Damned Healer
Chapter 219: Pathetic To The Very End

Chapter 219: Pathetic To The Very End

Everyone focused in, curious, on the young guy with just one ring who stepped onto the battle stage.

Lucius kept his eyes calmly on his opponent.

Bankson drew a sword with a greenish blade, and the moment it left the sheath, everyone caught a whiff of a nauseating poisonous stench. In just two seconds, it had spread across the whole arena — the poison was that thick.

The high-ranking military officer watched Lucius with interest. The three members of the Shadows of Heaven clan who had fought so far had all shown terrifying power. This boy, the youngest sibling, definitely wouldn’t be any different.

After this selection was broadcasted, that small clan would never be the same again.

"Begin."

Right after the call, everyone noticed something — Lucius didn’t seem interested in drawing the sword at his waist.

Lucy had a more aggressive style and went straight for it. Darian liked to act dismissive, pretending to be a sheep just to catch the wolf off guard. Now the youngest of the three... was he also one of those arrogant types who thought he didn’t even need a weapon? That’s what everyone was thinking.

Bankson let out a low chuckle and didn’t wait a second. His body flared with a yellow aura. He ran his hand over his sword, making it glow — and right then, a green mist burst out.

Everyone tensed. It was pure, dense poison. A toxic fog spread across the entire stage in just two seconds, giving Lucius no time to react.

It was a smart move. Bankson planned to weaken his opponent without getting close or giving him a chance to fight back. With the two-ring gap between them, he could keep the fog going for a long time and just wear Lucius down while keeping his distance. No escape.

People started getting worried. Nayara turned toward Darian — but he had a faint smile on his face.

He recognized that blessing: it was called Essence Domain. On its own, it was useless. It needed some high-level external power or element to activate — in this case, Bankson used his sword’s poison.

The blessing created a zone infused with that external element. It was really versatile and could be adapted to different situations. But the real strength came after the domain was set — the user would get a boost to both speed and attack power inside it. It was still a Fighter-class blessing, but it had the potential to turn someone into a pseudo-tank depending on how it was used.

No one could see a thing on the stage. Everything was drowned in that thick green mist.

But it only lasted five seconds.

A white light appeared in the center and rose like a pillar.

And inside that light, they saw Lucius standing there, hands behind his back, eyes calm.

"This won’t work," he said softly. Then he waved one hand.

The light around his body burst outward in every direction.

*Woosh!*

It only took a second. All the poison was completely purified with that single motion.

Bankson and everyone in the stands were stunned.

His blessing was gone. His main power and his entire strategy had just been wiped out.

The sound of a sword being drawn echoed through the arena. Everyone zeroed in on Lucius.

"Looks like you already lost. But I can’t end it that easily," Lucius said, staring him in the eyes. "Come on. You’re a Fighter, right? Let’s settle this with our blades."

Everyone swallowed hard. He could’ve just finished the guy off from a distance — his blessing was already nullified. But... everyone knew Darian and the twins weren’t just trying to win. They were out to humiliate every last member of the Red River Pact.

Bankson’s face darkened. "If that’s what you want..." He gripped his sword tight, and a red battle aura surged over his body.

He had been saving that aura for an emergency, in case the kid pulled something crazy. Now it was all he had left — along with his fighting skills.

He let out a sharp breath and charged straight at Lucius.

Bankson was a tall, strong adult.

Lucius, on the other hand, was still a growing teen — shorter, leaner. But even so... a faint white aura surrounded him, giving off a pure and impressive feel.

His calm red eyes carried quiet confidence and power. He was different from his older siblings — didn’t draw attention or act flashy. Didn’t fake anything or try to trick anyone. But just by standing there, everyone could tell: underestimating him would be a huge mistake.

The poisonous blade slashed toward his right side like a viper. But his own blade moved fast.

*CLANG!*

The swords clashed. And right after, everyone saw Lucius get pushed back a few steps.

The battle aura wasn’t a joke — even a basic activation gave a big physical boost. On top of that... all the more experienced folks watching could see Bankson’s movements and immediately recognized the combat techniques of that clan’s leader.

