Undead Evolution: From Trash To Divine

"You sure are as slippery as a rat..."

Ryan muttered in frustration as he once again caught nothing but air.

At the last moment, Lukas had used Phaseless Step to escape the impossible situation. However, he did not feel relieved. Instead, a heavy expression hung on his face.

"This is bad..."

Lukas narrowed his eyes.

This time, Ryan had almost caught up to him, not because he was faster than Lukas, but because of something else.

Countless thoughts surged through Lukas's mind like lightning as he replayed the last moment again and again. The method he had used allowed him to move at a speed matching a sequence-three expert, and at times even surpassing them, yet Ryan had still almost caught him.

Then a possibility flashed through his head.

*He didn't catch up with my speed... he predicted my next move.*

Thinking of this, Lukas felt his heart turn cold.

Yes, he might have bridged the talent gap by absorbing multiple talents, but Ryan was a genuine sequence-three expert who had risen to this level step by step. His combat experience was on an entirely different level.

If Lukas wanted to catch up, it would take time.

However, Lukas refused to admit defeat.

The longer this battle dragged on, the harder it would be for him to come out on top.

Lukas's eyes flickered, and suddenly gravity pressure descended on the surroundings once again, forcing the very air to still. The sky cracked, and a flash of lightning fell from the heavens, striking Ryan squarely in the chest.

To Lukas's surprise, the stoic necromancer, who had shown little reaction until now, finally changed expression when the lightning hit.

Lukas immediately understood something, and his eyes lit up like two torches.

It seemed the all-powerful necromancer's weakness was lightning.

Now he knew what to do.

Although a plan had formed in his mind, there was still a concern.

With the fusion of my two stars into a cosmos, my star energy reserves have definitely increased. But right now, the cosmos is still too small. The amount of star energy it can hold is only about the same as four normal stars.

Of course, this was only the beginning. As time passed, the cosmos would continue to grow, eventually reaching a level normal awakeners with stars could only dream of.

*It seems I have no choice but to use that...*

Just as this thought appeared in his mind, a sword made of pure ice appeared in his hand, radiating a chilly aura. The moment it appeared, Lukas's aura changed completely.

It was a total transformation.

All of this — from Lukas using lightning to attack Ryan to deciding to draw the sword — happened in the blink of an eye.

"You little—"

Ryan roared, killing intent flashing through his eyes. If before he had merely been curious about Lukas's secret, now he wanted nothing more than to tear Lukas's chest open and rip out his heart.

But he had barely opened his mouth when the sky rumbled again, and another bolt of lightning, as thick as an adult's wrist, descended from above and struck Ryan squarely on the head.

"Argh!"

As if the earlier blow had opened a crack in his defense, this time the strike drew a pained yelp from him.

This...

Both Mary and Natasha's mouths fell open. They exchanged glances and saw naked shock in each other's eyes. Lukas had already given them too many surprises today.

First that mysterious ability to freeze skeletons, then the ability to create shields, and now lightning.

They had not forgotten about his sword skills either.

If Natasha had held any doubt about Lukas's abilities before this fight, it had now been crushed into nothingness. She felt completely lost.

When she looked at Lukas's back, only one question surfaced in her mind.

*Just who is this man?*

At that thought, Natasha's hand unconsciously moved toward her chest. Without realizing it, she felt an extreme sense of hollowness.

Unlike her complicated emotions, the soldiers of the White Knight Guild were thrilled.

They were familiar with Lukas, the new sword instructor, but they had never imagined he was this terrifying.

To brutally dominate a sequence-three being without even using a sword...

Meanwhile, on the battlefield, the sky cracked again, and another bolt of lightning fell from the heavens.

This time, a crack appeared on Ryan's face. Through gritted teeth, he said word by word:

"Don't force me..."

Following those words, a surge of death energy spread outward.

For a moment, everyone watching felt as if the sky itself were collapsing. A few unprepared soldiers instantly fell to the ground, blood spilling from their mouths. Then their flesh was stripped away, leaving only bones, while the removed flesh and blood turned into vitality that flowed toward Ryan, making him stronger.

"Be careful!" Natasha shouted from behind. "Be careful, he is awakening his bloodline!"

*Bloodline awakening...?*

Lukas muttered as the pressure radiating from Ryan increased by several degrees.

However, perhaps because he was less affected by undead energy, or perhaps for some other reason, he was faring better than everyone else.

Lukas still did not properly understand what bloodline awakening signified, but he could tell it was anything but good. It was not his fault anyway — after all, he was still at the Body Refining realm, two whole realms below bloodline awakening.

Before he could continue thinking, painful shouts filled the surrounding space one after another as the White Knight soldiers collapsed, their flesh and blood being stripped away to fuel Ryan's strength.

Lukas took a deep breath.

For a moment, the entire world seemed to come to a screeching halt. He could see Natasha rushing forward, aura flaring, even as the White Knight soldiers disintegrated into flesh and blood.

Then there was nothing.

Absolute emptiness.

Empty mind. No thought.

Then something appeared.

One sword to rule the world.

One sword to rule all mortals.

Ryan might be Sequence Three, but in the end, he was still just a mortal.

Or was he really...?

For a moment, doubt appeared in Lukas's mind.

If he was completely sure about Ryan, then his sword would prevail. Otherwise, he would simply perish.

The last traces of thought in his mind vanished.

One by one, everything disappeared from his perception, leaving only Ryan standing at the center.

Lukas raised his sword and slashed.

*Rupture!*

A sword slash shot out, striking Ryan vertically from top to bottom.

The terrifying pressure his body had been emitting just a moment ago disappeared. A trail of black, tarry blood leaked from the corner of his mouth.

Ryan finally seemed to realize what had happened. A shocked expression flashed across his face.

"You!? What did you do...?"

Lukas did not respond.

He simply closed his eyes, trying to fully grasp the sudden enlightenment he had gained. He had a feeling he was very close to fully understanding the first part of the Sword God legacy.

Without another glance, Lukas started moving.

This was not a battle to the death. He was here to help, and he had already done enough.

He gave Natasha one look, then moved deeper into the settlement.

This...? Natasha's gaze shifted back and forth between Lukas and Ryan.

Lukas might not have killed him, but he had definitely pushed the poor necromancer very close to death.

Now the rest was up to her.

Natasha took a deep breath and turned to Mary, saying solemnly:

"Quickly lead the rest of the soldiers to safety. I'll deal with this guy."

Mary did not move immediately. She looked at Natasha for a moment, then asked, "Can you handle this...?"

The White Knight Guild Master simply nodded.

…

Lukas had put the matter of the battlefield to the back of his mind. Once back at the garden he sat down cross legged and focused on remembering that mysterious sensation that he felt while fighting Ryan.

In the last attacks that he performed, each of his talents that he possesses also seems to seamlessly assimilate with sword intent creating something that was unique to him.

An absolute attack that was powered by everything that he owned.

Before this, Although he possessed multiple talents, in the end they were not capable of increasing his attack power significantly, after all he could make use of a single attack at a time.

But now the sword god inheritance, one sword to rule the world allowed him to make use of all the talents.

At this realization, Lukas eyes flashed with sharp light.

"The greater the number of talents that I have the greater would be the power of attack generated by the sword.."

Thinking up to this point, Lukas heartbeat unconsciously accelerated, one by every piece that looked as if they had no connection with themselves started to align.

First the star energy potential that he had awakened the stars to fuse together into a cosmos.

If it had been one more or less, giving birth to the cosmos would have been downright impossible if not challenging.

Not Just this but every other opportunity that he received made Lukas realize, he was getting entangled in a conspiracy.