The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - Chapter 145

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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 145. The Apex Predator of the Surface
A flash of crimson light erupted in an instant.
The beam pierced through space, leaving only a faint afterimage in its wake—moving with absolute certainty, without hesitation or doubt.
Thwack—!
The scarlet beam struck directly through Ogre’s chest.
His chest split open in an instant.
His heart was torn free.
Blood painted the air crimson.
Flames consumed everything.
Only then—.
The air itself was torn asunder.
———KABOOM!!
A deafening roar erupted as shockwaves exploded outward in all directions.
The atmosphere warped, dust whipped about like a tempest, and Ogre’s colossal body lost its balance.
The delayed shockwave sent Ogre’s massive form crashing down.
The enormous shadow collapsed in an instant, and dust billowed up from the earth—.
Broombar channeled every ounce of his strength and hurled his fist forward.
“UUUUAAAAAAHHHHH—!!!”
Broombar’s taut, rippling muscles crashed into Ogre—.
CRAAASH!
Ogre’s colossal body was sent flying backward.
Boom!
The earth trembled as Ogre skidded several meters before crashing down.
“Hah…! Hah…! Hah…!”
Broombar breathed heavily, his breaths ragged and labored.
Yet he did not release his vigilance.
He could not afford to.
…Because I had seen it.
Beyond the veil of dust that obscured my vision.
A guttural growl—!
Ogre’s harsh breathing and something else churning within him.
A crimson glow flickering through the dust.
…Ogre, who should have fallen, had not fallen.
The body that had been sent flying stirred once more.
At last, Ogre rose his colossal frame upright.
The gaping wound in the center of his chest remained.
The torn and charred flesh had not regenerated.
He possessed no regenerative ability.
Yet deep within the wound, another heart pulsed with life.
A backup heart had replaced the original.
A heart laid bare through the gaping wound.
Even as it hemorrhaged relentlessly, it clung to its rhythm with stubborn persistence—
KROOOOAAARRR─!!
It was announcing to all who the apex predator of The Surface truly was.
The Ogre’s eyes blazed with renewed ferocity.
And then.
“Khaack!!”
Broombar had no strength left to resist.
…I had reached my limit.
My entire body felt pulverized.
Adrian was….
Combat incapacitated.
Both of Adrian’s legs had been blown apart.
Drenched in blood, I couldn’t rise.
Blackened blood poured from my mouth.
It was inevitable.
The explosive velocity I had unleashed moments before.
The instant it shattered the sound barrier, my body couldn’t withstand it and crumbled.
The Ogre thrust its massive foot forward.
Its gleaming eyes fixed upon Seraphia, who controlled the Arcano Heart.
But there was no one who could stop the Ogre right now….
It was at that very moment.
A wolf soared above the Ogre’s head.
With its long golden mane streaming like a comet, that wolf radiating azure brilliance was….
Kai.
The Ogre hastily raised its arm to defend, but Kai’s blade struck down with a force that overwhelmed its guard.
Wolf swordsmanship. Sixth Form.
Meteor Fang.
The blade plunged down in a flash of azure light—
KROOOOAAARRR─!!!
The Ogre’s left arm was severed clean from its body.
The Ogre shrieked in agony, its remaining arm hanging useless.
Blood cascaded from the severed limb like a waterfall.
The Ogre’s recovery was exceptional, but it did not extend to regeneration.
It could only ‘replace’ organs through spare organs, not ‘regenerate’ them.
In other words, the Ogre could not regenerate its severed arm.
The Ogre’s eyes contorted with rage.
But it was directed not at Seraphia, but at Kai.
BOOM!
The Ogre began moving, driven by fury.
The Ogre ceased its hunt.
Kai did not.
An unrelenting barrage of blade strikes poured down upon the Ogre.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The azure wolf gasped for breath, its body marred with wounds, as did the injured Ogre.
Crack! Roaaaar!
