Two days later, Raditz and Jaco finally arrived in the Phaeda star system.
The expanding invasion force was on patrol, and when they spotted Jaco's spacecraft, they immediately launched pursuit. The Galactic Patrol vessel's distinctive markings were too conspicuous—clearly someone looking for trouble. They couldn't let it pass.
"What's happening?" Jaco exclaimed.
"We've entered their territory, and your ship's insignia might as well be a target," Raditz replied helplessly.
Jaco shouted while frantically manipulating the controls: "Damn it! I'll fight back!"
But in the next second, he was forced to pull the joystick sharply, desperately evading the barrage of fire from behind. Under such intense bombardment, he had no opportunity to counterattack.
Realizing Jaco was utterly unreliable, Raditz sighed softly. "Just land. I'll handle this—I only need directions anyway."
Seeing Raditz's confidence, Jaco followed his suggestion and executed an emergency landing on a nearby planet. No sooner had they touched down than a squadron of pursuit ships surrounded them.
Alien fighters leapt from their vessels, energy weapons raised and aimed directly at Raditz and Jaco.
"Intruders! Galactic Patrol scum!"
"This is Lord Abo and Lord Kado's territory. You're either blind or suicidal."
These were security forces tasked with maintaining order, violently suppressing the remaining rebel factions. Potential threats like Tarble had to be eliminated.
Raditz stepped out of the spacecraft. His black coat hung motionless in the wind, giving him the appearance of a solid iron wall.
"Who do you think you are?!" the aliens shouted brazenly, emboldened by their superior numbers and energy weapons.
Their leaders were tall and burly individuals with fleshy faces and fierce expressions. Their oversized combat uniforms strained against massive bellies, while green scales and barbs covered their arms. Their power levels exceeded 10,000 each—qualifying them as elite fighters by most standards.
"Your combat abilities aren't terrible. No wonder you speak with such confidence," Raditz observed with an amused smile.
"Of course. We're—wait! That's none of your business!" The lead alien pointed at Raditz and bellowed, "Surrender or die!"
The tail at Raditz's waist emerged from beneath his coat, extending forward and swaying provocatively. "Recognize this?"
Anyone who'd spent time in the universe would recognize this unmistakable sign—a Saiyan!
"You... you're a Saiyan! Are you an ally of that other one?"
"Tarble?" Raditz pressed.
"So it's true! If you escaped like him and managed to survive, you're a fool to show yourself now. Don't think your alliance with the Galactic Patrol will save you!" Several leading fighters laughed, assuming Raditz and Tarble were comrades. Capturing both would be quite an achievement.
They knew Saiyan fighting potential—if they weren't high-level fighters, they couldn't compete. A weakling like Tarble would have no powerful companions. In their eyes, Raditz naturally fell into the same category.
"Enough talk with him—attack!"
At this unknown command, the entire squadron charged forward.
Observing their clumsy movements, Raditz lost interest in prolonging the encounter. A bright flash crossed his eyes as he swiftly raised one hand and clenched his fist.
No superfluous words. No wasted motion. The ground suddenly erupted with tremendous force, as if countless beasts were breaking through the planet's crust.
The aliens' scouters exploded in sequence as an icy blue flame spread outward in a massive circle, soaring skyward. The murderous intent was palpable as boundless energy consumed everything like a tidal wave.
Shattered bodies and crimson fluids scattered through the air before disintegrating into nothingness within the energy field.
"What?!" The smiling faces of the lead fighters froze in shock.
They never expected such devastating power from a Saiyan. These were elite troops they'd brought! With a single attack, nearly their entire force had been obliterated.
In the next instant, their pupils contracted sharply.
Raditz had closed the distance!
"BOOM!" "BOOM!"
Two compressed energy blasts that Raditz had been charging erupted from his hands, shooting skyward with the remains of several fighters, hurling them into the distance.
Explosions thundered in the sky as the ground trembled, sending clouds of smoke and dust billowing upward.
"Damn it!" The sole survivor gritted his teeth, face pale with terror. He stumbled backward from Raditz, his knees nearly buckling beneath him.
"Tell me Tarble's location, and I'll spare your life."
The alien, who had resigned himself to death, desperately grasped this lifeline. Realizing he might actually survive, he shouted in disbelief: "You'll really let me go?"
Raditz frowned. "Don't waste time. Speak quickly."
"Yes, yes! Tarble is on Planet Mikado to the west. There are still some resistance fighters there. But it's pointless for you to go—Lord Kado has dispatched a large force to eliminate them. They have almost no chance of survival."
The alien wanted to continue, but Raditz, impatient with his rambling, delivered a swift chop to the back of his neck. He knocked him unconscious and tossed him toward Jaco. Raditz had kept his word—he hadn't killed the alien, but that didn't mean he wouldn't be arrested.
"Jaco, wait for me here. I'll return shortly."
Raditz raised two fingers to his forehead, concentrated his energy, and searched westward for Tarble's energy signature.
...
Planet Mikado lay in ruins. Its once-thriving civilization had been reduced to rubble, with scorched earth stretching in every direction. After looting everything of value, the invaders had set fire to whatever remained.
A dilapidated electronics factory stood among the devastation.
On the ravaged planet, this was the only place that still offered shelter. After fleeing here, Tarble had joined forces with the remaining alien refugees to resist Abo and Kado's armies.
But their strength was inadequate. They had suffered heavy casualties, losing most of their vehicles and equipment. Each passing day found fewer survivors.
By now, fewer than one hundred remained, while the hunting parties deployed by Abo and Kado grew increasingly ruthless. Though Tarble had gradually grown stronger through battle, his improvement was insufficient—leading to defeat after defeat.
This encounter would likely be their last.
The enemy squadron had issued an ultimatum: surrender or be annihilated. Everyone understood that even surrender meant certain death. Numerous precedents had demonstrated Abo and Kado's merciless tactics.
In this desperate hour, many injured aliens lay on the ground, speaking weakly among themselves. Finally, they turned to Tarble:
"Tarble, thank you for everything these past months. Without you, we would have perished long ago. But our situation is critical now—we can't hold you back any longer. There are still a few functional spacecraft remaining. Take one and escape while you can. We're too severely injured to continue, but if you survive, there's still hope!"
"No. As soon as Kado's forces arrive, everyone will die."
Tarble possessed a gentle personality. Years living among aliens had tempered the Saiyan aggression in his nature, transforming him into a compassionate individual. He couldn't simply abandon everyone to their deaths and firmly refused.
"But we have no other options," an elderly Filizian lamented, knocking dejectedly against the wall. Despair tinged his words. Of course they all wanted to survive, but no realistic path remained.
"There must be a way for us all to live!" Tarble's slender frame trembled slightly, his eyes burning with determination like a raging fire.
"Well said. Your eyes remind me of your brother's."
Suddenly, a figure appeared before them—a tall man with a long tail swaying behind him, instantly drawing everyone's attention.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Support me at p@treon.com/goldengaruda and check out more chapter of this or more early access chapter of my other fanfic translation.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~