The Challenger 2 Transformer roamed around the castle grounds for a while, getting used to its new body before shifting with a series of metallic clanks into its four-meter-tall humanoid robot form.
"From the bottom of my heart, I thank you, esteemed Lord Devonshire. It is you who have granted me a new life."
"No need to be so formal."
William hovered in midair, put on his smart glasses, and circled around the Challenger tank while Sunday's analysis results came through his earpiece.
This tank, which appeared to be about one-third smaller than a standard Challenger 2, was still armed with a cannon, machine guns, and missiles. According to Sunday's assessment, its reduced size had actually enhanced its speed considerably.
While these stats weren't particularly useful to William personally, they were a different story when it came to Kingsman.
"If you really want to show your gratitude, how about working for me?" William suggested.
"Besides, you're now in the form of a currently active British military tank. Forget driving around—you'd even cause trouble for the old earl just by being parked at Folger Castle.
But if you work for me, that's a different story. You'll have a legal identity, and you'd be free to stay at Kingsman's base or return to the castle in your downtime. Plus, you'll receive various benefits every month. Think it over."
Before the Challenger tank could respond, the elder Transformer beside it quickly interjected, "No problem, Mr. Devonshire. As long as the payment is in Energon crystals, I'll accept on his behalf.
In fact, if you'd like, I can even send a signal into space and recruit a fully formed combat team for you."
"A combat team?"
Just as he was about to agree, William suddenly hesitated. Could this be Optimus Prime's crew?
Based on the timeline, Prime should be arriving on Earth soon.
Should he accept them or not?
If this really was Prime's team, who knew if the disasters from the movies would play out in London instead?
But if Prime didn't land in England and instead ended up in the U.S., there was a good chance he'd be dismantled the moment he arrived.
After all, back in the Middle Eastern military base, the two Decepticons that Sunday had created had completely wiped out the entire base.
Not only was the facility severely damaged, but what truly enraged the Americans was the loss of over a thousand soldiers.
Ever since then, the U.S. had been conducting large-scale sweeps against Transformers on its own soil. More than a year had passed, and by now, whether Autobots or Decepticons, they either hid in fear or fled American territory altogether.
To William's surprise, the Autobots' preferred hiding spot was Cuba, with England and Europe as their secondary choices.
Meanwhile, the Decepticons had split into two factions—one group of large, combat-focused units had retreated to Africa to await orders, while another, composed of intelligence and assassination specialists, had increased their infiltration into human society. They had even begun grooming human proxies to act as their protectors.
With human backing and intelligence, the Autobots had lost over a dozen members in the U.S. within a year, which explained why the elder Transformer was being so respectful toward William.
From the elder's perspective, if the Decepticons could collaborate with humans, then the Autobots needed to as well.
The Decepticons had allied with a human financial conglomerate, so the Autobots needed someone even more powerful—someone who had no fear of the Americans.
Thanks to journalists and television networks worldwide, almost everyone had heard reports of tensions between William and the U.S. government.
And for well-informed figures like the elder, it was no secret that there had been multiple bloody conflicts between William and the Americans behind the scenes.
So, in the elder's eyes, there was no one more suitable to be the Autobots' ally than William Devonshire.
Even if, at present, it was William—not the Autobots—who held the upper hand in this partnership.
But the Autobots, unlike the Decepticons, had no aspirations of conquest. They didn't mind following orders, as long as those orders aligned with justice and legality.
If that condition wasn't met, then under the leadership of the ever-righteous Optimus Prime, the Autobots might very well turn their guns on William or Kingsman.
However, that wouldn't be an issue. Kingsman was already a legal organization that handled special incidents. Getting the Autobots to fight for England's interests shouldn't be difficult.
And "England's interests" could easily be reframed as William's own interests.
Besides, when it came down to it, William wasn't planning to send Optimus Prime's team on missions involving humans anyway.
Aliens, Decepticons, werewolves, vampires, and other supernatural entities—those were the targets he had in mind for Prime's squad.
Since Transformers could recover from anything short of fatal injuries much faster than humans, they made ideal cannon fodder.
Looking at the elder Transformer, who was frowning in thought but also visibly hopeful, William spoke in a serious tone.
"If your people want to work for me through Kingsman and receive my protection, that's fine.
But listen carefully—you will be working for me, and we operate under military law. Anyone—whether human or Transformer—who disobeys orders will face military justice. Understood?"
"Understood. I'll make sure they're aware of that," the elder replied as if it were only natural. "Thank you for accepting us and offering your protection. As long as your cause is just, the Autobots will always stand behind you."
"Good."
William nodded indifferently.
When it really came down to battle, these Transformers would be little more than cannon fodder—not even particularly effective cannon fodder, considering they weren't exceptionally powerful, and there weren't enough of them.
In comparison, the combat robots Sunday could mass-produce with transformation capabilities were a far more efficient investment.
Still, if he sent the Autobots to the front lines, there would inevitably be casualties. And when that happened, Sunday would have fresh research subjects to examine.
"Thup-thup-thup."
The sound of helicopter rotors echoed through the sky.
William gave the elder a nod, reminded him to choose an uninhabited location for the Autobots' arrival, and then boarded the helicopter back to London.
After William left, Odin, who was still at the castle, found himself wondering if he should check on the Abyss and make sure the seal on the Aether was still intact.
It had been over five thousand years since the Dark Elves were wiped out by Odin's father, Bor. Since then, Asgard had neither seen nor been attacked by Dark Elves.
So it was understandable that Odin had largely put the Aether out of his mind. If William hadn't repeatedly mentioned it, he might have forgotten entirely where his father had sealed it away.
Once the thought entered his mind, Odin wasted no time. Without waiting for the elder Transformer to return, he looked up at the sky and said softly, "Heimdall, take me to the Abyss."
The moment he spoke, a multicolored beam of light appeared in the castle, and in the next instant, Odin was standing in the Abyss.
After carefully inspecting the seal and confirming that everything was in order, Odin instructed Heimdall to return him to Folger Castle.
What Odin didn't realize, however, was that by using the Bifrost to enter the sealed area directly, he had inadvertently caused the seal to loosen.
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