Chapter 751: Ironhide (Patreon)

Transformers Begin : Table of Content/Chapter List

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A segment of the Great Rift Valley, the new Iron Fortress City.

After attending the funeral of his former comrades, Ironhide had just returned to his residence when he encountered Claudia.

She was his girlfriend, a female Autobot named Claudia. Claudia sensed the restlessness in the fearless warrior's heart at this moment and kindly advised, "Life, death, and aging are universal laws of the cosmos, Captain. Try to look at it from a different perspective."

Ironhide silently took out a cigar, lit it, and began to puff away.

He remained silent for a while before shaking his head, saying, "During the war, I witnessed too many farewells and deaths, Lya. Death isn't what's terrifying; it's the human heart."

Lya was Claudia's nickname, a term of endearment that only the Arcee triplets or her boyfriend, Ironhide, used.

Naturally, female Autobots had a significant gap in mechanical body strength and combat abilities compared to their male counterparts. However, the Creator was fair; they often possessed exceptional rationality and intelligence, surpassing even the male riders.

The Arcee triplets excelled either as formidable warriors or as advanced engineers and scientists, demonstrating their exceptional intelligence.

Claudia sensed that Ironhide had something on his mind; he was not skilled at concealing his thoughts.

She pondered for a moment about his recent changes.

"Are you worried about the leader?"

Her question was deliberately vague, not specifying whether she meant Optimus Prime or Sentinel Prime.

In fact, after Optimus Prime and the others successfully rescued the former Autobot leader, Sentinel Prime, from the moon, Ratchet had examined his body and confirmed that Sentinel Prime had fallen into a deep coma due to severe injuries and a severe depletion of energy within his spark. As a result, the atmosphere within the new Iron Fortress City had indeed become somewhat delicate in recent days.

Sentinel Prime was the king of Primus, the highest commander of the entire Cybertron Planet during the era of the Council of Primes. After Megatron created the Decepticons and sparked the Civil War, he immediately established the Autobot faction and sheltered the majority of civilians.

Although the Autobots suffered heavy losses and lost all territories on Cybertron Planet during the first and second Civil Wars, Sentinel Prime, who had ruled the Autobots for millions of years, still had an extraordinary appeal within the Autobot ranks. His reappearance had put Optimus Prime, a young leader who had only taken office for a little over a century and had been unfairly blamed for the failure of the Civil War by the Autobot parliament, in an awkward position.

Although most of the Autobots who had come to Earth to join Optimus Prime were inclined towards him, there were undoubtedly some admirers of Sentinel Prime. At least in the recent days within the new Iron Fortress City, there had been some unfavorable rumors circulating about Optimus Prime.

Ironhide nodded, acknowledging Claudia's insight. He was a staunch supporter of Optimus Prime and had followed him into battle since the time when Optimus Prime was merely a senior commander. Initially, like many Hawk Faction Autobots, he had been dissatisfied with the young Optimus Prime's overly gentle and kind-hearted nature, believing that his weakness would hinder him from carrying heavy responsibilities. However, as time passed and their interactions grew, Ironhide had been gradually influenced by Optimus Prime. His temper had been even more volatile back then, causing a fair share of trouble. But now, he had changed significantly.

Sentinel Prime, as a high-ranking ruler and a former Superior General, was destined never to truly stand with the common people.

During his reign over the Autobots for millions of years, in his relentless pursuit of concentrating Autobot forces to combat the powerful Decepticons, Sentinel Prime resorted to acts even more ruthless than the Decepticons themselves.

To enforce civilian servitude, he ordered the execution of many civilians who resisted him.

To centralize resources, a large number of civilian and noble assets were forcibly requisitioned.

Whenever the war with the Decepticons reached a stalemate, many Autobot civilians could not access enough energy and metal to meet their basic needs.

Ironhide acknowledged Sentinel Prime's strength and did not deny the former leader's greatness. However, he treated Autobots as ruthlessly as he did the Decepticons. At least in Ironhide's view, Optimus Prime was more suitable to lead the Autobots than Sentinel Prime.

Claudia fell silent for a moment before offering reassurance, "We shouldn't worry about such matters. Trust the leader; he will handle everything."

The Arcee triplets were all staunch followers of Optimus Prime, and they clearly hoped that this young leader would continue to lead the Autobots.

Ironhide reluctantly nodded and took a few puffs of his cigar, hesitating to speak.

Claudia quickly noticed his hesitation, glanced around, and then lowered her voice as she asked, "Has something happened on the Moon? Since you all returned, I've noticed that many people have been acting strangely. Even Ratchet is different, and when I asked him, he wouldn't say anything."

Looking back on the battle that had occurred on the far side of the Moon, many Autobots who had participated in it had sensed that something was amiss. Ironhide was just one of them, and it was perfectly normal for other Autobots to have noticed something strange.

Ironhide swept his gaze around to ensure there was no one nearby before speaking in a deliberately lowered voice, "I think everyone has realized that something is amiss, but because of our leader's influence, no one has spoken up about it yet."

After some thought, Claudia was no stranger to Ironhide, and her intuition was more refined than his. Ironhide proceeded to detail the events that had transpired on the Moon to her.

Upon hearing his account, the perceptive female warrior began to see the oddities as well.

"The Decepticons didn't pursue you? Could it be that they intentionally allowed you to find the crashed spaceship?"

"The Solar System is over four light-years away from our Cybertron Planet. We all witnessed Superior General's spaceship being destroyed as the war was ending. How did he traverse this four-light-year distance to appear on the Moon? The Decepticons haven't discovered him yet?"

"Captain, I believe you need to personally speak to the leader about this. Something is amiss, and it's highly likely to be a Decepticon conspiracy."

Ironhide had been pondering this matter in recent days, and Claudia's persuasion had clearly solidified his thoughts. He extinguished his cigar and nodded resolutely.

"I understand, Lya. You go back for now. I'll go see the leader right away and share all our findings and concerns with him."

Claudia didn't immediately agree; instead, she held Ironhide, who was about to leave, and advised, "Don't rush into it. I think you should first discuss your observations and concerns with Ratchet and Sideswipe, especially Ratchet."

Ironhide's temper may have been volatile, but that didn't mean he was foolish. After a moment of consideration, he understood what his girlfriend meant.

Ratchet was also one of Optimus Prime's deputies, and Sideswipe had been promoted to the position of deputy after Optimus Prime's last apparent demise. With Jazz's sacrifice and Bumblebee's disappearance, there was no doubt that these three deputies were the Autobots whom Optimus Prime trusted the most within the new Iron Fortress City.

With a nod, Ironhide immediately contacted Sideswipe and Ratchet, preparing to have a conversation with them before meeting with Optimus Prime.

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Next Chapter >>Chapter 752: The Resilient Sentinel Prime