Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

"Then shoot them down, don't let them get close." Megatron waved his hand. "Since these reptiles dare to resist, they deserve a reward. Prepare the second macro cannon shot; this time we'll destroy one of their capitals!"

"Your will! Great Megatron!" The Cybertronians, having received the order, sprang into action, and soon, a second fireball descended, marking a second sea of ​​lava on the Earth's surface.

Another city has been destroyed, and this time the death toll is several times higher than the last. The power of the macro cannon exceeds the capabilities of all interception systems in the world. Not only would it fail to intercept, but even if it were to hit by chance, the macro cannon's shell would continue to fall, carrying the debris of the interceptor missile, and thus complete its mission of extermination.

Defense is useless; we can only hope for a counterattack.

The first batch of ballistic missiles then reached low Earth orbit.

They were fast, but still far slower than laser cannons. At least twenty laser cannons were deployed on the belly of the Retribution—above the sky, the Tyndall effect affecting laser illumination was almost nonexistent. In an instant, the countless white lines were shattered, leaving behind a sky full of sparks.

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"The Retribution rocket will only destroy the missiles when they are about ten kilometers away. After all, this is only low Earth orbit, not really space. Too far a distance could cause the Retribution rocket, which is designed for space warfare, to malfunction."

Optimus Prime and his crew were hidden within the third wave of ballistic missiles, which would arrive in the vicinity of the Nemesis in minutes.

"Are you afraid, Sam?" Optimus Prime asked his companion. This young mortal, an extraordinary one among mortals, had been trained by the witches and sparred with the Autobots who arrived later; the Cybertronians had already acknowledged him as a qualified warrior.

The win rate is 15 to 19; Sam won 15 matches and lost 19. Even in direct combat, Sam's strength surpasses that of nearly half of the Autobot warriors. And since he is already a true warrior, he doesn't need any additional protectors.

So, despite Bumblebee's reluctance, Sam ultimately chose to share the same missile bay as Optimus Prime—Optimus Prime was too large for the other Autobots. This arrangement was necessary to save space.

Moreover, Optimus Prime also had some words to convey to Sam before joining the battle.

“I’m just excited.” Sam flexed his fingers, which were encased in the power armor. He was completely familiar with how to use this weapon, whether on the ground, in the mountains, in orbit, or even in space… he was adept at it. “I can finally prove my worth, prove that I, Sam Witwicky, am not some ordinary nobody. And it is my duty to fight for the human world… I am human, and I cannot retreat here.”

“You have proven yourself, Sam.” Optimus Prime made his tone as gentle as possible. “Even on Cybertron, few warriors have grown as quickly as you. Although you benefited from the power of those two witches, you are still stronger than most people in this world.”

“You don’t need to prove anything anymore, Sam. Excessive stress and a strong desire for self-expression will lead you to make mistakes, and I don’t want that to happen.”

“I know.” Sam gave Optimus Prime a confident smile. “True strength comes from within—Ms. Patchouli has emphasized this to me countless times. I don’t need to prove anything to anyone else. I’m just telling myself one thing… ‘The time has come.’”

Optimus Prime gave him a deep look, then turned his gaze to the outside of the missile bay. Just then, the second batch of ballistic missiles crossed the blue sky and approached the warning line of nearly ten kilometers around the Retribution.

"Are you prepared for the impact?" Optimus Prime took out the phone Alice had given him and pressed a button. "You should take off your helmet."

The next moment, the sky was filled with pure white light!

Since the Nemesis can destroy any flying object within a ten-kilometer radius, the nuclear bomb can simply be detonated ten kilometers away. The resulting high-altitude nuclear explosion would create a wide-ranging EMP attack. While this wouldn't significantly affect the Nemesis's control system, it would be enough to deflect the lasers and heat rays!

Moreover, the light and heat of a nuclear explosion are the best cover. When they unfold, even the most sensitive radar cannot detect what is happening behind the nuclear explosion. At its peak, Cybertron would not be stopped by such a trick, but Optimus Prime knew that the Cybertronian survivors at this moment... no matter how invincible they appeared, they were essentially just a group of old, weak, sick, and disabled people.

