Chapter 624: Arms Dealer - Swindle (Patreon)

Transformers Begin : Table of Content/Chapter List

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"Swindle? Are you the arms dealer, Swindle?" Sun Cheng suddenly looked at Excavator, and due to the violent shaking of his body, the medical spider treating his chest wound almost fell off.

Excavator, or rather, he should be called Swindle now, nodded. "That's right, I'm Swindle!"

Swindle had a somewhat proud expression. In the past, he had been a somewhat well-known figure in Skytiger Legion and even on Cybertron Planet.

"It's actually Swindle!" Sun Cheng had considered countless possibilities. After all, during the brutal Cybertron civil war lasting millions of years, the fallen Decepticons and Autobots were so numerous that no one could remember them all.

During the first civil war, the Skytiger Legion began resurrecting fallen Decepticons to fight for them. However, most of those revived were exceptionally powerful warriors. Swindle was an exception. If Frenzy's previous memories were correct, Swindle had been resurrected solely for Megatron's sadistic pleasure.

Now, Sun Cheng finally understood why Swindle harbored such resentment towards Starscream.

Allow me to introduce Swindle. He was an old-time Decepticon.

During the era of the Council of Primes, Swindle was a black-market arms dealer. Through various means and connections, he could acquire weapons and military hardware from nobles and even the military, then sell them at high prices to those who needed them.

Because of this skill, Swindle was personally invited to join the Decepticons as their quartermaster when the Skytiger Legion was established.

He didn't disappoint the trust placed in him. During the most chaotic period, Swindle had numerous channels to acquire the weapons Skytiger Legion needed, albeit at higher prices than the black market. He was also repeatedly found selling Decepticon weapons to Autobots.

As scientists like Shockwave and Starscream joined the Decepticon ranks, Swindle's status gradually declined. By the time of the first Cybertron civil war, he had been marginalized from the core figures of Skytiger Legion.

Coincidentally, during this time, Onslaught, an old-time commander of Skytiger Legion, was actively expanding his influence. With himself at the core, Onslaught formed a renowned team of combat vehicles. He served as the commander, and the members included Noisy, Explosive, and Cyclone.

Despite Swindle's lack of combat strength, his expertise in weapons made him valuable to Onslaught, who invited him to become the fifth member of the combat vehicle team.

Subsequently, Swindle's story became a part of Skytiger Legion's internal struggle history.

Due to his low combat strength, Swindle had an uncomfortable time in the combat vehicle team. His teammates looked down on his combat abilities and often used him as a punching bag.

This change in status fueled Swindle's anger. He attempted to prove to everyone that Megatron's belief in might made right was flawed, but everyone considered him an outlier, until he encountered the schemer, Starscream.

Like Swindle, Starscream was one of the early veterans who joined Skytiger Legion. Despite being a scientist, his position within Skytiger Legion rose steadily with the development of new technologies and weapons.

During this period, Starscream didn't become as blindly obsessed with arms dealing as Swindle did.

Whenever he developed the latest technology and weapons, as long as their stability was proven on unfortunate test subjects, Starscream would readily apply them to his own mechanical body.

Over time, Starscream transitioned from being a scientist to becoming a prominent figure within Skytiger Legion. His position was second only to Megatron, higher even than the low-profile Shockwave.

Like Swindle, Starscream was displeased with Megatron's "might makes right" philosophy and his ruthless and authoritarian rule over Skytiger Legion.

He had approached the commander of the combat vehicle team, Onslaught, hoping for his support in overthrowing Megatron. However, Onslaught didn't express his stance on the matter. Surprisingly, Starscream received support from Swindle.

This cunning and deceptive individual seemed to have fewer layers of deception than the shrewd Starscream.

With Starscream's covert assistance, Swindle quickly became one of the primary voices within Skytiger Legion opposing Megatron and his faction. He even attempted to plan an assassination against Megatron.

Naturally, the assassination attempt failed before it even started, resulting in the failure of a crucial figure, Soundwave, who happened to be the commander of Cassette Legion.

Under his leadership, Cassette Legion rapidly became the most important intelligence organization in the Decepticon ranks, without equal. As a loyal confidant of Megatron and an important member of the Megatron faction, Soundwave immediately sent his subordinates Rumble, Laserbeak, Ravage, and Frenzy to arrest Swindle when he discovered Swindle's plot to assassinate the leader.

Upon hearing the news, Megatron was furious. He immediately ordered the arrest and dismantling of all Decepticons implicated in Swindle's assassination attempt. They were not killed but imprisoned in the political prisoner jail of Skullburg Fortress, where they endured torment.

The cunning Starscream, naturally, escaped this purge.

For a long time, he did not concern himself with Swindle's fate.

It wasn't until the first Cybertron civil war that the Skytiger Legion Major fought fiercely on the frontlines against Sentinel Prime's army.

Sensing the ripe opportunity for rebellion, Starscream immediately dispatched forces to capture the political prisoner jail at Skullburg and rescued Swindle and others who had been imprisoned there, their personalities drastically changed by torture.

He provided Swindle with a new mechanical body in exchange for Swindle's agreement to join Starscream's rebel Legion.

A civil war erupted but was quickly suppressed by the combined efforts of Shockwave and Soundwave.

After the war, Megatron, still in need of Starscream's expertise, "mercifully" forgave him. However, the fate of Swindle and the other rebels who dared to resist Megatron a second time was sealed.

They were sent to Shockwave's laboratory, underwent memory manipulation, and had their thoughts set to be completely loyal warriors to Megatron. They then joined Skytiger Legion's major forces in numerous battles.

It wasn't until everyone had forgotten about these lowly Vehicons, who had died generations ago, that Shockwave, who was dedicated to researching Triple Changers and Combiners, transferred the majority of Vehicon production to Starscream.

That's when Excavator and the current Swindle came into existence.

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Next Chapter >>Chapter 625: Trade and Lockdown