Chapter 77: Frieza's Hidden Card Finally Revealed!

Sai, Bonyu, and Mepple attacked Frieza as soon as they arrived. Appule gripped Frieza by the face, electrocuting him with all of his power while Frieza's fist was impaled through his torso. As soon as Frieza sensed their presence behind him, he attempted to toss Appule at them with a violent throw, but the electricity was a lot more annoying than Frieza thought. Even he felt some effects from being blasted with so much lightning.

Appule's lightning attack gave the others an opportunity to land a blow of their own directly. Mepple was the fastest, landing a pink kick directly at Frieza's face. Her foot was coated in a gooey pink energy that stuck directly onto Frieza's skin even after she flipped away after landing her attack. Bonyu was the second fastest, a double-handed downward spike on top of Frieza's skull. And Sai was the clean-up.

Sai's greatsword came at incredible speeds, fully intending to bisect the former Emperor of the Universe at the waist. Mere inches away from making contact with Frieza's waist, Frieza formed a psychic barrier around his body. The Saibaman's sword effortlessly slashed through it, but it still wasn't enough as Frieza screamed and telekinetically pushed himself away. Mepple grinned as she wagged her finger. It lit up with a pink aura that sped towards Frieza's retreating figure, showing that it was connected to the sticky energy she left with her first attack.

With a slight tug, the fully contracted gum-like energy pulled Frieza toward Mepple and Sai. Bonyu was feeding Appule a senzu bean. The healing technique they learned from the Yardratians was amazing, but it wasn't healing a hole in someone's chest amazing. "Thank you, Commander Bonyu." Appule got back to his feet with a surge of electricity zapping around his body.

"Save the thanks for later. We need to survive this first. Spirit Fission is the plan." Bonyu relayed.

"Understood." Appule nodded.

"What is this stuff?!" Frieza yelled in annoyance, attempting to tear the strange substance from his face.

"Mepple's Gummy Surprise! This technique is what I've been training with after ruling over Earth!" Mepple's hands glowed pink as Frieza neared them.

"Only that?" Sai was confused as he sheathed his sword.

"It's a lot more impressive than big sword goes cut, okay?! It has the properties of both gum and rubber!" Mepple angrily retorted.

"Enough arguing. Get ready." Bonyu appeared next to them with Appule.

In a synchronized display of unity, Mepple, Bonyu, Appule, and Sai surged forward. Mepple, fueled by momentary turnaround, initiated the assault with a flurry of rapid gummy punches. Her fists moved like a blur, delivering a barrage of blows that aimed to land as many attacks as possible. The rhythmic thud of her strikes echoed through the air.

Sai followed suit, delivering powerful and calculated hits. Each swing of the fists carried a seismic weight as he aimed to carve through the mutant's defenses with sheer force. Bonyu targeted critical areas with deadly strikes. Frieza's neck, heart, eyes, and other important points. Appule, his body charged with electricity, launched into a lightning-fast assault. His movements blurred as he darted around the mutant, delivering strikes with unparalleled speed. The crackling sound of electricity accompanied each blow, along with a paralyzing effect.

Together, the Crusher Force members orchestrated a relentless and diverse assault, creating a show of unparalleled teamwork and strategy. However, Frieza got fed up being overwhelmed by these insects he considered nothing more than bugs since the start of the battle. With an enraged scream, he telekinetically controlled the bodies of all of the Crusher Force and slammed them into the ground. 

As Frieza relentlessly slammed the members of the Crusher Force into the cold, hard ground, the impact reverberated through their bodies, both physically and emotionally. Each collision with the ground sends shockwaves of pain and disorientation, leaving the fighters struggling to maintain their composure. Mepple, usually full of sass and energy, felt the weight of each impact. Her fighting spirit seemed to waver as the slamming continued. Sai, the evolved Saibaman, gritted his teeth with each collision. His greatsword clattered to the ground with each blow. 

Appule felt his energy drain more acutely with every slam. The crackling aura around him flickered. Bonyu didn't attempt to catch herself, as she knew trying to use her hands to stop her from landing on the ground would merely break her arms.

"That felt a lot softer than anything we've been hit by today…" Mepple groaned.

"It's working…" Bonyu stated.

"We might actually survive this…" Appule couldn't believe the words coming out of his mouth.

"He's tiring out. We must attack." Sai pushed himself off of the ground.

His fist clashed with Frieza's kick. Sai was sent sliding back in the aftermath, but he couldn't help but grin. An attack like that at the start of the fight would've been enough to cleanly break all of the bones in his fist, but now… Nothing but a little ache.

"For the reward of a painless death, explain what you've done to me. Immediately." Frieza crossed his arms as he glared at the four. His strength wasn't the same as it was before. He wasn't stupid enough to believe these ants were strong enough to tire him out to this extent. Annoy him? Certainly. Exhaust him? Never.

"..." They stayed quiet, refusing to even look up.

