Chapter 11: The Terrifying EMP – Section 6

Kimri’s shock was justified. Though he knew Black Hair was extremely strong, Death Arena battles were nothing like ordinary fights. Every gladiator here was a master among masters, true killing gods who had risen from the dead. Moreover, the arena was so small that it was difficult to evade attacks.

Death Arena was designed to bring out humanity’s primal instincts. There was no need for invincible miracles here—only blood, corpses, and slaughter. For this reason, the success rate of Death Challenges throughout history had been almost zero.

The arena was already small, and with the one-versus-two combat format, even less space remained for maneuvering. No matter how strong Black Hair was, Kimri didn’t think he could survive this Death Challenge.

Good heavens… Was this guy crazy?

Unfortunately, this wasn’t a situation where the leader of the Pickpockets could make decisions unchallenged. Though Black Hair was his contestant at the moment, he had no say in matters. So when he saw Black Hair stepping out of the contestant area, his first reaction was to pull over his companion and urgently order,

“Go! Place your bets on those two brothers. Hurry, now!”

“Yes, leader!” The companion, terrified, scurried off at top speed.

Black Hair’s appearance in the arena immediately caused another wave of chaos. At that moment, the commentator’s lewd voice rang out.

“Ha, ladies and gentlemen! Our idiot gentleman has arrived. Oh, it’s Mr. Black Hair. Please forgive my mistake—I really can’t think of any reason why he isn’t an idiot. I’ve been wondering if the leader of the Pickpockets has been kicked by a donkey for sending such an idiotic contestant. Well, let’s see how he handles this Death Challenge. Guys, place your bets quickly! This is your chance!! Fill your pockets with the house’s money!!”

Undeniably, though the commentator had a foul mouth, his ability to stir up the audience’s enthusiasm was unmatched. In just a short while, all sixteen betting stations set up in the arena by the alliance reached their limits. Massive amounts of money flooded in, keeping all the workers extremely busy.

Unfortunately, about 80% of that money was placed on those two brothers.

“Sir President…” On the podium, the secretary quickly approached the president, bent down, and briefly recounted the matter regarding the betting stations.
“Hmm, it’s fine. Take on as many orders as there are. You can decide on such trivial matters—no need to bother me,” the president said indifferently, showing not even the slightest sign of surprise, let alone excitement. After giving simple instructions, he raised another finger, and the secretary immediately leaned in, understanding what was needed.
“Who sent that interpreter?”
“It’s the vice president’s nephew.”
“Hmm, good. I’m satisfied. Go tell him to work harder. If he performs well, I’ll reward him.”
“Yes, sir. As you wish,” the secretary replied respectfully.

Contrastingly to the hustle at the betting stations, the center of the arena was utterly quiet, as if all the noise around couldn’t reach this place at all.
The two brothers’ mechs stood side by side, facing the ordinary-looking man before them. The vision crystals of their mechs rotated slightly, seemingly pondering something. After a long while, a deep sigh came from the mech on the east side.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” replied the black-haired man with a smile.
“Because you’ll die too. Just at my hands.”
“Even so, I still want to thank you. My name is Hong, and his is Lan. If we die at your hands, remember these two names.”
“Is that meaningful?” the black-haired man asked curiously.
“Yes,” Hong replied seriously. “Because in the battle ahead, these two names will prove one thing to you.”
“What is it?”
“That it doesn’t have to be us who die.”
Hong’s voice suddenly rose in intensity. Then both mechs retreated backward. There, a fixed position served as a marker before the mech duel began. Only by reaching there could they launch a formal attack. This was also a way for the arena to counter the extreme advantage of close-range mechs over long-range ones in confined spaces.
Soon after, the black-haired man’s mech was also brought to his side with a humming sound.
When this unique mech, modified by Blackhair’s creativity at Gaofei Blacksmithy, appeared, almost everyone gasped in surprise.

Well, it’s a highly unbalanced mecha. It’s somewhat similar to the TG-73 that Black Hair used in space. It has a standard six-legged structure for its legs and an adult-shaped upper body. Entirely black in color, it carries a strange triangular backpack on its back. From a distance, it looks like a grotesque giant spider. Even more striking is that no weapons can be seen on its surface at all.

