Battle Of Planets

Chapter 43: Struggling to fight!
Nancy watched the scene unfold, her hand pressed firmly against her chest, her eyes glued to the screen.Tyson found himself battling an opponent vastly superior to his capabilities. Even a Captain-ranked Ranger had been unable to defeat Coco, and here was Tyson—who lacked official recognition as a Sergeant-ranked Ranger—facing him. What chance did he have of victory?

Next to her, Mrs. Winters silently watched, her face inscrutable, but her tense grip on the armrest revealed the tumult of emotions inside her. The conflict unfolding in front of her brought back long-buried memories. She had witnessed this before: a White Ranger confronting an insurmountable challenge.

Her breath caught.

She could hope that history wouldn’t repeat itself, that her daughter wouldn’t experience the same suffering she had endured long ago. Nancy’s life had just started, yet fate was already drawing her into turmoil.

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”Don’t stand in my way,” Alex whispered,

Tyson chuckled, unbothered, as Blue, beneath his metallic helmet, rolled his eyes.

”Is he this way all the time?” Blue inquired.

”Yeah, always,” Tyson said with an amused smirk.

Blue’s eyes darted to Coco’s whip, his stance growing tense. ”So... what’s the plan?”

”Attack!” Alex shouted—not as an order, but almost as a realization, as though the solution had been clear all along. He had never been a team player.

”W-what?” Blue stammered, taken aback.

Still, he continued to follow.

For years, he battled these two, always in a cat-and-mouse showdown. He recognized them as reckless and unpredictable, and surprisingly—though he hated to admit it—there was an excitement in facing them.

But this was peculiar.

For the first time, he fought alongside them, and now, for the first time, he truly understood it.

A sense of powerlessness.

Coco’s whip cracked through the air like a serpent striking its prey, slamming into Alex with brutal precision. Alex instinctively raised his katana, attempting to deflect the attack, but the whip coiled around his blade, ensnaring it. Before he could react, Coco yanked hard, dragging Alex forward like a ragdoll.

Then came the punch—an explosive hit directly to Alex’s gut. The force nearly propelled him off the ground, causing him to skid backward. He barely managed to maintain his balance, his boots gouging the dirt as he fought to remain upright.

Tyson seized the opportunity, sprinting in from the left. Simultaneously, Blue jumped in from the right, his weapon pointed squarely at Coco.

However, Coco moved more quickly.

He contorted his body with seamless accuracy, seizing Tyson’s wrist mid-arc and employing his own force to redirect the blow—straight at Blue.

”Are you kidding me!?” Blue barely ducked in time as the blade sliced past his helmet.

Coco was not finished.

Blue squeezed the trigger, aiming a shot at Coco’s side, but with a quick flick of his wrist, Coco deflected the gun barrel, aiming it directly at Tyson instead.

A surge of plasma erupted outward.

”Hey!” Tyson shouted, jerking his body just in time to avoid being hit by the shot. His frustration boiled over, and in retaliation, he lashed out with a kick—only to miscalculate.

The kick landed right in Alex’s back as he approached them to attack Coco.

”What the hell, Tyson!?” Alex stumbled forward, turning around in anger.

Before he could recover, Coco yanked his whip back, snapping Alex’s katana from his grasp and sending it flying.

Blue growled in frustration and lunged again, but Coco dodged effortlessly, allowing Blue’s momentum to carry him forward—right into Alex.

The two warriors collided with significant force, producing a grunt as they made contact.

”You two are absolute idiots!” Alex hissed, shoving Blue away from him.

”And you’re the one who told us to attack!” Tyson retorted.

Coco stood still, whip in hand, shaking his head in dismay. ”Is this truly the best Elria can provide?”

”I said ATTACK HIM, not ME!” Alex snapped.

”Well, you jumped in front of me,” Blue retorted.

Alex clenched his jaw, still not looking at him. ”Do you really want to fight me at this moment?”

Blue let out a brief laugh. ”I’ve already done that—multiple times. And each time, I made you look like a loser.”

Alex tightened his grip on the blade.

”Guys, we have a fight to—” Tyson began, but a sudden crack resonated across the battlefield before he could finish.

