Ever-Changing Steel System Unlocked

What the hell? Wasn't Megatron in the Ninth War Zone? And wasn't Starscream's side in the Sixth War Zone? How did this guy get here? Teleportation?

Damn it, why hadn't Megatron shown up sooner and instead decided to appear now? Didn't he know my mission was only one step away from completion? You damned metal box!

Of course, Starscream only cursed like this in his heart. On his face, however, he wore an expression of wild delight—mainly in his robotic eyes.

"Brother Megatron, why are you here? Weren't you in a war zone far away from mine?"

"Starscream, you idiot. I thought rebuilding yourself after being injured would make you smarter, but it seems I was wrong! What is the Decepticons' ultimate mission, no matter which war zone we're in? As long as we take down Optimus Prime, Cybertron will truly be under Decepticon control! But all of us saw the signal from your shouting and screaming over the communicator just now, so we came over to verify it."

So, in the end, Starscream's earlier "performance" had been convincing enough to lure Megatron over too.

Optimus Prime appearing here was the biggest surprise. Judging from the current situation, tonight was likely an Autobot diversionary operation meant to help Optimus Prime and Ironhide break out of the Decepticon encirclement. It seemed that operation had failed.

But the one in the most dangerous position was Elita, the female Autobot who had yet to return to Optimus Prime's side. Between her and Optimus Prime stood an evil Decepticon warrior named Soundwave. Unlike Starscream, this guy did not enjoy talking nonsense. The moment he acted, he went straight for a lethal finishing move.

"Ravage, Laserbeak, attack! Capture that female Autobot for me!"

This Soundwave fellow was not particularly formidable in personal combat, but he could summon the combat robots stored within his body to tear his enemies apart for him! Take Ravage and Laserbeak, the two he had summoned. While residing inside Soundwave, they looked like cassette tapes, but the instant they received his command, they transformed into terrifying beast-form Decepticon robots that would not stop until they had ripped their enemies to pieces.

But Elita was no pushover either. Though she looked somewhat delicate, every aspect of this female Autobot's stats and abilities could rival Optimus Prime's. When she saw Ravage and Laserbeak charging recklessly toward her, she transformed without a second thought.

Elita transformed into a futuristic car. With her streamlined body and high-strength titanium alloy plating, a single burst of acceleration sent Ravage, charging head-on, flying onto its back.

But Laserbeak could not be dealt with that way. Unlike the slow-witted Ravage, it could fly and seize air superiority, while also firing deadly laser beams down at the ground from above. That was far more advanced than Ravage's claws and teeth.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—boom!

It had to be said that Laserbeak was an excellent hunter. Even though Elita kept making sharp turns at high speed and even used drifting techniques, she still could not shake off the troublesome mechanical bird above her. If this battle of attrition continued, it would be extremely unfavorable for the female Autobot!

But do not forget—Optimus Prime was still right beside her! An enemy Elita could not handle did not mean the Autobot commander could not handle it either!

Bang!

Optimus Prime finally recognized Elita, then raised his laser gun and blasted Laserbeak out of the sky in a single shot. Before the leader of the Autobots, anyone other than a Decepticon warrior of the same rank was trash.

Yet Megatron had merely watched the whole scene unfold without making a move. In his eyes, Optimus Prime and his companions were already trapped prey. Even if they grew wings, they would never escape.

"Optimus Prime, you are surrounded. Decepticons are everywhere around you. For the sake of the fact that we were once both Sentinel Prime's disciples, I won't make things difficult for you. As long as you obediently hand over your Spark, I won't execute your companions in front of you!"

Megatron's purpose was actually very simple. Optimus Prime was the last super warrior among the Autobots. As long as Megatron obtained his Spark, he could become the most powerful ruler in the entire universe—without equal.

Although the Transformers were already one of the most powerful races standing at the pinnacle of this world, there were still many ancient and long-standing cosmic civilizations in the vast universe that surpassed them. But if he could combine the strength of the Autobots and Decepticons, then after unifying Cybertron, Megatron could begin his journey to conquer the universe.

Naturally, Optimus Prime understood this, which made it even more impossible for him to let Megatron have his way. Otherwise, the entire universe would descend into chaos and war.

"Optimus Prime, don't listen to him! Even if our Sparks are completely extinguished, we must never compromise with these cosmic demons!"

As Optimus Prime's longtime companion, Ironhide would never yield, even though he was severely wounded. By a strange coincidence, Starscream's earlier barrage had blasted a huge hole through the brave Autobot warrior's chest! Otherwise, the Autobots' combat strength would have been even greater at this moment.

"Don't worry, Ironhide! Although our breakout failed today, these Decepticons can't keep us here!"

The moment Optimus Prime finished speaking, a tremendous mechanical roar came from the thick fog behind them, as though some enormous creature was approaching.

Thud, thud, thud, crack, crack~

This was definitely something of extraordinary weight. Its footsteps could only be described as earth-shaking; every step made the ground tremble. How did the Autobots have something so terrifying?

As the intelligence officer of the Decepticon response unit, Soundwave immediately activated his scanning system and saw a huge red dot rapidly approaching their Decepticon position.

"What is going on? Where is this energy signature coming from? This is... this is..."

"What is it? Soundwave, what exactly did you see?"

"Lord Megatron, it seems... it seems to be Fortress Maximus. Fortress Maximus is coming!"

"What? How did you let that big guy break through the defensive line? Where's Trypticon? What is that idiot Trypticon doing?"

Megatron flew into a rage, because he understood that a super-powerful combat fortress Transformer like Fortress Maximus was something ordinary warriors like them simply could not contend with.

And just as Megatron stood there stunned, the voice of that system deity rang out in Starscream's central processor.

"Ding. Congratulations, Host, for completing the first mission. The Ever-Changing Steel System has been unlocked by 10%. Please keep up the good work!"

What the hell is this now?