Decepticons Strike

Sun Cheng and the others had been lying in wait at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base alongside Onslaught for two days. There had been no word from Starscream, and the situation remained unclear.

Laserbeak, however, had sent him four long-range communications over those two days.

Due to Starscream's earlier instructions, Sun Cheng had not agreed to meet with him and had even encrypted his own communication coordinates to prevent Laserbeak from tracking his location.

However, he kept his guard up and sent a reply to Laserbeak, telling him that he was currently being monitored by Barricade and found it difficult to find an opportunity to leave.

Naturally, this message was sent while Onslaught was watching.

After a long wait, a remote communication finally arrived from Barricade on the third day.

He and Bonecrusher had arrived, and to everyone's surprise, Beam Splitter was with them. It seemed Starscream was determined to get his hands on the nuclear warheads at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base.

"...Idiots, I told you all not to get so close to the base..."

After leaving the hidden tunnel with Onslaught, they reached the rendezvous point. Onslaught transformed back into his robot form, his face full of rage. With a hotheaded growl, he grabbed Barricade and hauled him in front of him, glaring viciously.

"So you were the one commanding this operation..."

Bonecrusher clearly recognized Onslaught, and his expression turned unpleasant.

Sun Cheng understood this reaction well enough.

He had spent two days with Onslaught and initially thought the guy was easy to get along with, never expecting him to be a stereotypical Decepticon.

Onslaught was a perfectionist who took his plans very seriously. He was the type of person who, once a plan was set, demanded not only that he follow it himself, but that everyone else follow it to the letter as well.

Because of this, Sun Cheng had tried to sneak out to explore the base a few times over the past two days, only to be brutally rejected by Onslaught. He had been forced to stay bored to death, hiding in the tunnels near the base with him.

Subjected to such rough treatment, Barricade's temper flared. He pulled a spiked weapon from his body and swung it hard at Onslaught, forcing him to take a few steps back. Then, looking at Onslaught with a ferocious expression, he growled, "Do you want to have a go at me before the operation even begins?"

"Hmph!"

Onslaught truly had a short fuse and immediately entered combat mode.

It looked as though they were going to fight before the mission had even started.

Sun Cheng looked at Bonecrusher and found the guy standing to the side with interest, showing no intention of intervening.

Looking at Beam Splitter, the little guy didn't bother to hide his schadenfreude; he might as well have been shouting, "Fight! Fight! I hope you all kill each other!"

Seeing this, Sun Cheng had no choice but to bite the bullet and step forward, urging, "Lord Barricade, Lord Onslaught, Lord Starscream's mission is the priority..."

At this moment, he could only play the Starscream card.

Fortunately, Starscream's name still carried weight with both Barricade and Onslaught. Hearing him mentioned, both of them snorted coldly and turned their heads away.

The farce was stopped, and Beam Splitter didn't hide his disappointment. Bonecrusher, however, looked at Barricade and then at Onslaught, saying, "Lord Starscream saved me, so I will help him complete this mission. Since you two aren't fighting anymore, let's arrange your respective tasks!"

Onslaught was about to speak when Bonecrusher impatiently interrupted him, "I had enough of you back on Cybertron. Let him explain the plan; I don't want to hear a single word from you!"

After saying this, he pointed at Sun Cheng.

"That's right, let Frenzy do it!" Barricade immediately chimed in, sneering at Onslaught, "The plan was proposed by Frenzy anyway; let him arrange it!"

Beam Splitter looked entirely disapproving. "I object..."

He pointed at Sun Cheng, practically jumping with indignation. "Don't even think about letting this grunt command me..."

"Get lost..."

Onslaught kicked him flying, then glared viciously at Bonecrusher and Barricade for a moment before snorting coldly, "Fine. If the mission fails, you can explain it to Starscream yourselves..."

With that, he transformed back into his heavy-duty truck form. Judging by the rumbling, it sounded as if he had already started his engine.

Sensing several gazes fixed on him, Sun Cheng had to bite the bullet and walk over. "The operational plan for today was indeed proposed by me. We will split into two groups: one will attack Davis-Monthan Air Force Base directly, and the other will be responsible for attacking another base nearby. Since none of you object, I will assign the tasks!"

"Lord Barricade is the fastest, so I hope you and Beam Splitter can head to the other base nearby. Once you destroy its defensive capabilities, hurry here to support us!"

He looked at Onslaught and Bonecrusher, then continued, "Lord Bonecrusher's speed is not as high as Lord Barricade's, so I hope you can join Lord Onslaught and me. We three will be responsible for attacking Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. Once the operation begins, I will immediately disable the base's communication systems and destroy a portion of the aircraft's electronic equipment. I will send you the coordinates for the ammunition depots within the base shortly. I ask that both of you prioritize destroying all the aircraft. Once that is done, Lord Bonecrusher will continue to cause destruction and provide cover within the base, while I assist Lord Onslaught in seizing the nuclear warheads!"

This was likely the most reasonable arrangement, so Onslaught nodded directly, appearing satisfied with the plan.

However, the other two powerful warriors were very unhappy with it.

Barricade glared at Sun Cheng and was the first to express his dissatisfaction. "I want to stay here to ensure the operation doesn't go wrong!"

"I don't want to be with Onslaught either..." Bonecrusher also flatly rejected the arrangement.

Onslaught snorted coldly, his gaze toward him turning sour.

Sun Cheng could only shrug. "Alright then, let's swap the two lords' assignments. Lord Barricade, Lord Onslaught, and I will be responsible for this location, and Lord Bonecrusher and Beam Splitter will destroy the other base!"

"I object..."

Beam Splitter jumped out in protest again, but unfortunately, not only did Sun Cheng ignore him, but Barricade, Bonecrusher, and Onslaught didn't even look his way, all nodding in agreement.

"Then, to ensure the success of the operation, we need to strike at the same time. Lord Barricade, please send the coordinates of the target base to them. Lord Bonecrusher and Beam Splitter, please set off immediately. Before you arrive at your destination and launch your attack, please be sure to send a remote communication to alert us so we can proceed simultaneously!"

"Understood!"

Bonecrusher agreed readily. After obtaining the coordinates from Barricade, he took Beam Splitter with him and headed toward the other nearby military base.

ps:

Thanks to the big shot "Yuan Luo Zai Zhe Xiao Shi Dai" for the support!