Coco’s whip lashed through the air like lightning, hitting all three of them in an instant.

A shockwave erupted, propelling Alex, Tyson, and Blue in various directions, slamming into the ground with bone-rattling force.

Coco sighed, rolling his shoulders as he observed them struggling to rise.

”Pitiful,” he murmured.

Alex shoved aside the debris trapping him, muttering curses under his breath aimed at his teammates. His body ached, yet his frustration flared even more intensely.

Coco stood still in the distance, his posture relaxed yet almost mocking—as if he were waiting for them to approach him again.

Clenching his jaw, Alex sprang into action. He raced ahead, wielding his katana with the speed of a flicked stick.

The whip struck at him like a viper. He ducked, narrowly avoiding the blow, then used the ground to propel himself into the air. Another crack of the whip aimed for him while he was mid-air, but he twisted, dodging it by mere inches.

As he closed the distance, Alex swung his katana down with all his strength—only for Coco to raise his arm, blocking the blade with his forearm armor. Sparks flew from the impact.

Undeterred, Alex harnessed his momentum to unleash a flurry of strikes. His blade collided with Coco’s armor, some slashes connecting while Coco’s arm quickly deflected others.

Yet, despite his unyielding assault, it was evident—none of his attacks were making a significant impact. Coco hardly moved, his presence a steadfast force.

”I’ll wipe that smirk off your face, old man!” Alex snarled, narrowing the gap between them.

Coco’s whip lashed out, but it struggled to find its mark in close combat. Alex ducked, weaved, and pressed forward, forcing Coco to rely on his hands instead. He knew the whip would be ineffective as long as he stayed close, leaving Coco with fewer options.

”You know how to fight,” Coco admitted, deflecting Alex’s quick slashes with one hand, his tone carrying a hint of approval.

Alex’s strikes were fast and relentless, yet Coco barely seemed fazed. He thought about retracting his weapon, realizing it was of little use at this range. But then he remembered—he wasn’t just fighting one opponent.

Tyson and Blue were still out there; from what Coco had observed, they were far from a coordinated unit. Even Alex and Tyson, who should have had experience working together, showed cracks in their teamwork.

A smirk played on Coco’s lips beneath his helmet. If they couldn’t fight as one, he would use that weakness against them. Let them trip over one another—let them become their own enemies.

Blue stumbled to his feet. ”I’ll kill him,” he muttered, rage simmering beneath his voice.

His HUD flickered, showing a reserve level of 54 percent. His earlier battle with Tyson had used up a substantial amount of his energy, forcing him to deplete his own reserves to keep up. Yet, that stubborn fool still stood there as if nothing had happened.

Tyson lay on the ground nearby, his body visibly exhausted. His armor, battered and barely holding together, had dropped below 30 percent reserves. Blue had fought him before and knew his limits—Tyson was strong, but against Coco, with only 15 power points, he wouldn’t last long.

Even so, Tyson had stayed with them. That alone impressed Blue, though he wouldn’t say it out loud.

Taking a deep breath, he directed his gaze toward Alex, who was desperately standing his ground against Coco. Among the three of them, Alex was the only one able to keep Coco engaged, even if only for a few moments.

And Blue knew that those fleeting moments could be all they had.

Nano-particles surged into Blue’s hands, crackling with raw energy. Initially, they took the form of dual plasma guns, but with a quick motion, he merged them, shaping a single, massive cannon before him. The air around it hummed with unstable power as he gritted his teeth, locking onto his target from a distance.

”Tyson, get up and take your brother away from Coco!” Blue shouted.

Tyson’s eyes widened in recognition—he recognized this attack all too well. It was the same devastating beam that had almost drained his reserves before. Blue was about to unleash his ultimate move once more.

Tyson sprang to his feet and charged toward Alex and Coco without hesitation.

”Alex, on your left!” he shouted.

Alex had little time to react before Tyson tackled him to the ground.

”What the hell—?!” Alex began, but a deafening blast erupted beside them before he could finish.

The plasma ray hit Coco directly, sending a violent burst of sparks off his armor. The sheer force of the attack made him skid back a step or two, causing the ground beneath his feet to crack from the impact.

”I will blast you up” Blue shouted, releasing his beam.