Imminent

Optimus Prime gazed out at the canyon below. Even from dozens of kilometers away, he could not see it clearly.

Yet the magnificent city they had personally planned and built still seemed to stand right before his eyes.

Sideswipe and Ironhide stood to Optimus Prime's left and right, with dozens of their fellow Autobots behind them.

An incomparably grave—or rather, heavy—atmosphere shrouded the group.

"Goldbug still hasn't returned?"

Standing at the back, Hound asked Ratchet, with whom he had a fairly good relationship.

Ratchet shook his head. "With Drift accompanying him, there definitely won't be any safety issues."

However, whether they could evade New Iacon City's current defense systems was another matter.

When they had come within a hundred kilometers of New Iacon City, Optimus Prime and the others had already encountered two patrol units.

Had they not been extremely familiar with the terrain here, they would likely have clashed long ago.

Neither Optimus Prime nor the Autobots following him wished to attack their comrades lightly.

Thus, they remained restrained. Rather than continuing to proceed stealthily, they had sent Goldbug, the one most skilled at gathering intelligence, ahead first.

To prevent anything from happening to him, Optimus Prime had also sent the Triple Changer Drift along with him.

Yet three hours had passed without any word from them.

Optimus Prime's senses were exceptionally sharp, and this "quiet" conversation was perfectly clear to his ears.

He frowned and raised his head to look at the canyon below once more.

"Wait another half hour. If Goldbug and the others still haven't returned, we move out directly!"

As he gave the order in a deep voice, Optimus Prime had already prepared himself to stand against his former teacher, since he had come seeking justice from him.

Ironhide lowered his head and looked at