Captain Turles has long beaten into them that information was power. Pointlessly revealing your technique to your opponent was a one-way trip to the afterlife. They should always allow their opponent to divulge their techniques if given the chance, but never the opposite, even if it looked like they were about to win. There was never a reason to give information to the enemy freely.

"This reward can only be given to one of you. I'd advise you to take it while I'm still being merciful." Frieza graciously offered.

The Crusher Force all pressed their fingers to their foreheads. After fighting with them, Frieza already knew what to expect by that gesture. Just when their bodies' vanished, he was already releasing an explosive wave around his body. An explosive wave that would vaporize them into nothingness.

"Tricked ya." Mepple giggled.

The Crusher Force only acted like they were going to teleport. It was a feint, plain and simple. An effective one for when an enemy already has knowledge of the Instant Transmission technique. While Frieza was glaring at them with enough hate to seemingly burn a hole through the planet, the Crusher Force was charging up with the energy donated to them by Frieza.

"Sticky Grenades!" Mepple's stance was wide as she rapidly fired multiple continuous pink gummy ki blasts toward Frieza.

"Calamity Ball!" A Crusher Ball filled with multiple smaller Crusher Balls inside formed above Bonyu's palm as she stood as if she was about to throw an incredible pitch.

"Certain-Kill Lightning." Appule blasted a dangerous bolt of lightning from his hand into the sky. The lightning, seemingly with a mind of its own, changed directions and sped toward Frieza's face. 

A purposeful effect that was achieved by him utilizing the natural science behind lightning. When Appule was electrocuting Frieza's face earlier while he was being impaled, he applied a positive charge to him. Certain-Kill Lightning was attracted to positive charge as a fully negative charge technique. This results in a powerful lightning attack that can rend the air and cannot fail to hit!

"Planet-cleaving Slash." Sai let off a flying sword slash, empowered with most of his energy.

An enormous radius of smoke engulfed Frieza as he screamed. Whether that was from pain or his patience reaching its limit, only he knew. The Crusher Force wasn't naive enough to assume that Frieza was dead after their combined attack. They stood back to back while relying on their senses and energy-sensing ability. Each one downed a senzu bean to recover their energy and health.

When the smoke cleared, oh and behold, Frieza was far from the dead state they'd like him to be. He glared at them with enough intensity they could feel it in their bones. "You irritating ants are going to suffer horribly before you can taste the sweet release of death! I will make sure of that no matter what!" Frieza was bleeding in multiple places, very sticky, and partially paralyzed, but there was no loss of limbs or any critical injuries observed.

"I was saving this for that monkey who believes his subordinates are enough to handle me, but I made a mistake. I should've gone all out to kill you all right away instead of wasting time! Behold! The magnificence of the true ruler of the universe!" Frieza's power began to rapidly ascend—a golden aura formed around his body.

"He was holding back on us…?" Mepple thought they were about to win!

"Was this the secret test you mentioned, Turles?" Bonyu turned her gaze toward Turles, who had a faint smile on his face since the beginning of this battle.

"Ah." Appule believed he understood. "We were to draw out the hidden weapon that gave Lord Frieza the confidence to usurp the Captain."

"Hey, Captain… Can we, uh, tag out now… He's getting very, very strong now…" Mepple shivered from the immense power radiating from the screaming Frieza.

Mepple's question was answered with a faint smile from Turles. "Captain, you're not trying to kill us, are you?" Mepple hesitantly asked. "..." Even Bonyu wasn't sure what Turles's objective was here. If it was, as Appule said, it should be time for him to step in personally. However, she wasn't completely sure. Despite being by his side for all these years and even birthing four of his children, not even she was completely sure of everything that went on inside of his head.

Sai confidently wielded his blade, ready to take on Frieza, no matter the increase in his strength. Appule was just as terrified as Mepple, but he was a member of the Crusher Force, damn it… He's come too far to die now. And he trusted that the Captain wouldn't just let them die here. He, too, prepared himself to take on this next form of Frieza. Bonyu gazed toward the transforming Frost Demon, resignation in her eyes. If she were to die here, she wouldn't have too many regrets. She has accomplished a lot in her life. 99% of the women in the universe wouldn't ever achieve what she has in life.

"This sucks..." Mepple whined as a blinding golden light radiated from Frieza's figure.

"Congratulations on being the first to witness greatness," Frieza declared, performing a regal pose of his own. "I know gold's a bit gauche, but I wanted to ensure you grasp my new position atop the pecking order. And for the sake of your feeble minds, let's keep the name simple as well. We'll call this 'Golden Frieza.' Of course, I hope you realize this iteration has far more to it than a shimmering new facade. Now die."

An imperceptible Death Beam fired from Frieza's finger as the words left his lips. The Death Beam split into five and directly pierced into the chests of four of the Crusher Force, leaving them incapacitated in an instant. Turles couldn't help but laugh as he backhanded the beam, deflecting it into the depths of outer space.

"I suppose you've captured some of my interest now, Frieza." Turles stared into Frieza's eyes yet still made no attempt to step in himself.