The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - Chapter 101

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 101. Restoration (2)
Across one side of the vast Snowy Plain, countless boxes were stacked methodically upon one another.
The boxes stretched endlessly across my field of vision, piled high without apparent limit.
It was astonishing how many boxes had been transported here, yet before them stood soldiers from Count’s Castle arranged in perfect formation.
As the boxes opened, gleaming items revealed themselves within.
Thick blankets and sturdy leather boots.
Cold-weather garments crafted from waterproof cloth and leather armor, among other things.
The recruits’ eyes sparkled as they pursued the supplies.
“Hah…! Those boots look genuinely warm.”
“And those clothes—with just those, I wouldn’t have to worry about freezing to death.”
And that was far from all.
Neatly arranged bread and fresh meat.
Bottles filled with warm water.
Beyond that, simple rations like dried jerky.
These were foods they could never have dreamed of in Violess—
“Everyone, fall in line! Come forward one at a time and receive your share!”
The cry suddenly rang out from the Count’s Castle soldiers.
All the recruits’ eyes widened in astonishment.
“…Yes, yes?”
“What did you just say…?”
“He said come forward one at a time and receive your share.”
Eyes blinked in disbelief.
“Are you really giving these to us…?”
“Move quickly. Unless you want to hear Adrian scold you.”
“Y-yes, right away!”
One of the recruits stepped forward with trembling legs.
He approached the supply boxes and reached out, gathering various items.
“Next!”
At the Count’s Castle soldier’s call, the other recruits came forward again.
As the supply distribution proceeded smoothly.
Adrian sat to one side with a table unfolded before him, overseeing the operation.
Each time a recruit received supplies, Adrian would glance over briefly and write something on parchment.
Whenever he spotted someone who appeared older.
Or whose expression seemed somewhat unsavory.
Or whose body appeared to have some infirmity.
In such cases—
“You there, step aside over there.”
Adrian would separate them and categorize them differently.
“Leopold, I’m talking to you.”
Adrian even remembered their names.
Remarkably, Adrian knew the names of all the recruits.
In any case, most of them simply followed Adrian’s orders without understanding the full picture.
But wherever you go, there are always those who cannot resist curiosity.
“Um… why are you singling us out separately…?”
One of the recruits asked with courage.
A soldier swallowed hard, uncertain whether Adrian found him frightening.
Not just that recruit, but all the recruits trembled.
It seemed that all the recruits harbored some kind of ‘imprinted fear’ of Adrian.
Fortunately(?), Adrian did not rebuke the recruit’s courage.
Instead, without taking his eyes off the parchment, he spoke.
“You are military cooks.”
Military cooks.
Soldiers responsible for provisions in the army.
In short, they were a military branch responsible for ‘meals within the unit’.
To maintain an army, the most essential thing was food distribution.
It was not merely a matter of distributing food.
Beyond supply and allocation of provisions, it required strategic judgment to manage ingredients and minimize losses during transport.
Military cooks could be called the lifeblood of an army.
Therefore, they were an absolutely necessary branch.
But the scale of recruits was a staggering 2,132.
To maintain such a large-scale army, military cooks could not be handled by the Whitewolf Territory’s human resources alone.
Adrian, who had been observing the parchment, lifted his crimson eyes.
“What are you doing? Move quickly.”
“Ah, yes…!”
The recruit who swallowed hard shouldered the supplies and hurried away.
* * *
The distribution of supplies took considerable time.
Adrian returned to the Barracks, saying he had something to do in the meantime.
After that, Kai finished distributing supplies and headed to the Barracks where Adrian was.
“All recruits have received their supplies, sir.”
“Good work.”
Adrian answered without even looking at Kai.
For some reason, Adrian had his eyes tightly shut.
On the table in the Barracks, parchments were piled high—the very ones Adrian had been writing on since earlier.
“What is this?”
“…Hmm? Ah, I’ve reorganized the military administrative system of the Whitewolf Territory.”
“Did you do this directly, Adrian?”
“Of course.”
Adrian answered with a question, and Kai clamped his mouth shut.
Frankly, he found it hard to trust.
Of course, Adrian was no longer a reckless fool.
But that didn’t mean he possessed exceptional ability as a lord.
Above all, military administration was an entirely separate matter.
Military administration dealt with things such as troop organization, command structure, personnel management, maintenance of military facilities, and soldier training and education.
In other words, it was completely different from territorial administration.