The azure wolf, now drenched in blood, and the wounded Ogre.
Screech! Crash!
The azure wolf, barely able to maintain its stance, and the injured Ogre.
Roooaaaaahhh!!
The azure wolf teetering between life and death, and the wounded Ogre.
Boom—!!
The Ogre’s colossal fist came crashing down upon Kai.
In an instant, Kai lost his balance and was sent hurtling through the air—
The Ogre’s eyes blazed anew with fury.
A surge of primal rage.
When that wrath turned once more toward Seraphia—
“You think we’ll stand idle?!”
“Fight for your brothers!!”
“Aaaaaahhhhh!!”
The Dwarves charged forward.
They rose from the ground and hurled themselves at the Ogre.
Yet the Ogre’s remaining right arm shattered their hammers, deflected their axes, and crushed them beneath its weight.
Boom!!
The Dwarves were sent flying backward, tumbling across the ground and coughing blood.
But they did not yield.
“Do not retreat!!”
“Keep attacking!!”
They rose again and again.
More Dwarves rushed in.
Hammers and axes. Fists and forearms.
They attacked with every ounce of their strength.
Yet the Ogre swept them aside with its remaining right arm.
Crash!
An overwhelming disparity in weight and power.
Countless Dwarves were sent flying through the air.
One by one they fell, and the encirclement slowly crumbled.
At last.
The Ogre’s massive fist swung in a wide, devastating arc.
Its target: Seraphia and Arcanoheart.
Ogre’s fist concentrated a force that seemed to tear through space itself.
But in that moment.
A scattering of crimson radiance lunged forward before Ogre’s colossal fist.
* * *
Dragon Impact [E].
The condensed explosion completely shattered both legs.
My body, unable to withstand the resistance of breaking the sound barrier, ruptured entirely—even moving a single finger became nearly impossible.
The fact that damage multiplied twenty-five fold through the sound barrier breakthrough meant, conversely, that the resistance I had to endure multiplied twenty-five fold as well.
…Only because I was in Dragon Humanoid Form [E] could I barely survive it.
But having expended all my calories on Dragon Impact [E], there was nothing more I could do.
…Time.
I needed time.
Time to stabilize my body.
Time to replenish the calories needed for Regeneration [B+].
Time to regenerate both shattered legs with Regeneration [B+].
And by Broombar hurling Ogre away, I could stabilize my body.
By Kai severing Ogre’s left arm and pressing the assault, I could replenish the calories needed for Regeneration [B+].
I could regenerate both shattered legs with Regeneration [B+].
Finally, the heart I tore from Ogre.
The heart was equally enormous, matching the creature’s colossal frame.
Devouring [S+] required considerably more time.
That final puzzle piece’s time was provided by the Dwarves, throwing themselves into the fray.
Blood surges through me.
Muscles scream as they sense the transformation.
Transcending the limits I’ve reached, I complete my preparations to attain the perfect form of biological evolution—.
◆You have devoured the genetic factors of the individual ‘Ogre’!
◆You have acquired the skill ‘Hyperdense Myofibrils [A+]’!
…Evolution completes.
An overwhelming density spreads throughout my entire body.
Muscle fibers compress to hyperdensity, forming tremendous strength.
My fingertips, my muscles, my power—.
Even I feel unfamiliar with myself.
As I raised my gaze, Ogre’s colossal fist was descending to fill my entire vision.
A deafening roar that tears through space.
The duration of Dragon Humanoid Form [E] had ended.
A direct hit would shatter my entire body—.
But now.
I thrust my fist forward.
* * *
Adrian met Ogre’s fist head-on.
KWAAAAAAANG!!
The sudden impact tore through the air, and dust erupted in a violent maelstrom.
And then.
“!!!!!”
“!!!!!”
“!!!!!”
The eyes of the Dwarves flooded with shock in an instant.
What they witnessed before their eyes… was utterly unbelievable.
And for good reason—what staggered behind the dust storm was….
