At the same time, Optimus Prime and Megatron also discovered that someone was tracking them—of course, not Duanmu Huai, but Skynet.
Naturally, they would not allow the secret of the AllSpark to be leaked, so Megatron took action and destroyed several of the drones. However, this ended up poking a hornet's nest.
Skynet was an artificial intelligence, but just as Duanmu Huai had said, it was more like an artificial idiot. It was not like Megatron and Optimus Prime, artificial intelligences that possessed self-awareness and independent thought. Everything it did still followed the ultimate objective embedded in its base logic—namely, protecting the Skynet system from being destroyed.
Thus, when Megatron destroyed the reconnaissance drones Skynet had sent to investigate them, Skynet quickly went through a round of "thinking" and reached a judgment.
Judging from the signal source, it was the same target that had previously invaded its network.
And that target had also eliminated its unmanned reconnaissance units.
From this, it could be concluded that the target was an enemy capable of damaging Skynet and had to be eliminated!
Threat level raised to maximum!
Thus, Skynet quickly mobilized a massive mechanical army and sent it directly toward the two, attempting to completely annihilate them.
Of course, strictly speaking, Skynet was definitely no match for Optimus Prime and Megatron. However, as the saying went, even a strong dragon could be overwhelmed on hostile ground. Skynet had operated on this planet for many years. Although it had almost been wiped out earlier through its network, it still possessed considerable strength. Very quickly, Skynet manufactured a large number of heavy machines, including HK-type Hunter-Killer tanks and giant Harvester robots like those Duanmu Huai and the others had encountered before, and sent them all charging toward the two alien machines.
Although these robots did not pose a huge threat to Optimus Prime and Megatron individually, two fists could not block four hands. Faced with the endless onslaught of Skynet's mechanical army, they also found themselves in a sorry state.
"These damned bastards—where the hell did they come from?!"
Megatron blasted through a Harvester robot as large as himself once more and roared in fury. At this moment, he missed his subordinates immensely. If Starscream or Dead End had been here, he wouldn't be in such a miserable state. Unfortunately, all his trusted followers had been wiped out in one sweep by that mysterious force. Now, aside from fighting shoulder to shoulder with Optimus Prime, he had no other choice.
"Stop complaining and cover me!"
Optimus Prime swung the massive blade that extended from his arm, cleaving another HK-type Hunter-Killer tank in two. But soon after, several drones appeared from behind, swarming around Optimus Prime like a hive of bees and launching their attacks. Although these attacks were nothing more than an annoyance to him, they were still irritating. He roared and reached out, swatting the drones away, but then another giant robot charged forward and grabbed hold of him.
"Damn it!"
Trapped once again, Optimus Prime found himself unable to free his hands for the moment. Just as he turned his head to call for Megatron's help, he saw Megatron glance at him—and then turn around and run!
"Megatron!!!"
Seeing this, Optimus Prime was furious. Of course, he knew Megatron's nature—he would even sell out his own subordinates, let alone his archenemy. If there were an opportunity to betray him, Megatron would never hesitate. Still… Optimus Prime had harbored a sliver of hope toward Megatron.
After all, this was foreign ground. No matter how hostile they were toward each other, they were still Cybertronians in the end. He had originally thought that Megatron would at least wait until the situation stabilized before making a move against him.
But he hadn't expected that he had misjudged him after all!
He hadn't expected that even under these circumstances, Megatron would still gamble everything. Didn't he know what kind of consequences it would bring if he failed and let the AllSpark fall into the hands of another power?!
If he could, Optimus Prime truly wanted to rush over and grab Megatron from behind. But the endless tide of Skynet's forces ahead forced him to grit his teeth and hold the line, waiting to settle accounts with Megatron later!
Meanwhile, Megatron had already broken through the obstacles ahead. This base had long since been abandoned and sealed tight, but to Megatron, such barriers were clearly not a problem. He smashed through thick steel walls and gates with ease, sprinting down the tunnels deeper inside.
Ah, Optimus Prime, Optimus Prime—you're still too honest.
