Usually, Ackster and the ant general either sparred until Ackster reached the insight he sought or until the general had given Ackster a decent pummeling, which only happened when Ackster let it. He had realized early on that he would need to hold back since he didn't want to tell the queen and her general about his true strength.
The ant general looking down on him naturally helped Ackster give a false impression. Well, at first, he hadn't much choice. He could go all-out and blow his later chances, or he could let the general beat him.
Then, when he had improved, he had slowly let those improvements rise to the surface while keeping the majority of his progress hidden.
But now, Ackster didn't back down as easily as before. Fewer and fewer of the ant general's punches landed on his body. They either missed completely or were intercepted by Ackster before they could arrive. Not only that, Ackster used every opening he saw to launch counterattacks and strike back.
If the cuts he made to feed the ant queen healed in tens of minutes, the bruises and scrapes he got from the ant general's fists and legs would heal before the fight ended.
Since he wouldn't be safe, even with the general's death, Ackster didn't sacrifice entire limbs or ribs to land weak punches on the harder-than-rock chitin exoskeleton. That would be wasteful. But when the injuries incurred were practically unnoticeable, Ackster didn't mind trading blows, even if they didn't do much damage.
As long as they fought one-on-one, Ackster was confident he would win. Maybe he wouldn't even need to use Limit Breaker for this fight.
Eventually, the ant general realized something was up. It wasn't sure, but its sparring partner had suddenly elevated his skills and taken the spar up a couple of notches. Ackster was also fighting with a vigor the ant general hadn't seen before, which was suspicious.
But before the ant general could do anything or think further, Ackster exploded forward with incredible speed as the general had tried to lead the spar into a lull so he could think a little.
The ant general had tried to distance himself after Ackster blocked all of his four sequenced punches with only his two hands. That was when Ackster grabbed the opportunity. It could barely be called an opening since the ant general was willingly stepping back to get some leeway.
If the ant general had been ready for it, anticipated Ackster further stepping up his game, Ackster wouldn't have had such an easy time closing the distance. But he wasn't since he didn't know what Ackster was truly capable of. The ant general had also gotten a false sense of superiority after repeatedly beating Ackster in their spars.
So, when Ackster blasted his fist into the ant general's chest with enough force to crack it and send the general flying into the wall, the general only reacted when he felt the second impact against the stone. With its wings, it would have ordinarily been able to stop its travel before it smashed into the wall.
But the strength behind Ackster's fist and the speed behind his feet took the general by enough surprise.
Ackster grinned slightly at seeing the ant general's stunned reaction as it stood up and looked at the snowflake-like cracks on its chest plate. Just because he might not need Limit Breaker to win the fight didn't mean he wasn't going to use it.
After all, his objective wasn't merely to win against the ant general in a fair one vs. one battle. It was to win before the ant queen woke up again and ordered the innumerable ants in the nest to swarm him so that he couldn't kill the general and so that she could eat him.
Even if it strained his body, going all-out and killing the general before the queen's awakening was more than worth it. So, Ackster unleashed the power hidden under lock and chain within his body without hesitation.
And while seeing the ant general's shock was nice, now was no time to gloat. Ackster dashed forward again, making full use of all of his skills and Limit Breaker's boost to his physicality.
He had turned the ant general's mistake into an even larger opening. He would be a fool if he let it slip away because he was busy indulging in nonsensical feelings of the same kind that founded the ant general's mistake. Things like that—feelings like that—had no place if he was fighting for his survival, whether it be now or in ten year's time.
Ackster aimed right for the center of the ant general's chest with his fist. Now that he had created a weak spot using the surprise attack, he should make the most of it.
However, the ant general raised its four arms to create two overlapping Xes that walled Ackster off. His fist still landed, and the force behind it, thanks to the momentum he gained from the short dash, was enough to make the general stumble backward.
But it wasn't enough to do more than send a hair-fine crack into one of the ant's reinforced arms. It was just so that Ackster noticed it with his Keen Senses on beyond full blast, thanks to Limit Breaker.
It was another structural weakness in the ant general's armor. But it was too little for him to take advantage of, so he launched another fist, curving it from his hips to try and finesse his way under the general's arms.
The general reacted and lowered its lower arms to block while using its upper two to launch a counterattack and make the most of Ackster dedicating himself to the low-blow uppercut. The ant general aimed for Ackster's head with both fists without hesitation. The two glossy, smooth, chitin fists pierced through the air toward either side of Ackster's face.
Ackster saw with Battlesight as the fists smashed into his face and blew it backward so he could dodge or block.
But in using both upper arms to attack and its two lower ones to defend from a blow coming from below, the ant general had left its chest exposed. Even at the cost of his face, Ackster took the chance.
He used his other hand and shot it forward. Due to the tense and hot situation and the awkward position with his first fist, Ackster couldn't put as much leverage or torque into his straight punch as he would have wanted.
But Strike, Superficial Martial Arts, and Iron Fists would have to be enough.