Indeed, Black Hair never intended to equip this mecha with any large-caliber firearms. Due to the EMP system, the mecha’s energy demands are extremely high. Even after switching to a mechanical engine and transforming it into a purely mechanical mecha, it still couldn’t withstand the weight of normal firearms. Thus, its only weapons are the built-in shotgun modules located at the center of its palms.

This is a non-standard weapon, meant to be used only when the mecha’s power is severely depleted as a supplementary means. Because it’s built-in, its weight is almost negligible. But at the same time, it eliminates the possibility of aiming. Operation relies entirely on the technician’s skill, making it very difficult to control. Moreover, as it’s the lightest type of shotgun, it’s completely unsuitable for long-range attacks.

However, Black Hair never intended to use it for long-range attacks. In his initial design, this mecha was simply a standard combat mecha. Its name… Nightmare.

“Click.” A soft sound. The cockpit door closed.

It was as if it were a signal. Just as Black Hair entered Nightmare’s cockpit, the two brothers across from him began attacking.

“Bang!”

A deep, muffled sound. The engine nozzles of Hong’s mecha opened fully, and a pink energy stream shot out instantly, pushing aside the dust around it to form a huge ring. Immediately afterward, as if pushed by force, it slid rapidly to the side. At the same time, his right-hand pistol was raised, firing three bursts of bullets in a row.

“Dad, dadada, dadadada…”

The light gunfire sounded like jumping notes, with a magical rhythm. Unlike ordinary technicians, Hong, as the elder brother, was clearly an experienced veteran who had fought countless battles. He didn’t unleash his firepower all at once but fired in precise bursts.

Yet even with bursts, his accuracy was outstanding. Nightmare didn’t even get a chance to move before being hit several times. Its tall upper body immediately burst into sparks and swayed uncontrollably. The atmosphere in the arena instantly turned chaotic!

At that moment, Lan, as the younger brother, also began to attack. The mech’s left hand stretched out, pulling out another machine gun from its backpack, and it fired simultaneously. In an instant, a hail of bullets erupted like a torrent of steel, hitting the Nightmare in an instant. The ground was torn apart, and massive amounts of dust rose, completely enveloping the Nightmare. Its ugly appearance could no longer be seen.

After just one encounter, Blackhair was completely overwhelmed. Such precise coordination in firing left all the pirates stunned. The cheers gradually faded away.

God, those two brothers worked together so seamlessly. One fired precise shots while the other exerted full pressure. Without any preparation, their coordination already cut off all escape routes for that spider mech, forcing it to fight head-on. But even if the energy machine gun wasn’t extremely powerful, how long could the spider mech hold out?

Ten seconds? Twenty seconds?

“Maybe three minutes…” Blackhair said nonchalantly inside the cockpit, a cigarette between his lips, his arms crossed over his chest. He didn’t even touch the control handles, allowing the waves of bullets from the opponent to hit his mech’s body, feeling the intense vibrations inside the cockpit.

In fact, although the Nightmare mech now resembled a small boat in a storm, seemingly on the verge of capsizing at any moment, the reality was quite the opposite.

To protect its valuable EMP system, this Nightmare was one of the few mechs modified by Blackhair with a strong emphasis on defense. It gave up most of its weapon systems not only to reduce load but also to free up space and energy for armor and defensive mechanisms. Though it looked ugly like a giant spider on the outside, its actual defense capabilities were surprisingly high. Even under such fierce attacks, as long as it wasn’t hit in critical areas, it could hold out for three minutes.

Three minutes. Even the energy machine gun, known for its sustained firepower, would soon face the dilemma of needing to change its magazine.

This was the opportunity!!

“Click!” The chance had arrived…

Almost at the same time, the mechs of Hong and Lan stopped attacking. Lan’s mech retreated at high speed while reaching into its backpack to fetch a new magazine. Meanwhile, Hong instantly appeared in front of him, holding his machine gun horizontally and aiming it at the smoke-filled ahead.

The intense firepower generated a massive amount of smoke and dust, making it impossible for him to see what was inside. Although that strange mecha hadn’t broken through their fire barrage, for some reason, he felt a deep sense of unease, as if… some danger was waiting for him.
What exactly was it? What had I missed? With a frown, Hong’s mind raced. Just then…
“Boom!!”
A deafening explosion came from within the smoke!!