Chapter 608: Matrix of Leadership (End)

Regarding the Imaginary Space, The Fallen was clearly more knowledgeable than Starscream; it was a space that did not exist in reality.

This was obviously a very contradictory concept, but this contradiction also happened to explain the Imaginary Space.

Strictly speaking, the Imaginary Space refers to a special space independent of celestial bodies that can be "seen" and "discovered" by conventional means.

In a sense, the Imaginary Space is largely the same in principle as a wormhole.

Both are spaces where, due to special reasons at a singularity, folding occurs; it is just that one forms a "bridge" connecting two different spaces, while the other forms a singular space that cannot be discovered by conventional means.

It was not as if The Fallen had not searched for the Matrix of Leadership before; he even once suspected that it had been taken away from Earth by his six brothers, and for this reason, he had even returned to Cybertron in the past to search.

He did not expect that this Matrix of Leadership would ultimately be hidden by them on Earth.

"My brothers... you really made me search for you..."

He whispered to himself; just a moment ago, The Fallen had suddenly sensed several familiar fluctuations.

With a light wave of his hand, Astrotrain and Wanderer understood immediately, and they led the dozen or so Decepticon Cannon Fodder who had descended with them to surround the Nameless Temple.

Allowing the Autobots to come to the temple to search for the Matrix of Leadership was an order The Fallen himself had issued.

He understood his brothers too well; since the Matrix of Leadership had been hidden by them, it would be useless even if he came in person, as they would inevitably be guarding against him.

However, it was different if it were the Autobots; the descendants of Prima—the Prime Dynasty—had joined the Autobot faction after the civil war.

Not every so-called "Prime Dynasty" member is qualified to become a Prime.

Even that Optimus Prime, whom The Fallen had ordered Starscream and the others to kill, was in his view only someone with a bit of potential to become a Prime.

The reason he had to kill him was that the prophecy of his brother, Alpha Trion, had brought too great a sense of crisis to The Fallen.

When Starscream went to hunt Optimus Prime, all the Decepticons stationed at the Nameless Temple were taken away by him.

This was also The Fallen's intention; he needed the Autobots to retrieve the Matrix of Leadership for him. The Fallen knew that his brothers of the past must have left behind some measures to ensure the Matrix of Leadership would not fall into the hands of those with evil intentions.

For example, The Fallen himself, or the Decepticons.

As for whether the Autobots would reap the benefits, The Fallen was truly not worried.

Soundwave was still in outer space, possessing a satellite, monitoring the Petra Mountains here twenty-four hours a day.

With him there, no Autobot could evade his surveillance and sneak into the Petra Mountains without being discovered.

For instance, the few Autobots currently staying in the temple had just entered Jordan when they were discovered by the Vanguard and reported to him.

The Fallen was waiting; he needed the Autobots to help him find the Matrix of Leadership.

Astrotrain and Wanderer led a dozen or so Decepticons as they charged toward the Nameless Temple.

They soon discovered the Autobot—Sideswipe—who had just been taught a lesson by Sunstreaker and was sulking outside.

Astrotrain discovered him a bit earlier than Sideswipe did, and without hesitation, he drew his weapon: a permanent Ion Displacement Rifle capable of destroying circuits.

Then, he fired an Electromagnetic Radiation Bomb at Sideswipe.

"Boom!"

The moment the bullet was fired, the powerful electromagnetic fluctuation made Sideswipe, who was still sulking, realize something was wrong.

Unfortunately, his reaction was a bit slow, and he only had time to turn his body to the side at the critical moment.

The Electromagnetic Radiation Bomb accurately struck his left shoulder; eerie azure electric arcs danced wildly on his left shoulder and left arm, and a burnt smell of scorched electromagnetic components along with white smoke instantly enveloped half of his body.

"Decepticons!"

Sideswipe was startled; seeing over a dozen Decepticons charging toward him, how could he dare to stay?

He immediately pulled a long whip that kept flashing with electric sparks from his lower back, lashed out fiercely at the fastest charging Decepticon, and at the same time turned to run toward the nearby temple.

"Boom..."

"Boom... Boom... Boom... Boom..."

Several Decepticon Cannon Fodder held Grenade Launchers and fired continuously at Sideswipe.

Most of the Decepticon Cannon Fodder bred by Starscream were not equipped with Energy Weapons; the Grenade Launcher, which they called a grenade cannon, was already their standard heavy firepower.

The sound of explosions soon caught the attention of the Autobots inside the temple. Drift, Chromia, and Sideswipe were the quickest to react; they rushed out at the first opportunity, but upon seeing the surrounding Decepticons, Chromia turned around and went back into the temple without a word.

"Captain, quick... Decepticons discovered, we must retreat as soon as possible..."

Facing an Elite Warrior like Astrotrain, even a Commander—Ironhide—would find it very difficult to deal with him.

Most Triple Changers are more powerful in combat than Ordinary Warriors.

And Astrotrain is the ceiling of combat power among Triple Changers; he is Shockwave's trusted general, and his body is very strange. In combat mode, the various parts of Astrotrain's body are tightly compressed together, making his body exceptionally strong.

During the previous hunt for Optimus Prime, Optimus Prime's normal attacks could not cause him damage; only Optimus Prime's Laser Cannon and Long Sword could pierce the armor on the surface of Astrotrain's body.

Moreover, Astrotrain's strength is very great, even surpassing that of the Commander—Ironhide, and only slightly inferior to Optimus Prime, who is a Prime.

Ironhide and the others had suffered losses when they encountered Astrotrain on the battlefield in the past, which was the reason Chromia urged them to retreat.

Once they were entangled by Astrotrain like they were a short while ago, by the time other Decepticons arrived, it was very likely that all the Autobots here would die.

The Triple Changer Drift stepped on the ruins of the temple wall and jumped into mid-air, quickly transforming into an armed helicopter, frantically firing Rockets and Missiles at Astrotrain and the others.

Astrotrain raised his thick arm to block his forehead, letting the Rockets and Missiles fired by Drift explode on his arm.

Unfortunately, the power of the explosions could only force him to retreat more than ten meters; he sneered and mocked Drift in the sky: "... It's been so long, and you still haven't changed at all, Drift... Are you scratching an itch for me..."

The strength of Autobot Triple Changers is mostly inferior to that of the Decepticons; the only one among them who can rival Astrotrain is Broadside, but he is one of the main combat forces of the Autobots and is currently not on Earth.

Drift snorted coldly but did not reply, as Missiles and Rockets poured down toward the ground one after another.

His combat power was indeed inferior to Astrotrain's, but that did not mean other Decepticons could ignore him.

Under Drift's reckless and frantic pouring of Rockets and Missiles, the dozen or so Decepticons who came with Astrotrain and Wanderer gradually began to suffer casualties.

Not long after, a yellow sports car shot out from the temple, followed by a purple motorcycle and a green ambulance.

Ironhide, who was much steadier than before, walked out holding a large-caliber Grenade Launcher, "Protect Sam and the others as they retreat..."

He ordered all the Autobots on the scene, "Sideswipe, you go protect them too! The rest of the Autobots, attack with me!"

PS:

In the movie, the Matrix of Leadership turns to sand, which feels like the screenwriter adding scenes for Sam. Considering the unique nature of this holy artifact, I have decided to ignore the setting from the movie here.

Let's set a small goal first, for example, memorize this in 1 second: Shukerju