Kryptonians: Man of Steel

Chapter 1689 The Arcanist Invasion
"Stop pretending, Kakarot!"

Vegeta's roar was filled with barely suppressed resentment and humiliation. His clenched fists trembled slightly, and his gaze was like a knife piercing towards Goku.

"Are you showing off? Showing off your son, your henchmen, even that wild kid who popped up out of nowhere... all turned into Super Saiyans?!"

These words were practically squeezed out from between his teeth.

Once upon a time, the Super Saiyan was just a legend, the realm that Vegeta pursued throughout his life.

But now, Kakarot standing before him, his young son, and even that mysterious future boy—Trunks—have all entered that realm one after another.

He himself, the Saiyan prince, was still trapped in the limitations of a mortal body, and this disparity almost drove him mad.

Sun Wukong opened his mouth, but was speechless for a moment.

He saw not only anger in Vegeta's eyes, but also a deep sense of defeat.

He wanted to explain, to comfort, but Trunks' identity was a secret that could never be revealed.

He could only scratch his head and give his usual slightly embarrassed smile: "Um... Vegeta, I didn't..."

"Shut up!"

Vegeta abruptly interrupted him, turning away and refusing to look back.

"Stop looking at me with that naive face."

A heavy atmosphere filled the air, and the proud prince once again succumbed to his own shadow.

Several days later, the gravity training room was filled with the same intense roar and energy fluctuations as always.

Goku, Vegeta, Raditz, and Nappa are undergoing near-extreme physical training under the pressure of twenty times Earth's gravity.

Sweat soaked through their combat uniforms, making every punch and every dodge extremely difficult.

Raditz and Nappa had clearly reached their limits, their legs trembling, barely able to stand by sheer willpower, while Goku and Vegeta, though equally exhausted, were still able to maintain basic mobility.

"Is this all you've got? You're such a waste."

Vegeta glanced at Nappa, who was almost collapsing, and said coldly with sarcasm.

But the instant he finished speaking—

"Om-"

An unusually sharp energy howl suddenly erupted from the control core of the gravity chamber, even drowning out the roar of the machine!

"Something's wrong!"

Sun Wukong was the first to react; his combat instincts far surpassed those of ordinary people.

"The gravity chamber is about to explode! Get out now!"

But the warning came too late.

"Boom——!!!"

The deafening explosion swallowed everything!
The terrifying energy shockwave spread wildly in all directions like a tsunami, and the incredibly solid walls of the gravity chamber were torn apart and melted like paper!
The intense light instantly engulfed the entire space, forming a gigantic fireball that kept expanding!
With their extraordinary reflexes and speed, Goku and Vegeta managed to burst into the air just before the explosion, narrowly escaping the blast radius. However, they were still thrown back by the scorching blast wave and crashed heavily onto the open ground some distance away.

Raditz and Naba had no time to react.

The force of twenty times gravity had already exhausted their strength. At the moment of the explosion, they didn't even have time to cry out before they were completely reduced to ashes by the intense heat and impact that could annihilate everything, leaving no trace of their bodies.

All that remains is a charred, massive crater tens of meters in diameter, with the soil and rocks at the edges still molten and billowing black smoke.

"Cough...cough cough!"

Vegeta got up from the ground, his arm burned and his battle suit torn in several places.

He stared intently at the ruins, his face terribly grim.

"Latitz! Naba!"

Sun Wukong staggered to his feet, gazing at the void, his face filled with shock and grief. He never imagined that a routine training session would lead to such a tragedy.

"Damn it!"

Vegeta cursed under his breath, burning with rage.

Although he usually regarded the two as useless lackeys, they were ultimately his only remaining compatriots and subordinates.

Their deaths were more like yet another mockery of his incompetence as a prince.

As the smoke and dust slowly dissipated, two figures gradually became clear in the lingering smoke, walking out leisurely.

One male and one female.

The man wore a black bodysuit over a red vest, and his blue eyes held a cynical indifference.

The woman was also dressed in black, with blonde hair and blue eyes. She was beautiful but cold, and had a mocking smile on her lips.

They emanated no aura, as if they were two empty shells, completely out of place in this world.

"Who are you?!"

Sun Wukong questioned him sharply and assumed a fighting stance.

He instantly realized that the explosion was no accident!

"You are Sun Wukong, right?"

The black-haired boy, Number 17, spoke lazily, his tone as indifferent as if he were confirming something trivial.

"We are here on orders to kill you."

"Kill me? Why?"

Sun Wukong was even more confused, as he didn't recognize either of them at all.

At that moment, Gohan, who was standing behind Goku, suddenly realized something and shouted, "Dad! Watch out! They might be Androids 17 and 18 that Mr. Luther and Trunks mentioned... created by Dr. Gero!"

"Cyborg?"

Vegeta frowned, puzzled by the unfamiliar word.

Kakarot and the others were clearly hiding something from him.

"Coming so soon?"

Sun Wukong suddenly realized, and his expression became extremely solemn.

He had heard about how terrible these enemies were from Future Trunks.

"I can't feel any energy at all... Just as Trunks said."

"Well then, let's leave this small talk behind."

Number 17 smiled slightly, a smile that was cold and dangerous.

In the next instant, only a ring of spreading dust remained where he had been, and his figure had vanished!
It's not teleportation, but pure, extreme speed!

Almost at the same instant, he appeared in front of Sun Wukong like a ghost, and with a seemingly casual chop, he stabbed Sun Wukong in the heart. The movement was clean and swift, without any unnecessary movements!
"So fast!"

Sun Wukong's pupils contracted sharply, and he dodged to the side at the last second.

But the wind pressure generated by that hand chop was still like a real sharp blade, cutting a bloody gash in his shoulder!
Number 17 missed his attack, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes, which quickly turned into greater interest: "Oh? You actually managed to dodge it? Looks like the database needs an update."

Before he finished speaking, his offensive began again!
His legs kicked out in rapid succession like lightning, each strike containing the terrifying power to shatter mountains, creating ear-piercing sonic booms!

Sun Wukong focused his attention and parried at high speed with both arms. The dull thuds of impact were continuous, each one making his arms numb and his body retreating backward.

Number 17's power far exceeded his expectations; it was practically inexhaustible!
(End of this chapter)