The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - Chapter 194

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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 194. Upheaval (2)
Kalek’s complexion had turned a sickly pallor.
Every soldier couldn’t shake the thought that they were facing a Master.
Yet the Dark Crawler’s remains lay shredded like torn paper.
An undeniable reality.
“…This can’t be real.”
Kalek’s lips had gone completely dry.
His mind’s logic vehemently denied that such a thing could be possible.
And for good reason—a Master was a force capable of reversing the tide of battle.
For such Masters to exist in multiples, organized at the soldier level?
No army like that could exist in this world.
Not even The Empire could achieve it.
But regardless of the truth.
…Surface reconnaissance was impossible.
Infiltrating past soldiers with detection and offensive capabilities rivaling Masters would be tantamount to suicide.
Yet there was another way.
Aerial reconnaissance.
Kalek reached out again, drawing darkness toward himself.
Saaaa….
A rift tore through the air alongside an ominous aura.
From within it, another bizarre creature emerged.
Murk Raven.
A familiar bearing the name of the blind crow, it detected magical currents instead of relying on sight for reconnaissance.
An aerial reconnaissance familiar capable of detecting even magical traces invisible to the naked eye.
‘Go!’
At Kalek’s command, the Murk Raven released an eerie cry as it took flight.
Its wings beat in absolute silence, leaving no trace of movement.
In that instant.
Shiiiiik!
A sharp, piercing wind sound tore through the sky.
* * *
By now, dragon claws had accumulated in considerable heaps.
There was enough to replace all the soldiers’ weapons with plenty to spare.
But I had no intention of stopping here.
“Ah, and what became of the Ogre byproducts I mentioned before?”
At my question, Srandel snapped to attention and answered.
“Processing is complete. Though I must say, the quantity fell far short of expectations.”
The Whitewolf Territory currently had a total of 2,730 soldiers.
Despite the Ogre’s considerable size, the byproducts from a single creature proved insufficient.
“The quantity was halved or worse through processing and refinement as well.”
Consequently, arming all 2,730 soldiers required ten Ogres.
“In that case, sir.”
I paused briefly before speaking to Srandel.
“Could you craft the processed Ogre byproducts into arm guards and leg guards?”
“Arm guards and leg guards?”
“Yes. I intend to give them to Isolde.”
“…Isolde?”
Srandel tilted his head once before continuing.
“Ah, you mean the Golden Thread Sister?”
It seemed she had acquired that epithet in my absence.
It was curious that it matched the name from my previous life.
“Would that be possible?”
“Of course it is. If we use the processed Ogre byproducts in their entirety, we can craft something truly befitting the Golden Thread Sister.”
“Then I entrust it to you.”
“But what about the Monster Lord’s soldiers then?”
“That’s not a problem.”
I activated the Monomolecular Blade [S] and tore open my own wrist.
Crack!
“W-what…?!”
Srandel jumped back in shock, startled.
“W-what are you doing…!!”
“The soldiers will be outfitted with Rune Steel armor anyway.”
Thus, what the soldiers truly needed were mere “byproducts.”
Sinews for use in bow components and other ranged weapons.
Bone to be processed as the core of shields.
Pleural membrane and similar materials to serve as impact-absorbing padding within armor.
“The soldiers need only byproducts for tactical tools and auxiliary equipment.”
Therefore, substituting byproducts from large monsters like Minotaurs, Sabiers, and Crocottas would suffice.
Yet above all else.
“Ogre byproducts are unquestionably the finest, are they not?”
As Ogres were called the pinnacle of biological evolution, they surpassed all others in strength, elasticity, and regenerative capacity.
Particularly their skeletal structure.
It was the supreme frame of the surface world, possessed of overwhelming durability and shock absorption.
And.
I had devoured [S+] the Ogre’s abilities.
Crack! Snap!
My biological resources likewise possessed performance rivaling that of an Ogre.
Of course, I could not yet compare to an Ogre.
My physical capabilities had not yet reached the pinnacle of biological evolution.
Yet I belonged to the highest tier of biological evolution, and my biological resources could rightfully be called perfect-grade materials.
Most importantly.
◆Using Regeneration [B+], I can regenerate tendons and bones.
◆Required nutrients – collagen, elastin, proteoglycan, water, calcium….
◆Will you regenerate using the above nutrients?
The greatest advantage was that Regeneration [B+] could supply them endlessly.
All of Ogre’s abilities were passive.
They maintained their effects even when separated from my body.
Therefore, there was no problem equipping all the soldiers of Whitewolf Territory.
Crack! Crunch!
Tendons and bones accumulated, layer upon layer.
“Please use my tendons for the bowstrings of the archers, and my bones for the bows themselves.”
“….”
Srandel’s words caught in his throat, his composure ascending to the heavens.
* * *
A sharp whistling sound that tore through the sky, heard in an instant.
It was none other than an arrow shot by archers atop the watchtower of Whitewolf Territory. And the arrow struck Murk Raven directly.
Thud! Splatter!
Murk Raven was shot down, and black debris scattered through the air.
Kalek couldn’t believe it.
‘…At this altitude?’
The altitude at which Murk Raven flew was beyond the range of ordinary archers.
Precisely, it was a distance difficult to reach even with a standard longbow.
‘Yet they hit every single one?’
It meant the archer’s skill was Master-class.
That such Master-class archers were merely guarding a watchtower. What kind of place was Whitewolf Territory!
‘This… what is this….’
A chill ran down Kalek’s spine.
