Chapter 56: Departure

At the same moment Frieza issued his command, on a distant planet within the Northern Galaxy.

In a cold, damp rainforest.

"Captain Ginyu, we've just received an order from Lord Frieza, instructing us to immediately head to Planet Phydia in the southeastern quadrant!" a white-haired alien tapped his communicator and reported to Captain Ginyu beside him.

Captain Ginyu chewed on his meat, spitting out a fragment of bone with a "ptui". Chewing thoughtfully, he asked, "Planet Phydia? That seems like a low-level planet, hardly worth our personal attention! Jeice, contact Frieza Headquarters and find out why Lord Frieza would issue such a command."

"Yes, Captain!"

The white-haired alien named Jeice responded and promptly contacted Frieza Headquarters, quickly learning the reason.

"Captain, I've got the reason. It turns out Lord Frieza's trusted aide, Zarbon, was killed on Planet Phydia."

"Zarbon, the one who was so trusted by the Lord? That guy actually died?" Burter, the tall alien of the Ginyu Force known for his speed, was taken aback, his face displaying a hint of schadenfreude.

The Ginyu Force, Frieza’s elite squad, held little regard for Zarbon, who was always pointing fingers around Lord Frieza but lacked significant combat skills. Indeed, in the eyes of the Ginyu Force members, Zarbon was a minor character with negligible fighting prowess.

It was well remembered from the original saga on Planet Namek, how Vegeta, after defeating Zarbon in his transformed state, suffered greatly at the hands of Recoome, who ranked lower within the Ginyu Force, nearly losing his life.

This only underscored the Ginyu Force’s reputation as an elite team; each member was not to be underestimated.

"Hmm, interesting, Zarbon died on a low-level planet. Perhaps we might encounter something intriguing there as well!" Ginyu stroked his chin, standing up. His stocky, lavender body stood like a small mountain, exuding an intense sense of pressure.

The two black horns on his head gleamed brightly under the sunlight.

Guldo, with his four eyes, two large and two small, was still munching on food. Seeing the captain’s interest in Planet Phydia, he put down his food and asked, "So are we departing now?"

"It will take over two months to reach Planet Phydia from here at the fastest; I’m afraid we won’t make it in time," Jeice frowned.

"Who cares if we make it on time or not? It's Lord Frieza’s command after all; we just need to get there…" Burter shrugged nonchalantly. After all, these aliens had long lifespans and didn’t mind a month or two; their power was mostly accumulated over time.

As for avenging Zarbon, they couldn’t care less.

"Then let’s go, we can’t keep Lord Frieza waiting!"

All members of the Ginyu Force laughed heartily; under Lord Frieza's command, as long as they could freely commit their misdeeds, nothing else mattered much!

……

Southeastern quadrant of the Northern Galaxy, Planet Phydia.

Due to its proximity—merely a seven-day journey to the Planet Kulzu where Xavier's squad was currently deployed—Xavier's squad, nominally under Frieza's command, also held responsibilities here.

To prevent Frieza from deploying additional forces from nearby planets to Planet Phydia, Xavier ordered that the inhabitants of Planet Phydia complete all evacuation procedures within seven days and then immediately launch their spacecraft to leave the planet.

Time flowed swiftly, and the seven days passed in the blink of an eye.

The spacecraft was tuned and ready on schedule.

By then, the underground base had gathered all 157,000 inhabitants of Planet Phydia from across the planet. This number was extremely scarce, representing only a small fraction of the original population of Planet Phydia, but it was all that remained.

Watching the drastically reduced number of his people, Dokra’s heart bled, and his hatred for the Frieza Force deepened.

He looked over at the formidable Xavier, his expression solemn, then revitalized, he respectfully said, “Lord Xavier, all surviving inhabitants of Planet Phydia are assembled here. We can now depart from Planet Phydia.”

Dokra was immensely grateful to Lord Xavier for granting them seven days to rescue their people.

He knew well the value of a powerful being's time. For the sake of the Phydia people, Lord Xavier had spent these precious seven days here—a grand act of mercy! Without these seven days, even fewer of their people would have made it to the underground base.

“Hmm, then let's depart!”

Xavier waved his hand gently, his demeanor calm as he gazed at the massive silver spacecraft before him. The sight of its several kilometers-long hull was awe-inspiring, no matter how many times one saw it.

“Yes!” Dokra’s expression was grave.

At Xavier’s command, the underground base erupted with the urgent buzzing of alarms, and red warning lights began to spin, casting a red glow.

Upon hearing the alarms, all the inhabitants of Planet Phydia hurriedly moved, entering the spacecraft in an orderly fashion under the direction of the commanders.

Buzzing sounds vibrated through the green forest above the base, trembling slightly—likely the last remaining green forest on Planet Phydia.

As the continental plates endured one high-energy bombardment after another, the stable crustal structure of the planet was irreversibly deformed. Earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions occurred one after another, each more powerful than the last, transforming the entire planet into a veritable hell on Earth.

The forest began to undulate. Viewed from high above, the once flat forest started to bulge in the middle, then split open like a crack, with the ground on either side tilting upward, slowly opening like giant doors...

About ten minutes later, a gate over 20,000 meters long and 10,000 meters wide had opened. The ground shook, and the green forest could no longer withstand the pull of gravity and slid to the sides, revealing the silvery-white alloy structure of the door leaves.

Then, a booming roar ensued!

The sound of engines starting up, enormous flames burst upward from the underground base, and a giant silver-gray spacecraft slowly rose into the sky. It accelerated rapidly and, in the blink of an eye, had left the atmosphere and entered outer space.

Whirr, whirr!

On the silvery celestial body, the two perpendicular space corridors finally began to twist and deform. Intense explosions at the junctions caused the space corridors, representing the pinnacle of Planet Phydia’s technological achievements, to break into several sections. Some segments fell back through the atmosphere, others vanished into the starry sky, and some floated lonely in orbit...

It was as if they were witnessing the slow departure of Planet Phydia’s brilliant civilization.

"Alright, Dokra, find an uninhabited planet to resupply next, then put all your efforts into researching the gravity room. I hope to see your results soon."

"Yes, Lord Xavier, we will do our utmost!" Dokra's body tensed as he responded loudly.

The history of Planet Phydia had become the past. From now on, they would follow Lord Xavier in their development. Dokra believed that under Lord Xavier’s leadership, the Phydia civilization could indeed rise anew.