Chapter 668: Cassette Legion: Civil War (Part 2) (Patreon)
Content
Transformers Begin : Table of Content/Chapter List
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Several months ago, at the North Dovinsk military port, Sun Cheng had a brief encounter with Soundwave.
During that encounter, he gained a rough understanding of Soundwave's combat abilities.
Soundwave, as a senior commander, was as inept in combat as the rumors suggested. His actual combat prowess was not significantly different from Sun Cheng's mechanically enhanced body, which had undergone numerous combat optimizations.
Previously, Starscream had sent several waves of Decepticons to test Sun Cheng, and before Swindle awakened, he had been playing both sides.
It was likely that Starscream had gathered and reported information about Sun Cheng, so he was well aware of his strength. This was one of the reasons Starscream was willing to use dozens of Energon Cubes to entice Sun Cheng into dealing with Soundwave.
"Boom!"
A projectile hit Sun Cheng's Ship-slicing Blade, causing him to stagger back several steps. It was Soundwave's sonic cannon, but its power was insufficient to destroy Sun Cheng's specially designed Ship-slicing Blade.
"You haven't improved at all since the last time we crossed paths," Sun Cheng taunted, as he activated a set of missile launchers that emerged from his back, mounted on his shoulders. With a mental command, four small combat missiles loaded with high explosives shot out, homing in on Soundwave, who was now in a precarious position.
At the same time, Sun Cheng summoned his Plasma Cannon and fired three shots at Soundwave before rushing in with his Ship-slicing Blade in hand.
Sun Cheng and Soundwave's combat abilities were evenly matched, meaning that unless they fought to the death, neither of them could defeat the other.
Neither Sun Cheng nor Soundwave had any intention of killing each other here. Despite the intense battle, they both harbored a sense of caution, and it was all for show.
"Frenzy, how dare you betray me, betray Megatron..."
"Save it. The Megatron you pledged loyalty to probably only has a head left now."
"So, it was Starscream who leaked the secret... What conspiracy are you all plotting behind my back? Revolt?"
"Not every Decepticon is a war fanatic like you. We're tired; we just want to find a peaceful planet and start anew."
Sun Cheng had noticed long ago that whether Decepticons or Autobots, many of them liked to engage in verbal sparring during battles. He used to find it incomprehensible until he faced Soundwave, whose combat abilities were similar to his own, and realized that when there was no clear advantage in physical combat, talking was not surprising.
The battle between Sun Cheng and Soundwave reached a stalemate, but the fights between other Decepticons were far more intense and exciting.
Ravage and Swindle engaged in the most traditional Decepticon combat style—close-quarters combat, using their agility to their advantage. Ravage had inflicted numerous wounds on Swindle, driving him to a frenzied state. Fortunately, in the six months since Starscream had assigned him to Sun Cheng's side, Swindle had managed to acquire some valuable items, and although he was on the losing end, he had abandoned his initial plan to eliminate Ravage first.
Lazerbeak and Thunder had switched opponents, with Thunder now facing off against Lazerbeak. Thunder's combat abilities were top-notch among the senior warriors, and he was one of the most formidable. His prototype had been Blackout, one of the most famous Decepticon warriors in the past. Despite having lost many of his memories after Sun Cheng's awakening, combat experience could be regained through practice. Over the past few months, Thunder had participated in numerous real combat scenarios, in addition to his training battles with Forerunner, Swindle, and Sun Cheng.
Now, he could almost fully unleash the capabilities of this mechanical body.
Dealing with a Lazerbeak was a relatively easy task for Thunder. However, due to the mission's requirements, he hadn't taken lethal action against Lazerbeak and instead actively joined the battle between Forerunner and the Terrorcons.
This transformed the original matchup of Thunder vs. Lazerbeak and Forerunner vs. Terrorcons into Thunder and Forerunner teaming up against Lazerbeak and the Terrorcons.
Here, on Terindad Island, the battle raged fiercest.
Lazerbeak swooped down low, unleashing a barrage of bullets from his machine guns towards Thunder and Forerunner below. Although the splattering sparks were irritating, they didn't inflict much damage.
The Terrorcons were among Starscream's most outstanding Vehicons, and all three Decepticons possessed combat abilities on par with senior warriors. They also had excellent teamwork. During the Cybertron Civil War, many Autobot warriors had fallen to the combination of these cunning Decepticons.
However, when facing Thunder and Forerunner individually, they found themselves struggling a bit.
Fortunately, Thunder and Forerunner had trained together extensively to combat Sun Cheng, and they had experience working together. Moreover, their strength surpassed that of the Terrorcons.
During the battle, Forerunner and Thunder quickly gained the upper hand.
After exchanging a knowing glance, Thunder took the initiative and, exploiting a moment when Hightower was distracted by Forerunner's hit to his thigh, his hand transformed into a Plasma Cannon, which he aimed at Hightower's head and fired.
"Boom!"
The energy projectile hit precisely, and the incapacitated Hightower's head was blown into scattered metal fragments.
With Hightower's demise, the Terrorcons suffered their first casualty in the battle.
"Nice job!" Sun Cheng commended them over the communication channel. While he and Soundwave were both cautious and the battle between them was intense, they weren't fighting to the death. So, he could divert his attention to other battlefronts.
Forerunner and Thunder understood that this was a signal to escalate the battle.
Thunder intercepted a sneak attack from Crankcase's Nail Hammer and engaged in combat with him and Lazerbeak.
Meanwhile, Forerunner targeted Overload. He rushed forward, grabbing a round, melon-shaped object and striking it against the short-handled axe that was attached to Overload's mechanical body.
Then, Forerunner swiftly retreated. Simultaneously, he and Thunder activated their internal anti-electromagnetic interference systems.
A violent electromagnetic wave quickly erupted—it was a pulse grenade. Several months ago, during the battle at North Dovinsk, even Soundwave had suffered a setback from one of these without proper precautions.
Overload emitted thick white smoke from his body and twitched as he collapsed on the ground, clearly suffering severe damage to his electronic components.
These pulse grenades had been improved to the third generation, no longer possessing the enormous radius of radiation that could reach dozens of meters, but the radius had been reduced to within a dozen meters or so. However, the improved version unleashed even more terrifying electromagnetic radiation in an instant.
Overload had not been cautious and had suffered the explosion, rendering him powerless and vulnerable on the ground.
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