But that wasn’t all. Behind him were five other giant robots, including an ancient Roman knight, a Greek hoplite, and Arab, Japanese, and Persian warriors. Beside the giants, a large army of silver robots marched in formation. Above them flew hundreds of robotic insects that resembled bees in their physiological structure, and hundreds of large spiders crawled beneath them, along with many other robots whose composition they didn’t have time to contemplate—some huge, some small.
Gaia said, his eyes promising death to all before him, "So, you managed to escape! And you destroyed the generator for the utopian city. But did you really think that was the only power source in the city? And did you think that crystal was the Crystal of Life? You are such pitiful creatures. Your end is near, and with it will come the destruction of everything you know. Soon, the shield that protects your small continent will be opened, and I and my invincible army will enter and crush everything you know."
He was silent for a moment amidst the humans’ astonishment, then continued, "Everything you have built will fall, and from the dust of your world, I will build a better one. No one will stand before my overwhelming army, and I will end this war and put a stop to this farce."
Gaia said to himself, "They left, just as I planned. Now the truth will reach the ears of all the humans, which will reduce their trust in their leaders and shake their fragile thrones, giving me the opportunity to invade them. They won’t be able to trust Gladious and his tricks anymore. Now, let’s see what Gladious will do about this!"
The machines emitted frightening electronic sounds that sounded like a battle cry and the ringing of war bells as they advanced by the thousands. Everyone trembled as if they were an ant under the feet of Solomon’s army. Ares shouted, his legs barely supporting him, "Everyone, go now, or that bastard will finish us off! We have to warn the rest of the humans. If we can’t warn them, they won’t know the danger that is coming for them!"
The aircraft began to fly away, dodging the missiles coming from the robot ranks with great difficulty, until they were far away in the horizon and in a safe zone. Everyone stared at the hellish city as it disappeared over the horizon, which made them feel some reassurance and serenity from being away from it. They breathed a sigh of relief. Ares looked down from the aircraft’s balcony and saw what left another sense of astonishment in his heart and made him certain that much of what Gaia had said was true. He saw the fog below them enveloping the robot continent, and there was a large, wide golden bridge that stretched between this continent and the other.
"Oh my god," Ares said, his eyes widening in astonishment, his pulse quickening. "There’s a bridge connecting the machine continent and our continent. I was wondering how all these machines would cross the ocean to destroy us, and now I understand. But what is this strange fog or cloud below us?"
Sairi looked down while Ivanov was focusing all his concentration on piloting. Sairi said nervously, feeling a strange, frightening excitement and a strange thrill inside him at finding himself in a situation where he could unleash his pent-up anger and resentment against the world without anyone stopping him or punishing him with ridiculous laws, "I doubt we’ll survive all this. But there is one solution, and that is to go to the General, tell him everything, and get answers from him. Then we’ll think of a way to stop the robots’ advance and eliminate them with some plan if necessary."
Ares sighed deeply. Sairi saw the gloom on his face as he recalled what had happened. "I told him to prepare the soldiers and everyone who could fight from the civilians while I went to gather you all. I thought the machines had invaded Egypt and Atlantis. I was completely deceived. I didn’t think the story was bigger than I imagined. We’re on another planet! My God, I don’t remember agreeing to ride a spaceship and move to another planet! And how I ended up with this strange ability in a strange, huge tower! But was the General deceiving me, or did he know the truth and not want to tell me?"
Sairi turned his gaze outside, then said in his usual cold tone, "I don’t know anything, I’m just like you. But maybe he was deceiving you and thought of a way to repel the machines’ advance and return things to the way they were without us suspecting anything. And then we would continue our normal lives in the city after eliminating the machines as if nothing had happened. When we arrive, we will talk to him at length about this matter and make him confess everything, even by force."
Their conversation was interrupted by Ivanov’s voice. "Guys, we’ve arrived."
Everyone ran to the front of the aircraft and looked ahead to find New Atlantis, with smoke and rubble filling it as they had left it. They noticed the shimmering blue energy shield that covered it, which the sunlight had cleared, making it clearly visible from above. Ivanov continued, feeling some tension and annoyance, "How are we going to get through it? I don’t see any way in."
Ares said, scratching his head, "There must be a place to get in. The machines get in and out easily, and when I was with them in the aircraft, they were able to get out of the shield’s range, so there must be a breach somewhere. Keep flying over it and watch carefully." Follow current novels on 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭•𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢•𝓷𝓮𝓽
Sairi said, feeling some hope, "Look on the bright side. The robots that walk on foot won’t be able to get in because of the shield, which will make it easier for us to resist them. But if Gaia knows this, why is he moving toward the shield with all these numbers? Or is he..."
Ares interrupted him with apprehension and despair. "He must have a plan to destroy the dome. We have to protect the towers quickly and warn everyone."
Ivanov flew over the shield, examining every inch of it with his eyes. The other aircraft flew behind him, not knowing the way. After a few minutes of flying, Ivanov shouted with excitement, "I found it!"