The shockwave struck, causing the missile's outer shell to tremble violently. Even in near-Earth orbit, where the air was almost nonexistent, the blast wave from the nuclear explosion still possessed the force of a tsunami. The ear-piercing roar was far beyond the limits of human hearing; had Sam not lowered his head armor in time, he would have been deaf.

And the number of nuclear explosions was not just one.

Alice's plan was simple: the first wave of nuclear missiles would be a scattered attack to determine the range of the Retribution's counterattack. Ten kilometers was an acceptable distance; if it were farther, the plan would be adjusted accordingly.

Once the distance is determined and the first wave of nuclear missiles has been completely destroyed, the likelihood of the Retribution changing its counterattack strategy in response to a second wave of attacks with an interval of at most one minute is very low. At that point, the second wave of nuclear missiles will self-destruct sequentially at an appropriate distance, disrupting the enemy's defense system while advancing the front line.

If the first nuclear explosion occurs at a distance of ten kilometers, the second will be at eight kilometers. And once the third and fourth nuclear explosions are successfully generated, the third wave of ballistic missiles carrying the assault force will be able to penetrate the precisely calculated gaps in the nuclear explosions and appear directly within a maximum of two kilometers of the Retribution.

As for how many people will be able to successfully log into the Retribution Number by then... that will depend on fate.

Sam believed he would be one of the successful landers. He clung tightly to the outer shell of the protective shield, which seemed ready to burst at any moment, but his feet remained rooted to the spot.

The power reactor is preheating, and all weapon systems are now online.

He wiggled his fingers, silently counting the number of air blasts that struck from high above the orbit.

[One, two...] His muscles slowly tensed up.

[Seven, eight...] His will gradually focused.

[Twelve, thirteen...] His heart was at peace.

When he counted to fifteen, the narrow space in front of him suddenly expanded, and a vacuum orbiting the orbit, shrouded in a boiling ocean of aurora, appeared before him!

The aurora borealis is an unnatural phenomenon caused by the collision of charged particles from a nuclear explosion with the Earth's magnetic field. At this moment, almost a third of the Northern Hemisphere's sky is bathed in a dazzling light. A display of ultimate beauty and splendor.

In the center of the aurora borealis, he saw the colossal starship, stretching for several kilometers. Undoubtedly, it was a born predator; its sharp wings and menacing horns revealed its extreme danger. And when it roared, a torrential downpour of rapid-fire projectiles swept forth!

The distance is two kilometers, which these high-speed projectiles can cross in less than a second.

However, neither Optimus Prime nor Sam were bothered by such things. The jet systems mounted on them immediately activated, and like petrels in a storm, the two quickly overcame these minor obstacles.

Sam even had time to glance at the other assault team members through optical sensors. And without a doubt, not a single Autobot would be killed by physical barrages after crossing the nuclear blast barrier. But it wasn't just the Autobots who were unharmed—besides them, elite forces assembled by various terrestrial nations had also reached orbital altitude. They were equipped with armor a level below Sam's, but their initial disorientation to the orbital environment after escaping the ballistic missiles resulted in some casualties among the Retribution's barrage.

Even for those selected from the best pilots, seven days of training was far too little. Although they were familiar with flying using powered armor, training and actual combat were fundamentally different.

Moreover, with dozens of cascading nuclear explosions, all electronic communications would be rendered unusable. The human brain would also be affected.

They shouldn't die like this; I have to find a way to buy them some time.

Sam thought to himself as he activated his jetpack, preparing to slightly change his flight path to draw fire. Suddenly, he heard Alice's voice in his ear.

No, not in their ears, but high above the orbit where the air was so thin it was almost a vacuum, Alice Margotrovid's voice suddenly rang out in the perception of every mortal.

"At this moment, I am Ishtar, the master of war, and the goddess of the universe."

"Warriors, bear this blessing of war from the sea of ​​stars!"

