Volume 1, Chapter 37: Burying Zhang Wei

The Rat King appeared exceptionally manic. Upon hearing Zhang Wei’s words, it flew into a rage like a maddened bull, using its tail to scoop up a mutant mechanical rat and hurling it at Zhang Wei like a cannonball.

Zhang Wei swung his sword and sliced the mutant mechanical rat in two. It was as smooth as cutting through tofu, offering no resistance whatsoever. Fortunately, the two sides were already in close proximity, which prevented the mechanical rats surrounding the King from meeting the same tragic fate at its hands.

"Human, die!" the Rat King roared, a sound so thunderous it shook the earth. While still over ten meters away, it opened its maw toward Zhang Wei.

The next moment, two sharp fangs shot out like missiles released from their strings, hurtling toward Zhang Wei in erratic, unpredictable trajectories. Knowing the limits of his armor, Zhang Wei realized that taking a direct hit would likely result in injury. Consequently, he sidestepped the attack while simultaneously opening fire with his floating cannons.

At such close range, even the erratic movement of the fangs could not escape the interception of the freezing shells. When a freezing shell collided with one of the fangs, it triggered a violent explosion, as if several grenades had detonated at once. The other fang, which Zhang Wei had dodged, sped toward his rear. The mechanical rat behind him suffered the worst of luck; after the fang pierced its body, it exploded instantly. The mechanical rat caught in the direct blast was sent flying, its remains scattered across the sky, and not a single mechanical rat within a ten-meter radius of the explosion escaped unscathed.

"That’s quite some power," Zhang Wei nodded in approval. This ability of the Rat King was perfect for clearing large groups of targets, far more efficient than a death laser.

Before Zhang Wei could finish his thought, the Rat King lunged at him like a hungry tiger. Standing before Zhang Wei’s twelve-meter-tall mech, the three-meter-tall Rat King looked like a petite kitten, yet it was precisely this small stature that made its movements exceptionally agile. However, despite being furious, the King chose not to engage Zhang Wei head-on. Like a phantom, it circled behind him, attempting a sneak attack.

Just as the Rat King pounced toward Zhang Wei’s back, mouth agape, intending to chew through the mech’s armor with its fangs, Zhang Wei suddenly erupted into action. His mech’s thrusters roared with fire, and like a fierce leopard, he surged forward. If Zhang Wei had only been using the charge to evade, it would have been one thing, but his true goal was different. While charging, he performed a 180-degree spin in mid-air, his thermal greatsword streaking toward the Rat King’s face like a meteor.

"Squeak!" the Rat King shrieked in alarm.

The next instant, a mutant rat leaped up like a cannonball, slamming heavily into the Rat King. The impact sent the King flying, which coincidentally allowed it to dodge Zhang Wei’s spinning strike.

That mutant mechanical rat, however, was not so lucky. It had taken Zhang Wei’s sword blow in place of the King, and the result was predictable.

"Oh?" Zhang Wei let out a soft exclamation, surprised that the Rat King was capable of such a maneuver. But his surprise lasted only a moment—it had dodged one strike, but could it dodge two or three?

Just as Zhang Wei prepared to hunt the King down, the creature lost its nerve. Having tasted the proximity of death when facing the thermal greatsword, it fled.

"Are you even a King? All you can do is run?" Watching the Rat King beat a hasty retreat, Zhang Wei couldn't help but taunt it.

"Kill him!" The Rat King ignored Zhang Wei’s words entirely. It commanded its minions—both mutant and ordinary mechanical rats—to charge. In the King's view, with so many subordinates, they could bury Zhang Wei through sheer numbers; fighting him to the death would be foolish. As for giving up, that was impossible. Its desire mirrored Zhang Wei’s: just as Zhang Wei coveted the King’s source crystal, the King coveted Zhang Wei’s formidable equipment.

Under the King’s command, a massive swarm of mechanical rats threw themselves at Zhang Wei without regard for their own lives. Attacks came not only from the ground but also from above, as mechanical rats leaped down from the high-rises.

Looking at the overwhelming swarm, Zhang Wei sneered, "Planning to bury me?"

He stomped his foot, and his thrusters flared violently. The next moment, Zhang Wei leaped high into the air, his thermal greatsword cutting down the rats jumping from the rooftops. When he reached a height of seven or eight meters, his upward momentum faded, and he plummeted like a meteorite.

"Boom!" A ring of dust radiated from his landing point. The ground shook, and the mechanical rats sprinting across the surface lost their footing, stumbling in disarray.

The Rat King was furious and opened its mouth toward Zhang Wei once more.

"Again? How many teeth do you even have?" Zhang Wei had been watching the King closely and anticipated the skill before it was even unleashed.

Two fangs flew from the King’s mouth like lightning. Zhang Wei swung his greatsword in a wide arc. Even if the fangs moved erratically, the thermal sword covered a wide enough area that he could intercept them by calculating their general trajectory. Simultaneously, his floating cannons opened fire, sending freezing shells streaking toward the King like meteors.

After unleashing its skill, the Rat King dared not stay put. It scurried wretchedly through the rat swarm, and the freezing shells failed to find their mark. It wasn't that the King was too fast; rather, whenever a shell was about to strike, other mechanical rats would throw themselves in the way to shield it.

"Where do you think you’re going?" Zhang Wei scoffed, sprinting forward like a fierce tiger. He kicked aside most of the mechanical rats blocking his path, only swinging his greatsword when a mutant rat stood in his way. At this moment, Zhang Wei appeared even more savage than the Rat King had been earlier.

Rats are inherently timid creatures; the King’s ferocity had been built on the premise that it could command its kin to tear apart its prey. But when the prey became the hunter, the urge to retreat and flee took hold of the King. What could it do? Its minions couldn't get close, not even when Zhang Wei’s mech left its rear exposed. The ordinary mechanical rats couldn't keep up with Zhang Wei’s frantic pace, and even those attacking from the flanks were useless. As for the slightly more threatening mutant rats, they were all targeted by the floating cannons and rendered ineffective. The ordinary rats that pounced from the sides were shaken off by the vibrations of Zhang Wei’s movement in less than a second.

And the front? Don't even mention it; they couldn't stop him. Not at all. Only when the Rat King unleashed its skill did it cause Zhang Wei even the slightest bit of trouble. And even then, it was only a minor inconvenience.

Yet, if it fled now, how could it show its face in Chuan City? Mechanical lifeforms had their own social circles, too. If the Rat King ran from Zhang Wei today, how could it ever hold its head high in front of other mechanical beings again?

"Squeak!"

A shrill, piercing scream erupted from the Rat King. The swarm, which had been charging forward madly, came to an abrupt halt, as if someone had hit a pause button. The next moment, every single mechanical rat converged on the King’s position.

The Rat King was preparing to stake everything on a final stand against Zhang Wei. It did not believe that the power in Zhang Wei’s mech could remain inexhaustible, nor did it believe that tens of thousands of mechanical rats could not bury a single Zhang Wei.