Rogue Villain-Chapter 183: Cut Down

Ackster didn’t waste any time. He didn’t have any time to waste.

He gripped his sword tightly before dashing in the pedestal’s direction. The mermen reacted, though it looked more like they were forced to react as they floated through the air and lined up in front of the Sea God Manual, blocking Ackster like a wall.

But when Ackster darted away again, the mermen guards were freed from their restrictive prioritizations and chased after him when he took a lap around the room.

Ackster had managed to rearrange the mermens’ formation, and they chased after him in a straight line.

Ackster wasn’t sure if his idea would work when he saw the mermen chasing him like a pack of ducklings. But he targeted the pedestal again when he was at the far corner of the room.

The mermen instantly turned to line up in front of the pedestal again.

All the mermen had the same specifications—the same Stats. So, they reacted and moved as quickly as one another under the same circumstances.

Usually, they would make sure not to leave any openings and cover each others’ backs when they moved. But protecting the Sea God Manual trumped that, and the merman who had been closest to catching Ackster was left alone at the end of the line.

It would only take a couple of seconds for the troops to reach the pedestal and turn around, which meant Ackster had an opening of that size. And that was all he needed.

Feather-Footed was one of the skills Ackster hadn’t had much time to delve into as he had done with Limit Breaker since it wasn’t one of his core skills. But he didn’t have to. It was straightforward and simple. It made his feet lighter, both metaphorically and physically.

With the experience he got from learning more about skill activation, all Ackster needed was some conscious thought to bring out more of the skill’s potential. He caught up with his target with a sudden burst of speed.

And as soon as he was within reach, Ackster lashed out horizontally with his saber, aiming to cut off the merman’s head. Even if it was seemingly made of water, it was still a humanoid and should have some kind of humanoid weakness.

Ackster’s blade passed through the merman’s neck without issue, almost without facing any resistance. The head separated from the body and drifted lifelessly through the air before both faded away like mist under the light of the sun.

Instantly, all the merman guards turned to glare at Ackster with ice in their eyes.

"Hmm."

Ackster had a feeling that the guards had grown stronger or at least more dangerous. But it was only marginally. He had also gotten a start in understanding how they used their shields as the decapitated merman had tried to block and counterattack in one movement when it sensed Ackster’s blade on its neck.

He was a little stunned at the merman’s quick reaction. But they were around A-rank in strength, the same as Ackster. And he also had reflexes like that, if not better. He put that out of his mind as he focused on the remaining mermen.

They were still guarding the Sea God Manual.

But their gazes were also trained at him. Ackster had a feeling that the same strategy wouldn’t work again. But it didn’t need to.

Ackster had started getting a feeling for both his own and the mermen’s movements. He could also feel himself begin to get warmer. His blood was heating up, and his senses were sharpening.

"Round two."

Ackster charged at the mermen. He had learned enough from their offensive to start using the saber and shield without looking like a complete buffoon. Now, he could rely on his other advantages, such as his sturdy body and its regenerative strengths, as well as his other skills that would let him surpass the fragile water mermen.

Now that he had discovered they die that quickly, he had nothing to fear.

Ackster made full use of his skills to prevent any major damage to his remaining limbs, head, torso, or throat as he dove into a frenzied brawl with the mermen guards.

The mermen’s synchronized fighting and skilled usage of the saber-shield combination made it difficult for Ackster to get more than a couple of solid hits in at first. But each strike of his blocked was one strike that wouldn’t be blocked again. Each hit that landed was one blissfully tangy lesson for how not to get hit again.

Ackster learned and improved in real time as he fought the mermen.

It didn’t take long for the second merman to lose substance and dissipate due to the accumulated cuts leaking water into the air. It took twenty shallow cuts and bruises as well as three deeper flesh wounds.

The next mermen fell after a dozen light touches and two severe injuries.

After that, six strikes total brought yet another merman back to a state of non-existence.

Ackster found a lucky opening and cleaved the next merman guard’s head without any prior physical preparation.

He wasn’t that lucky after that, and the following merman needed a shield to the face and two stabs through the heart before fading to mist and disappearing.

Ackster was about to continue fighting them. He had gotten excited by this hot-blooded fight. He wanted more.

And he was about to get what he wanted, just not the way he expected.

The atmosphere around the merman guards changed when half of them were dead, and they stepped back. Ackster felt a chill run down his spine, and he didn’t pursue them.

Ackster glanced around the room without leaving the mermen with his senses. Considering how easily they had stepped into being, maybe the room would spawn more. Maybe the trial was to defeat a certain number of them within a certain time, and he had failed that. Or maybe it was to defeat an endless amount, a horde of mermen of water.

"...or not."

The chamber didn’t create any more mermen, and there weren’t any announcements. Instead, after regrouping away from Ackster, the mermen reached out in mid-air with their unarmed hands, unfettered by shields, and grabbed whips of water a hue lighter than themselves seemingly out of nothing.

"Yeah. I’m not going to try that yet."