dhibooks Chapter 137 The Siege and Defense of Iron Fortress
Chapter 137 The Siege and Defense of Iron Fortress
On the outer monitoring projection of the Iron Fortress, several areas simultaneously turned gray.
The police car looked up: "Outside communications are abnormal."
The next instant, the alarm in the command center went off.
[High-altitude monitoring link interrupted.]
[Outer relay station lost contact.]
[Trajectory warning signal delayed.]
[A large-scale enemy advance has been detected in the heavy transport corridor on the east side.]
Tongtianxiao stood before the main projector, his voice calm: "Switch to local confirmation protocol. All defenses will no longer rely on external relays."
The police car has already begun its operation, summarizing it casually: "Sound waves."
The communication was cut off cleanly and precisely; it was obvious whose style it was without even guessing.
Above Iron Fortress, the first group of trackers swooped down from the outer edge of the clouds.
Red Spider led the team into the high-altitude battlefield, its wings tearing through the cloud bands surrounding Iron Fortress. Chaos and Thunderclap descended from either side, while the Trackers formation behind them resembled a sharp, metallic shadow.
Starscream says on the Decepticon channel: "Block the skies above Ironforge. No Autobot air support is allowed near the core."
Nao Fantian immediately replied, "Their high-altitude defense cannons are still operational!"
"Then destroy it," Starscream said coldly. "You want to wait until they've written the invitations?"
Thunderclap led another squad to descend from the left, avoiding the first round of artillery fire, and headed straight for the northwest airspace of Iron Fortress.
The high-altitude artillery emplacements opened fire.
The sky above Iron Fortress was cleaved open by energy beams, and the ground defenses were attacked at the same time.
The Decepticon ground forces advanced towards the heavy access road on the east side. Barricades led the assault team through the first line of defense, followed closely by armored vehicles, their continuous artillery fire causing the Iron Fortress defensive walls to tremble.
Tin Man stood on the eastern flank, his cannon barrel scorching hot: "Don't let them cross this line!"
Bumblebee darted past, its yellow body flashing in the firelight: "I know!"
Tin Man glanced at him: "Kid, don't talk nonsense this time!"
Bumblebee raised his hand and fired, repelling a Decepticon that was trying to break through the blockade: "Understood!"
Another round of artillery fire bombarded the front of the position.
Iron Man cursed and took a step forward despite the impact.
"These guys really brought all sorts of junk."
On the battlefield projection, Decepticon symbols lit up one by one.
The signals from the Chaos Leopard began to overlap.
Hercules enters the frontal advance zone.
Higher up, the orbital beacon of the Ironclad Dragon space station gradually brightens.
The Decepticons have staked everything on this battle.
-
When Optimus Prime arrived at the main battle line, Megatron had already appeared in front of the outer defense line of Iron Fortress.
The two planes stared at each other across a street torn apart by artillery fire.
All around were shattered metal, burning defensive towers, and Autobot defenders constantly retreating and being re-invaded.
Megatron raised the Fusion Cannon: "Get out of the way."
Optimus Prime also raised his railgun: "Iron Fortress will not be handed over to you."
Megatron sneered, "Then I'll take it myself."
The first artillery shot landed, and the battlefield became increasingly fierce.
Optimus Prime charged forward, unleashing a barrage of fire, the shockwaves sweeping across both platforms.
Several Autobots were shaken like tumbleweeds in the desert as Jazz charged from the side and shoved them behind cover, one in each hand.
"Don't lie down in such a terrible place!"
Hengpao's twin swords flashed beside him, but after a moment's hesitation, he immediately refrained from charging: "There's an opening on the left!"
"I see it!" the jazz replied. "Come help pull the locomotive."
Sideswipe first put away his two swords and helped several Autobots retreat to a safe distance.
The Chaos Leopard completed its fusion at a distance.
The massive, heavily armored machine rose from the smoke and dust, its heavy cannons extending along its arms, locking onto the defensive node on the east side of the Iron Fortress.
The first round of heavy artillery fire caused the outer protective plate of the eastern defensive node to collapse on the spot.
Police cars quickly marked the red areas in the command center.
"The eastern node has suffered over 40% damage. Ironhide and Bumblebee, retreat half a block and move into the second blockade."
