Chapter 123: Smoke And Fire

He crossed it and continued to run at a tremendous speed. And whenever he felt that he was getting closer and did not see any robot yet, his heart would beat violently, because this indicated that they were now in Atlantis.As he was running, Keno found a high plain outside the forest on his right. He headed toward it, perhaps he would see what was happening as soon as possible. After he had climbed it and stood, catching his breath, he looked at the horizon to see Atlantis in the darkness of the night, shining with its breathtaking lights.

But he saw what made his heart beat like a drum. The smoke and fire were rising to the sky, and the buildings were falling. He began to hear the sounds of screams that reached his ears, and the sounds of gunfire, warplanes, and swarms of robotic bees flying over the city and bombarding it with a shower of missiles.

Meanwhile, he saw giant robots over ten meters tall, destroying the buildings and facilities in their path, and everything that stood in front of them. The tormented voices reached his ears, and his heart was tormented with every scream that echoed. He fell to his knees, tears streaming from his eyes.

"Damn it, this is all my fault!" he screamed, his heart clenching inside his ribs. "I have caused the fall of the last refuge of humanity! I have caused the annihilation of the human race! This is all my fault! All these dead, their blood is stained on my hands! I will never forgive myself, and no one will forgive me. All our hopes have been shattered. I’m sorry, my brother."

Keno cried until his eyes turned red, surrendering to his pain and sorrows that had come to him without mercy. He was punching the ground with his fist and could not bear to look at Atlantis as it fell before his eyes, as the sounds of screaming, destruction, and the mill of war pierced his ear and hit his heart, to pierce more wounds. But he could not think of anything to do but to kill himself and rest from this pain.

And suddenly, Keno heard the voice of Gladius’s aide speaking to him in his usual cold tone, "Keno, what are you doing there? Stop crying like a child. I told you I would send supplies. And they are on their way now. Now, head to Atlantis at once to support them."

"Why did you take so long, you bastard?" Keno screamed at him with anger. "Many people have died!"

"You should know your place, boy, and know who you are talking to! But I will forgive what you have done this time, because I know what you are feeling. The supplies take time, of course, and you told me the news just a little while ago."

"Didn’t you see these deadly hordes as they were heading to Atlantis?" ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ ????????????????????⁂????????????????⁂????????????

"No, I didn’t see them. I was not in the range to see them, and that’s why I didn’t answer you when you called me at first. Now, enough talk, and head to Atlantis before more victims fall."

Gladius’s aide hung up with Keno. He, in turn, stood on his feet, pushed the sadness away, and felt a glimmer of hope, and that it was not too late yet. He saw the soldiers from the three squads running, heading toward Atlantis. He felt an overwhelming desire to kill every robot he saw and to crush them one after another without mercy. He began to run, heading toward the burning Atlantis at a tremendous speed.

The soldiers began to pass through the panicked crowds and made lines of defense against the enemy. They placed some blue energy shields that covered the road behind them to protect them and the citizens. But these shields were only able to protect the humans from the robots that were walking on the ground.

But the flying robots were causing a lot of damage, and the human planes were engaging with them, firing missiles and bullets at them, to shoot down some of them. But the bees were fast and dodged easily. They returned their attack with some ease and shot down some of the warplanes. The battle in the sky intensified until the sky looked as if it were covered in fireworks to those who saw it from a distance.

The giant robots cut their way through with frightening steps throughout Atlantis, firing a huge laser beam from their front cannons to burn the buildings and the people as soon as they touched them. Some of the buildings were falling on the crowds of people, turning them into pieces.

The people ran in panic to the shelters in the west, but the road in front of them was long and fraught with danger. Some people surrendered to the imminent death, and some clung to the rope of life.

And there were some commandos, who had weapons, and they began to resist the robots, attacking them with some weak weapons, such as rifles, pistols, and some old machine guns. But they were effective against the small robots, and they had no power against the giant robots that were throwing cars and everything they could carry at the citizens as if it were a game. They were sometimes destroying the buildings with their hands.

But the most terrifying robot for the humans was the one that looked like a spider with its legs that it clung to on top of the buildings, as it hunted the humans with its deadly weapons. Thousands of people fell in the first ten minutes, and if this situation continued, millions would fall by sunrise.

The defenses of Atlantis could not hold out for long against this destructive force. The soldiers began to move back, having shot down some of the robots. But the difference in strength between them and the robots was huge, and that is why they asked for support.

But the support was very late because of the state of panic throughout Atlantis, and the roads were very crowded. Some of the swarms of bees fired a fine laser beam from their stingers, and it cut everything it touched like a knife. They cut some of the buildings that fell on the soldiers and the pushing crowds of people.

The robots had completely destroyed the first quarter of the city and had killed everyone in it except for a few.