Rogue Villain-Chapter 312: Without Mercy

Ackster and his part continued to walk while surveying their colorful and entrancingly rich natural surroundings. They didn’t know what to expect, so all of them took this chance to try and learn as much about Paradise as possible before they came face to face with what they were looking for.

However, things weren’t looking so bright.

"We aren’t getting anywhere, right?"

Karandiel looked around as she spoke. The assortment of trees and flowers wasn’t the same as what they had passed by before. But she had a feeling that they weren’t advancing through the island. It was like they were walking in place, the island’s landscape changing because they did the movements of walking, not because they moved forward.

Ackster and Kargas nodded to confirm Karandiel’s suspicion for the others.

"It’s most likely a way to exhaust those trapped on the island to make it easier for Mastrax."

If Mastrax used his island to pick up sailors and people stranded at sea for whatever reason, they most likely wouldn’t be suspicious, alert, or keen enough to notice what was going on, at least not until it was too late. And by then, they would already be tired and weak, ripe for the picking.

"It’s unexpected."

After interacting with the other dragons, especially Trana, when she triggered the power of her Covenant, Ackster’s image of dragons was pretty high. He hadn’t expected a dragon to use such lowly tricks as the one Mastrax was employing. Of course, it could also be because Mastrax was lazy.

After spreading his senses throughout the island and scanning what he could while they walked, he had mostly confirmed that while the same tree never came back again, the changing scenery was slightly monotonous.

Ackster looked at Mara, the one best at magic in their crew.

"How complicated would it be to make this island automatic?"

Mara looked at Ackster, and at first, she was about to respond on instinct that she could do it. But as she realized what Ackster asked, her eyes widened.

"My lord, do you mean...?"

"Yeah. I might have been wrong before. Mastrax isn’t controlling the island, at least not directly. It’s following a set of orders and executing them with magic. I don’t know how that would work, but it’s possible, right?"

After looking at Ackster wide-eyed for a moment, Mara nodded slowly.

"...It’s certainly possible, My lord. But that would require an incredible amount of very advanced magic formulations."

"As far as I know, Mastrax isn’t as good at magic as the other dragons."

Wilma joined the conversation with a wary expression as she looked at Ackster, hoping he would consider turning back.

Ackster smiled slightly.

"That means he’s stronger than I expected. Perfect."

Ackster stopped walking and looked around. Wilma sighed. They weren’t going to take a step back and make a plan now that they had realized their foe was stronger than initially estimated.

Ackster roused his strength, and his body surged with power. His vitality, mana, and Will surged through his body, weaving together and harmonizing to bring out and amplify each other’s strengths.

Ackster’s three sources drilled through his arm as he raised it before slamming a fast down into the ground as hard as he could.

After reaching Ex-rank, Ackster had truly started becoming a walking natural disaster.

His punch, empowered with his three sources and martial arts, caused a series of earthquakes as ripples spread through the ground with his fist as the epicenter. The ripples traveled all the way to the edge of the island, sending dirt, trees, flowers, and roots into the air and ocean.

’Interesting.’

Ackster looked at the ground. He had displaced a lot of the dirt. But after a certain point, the force of his fist had stopped piercing the ground. It hit a full stop after a few arm’s length into the ground.

But before Ackster could investigate, several presences showed up in front of them. A moment later, just as many popped up to the right. Another moment later, a third group entered the forest from out of nowhere to the left. Finally, a fourth group closed their exits by appearing behind them.

Ackster and the others looked around as at least a hundred people, all with strong auras, appeared from out of thin air all around them. They slowly left the ruins of the forest and encircled Ackster’s party with a threatening air.

Ackster looked at all of them.

"We just want to talk—"

Ackster could barely get more than a few words out before all the humans lunged at his part.

Wilma flinched as Ackster’s power spread out, and he sent the first wave back in a shower of blood and broken bodies. Mara and Karandiel also didn’t bother holding back. It was just that, unlike Ackster, they hadn’t realized what was going on. They just didn’t hold back.

So, when the humans picked their body parts up and pieced themselves together, Mara and Karandiel were just as surprised as the others.

Wilma wasn’t relieved. Even if they weren’t ordinary humans, Ackster had attacked them without mercy.

"Zombies?"

Makkel looked at the swarm with flames covering his hands, ready to torch the place.

"Not quite."

Ackster looked at the zombies. Their eyes were dull and unreactive. Their bodies weren’t moving according to their own will, which they didn’t have much or any left of.

"They’re packed full of vitality to the point where even if they are torn to pieces, their bodies will recover."

"Is this...?"

Ackster nodded as Wilma looked around in horror.

"Yep. This is Mastrax’s power. So, uh, don’t get caught or something. I’m not sure how it works, but his magic should be controlling their bodies as well."

Ackster left those words behind as he dashed forward. Although he had just claimed that the zombies would be difficult to kill, he had no intention of standing still and being attacked. He had stuff to do and places to be. Besides, he was interested in the zombies and how they used vitality. After all, he wasn’t much different.

Ackster understood why people assumed he was one of Mastrax’s minions after seeing his recovery in action.