Chapter 602: Lord Fallen's Arrival (Patreon)
Content
Transformers Begin : Table of Content/Chapter List
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The massive battle between the Autobots and Decepticons on the Sinai Peninsula, which had attracted countless observers, had taken place not long ago.
One of those observers was Sun Cheng. After two days and three nights of non-stop travel with his new subordinate, Hynix, they had finally crossed thousands of miles to reach the Mediterranean Sea.
Their ability to make this journey safely was largely due to Hynix being modified as a Decepticon. Once they entered sensitive waters, they temporarily submerged and activated optical stealth technology.
Without this, it would have been impossible to travel so smoothly from the Arctic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea, an inland sea heavily monitored by the world.
When unmanned reconnaissance drones transmitted images taken over the Sinai Peninsula to Sun Cheng, he was even more alarmed than the Autobots.
"Optimus Prime is dead?"
Without Optimus Prime, how would the Autobots resist the Skytiger Legion? And what about the possibility of reprisals against him?
If they managed to obtain the Leadership Module again, Earth would be in grave danger.
"Could a Leader be killed so easily?"
Forerunner had joined Sun Cheng and was equally shocked by the news. The Decepticons' hierarchical thinking was deeply ingrained, and even though Megatron was now dead, not many Decepticons dared to question his strength.
After all, when Megatron was surrounded, it was by Autobot Leader Optimus Prime and a group of Autobot warriors, and it was ultimately the Sacred artifact, the All Spark, that had taken his life.
However, when it came to Optimus Prime, his death this time seemed a bit too humiliating. He had been taken down by Starscream's plan, accompanied by a few elite and advanced warriors, at the cost of the lives of hundreds of low-ranking Decepticons.
Although Sun Cheng and the others knew that Optimus Prime was somewhat inferior in strength compared to Megatron, even a weakened Optimus Prime was still a Leader-level figure. Throughout the entire Cybertron Planet, the number of Leader-level warriors, when combined with both Autobots and Decepticons, was still in single digits in the later stages of the civil war.
Forerunner's question gradually calmed Sun Cheng down. Optimus Prime was dead, and panicking wouldn't change that fact.
Instead, Starscream's assassination mission against Optimus Prime had given him a valuable lesson. The tactic of overwhelming numbers, although one of the oldest strategies since the dawn of civilization, was also the simplest and least sophisticated.
It could be applied in industry and production, as well as on the battlefield. Sun Cheng was not unfamiliar with it because of the shortage of his Decepticon forces. He had ordered Base Two to produce large quantities of robots from an early stage to make up for the deficiency.
Previously, he had indeed used robots and employed swarm tactics to confront the Decepticons sent by Starscream, resulting in nearly an eight-to-one casualty ratio before dealing with those subpar Decepticons.
"Can swarm tactics be used against elite warriors?" Sun Cheng pondered but concluded, "Unfortunately, it doesn't provide much reference."
"Starscream's cultivated cannon fodder simply served as a distraction against ordinary Autobot warriors. The ones who truly held back Ironhide, Bumblebee, and Sideswipe were Barricade, Hercules, and the Terrorcons."
"If Starscream hadn't suddenly introduced a Triple Changer, he could have barely coordinated with them to engage Optimus Prime. It's hard to predict the outcome of this battle."
Base Two, if it also possessed the capability to cultivate Decepticon cannon fodder warriors like Starscream, with Sun Cheng's current power, conquering not just South America but even facing the United States head-on would be entirely feasible.
The more he analyzed, the more Sun Cheng felt that Starscream had taken a great risk this time. Killing Optimus Prime had involved a lot of luck.
But no matter how great the risk, if it paid off, everything would be worth it.
Hundreds of Decepticon cannon fodder warriors were nothing. If Starscream received resources replenishment, he could multiply their numbers in a very short time.
Trencher Team and the Terrorcons were the same. They were the two most important replica squads in Starscream's hands. The former could form Devastator, while the latter were all ruthless and belligerent, possessing the strength of advanced warriors.
Although the cultivation of Digger Tiger and the Terrorcons consumed more resources than ordinary Decepticons, Starscream was more than willing to do it, as they were his trump cards.
"The Leadership Module is basically out of our reach now," Sun Cheng concluded. With Optimus Prime gone, the Autobots on Earth were no longer a significant threat.
Ironhide, a hot-tempered brute, had shown that in his previous actions. Unless Sky Lynx or Hot Rod, the two senior Autobot commanders, arrived quickly, Sun Cheng had little hope for the Autobots on Earth.
"Should we give up on Egypt as well?" Forerunner asked, prompting another moment of silence from Sun Cheng.
After a while, he shook his head slowly and said, "Regardless of success or failure, let's give it a try."
A long time ago, they had discovered a large number of Decepticons within the borders of Egypt, moving around a colossal pyramid.
Combining this with the information Sun Cheng had obtained from the All Spark fragment and Skyfire's memories, he suspected that the superweapon mentioned by Skyfire, hidden on Earth to destroy the sun and create a second All Spark, was concealed within that pyramid.
With so many eyes on the Leadership Module, and with the Primus keeping its whereabouts a secret through unknown means, Sun Cheng had given up hope of finding it a long time ago. Now, after Optimus Prime's death, he had also lost hope for the weapon created by Lord Fallen hidden within Egypt's borders.
But letting go completely was not something he was willing to do. Sun Cheng had prepared for a long time around the pyramid that possibly concealed the superweapon. Without giving it a try, he wouldn't be satisfied.
Meanwhile, on another front, the situation had gradually spun out of control due to Optimus Prime's death.
Upon confirming the threat to himself from Optimus Prime's death, Lord Fallen couldn't sit idly by any longer.
Half a day later, with another wave of meteor showers, Lord Fallen and over a dozen Decepticons descended from the moon base to Earth. Their landing site was in the Petra Mountains within Jordan, and their intentions were clear.
However, Lord Fallen, who had achieved his grand goal, couldn't get Optimus Prime's death out of his mind. Unbeknownst to him, almost simultaneously with his arrival in the Petra Mountains, a group of vehicles of various makes and models, all in a sorry state, also entered the Petra Mountains.
Previously, in order to hunt down Optimus Prime, Starscream had taken almost all of the Decepticons stationed in Jordan. As a result, until this ragtag convoy managed to reach the vicinity of the Nameless Temple, they had faced little resistance.
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