Chapter 73: It Seems the Enemy Has Locked Onto Us
When one gazes into the abyss, the abyss also gazes back.
After sacrificing nearly three hundred slaves, the Zargoth King finally witnessed the sight he had longed to see.
First came the Eclipse soldiers cleaning the battlefield. Their banners bore the large character "Rylen", yet most of the warriors appeared completely unscathed ... not a drop of blood on them. It was clear they hadn't taken part in the actual battle.
Therefore, the annihilation of the 35,000-strong Zargoth cavalry could not have been the work of these men.
The true hunters soon appeared.
It was a colossal creature, resembling a steel dragon over twenty meters long, its entire body glimmering with an unknown metallic sheen. Its slender steel neck, when raised, was taller than the city's flagpole. In the distant skies hovered two unidentified flying objects ... one looked like a giant bird flapping its wings, while the other resembled a bird as well, but its wings remained still, emitting a white vapor trail like a cloud behind it.
These three unidentified "monsters" were most likely the true reason the Zargoth cavalry would never return.
"My lords, do you know what these strange things are? How is it that the Central Plains Eclipse possess such bizarre weapons? Could these be some new mechanical devices of their invention?"
The Zargoth King was a man of considerable knowledge, yet even he was utterly baffled by the sight of the two robotic dinosaurs and the red spider-like machine. He had never seen anything like them, and an inexplicable fear began to creep over him.
Humans often feel such dread when confronted with the incomprehensible ... and even this seemingly invincible steppe king was no exception. Fear was universal.
"Your Majesty, these… these are not mechanical constructs. I must return and consult the elders, to examine the ancient records. I believe our ancestors may have seen such beings before ... perhaps they were the ones who sealed our Master!"
Before a civilization of such advanced technology, even the mightiest of shamans was reduced to ignorance. The powers displayed by the three Transformers were beyond comprehension ... enough to inspire terror in any observer.
However, since the Zargoth had once served the ancient Decepticons, surely some record of them remained ... at least a few drawings or symbols.
But while the Zargoth spied on the three Transformers through their strange golden idol, none of them realized that their location had already been discovered.
"Alert, alert! Unknown radar system detecting our position! Alert, alert! Initiate immediate evasive maneuvers!"
It was Starscream's early warning system ... one of Cybertron's latest technological achievements. He had thought such precautions unnecessary on this primitive planet… but to his shock, something had locked onto him.
"Execute Plan A! Launch signal inhibitor!"
The moment the alert sounded, the usually timid Starscream reacted instantly. Though he didn't know the enemy's exact position, he quickly opened his rear storage tank, releasing a cloud of silver-white metallic fragments.
It was a classic decoy maneuver ... the burning fragments created multiple false thermal images in the air, effectively confusing enemy tracking or missile guidance systems.
Even though Starscream detected no missiles or similar threats nearby, he acted purely on instinct.
"Starscream! What are you doing? Don't you see there are humans down there? Are you trying to burn them alive?"
The first to notice Starscream's strange behavior was the Dinobot Dart, who immediately switched to a private comm channel.
"You outdated Dinobot! Don't tell me you don't even have an anti-tracking system! Haven't you realized we've been locked onto by a radar from an advanced civilization? Don't pretend you don't know!"
The two Dinobots didn't respond, but Starscream refused to believe they were that dense. If they truly lacked intuition, they wouldn't have survived this long among Cybertron's elite warriors.
"Oh, you mean that surveillance radar system? You can't be serious ... those Huns have managed to keep that thing running all this time? It's basically a geostationary satellite! Sure, it burns through energy like crazy, but it's nothing to worry about. Calm down."
What?
These two robotic dinosaurs already knew about the surveillance system ... and could even identify who was using it and how it worked?
"So you knew all along?! Why didn't you say anything sooner? I just wasted a ton of materials ... do you have any idea how much energy it takes to make those decoy fragments?"
"You didn't ask!" Dart shot back. "But now you've seen it for yourself, Mr. Starscream. Do you still believe this planet is primitive and barbaric? I can tell you with absolute certainty ... both the Transformers hidden here and the humans living on this world are deeply connected to the fate of us robotic warriors. If I'm not mistaken, that radar system you just detected was a gift from Chi You, or as you Decepticons call him ... Destructor!"
"I see…" Starscream muttered, piecing it together. "So that's how it is. Seems our Decepticon ancestor was quite generous ... not only leaving his servants a reconnaissance satellite, but even teaching those Huns how to use it."
Still, according to the data Starscream had gathered, the Huns didn't even understand advanced energy sources like petroleum ... they barely knew how to make fire by friction! Could it be that Destructor had modified the technology so it could function using extremely low levels of energy?
"Fine! But that thing watching me all the time really gets on my nerves. If it truly has no offensive capability like you claim, I swear I'll go destroy it myself. Being spied on 24/7 is unbearable!"
With Starscream's temper… he just might do it.
(End of Chapter)