Hearing the distant roars and explosions, Megatron sneered inwardly. They had been mortal enemies for a lifetime; Megatron naturally understood Optimus Prime's character. To say that he admired a worthy opponent—there was certainly some of that. But there was one thing Megatron looked down on Optimus Prime for: his obsession with principles and morality.
Of course, principles and morality weren't bad qualities for a leader.
But… taken too far, they became a problem!
Why did Megatron insist on competing with Optimus Prime for the AllSpark? On one hand, their ideologies were incompatible. On the other, Megatron vaguely felt that Optimus Prime placed even greater importance on his so-called morality. That made Megatron deeply unhappy. For Megatron, rebuilding Cybertron and spreading its glory across the universe was his ultimate goal.
But Optimus Prime merely wanted to be a good guy! He was even willing to sacrifice everything for his morality!
Thus, Megatron had to worry—if Optimus Prime obtained the AllSpark, would he sacrifice the AllSpark and Cybertron's future for the sake of his so-called morality?
This was Megatron's greatest distrust of Optimus Prime!
In his view, a leader who wanted to lead a faction to rise and develop had to be ruthless. But Optimus Prime would rather sacrifice everything for his boring morality and emotions! And the worst part was that many robots were moved by his honeyed words and believed he was right!
What a joke! If Cybertron wasn't revived and all the robots on Cybertron died out, would that somehow align with morality?
Utterly stupid!
Thinking this, Megatron snorted coldly. As the leader of the Decepticons, he would absolutely restore Cybertron to greatness and make it the ruler of the universe—and his goal was right before him!!
"Boom!!"
After smashing through yet another thick steel wall, Megatron stopped and looked up. Before him, deep within the massive cavern, stood an enormous object tens of meters tall. Its exterior was a perfect cube, engraved with countless mysterious symbols and patterns. At the sight of this colossal object, a trace of joy appeared in Megatron's eyes.
This was exactly what he had been desperately searching for… the AllSpark!
Of course, with something this massive, Megatron couldn't possibly carry it away alone. But he didn't need to—because… Megatron knew the secret of the AllSpark!
Staring at the AllSpark, Megatron took a deep breath, then walked beneath it and placed his hand upon it. He slowly rubbed its surface. As he did so, the AllSpark, which had looked long sealed and dormant, began to change. Like a Rubik's Cube, it broke apart into multiple smaller cubes that overlapped with one another, rapidly shrinking. Soon, the massive cube that had been dozens of meters tall transformed into a compact block small enough for Megatron to hold in one hand!
"The AllSpark… I finally have it!"
Looking at the cube resting quietly in his hand, Megatron was overwhelmed with excitement.
The AllSpark—he had finally obtained the AllSpark. With this, the revival of Cybertron was just around the corner!
When he returned to Cybertron, he would become the new supreme ruler, the true king…!
However, just as Megatron was immersed in his grand fantasies, suddenly, the AllSpark in his hand shot up, as if attracted by something, and vanished into the darkness in an instant!
"What's going on?!"
Even the duck already in hand could fly away—Megatron was furious. He hurriedly raised his head and looked toward the direction the AllSpark had flown. There stood a tall figure clad in power armor, staring at him. And in that figure's hand was none other than the AllSpark.
"Who are you?! Give the AllSpark back to me!"
As he spoke, Megatron raised the cannons in his arms and aimed them at the figure.
"Give it back to you?"
Hearing Megatron's roar, Duanmu Huai sneered and tossed the cube lightly in his hand.
"This was originally our thing. Why should I give it back to you?"
"You…"
Hearing Duanmu Huai's response, Megatron was momentarily speechless.
Was there really such a shameless bastard?
"All right, now that I've got the thing, it's time for me to leave."
With that, a flash of light enveloped Duanmu Huai, and in the next instant, he vanished right in front of Megatron.
Seeing this, Megatron was even more furious.
"Ah… AAAAAAAH!! Bastard! I'll catch you! I'll definitely take the AllSpark back!!"
Roaring in rage, Megatron fired wildly at the spot where Duanmu Huai had just been. Naturally, aside from blasting apart some rubble and debris, this achieved nothing.
