Shane Freak
patreon
Chapter 765: Black Market Siege (Part IX)
🕑 Added 2023-10-24 11:13:09 +0000 UTCTransformers Begin : Table of Content/Chapter List
XXX-----XXX-----XXX-----XXX
Sun Cheng glanced down at the dozen or so wounds on his chest and arm, issuing commands with an emotionless face.
"Thunder, tally and report our losses! Instruct the Decepticon Engineers to control the Robots and quickly clean up the battlefield. We need to swiftly transport the fallen Vehicon corpses."
Each Decepticon is like a walking metal material repository. Even the Vehicons mass-produced under Starscream have many rare metals applied to their mechanical bodies. Although these metals can be found on Earth, recycling them can significantly mitigate their losses.
In fact, some Vehicons, which were killed by Long-Range Sniper-type Robots using specialized sniper rifles and armor-piercing bullets that shattered their Spark or Core, can have their mechanical bodies recycled and, with minor modifications, be gifted to some Engineers.
If they can withstand the upcoming onslaught, Sun Cheng is confident that he will soon have dozens, if not hundreds, of available warriors under his command.
Thunder responded, "Understood!"
He then touched his head, communicating with all the Decepticon soldiers and Engineers on the battlefield, issuing orders to clean up and tally the damages.
Sun Cheng didn’t rush him. Instead, he directly connected to the Central Main Control AI in the island sub-base. After obtaining the latest satellite surveillance data, his expression darkened.
"In six minutes, the second wave of attacks will arrive! Starscream wants me dead!"
Base Two is located in the western region of Pakistan, over two thousand kilometers away from Terindad Island.
The upcoming second wave, termed 'Meteor Rain', is unstoppable. Apart from the missiles on the Yassen-class Attack Submarine, which have a range of over a thousand kilometers, Base Two doesn’t have the means to assist in interception.
Unfortunately, aside from the Ghost fleet, the other Yassen-class Attack Submarines are currently active off the east coast of the Pacific Ocean.
Even though their propulsion systems have been upgraded multiple times by Hephaestus, granting them a top underwater speed of 120 knots, they would still need more than two days to circumnavigate the Drake Passage into the Atlantic Ocean.
Thus, the upcoming defense of the Black Market will rely solely on the forces here.
Taking advantage of the brief respite, Sun Cheng contacted Hynix.
"Hynix, how's the situation on your end?"
"We've expended all our anti-air and anti-ship missiles, save for about eighty Electromagnetic Pulse Missiles."
"Understood. Stand by for my orders."
"Roger that."
In the span of six minutes, with the control of hundreds of Engineers and Decepticon soldiers, thousands of various Robots rushed in from the sub-base. They swiftly transported the relatively intact corpses of the fallen Decepticon Vehicons. Alongside them were the bodies of their fallen Engineers and Decepticon comrades.
Thunder's report was in. In the previous battle, the island's defenses lost seven S-300 series anti-air missile launch systems. Although the remaining 25 can be quickly repaired for reuse, only a little over a hundred missiles remain.
In terms of Engineers and Decepticon soldiers, seventeen perished in the earlier battle, with almost half of the rest injured.
However, the most significant losses were among the combat Robots. At least a hundred of various combat Robots were damaged in the earlier skirmishes. The devastating Heavy Artillery deployed around the island was primarily to blame for their severe casualties.
"The losses are bearable!"
Observing the steadily clearing island, Sun Cheng summoned an Engineer. "Go, inform everyone to move all the humans from the sub-base's secret tunnel to the underwater dock. Have them board the submarines and evacuate to the open sea. Then, let them contact the naval vessels of various countries to temporarily take them away. If any humans question it, tell them that we are under attack by the Skytiger Legion, and a war is about to erupt here."
"Yes, Master!"
The island's base has several secret passageways leading to the seabed, constructed under the explicit instructions of Sun Cheng.
Ordinarily, when some of the key personnel from the island are departing Terindad Island, to avoid the increasing attention from humans on the island and the ever-watchful eyes of spy satellites from various nations in space, these concealed tunnels are essential.
Not every tunnel exit has a dock for submarines, given the limited size of Terindad Island.
Currently, the island boasts only one dock that can accommodate a single cargo submarine for loading and unloading. Apart from the typhoon-class modified cargo submarine that usually resides there, there are also a few small subs produced by Hephaestus. These are used by engineers for nearshore resource exploration and seabed hydrographic mapping.
These small submarines can transport four to five hundred people without much difficulty.
Ever since the Black Market was established, even though naval vessels from human nations are prohibited from docking due to Black Market's regulations, that's the extent of the restrictions.
As a result, many countries have at least one warship anchored within a hundred kilometers of Terindad Island. Ostensibly, these ships are there to facilitate communication and protect their nationals working on the island. However, there's no denying an underlying motive to monitor the island's Decepticons.
Regarding this, Sun Cheng and his team have tacitly turned a blind eye.
Facing the impending second wave of Decepticon Vehicons, he did consider reaching out to the naval vessels of surrounding countries for assistance. But as soon as the thought arose, Sun Cheng dismissed it.
Politics, even across the entire universe, are the darkest and dirtiest.
In this upcoming confrontation with Starscream, should the Black Market side show any sign of weakness, not only would Sun Cheng potentially face continuous assaults thereafter, but those human nations he previously exploited for rare metals and materials might also recognize the vulnerabilities beneath the aliens' impressive facade.
Thus, this is a battle where external aid cannot be sought, and victory is the only option.
Minutes flew by, and the increasingly distinct 'Meteor Rain' in the sky was now clearly visible to the naked eye.
Thunder had already issued orders, and the island's twenty-five operational anti-air systems were firing their remaining hundred-plus anti-air missiles at the invading Vehicons at a rate of fifty missiles per round.
The attacking Decepticon force was even larger than before, numbering around four hundred.
Looking up at the recurring explosions in the sky, Sun Cheng connected with the Hynix and Ghost fleets.
"Link to the island's command system to fetch data, launch all the Electromagnetic Pulse Missiles, and then evacuate!" he ordered.
Hynix was still in a favorable position. Even if all its missiles were used up, it still had hundreds of naval artillery shells onboard to provide long-range firepower support for the island.
However, the Ghost fleet was no longer of any use.
The Yassen-class Attack Submarine was only equipped with a set of anti-air missiles designed for nuclear warheads and a batch of Electromagnetic Pulse Bombs aimed at the Decepticons and Autobots.
Besides, although each submarine had two torpedo launch systems and several torpedoes specialized for underwater targets, they would be of no use in the upcoming battle.
Having previously surfaced to intercept the Vehicons, the Ghost fleet's position was now compromised, and human vessels would likely target them soon. Evacuating them now was the best decision.
"What lies ahead is a battle to the death!" Sun Cheng declared, gazing at the sky with an expression of calm determination.
[Read at www.patreon.com/shanefreak, without ads and support the work.]
XXX-----XXX-----XXX-----XXX
Next Chapter >>Chapter 766: The Siege of the Black Market (Part 10)
