Shane Freak
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Chapter 758: Black Market Battle (Part 1)
🕑 Added 2023-10-21 12:02:02 +0000 UTCTransformers Begin : Table of Content/Chapter List
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After taking on the task of dealing with Frenzy from Megatron, Starscream left the Retribution Number Spaceship. He knew Megatron all too well, and his presence alone would make the commander of the Skytiger Legion even more vigilant.
If Starscream hadn't suspected that Megatron might have some hidden agenda, he would have taken action against him long ago, given his deep-seated hatred. The Decepticon base on the far side of the Moon, built around the Retribution Number Spaceship, had been developed over a century by Starscream. It featured numerous fortifications, mines, and factories.
Upon leaving the Retribution Number Spaceship, Starscream flew solo southwest and stopped before an inconspicuous fortification a hundred kilometers away. From outer space, it appeared as nothing more than a raised lump of rock.
Any scouts Shockwave had previously sent had either been taken care of by Starscream through Frenzy or dispatched to the Asteroid Belt to collect rare metal ores for Megatron's new mechanical body. Therefore, Starscream wasn't worried about being tracked.
As Starscream touched down, a scanner on the alloy door of the fortification scanned his mechanical body from top to bottom. The alloy door promptly opened, revealing a sloping passage leading downward.
A smirk played at the corner of Starscream's mouth as his crimson eyes glimmered. He descended along the sloping tunnel for several meters, arriving in a spacious hall. In the hall, a mechanical body, rivaling Megatron in his prime, was already waiting.
Upon seeing Starscream, the mechanical warrior locked eyes with him.
"I suppose you're here this time to inform me or bring me something new, Starscream?" The mechanical body, known as Onslaught, had served as a senior commander among the Decepticons, providing shelter and convenience to Sun Cheng for nearly two years.
Starscream chuckled, his sinister, sharp voice matching his sly demeanor, giving off an air of mischief. When he spoke, he made Onslaught, who was already wary of him, suppress his smile.
"Megatron has ordered me to eliminate Frenzy. Do you intend to use this opportunity to clear your ties with him, Onslaught?"
The towering mechanical warrior was indeed Onslaught, who had been wielding the tiger's skin for almost two years. He had indeed offered Starscream substantial protection and assistance as a Decepticon senior commander.
"Are you testing me, Starscream?" Onslaught's expression grew colder, and he spoke with an emotionless tone.
Starscream continued with his sycophantic smile, a demeanor he displayed before Megatron. "Oh, oh, oh, esteemed Commander, you know I come in good faith. Otherwise, I wouldn't have sent Bumblebee and Prowl to you earlier!"
Onslaught, however, knew Starscream all too well and wasn't buying it. "That was just one part of our deal; neither of us suffered. So, there's no need for this act of charity with me. So, what are you here for, after all?"
Being so directly questioned, Starscream dropped his fake smile. His crimson eyes flickered for a moment before he spoke calmly, "You know why I'm here. How much longer until the new fleet is ready? I need your assistance to test my new technology."
The meeting with Onslaught had only recently occurred. Starscream admired the perfectionist who valued intellectual prowess and tactical planning. About two years ago, he had attempted to forcefully bring Onslaught back into his fold due to an idea he had.
This led to a brief confrontation between the two Decepticon veterans, during which Starscream suffered a considerable setback. Unbeknownst to him, Onslaught had come into close contact with the All Spark in Sector Seven, and it had been the catalyst for a significant upgrade to his mechanical body, which had reached the evolutionary threshold.
The battle quickly ended, with Starscream unable to defeat Onslaught, who was alone and concerned that Starscream might attract more Decepticons. Onslaught chose to withdraw.
Despite extensive investigations, Starscream could no longer find any trace of Onslaught. It was as if Onslaught had truly gone into hiding, pushing Frenzy into the forefront to vie for his own interests.
For a long time, Starscream felt quite helpless when dealing with Frenzy because he knew that, following the All Spark's baptism, Onslaught was likely to become the third Leader-level warrior in the Skytiger Legion, ahead of him.
Then, about half a month ago, Autobots launched an attack on the Moon, and the ensuing battle on the far side of the moon was intense, with explosions waking up Onslaught from his dormant state on the moon's far side. Unfortunately, Starscream had picked up the electromagnetic spectrum he was emitting.
This eventually led to their recent meeting and cooperation, culminating in their current encounter. After a brief eye-to-eye exchange, Onslaught spoke slowly, "The materials you provided are still lacking, and I've just awakened the explosion using JazzCore. Bumblebee and Prowl have too strong self-awareness; I can't directly use their Cores. Creating new Cores will take some time."
