in the city center, his eyes locked onto it. "Right there in that black cocoon! It's absorbing the Earth's energy; if it drains it all, we're finished!"

Gohan's voice trembled with agitation.

"Then let's do it now." With those words, Jiang Che vanished, shooting toward the black cocoon like an arrow released from a bow.

His figure carved a streak through the blood-red sky, the sheer force of his departure causing the earth to explode in a spray of dirt and stone.

"Wait—" Son Goku reached out to stop him, but Jiang Che was already gone, leaving behind only a sharp pressure that whipped Son Goku's hair into a frenzy.

Jiang Che appeared instantly before the giant cocoon.

He hovered in mid-air, the ground beneath him eroded into a massive crater by the black liquid, the air so oppressive it was hard to breathe.

Jiang Che looked up, staring directly at the pulsing black cocoon, his gaze sharp as a blade.

Without hesitation, he threw his arms wide, and a powerful current of energy surged around him.

His muscles expanded, veins bulged, and the golden aura rolling within him shifted into a vibrant orange-red.

His hair stood on end, glowing like flickering flames.

The orange-red aura enveloped him, causing the surrounding space to warp slightly and hum under the weight of his power.

The ground beneath him continued to fracture, cracks spreading like a spiderweb as loose stones lifted into the air, suspended by his aura.

"Baby, get out here!" Jiang Che roared, his voice like a thunderclap, echoing through the ruins.

No sooner had he shouted than the cocoon shuddered violently, its surface splitting open as black liquid cascaded down like a waterfall with a deafening, ear-piercing roar.

The next second, the shell shattered, countless fragments raining down like cannonballs and blasting deep craters into the earth.

A Great Ape burst from within, even more massive than before—thirty meters tall, its body a glistening black, muscles piled like mountains, its blood-red eyes burning with murderous intent.

Its fur stood up like steel needles, and a wave of evil energy washed over them.

With every breath it took, the air turned foul, as if hell itself were being poured into its body.

"Jiang Che..." Baby's voice was low and chilling, making the ground tremble. "You've finally arrived! I've waited a long time for you. Now that you're here, you'll only die all the faster!"

Baby grinned, its fangs flashing with the cold light of a blade.

"Today, we settle the score from last time." Jiang Che watched it coldly, his eyes brimming with killing intent.

Great Ape Baby suddenly opened its maw, gathering a ball of crimson energy within its throat. It was as dazzling as the sun, the light growing ever more intense, as if it intended to swallow the entire world.

Then, a beam of crimson energy erupted, surging straight toward Jiang Che.

Wherever the beam passed, the air was instantly incinerated, leaving behind a charred vacuum, the ground torn apart in massive waves as if to destroy heaven and earth.

Jiang Che's eyes narrowed, but he did not dodge.

He planted his feet firmly, clenched his fists, and braced his body, sinking two meters deep into the ground.

He brought his hands together, the orange-red aura rapidly condensing into his palms, forming a crimson energy sphere.

The sphere swelled, its surface shimmering with flowing light, stars rotating within as it emitted a violent, high-pitched hum.

With a fierce shout, Jiang Che thrust the energy sphere forward.

It spun as it flew, dragging a spiral of air in its wake, and collided head-on with Baby's beam.

"BOOM—!" The explosion shook the heavens and the earth, feeling as though the very sky were tearing apart.

Crimson light expanded outward, instantly swallowing everything in its path.

The shockwave erupted like a flash flood, tearing through the air and hurling steel and concrete from the ruins hundreds of meters into the sky. Dust and rubble filled the horizon, swirling into a massive mushroom cloud.

The ground shuddered violently as fissures spread like a web; the city seemed to be crushed by an invisible giant hand. Skyscrapers tore, twisted, and collapsed like paper, their fragments turning into a sky full of smoke that was instantly pushed toward the horizon by the shockwave, becoming a gray, hazy mist.

Where streets, squares, and parks once stood, there was now only a crater dozens of meters deep, its edges bristling with twisted steel rebar like tangled weeds.

On a rocky mountain in the distance, Son Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, and Goten had already gathered, staring intently through the turbulent air currents at the battlefield.

"BOOM!" The lingering force of the shockwave swept over them like a landslide or a tsunami. Even Son Goku had to drive his feet deep into the rock to steady himself, yet he was still forced back step by step by the irresistible power, causing radial cracks to spiderweb beneath his feet.

Vegeta clenched his fists so hard his teeth nearly shattered, the veins on his forehead bulging. "That bastard...!!" His voice was hoarse, his eyes burning with fury and frustration. "He's gotten stronger again!"