The pressure from ten thousand meters above crashed down like a collapsing mountain, pinning the entire forest beneath it.
The howling wind fell abruptly silent. A suffocating stillness settled over heaven and earth. The plants that had been swaying wildly all drooped, the gravel on the ground trembled faintly, and even the dust drifting through the air seemed trapped by an invisible force, suspended in midair.
Lin Chen's five fingers clenched tight. The bones in his palm creaked under the strain, and the tiny spark of hope that had just flared in his heart was snuffed out in an instant.
Nine thousand five hundred in battle power.
This wasn't the minimum of eight thousand listed in the intelligence report. The Personal Guard Captain Frieza had been hiding an entire fifteen hundred points of his true power from the very beginning.
Even more dangerous was the system's mention of the [Nether Killing Art].
It was a secret technique exclusive to the Frieza Clan, a deadly close-combat art. It didn't rely on brute force; it targeted openings and killed with a single strike. Even an elite with five thousand in battle power would die instantly if hit head-on.
And as for Lin Chen...
In his Super Saiyan Prototype burst state, his maximum battle power was five thousand two hundred. On paper, he could crush the five elite soldiers, each with five thousand in battle power, but against Gilos and his nine thousand five hundred, the gap was still as vast as that between an ant and a mountain.
A full four thousand three hundred points of difference in battle power. In the universe's power system, no amount of technique, experience, or tactics could make up for that. It was an absolute mismatch.
Deep in the forest, Bulma clutched the portable scanner with both hands. Her pale knuckles had turned bluish-white from the strain. The red battle-power reading flashing across the screen made her scalp prickle and her whole body go cold.
She couldn't understand advanced martial arts, but she understood exactly what those numbers meant.
Lin Chen's strength after breaking through had already shattered everything she thought she knew. Yet the enemy who had just arrived was nearly twice as strong.
Little Goku had lost all his excitement, too. His round face was tense, and his dark eyes were fixed on the six warships overhead. He could feel the malice pouring down from the sky, a hundred times more vicious than that of the alien scouts they had killed earlier. Even his instinct to fight was trembling.
"Don't panic."
Lin Chen's low voice cut through the air, calming the fear in their hearts—and the turmoil within his own.
Panic wouldn't solve anything.
From fighting for survival on Planet Vegeta to fleeing all the way to Earth, he had faced countless crises worse than this one. A dead end was never the end. It was a chance for a Saiyan to break through their limits, even if the hope before him was almost nonexistent.
He quickly assessed the battlefield, his mind racing as he worked out their only chance of survival.
"Bulma, hack into the warships' communication frequency with everything you've got. Don't worry about shutting them down completely. Just scramble their squad synchronization signals and cut off the tactical coordination between the six of them."
"They're a standard-issue military force. Their biggest advantage is coordinating their encirclement. If you break their teamwork, their combat effectiveness will drop by at least thirty percent."
Lin Chen spoke fast, each word clear and steady.
Bulma snapped back to her senses and nodded through clenched teeth. Her fingers flew across the scanner's screen, adjusting its settings as streams of data refreshed rapidly. "Leave it to me! Give me three minutes, and I'll disrupt their entire network!"
"Goku."
Lin Chen turned to the boy beside him, his expression serious but gentle.
"Remember the explosive ki burst I just taught you. When the fight starts, don't try to kill anyone. You have only one job."
"Keep your eyes on the weakest enemy soldier. Use your speed and toughness to harass him and keep him occupied. Don't let him join the others. Hold out for three minutes, and we win."
Goku nodded firmly, his little body standing straight as he gathered a faint white aura in his palm. His eyes were resolute. "I understand, Big Brother! I won't hold you back!"
Goku's talent was far beyond ordinary. After only a few minutes of crash-course training, he had already grasped the essentials of controlling ki. His normal battle power was only thirteen hundred and fifty, with a burst maximum of eighteen hundred. He had no chance in a head-on fight with an enemy at five thousand, but his extraordinary strength, incredible durability, and extreme speed made him the perfect distraction.
With their tasks assigned, Lin Chen took a deep breath and looked up at the six silver warships hovering overhead.
His white aura surged again, tiny golden sparks crackling across its surface. His domineering presence swept across the surrounding area, forcibly opening a gap in the oppressive atmosphere.
Super Saiyan Prototype, full power!
He unleashed every bit of his burst power—five thousand two hundred. The powerful shock wave sent gravel flying, while the broken plants were torn apart by the gale.
When it was done, he stood quietly in the middle of the clearing, alone, facing the countless enemies above.
High overhead, the hatches of all six warships opened at once.