If one didn’t understand the operational system of an army, they shouldn’t touch it—and absolutely shouldn’t meddle with it.
There was a reason territorial and military administration operated independently.
The reason Kai, not Seraphia, had been handling the military administration of Whitewolf Territory until now was no accident.
Kai picked up one of the parchment stacks.
Within it were detailed matters according to troop organization, written densely throughout.
But—.
====
[Infantry] – 1,521 soldiers
[Archers] – 315 soldiers
[Scouts] – 56 soldiers
[Medics] – 22 soldiers
[Supply Corps] – 218 soldiers
====
…It was flawless.
There was absolutely nothing to fault.
“This… this is…?”
The more I read the parchment’s contents, the more certain I became.
Personnel distribution that considered the individual characteristics of each recruit.
A command structure that meshed together seamlessly, like interlocking gears.
Truly, there was nothing whatsoever to criticize.
Which was precisely why the opposite was true.
Kai didn’t have the confidence to do something like this.
Kai, the chief knight of House Whitewolf, had commanded the soldiers of Count’s Castle.
Kai had led an army of roughly 600 soldiers.
But he lacked the confidence to organize an army nearly four times that size with such perfection.
Adrian pressed his forehead with his hand, as if his head ached.
If he had done all this alone, it would be strange if his head didn’t hurt.
“The recruits will be organized separately from the Count’s Castle soldiers. Kai, finish the training you were conducting. Once that’s done, organize the recruit units based on this document.”
As Adrian lowered the parchment completely, he spoke again.
“Assign the commanders of each unit to knight-class instructors within Whitewolf Territory, but you personally take charge of the infantry.”
“…Understood.”
Kai could only nod in acknowledgment.
“And for each unit’s non-commissioned officers, I’ve primarily selected those who previously served in administrative roles.”
“Non-commissioned officers, you say…?”
“I mean soldiers of Captain of the Guard rank. From now on, they’ll be collectively referred to as Sergeants.”
“Confirmed.”
“As for personnel changes at the warrant officer rank, Kai, you may make adjustments as you see fit if necessary.”
“Understood.”
Kai nodded once with measured precision.
Adrian lowered the hand he’d been pressing against his forehead.
“And those men fought and brawled with each other in the past. More than anything, they grew up in the Lawless City, so conflicts will inevitably arise.”
“I will enforce the military law of Whitewolf Territory with strict discipline.”
“That’s fine too, but leave most matters to the discretion of each warrant officer. You can turn a blind eye to minor scuffles.”
“Understood.”
“However.”
Adrian’s crimson eyes gleamed as he continued.
“If it leads to misconduct, causes harm to the territory’s people, or escalates into heinous crimes, kill them without mercy.”
“….”
“Do you understand?”
“…I understand.”
As Kai nodded heavily, Adrian rose from his seat.
Then Adrian departed the barracks.
“Where are you going, sir?”
“There’s still work to be done with Crawlgar.”
Adrian left the barracks abruptly, his words cryptic and laden with meaning.
* * *
The vast Town Square of Whitewolf Territory.
Hundreds of women had gathered there, moving about busily.
On one side, hands moved deftly as they wove cloth, while on the other, fabric was being pulled from large jars filled with dye.
Hands shaping pottery.
Work crafting household items from wood.
But the results were dismal.
“Oh… ah, oh!”
Crudely tangled fabric.
“Why is… why is this….”
Bizarrely stained dye work.
“Dear me….”
Pottery cracked and broken everywhere.
It was an absolute mess.
Just as everyone stood dejected and at a loss.
Adrian suddenly appeared, examining the dyeing work and unfurling a piece of cloth.
“Adjust the concentration of the dye. And since color will fade during distribution, the dye needs to come out darker than this.”
“…Ah, yes!”
Following Adrian’s instructions, the women carefully handled the dye.
Soon Adrian examined the crudely tangled fabric and—.
“This section becomes stronger when the threads cross diagonally. Develop the habit of using a bit more finger strength.”
“Ah, yes…!”
Following Adrian’s instructions, the women calmly unwound the twisted threads.
After that came the work of painting intricate patterns onto pottery.
Carving wood to create household items.
All these tasks proceeded in orderly fashion under Adrian’s guidance and supervision.
Though the work remained clumsy and rough—
“No one can do things perfectly from the start. Success is merely the sum of small efforts repeated daily. Failed dyes and broken pottery pieces gather one by one to create masterpieces.”