Ironhide watched as the Brutal Leopard approached step by step, gritting his teeth: "Roger that."
On the other side, Hercules arrived at the engineering defense line.
With each step it took, the ground of the Iron Fortress would sink a little, and the guardian would rush forward to meet it.
The two colossal combined structures collided outside the Iron Fortress, silencing the entire battlefield briefly as the ground nearly gave way. Police cars watched the rapidly rising data, their faceplates taut.
"Guardian Angel, restrict Hercules' advance. Do not allow the combat zone to approach the Academy!"
The guardian spirit raised its arm to block the Hercules's heavy blow and pushed it toward the abandoned industrial area.
Hercules let out a deep roar, ripped off half of the bridge and smashed it down, instantly engulfing the area in smoke and debris.
Tong Tianxiao calmly ordered: "Thunder Rescue Team, reinforce the third district's artillery. Jack, do not deviate from the mission objective."
Jack replied quickly, amidst the background noise of gunfire: "You have a problem with me."
"This is experience."
A voice from the partition chimed in, "Old conman, don't argue yet."
The Thunder Rescue Team burst out from behind the broken bridge, dodging pursuit fire as they rushed toward the Third Sector turret.
The firing pin attaches the breaching explosives to the control door, and the roadblock uses heavy artillery to clear the way.
With a jack, he leaped onto the side wall of the turret, his twin blades plunging into the gaps in the control panel: "How long until the third turret is back online?"
The police car replied, "Nineteen rounds of points."
"Too long."
"You're not allowed to blow it up."
The Iron Fortress's defenses are burning everywhere.
The ambulance's medical area was put into complete lockdown.
"Move the wounded inside! Don't pile them up at my feet!"
He cursed as he pressed an Autobot whose breastplate had been burned through onto a medical rack.
"Who switched the autopilot back to the outer channel? Disconnect it! Is Soundwave waiting over there for you to be slaughtered like a turbo rabbit?"
A medical medic whispered, "The third batch of wounded soldiers is coming in soon."
"Then let them in!" The ambulance driver didn't even look up. "Anyone who dares to block the medical access will be personally greeted after the war!"
Outside the medical area, Alita led her elite guards to defend the academy's borders.
She had several new wounds on her outer armor, but her firepower remained consistent.
"The queue in the college area continues to move inwards. Arcee, the medical access is yours."
Arcee's voice came through: "Roger that."
The shield-bearer stood beside her, looking up at the approaching artillery fire in the distance: "This is quite a spectacle today."
The medical transport team behind them was withdrawing into the inner layer through the flank passage.
The Black Widow darted through the shadows high above.
-
On orbit, the Ironclad Dragon space station awakens.
The Iron Fortress surveillance system was initially unable to determine what it was.
The main body is misaligned, the outer armor plate is disengaged, and the defensive turret is forcibly activated.
The joints of the Ironclad Dragon space station were adjusted and reconstructed, with the parts that originally resembled orbital facilities being separated into sections to form limbs, gun mounts, and armored spines.
A giant metallic life form that has been dormant for too long will serve the Decepticons.
In the Iron Fortress's command center, the alarm immediately drowned out all communications.
"Ironclad Dragon enters event mode!"
"Long-range orbital cannon locks onto Iron Fortress!"
Tianhuo looked up at the sky, his tone fearless: "I'll go stop it."
Starscream simultaneously said on the Decepticon Air Force channel, "Stop Skyfire."
The tracker formation rose rapidly.
Skyfire led the charge toward the outer orbit, while Red Spider cut in at high speed from the side, its cannon fire grazing his wing.
"So eager to go up and die?"
Tianhuo ignored his provocation.
"The target is the Ironclad Dragon's propulsion engine. Don't engage the pursuers in close combat."
Red Spider sneered: "Wishful thinking."
The air forces of both sides crossed over the Iron Fortress.
Thunderclap blocked the upward trajectory of Heavenly Fire from the flank with calm and precision. Chaos Heaven chased after them from the other side, attempting a pincer attack, but was blocked by Silver Arrow.
Red Spider weaves through the gunfire, closing in on Skyfire: "You can't get through."