Five identical silver figures leaped down first, landing with a heavy thud. The five elite soldiers of the Frieza Force wore standard-issue battle armor. Their eyes were cold and blank, their auras dense and steady, and each one had a battle power of exactly five thousand.
They landed in a textbook pentagonal formation, instantly cutting off every route Lin Chen could use to dodge or retreat. They were disciplined, seasoned killers—the elite of a regular army that had seen countless battlefields.
The final figure slowly stepped out of the flagship.
The man wore a dark purple leather cloak over silver armor that accentuated his tall, powerful build. His face was hard, and his vertical pupils looked down indifferently at the tiny human boy below. A faint black mist curled around him.
He had already begun to gather power for the Nether Killing Art.
Gilos hovered three feet above the ground, looking down at Lin Chen with utter arrogance and contempt.
"A half-finished Saiyan transformation, and you dare strut around in front of me?"
His voice boomed across the battlefield through the ship's speakers, sharp with cold disdain. "I'll admit, you're somewhat interesting. An upstart from a low-class planet who can break through to five thousand in a desperate situation—that's a rare talent."
"But against absolute power, every struggle is futile."
The moment he finished speaking, the five elite soldiers moved as one!
Five condensed energy blasts formed instantly and streaked through the air, attacking Lin Chen from five directions and leaving him nowhere to dodge.
They had him surrounded. There would be no escape!
"Goku, move!"
Lin Chen barked the command and shot forward.
His body wrapped in white aura, he moved so fast that afterimages trailed behind him. He didn't dodge the two energy blasts coming straight at him. Instead, he met them head-on, his fists wrapped in a violent aura as he smashed them apart!
Boom! Boom!
Two deafening explosions rang out one after the other. Violent shock waves tore outward, blasting several deep trenches into the ground.
Lin Chen used the force of the explosions to twist aside, dodging the other three attacks. The ground cracked beneath his feet as he shot toward the two nearest elite soldiers like an arrow loosed from a bow!
At the same time, Goku flashed forward in a small blur, latching onto the enemy soldier on the far right as he moved to fill the gap.
The boy didn't know any refined techniques. He relied on instinct, speed, and brute force, throwing punches and kicks. None of his attacks could penetrate the soldier's armor, but he stuck to his opponent like glue, leaving him no chance to join the others.
The elite soldier grew furious at being harried and struck back again and again, but Goku's movements were nimble, and his body was absurdly tough. He endured several energy blasts, stumbling only slightly and showing no sign of backing down.
The battlefield split into two fronts.
Deep in the forest, Bulma's fingers never stopped moving. Green lights flashed wildly across the scanner as streams of code raced by. In just a few dozen seconds, the Frieza Force's communication channels were completely flooded with garbled signals.
In midair, the four elite soldiers who had been working in perfect sync suddenly fell out of rhythm.
They couldn't hear their teammates' orders or see their coordination signals. Their flawless pentagonal formation was suddenly full of openings!
"Now!"
A glint flashed in Lin Chen's eyes. He seized the fleeting opening and gathered his aura to its absolute limit.
Golden sparks burst from his Super Saiyan Prototype form. He abandoned all defense, channeling his full power into both fists as he charged into the gap between the two soldiers.
The condensed power in his Saiyan body, forged by breaking through in the face of death, showed its overwhelming might.
The energy of ordinary Frieza soldiers was loose and sharp. His ki, by contrast, was dense and domineering, with tremendous penetrating power.
Two heavy punches struck the weak points at the seams of their armor!
Crack!
The sturdy standard-issue armor split apart instantly, and Lin Chen's violent ki surged into both soldiers.
The elite soldiers, each with five thousand in battle power, watched in shock. Before they could react, the violent force shattered their internal energy channels. They were sent flying like kites with their strings cut, slammed into the ground, and died on impact.
In an instant, two enemies were dead!
The remaining two elite soldiers blanched, genuine fear finally showing in their faces.
Their individual battle power was on par with Lin Chen's, but his combat techniques, control over his energy, and battle experience completely outclassed them!
The tide had turned!
Every change on the ground reached Gilos's eyes.
For the first time, a cold glint of murderous intent crossed his previously indifferent gaze.
"Not bad."
"But the game ends here."
Gilos spoke calmly, as if he were merely clearing away a pair of troublesome ants.
As he spoke, the black mist around him surged. Killing intent blanketed the battlefield as his terrifying battle power of nine thousand five hundred was unleashed, crashing down upon them!
His aura was more than twice as powerful as before, and the air itself roared beneath its crushing weight.
He activated the Nether Killing Art to its full extent, an invisible killing intent locking onto every vital point on Lin Chen's body.
Every hair on Lin Chen's body stood on end. A sense of mortal danger swept through him.
He understood. Every victory so far had only cleared away the chaff.
