Chapter 383: The Alliance on the Verge of Collapse (Part 1)

Once Ratchet finished speaking, the atmosphere inside the garage suddenly eased.

Ironhide let out a long breath, and just as he reached out to pull a cigar from his body, he felt a sharp gaze land on him.

He turned his head to look, his heart instantly tightening; he hurriedly put the cigar away, walked in front of Optimus Prime, and bowed his head slightly, "I have disappointed you, my Leader."

He had indeed disappointed Optimus Prime; looking at the dejection on the face of his lieutenant, Optimus Prime's heart softened after all. He scanned the situation inside the garage before asking in a deep voice, "When Captain Robert returned earlier, he only gave a rough account that the mission had failed. So now, Ironhide, you tell us the specific situation in detail!"

After speaking, he did not forget to glance at Skids and Sideswipe, who were also covered in wounds.

The latter was fine; like Ironhide, he only had some minor injuries.

However, Skids was not so lucky. During the evacuation, he was unfortunately struck directly in the back by a Russian Army rocket, and the left half of his body was blown apart.

Fortunately, his Spark was not damaged, but even so, this operation was an unmitigated failure for the Autobots.

"I understand, Leader!"

Ironhide's chest heaved rapidly; it was clear that this hot-tempered tough guy was feeling stifled and angry inside.

It made sense; if they had been defeated by the Decepticons during the previous operation in Russia, let alone having teammates injured, even if someone had fallen in the line of duty, the Autobots, while saddened, would have been able to grit their teeth and accept the mission's failure.

The reason was simple: after the failures of two civil wars, the Autobots had been driven off their home planet—Cybertron—by their mortal enemies, the Decepticons, and now had to use Cybertron's satellite as a base to wage guerrilla warfare against the Decepticons.

Therefore, being defeated by the Decepticons, whose power already exceeded their own, meant that no matter how unwilling the Autobots were, they knew the gap between the two sides.

But as it happened, in this operation, Ironhide and his team didn't even get to face the Decepticons as expected; they hadn't even seen the enemy's face before being taught a harsh lesson by humans.

Chromia's chassis suffered heavy damage, and even her Spark was affected; Skids was slightly better off than her, although the left half of his body was blown apart, at least his Spark was not injured, making repairs less troublesome.

Even Ironhide himself and Sideswipe, whose combat power could be ranked among the Autobots, were injured, and by humans they looked down upon at that—just thinking about this made Ironhide's chest burn with rage.

That's right, among all the Autobots who had arrived on Earth, the proud Ironhide had always been the one most opposed to cooperating with human forces, who were greedy and whose level of civilization was far inferior to Cybertron.

It took him more than ten minutes to recount their entire experience in Russia.

This kind of narration was not limited to verbal expression, because virtual projection was not a capability mastered only by the Decepticons; the Autobots possessed it as well.

His fingers fell from his forehead, Ironhide lowered his arm gently, his head drooping slightly.

Clearly, he also knew what the failure of this mission meant.

"... In other words, you hadn't even entered the city of Severodvinsk, and hadn't even confirmed if there were Decepticons there, before being repelled by humans, is that right..."

Optimus Prime's face was exceptionally serious. Although he had a good temper, he was, after all, an Autobot Leader who had personally commanded the Second Cybertronian Civil War. Even though he was young, he possessed an inherent authority that made even an old-school Autobot Warrior like Ironhide, who had experienced two civil wars, feel nervous.

"... Yes, Leader!"

He replied in a deep voice, his tone involuntarily carrying a hint of caution.

Sideswipe, standing to the side, moved his mouth, just about to say something, when a calm, gentle female voice drifted in from the entrance of the garage.

"... Chromia is alright, isn't she? Ratchet..."

Ironhide subconsciously looked toward where the voice came from. Immediately, two female Autobots appeared, looking six or seven parts similar to Chromia, though one had a purple chassis and was taller, while the other had a peach-colored chassis and possessed even more of the feminine, alluring curves that symbolized women compared to Chromia and the other beside her, as they walked in gracefully.

It was the tall, purple female Autobot who had spoken. The moment he saw her, his heart eased slightly.

The newcomers were Elita One and Arcee, the triplet sisters who were also among the female Autobot leaders. The one who spoke was the elder sister, Elita One, who also held another identity: the personal guard officer to Autobot Leader Optimus Prime and his girlfriend.

Ratchet was helping Skids check his injuries and replied without turning his head, "She needs surgery, but it's not a big problem!"

"Can the weapons of Earthlings already hurt us?"

The peach-colored female Autobot, Arcee, asked with surprise in her exceptionally alluring voice.

Sideswipe, who was being stared at by her, could no longer maintain his usual coldness. Although he knew that the one before him was famous among the Autobots for her charm, and it was said that the renowned Triple Changer—Springer, as well as Bumblebee's brother—Hot Rod, were her suitors, being watched by such a charming female Autobot was more than even the indifferent Sideswipe could handle. He hesitated for only a moment before giving an objective answer.

"... Most human weapons cannot pose a threat to us, but there are some that can hurt us. Moreover, the target area of our mission this time had extremely strong Strong Electromagnetic Jammers. If we cannot destroy the interference source at the first opportunity, it will create many unfavorable factors for our operations."

Optimus Prime was silent for a long time before finally speaking: "... Sideswipe, can you be sure that the electromagnetic interference equipment in Severodvinsk came from the Decepticons?"

Clearly, with the intervention of the sisters Elita One and Arcee, he was prepared to take the opportunity to downplay the negative impact of Ironhide and his team's mission failure.

Sideswipe nodded solemnly: "There's no mistake; that intensity of electromagnetic interference is very similar to the Strong Electromagnetic Jammers I remember the Decepticons using during the war..."

Before he could finish his sentence, a blue Autobot who was squatting beside Ratchet, helping him check the circuit system for Skids, suddenly interrupted him.

"... Hey, Master. I told you long ago, that system inside you is terrible; why not take this opportunity to let me help you replace it with a brand new one... I guarantee it can resist electromagnetic interference..."

Hearing this, Ironhide's face instantly turned dark.

He turned his head and glared at the blue Autobot, "Shut up, Jolt. Get back to your work..."

This Autobot, who had arrived on Earth not long ago, was one Ironhide had saved during the war. Perhaps having spent too much time with the famous Autobot master of trash talk—Blurr, this young Autobot named Jolt had yet to achieve any combat merits, but his chatterbox nature had already spread throughout the Autobots.

To this day, Ironhide still suspected that the reason he had impulsively taken this young man, who claimed to admire him greatly, as his apprentice was simply because he had been so annoyed by him that he had no other choice.

However, with this chatterbox's interruption, the garage suddenly had a bit more laughter, and even Optimus Prime's face couldn't help but lose a bit of its sternness.

He looked at Jolt indifferently, then turned back to Sideswipe, nodding slightly to signal him to finish what he was saying.

"... Although our mission failed, we can basically confirm that the Decepticons have indeed occupied Severodvinsk... I suspect they may have also contacted humans and reached some agreements... and are even planning another conspiracy..."

As soon as these words were spoken, the garage suddenly became lively.

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