All approaches from ground and sky were blocked.
Yet he couldn’t retreat like this.
Even if direct intelligence gathering was impossible, at minimum indirect intelligence gathering.
He had to perform external analysis using surveillance and detection devices.
Kalek retrieved the devices he had brought.
But then.
“…Why isn’t it working?”
They simply wouldn’t activate.
As if detection suppression had been cast over the entire Whitewolf Territory, nothing functioned.
The magical reconnaissance orb?
Whoosh.
…There was no response.
Cold sweat trickled down the back of Kalek’s neck.
My hands trembled violently, suddenly seized by an uncontrollable shaking.
My instincts screamed a dire warning—I couldn’t afford to stay any longer.
Above all, I hadn’t revealed the existence of my familiar.
Simply remaining here posed too great a risk.
Kalek’s face had turned ashen as he fled without hesitation.
* * *
Before my eyes lay blackened, mangled debris.
Soldiers had discovered ‘something’ during their patrol—it was so thoroughly destroyed that its original form was utterly unrecognizable.
When I poked at it to discern what it was, it crumbled into fragments.
When I fired at it to determine its nature, it simply disintegrated.
‘The equipment’s performance exceeded my expectations.’
Gear crafted from dragon claws [A] and other biological resources.
They showed no performance difference from the dragon claws [A] I wielded.
Of course, there were differences in precision control and versatility of application.
Yet in terms of raw effectiveness, they were entirely equivalent.
‘That said, there was a drawback.’
The “anti-mana specialization” effect—which interacted with mana in no way—carried over completely to the equipment.
In other words, ordinary soldiers could be elevated to Master-tier combat strength.
But those already at Master rank could not be elevated further.
For Masters, such equipment became nothing more than shackles.
Yet compared to the advantage of elevating ordinary soldiers to Master-tier strength, this drawback was negligible.
Thus, the blackened debris that the soldiers had torn to shreds.
To the naked eye, its form was utterly indiscernible.
But through the Predator’s Instinct [S], I could discern the debris’s information.
◆Dark Crawler’s Fractured Leg
◆Murk Raven’s Torn Wing
Dark Crawler and Murk Raven.
The commonality between these two entities was that they were ‘familiars.’
‘Familiars, then.’
Familiars were servile entities bound by high-level mental domination magic.
They responded to their master’s mana, capable of autonomous action and command execution within certain parameters.
Thus they were employed for reconnaissance, surveillance, scouting, assassination, and disruption.
Various operations made use of them.
In that sense, it was the Special Operations Bureau’s preferred method.
‘Kalek Veloan, then?’
…I couldn’t be certain.
Kalek wasn’t the only one who could employ familiars.
At this point, it remained unclear whether Kalek was even a Special Operations Bureau agent.
‘Regardless, The Empire’s involvement is now confirmed.’
And it seemed I hadn’t obtained any substantial intelligence from this encounter.
The fact that I couldn’t properly recover my familiars was proof of that.
‘Just being detected must have been a shock to them.’
Familiars were impossible to detect without precise reconnaissance magic.
Yet ordinary soldiers spotted them with their eyes, and the watchtower archers shot them down?
In reality, it was thanks to the detection device that Iliana and Broombar had created, but there was no way The Empire could know that fact.
‘By now, they must be in complete chaos.’
They had likely declared maximum alert status.
Whatever operations they had planned, they were surely scrapping everything and redesigning from scratch.
‘They won’t be able to touch Whitewolf Territory for a while.’
If they rashly made a move against us—
They risked counter-tracking that would expose their hideouts or backing forces.
I had actually laid such traps.
So it was somewhat regrettable to have let them slip away.
But it was fine.
‘The Empire has Marzen, after all.’
Through Marzen, I could gather intelligence on The Empire.
Therefore, I needed to focus on developing Whitewolf Territory now.
To the point where my absence would cause no concern whatsoever.
‘Fortunately, I’ve bought considerable time.’
I would use this opportunity to complete all the foundations of Whitewolf Territory.
Besides.
The mask of a reckless fool would have been torn away by now.
Several new functions in the “Management Mode” must have unlocked this time.
‘I’ll maximize Whitewolf Territory’s military strength.’
To the point where we could wage war against The Empire itself without flinching.
A fortress that no one on The Continent could touch or covet—
An impregnable territory.
* * *
Empire Central Information Bureau.
Beneath the magical lamps casting their glow from the ceiling, a woman exhaled deeply.
Deputy Director Elwyn Barjein.
Her cold silver bob swayed in the breeze, and her dark gray eyes fixed upon the report on her desk.
Kalek Veloan, who had been dispatched to Whitewolf Territory.
It was a report of the intelligence he had gathered—
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[Intelligence Report: Whitewolf Territory]
●Approach Status: Impossible
●Information Gathering: Impossible
●Reconnaissance Results: Recovery Failed (All Units Destroyed)
●Surveillance Magic: Neutralized
●Detection Magic: Forcibly Blocked (Unidentified Interference Detected)
●Defensive Forces: Abnormal levels of military power and defense systems confirmed (Master-class unmanned units organized at the soldier level)
●Estimated Danger Level: Cannot be estimated (Elevation to Grade 11 recommended)
※Additional intelligence acquisition regarding Whitewolf Territory is impossible at this time
※External infiltration into the Territory and all operations are recommended for immediate cancellation
※Evacuation of all Information Bureau personnel is advised
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“….”
Elowin had no idea how to process this information.

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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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