Chapter 6

Victor didn't give a toss what those people wanted to do. He sprinted back up the mountain.

After taking a look at the still-transforming rats, he sat back down at the mountaintop.

"Change equipment."

Victor took out the dual-cycle nucleus engine from his internal space and chose to switch engines.

The swapping process didn't require Victor's attention, the mecha could handle it on its own.

The mecha's torso popped open, and the super matrix engine floated out.

Then, the dual-cycle nucleus engine Victor stole went into the mecha.

The whole process took no more than 20 seconds.

"Ding! Switched to dual-cycle nucleus engine. Combat power +5."

"Not bad." Victor patted his abdomen in satisfaction and placed the super matrix engine in the mecha's internal space.

The new engine provided an additional 5 points of combat power. While the increase wasn't huge, the power output and endurance would definitely be significantly higher.

Victor stood up, adapting to the new power of the mecha.

While Victor was getting used to the power, the whole mountain suddenly shook.

Victor wasn't surprised. He remained calm.

He turned around and saw that the rats' mechanical transformation was rapidly accelerating, as if they had been infused with some kind of mysterious energy. Their bodies swelled at an astonishing pace.

The rats caught by Victor were not the only ones transforming. Those he had not caught, hiding in various holes in the mountain, were also undergoing transformation.

The mountain shook as if the land itself was trembling in response to this incident. The rats hiding in their holes rapidly enlarged, pushing against the surrounding earth like inflating balloons, creating this shocking phenomenon.

However, this wasn't merely happening at one mountain.

The entire world shook. The land trembled, the ocean roared, and all creatures underwent massive changes due to this sudden disaster.

"It has begun."

Victor stood firm, waiting for the shaking at the peak to settle.

After a while, the mechanized rats opened their eyes one by one as if they were awakening from slumber.

The surfaces of these mechanical rats were now covered in a layer of tough steel, making them look like giant mechanical dogs. They exuded a cold, mechanical aura.

In contrast to the eyes of Victor's mecha, which glimmered with blue light, the mechanical rats' eyes were fiery red, akin to burning flames.

This red was not only the color of their pupils but also embodied their instincts: bloodthirsty and devoid of intelligence.

"A creature driven only by bloodlust dares to bare its fangs at me?" A hint of contempt flashed in Victor's eyes, and his saber shimmered with a chilling glint.

Victor moved like lightning towards a mechanical rat that was only a few steps away. The saber flashed, and the sound of steel clashing against steel echoed on the silent summit.

The sparks faded. The mechanical rat hadn't even had time to marvel at this newly transformed world before it silently collapsed to the ground.

The mechanical rat that was connected to it seemed to have sensed its companion's demise. Its eyes flashing red, it let out a sharp shriek and leaped at Victor like a bolt of lightning.

Victor snorted. His shield traced an elegant arc in the night sky and struck the mechanical rat's head heavily.

Following the horrifying noise of metal being crushed, the mechanical rat's head was smashed into its abdomen.

From the two piles of scrap metal that the mechanical rats had become, two ordinary Source Crystals emerged.

"Gather."

The Source Crystals entered Victor's internal space.

Then, he immediately dashed towards the next location. Many mechanical rats were waiting for him to slaughter.

One, two, three... His saber continued to dance as the remains of mechanical rats scattered everywhere.

The rats bound by chains stumbled forward in pairs towards Victor, but they were met with a merciless slaughter.

Half an hour later, the numerous mechanical rats were almost all gone.

When Victor swung his weapon to slay the last mechanical rat, he finally had time to gather the Source Crystals from the mechanical remains.

"Menu."

"Absorb Source Crystals."

The Source Crystals stored in Victor's internal space disappeared one by one.

On the menu, the mecha's experience points increased rapidly. After consuming 20 Source Crystals, he received the notification:

"Ding! Mecha leveled up. Combat power +2."

"20 Source Crystals." Victor nodded to himself. It was about what he expected.

"Keep going!"

Leveling up from 2 to 3 required 50 Source Crystals, which was also within Victor's expectations.

However, Victor was surprised to find that leveling up from 3 to 4 required 100 Source Crystals.

"Something's not right. Is it because the mechanical rats just transformed, so their Source Crystals lack energy?"

Victor thought the number of Source Crystals needed for level-ups would increase by twenty to thirty each level.

However, the increment this time was fifty.

"That means I don't have enough."

Victor felt troubled.

He thought that over a thousand Source Crystals would suffice to elevate his mecha's level to 10 for its first evolution, but it was clear now that it wasn't enough.

As expected, after absorbing all the Source Crystals, Victor's mecha only reached Level 8, with a total combat power increase of 16 points. Gaining 2 points per level was much stronger than lightweight mecha which only gained 1 point per level.

"I'm still nearly 700 Source Crystals short."

As Victor pondered where he could quickly obtain Source Crystals, the ground rumbled, and countless red eyes swarmed towards him from all directions.

Seeing the red eyes all around him made Victor pause.

"What's this?

"Oh, they're the mechanical rats in the mountain.

"No way. These rats are already this intelligent right after mechanization?"

After thoroughly enjoying the slaughter earlier, Victor had temporarily forgotten about the rest of the mechanical rats hiding in the mountain.

Under normal circumstances, they would have either come rushing to attack him right away or flee from New Wind Mountain out of fear.

The behavior of the mechanical rats clearly exceeded Victor's expectations.

They weren't blindly rushing at him, nor did they flee. Instead, they gathered in an organized way and now attacked him all at once.

"Could a mutant have appeared among them?"

During mechanization, sometimes a mutant would emerge. Mutants are stronger and can command their kin.

"That must be the case! Come on!" Victor was quite excited.

Even though Victor was surrounded by countless mechanical rats, he charged towards the oncoming tide of rodents instead of retreating.

His action ignited the fury of the rat swarm.

How dare the man resist when he was already surrounded?

The rodents erupted into chaos.

Countless rats charged at once, creating a spectacular scene.

However, Victor remained remarkably calm.

With combat power exceeding a hundred, why would he fear these weaklings?

The unexpected gain of a legendary skill had sent his combat power soaring, and Victor could only hope that the rats wouldn't run away that quickly later or he would have a hard time chasing them.

Victor used both his saber and shield as weapons, abandoning defense completely.

All he had to do was go wild.

Little did he know, not all the mechanical rats were attacking him. Some were busy doing other things.