Iron Sentinel: The Shadow Crown

CHAPTER 3: BATTLE AT THE VALVE JUNCTION

“Again,” Grimbolt growled.

He attacked once more with all three tons of weight pushed by pistons powered by desperation and promise.

This time, a sharp cracking sound was heard. One of the giant hinges at the top snapped, sending a shower of rust dust down. The gate tilted slightly, creating a small gap on one side.

“He broke through!” the Vexxos team shouted again.

Grimbolt didn't stop. He struck again a third time, hitting the exact same spot. A painful metallic screech, and finally, the second hinge broke.

The giant gate fell, crashing into the tunnel on the other side with a deafening crash. The impact even created a makeshift bridge over the deep sewer.

Meanwhile, Valerius remained hunched over, closing his eyes and holding his head to prevent the rain of rust dust from hitting him.

Grimbolt stumbled forward with smoke billowing from his dented shoulder.

“Continue,” Grimbolt ordered Valerius.

Valerius raised his head. The fallen gate opened before him.

“We move,” Grimbolt said again as Valerius froze in place.

They crossed the fallen gate and began running again in the darkness. Behind them, the Vexxos soldiers stopped at the edge. They hesitated as they crossed the unstable bridge.

“Damn it!” the team commander roared as he saw his prey escape. “Notify Kael! Iron Sentinel is fully operational. Repeat, fully operational! He’s taking the prince to the Old Pipe Sector. We need an intercept team there, now!”

Valerius looked back. He stared at Grimbolt, who was moving slower than before. Every step the robot took seemed to be in pain.

“You… you’re hurt,” he said shakily.

“Minor structural damage,” Grimbolt replied. A red warning light was flashing on his internal HUD. “Irrelevant.”

“Relevant or not,” Cogs yelled from Grimbolt’s grasp, his vocalizations clearer now. “The fact that you’re using your head as a sledgehammer shows our current strategy is less than… subtle.”

“We need a place to hide,” Valerius said. He recognized the truth in the crow’s sarcastic words. “A place they won’t think to look for us.”

“I’m counting,” Grimbolt replied, his optics scanning the damp brick walls around them. “There are hundreds of kilometers of tunnels beneath this city. We just need to find the one we’ve forgotten.”

“You better find them quickly,” Valerius said as he heard the wailing sirens coming from above. The sound was seeping down through the ventilation ducts. “Because it doesn’t look like they’re going to forget about us anytime soon.”

“They’re directing patrols to the Old Pipe Sector,” Grimbolt replied. The massive robot was processing the Vexxos radio transmissions it had finally intercepted. “They predict we’ll be looking for hiding places among the older, less-mapped infrastructure. They’re very intelligent.”

“And we were going that way,” Valerius said. His voice was tense. “So we have to turn around now?”

“Negative,” Grimbolt replied again. “Turning back will only lead us to the main force pursuing us. Our best option is to advance and try to bypass their blockade before they have a chance to firmly establish it.”

“In other words,” Cogs squealed from Grimbolt’s grasp, “we’re running from the wolf’s den straight into the crocodile’s mouth. What a brilliant strategy. The Queen will be impressed.”

“Shut up, you trashy crow!” Valerius hissed, furious at Cogs’s remark, which he considered so noisy. “I wonder why Mother is so happy to keep you,” he grumbled.

“I’m just stating the facts!” Cogs replied matter-of-factly. “The fact that we’re being led by a dented locomotive and a panicking prince!”

Grimbolt raised his free hand to stop Valerius from speaking. They were now in a large circular room.

The chamber was the center of several converging tunnels. In the center of the chamber stood a giant, rusty valve protruding from the ceiling, surrounded by thick, hissing pipes.

“Valve junction,” Grimbolt whispered. “They’re already here.”

“I don't see anyone,” Valerius replied.

His blue eyes tried to clear the darkness. Nothing. He couldn't see anything but darkness.

“They’re waiting,” Grimbolt said, his yellow optics narrowing. “There. On the pipe. Twelve o’clock.”

Valerius raised his head. Atop one of the largest horizontal pipes that crisscrossed the room, a small, dark silhouette was moving. A Vexxos soldier was crawling into position, ready to fire.

“And there,” Grimbolt continued. “Behind that support pillar. Three o’clock. There are two people.”

Valerius turned his head again. He could now see the faint glint of a soldier's rifle. It was an ambush. They were already heading straight in.

“So, what are your plans now, grand strategist?” Cogs asked. His tone was now more tense with sarcasm laced with genuine anxiety.

Grimbolt responded with action. With a surprising movement, he pushed Valerius forcefully behind the giant valve in the center of the room.

“Stay down!” Grimbolt ordered.

“Grimbolt!” Valerius shouted.

Just as Valerius fell into the shelter, the hell-like place broke loose.

Blue energy bolts shot from the three directions Grimbolt had indicated. They struck where they had just been standing, leaving sizzling scorch marks on the wet stone floor.

Grimbolt ignored the gunshot that hit his back. The massive robot focused on the most pressing threat, the sniper on the pipe. He grabbed a piece of brick that had come loose from the wall and, with incredible piston force, threw it.

The bricks flew like bullets and struck the pipe directly beneath the soldiers. The soldiers lost their balance and fell awkwardly to the floor below, their weapons thrown.

Two soldiers behind the pillar came out of hiding and fired a burst of shots. Grimbolt, who was still in pain, glitch His motor system was unable to dodge quickly. One of the soldier's shots hit his left knee joint, sending him to his knees with a painful metallic creak.

“Status! He’s been shot!” shouted one of the soldiers. “Move forward!”

“Mistake,” Grimbolt growled. Kneeling didn’t weaken him. It made him even more stable.

Grimbolt used his hand to push on the giant valve in the center of the room. The valve, which hadn't moved in decades, initially resisted, refusing to budge at all. Then, with a deafening metallic groan, the wheel finally began to turn.

“What are you doing?!” Valerius shouted from his safe hiding place.

He saw with his own eyes that Grimbolt was trying to get out of all the threats with broken movements because the system in the robot's body was damaged.

“Increase the pressure!” Grimbolt replied.

The thick pipes around the room began to vibrate violently. The hiss of steam turned into a deep, powerful roar.

The Vexxos soldiers stopped. They looked around in confusion. “What is that? What is he doing?”

In one of the large pipes above their heads, a joint that had rusted for years finally couldn't withstand the sudden increase in pressure. With a deafening explosion, the joint burst.

A jet of boiling, high-pressure industrial wastewater erupted. The thick, brown liquid immediately filled the air with a pungent, acidic odor. The jet hit the ceiling, sending a hissing rain across the room.

“Wow!” Valerius took a step back as he saw the scene before him. A mixture of amazement and shock.

The two soldiers screamed as the hot liquid hit their armor, causing it to smoke and melt. They stumbled back to protect their faces, their weapons forgotten.

Grimbolt didn't give a chance. He lunged forward from his kneeling position, ignoring the pain in his leg. He slammed into the first soldier and sent him flying into the wall. He grabbed the second soldier with his massive hands, lifting him off the ground.

“Where is Commander Kael?” Grimbolt demanded, his optics glowing a fiery red just inches from the terrified soldier’s helmet.