Rogue Villain-Chapter 343: From The Skies

Ackster lost his arm again!

’Every fucking time!’

Whenever Ackster found someone or something powerful enough to bestow upon him a grievous wound, it was always his arm that disappeared. Ackster sighed in suppressed irritation as his body began regenerating the missing tissue.

Ackster turned around to try and get a glimpse of his attacker. Instead, he caught a faceful of four-winged birds, closely followed by a group of six-winged ones that tried to pick him apart with their needle-sharp beaks.

Ackster realized by what and how he had been attacked.

It was a bird a lot stronger than these small fries that came in at full speed and launched itself through Ackster, tearing his body apart. He would regenerate. And there was most likely a limit to the bird’s endurance, especially if it flew that fast several times.

However, if the bird tried to escape, Ackster would have no way to catch up to it.

He couldn’t allow that.

It was unmistakable.

The bird had used it. It had used the source that the beasts in this primeval miniature world had the potential to unlock.

It wasn’t vitality.

Ackster’s experience with the power was fleeting since it was only when the bird was in contact with him. But his senses and mind let him replay the incident in slow motion.

Vitality didn’t have that kind of ferocity or explosive power.

Ackster grinned.

He wanted it. This bird was going to teach him how to wield that power.

Ackster used his left hand to blow the air apart and, along with it, the birds trying to attack him. Aside from the bird that nearly turned him to minced meat, the others could barely prick his skin when he used his Ichor.

But attacking many weaklings at once let Ackster train that ability and diversify his use of martial arts. He doubted he would have use of it against The Hero for obvious reasons. But it didn’t hurt learning how to spread the force of his punch through the air by imagining it as water and liquifying the guts of the nearby living beings.

Blood and blood-soaked feathers rained down around Ackster like an homage to his might. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Ackster held his hands out to the sides and looked at the sky with closed eyes, letting the blood drip down his cheeks. He breathed slowly and was as calm as the ocean before the storm.

The bird in charge could sacrifice the rest of its flock, hoping for a different outcome. But that would only be different in a negative way for the bird now that Ackster had completely recovered. Or it could charge again.

A bird clever enough to control that many of its own kind wouldn’t make a rash decision. But it was also kind enough to maintain its flock and ensure that every member had glossy feathers and full bodies. The bird took care of its flock.

It was the first pack animal Ackster had encountered in this miniature world of individualistic beings. But pack animals were the same wherever they went.

They cared for their pack.

The corner of Ackster’s lips rose slightly. His ears didn’t even pick it up since the bird was faster than sound. It was one of his sixth or higher senses that felt a needle-like point in the center of his chest blossom into a flower of danger that covered his body.

Ackster activated Limit Breaker as much as he could.

Time slowed down, and Ackster came face-to-face with the light blue bird and its yellow beak that pointed at him like the finger of death.

Ackster’s own movements slowed to a crawl. He could see what was happening, but he couldn’t react to the bird that was now moving as fast as a cheetah.

’?’

Ackster had a thought in the brief fractions of a moment before the bird struck.

Why couldn’t he react in time? Who said that? Who could say something so absolute with such certainty?

He had Limit Breaker for a reason.

There was nothing Ackster couldn’t do. It might come with an appropriate cost. But Ackster was rich.

Ackster’s mind cleared up.

He moved his arms. They passed right through the air, just like his sword did when he cut through it. They moved faster than ever before. Even Ackster only saw them as a blur.

Ackster grabbed the eight-winged bird around the neck and slammed it into the ground. The bird was knocked out cold by the strike.

Ackster looked at what remained of his arms in shock. Not even Unstoppable would have helped him subdue the bird, at least not with his arms. He could have used his mouth or feet or something.

But Ackster’s arms were gone. He had ripped the skin and flesh off of them with the movement, and his bones were also cracked and about to fall to the ground, only held together by Unstoppable and Stubborn Well-Being. But Limit Breaker’s backlash affected even his other skills.

"Huh."

Ackster had thought it only made sense before. But this was the first time he clearly felt his regeneration stall due to Limit Breaker.

’Great.’

Ackster smiled. This meant he had found an avenue of growth he could pursue. If Limit Breaker stalled his healing, he just had to increase his rate of recovery until Limit Breaker’s backlash didn’t affect him. Or, if it affected him, it still wouldn’t interfere in a fight at the level where he had to use Limit Breaker as he had done just now.

Fortunately, the way to train that was straightforward.

Ackster just had to Limit Break his body continuously and let Stubborn Well-Being patch him back up again and again until Stubborn Well-Being and his body acclimated to the new level of harm to him.

Ackster looked at the bird. It was like a blessing from the skies. He hadn’t acquired the new source of power yet, but he had reached a new level of Limit Breaker, thanks to the bird’s unbelievable speed.

Ackster grinned. He couldn’t wait to see what else he could squeeze from the bird.