"I'm giving you the materials, enough to resurrect the entire war machine team!"
Starscream wasn't buying it. When it came to nurturing Decepticons, he and Shockwave were the experts within the entire Skytiger Legion.
Earlier, when they had negotiated their cooperation with Onslaught, he had provided enough materials to resurrect all of their former team members, and this was done according to his own technical standards.
Onslaught was now backtracking; it was clear that he was trying to gain more resources from Starscream.
No one wanted to be the fall guy; it had always been Starscream tricking others. If someone wanted to trick him, they had to consider whether Starscream was willing to fall for it.
The gazes of the two Decepticons clashed fiercely for a while, and finally, Starscream conceded.
"Alright, you win. I'll deliver the last two sets of materials to you within five Earth days."
Onslaught let out a disdainful snort, but there was no sense of victory in his heart.
He knew exactly what Starscream was asking for: a new, giant Devastator technology derived from the colossal Devastator, Hercules.
Over a year ago, after experiencing the All Spark's influence on Earth and a battle with Starscream, Onslaught urgently needed a secluded place to sleep deeply and complete his evolution.
Being one who revered intelligence and tactics, he had chosen a highly secretive and safe place for his seclusion on the far side of the Moon.
Yes, Onslaught was well aware that Starscream had been managing the Moon's far side for hundreds of years, making it even easier to conceal himself.
So, after disposing of his worn-out belongings to Frenzy and acquiring the half-corpse of Jazz, one of Optimus Prime's lieutenants, he quietly made his way to the Moon. He established an underground cave in a desolate area several hundred kilometers away from Starscream's Moon Base, where he could enter a deep slumber.
The end result proved that his choice was not wrong. Even after losing to Onslaught in their battle, Starscream hadn't given up on the idea of attacking him.
He searched all over Earth, but he never considered the Moon. He never thought that Onslaught was slumbering right under his nose.
It was the explosion that had awakened Onslaught that day.
Thinking about this, a burning rage ignited within Onslaught.
The natural evolution of a Decepticon took an immense amount of time.
He was born during the time of the Council of Primes, and despite his leadership of the war machine team becoming marginalized within the Skytiger Legion as Shockwave and Starscream rose to power, he was still a powerful warrior and a highly skilled commander when it came to tactical layouts.
So, over millions of years, Onslaught had accumulated a vast amount of battle experience and had strengthened his mechanical body considerably.
What he lacked was resources and a chance to break through to become a true Leader-level warrior.
The opportunity that had eluded him for countless years had finally been found by Onslaught on Earth over a year ago. With the help of the All Spark, the energy stored within him began to refine, strange information began to appear in his core, and his mechanical body began a slow transformation into something unknown.
According to his calculations, it would take approximately five Earth years to complete the transformation entirely, allowing him to become a formidable Leader-level warrior within the Skytiger Legion, second only to Megatron and possibly surpassing Shockwave in combat ability.
Unfortunately, the battle between the Autobots and Decepticons on the Moon awakened Onslaught while he was still in the midst of his transformation. Starscream, with his keen senses, detected the electromagnetic spectrum that Attack unconsciously emitted and eventually found him.
So, Onslaught, who had yet to complete his transformation, had no choice but to reluctantly sit down with his old adversary and negotiate a deal.
"Fusion Leopard, huh?"
Onslaught couldn't help but picture Starscream in his mind, who had designed a new giant Devastator technology based on their former war machine team. The design was named [Fusion Leopard], and Onslaught's emotions were complicated.
Over a year ago, the reason he had clashed with Starscream was that Starscream wanted him to submit completely and accept a mechanical body modification so that, after cultivating the other four members of the war machine team, they could merge to form the giant Devastator.
Clearly, Starscream had ambitious plans.
He was no longer satisfied with the outdated Hercules and wanted to compete with Predaking, created by Shockwave, and Defensor in the Autobot camp with his newly designed [Fusion Leopard].
The fact that Onslaught, an old Elite Warrior, was chosen as the main body for [Fusion Leopard], made him realize the extent of Starscream's ambitions.
Starscream's methods were even more unsettling than his ambitions.
Once Starscream realized he couldn't force Onslaught to serve him, he swiftly changed his original plan and proposed a new cooperation that Onslaught couldn't refuse.
"I will provide the resources needed for you to complete your transformation and the materials for awakening the remaining four members of the war machine team. I will also modify your mechanical bodies to allow you and the war machine team to combine into [Fusion Leopard]. Rest assured, the war machine team will always follow your command. What I need is to validate my own technology so that I can develop a more perfected merging technique."
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Next Chapter >>Chapter 759: Battle for the Black Market (Part 2)
