Chapter 678: New Iron Fortress City (Patreon)

Transformers Begin : Table of Content/Chapter List

XXX-----XXX-----XXX-----XXX

Within the territory of Ethiopia, Africa.

Optimus Prime, guided by Ironhide and others, walked through a dry river valley.

"Leader, this is one of the four best locations we've chosen for the new Iron Fortress City, and it's the one we consider most suitable!"

"This place is in the East African Rift Valley, and the underground volcanoes can provide us with abundant geothermal resources. I consulted with Jack, and he can manufacture the most advanced geothermal power generation equipment for us..."

"The Rift Zone is not suitable for human habitation, so apart from occasional human tourists, there are only a few small tribes with populations not exceeding a thousand within a radius of two hundred kilometers. Shake was accidentally discovered by one of these human tribes before and was unexpectedly revered as a tribal deity..."

"Ethiopia is close to our temporary base in Solia, with a straight-line distance of less than five hundred kilometers. According to the information we obtained from the human internet, although Ethiopia is one of the least economically developed countries on Earth, it is one of the richest in resources in Africa..."

"Crane and the others spent several days conducting extensive surveys in the vicinity. They believe that we can completely establish a new Iron Fortress in this dry river valley. The newly diverted river valley is very close, and we can build a hydroelectric power station there to provide us with energy..."

Optimus Prime listened attentively to Ironhide's explanation, occasionally glancing at his gestures as they moved through the dry river valley.

The new Iron Fortress City on Earth was undoubtedly far from matching the scale of the Autobots' former capital during the Council of Primes era.

This was inevitable because the Iron Fortress City had been the capital of the Cybertronians for millions of years.

Moreover, Cybertron Planet was a massive metal planet neighboring Earth in size, with a volume over eight hundred times that of Earth.

The former Iron Fortress City covered an astonishing five hundred thousand square kilometers, making it the largest city on Cybertron Planet, even larger than the total area of most countries on Earth.

Of course, Optimus Prime had never harbored the illusion that the new Iron Fortress City could compare to the former capital, Iron Fortress.

With the current strength of the Autobots, it would take their full cooperation and every bit of their heritage to possibly recreate the scale and grandeur of the old Iron Fortress.

Unfortunately, the Autobots were no longer the same as before.

The failure of the Civil War had exacerbated internal divisions among the Autobots. The old noble class gradually seized control of the majority of power within the Autobot camp through the Autobots parliament. Even a young leader like him had been forced to leave, illustrating the extent of their dominance.

Optimus Prime's previous compromises did not mean he accepted the old nobility and willingly became their puppet leader.

So, the contradictions between the two sides were irreconcilable, and it seemed unlikely that the Autobots would ever unite again.

The usually irritable Ironhide, unusually patient, provided a detailed introduction to Optimus Prime.

Seeing that Optimus Prime was just looking and not speaking, he scratched his head and looked at Arcee, who stood beside Optimus Prime.

Arcee nodded and asked gently, "Are you still worried about Bumblebee?"

Optimus Prime remained silent for a moment before nodding. "Yes."

It had been over a week since the battle on Trinidad Island had ended.

Despite receiving information from Sun Cheng about his teacher, Sentinel Prime's spaceship crashing on the moon, the Autobots didn't fully trust him. Upon returning, Optimus Prime dispatched his most trusted operative, Bumblebee, to the moon. The reason for his current preoccupation was because Sun Cheng's information revealed that the Decepticons had established a base on the moon.

This base was of utmost importance to both the Autobots and Decepticons. It could serve as a Decepticon military camp and also as a center for refining and mining resources. Considering another senior member of the Skytiger Legion, Starscream, was likely overseeing this Decepticon base on the moon, Optimus Prime was well aware of the risks involved in this reconnaissance mission. He would have preferred to send the experienced Prowl if he could. However, Prowl had gone missing a month ago while scouting in Jordan, and his whereabouts remained unknown. The Autobots hadn't found his body, leaving them uncertain if Prowl had fallen victim to the Decepticons or had been captured.

"If Frenzy's information is accurate, then the moon is likely firmly under Decepticon control by now... Bumblebee's mission to scout there is indeed very dangerous," Optimus Prime voiced his concerns. He then turned to Ironhide with a hint of remorse and said, "Ironhide, you and the others have worked hard in recent times. I am very satisfied with this location."

Ironhide nodded in acknowledgment. "Leader, shall we visit the other three locations first? Only after you make a decision can we begin constructing the new Iron Fortress City."

"No need to visit the other three locations. After you provided me with the geographical coordinates earlier, I checked nearby satellite maps through the human internet. It's true that this is the most suitable location," replied Optimus Prime.

Although Optimus Prime had been somewhat distracted earlier, he had paid attention to Ironhide's explanation. As Ironhide had described, this dry river valley in the Rift Zone region was indeed impressive. It was approximately eleven kilometers wide and over a thousand meters deep, with rugged cliffs on both sides. The Autobots could construct the main structures of the new Iron Fortress City at the valley's bottom and establish institutions like research facilities that needed to be kept secret from potential Decepticon incursions within the nearby solid mountain walls. On Cybertron Planet, many Decepticon and Autobot bases were built in a similar manner. The only difference was that Cybertron was a metallic planet, and its mountain peaks were far harder than those on Earth.

Upon hearing this, Ironhide and the others were elated. They eagerly saluted Optimus Prime and said, "Understood, Leader! I will immediately convey your orders and prepare to send personnel from our temporary base to expedite the construction of our new Iron Fortress City!"

While Earth couldn't compare to Cybertron Planet during its peak, it was undeniably more vibrant than the dying planet it had become. Optimus Prime's willingness to establish a New Home for them on Earth was met with great joy by the majority of Autobots, including Ironhide.

[Read at www.patreon.com/shanefreak, without ads and support the work.]

XXX-----XXX-----XXX-----XXX

Next Chapter >>Chapter 679: The Ark