Chapter Thirty-Two: Boarding Action

Pale golden light surged from the lower level of the orbit, piercing through the sea of ​​aurora and, milliseconds later, permeating the mortal warriors above. Their minds immediately focused, their physical strength increased, and their reaction speed enhanced. The warriors, already familiar with aerial combat, gained a spatial awareness several times stronger than before.

In short, they temporarily transformed from terrestrial beings native to the earth into extraterrestrial races adapted to the low gravity of space. Although this transformation was short-lived, it was presumably to cope with the war.

They quickly regrouped and prepared strategies to deal with the shelling.

"Sam Witwicky. Once we successfully breach the Nemesis, the command of the human alliance will be in your hands. Make good use of the art of war you learned from Caesar, Baldwin, Napoleon, Guderian, Rommel, and others, and try to save as many people as possible."

Alice's voice converged into a directional wave and entered Sam's ears. The next moment, the ballistic missile she was on crossed the Aurora Sea and approached within two kilometers of the Retribution.

Meanwhile, the Retribution's defensive artillery fire rained down like a storm.

[Dozens of nuclear explosions... the external information environment isn't much different from after the Apocalypse was activated. Even if I were 'Ishtar,' I couldn't summon the Bull of Heaven like in mythology. But I can't wait until I can use ritual magic to act; if that happens, the Retribution's external defenses will be fully restored.]

[...We cannot delay any longer; we must board the Narrative before then.]

The ballistic missiles she was hiding in were blasted to pieces by the rapid-fire cannons from the Retribution, the interwoven lines of fire becoming increasingly dense as they drew closer to the Retribution. She used her puppet strings to hold up several relatively sturdy pieces of wreckage around her, but even this simple barrier was destroyed in an instant. A series of flames then exploded on the barrier beside her, the shattered shell casings rapidly melting into molten steel in the intense heat.

We can't expose ourselves to you right now.

With a shift in will, the surrounding light distorted. Under the aurora sea, even Cybertronian exploration technology became ineffective. Communication and reconnaissance were completely lost, and in the thin atmosphere high above orbit, only sight and sound could transmit information.

Her figure then silently adhered to a larger piece of debris, drifting silently towards the lower end of the Retribution ship along the faint airflow on the track.

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"I must admit, I underestimated them. As expected, as long as Optimus Prime is still around, I won't be able to win easily." Looking at the damage projection inside the Retribution, Megatron's steel face showed obvious displeasure.

Dozens of nuclear bombs exploded outside, and the powerful electromagnetic storm hindered all long-range attacks from energy weapons. The shields could still be activated, but this severely hampered their offensive capabilities—where would a spaceship like the Nemesis find so many outdated physical cannons!

That won't do.

Ants are just ants after all. Since you've been bitten by them by accident, you should stomp on them to make them a deterrent.

It reached the upper deck of the Narrative and roughly shoved aside the Cybertronian soldier in charge of operating the rapid-fire cannon.

"Step aside, I'll take over now."

The next moment, the barrage of physical projectiles projected from above the Nemesis nearly doubled in density and ferocity. Dozens of soldiers died instantly, their bodies turning into debris and dust high in the orbit. Even several Autobot soldiers were wounded, forced to use the fragments of the ballistic missiles as a protective barrier.

Some soldiers began to counterattack. Since they had planned to use the electromagnetic storm to clear a path, they naturally hadn't forgotten to prepare weapons capable of operating in a strong electromagnetic environment. And within this distance of less than two kilometers, even unguided rockets could hit a massive target like the Retribution!

At least three thousand rockets were launched, creating a barrage that covered the entire Narrative Sea. However, seconds later, the results of the rockets were clearly visible to every living being present.

How could these chemical and explosive weapons possibly damage the outer armor of the Retribution? They couldn't even leave a scratch on its hull!

However, the barrage was merely cover; the real objective was to close in and directly attack the ship's hull. Under the cover of the rocket barrage, the soldiers advanced approximately one kilometer. Then…

That's all.

"Ha, a reptile should act like a reptile." Megatron laughed, and an order was given. The Narrative opened fire on the broadsides, with sixteen high-speed cannons drawing a chessboard-like crisscross pattern on the Aurora Sea. The construction of these patterns was accompanied by the deaths of thousands of soldiers.

