Z Fighters

His teeth chattered involuntarily, every nerve sounding an alarm.

It was not merely a powerful aura, but malicious intent steeped in bloodshed and destruction. Like three towering mountains crushing down on his heart, it made even breathing difficult.

Tien Shinhan, standing beside him, had turned livid, the knuckles of his clenched fists white.

The pupil of his third eye contracted violently as he said in a dry, hoarse voice, "Those three auras... they're so strong they're suffocating. Under this evil pressure, I can't even gather the courage to fight..."

Despair filled the air, as though even the sunlight had been distorted by that terrifying power.

Everyone clearly realized that this battle would likely become the last of their lives.

A suffocating pressure permeated the air, as though even the flowing wind had frozen. In the distance, several twisted auras burned wildly across the barren land like ghostly flames in the dead of night, radiating pulses that made their hearts tremble.

"Those monsters could probably take them out with one finger!" Krillin's voice trembled slightly. Fine beads of sweat covered his forehead, and his hands clenched unconsciously, his knuckles whitening from the force.

Piccolo stood to the side, his green face so gloomy it seemed capable of dripping water. His pupils narrowed slightly as he stared fixedly at those unsettling auras in the distance.

"Son... Son Goku actually defeated opponents like them? D-Damn it, just how powerful has he become?!"

His voice was low and hoarse, as though squeezed through clenched teeth.

Piccolo's fists tightened, his nails digging deeply into his palms and leaving streaks of blood.

For the past year, he had trained day and night, battling nature amid remote mountains and wilderness, tempering his will through raging winds and storms.

He had thought himself strong enough to look down upon all others. Yet now, those several auras were like invisible mountains, pressing down on him until he could barely breathe.

What he found even harder to accept was that these terrifying beings had been easily defeated by Son Goku a year ago!

The gap left him with an unprecedented sense of powerlessness. "G-Gohan, Frieza... Frieza's aura seems to have become even stronger!" Krillin's voice was thick with fear, his body trembling uncontrollably as though he had been thrown into an ice cellar.

That powerful aura was like a tangible blade, slicing at his nerves and leaving him barely able to stand. He instinctively took a step back, crushing the gravel beneath his feet with a crunch. Countless thoughts flashed through Krillin's mind before finally turning into utter despair.

"In a situation like this, even if Goku came, it probably wouldn't make any difference..." he muttered. His face was as pale as paper, and the usual light had vanished from his eyes.

Earth's fate seemed to hang by a single thread, one that could snap at any moment. Could this planet, which had nurtured countless lives, truly be headed for destruction?

Son Gohan stood beside Krillin, his young face filled with gravity.

He drew a deep breath and tried to calm the turmoil in his heart.

"Yeah, Frieza's aura is indeed extremely strong, but the two auras beside him are even stronger!"

Though his voice was steady, his faintly trembling fingertips exposed the unease in his heart. Those two auras were like beasts lurking in the abyss, exuding a pressure so horrifying that even the surrounding air warped around them.

Vegeta snorted coldly, breaking the heavy atmosphere. His gaze was as sharp as a blade as it swept across everyone present. "Every one of them is wearing a scouter. None of you are allowed to fly. Suppress your auras, and we'll walk over quietly!"

His voice carried an unquestionable command, like an experienced hunter laying out a tactic.

The corners of Vegeta's mouth lifted slightly in a disdainful sneer, as though mocking the enemy's arrogance and ignorance.

Everyone silently nodded, each suppressing their aura as they moved forward without a sound like stalking cheetahs.

The ground beneath their feet was dry and hard, each step producing a faint sound.

The distant auras drew closer and closer, like the whispers of death echoing through the silent wilderness. Vegeta's warning was like an icy blade, instantly piercing everyone's nerves.

If Frieza's group discovered their location, the consequences would be unimaginable—not only would their carefully planned ambush be completely ruined, but it could also lead directly to their total annihilation.

Amid this barren and treacherous mountain range, even the slightest leak of aura could bring about a catastrophic disaster.

Hearing Vegeta's low, urgent reminder, everyone's hearts tightened. Almost instinctively, they held their breath and forcibly suppressed the surging energy within their bodies.

Their battle power, which had originally blazed like flames, was restrained to its lowest point in an instant, as though it had never existed at all.

They exchanged grave looks, then bent low in unspoken understanding and began climbing along the steep mountainside like a pack of silent cheetahs. Loose stones occasionally tumbled beneath their feet, making faint but heart-stopping sounds.

They took every step with extreme caution, afraid of alerting those terrifying beings on the other side of the mountain peak. Sweat slid down their temples and soaked the collars of their battle suits, but no one dared relax in the slightest.

The air was filled with a tension so thick it nearly solidified, and even the wind seemed wise enough to tread softly.

When the group finally reached the mountaintop and pushed aside the jagged rocks blocking their view, the sight before them made them freeze in place—in front of the hatch of that massive, sinister spaceship stood dozens of figures in neat formation. Some were tall, some short, and their forms varied greatly, but every one of them radiated a suffocating pressure.

At the very center of the crowd stood three especially conspicuous figures, proudly upright. They were none other than Frieza and his two sons—Cooler and Kuriza.

Cold, powerful auras swirled around them, as though even the air itself twisted and trembled because of their presence.

Krillin's pupils suddenly shrank, and his legs began to tremble uncontrollably.

He stared fixedly at those three nightmare-like figures, his throat seeming to clog as he forced out a broken voice: "Th-those two guys... they look exactly like Frieza... We're dead, we're dead! There's no way we can beat them!"

Fear surged through every cell in his body like an icy tide. He felt as though his heart were about to leap from his chest, and even breathing became difficult.

Just as that suffocating terror was about to completely swallow Krillin and the others, an abrupt change occurred—"Whoosh—" A sharp sound of something tearing through the air suddenly ripped apart the heavy sky.

Everyone instinctively looked up to see a pitch-black opening appear out of nowhere. Immediately afterward, a strange aircraft unlike anything they had ever seen shot out from it, plunging rapidly toward the ground with an overbearing, unreasonable momentum.

However, that was only the beginning.

Almost at the same moment, another piercing "whoosh" cut through the sky.

A second identical strange aircraft appeared in the heavens like a phantom, one ahead of the other in eerie synchronization.

In the blink of an eye, the two aircraft came to a halt directly above Frieza and his sons, their shadows engulfing the crowd below. This sudden development instantly added a trace of chaos and uncertainty to the originally grim atmosphere.

"What is that?" Someone from Frieza's side let out a startled cry, clearly confused and wary of these unexpected intruders.

Then, an urgent and panicked voice rang out from the sky, breaking the brief dead silence. "Hey! People down there, get out of the way! The machine's out of fuel!"

Before the words had even faded, one of the aircraft suddenly lost its balance. Its tail dragged unstable streams of energy as it hurtled like an out-of-control meteor, charging straight toward the spaceship behind Frieza and his sons with unstoppable force!