Chapter 502 - 490: Betrayal

Chapter 502: Chapter 490: Betrayal

To others, it was an apocalyptic wasteland. To him, it was no different from a vault piled high with gold bars.

"Jarvis, deploy Cybertron. Begin the operation."

At his command, the massive complex of buildings materialized from nothing.

Countless Demon Eyes flew out in all directions. Immediately after, the Sky Throne, five hundred meters in diameter, rose silently into the air. Its AT Force Field Shield expanded like an inverted giant bowl, isolating it from the surrounding radioactive dust and plague spores.

Two colossal figures emerged from Cybertron.

On the left was the holy and slender Gabriel; on the right, the mountain-like Cyclops.

A silent, aloof figure with blonde hair and blue eyes appeared behind Allen. It was Android 18, watching their surroundings vigilantly like the most loyal of shadows.

RUMBLE!

A torrent of steel began to surge from the gate!

Leading the charge were several thousand Peacekeeper PX-3s. They marched in perfect unison, rapidly establishing a perimeter defense.

Following close behind were the "Infernos," bearing dense clusters of cannon barrels, and a tide of Spider Slayer Type IIs pouring out like a flood.

In the sky, over a hundred Magic Eye Type II flying fortresses ascended, forming a crossfire network with the ground troops.

Finally, tens of thousands of Factory Servants and Hercules heavy Engineering Golems followed the combat units, ready to dismantle and recycle at a moment’s notice.

Ten standard synthetic Golem legions, over fifty thousand combat units in total, established an orderly forward base on this dead, silent land in just ten minutes.

Several material reclamation furnaces in the workshop had already begun to preheat, emitting a low hum. They were like famished iron beasts, eager to devour the "feast" of scrap that littered the ground.

’Forget about any ancient technology for now.’ Allen watched the orderly legion before him, his mood cheerful. ’First, let’s clear up this scrap metal and make some pocket money for the road.’

...

The recycling operation proceeded for three hours.

Jarvis’s global coordination was flawless. The movement path of every single servant was optimized to perfection.

Floating Ships, fully loaded with warship armor and Golem wreckage, continuously fed metal materials into the reclamation furnaces, which transformed them into neat rows of stacked metal ingots.

The purity of the scrap metal here was unexpectedly high. Allen was even starting to consider whether he should add a few new production lines to Cybertron after this mission was over.

...

At the farthest point from Cybertron, a Peacekeeper that was using its tools to dismantle the armor of a giant warship suddenly began to move in a jerky, bizarre manner.

The next second, its optical sensor module, which had been blinking blue to signify "Work" mode, silently switched to red for "Combat."

[Unknown Error Detected]

[One PX-3 Unit Detected Offline]

The relaxed expression on Allen’s face instantly froze. His look turned to one of shock and uncertainty.

But this was only the beginning of the nightmare.

One, two... a hundred. The speed was terrifyingly fast.

All Golem units deployed on the battlefield that possessed a Control Core, including Gabriel and Cyclops, froze completely at the same instant.

[Emergency Alert: Due to an unknown factor, 653 Golem units have now gone offline!]

"What’s happening?!"

Suddenly, Allen felt the spiritual link between him and his legion, established through the Allen Network, being instantly overwhelmed by a cold, merciless torrent!

Altered, overwritten!

It was an indescribable feeling.

It was as if his mind had suddenly brushed against a universe constructed from infinite gears and precise programs.

In that place, there were no emotions, no life—only eternal operation and cold, hard rules.

The link... was severed.

’No, not severed. It was stolen!’

Meanwhile, deep within the steel graveyard that had been silent for countless years, the wrecked Golems buried deep beneath the ruins, long since deemed completely scrapped, began to tremble.

In the darkness, one pair, a thousand pairs, ten thousand pairs... countless rusted mechanical eyes lit up with the same crimson glow.

They had awakened from their long slumber.

[WARNING! WARNING! Unknown high-dimensional logic virus detected! Control of all deployed units has been compromised!]

[Firewall breached instantly! Attempting to establish link... Failed!]

[Cross-referencing with archived file No. 139 in the database... Identified as ’Mechanical Realm’ contamination!]

Jarvis’s alarm was as shrill as a doomsday bell.

The Mechanical Realm!

’How could it be here?’

Allen’s pupils contracted to pinpoints.

His Allen Network still covered the entire abandoned work zone, but not a single Golem responded to him.

In the sky, Gabriel, which had once radiated a holy light, was now tainted by an ominous crimson glow.

It turned slowly. Its eight wings of light began to break apart and reconverge, aiming at the only uncontrolled unit high in the sky: the Sky Throne.

On the ground, ten thousand Spider Slayers, three thousand Peacekeepers, three hundred Infernos... tens of thousands of Golems turned their cannons in unison.

Swarms of drone bees began to pour out of the Hive mothership.

A dense sea of red lights converged, stretching across the vast battlefield, all locking onto their one and only former creator.

An emotionless, synthetic voice emanated from the Golem closest to Allen, simultaneously broadcasting over the public channel of all the rebellious Golems:

"Target identified: Creator."

"Threat level: Maximum."

"Executing directive: Purge."

Even Android 18, standing just three meters behind Allen, began to turn her brilliant, golden-haired head toward him in a jerky... halting motion.

Deep within her blue eyes, a faint red light was flickering tenaciously, and growing.

’This is bad...’

Allen’s face went deathly pale.

Master Mercer’s warning rang in his mind like an incessant alarm bell!

His Golem Legion... had completely turned against him!

He didn’t hesitate for a second, nor was he foolish enough to try and use his own Spiritual Power to wrestle for control against the entire Mechanical Realm.

Before the thousands of attacks could lock onto him, he issued a decisive command without a moment’s hesitation:

"Jarvis! Emergency disengagement! Immediately retract Cybertron into the Half-Plane! Initiate the highest lockdown protocol! Forbid any form of deployment until I issue a supreme-authority command!"

’He couldn’t let Cybertron get contaminated too! His remaining twenty legions, his core production lines, his everything was in there!’

"Detonate all the Sky Throne’s Magic Engines!"

As the final command was given, the Ring of Instant Shadow on Allen’s left hand erupted with a spatial fluctuation.

His figure blurred and distorted on the spot.

The instant he vanished—

BOOM!!!!!!

The Sky Throne, suspended in mid-air, became a sun so blindingly bright it resembled an exploding supernova!

Three Magic Engines overloaded simultaneously, causing the tens of thousands of high-explosive munitions stored inside to detonate sympathetically.

A devastating storm of energy swept out in all directions with unstoppable force!

Thousands of rebellious Golems and countless metal wrecks within a radius of several kilometers below were vaporized in the searing light, and a massive cloud of debris shot toward the heavens.

However, the torrent of steel farther away merely paused for a moment in the shockwave before resuming its advance.

Their red eyes pierced through the fiery glow of the explosion and, with unshakable logic, began an unending hunt in the direction where Allen had disappeared.