Karisha's vertical pupils suddenly contracted, and a chill ran down his spine.
If it hadn't been his subordinate who had been struck just now, but him instead...
Then the one reduced to a puddle of flesh would have been himself.
For the first time...
Death was only one step away from Karisha.
The remaining subordinates, having witnessed the fate of the two bandits, hurriedly brought their motorcycles to a stop.
A strange silence suddenly fell over both sides.
All the bandits stared at the corpse on the ground in shock. They couldn't believe that only moments ago, it had been a living companion just like them.
Then...
A calm, muffled voice broke the silence.
"Which direction is the Seventh Fortress?"
Hearing the Saiyan subordinate's question, the bandits instinctively wanted to shout back.
They were feared robbers...
But when they looked at the mangled corpse lying nearby...
Not a single one of them dared to speak.
"I asked you—which direction is the Seventh Fortress?"
The subordinate's expression darkened.
If this war were to fail because of their own mistake...
Their fate would be no better than that of the bandits who had just died.
"You killed my companions, and you still think you'll leave here alive?"
Even now, Karisha refused to give up his chance of earning residency inside the Circle, so he quietly signaled one of his subordinates.
The Sacrificial Lizard Signal.
Simply put...
It was a call for reinforcements.
After seeing the fate of his two subordinates, Karisha knew that with his handful of ragtag men, it would be impossible to defeat these three alien creatures.
So he decided to summon Shalifei, the largest bandit leader in the area.
Ten minutes later...
Even though Karisha had been extremely cautious...
One of his subordinates was still struck by a single punch from one of the alien creatures.
Before he could even scream...
His body exploded into a puddle of flesh.
Who the hell said alien creatures were physically weak?
Karisha silently cursed those idiots who had spread such rumors while also growing increasingly annoyed at Shalifei for taking so long to arrive.
Just then...
A playful voice came from behind Karisha.
"Well, well... little sand lizard..."
One of Shalifei's men had intended to mock Karisha.
After spending so much time chasing three seemingly ordinary enemies...
He had instead lost three of his own men.
The next moment...
He witnessed a scene that left him dumbfounded.
A speeding motorcycle was punched high into the air.
It crashed to the ground not far away with a deafening roar before bursting into flames.
The other members of Shalifei's gang stared at the scene as though they had seen a ghost.
Seated on his motorcycle, the taller Shalifei slowly widened his eyes.
"H-How... how is that possible?"
As a bandit who had ruled this region of Zhaka for many years...
Shalifei had witnessed countless brutal battles and powerful creatures.
But a species capable of blowing apart a speeding motorcycle with a single punch...
He had never even heard of such a thing.
"Shalifei, these three creatures aren't natives of Planet Zhaka."
Karisha spoke in a deep voice to the stunned Shalifei.
Hearing those words, Shalifei was startled, but he quickly understood what Karisha meant.
"They're invaders from another planet?"
The thought immediately excited him.
After all, if he could present the corpses of these alien creatures to the lord...
He would be granted permanent residency inside the Circle.
Three alien corpses...
Would earn at least thirty residency quotas.
Thinking of that, the fear in Shalifei's eyes gradually turned into greed.
"We have to kill them!"
Meanwhile...
The three Saiyan war slaves frowned as more and more bandits gathered around them.
If they wasted too much time here...
It might jeopardize the entire mission.
Although these bandits were individually weak, they knew the terrain well and had motorcycles, making it difficult to eliminate them all at once.
Looking at the noisy crowd surrounding them...
The three Saiyans exchanged glances.
It was time to end this quickly.
The captain of the third squad shifted his gaze toward Shalifei.
15.
The combat power displayed on the scouter was more than twice that of an ordinary bandit.
Even so...
The captain's expression remained calm.
"Don't you have guns?"
"Why didn't you use them?"
Shalifei asked the grim-faced Karisha.
Hearing the question, Karisha sighed inwardly.
Without another word...
He raised the machine gun in his hands and emptied the entire magazine at the three Saiyans.
Deafening gunfire echoed across the wasteland.
"Now do you understand?"
Karisha turned to Shalifei and spoke calmly.
"How is that possible?"
"The bullets... they all bounced off?"
Shalifei exclaimed in disbelief.
At the same time...
He finally understood.
If ordinary firearms could solve the problem...
Karisha would never have asked him for help.
"Since conventional weapons won't work..."
As he spoke, Shalifei gave one of his subordinates a meaningful look.
A short while later...
Several men carried over a heavy iron container.
"I don't even remember how many years it's been since I last used this armor."
"It may be an old model..."
"But armor is still armor."
"It's not something flesh and blood can compare to."
Although incredibly powerful...
The armor consumed an enormous amount of energy every second it operated.
Unless absolutely necessary...
Shalifei would never use it.
Looking at the X-3 marking on the container...
He took a deep breath and pressed the red activation button.
A blinding crimson light instantly erupted.
The surrounding bandits instinctively shut their eyes.
When the light faded...
They saw that Shalifei had transformed into a metal giant nearly three meters tall.
The crowd stood frozen for a moment.
Then...
A wave of ecstatic cheers erupted.
"It's armor!"
"It's really armor!"
"That's the strongest individual weapon on Planet Zhaka!"
"Boss!"
"Crush them with your armor!"
"Kill them all!"
"Show those alien creatures the power of the Flying Sand Bandits!"
"That's armor!"
"Forget alien creatures—even tanks can be smashed into scrap metal!"
"Those three don't stand a chance!"
"Boss! Teach those alien monsters a lesson!"
Listening to the cheers surrounding him...
Shalifei ordered his men to encircle the three Saiyans and prevent any of them from escaping.
The bandits immediately obeyed.
Their eyes shone with excitement as they looked at the towering armored giant.
They quickly mounted their motorcycles and surrounded the three Saiyans.
The gunmen riding on the back seats unleashed a torrential rain of bullets at them.
Yet every single bullet...
Simply bounced off and fell harmlessly to the ground.
Combat Power: 95.
The X-3 armor increased Shalifei's combat power by a full 80 points.
The Saiyan squad captain calmly observed the towering armored figure.
His expression remained indifferent.
He had already noticed that this lizardman possessed far greater combat power than the other bandits.
Most likely...
He was a genetically enhanced individual.
His physique alone was noticeably larger than that of the other lizardmen.
Now, piloting the massive suit of armor...
He stared coldly at the three Saiyans as though their fate had already been decided.
Buzz...
As Shalifei took a step forward, the armor emitted a deep mechanical roar.
Each heavy footstep left a deep crater in the ground.
Encased within the towering armor, Shalifei looked like a prehistoric monster, radiating overwhelming pressure.
A savage grin spread across his face as he raised one enormous metal fist.
Despite its massive size, the armor moved with astonishing speed thanks to its powerful propulsion system.
The gigantic fist slammed directly toward the Saiyan squad captain.