Rogue Villain-Chapter 235: Kargas Vs Tararat

Ackster leaned to the side and let Tararat’s sword cut the air next to him instead. However, as soon as Ackster moved, Tararat reacted and changed the direction of his sword, striking out horizontally instead.

Ackster leaned back to let the sword pass over him, and when Tararat changed the direction of his sword back down, Ackster used his hand to push the sword aside. Thanks to Ackster’s touch, Tararat couldn’t change the direction of his sword again before it went down too low to cut anything but Ackster’s toenails.

Tararat reversed the direction of his sword entirely as he swung it diagonally upward, grazing Ackster’s chest before he had time to step back.

But both the graze and the damage to his hand healed almost instantly. Tararat noticed that, but all he thought was that it was good since it meant he didn’t have to worry as much about killing Ackster.

"Well?"

Tararat spoke between attacks, leaving just enough room for Ackster to respond.

"Well, what?"

"Your name."

Ackster dodged another slash that took his ear.

"I don’t think you’re going to like it."

"Huh?"

"My name is Kargas."

Ackster grinned and took advantage of Tararat’s minimal confusion to land a sucker punch empowered by his mana. Ripples spread through Tararat’s natural and worn armor before penetrating his body and forcing him to take a step back to try and assess the injury.

However, Ackster continued and flipped the momentum of the fight, not letting Tararat voice his feelings regarding fighting someone with the same name as someone he didn’t even want cleaning his shit-stained boots.

Ackster had felt Tararat’s armor absorb most of the damage from his rippling punch, but it was the first time Tararat experienced such an attack, so he was wary of it. Ackster used that to his advantage as he stepped in closer, sacrificing his left hand to hold on to Tararat’s sword in exchange for landing another blow.

Tararat blocked Ackster’s punch with his clawed hand. The scales on Tararat’s hand cracked, but his claws dug into the back of Ackster’s hand. However, Tararat noticed from both of his hands that Ackster’s bones were tougher than steel.

His sword couldn’t cut through the fingers gripping his sword, and his claws couldn’t pierce Ackster’s hand, at least not beyond the skin that protected the bones inside.

Tararat looked at Ackster in surprise. He hadn’t expected such an encounter when he was simply hunting down a traitor in his free time. He also hadn’t expected any mention of Kargas. But the sour taste that name left in his mouth was washed away by the prospect of an exciting fight.

Tararat’s face broke into a ferocious grin as he lifted his leg slightly to block a low kick from Ackster. He couldn’t block the strange power, transferring a worrying amount of force through a series of ripples into his body. But he didn’t need to.

The punches stung, but they didn’t hurt. Of course, sooner or later, after maybe a thousand such punches, Tararat might start fearing them. But he would never let the same strike hit him a thousand times.

Ackster felt the pressure on him increase as Tararat started regarding him as a worthy opponent instead of a bullshitting trespasser he needed to bring to the elders. Tararat still wasn’t going all out since he hadn’t even used his mana. But Ackster could tell he was gradually decreasing how much he held back as he released the reins on himself.

With a ferocious jerk, Tararat tugged the sword out from Ackster’s grip, this time nearly cutting off his fingers. The marks left behind almost went through all of his finger bones.

’This might be a little dangerous.’

Ackster didn’t feel like losing another limb.

’But it’s a good opportunity.’

However, he still hadn’t confirmed whether he could regrow one if he did lose a finger, a hand, or an arm. Stubborn Well-Being at its current rank, combined with Iron Body and Martial Body, might accomplish the impossible.

Still, it was unnecessary to let Tararat chop off a part of his body. So, Ackster did his best against Tararat, save from activating Limit Breaker and using the full force of his mana and vitality. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

When Tararat hadn’t used his mana or gone all out yet, Ackster would end up at a disadvantage if he did it first. Tararat would know the full extent of Ackster’s strength, but Ackster would still be in the dark about what Tararat could do.

Ackster and Tararat continued exchanging superficial blows, chipping away at each other’s defenses, techniques, stamina, and bodies.

Since Ackster hadn’t perfected combining his martial arts with a weapon, he used his hands, which meant he was in a slightly inferior position compared to Tararat. However, his regeneration, sturdiness, and quick reactions made up for Tararat’s increased range and cutting ability.

Still, in order to land blows, Ackster had to sacrifice more and more of himself with each successive trade.

Ackster learned quickly, and if he wanted, he could already execute an imitation of Tararat’s swordplay. But he didn’t have a sword of matching quality, and copying his opponent’s techniques wasn’t the same as identifying weaknesses and things he could take advantage of. But that was exactly what Tararat, with his decades of fighting experience, could do.

Tararat’s experience was stronger than Ackster’s talent.

But the longer the seemingly equal fight went on, the more Ackster learned.

He didn’t make any mistakes, but he did make moves and attacks that weren’t the perfect or most optimal move to make in those situations. He didn’t repeat them.

Tararat noticed Ackster’s growth at once with his keen eyes. He also noticed that his attempt at gnawing at Ackster by forcing him to sacrifice himself to land blows wasn’t working. He had underestimated Ackster’s recovery ability.

Deciding to try one last thing before tapping into his mana, Tararat paused for less than a split second, intentionally revealing an opening too tempting for Ackster not to take advantage of, even if he knew it was a trap.

Ackster didn’t even need his Overhuman Senses to know Tararat was laying down a trap. But he was confident in himself.

So, when Tararat froze with his sword arm still behind him, Ackster lunged forward, intentionally crouching low to target Tararat’s thigh with a rippling punch.

Both Ackster and Tararat grinned as they let their feelings of excitement and superiority over the other after successfully playing them dominate their expressions.

Ackster’s fist landed against the dragonling’s sturdy leg while a dagger of a similar design to the sword slid out from the leather armor on Tararat’s free forearm.