Iron Sentinel: The Shadow Crown

CHAPTER 4: DANCE OF VIBRATING BLADE

“I… I will never tell you anything, monster!” the soldier stammered back.

“Answer acceptable,” Grimbolt replied. With steady pressure, he crushed the soldier’s chest armor.

Valerius peered through the valve. He stared in horror at the cold violence. Grimbolt dropped the limp body and turned around. Amidst the rain of boiling sewage and surrounded by steam and shadows, the robot looked like an ancient demon.

“We have to go now,” Grimbolt said, his voice calm again. “That explosion is sure to attract more attention.”

He then helped Valerius to his feet. As they prepared to run into one of the now-empty tunnels, a new voice rang out from the darkness ahead.

“Not so fast.”

From one of the dark tunnels, a shadowy figure emerged. He wasn't wearing the usual soldier's armor. He wore a long black trench coat over a lighter uniform.

In one hand he held a pair of long daggers whose vibrating blades were enveloped in some kind of hissing pale blue energy field.

“Team Echo, reporting in,” the man said calmly. His cold eyes fell on the battered Grimbolt. “You all look a little… wet.”

“A specialist,” Grimbolt muttered when he realized who the man was.

Grimbolt then pushed Valerius further back. His damaged systems marked him as a far greater threat than a dozen ordinary soldiers.

The man smiled a smile that held no warmth whatsoever. His eyes landed on Valerius, who was behind Grimbolt.

“Hello Prince, you may call me Lieutenant Jax. Commander Kael sent me personally to retrieve royal property.” He raised his sizzling dagger into the air. “And to dismantle your big toy.”

Grimbolt didn't respond. Valerius was silent.

“I just need the head,” Jax continued, mostly to himself. His eyes were now fixed on Valerius. “And maybe one of your robotic arms as a souvenir.”

Valerius took cover behind Grimbolt's sturdy legs, feeling a chill that had nothing to do with the temperature in the tunnel. He thought this man was different.

“Mother, what should I do?” he thought miserably. Not having Elara around left him at a loss for what to do. This time, he could only rely on Grimbolt.

“Probability of threat from this opponent: high,” Grimbolt whispered. His voice was low enough for Valerius to hear. “Weaponry: vibro-acoustic blades. Capable of penetrating standard armor with high-frequency resonance. Extremely dangerous in close combat.”

“So, don’t let him get any closer!” Valerius whispered. He had apparently heard Grimbolt’s words.

“That’s hard,” Cogs yelped from Grimbolt’s grasp. “Considering you have the agility of a refrigerator falling down a flight of stairs.”

Jax smiled at the sarcastic comment. Without warning, he lunged. His movements were so swift and fluid that he seemed to glide across the smooth floor. He didn't run straight at Grimbolt. He ran in a swift arc, using the stone pillars as cover, making him a difficult target.

Grimbolt tried to track him down. His upper body twisted with a groan of protest from the damaged system.

“He’s too fast.”

Jax darted from behind the final pillar, his vibrating blade hissing as it was held upside down. He wasn't aiming for Grimbolt's chest or head. He was aiming for its most obvious weakness: its left knee joint, already damaged from the previous fight.

With a flash of pale blue light, the blade struck its target. A deafening metallic screech was heard as the vibrational frequencies tore through the already weak armor plate.

Sparks flew and Grimbolt roared as his legs gave out. He fell to one knee and hit the floor with a thud.BANGthe hard one.

“See?” Jax said, then gracefully leaped back out of reach. “It wasn’t that hard. You’re big and slow like a dinosaur.”

Valerius stared in horror as black hydraulic fluid began to seep more profusely from the new wound on Grimbolt's leg.

“Grimbolt, your leg!” he screamed.

“I’m still functional,” the robot growled then tried to get up but its damaged legs wouldn’t support it.

Jax laughed gleefully. “Of course you’re still working. I’m not done yet. I’m just getting started.”

Jax lunged again, this time aiming for the elbow joint on Grimbolt's arm holding Cogs. His goal was clear: to cripple the robot piece by piece until it was a helpless pile of metal.

But as Jax approached, something unexpected happened. The metal door in Grimbolt's grasp opened slightly.

“Eat this, you annoying dandy!” Cogs yelled.

A blinding red flash of light erupted from one of the Cogs' remaining functioning ruby ​​eyes. It was a low-power target designator laser.

The laser was typically used by the Empress to display documents or maps remotely. It didn't have any damaging power, but its sudden flash directly in Jax's face was enough.

“Argh!” Jax exclaimed. The man stumbled back and tried to blink away the glare.

That split second of distraction was all Grimbolt needed. Although his legs were paralyzed, his arms were still functional.

With incredible speed, Grimbolt's right arm shot out of its socket. Instead of hitting Jax, it slammed into the floor beside him. Grimbolt's steely fingers smashed into the brick, shattering it into pieces. He swept his arm to the side, sending a shower of shards of stone and sharp dust straight at Jax.

“Wow Grimbolt!” Valerius was amazed to see the robotic arm slide out of its place.

“Shit!” Jax cursed. He raised his arms to shield his face as the makeshift projectiles pelted him.

The sudden hail of projectiles gave him a few minor scratches. However, more importantly, it caused Jax to lose sight of his opponent for two seconds.

“Come on,” Valerius whispered. He prayed earnestly from behind his hiding place.

Grimbolt used those two seconds to make a final, desperate move. He spun on his shattered knee, dragged it, and used his free arm to propel himself forward, sliding across the slippery floor. He moved like a giant, clumsy, but incredibly fast spider.

“Damn you, old machine!” Jax cursed again.

Jax then lowered his arm as three tons of steel came hurtling towards him. His eyes widened in shock. He tried to jump aside, but it was too late.

“Argh!” Jax screamed as Grimbolt slammed into him with full force.

There was a sickening crack as they both hit the tunnel wall hard. Jax screamed in pain, and one of his vibrating daggers was knocked from his grasp.

Valerius cheered. “You did it, Grimbolt!”

But his cheer died in his throat. Grimbolt had used up the last of his momentum and energy for that final attack and finally collapsed to the floor. His optics flickered wildly and thick smoke emerged from his shoulder joint.

“Negative,” Grimbolt groaned. “Power… critical… System… has… failed…”

Amidst the pile of rubble, Jax coughed and slowly rose to his feet. His coat was torn and his arms hung at odd angles, but he was still standing. He could even still hold a vibrating dagger.

Jax let out a hoarse, pained laugh.

“Is that all you have, monster?” He limped over to the helpless Grimbolt and raised his hissing dagger. “I admit you’re more troublesome than I thought.”

Valerius froze in horror at what Jax was about to do. Grimbolt had given everything he had, and it hadn't been enough. They died there.

Valerius raised a leg to help, but couldn't. He didn't know what to do. His brain suddenly went into a deadlock.

Jax stood over Grimbolt, preparing to plunge his blade into the exposed power converter on the robot's chest.

“See?” he said as he stared at Grimbolt’s dying optics.