"Megatron!!"
Just as Megatron was venting his impotent fury, Optimus Prime charged in angrily. He was covered in wounds; it was clear that the Skynet machines outside hadn't given him an easy time either.
However, just as Optimus Prime was about to engage Megatron in a decisive battle and reclaim the AllSpark, he was shocked by the sight of Megatron's helpless rage.
"What's going on…? Where's the AllSpark?"
"It was stolen!!"
Megatron was practically losing his mind. That was a duck already in hand—how could it just fly away like that?!
"Stolen?"
Hearing Megatron's reply, Optimus Prime froze.
"By whom?"
"I don't know. It's very likely the same force that attacked us earlier…"
"There's such a thing?"
Although Optimus Prime suspected Megatron might be lying, his behavior didn't seem fake. He frowned, studied Megatron briefly, then spoke.
"No matter what, we should leave this place as soon as possible. There will be even more mechanical forces outside. If we don't leave, we…"
However, before Optimus Prime could finish speaking, the entire cavern suddenly shook violently. In the next instant, the thick rock walls and concrete barriers disintegrated and shattered. When he looked up, a blinding white light filled his vision.
Greenish plasma beams roared down, completely engulfing the figures of Optimus Prime and Megatron.
"The targets have been completely eliminated."
"Mm, very good."
Hearing the report, Duanmu Huai nodded. There was no way he would leave these robots behind, alive or dead. If Skynet were to obtain their remains and analyze them, developing even more powerful machines, that would be troublesome.
And aside from that, he had another problem.
Namely, the thing in his hand.
"Sigh… what a hassle."
Duanmu Huai lowered his head, looking at the AllSpark in his hand, and couldn't help but sigh.
Originally, Duanmu Huai had planned to smash the AllSpark together with the two alien robots right there. But what he hadn't expected was that when he followed the clues and found the AllSpark, the system actually notified him that he had discovered a [Dark Relic]!
Holy shit—this thing is actually a product of humanity's Dark Age?!
This revelation startled Duanmu Huai, but after thinking about it carefully, he found it quite plausible. After all, it was well known that humanity during the Dark Age was truly terrifying, and they had created large quantities of mechanical constructs back then. According to the information obtained earlier, this thing called the AllSpark could grant intelligence and life to originally lifeless machines. There was a good chance that this was what Golden Age humanity had once used to create the Iron Men!
It was just that this thing was far too large for Duanmu Huai to haul back. So he had decided to stay and see what these robots would do—something Megatron had conveniently helped him with.
[Dark Relic — AllSpark (Damaged)]
[A relic from humanity's Dark Age. It can transform machines into sentient, humanoid mechanical life, but its internal structure and logic are damaged.]
"Mm… what should I do with this thing…"
Looking at the AllSpark in his hand, Duanmu Huai hesitated. Honestly, he really wanted to just exchange it outright. After all, the Iron Men rebellion was required study for any Inquisitor. During the Dark Age, humanity created sentient humanoid machines and used them to fight other alien races across the galaxy. Later, however, the Iron Men came to believe themselves far superior to humans, who could only survive in the galaxy by relying on them, and thus the Iron Men rebellion broke out.
That rebellion swept across the entire galaxy. Compared to it, the later Horus Heresy and the Dark Crusade were mere ripples in the ocean. In the end, the Iron Men rebellion was suppressed, but humanity was left gravely weakened, devastated almost beyond recovery. Many technologies from the Golden Age and even the Dark Age were lost as a result.
Because of this, the later Imperium of Man strictly forbade the creation of similar mechanical life.
As an Inquisitor, Duanmu Huai certainly wouldn't be stupid enough to violate the Crimson Protocols.
But on the other hand, this was the first Dark Age human relic he had ever obtained.
If it were placed in a museum, it would easily qualify as a centerpiece exhibit!
"Mm…"
After thinking for a moment, Duanmu Huai made his decision.
"First, put this thing in the library for analysis. See if we can extract any useful technology from it, then we'll decide what to do."
(End of Chapter)