Nine-Man Siege Formation Shows Its Might, Divine Yuan Lock Restraint Reveals Its Edge

Five dark-purple figures arrived in an instant, hovering above Turtle Hermit Island. Their streamlined mechanical bodies had abandoned Android 8's bulky armor, their surfaces etched with fine black demonic patterns. Crimson pupils swept over the people on the beach, devoid of any emotion—only cold hunting directives.

"Five targets detected. One high-value target. Commencing collection protocol."

As the lead Android 9's mechanical voice fell silent, all five bent forward at once. Black-glinting energy blades sprang from their fingers as they dove in a fan-shaped formation, their auras precisely locking onto Goku, Krillin, and Yamcha.

"Perfect!"

Goku laughed loudly and stomped off the ground. Though he had not removed his fivefold gravity suit, he shot forward like a cannonball. Pale-blue energy gathered around his fist as a burst of short-range force met the lead android's energy blade head-on.

Clang—

The sound of metal striking metal exploded. The energy around Goku's fist made the opponent's arm tremble slightly, while he used the recoil to flip through the air. When he landed, he crushed two chunks of reef beneath his feet.

"Not bad. Much more agile than Android 8!" The fighting spirit in Goku's eyes burned even brighter. Before the enemy could land, he brought his hands together at his waist. "Core-Condensing Kamehameha!"

A deep-sea-blue sphere of light compressed in his palms, even more condensed than it had been two months ago. The instant it shot forth, the air itself warped from the scorching heat.

The lead Android 9 neither dodged nor evaded. The armor on its chest abruptly opened, revealing a purple-glowing core that forcibly took the Core-Condensing Kamehameha head-on. The core spun rapidly, analyzing an enormous amount of data in an instant. It brought its palms together as well, forming an identical pale-blue sphere between them.

"Technique replication complete. Kamehameha."

The same sphere blasted back at him, its power no weaker than Goku's own.

"What?!" Goku's eyes widened. He hurriedly twisted aside as the sphere grazed his shoulder and slammed into the cliff behind him, blasting a crater several yards deep. Rubble tumbled down as he stared in disbelief. "It can actually learn my technique?"

On the other side, Krillin was locked in battle with two androids. A Destructo Disc spun rapidly at his fingertips as he darted nimbly through the flashing blades, then seized an opening and flung the energy disc.

Sshhk—

The Destructo Disc sliced precisely across one android's waist and abdomen. Its dark-purple mechanical shell split open, revealing circuits crackling with electricity beneath. But before Krillin could show any joy, wisps of black energy surged from the wound. The broken circuits reconnected at a visible speed, and the shell healed completely within moments.

"It can regenerate too?" Krillin frowned and immediately flashed backward to widen the distance. The two androids closed in from the left and right, their energy blades weaving into a net that sealed off every route of escape.

At the critical moment, the energy at Krillin's fingertips shifted again, splitting the Destructo Disc in two. Two smaller energy blades skimmed across the ground, slicing precisely toward the pair's ankles. As they lifted their feet to evade, he shot into the sky, a sheen of sweat already forming at his temples.

Yamcha was no better off. His Afterimage Wolf Fang Fist filled the air with overlapping fist shadows, impossible to distinguish between real and false. Yet streams of data raced through the pupils of the two androids opposite him, allowing them to identify his true body with precision. When their fists collided, Yamcha felt their force was astonishingly heavy, carrying the demonic clan's distinctive cold energy as it burrowed from his fist into his meridians.

"Turn their strength against them!"

He shouted low, twisting his wrist and turning sideways with the enemy's punch to redirect that sinister force away. At the same time, his right leg swept out with a sharp howl through the air. The android raised an arm to block, but the force borrowed from its own momentum knocked it back two steps.

"An opening!"

A gleam flashed through Yamcha's eyes. Several afterimages converged at once, all of his fist force condensing into one punch that slammed straight toward the core in his opponent's chest.

Bang!

The android was sent flying, a section of chest armor caved in. But the other android had already silently circled behind Yamcha, its energy blade cleaving toward his back.

"Watch out!" Krillin shouted, hurling a Destructo Disc that barely blocked the fatal strike.

