Desperate Counterattack
"Good..."
A subtle fluctuation finally emerged in Super 17's mechanical, synthesized voice.
As if a sophisticated instrument had suddenly detected something unusual, he whispered, "I underestimated you... I didn't expect you could elicit such power."
The corners of his mouth slowly turned up.
That smile wasn't one of approval, but rather the cold indifference and cruelty of discovering a new toy.
"You think... this is the end?"
Before the words had even finished --
"Buzz--"
A bone-chilling cold suddenly swept through the entire venue.
Unfathomable dark energy, like a volcanic eruption, surged from Super 17's body.
That was no longer ordinary flames; it was more like black, churning lava, coiling around his limbs and torso.
The surrounding air was distorted and deformed by the high temperature and evil energy, and the ground instantly turned black and cracked.
The deep red in his mechanical eyes instantly became brighter and more sinister, like a demon from the abyss staring intently at its prey.
His smile widened, becoming almost inhumanly ferocious.
"Now..."
Black energy condensed in his right fist, seemingly swallowing up even the surrounding light.
"It's my turn."
He locked his bloodshot eyes on Vegeta, his gaze filled with the ruthlessness of a hunter.
The next second, Super 17's figure suddenly blurred, like a pencil drawing erased by an eraser, leaving only a faint afterimage; he had vanished.
There wasn't even time for a sonic boom to explode in the air; only a subtle energy ripple spread out.
Vegeta's pupils contracted sharply, and all the muscles in his body tensed instantly.
His senses spread out like Dragon Radar, capturing every change in energy in the air, not even missing the vibration of dust particles.
But there was nothing there.
Super 17 doesn't move according to any normal rules; it's as if it jumped directly from one coordinate to another.
It's not just "like" it, it's real Instant Transmission!
"Later!"
My fighting instincts kicked in an instant, but my body was a beat too slow.
The next instant, Super 17 materialized like a ghost behind Vegeta, less than half a meter away.
His mechanical right arm emitted a faint hydraulic sound, and as he clenched his fist, purple arcs of electricity exploded between his fingers.
Without any buildup or warning, the fist, encased in dark metal, tore through the air and slammed heavily into Vegeta's unsuspecting back with an almost destructive intent.
"Bang--!!!"
The sound was more terrifying than a physical impact; it was more like two steel mountains colliding violently at supersonic speeds.
The moment the fists made contact, a white shockwave exploded in a ring shape, instantly shattering the glass of buildings within a radius of 100 meters into ashes.
Vegeta's Battle Suit was completely reduced to ashes, revealing open wounds where his skin was torn and his bones were faintly visible.
He had no time to react; like a bullet blasted away by a cannonball, he was sent flying backward at several times the speed of sound.
First, it crashed directly through a fifty-story glass building. The reinforced concrete crumbled like paper in front of it, and the entire building emitted a dull groan as it slowly tilted from the middle.
Undeterred, he penetrated another alloy-structured building, leaving a large, human-shaped hole in the thick steel plate with melted edges and radiating cracks.
Finally, he crashed into the distant block like a meteorite.
Centered on the point of impact, the asphalt road surface arched upwards and cracked, forming a giant crater with a diameter of more than 30 meters.
Thick smoke mixed with pipe steam shot straight into the sky, enveloping the entire area in a grayish-yellow mist.
The smoke and dust gradually settled.
In the center of the pit, Vegeta knelt on one knee on the broken rocks, his body trembling violently.
He tried to brace himself with his left hand, but his arm went limp and he almost fell again.
He coughed up a mouthful of blood, dark red in color, mixed with fragments of internal organs, which hissed as it fell onto the scorched ground.
His Super Saiyan 4 form was extremely unstable. The golden aura that was originally as hot as the sun was now reduced to a thin layer of light clinging to his skin, flickering on and off, as if it would go out at any moment.
The red fur lost its luster, becoming dull and messy, and the long tail hung limply at its side, the tip of which was still twitching slightly.
"Dad!!!"
Trunks's screams were heart-wrenching.
The boy could no longer hold back; his blue flames erupted, and he almost recklessly charged into the desolate dust.
"Don't come any closer--!!!"
Vegeta's roar came from the bottom of the pit, hoarse and broken, mixed with the noise of blood and foam.
The voice no longer carried the arrogance and confidence that Saiyan Prince were used to; only the resentment and anger of being in dire straits remained.
High in the sky, Super 17 slowly descended, eventually hovering about ten meters diagonally above Vegeta.
He crossed his arms, his dark purple metallic body reflecting a cold light in the setting sun. His blood-red optical lens adjusted its focus, looking down at Vegeta struggling at the bottom of the pit, like a god scrutinizing an ant.
"Vegeta, you've reached your limit."
His synthesized voice was as cold as polar ice. "Give up. Your struggle is pointless and will only cause you more pain."
"Give up?"
Vegeta slowly raised his head.
Blood trickled from his forehead to the corner of his eye, but the flame in his golden pupils still burned.
He gritted his teeth, a ferocious smile twisting his lips—a smile a mixture of excruciating pain, madness, and pride. "What a joke... Saiyan don't understand the meaning of 'giving up'!"
"Drink it--!!!"
He roared out the last of his strength, stomped his foot hard, and the rock beneath his feet collapsed again.
He transformed into a swaying golden streak and charged towards Super 17 once more.
But anyone could see that he was already at his last gasp.
His fist's trajectory was scattered, so slow that it left afterimages in the Central City, and the energy on his fist was so weak that it was almost invisible.
Super 17 didn't even change his crossed-arms pose.
He simply turned to the side unhurriedly, and Vegeta's all-out punch grazed his chest without leaving a scratch.
Immediately afterwards, Super 17 casually raised his right arm and delivered a cold and precise uppercut, which landed directly on Vegeta's jaw.
"Bang!"
The ear-piercing sound of bones cracking was clearly audible.
Vegeta's head snapped back, his neck groaning under the strain. He was sent flying into the air, tumbling a dozen times before crashing down like a broken sandbag, rolling for over ten meters before finally coming to a stop.
He lay face down on the ground, his body still convulsing.
He tried to prop himself up with his arms, but his arms trembled like leaves in the wind, bending and collapsing several times.
His legs were completely powerless, and he couldn't even bend his knees.
"Dad..."
Trunks' voice was filled with desperate sobs, and tears blurred his vision.
Pan, standing beside her, covered her mouth tightly, tears streaming down her face from her bright blue eyes and dripping through her fingers.
Gohan clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white, and his fingernails had already pierced his palms, with drops of blood falling, but he didn't notice at all.
Piccolo didn't say a word, but his tense jaw and dark, almost dripping face already betrayed his anger and helplessness.
In the center of the battlefield, the smoke and dust were slowly parted by an invisible force.
With his last ounce of strength, Vegeta rolled over and knelt on one knee once more.