The jet fire rose rapidly through the gaps in the artillery fire, and the flames from the propellers were almost white.
"Really? We'll see how you do."
The two jets clashed briefly at high altitude, exploding between them. Skyfire didn't linger, using the blast to gain altitude while its air strike squadron penetrated beneath the Ironclad Dragon's engines.
The armored dragon turned its orbital cannon, locked onto Skyfire, and gave the order as it skimmed past the massive metal shell.
"Now!"
The air raid first dropped the first batch of armor-piercing bombs, and the explosions ripped open several huge metal plates.
The second group ventured deep into the crevice, while the third group was personally thrown by Skyfire beneath the main propulsion engine of the Ironclad Dragon.
The explosion lit up the sky, and it looked like a brief white sun rising over the Iron Fortress.
The armored dragon emitted a low tremor and began to descend.
The red spider suddenly turned its head high in the air: "It's out of balance!"
A large amount of data instantly appeared in the sound wave channels.
[The propulsion ring of the armored dragon was damaged.]
[The trajectory is steadily descending.]
The probability of a crash has increased.
Megatron, who was fighting Optimus Prime on the ground, heard the report and his gaze darkened: "Take back control of it."
Shockwave replied, "The propulsion engine is severely damaged. The direction of the fall can be adjusted, but the altitude cannot be restored."
Red Spider couldn't help but curse.
The fire burst from the edge of the explosion, its fuselage covered in scratches; their objective had been achieved.
The armored dragon began to fall.
-
Outside the medical access, the barrier heard a low tremor in the sky.
He subconsciously looked up, but quickly brought his attention back to what was in front of him.
The passage ahead was cracked by artillery fire, and a huge supporting beam collapsed from above. If it were to fall, the entire medical line would be blocked.
Without hesitation, the shield rushed forward, bracing against the sagging metal beam: "Arcy!"
"I saw it!"
Arcee turned around and cleared out the two Decepticons rushing in from the flank, then immediately moved closer to him.
Just then, Black Widow fell from between the broken pipes above.
Several slender, spider-like mechanical limbs stretched out and hooked into the gaps in the armor behind the shield.
Just as the shield was about to turn around, Black Widow was already close behind him, instantly sending the tip into his spark chamber.
The movement of the baffle stopped.
Arcee rushed over, but a little too late.
She watched as the Black Widow stepped back from behind the barrier, her mechanical limbs retracting segment by segment, resembling an elegant yet cruel instrument of torture.
The barrier was still standing, its hand bracing against the support beam, as if it hadn't yet realized what was happening.
Arcee's processor was completely blank, and the audio receiver was only humming softly.
"Baffle".
The barrier saw her, the optical glasses flickered slightly, as if it wanted to say something, but in the end it only leaned against the heavy beam and said, "Medical team..."
Arcee abruptly raised her gun; the first shot grazed Black Widow's shoulder, and the second landed on one of Black Widow's spider legs as she retreated into the shadows.
Just as Arcee was about to give chase, she saw the barrier collapse, causing the supporting beam to tilt.
She instinctively rushed forward and caught Liang and him, their weight pressing down on her back as the medical transport team continued past her.
Before disappearing into the shadows, Black Widow uttered a mocking remark: "You're all always too close to each other; you're easy to find."
Arcee almost rushed after them without thinking, but she closed her glasses to adjust them, and then said, "Medical team, keep going."
Alita heard it; Arcee's voice came through the private channel: "Arcee?"
Arcee, carrying the fallen plank and bracing herself against the heavy beam, did not answer.
-
Above the Iron Fortress, the clouds were broken by the burning debris.
The Ironclad Dragon space station was so conspicuous that all the machines on the ground looked up.
The massive shadow of the armored dragon covered the Iron Fortress city, and the burning debris rained down like metal, destroying several towers first.
The police car quickly calculated the impact point in the command center.
"The impact area covers the heavy transport corridor and industrial zone on the east side!"
Tinker looked up, and Bumblebee stood beside him: "We're going to stop this thing?"
The tin-clad man loads the shell: "Of course."
In the distance, Optimus Prime also looked up at the firelight.
Megatron stood on the other side of the smoke and dust, his gaze dark as he watched the armored dragon fall like a giant fireball.