Chapter 479: The Fierce Battle Begins (Part 1)

Guam Naval Base, one of the most important overseas military bases of the United States.

The U. S. military bases and military facilities on the island occupy nearly one-third of the island's total area, mainly consisting of Andersen Air Force Base, Apra Harbor Naval Base, and Agana Naval Air Station.

The 15th Submarine Squadron is the main naval force permanently stationed in Guam, but this does not mean that there are no other naval vessels stationed here.

On the contrary, because the United States often flaunts its military power on a global scale, large-scale naval cruises and military exercises are relatively frequent. Guam Naval Base, located at the hub of the Western Pacific shipping lanes, often has vessels from the Third and Seventh Fleets of the Pacific Fleet docking, and some are even permanently stationed here.

And so, when the order from Washington reached Guam, the three Perry-class frigates permanently stationed at Guam Naval Base belonging to the Seventh Fleet—the Niklas, the Huo Si, and the Ingram—immediately began resupplying, preparing to set sail for the Mariana Trench area to resume the patrol mission that had been interrupted for some time.

Also receiving orders were the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer Curtis Wilbur and the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser Shiloh, which had recently set sail from the Yokosuka Naval Base in Japan and were originally scheduled to visit Aodaliya.

These two main U. S. naval vessels arrived at Guam Naval Base three days ago, and according to the original plan, they would have set sail again after resting in Guam for four days.

However, when Washington discovered that these two main vessels of the Seventh Fleet happened to be docked in Guam for rest, out of security considerations, the Curtis Wilbur and the Shiloh were incorporated into the Temporary Patrol Fleet.

The commander of the Temporary Patrol Fleet is Colonel Bibote Lunbadun, the captain of the guided-missile cruiser Shiloh. This naval officer, who is only 42 years old this year, is considered a rising star in the U. S. Navy in recent years and once participated in the U. S. Navy's cruise missile bombardment operations against the Iraqi regime during the Second Gulf War.

"... Is this an order from the Ministry of National Defense, General?"

"Yes, Colonel. This is an order directly from the Ministry of National Defense. We have already verified it with Washington. Your visit mission is temporarily suspended; accept your new task!"

"Yes, mission guaranteed to be completed!"

After receiving the order, the puzzled Colonel Bibote Lunbadun contacted the Seventh Fleet stationed in Japan.

After confirming once again that the temporary dispatch order they received was correct, they urgently completed resupplying, recalled all soldiers and officers who were on leave in Guam, and formed a temporary task force with the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer Curtis Wilbur and the frigates Niklas, Huo Si, and Ingram to begin their patrol operations in the designated sea area in coordination with the already deployed 15th Submarine Squadron.

Ironhide and the others noticed the U. S. military as soon as they entered the alert zone, but unfortunately, none of the Autobots were in a good mood.

Although this had to do with them having been soaked in seawater for three days, the main reason was the news they had just received from Diego Garcia.

"... How dare they... How dare they..."

Brake was furious, "What do they take us for? Slaves of those stupid humans on Earth?"

Sideswipe's cold face also rarely showed an expression called anger: "I refuse to board the ship!"

Ironhide's face was equally ugly. They had just received the news from Diego Garcia that the Americans were extremely angry at their unilateral disregard for the cooperation agreement by sending armed forces without approval into an area explicitly stipulated by the cooperation agreement to be guarded by the U. S. military.

Secretary of State Galloway, who had always held considerable hostility toward them, flew to Diego Garcia in person to protest to the Autobot Leader, Optimus Prime.

The Americans even aggressively threatened to disband NEST and even expel all Autobots within U. S. territory.

Under the aggressive stance of the Americans, and also considering that their side had indeed not notified the U. S. side in advance before this operation, there was indeed a suspicion of undermining the cooperation.

In the end, Optimus Prime made concessions, not only promising that all future actions of the Autobots would be reported to the U. S. side in advance, but also ordering Ironhide and the others to board U. S. warships to assist the U. S. side in patrolling and accept American command when the patrol fleet dispatched from Guam arrived.

You must know that all along, even the Autobots stationed at U. S. military bases had considerable autonomy in their actions.

Not to mention NEST, which was entirely built around the Autobots' operations. Although the Autobots had never fought for any command, Commander William had never messed things up either.

Now, under the aggressive stance of the Americans, the compromise made by Optimus Prime was equivalent to handing over the leading position of the cooperation. How could these proud Autobots accept this?

And so, from Brake to Sideswipe, all were extremely angry at Optimus Prime's concession.

Even Ironhide himself, upon receiving the notification from Diego Garcia, was so annoyed that he wished he could fire a few shots at the sea to vent the anger in his heart.

Yet, as the commander of the operation, he still had to stand up and defend the dignity of Optimus Prime.

"... Alright, if it is the Leader's order, we must obey!"

Chromia said nothing, but after hearing Ironhide speak, she nodded, signaling that her opinion was the same as his.

Brake hummed irritably and said nothing more, obviously following the majority and preparing to go with the flow.

Sideswipe, however, was very stubborn and swam back to his patrol area without a word, his attitude clear.

Whoever wants to go and rendezvous with the U. S. warships can go; he, for one, will not.

"Sideswipe, come back!" Chromia shouted.

Unfortunately, the only reply she got was a Black Shadow that was becoming increasingly blurred.

Several Autobots had a falling out because they could not accept being commanded by the Americans, which led to them failing to rendezvous with the U. S. fleet at the first opportunity.

What they did not know was that almost at the same time they were having a disagreement due to differences of opinion, a 10,000-ton cargo ship named Mrs. Windsor, after a voyage of more than twenty days, finally arrived in the Western Pacific from Mexico, slowly sailed into the Mariana Trench area, and collided head-on with the U. S. fleet that had arrived at the alert zone at full speed and resumed patrolling in the Mariana Trench area.

Just as the two sides were about to collide, at this very moment, a strange flying unit streaked across the sky at a speed exceeding the speed of sound and landed precisely on the deck of the Mrs. Windsor cargo ship, which was currently underway.

On the deck of the cargo ship, several crew members shuddered the moment the sound of the impact arrived, yet they all acted as if they had heard nothing unusual and went about their own business.

And that flying unit that fell onto the cargo ship rolled on the deck after landing; it was a ferocious Mechanical Monster the size of a cougar.

It was none other than Mechanical Dog.

The arrival of Mechanical Dog prompted the four Decepticons on the Mrs. Windsor cargo ship, who had been forced to disguise themselves as various vehicles and endure the wind, rain, and sun for more than twenty days, to take action.

A low mechanical voice then sounded: "Our operation has been exposed, and the Autobots and humans have begun to be on alert. Lord Soundwave has ordered: destroy all obstacles and resurrect Lord Megatron!"

"Roar!"

Accompanied by a mechanical sound like a beast's roar, the several special vehicles on the deck completed their transformations one by one and jumped into the sea.

Immediately, the five Decepticons locked onto the U. S. fleet just over a hundred nautical miles away and quickly swam toward the fleet.

The war has come!