Volume One, Chapter 12: Look Behind You

Zhang Tao himself had no intention of taking action. He simply issued a casual command, and nearly thirty mechs immediately surged toward Zhang Yang. This was the moment for his underlings to prove their loyalty.

It should be noted that every one of these mechs was under Zhang Tao’s name, granting him absolute control. Once Zhang Tao revoked their authorization, these men would no longer be able to operate the machines.

Yet Zhang Wei didn’t even bother to glance at the mechs.

“A bunch of trash,” he muttered dismissively.

Were these really mechs? Even the best mechs, in the hands of these people, were nothing more than cumbersome lumps of metal, staggering and swaying as they moved, as if they might topple at any moment.

It wasn’t entirely their fault for being so clumsy. The apocalypse had just begun, and in terms of mech piloting skill, who in the world could compare to Zhang Wei?

“Bastards, still so arrogant—kill him!”

A light mech charged at Zhang Wei first. Seeing it rush toward him, Zhang Wei was momentarily taken aback. If he wasn’t mistaken, this was a ranged combat mech, wasn’t it?

Zhang Wei noticed the weapon the light mech held—a gun, a rather powerful proton freeze gun. This suggested the mech’s prototype was likely an expensive sports car. If it had been a mech converted from a regular vehicle, choosing ranged combat would only yield ordinary machine guns, rifles, or shotguns. High-end weapons like freeze guns or heat guns were only found on advanced mechs.

But why was this ranged mech charging forward to brawl with a melee mech? Zhang Wei couldn’t understand.

Only those who piloted ranged mechs knew the frustration. With their lack of proficiency, expecting them to stand far back and consistently hit targets with their gun was laughable.

Thus, current ranged mechs had no choice but to close the distance as much as possible before firing, at least to improve accuracy somewhat.

This was exactly what the light ranged mech attacking Zhang Wei was thinking.

But sadly, it was only wishful thinking. By the time it reached what it considered a suitable distance, it had already entered Zhang Wei’s striking range.

The battle scythe alone measured ten meters long. Even if Zhang Wei held it near the lower middle, it could extend beyond ten meters, since the mech’s arm was about five meters long.

“Bang!”

The freeze gun fired.

A burst of icy blue energy spewed from the muzzle, heading straight… well, heading far into the distance.

The shot didn’t even graze Zhang Wei.

In contrast, Zhang Wei’s battle scythe sliced through the air with a sharp whooshing sound. A streak of purple electric light cut through the light mech’s chest.

The scythe’s razor edge combined with Zhang Wei’s strength created devastating power, instantly cleaving the light mech in two.

Not only was the mech severed, but the pilot inside its abdomen was cut as well.

Under normal circumstances, the pilot’s position was within the mech’s abdomen.

Following this, the sounds of metal scraping and clashing erupted in waves.

The mechs charging Zhang Wei seemed to have been forcibly paused, collapsing into a chaotic heap.

But the chaos within the pilots’ hearts was far greater.

What had they just witnessed? One sweep of a scythe, and an entire mech was destroyed—what terrifying power was this?

Fortunately, their mechs were slower than the light mech that attacked first; otherwise, it might have been them split in two.

Zhang Tao was shocked. He had suspected Zhang Wei might be a capable enforcer but had never imagined his combat prowess was this fierce. Naturally, his desire for the battle scythe in Zhang Wei’s hands grew stronger.

“You’re impressive, but no matter how strong you are, you can’t withstand our assault. Even if we can’t get close to you, we can trap you here. How about a deal?” Zhang Tao said arrogantly but with some cunning.

If Zhang Tao were merely foolish and reckless, he wouldn’t have risen to become one of the ten war gods.

“Go on,” Zhang Wei replied, uninterested in making a deal but willing to hear him out.

“Hand over your weapon. I’ll give you a hundred source crystals and permission to hunt here in the zoo. You could even stand on equal footing with me. What do you say?”

Zhang Tao laid out his offer.

No matter what, first get Zhang Wei’s weapon—once he was unarmed, he would be at their mercy.

“Hey, wake up. It’s still daytime,” Zhang Wei said, pointing at the sky, his tone dripping with mockery.

A hundred source crystals?

If Zhang Wei guessed right, they were probably just ordinary ones.

And to shamelessly claim permission to hunt in the zoo—did this guy not hear what he just said?

The zoo was already under Zhang Wei’s control; it was his territory.

As for standing on equal footing, that was impossible. In this life, Zhang Tao had no qualifications to be on par with Zhang Wei. In fact, Zhang Wei had already snatched away Zhang Tao’s greatest chance.

“Are you trying to fight to the death?”

Zhang Tao was furious. He had already made such concessions, yet this guy remained stubborn.

“You don’t have the right to fight me to the death,” Zhang Wei said coldly, stating the harsh truth.

“By the way, I suggest you look behind you,” Zhang Wei said, pointing behind Zhang Tao.

Instinctively, Zhang Tao turned around upon hearing those words.

The sight nearly made him jump in shock.

He didn’t know when, but behind him stood a pack of mechanical creatures.

They weren’t small like rats or monkeys; these were mechanical deer, at least five meters tall.

A herd numbering at least fifty or sixty, their sharp steel antlers stretched two meters long. If one rammed him, Zhang Tao estimated even his seventeen-meter-tall mech could be pierced.

How had they silently appeared behind him?

No, that no longer mattered. What mattered was that they were charging.

“Get up and block them!” Zhang Tao shouted, urging his fallen underlings to rise.

Unfortunately, the herd gave no opportunity. Under the command of a strange creature, the mechanical deer charged into the tangled mass of mechs.

Zhang Wei shook his head quietly.

He knew these mechs were about to be completely destroyed.

At the same time, he glanced at Zhang Tao and thought, “In his last life, he probably only sailed smoothly after gaining enhanced psychic combat strength. Otherwise, with his intelligence, even starting with a seventeen-meter super heavy mech, he would have died miserably.”

Zhang Wei calmly observed, offering no assistance at all.

In truth, Zhang Wei was already being kind by not pouring fuel on the fire. More importantly, he didn’t want to waste energy.

Destroying nearly thirty mechs was quite energy-consuming, and there was no benefit in doing so.

This way was better—let the deer herd take care of these guys, then Zhang Wei would deal with the herd afterward.