The five androids advanced and retreated with perfect coordination, sometimes splitting up to engage separately, sometimes converging for combined attacks. They had faintly formed a complete battle formation. Though Goku and the other two were formidable individually, they gradually fell into a disadvantage against such seamless teamwork.

Atop the cliff, Master Roshi leaned on his cane, the glow of his pipe flickering. "Dr. Gero really planned this well. These mass-produced models focus on teamwork. They're far harder to deal with than Android 8 fighting alone."

Qi Tian stood with his hands behind his back, black-and-gold divine essence slowly circulating around him as his gaze swept across the battlefield. "This is a good chance to sharpen their practical combat experience. Those androids have data collection devices in their cores. Dr. Gero is watching from afar."

In the underground laboratory beneath the wasteland, Dr. Gero stared at the rapidly scrolling data on the screen, his aged fingers trembling slightly with excitement.

"Good... excellent! Kamehameha, Destructo Disc, Wolf Fang Fist... all analysis complete! And this method of channeling energy into the bones for force generation—record all of it!" He suddenly turned toward Qi Tian's image on the screen. "Why isn't he making a move yet? Hurry up, let me see your true strength!"

On the battlefield, Goku and the others had already been forced into a corner of the beach by the five androids.

"This won't work. Their coordination is too flawless." Krillin panted, the energy at his fingertips rising and falling faintly.

Goku clenched his fists and swept his gaze over the five androids. "Then we break them apart! Krillin, you and Yamcha hold back the ones on the left and right. Leave the middle one to me!"

Before his words had even faded, the energy around him surged explosively. Pale-blue aura erupted toward the sky as he directly removed his gravity suit. Freed from the gravitational restraints, his speed instantly multiplied several times over. He became a streak of blue light and charged straight at the lead Android 9.

"Kamehameha Barrage!"

Several compressed spheres of light blasted out in succession, not aimed at a single point but sealing off every direction the enemy could dodge. Just as the lead android was about to replicate the technique, Krillin and Yamcha attacked simultaneously. A Destructo Disc and Afterimage Fist struck toward the androids on either side, preventing them from turning back to offer support.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Three explosions rang out in rapid succession. The lead android was struck head-on by three core-condensed light spheres. Its chest core flashed with unstable red light as it staggered backward again and again.

"Now!"

Yamcha burst forward. With Krillin on his left and right, fist force and energy blades struck the joints of the other two androids at the same time. Their movements stalled, and a gap immediately opened in the formation.

The three worked together seamlessly. Half a month of divine-sense training had allowed them to understand each other's movements through aura alone, without a word. The moment the gap appeared, Goku rushed in, his punches landing solidly and driving the lead android back step by step. Krillin roamed the field, using his Destructo Disc to target joints and circuit connections, slowing their regeneration. Yamcha became a roaming blade, constantly weaving through the field to disrupt the remaining androids' positioning.

Once the battle formation broke, the threat posed by the five androids diminished sharply. But just as everyone believed victory was assured, all five androids stopped moving at once, and the cores in their chests erupted with blinding purple light.

"Battle formation failure detected. Initiating demonic energy berserk mode."

As the cold mechanical voice fell, strands of black energy seeped from their bodies and covered their mechanical frames. Their crimson pupils became increasingly sinister. The auras of all five androids surged at once, becoming nearly fifty percent stronger than before.

"Demonic Energy Volley!"

All five raised their hands simultaneously. Five dark-purple energy cannons converged into a single thick beam that radiated an aura of destruction as it blasted straight toward the three on the beach.

This attack contained the full power of all five androids. The air itself sizzled from the heat, while the sand and stones on the beach instantly melted into a glasslike substance. Goku and the others' expressions changed slightly as they drove their energy to its limit, layering three energy barriers together.

Bang—!

The beam crashed into the barriers, and the terrifying impact spread outward in an instant. Goku and the other two grunted, stumbling back again and again. Two deep trenches were plowed through the sand beneath their feet as cracks rapidly spread across the barriers, which looked ready to shatter at any moment.

Just then, a black-and-gold figure silently appeared before the three of them.