Lucius leapt back and spun quickly with his blade. Bankson sidestepped the swing and charged back in, going all in.

*Clang! Clang! Clang!*

They clashed over and over without pause.

Lucius was clearly on the losing side at first. Bankson’s poisonous blade countered hard, getting dangerously close to hitting him — but... it never landed. Not even once. Every strike missed.

Everyone watched, holding their breath.

Bankson was known as one of the empire’s top talents, trained by someone extremely experienced in close combat. Even so... after dozens of exchanges, it was obvious Lucius was adapting to him.

"What the hell... his ability to read attack patterns and techniques is terrifying," Nayara muttered, stunned.

"Everyone who trains under Anbon learns the fighting style he created. It was acknowledged even by planets across the universe. He calls it *Blades Above the Heavens*," said the leader of the Amazon Sentinels clan. "That style forces opponents into mistakes, slowly crushing them. In a one-on-one, it’s a nightmare... but Lucius isn’t falling into the traps. In fact... he’s starting to push back."

Everyone from the Red River Pact clan had looks of raw fury. As if all the humiliation so far wasn’t enough... now even the fighting style of their leader was being taken down right in front of everyone! How was this even possible?

"That bastard! Bankson relied too much on his blessing and didn’t train the Blades Above the Heavens properly. He can barely use the basics, and he still messes up!"

The vice-leader of the Red River Pact clan growled under his breath — but... it was too late now. The arrogance of their young fighters had brought this on themselves. They thought they were above everything and only focused on their biggest talents.

But fights are always unpredictable — sometimes the one thing you barely trained ends up being your lifeline. The vice-leader knew that well... but the clan had failed to teach its members that reality.

The fast-paced exchanges of strikes, blocks, and dodges made for an incredible show on the battle stage. Everyone watched, locked in.

The fight dragged on for over twenty minutes. And after that... Bankson started backing off, over and over...

He’d been read completely — studied like an open book. His defeat wasn’t just his own. The supposedly amazing Blades Above the Heavens and battle aura had both been totally outclassed by a kid with only one ring.

*Slash!*

Lucius struck his opponent’s hand with precision. It wasn’t a serious wound, but it was enough to knock the poisonous sword clean out of his grip.

But then...

"Die!" Bankson roared and charged, his body suddenly lighting up with multiple high-grade artifacts.

Everyone tensed — but Lucius just let out a breath.

At that moment, something inside him shifted, and a black light flowed through his body.

**Slash!**

A massive cut tore across Bankson from his right shoulder down to his left leg. Blood sprayed across the whole battle stage.

"Pathetic to the very end."

Lucius muttered calmly while wiping the blood off his blade using the edge of his purple cloak. Then, in one smooth motion, he sheathed his sword.

The high-ranking officer rushed over to check Bankson’s condition. It was a deep wound, as bad as the one Gwyneth took. But this time, the idiot didn’t have a healer to save him.

The Red River Pact’s vice-leader rushed in and pulled out an expensive artifact. It sealed the wound — but the item burned out completely. Without even glancing back, he dragged Bankson off the stage with a cold stare.

Technically, Bankson could still fight again and qualify... that was the clan’s last hope.

The military officer turned back to Lucius.

Lucius nodded and looked up at the stands. "I challenge Joseph."

He called out the support guy — the first to fight in the selection and lose. It was obvious that both he and the Red River Pact’s support girl hadn’t taken their matches seriously. It reeked of a setup. Now, Lucius wanted to clean that up.

But...

"I forfeit!" Joseph blurted immediately, tense as hell.

Everyone turned to him, dead serious. Forfeiting was a thousand times worse than losing. All of Earth was watching this — and he’d forever be remembered as a coward.

But he was sure of one thing: if he fought, he’d get torn apart in revenge.

And since he wasn’t officially part of the Red River Pact, he’d have to pay for his own recovery. After everything, that clan wouldn’t lift a finger for him — they’d pretend they never even knew him, and he’d be screwed.

The officer scoffed. "Lucius has two wins. He qualifies."

Leander, who had watched everything quietly the whole time... didn’t even know how to react to everything that just happened. But in the end, all four members of his clan made it through — and in the most brutal way possible.