Chapter 151: Dubbed the Garen of the Bushes (Third Request)

Voltron shut down its propulsion system and weapons systems, retracting its mecha sword.

At this moment, it was hiding deep within a dense asteroid belt.

Surrounding Luke was a chaotic, rolling cluster of small asteroids. These space rocks formed a belt at least tens of kilometers long, which provided excellent interference against the Chitauri radar sweeps and granted him a rare hiding spot.

Lying inside the cockpit, Luke was drenched in sweat. He let out a long breath, thinking to himself that he had finally shaken off those Chitauri pursuers. That had been an incredible ordeal.

Checking the data displayed before him, he saw that during the pursuit, Voltron's structural integrity had worsened significantly, suffering over seventy percent damage. If not for the Adamantite plating, the machine likely would have completely fallen apart.

At this stage, Voltron was much like an iron shell packed with loose, compressed soil. Were it not for that outer metal casing holding it together, the contents would have collapsed long ago.

Even so, after taking continuous hits during the chase, Voltron’s left leg was completely dead, unresponsive to any transmission signals.

Fortunately, realizing how crucial his hands were, Luke had deliberately protected them, often using his own head to absorb incoming enemy fire. After all, his future actions would depend entirely on this pair of hands.

From his vantage point, he could see two intact Chitauri motherships in the distance slowly changing direction, adjusting their postures, and beginning to creep through space.

Surrounding the two Chitauri motherships, countless Chitauri troops were reorganizing their ranks, while sleek Leviathans coiled about in the vicinity.

With the invasion of Earth failed, one could only wonder what plans these Chitauri had next.

Without the Tesseract, and with Loki captured, they would surely be sent back to Asgard by now. The Chitauri should have no way to launch another attack on Earth. Thanos's next direct assault on Earth wouldn't happen for another nine years.

Pondering this, Luke gazed toward the opposite direction of the asteroid belt.

From this angle, a hazy grey planet was visible. A thin layer of atmosphere could be seen clinging to the planet's edge, suggesting it must be a Chitauri world.

Luke guessed that even if this wasn't the heart of the Chitauri homeworld, it was at least a fortress planet or a base of operations. Otherwise, so many Chitauri motherships wouldn't have gathered here.

Having three motherships destroyed in one fell swoop by Earthlings meant the Chitauri had suffered a massive loss, gaining nothing while paying a heavy price.

At this thought, Luke felt slightly better.

"Master, the repair protocol has been calculated," Christina's calm voice echoed.

"Alright, let me take a look."

Perhaps due to being separated from the main program, the version of Christina loaded onto Voltron retained her intelligence, but seemed stripped of her emotional aspects. The personality of Christina was gone.

This left Luke with a lingering sense of regret. The Christina here could only be described as an artificial intelligence program, rather than his true Christina.

Several mecha repair options provided by Christina appeared before him.

Because the damage was so severe, under the current conditions, attempting a complete overhaul was impractical. Therefore, he could only pick out a few critical systems for makeshift repairs. A single, highly efficient repair scheme was vital.

After all, they currently had nowhere to land, were temporarily holed up in an asteroid belt, and lacked all necessary equipment and spare parts for mecha maintenance. This pushed the difficulty of repairs to an infinite scale.

Looking at the heavily damaged War Lord below, which resembled a tattered sieve on the diagnostic screen, Luke sighed helplessly. He had virtually no confidence in how much of it could actually be fixed.

"Compared to the War Lord, the four GALE units are in much better condition. At least they were all built with hardened-agent treated materials, right down to their internal components. We can find a way to detach Voltron and repair the propulsion systems of the four GALE units so they can move again."

With that thought came another thorny problem: the issue of ammunition could not be resolved.

"Anaka and Obia will be fine; they excel at close-quarters mecha combat, and their plasma sabers are still intact. Rozana and Amitan rely on heavy firepower, so the two of them will be virtually combat-ineffective..."

Luke figured that if push came to shove, he would have to choose Option Two: keep two GALE units, scrap the other two, and use their harvested parts to repair the War Lord.

The most crucial task right now was still fixing the War Lord's propulsion and transmission structures.

After all, his primary combat strength still relied on it.

The main thrusters under the War Lord's feet were completely destroyed, and only three auxiliary thrusters remained on its back. For now, they could barely push Voltron into a crooked flight path, capable of only simple turning maneuvers.

More complex movements were out of the question even if he wanted to attempt them, as two more auxiliary thrusters had been blasted off during the recent escape.

"Having no replaceable parts is the biggest headache..." Luke furrowed his brow deeply. In a desolate ghost place like this, where was he supposed to get resources to fix a mecha? Did they expect him to go rob the Chitauri?

"Wait a second, now that I think about it, that idea actually has some viability..." Luke nodded to himself.

"However, given Voltron's current state, engaging in a direct frontal brawl is out of the question. I have to think of a way to snipe from the sides, launch sneak attacks from behind, and play dirty—that's the best strategy..."

Just at that moment, the active radar displayed a small bright dot. Fortunately, the radar was still functional; at least he wasn't blind. That was critical.

Luke watched the solitary small dot flying closer and instantly grew suspicious. Could it be another Chitauri patrol?

"Assistant, analyze."

Christina's analysis results came back swiftly: "Master, judging by the target's weapon payload capacity and body size ratio, it is completely distinct from the Chitauri combat units in the database. There is a ninety percent probability that this is a Chitauri transport craft."

"A transport craft?" Hearing this, Luke's eyes lit up immediately, and he smiled. "Just when I was feeling sleepy, someone hands me a pillow. It's arrived at the perfect time."

The radar indicated that this transport craft seemed to be flying up from the planet below. Its flight path was heading straight for the two Chitauri motherships.

After a brief, rapid calculation, Luke formed a bold plan.

He was going to hijack this transport ship!

No matter what was inside, he needed everything right now! Equipment, parts, resources, even raw metal materials would do. As long as it helped him repair his mecha, taking the risk was well worth it.

He had to admit that this asteroid belt was a naturally gifted hiding place. Tucked away here, Luke could monitor the outside happenings while anyone looking from the outside would only scan a vast field of rocks.

With its engines completely dead, the idling Voltron was indistinguishable from any large, ordinary asteroid here.

"It's coming... It really is a transport craft."

Luke's eyes gleamed brightly. Operating Voltron, he hid within the shadow of a large asteroid, sneakily poking his head out to observe the approaching Chitauri transport ship as it prepared to cut through the asteroid belt.

With his Void Sword in hand, Luke readied himself to launch a surprise attack the moment the target drew close.

"Take it down! Take it down!" Rotesu was equally excited, lowering its voice as it egged him on relentlessly.

Luke chuckled softly. "Today, I'll show the Chitauri what it means to camp in the bushes. You know, back in the day, I had a nickname—people called me Garen of the Brush..."

How could the Chitauri transport craft possibly know that a sneaky mecha was lurking within the asteroid belt?

Oblivious, it glided right past Luke.

At that exact moment, Voltron lunged out from behind the asteroid.

Luke raised the Void Sword high, aimed squarely at the engines on the transport's stern, and brought it down with a shout: "Demacia!"