If previous long-range rapid-fire artillery attacks might have left some fragments in the trajectory that could perhaps be recovered, then this close-range bombardment meant utter annihilation. The extreme heat instantly vaporized limbs and armor, leaving not a trace.

Humanity has sacrificed thousands of lives to cover a distance of thousands of meters. And in the future, even more will die.

The offensive had been halted. Although the Autobots Megatron was wary of suffered relatively minor losses, they were still unable to approach within a kilometer of the battlefield. Megatron easily stopped them with artillery fire, and what followed was a one-sided, cat-and-mouse game of crushing them.

Megatron personally operated the turrets, turning the power-armored human soldiers one by one into sparks in the aurora borealis. Unable to hit Optimus Prime with the cannons, he targeted the soldiers near Optimus Prime. Witnessing his old adversary's futile attempt to protect the humans around him, Megatron found pleasure in extinguishing that last glimmer of hope.

However, at this moment, someone interrupted its enjoyment.

“Great Megatron, one kilometer is already a very dangerous distance. Should we start the engines immediately and escape this planet's atmosphere?” The Cybertronian controlling the spaceship looked at Megatron. “These natives' equipment doesn't support them fighting in deep space. Starting the engines now will allow us to escape the Autobots' offensive immediately.”

"Hmph." Megatron clenched his massive steel fist. "While it is certainly unpleasant that we had to retreat in front of Optimus Prime despite having the upper hand, failure due to arrogance is far more foolish."

"Command. Retribution, full engine power, detach from this planet immediately—"

Before the words were even finished, the entire starship suddenly began to tremble violently. A series of explosions erupted from the lower middle section of the Retribution's bridge.

Chapter Thirty-Three: Infiltration Warfare

About twenty seconds ago...

The fragment in which Alice was hiding drifted silently to the very bottom of the Nemesis. And, unsurprisingly, the Decepticon pilot operating the rapid-fire cannon spotted the fragment and shattered it into hundreds of pieces with a single, accurate shot.

This was within Alice's expectations, as the fragment was merely a tool she used to draw fire—on such a battlefield, it was impossible for pieces not to drift towards the Nemesis. Therefore, as long as the Decepticon warriors noticed and struck the fragment, it would become a blind spot for them. They would not notice the afterimage trailing behind the fragment's disintegration trajectory.

Optical shielding… Alice's most frequently used skill besides anti-gravity fields. Normally, this trick could only fool ordinary people from a distance; it would immediately expose her to opponents with keen senses or equipped with infrared vision, heartbeat detection, or similar devices. However, at this moment, this magic could achieve its greatest effect.

She glanced at the countless sparks scattered across the aurora borealis.

[Your work of stalling for time and drawing enemy fire has been arduous, but your deaths are worthwhile, for I will rely on them to achieve victory.]

She turned her gaze back to the only blind spot in the Retribution's defenses.

—The muzzle of the Hongpao.

Megatron needed to use the macro cannon to destroy the city, but when the nuclear bombs fell and the powerful electromagnetic storm covered the surrounding space, the macro cannon, which was essentially a large railgun, would temporarily stop working—it wouldn't break, of course, but it would be difficult to operate in this environment.

While the mortal army and the Autobot allies draw fire, this is the perfect place to invade!

She floated lightly through the gap in the shield at the muzzle, then entered the barrel, until she reached the core of the giant cannon—she knew she couldn't just leave directly inside the cannon; once inside the Retribution, the possible alarm system would give her a powerful surprise within seconds.

I'm lucky the gun emplacement's shield didn't deploy. Otherwise, I would have had to risk going to find the thrusters.

She lowered her eyes and carefully manipulated the information waves within the Nemesis through the several-meter-thick metal wall—she had already learned about the history and culture of Cybertronians through Optimus Prime, although it was still very rudimentary, it was enough for her to construct simple concepts and unleash power.

The Cybertronians have advanced electronic technology. My chances of winning an away invasion will be exposed before I even win, and even if they aren't, the probability of victory is extremely low. Therefore, let's solve the problem physically.