Chapter 75: Carbon-Based Life Transformation
"My King, if you truly cannot bear this humiliation, I believe we can offer our strongest warriors to our Master. I am certain our Master will recognize our sincerity and grant us a chance to turn the tide of battle! It's clear that these Huaxia people have already summoned their guardian deity to send powerful warriors back into this world. If we don't take countermeasures soon, our entire army could be annihilated today!"
Seeing the hesitation in the Hunnic King's eyes, the leader of the black-robed sorcerers suddenly appeared from the shadows. His words carried a strange, almost hypnotic power that made the king willing to do anything ... no matter the cost.
"Master, tell me what must be done to reverse our defeat! I will accept any condition you name. Is it a sacrifice you require? Whatever the number of people or livestock ... I'm willing to offer every prisoner we've captured to our Master!"
What a bloodthirsty man ... yet that ruthless decisiveness was precisely what the dark sorcerer needed.
In fact, this magician had been preparing for this moment for a long time. He had once proposed the same ritual but was met with resistance. Now, with the king's full support, he could finally execute his plan without fear.
"I will need a personal guard absolutely loyal to you ... men who would follow you into death itself. Tell me, does your army have such warriors?"
A suicide squad! Only the most elite of the elite could meet such a demand. But the Hunnic King, having built his power for years, certainly had no shortage of such ruthless men.
"You can be assured of that! Summon my Crimson Black Fox Guard! Let the sorcerer witness their loyalty!"
The king wasn't holding anything back. His personal guard ... the Black Fox ... consisted of warriors tied to him by blood or lineage. They were the very core of his power.
The black-robed sorcerer's eyes gleamed gold as the elite troops assembled.
"Excellent! Perfect! This is exactly the kind of army I need! Now, I will beseech my Master to grant them power ... to give these mighty warriors eternal life and limitless strength, so they may stand against Aetherion himself. Soon, your iron hooves will trample that long-desired land!"
Since the king had brought forth his kin and chosen guard, the next phase of the ritual would be easy to carry out.
The sorcerer raised the enormous black curtain behind him, revealing the massive golden figure once more.
"What's going on? That golden thing ... is that the Fallen's radar? They hid it well before, so why expose it now? Are they begging me to destroy it?"
As soon as the golden object reappeared in his field of vision, Starscream immediately sensed powerful energy fluctuations emanating from it ... the same signal that had locked onto him earlier.
But just as he prepared to dive in and obliterate it, a wave of green energy suddenly enveloped the golden structure. It wasn't a type of energy Starscream recognized, but even from a distance he could feel its unstable, overwhelming power.
"This… this energy wave feels familiar… Isn't this the Fallen's signature attack? Oh no! Starscream, stop them immediately! They're performing a carbon-based life transformation!"
"What? What's that supposed to mean ... carbon-based life transformation?"
It was a completely foreign term to Starscream, but judging by the Dinobot's alarm, it was anything but good news.
"Understood. I may hate taking orders… but this time, I'll trust you!"
Although he dared not touch the green energy wave directly, Red Spider immediately locked onto the golden structure and fired two rockets. If they hit, even a diamond would have melted ... let alone gold.
However, as soon as the green wave expanded, all of Red Spider's attacks became useless. The missiles detonated midair but failed to reach their target ... blocked by the glowing green barrier.
Even more astonishing, the green wave absorbed the energy from Red Spider's explosions and redirected it into the golden figure.
"ZZZZZZT!"
The air filled with blinding light ... like a massive lightning storm. The Black Fox Guards below, the king's most loyal warriors, were instantly engulfed by silver-white lightning, their screams echoing through the sky.
In ancient times, this would have been called being struck by divine thunder.
Ordinarily, any carbon-based lifeform hit by such lightning would be burned to ash. But this green energy seemed to convert instead of destroy. The guards' charred bodies began to gleam ... their skin hardening, their limbs reflecting the sunlight like polished metal.
"Damn it! I didn't expect the Fallen to have such a trump card. So that's not just a radar ... it's an energy conversion device! It can transform all carbon-based life on this planet into mechanical warriors! That's the experiment the Fallen started here long ago… but wasn't it abandoned? Why is it active again now!?"
Starscream was stunned, but beside him, the Dinobot's voice trembled with something deeper ... fear, and perhaps guilt. He clearly knew more than he'd admitted.
(End of Chapter)