Qi Tian raised a hand and pressed down. Pale golden aura spread out, forming a translucent shield. The dark purple demonic energy beam struck the aura shield like a clay ox sinking into the sea, forcibly losing thirty percent of its force. The remaining power was firmly blocked by the aura, not even stirring the corner of his clothes.

"That's enough."

Qi Tian's voice was calm. His left hand closed in an empty grasp, and invisible divine essence instantly condensed into five chains that spread backward along the beam. The black-and-gold chains pierced through the energy beam and accurately locked onto the core in each Android's chest.

It was precisely his newly acquired ability—Divine Essence Bind.

The black aura around the five Androids froze at once. The energy within them seemed to have been cut off at the source. Their crimson eyes flickered wildly, yet they could no longer summon even a trace of power. The divine essence chains tightly restrained their energy cores and circuits, preventing even their self-destruction programs from activating.

"Wh-What ability is that?!" Dr. Gero abruptly rose to his feet in the laboratory, staring fixedly at the screen. "Energy restraint? Impossible! My Androids' energy circuits are closed systems!"

Qi Tian's fingertips tightened slightly.

Crack—

Five crisp snaps rang out at the same time. The cores of the five Android 9 units were directly crushed by Divine Essence Bind. Their bodies dropped limply from the air and smashed onto the beach, completely motionless.

The battle ended in an instant.

Goku shook out his aching arm and looked at the Android wreckage on the ground, still somewhat unsatisfied. "Big Brother Qi Tian, you moved way too fast. I could've fought a little longer."

Krillin slumped onto the beach, gasping for breath. "Good thing you stepped in. I really couldn't hold out against that last attack. These mass-produced models are way too bizarre. They can copy moves, regenerate, and even coordinate with each other."

Yamcha wiped the blood from his knuckles and said gravely, "If we hadn't trained our ki sensing these past few months, we wouldn't have coordinated so smoothly. In a one-on-one fight, we might not have won."

Master Roshi slowly walked over, poked at the Android wreckage with his cane, and picked out a shattered data chip from within. "Dr. Gero has been collecting our data all along. He probably recorded that entire battle."

Qi Tian nodded, rubbing a wisp of lingering demonic black aura between his fingers. "The demonic gene integration is higher than expected. The next Androids to appear will only be stronger."

He raised his eyes toward the western mountains. Piccolo's aura had fluctuated briefly when the battle erupted, then returned to silence. He had clearly been observing coldly from the sidelines. Meanwhile, the laboratory deep in the desert had fallen into a rage.

Dr. Gero slammed his fist against the console. The screen was frozen on the instant Divine Essence Bind appeared.

"Divine essence chains... energy restraint..." He panted heavily, but there was no frustration in his eyes. Instead, an even crazier gleam ignited within them. "Interesting. Too interesting! With this data, the completion rate of Android 17 and Android 18 can be raised even further!"

He turned toward the cultivation chambers deep within the laboratory, where two hazy figures floated silently in the nutrient fluid.

"Just wait... Once I fully adapt the demonic genes and implant all this martial arts data... the next time won't be a test."

On the beach of Turtle Hermit Island, the sun finally sank beneath the sea, and night gradually deepened.

No one relaxed because of their victory. Instead, they all clearly realized that the crisis was drawing closer at an accelerating pace.

Goku sat cross-legged atop a reef, sensing the ki within his body as he spoke softly. "I'm still not strong enough. Against that Android in berserk mode, I still couldn't beat it alone."

Krillin and Yamcha silently nodded as well. This battle had been a touchstone, revealing both their progress and the gap that remained.

Qi Tian stood at the edge of the cliff, gazing into the depths of the universe.

Seven months—neither long nor short.

Dr. Gero's Androids, the lurking Piccolo, the soon-to-arrive Saiyans... crisis upon crisis had piled together, leaving no room for even the slightest slackness.

"Keep training," he said quietly. "The real test is still ahead."

The night wind swept across the island with the sound of the tides, and the lights in the wooden house came on once more.

After this brief clash came even harsher training. Everyone understood that when the enemy attacked next time, they would never again be given a chance to test themselves.