The real fight to the death was only beginning.
Gilos flickered and vanished from the air.
There was no flashy windup, no fluctuation of energy—just pure, overwhelming speed and a deadly secret technique!
That was what made the Nether Killing Art so terrifying: it struck without a sound, killing in an instant and leaving no trace!
Lin Chen's pupils contracted. Relying on the instincts honed by countless battles to the death, he forced himself to shift sideways with everything he had.
He missed by a hair!
A black blade of energy grazed his neck. Its razor-sharp killing intent sliced through his skin, and blood spattered into the air.
Lin Chen barely avoided the killing blow. His heart pounded wildly, and cold sweat had soaked his back.
Too fast!
He couldn't even see the enemy's movements. It was a speed advantage on an entirely different level!
"You dodged once. Let's see how many more times you can."
Gilos's icy laughter rang by his ear as his figure flickered in and out around Lin Chen. One black attack after another came from every direction, sealing off every avenue of escape.
Lin Chen gritted his teeth and circulated his ki with all his strength. His Super Saiyan Prototype aura burned at full power as he blocked, dodged, and endured each blow.
Every clash numbed and shook his arms, and his bones throbbed with pain under the strain.
Five thousand two hundred against nine thousand five hundred. The gap was simply too vast.
After only a few seconds, fine cuts covered his body. Blood soaked his white martial arts uniform, and his once-powerful aura began to weaken before his eyes.
The Super Saiyan Prototype was only a temporary form, bought by pushing himself past his limits. It could last only a short time, and the fierce battle was draining his energy at an alarming rate.
At this rate, he would be exhausted and defeated in less than ten seconds, killed on the spot by the Nether Killing Art.
I have to break through again!
That was the only thought left in Lin Chen's mind.
He forced down the pain coursing through his body and released every restraint holding him back. He deliberately drained the last of his energy, and his restless Saiyan blood began to boil once more!
Pain surged through his limbs and body. He forced more power from his nearly depleted energy, and he felt the loosened seal shift again.
The battle-power reading flickered—five thousand three hundred, five thousand four hundred, five thousand five hundred!
It was a small breakthrough, but the only chance of survival he had!
Riding the surge of power, Lin Chen seized an opening as Gilos drew back from an attack. Gathering all his strength, he slammed a punch into Gilos's chest!
Thud!
The heavy impact rang out. Gilos paused for the briefest moment, shock appearing in his eyes for the first time.
He hadn't expected the Saiyan, on the verge of defeat, to break through in the middle of battle!
But in an instant, his shock turned to fury.
"You worthless ant! You dare hurt me?"
Gilos's killing intent erupted. Black energy gathered in both his hands until it reached its peak, forming a long, narrow Nether War Blade in his palm. Strange black mist curled around its edge, devouring life.
"Nether Soul-Severing Blade!"
His signature finishing move, unleashed at full power!
This strike could kill a warrior with seven thousand in battle power in a single blow. It was his ultimate trump card!
The terrifying black blade of light tore through the air with the force to annihilate everything, sweeping straight toward Lin Chen and cutting off every route of escape.
Lin Chen's pupils contracted. His energy was nearly depleted, his injuries were catching up with him, and he had no strength left to withstand the killing blow.
With death only a breath away, he could already feel the blade's power of annihilation about to devour every trace of life within him.
Goku saw what was happening from the nearby struggle and panicked. He tried to rush over without a thought for his own safety, but the enemy soldier held him fast, leaving him no way to break free.
Bulma stared at the terrifying battle-power reading soaring across the screen. Her hands and feet went cold as despair flooded her heart.
A dead end.
A true, hopeless dead end.
But just as the black soul-severing blade was about to strike Lin Chen—
Far away in outer space, beneath the deep, dark stars, a dazzling golden pillar of light suddenly blazed into existence!
The light pierced through layer upon layer of nebulae and tore through the darkness of space. It moved faster than light itself, crossing endless star systems in an instant before plunging straight toward the blue planet, Earth!
At the same time, the system alarm in Lin Chen's mind suddenly changed its tone.
It was no longer a warning of danger. It was an unprecedented, unknown alert!
[An ultra-high-tier combat power is approaching at extreme speed!]
[Unknown Super Saiyan energy signature detected in Earth's airspace!]
[Opponent's battle power exceeds the system's current detection limit!]
High in the air, Gilos froze in the middle of his killing blow. Every hair on his body stood on end, and his hand trembled around the Nether War Blade. The fury on his face vanished, replaced by fear and wariness that came from the depths of his soul.
He snapped his head up and stared at the golden light tearing across the stars.
The legend from the depths of the universe, the one that made countless Universe Emperors and stellar warriors tremble in fear, had actually descended on Earth?
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