Rogue Villain-Chapter 260: Skin Of A Gazelle

Tararat didn’t even bother fetching his wyvern. He chased after Ackster on foot. But he didn’t need to chase long before Ackster stopped.

"This should be far enough, right?"

"Far enough for what?"

"Not to bother Kargas."

"Why?! Why are you cooperating with that abomination?!"

Ackster raised his eyebrows in surprise before chuckling.

"You know, I also have a couple of questions of my own. So, how about this? Whoever wins gets to get the other whatever they want."

"I don’t need it. I do not need to get any answers from your filthy mouth."

Ackster shrugged.

"Alright. Guess I’ve gotta win then."

"Try it."

Tararat didn’t waste any more time on idle chatter. He dashed forward while unsheathing his sword and unleashing his mana. He had no intentions of holding back and testing the waters with Ackster this time.

Ackster grinned. It was the perfect opportunity to learn how to combine swordplay with overwhelming strength and mana.

A pitch-black sword appeared in Ackster’s hand while his body rumbled with the beat of his heart as his vitality surged like a raging tsunami and strengthened his body.

It became a whole lot easier to learn how to use his vitality in combat after learning Will and the sword leeching on it. Now, Ackster could even use it to reinforce his body the same way he did with his mana. He couldn’t use it in his martial arts since his vitality didn’t act or react the same way.

But it was just a matter of time.

Ackster met Tararat’s sword head-on. Sparks flew as the two swords ground against each other, neither sword and neither wielder budging.

The two fighters jumped back slightly at the same time before darting forward and slashing at each others’ throats.

Tararat leaned back to avoid Ackster’s sword while letting his continue forward blindly. Ackster let Tararat’s sword cut through his neck a thumb deep. And, as soon as the sword was past, Ackster continued charging forward. He changed the direction of his sword and lashed down diagonally, slashing through the outermost layer of Tararat’s armor before he could dodge.

Tararat stepped back and fended off Ackster’s next attack with a parry.

Orange mana filled Tararat’s body, eyes, and sword, all of which began glowing due to the sheer intensity. The air around Tararat started growing fuzzy from the heat, and even the ground below his feet and the tip of his sword turned soft.

Ackster’s eyes lit up with excitement as Tararat really was going all out. He decided to do the same and tapped into his mana, weaving it into his vitality and further reinforcing his body.

He couldn’t combine his vitality and mana perfectly. He wasn’t sure how to do that, but he could tell he was still lacking. Still, his physical prowess reached another level. He could also implement his martial arts now.

Ackster didn’t give up the advantage and continued to force Tararat on the defensive as much as possible. He tried to come close enough to land punches or strikes, but Tararat fended him off with irritating ease.

Eventually, Tararat found a gap in Ackster’s offense, and he concentrated an edge of mana on his sword that flew out with his next swing. Ackster cut in half, but the orange beam of sharpened mana became two and struck him anyway, leaving behind two deep burns.

The lingering mana fought off Ackster’s recovery for several painful moments until Pyro Resistance worked away the fire.

But the burns stretching from his shoulder to his thigh didn’t even have time to start healing before Tararat launched another attack of a similar nature. This time, Ackster matched the mana blade’s angle and cut it in half along its length. He stepped in between the two thinner beams and came out mostly unscathed except for a light singe to his skin.

The third strike, Ackster simply took without trying to defend himself. Instead, he closed the distance Tararat had tried to put between them while his mind buzzed.

Long-range attacks were awfully convenient. It would be nice if Ackster could also use them.

So, his mind hot like Tararat’s mana, Ackster tried to imitate what he had done. He lined his sword with vitality since it didn’t take as kindly to mana. The sword was already sharp enough to cut through steel and durable enough to withstand even Tararat’s sword, but the addition of vitality only strengthened the sword further.

The sword even helped Ackster concentrate his vitality on one of the sword’s edges. Ackster swung the sword, releasing the condensed vitality like a blade of grass from the sword’s tip. It slid right off and headed toward Tararat like beanstalk of doom.

However, it was too weak to deal any damage to Tararat, who easily dispelled it with a few lightning-quick slashes.

But Ackster didn’t stop. It was the first time he did it. Of course, it would be weak. He only needed to try again until he got it right and the condensed vitality held together. After that, he just needed to force his sword to accept his mana and try it with that, too, before testing a combination of the two.

All the while, Tararat continued slinging his own blades of mana that left deep burning scars on Ackster’s body, which he just ignored. They would heal on their own sooner or later, and they weren’t deep enough to cause him worry.

If Tararat was hoping to wear him down, he had severely underestimated how much Ackster had stuffed inside his Smelting Furnace, not that he knew how Ackster’s skills worked. But whenever he could get his hands on something useful, Ackster had spent the last couple of weeks stuffing himself to the brim just for this situation.

Tararat was strong. Ackster would need to prepare and pull out all the stops to defeat him. He would even need to grow during the fight if he wanted to become strong and good enough to best Tararat.

A mad grin forced its way onto Ackster’s charred face. He was a mad tiger who had put on the skin of a gazelle to lure its prey away from its pack.