Lukas huffed and puffed, doing his very best just to remain standing, but maybe the last bit of adrenaline had drained from his veins. He found it difficult just to keep standing.

Clang!

With a sharp, piercing sound, the brilliant sword fell to the ground, and Lukas’s body collapsed as well. Right now, he did not have the strength to move even a finger.

Mind you, don’t misunderstand: Lukas was not unable to move because he had exhausted his stamina. He had endless stamina, but the injuries were too much, making it difficult for him to move.

Tap, tap...

Slowly, but steadily, the White Knight Guild Leader moved toward Lukas. This... are you okay?

She did not know why, but at this moment, it felt as if her heart had been gripped by something, a pang of pain filling her entire being.

Maybe he was still caught up in the fight or something, but hearing the sound of footsteps, Lukas had jerked upward with great ferocity, killing intent overflowing in his eyes.

However, the person at whom that killing intent was directed was not simple. The White Knight Guild Leader was not just the leader of a settlement, but also a genuine bloodline awakener at the peak stage. To reach this level, what had she not witnessed? To ordinary people, Lukas killing intent might have been terrifying, but she simply ignored it.

The White Knight Guild Leader’s hand subtly moved toward him, a pensive expression appearing on her face. The concern she felt was growing and trembling.

What is this feeling... why does my heart ache seeing him like this?

At this point, the White Knight Guild Leader’s emotions were in turmoil. She could not understand why she would feel such pain for someone she had wanted to kill just a few days ago. How she hated what had changed.

She only stopped when there was a distance of less than one meter between them.

On the other hand, for some reason, Lukas’s thoughts were slightly darker, slightly more demonic.

Use that healing passive on her... maybe just one drop of her blood would heal all of my injuries.

Thinking like this, he felt no remorse at all. He had long forgotten his old morals. To survive, he was willing to go to any length. There was no bottom line he dared not cross, because that line only mattered when he was alive.

If he died, there was no way out of this situation.

Yeah, she should help me.

The more he thought about it, the more intense this idea became, to the point that he felt a strange surge of energy fill his body, wanting him to attack the White Knight Guild Leader.

But just at this time, the White Knight Guild Leader opened her mouth, and her voice echoed in the silence.

"Open your mouth and drink."

"Huh?"

Lukas’s eyes opened wide. He could hardly believe what he had heard. He looked at her with a strange expression on his face, her words echoing in his head. They caught him so off guard that for a moment, reason returned to him.

What did she mean, open your mouth and drink? What did she want him to drink? Surely not her...

Lukas did not finish the thought, but turned his head to look at her ample chest.

It was clear why Lukas did that. Maybe in this extreme state, human instincts naturally turned to their base desires.

But one look and Lukas felt as if his head had been struck by lightning. He almost had the urge to slap himself.

What the hell am I doing?

After wasting a lifetime making mistakes, I want to repeat the same mistake again? Ruining my life with this nonsense... how many lifetimes do I need to learn something so simple?

The change in his demeanor and aura was so intense and drastic that even the White Knight Guild Leader felt it.

For a moment, her face turned slightly red, then she spoke in a stern voice. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"Drink my blood. A rank-three bloodline awakener’s blood contains vitality. As long as one of my vital points is intact, there is a chance you can heal."

Lukas’s mind went blank hearing her words. He was silent for a moment, then simply nodded and opened his mouth.

The White Knight Guild Leader did not waste any time. She brought her palm directly over his open mouth and slid her nails over it, opening a very fine line as blood flowed out.

Splash!

Just one drop, and Lukas felt like a dried well that had opened after years of drought.

The effect was immediate. His injuries, which had deeply etched into his sense of being, slowly began to patch up together.

In just a breath of time, Lukas returned to peak condition.

Meanwhile, completely unaware of the two, a golden chest watched this scene with slight displeasure.

How can the heart demon fail? The two should have turned against each other. Why are they healing each other?

The golden chest’s voice was filled with disbelief. He was familiar with this scene. The Sword God was not a kind Buddha. How could he allow someone to train peacefully by fighting a knight?

Slowly but steadily, the evil thoughts tried to take over his brain, filling him with pain as he thought, slowly turning the two against each other.

Yet here the chest was, witnessing the opposite. Instead of turning on each other, the two seemed to be helping one another.

After Lukas was completely healed, he ignored everything around him and looked into the distance. His gaze seemed to pierce through the layers of space, looking at the young man who was still struggling while being charged by the leopard.

He did not know why exactly this scene flashed through his head, but it did not matter.

The next moment, he turned to the White Knight Guild Leader and asked:

"Tell me your name."

His voice was incredibly low, seemingly muttered to himself.

Still, the White Knight Guild Leader was able to hear it as if he had spoken directly into her ear.

The White Knight Guild Leader fell silent, not answering his question immediately.

For a moment, their gazes seemed to have met, and then separated in a moment that felt as if it lasted forever.

Lukas heard the White Knight Guild Leader utter a single word, simple and calm.

"Natasha..."

"Hm... Natasha... Nat... Natasha..."

Lukas had to mumble it a few times before he got it right. To be completely honest, it was not his fault. The White Knight Guild Leader’s name was in a language that he had never spoken before.

After this short exchange, there was silence between the two. Just as things were turning awkward, it was Natasha who took the initiative to speak.

"Are you confident about tomorrow’s challenge?"

Her eyes flashed with unfamiliar emotion that was difficult to comprehend. Then, in a slightly cool and calm voice, she continued:

"Considering how you are approaching battle..."

Lukas paused before answering, seemingly recollecting his thoughts.

...

The golden chest floating in the air heard their conversation and snickered with full confidence.

Young man, even with the Death God’s inheritance, that still sounds too overconfident. Today is the last day. When the sword knight appears, it will have full mastery of the first style of One Sword to Rule the World*. No mortal can withstand that blade.*

Lukas might not know the ins and outs of the situation, but the golden chest knew it like the back of its hand.

At the peak of One Sword to Rule the World, the technique becomes terrifyingly powerful, reaching a level that was hard to comprehend. At that level, the attack carries a power no mortal could withstand. After all, that attack would be fueled by the life of the sword knight. If Lukas were struck by it, he would die.

Meanwhile, after their short exchange, the two returned to their positions. Lukas began meditating with as much focus as he could, and soon the faint light of morning arrived. Slowly, the sun rose above the horizon, and with it, the space once again trembled like glass before shattering.

The sword knight figure merged from the crack, walking toward them step by step. In its hand was no sword, for at this moment, it itself was the sword. Its intent to annihilate Lukas was the sword. Everything around it turned into sword intent. For a moment, if one looked closely, even the very ground beneath the knight’s feet seemed to have been sliced into two parts, the air itself parting in fear of being cut.

Even when the distance between the knight and Lukas was hundreds of meters, he felt a biting force pricking his skin, seemingly wanting to slice him into two pieces from afar.

"This time its really no joke.." Lukas muttered with a serious expression.

Natasha from the sides also warned, stay focused. "The upcoming battle is not going to be easy.."