40th Chapter, guys! Thank you so much for supporting this fanfiction up till now!
Chapter 40: The Entrance to Coal Town is Open
The next morning, Aonghus and the others reached the entrance to Coal Town, which was blocked by a line of Tanks with their cannons pointed directly at them. They dared to not move into the cannons' line of fire, knowing that they would get shot if they did. But then a megaphone from somewhere in the town turned on, followed by a booming but chilling voice that said, "If you value your pitiful human lives, come no further. You may have defeated our Giant Robots by some form of accident, but your journey ends here. Where is the one who calls himself Aonghus?"
"Aye," Aonghus said as he stepped forward.
"You shall meet our representative at the entrance to Coal Town to discuss some…diplomatic matters," the voice said.
"What about the Tanks? How will I know you won't fire them the minute I approach Coal Town?"
"They will retreat for the time-being."
A loud beeping sound suddenly echoed through the air, and the Tanks responded by turning themselves sideways and backing up. This in turn left a wide enough opening for several people or Robots to pass through, and a big sign that marked the entrance to Coal Town lay on the other side. Not wanting to waste any time, Aonghus walked towards the entrance while Matthias, Gavin, and Gerald followed behind. At the entrance, they were greeted by a small girl with a green coat, short black hair, and a matching green bow. But her metallic skin, electric blue eyes, and a consistent humming indicated that she was a Robot.
"My name is Olivia, and I am Gray Mann's representative," the Robot said in a child-like but electronic voice. "He wanted me to tell you that if you're willing to submit to the Machine Empire, we won't have to exterminate all of you."
"Well, lass, tell Gray Mann that's not happening," Aonghus said firmly. "We won't let him try to take America again, even if it means death for us."
"Foolish humans!" Olivia's voice changed, and now it was Gray Mann speaking. "You think you're so mighty just because you took down some of our Giant Robots, but we can build more, and our armies are numerous. Your ancestors won by sheer dumb luck, and I doubt you'll have the same success as they did."
"Don't doubt the power of the human spirit, Gray Mann!" shouted Gavin. "We'll always find a way to beat ya!"
"But can you really call yourselves human? You're nothing more than clones born from generations of them that were initially copied from humans who have been dead for centuries."
"That may be true, but what makes us human is our thoughts and actions," Matthias said. "Something that a monster like you wouldn't understand."
"I don't need to understand to know that you're all doomed to fail. It might interest you to know that we caught a Scout snooping around in the tombs of Egypt, and then we took him back to the Moving Fortress." The Olivia Robot reached into her coat-pocket and pulled out a yellow headset with a broken microphone. "This was all that was left after we terminated him."
The Olivia Robot then tossed the headset towards the group, which Gerald caught. He examined it in his hands, and clenched the headset tightly. Aonghus, meanwhile, sheathed his Lahnin Géar sword and pulled out a Splendid Screen shield that was given to him at Bigrock.
"You know, I never thought I'd see the day when a Robot lied," Aonghus said as he held the shield in his hand. "But today's just full of surprises, isn't it?"
Then Aonghus threw the Splendid Screen shield like a Frisbee and decapitated the Olivia Robot before it had time to react. The shield flew right through the Robot's neck, and then it circled back towards Aonghus, who caught the shield with the same hand that he threw it with. In response, the same beeping noise blared from somewhere in Coal Town, causing the Tanks to start moving. While the rest moved towards the Soldiers and Heavies standing several feet away from Coal Town's entrance, a couple of Tanks moved to block Aonghus and the other Mercenaries from leaving. Behind them, Robots were appearing from every window and corner of Coal Town with guns and Sentrys at the ready.
"Move it, lads!" Aonghus cried.
End of Chapter 40