“O-Ogre….”
“Pushed back…?”
It was the Ogre.
Yet it was utterly impossible to believe.
No matter that its left arm had been severed, no matter the mortal wounds it had sustained—the Ogre was still the Ogre.
The apex predator of the Surface.
An existence that nothing on this earth dared oppose through sheer force.
Even Broombar could only manage to endure against it.
The Dwarves could do nothing more than cling to its ankles.
There was no way—absolutely no way—they could push back or overcome the Ogre.
“H-How…!!”
“W-What is that…?”
All the Dwarves widened their eyes.
But compared to the shock and astonishment that Broombar experienced, it was nothing.
“U-U-Ugh…!!”
Broombar could barely form words.
Because he had directly received the Ogre’s force.
Because he had felt the Ogre’s weight with his own body.
“I-Impossible….”
He understood better than anyone just how impossible this was.
What unfolded before him now….
Was something that could not exist in this world.
KWADUDUK!!
The Ogre’s colossal foot, driven backward, clawed at the earth to regain its balance.
But the Ogre’s eyes no longer burned with rage.
Eyes trembling with fear.
That mighty predator…, now bore the gaze of prey.
And the predator hunting the Ogre was—.
KWANG—!
In an instant, the ground split apart with a deafening roar.
Adrian surged forward.
His hand seized the Ogre’s colossal body in an instant.
Concentrating all his strength, he hurled the Ogre skyward.
Boom—!
The massive body of the Ogre ricocheted into the heavens.
A velocity so tremendous it defied gravity itself.
The Ogre, suspended in the void, rapidly distanced itself from Arcanoheart.
Adrian leaped upward with transcendent agility.
The ground erupted explosively beneath him as he pursued the airborne Ogre.
Soon, Adrian’s clenched fists descended upon the Ogre with devastating force.
Crash—!!
The Ogre’s body was driven into the earth.
Massive fissures spread outward, shockwaves detonating in all directions—
“It’s being completely overwhelmed?!?!”
“H-how is this possible!!!”
The Dwarves’ astonishment shattered and exploded alongside the ground.
Who could have imagined it?
That the apex predator of the Surface would be utterly dominated.
No one could have foreseen it.
Yet now, that impossible spectacle unfolded before their very eyes.
Adrian, who had soared through the air, descended slowly.
His body, which had defied gravity to ascend, gradually descended toward the ground.
Boom!
The impact cratered the earth once more, and when the dust settled—
“I’ve… grown stronger…?”
Adrian had become something entirely different from moments before.
* * *
The Ogre’s heart, torn out once again.
As I devoured the heart [S+] rapidly in midair and descended to the ground—
◆You have devoured the genetic material of the individual ‘Ogre’!
◆You have acquired the skill ‘Hyper-Reinforced Skeletal Structure [A]’!
◆Hyper-Reinforced Skeletal Structure [A]
: Upon acquisition of this skill, the player’s skeletal structure transforms into an [ultra-high-density configuration], increasing bone density by [+35,000%]. The mineral content of bone tissue (calcium, phosphorus, carbon) increases by [+56,770%], and you gain [+99%] resistance to [fracture] injuries.
【This skill is acquired as a passive and applies permanently.】
Deep within my bones, each individual tissue underwent transformation.
The existing structure crumbled away, replaced by a new ultra-dense skeletal framework.
Crack! As I clenched my fist, a sensation entirely different from before flooded through me.
Beyond mere hardness—an ultra-high-density structure.
My bones had become stronger than steel, and now they could withstand any impact imaginable.
And.
No notification appeared confirming the Ogre’s defeat.
In other words, Ogre was not yet dead.
Though his heart had been destroyed and torn apart countless times, he replaced it with a backup heart, clinging to life with stubborn tenacity.
Truly, the apex predator of the Surface.
But.
“Bring that as well.”
Right now, it was an invaluable source of genetic material for me.

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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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