Adrian encouraged the women—
“What you’re doing now isn’t mere labor. You’re creating abundance and a future for your children.”
Instilling in them pride and motivation—
“You are the roots and foundation of this territory.”
He added confidence and familiarity to the women’s hands.
Seraphia, watching from a distance—
In Seraphia’s eyes as she gazed at Adrian—
‘Brother, you’re so cool…!!’
Inexpressible admiration and pride welled up.
The reckless Adrian of old was nowhere to be found.
He truly seemed like a different person.
Yet those long eyelashes and sharp jawline.
That cold yet mysterious aura.
The bangs falling slightly over his forehead, his distinct features, and that intense charisma as if piercing through something—
He had simply become far more impressive in the time they hadn’t seen each other.
But Adrian was still Adrian.
Perhaps that was why.
‘I wish it could stay like this….’
Seraphia hoped these moments would continue forever.
And with good reason.
Once upon a time—
Adrian had said he had no intention of becoming the head of House Whitewolf or the lord of Whitewolf Territory.
Of course, the Adrian of now was different.
To anyone’s eyes, he was the head of House Whitewolf.
To anyone’s eyes, he was the lord of Whitewolf Territory.
But whether this meant Adrian had truly changed his mind… honestly, she couldn’t be sure.
‘He said he had something to do.’
She still didn’t know what that was.
But he had said that once his task was complete, he would leave the family.
He had said there would be no chance of meeting Seraphia again, no matter what.
But until that time came—
She could continue to be with Adrian.
‘I absolutely will!’
I would turn Adrian’s heart back to me without fail.
Seraphia clenched both her fists tightly.
The cure Adrian had created for her.
It had made Seraphia far more resilient and steadfast than before.
Through that, the knowledge she had learned and studied day and night.
The experience she had gained through countless nights of sleepless practice and repeated failures.
Now was the time to pour everything Seraphia had into ensuring that all such efforts would not go to waste.
“This corner here could use a bit more smoothing. That way, the texture will feel much softer to the touch.”
“Ah…! I see. Thank you, Seraphia.”
“The pottery pattern would look better if we made it more ornate. That way it will catch the eye in the market.”
“How about a pattern like this then?”
“That’s really nice! Though, this pattern needs to be finished with more delicacy.”
“Um… Seraphia, could you take a look at mine too?”
“Of course!”
Seraphia moved ceaselessly through the workshop, using her own refined sensibilities to attend to the minute details Adrian had overlooked.
* * *
The Count’s Castle, from which the entire Whitewolf Territory could be seen clearly.
The night of the Whitewolf Territory, shrouded in darkness.
Yet the lights in the Barracks of the Snowy Plain and the Town Square remained unextinguished, shining brightly.
I sat in my chamber within the Count’s Castle, pressing both my temples firmly.
2,132 new recruits.
391 residents.
A total of 2,523 people.
I had used Predator’s Instinct [S] on every single one of them.
And for good reason—no two people were alike.
Even the residents of Bister, who had done nothing but brawl every other day, were not all the same.
Some residents lacked combat skills, while others were advanced in age.
There were also those who had become residents only out of necessity, unable to endure exploitation.
Thus, some residents had low violent tendencies, and quite a few had physical limitations or were unsuited for combat.
It would have been poor judgment to ignore all these differences and organize the forces uniformly.
Therefore, I identified each individual’s specialties through Predator’s Instinct [S].
Based on that, I assigned them to the most suitable units and tasks.
As a result, my head throbbed so intensely I thought it might split—
The new recruits were under Kai’s command.
The residents were under Seraphia’s command.
Everything was progressing very smoothly.
“Still, the major framework and system are nearly complete…”
Clearing the territory Quest, which would yield a massive amount of experience, was merely a matter of time.
It was right then, as I was soothing my headache.
Knock, knock.
The sudden rapping at the door echoed through the silence.
—Adrian, sir. It’s Bernard.
“Come in.”
At my permission, Bernard—his slicked-back hair immaculate as always—entered cautiously.
Yet something about his expression seemed amiss.
It appeared he carried troubling news, despite his usual composure.
“What is it?”
“Nothing serious, sir, but… a visitor has just arrived at the Whitewolf Territory.”
My eyes widened involuntarily.
And with good reason.
The Beneron Barony that had plagued my thoughts all this time no longer exists.
Therefore, at this late hour, in this barren and remote territory, there could be only one visitor.
‘Ian!’
Ian had returned.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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