The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - Chapter 200

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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 200. The Rising Territory (2)
The cornerstone of strengthening Whitewolf Territory’s military power was, without question, soldiers.
Currently, there were 2,730 soldiers stationed in Whitewolf Territory.
It was an excessive number relative to the territory’s population, but hardly sufficient when preparing for war against The Empire.
‘They’re hardly ordinary soldiers, at least.’
Still, the quantitative disadvantage was undeniable.
Therefore, I needed to increase the number of soldiers.
But it wasn’t that simple.
The territory’s residents had no basic obligation to military service.
So expanding the standing army was?
Extraordinarily difficult.
There was a reason Mungu had a fit over military Quests.
‘Simply increasing soldier numbers wouldn’t work either.’
There wasn’t enough time and resources to retrain them from basic military drills.
I needed those who could fight immediately.
The solution I devised was—
“I will serve as a soldier of Whitewolf Territory.”
Forcibly conscripting those who slipped into the stream of immigrants as soldiers.
Most were vicious criminals, given their dubious backgrounds.
Murder, robbery, theft, smuggling, and more.
They had so many criminal records it was tedious to investigate.
In other words, people who’d wielded blades before.
Suitable as soldiers, but vicious by nature.
They were time bombs that could destabilize the territory’s order, but—
‘I have Vister soldiers.’
Warriors bound by the Oath of Immortality to absolute obedience, and specialists in criminal rehabilitation.
No matter how vicious the criminals, they were mere street thugs before those who’d survived the Lawless City.
‘I should tell Kai beforehand.’
To entrust the training of this batch of recruits to Vister’s soldiers.
As the population grew, the proportion of soldiers could be maintained above a certain level.
As the territory developed, I could naturally strengthen Whitewolf Territory’s military power without forced conscription or reinforcements.
“Take this one and all those gathered over there. Bring them all in and train them.”
At my command, the soldiers hesitated briefly before asking.
“May we ask… how far are we permitted to go?”
“Kill them if you must. I won’t say a word.”
At that, the Vister soldiers grinned widely and dragged the criminals away like cargo.
* * *
Renzo had no intention of becoming a soldier of Whitewolf Territory.
But he’d either be beaten to death on the spot,
or work as a slave for the rest of his life,
Or perhaps it would be better than wandering about as a wanted fugitive.
And perhaps.
I could seize the opportunity, overthrow the Whitewolf Territory, and swallow this place whole.
“I will serve as a soldier of the Whitewolf Territory.”
Renzo bowed his head, concealing his true intentions.
To the place we were taken.
There, fierce-looking men were packed shoulder to shoulder.
At a glance, they were criminals caught while posing as displaced persons like Renzo.
Pickpockets, robbers, smugglers, forged identities, and more.
It was a veritable exhibition of every conceivable crime.
Beasts that could have sparked a riot at any moment were crammed together in seething masses.
And then.
“You lot, receive the new recruits!!”
The Whitewolf Territory soldiers entered this bestial throng.
“Well, so we do get new recruits coming in?”
“Looking at their faces, they’re not just common thugs, are they?”
“Their eyes are full of venom—I quite like that.”
Yet somehow, the atmosphere felt ominous.
Scars around their necks, forearms crisscrossed with blade marks, and bulging muscles.
Most of the criminals appeared intimidated, shrinking back at their menacing appearance.
But Renzo was not cowed.
‘Hah.’
To be honest, they meant nothing to him.
These Whitewolf Territory soldiers had merely learned how to swing a blade.
They were inexperienced youths who didn’t actually know how to kill a man.
Training, eating, and.
Sleeping at regular hours in peaceful comfort.
To Renzo, who had survived the hellish Colosseum, they were delicate flowers in a greenhouse.
Renzo studied the soldiers intently.
Those who have committed murder carry it in their eyes.
These soldiers, who at best had only sparred in sword practice, were not the type to withstand such a gaze—
“Look at this bastard.”
…Yet somehow, the soldiers were not intimidated?
Rather, they surrounded Renzo with amusement in their expressions.
“Those intense eyes—looks like you’ve been around the block, huh?”
“Oh, so you know your way around a blade?”
“Let’s see… you’ve got more than a few scars on you.”
The soldiers examined Renzo’s body.
“Isn’t this a spear wound? Got stabbed while running away, did you?”
“This one’s a scar from fumbling with a blade and getting slashed, isn’t it?”
At that very moment.
“Hey! You damn fools, can’t you stand in a proper line?!”
Someone bellowed as they walked over.
His frame was massive, his gaze fierce enough to incinerate a man on the spot.
A man whose brutish appearance was unmatched across The Continent.
“Commander Sarpedon has arrived.”
The soldiers scrambled back to their positions in a panic.
It seemed this man was indeed the commander of this place.
Renzo straightened his posture, gathering his presence.
Then Sarpedon’s gaze fell upon Renzo.
“What is that bastard?”
“He appears to be some wretch who crawled out of the Colosseum, sir. Covered in scars.”
“The Colosseum? Does swinging a sword around give you delusions of grandeur?”
Sarpedon strode forward.
His lips curved into a smile.
But his eyes told a different story.
A suffocating killing intent I had never felt even in the Colosseum.
“Dim that fire in your eyes, you worthless scum.”
Crack!!
My vision flashed white.
Consciousness fractured for a moment.
When I came to, my body had been hurled several meters and crumpled to the ground.
“This bastard…!”
I rolled across the floor, grinding my teeth.
But Sarpedon’s kick struck my abdomen first.
Boom!!
My body lifted clean off the ground before slamming down hard.
“Gasp…!”
The impact felt like my organs were rupturing.
My breath caught in my throat.
I never had a moment to even draw a single breath.
Sarpedon seized my collar and hoisted me up.
His knee, hard as iron plate, drove into my stomach.
Crack!
I folded in half without even a sound, my body convulsing.
Now there was no chance to regain my senses.
His fist, like a boulder, immediately hammered across my face.
Crack!!
My body rolled to the side.
Broken teeth scattered from my mouth.
And Sarpedon showed no sign of stopping.
Sarpedon strode toward the fallen Renzo and drew the axe from his back.
My fleeting hope died in an instant.
The massive axe cleaved clean through both of Renzo’s arms.
“Gaaaaaahhhhh─!!”
Splurt!!
The axe handle, swung at his face, silenced Renzo’s screams.
…Was he dead?
It seemed so.
Renzo’s body had become a mangled pulp of blood.
There seemed to be no way to save him except through holy power.
Yet Sarpedon turned his head and spoke as though it were nothing.
“Medic. Take this wretch and revive him with the newly supplied regeneration potion.”
“What about his severed arms?”
“Reattach them.”
Two soldiers dragged Renzo away.
Another soldier collected the severed arms.
Sarpedon shook the blood from his axe and opened his mouth.
“I will now explain the rules of this place going forward.”
“….”
“First, Adrian is a god.”
“….”
“Second, Seraphia is a goddess.”
“….”
“Third, you are garbage.”
“….”
“Fourth, garbage has no human rights.”
“….”
“Fifth, if you want to be treated as human, then act human.”
Sarpedon’s eyes opened with savage intensity.
His crude mouth spoke with bestial harshness.
“If you’re thinking of defying me, don’t just glare—commit to it with a blade.”
“….”
“I haven’t yet shed the habits I picked up in Violess, you see.”
The recruits’ eyes flashed for a moment.
Violess, the Lawless City.
A city devoid of law or order, filled only with malice.
Those who ruled that place, Vister, were criminals among criminals.
In this underworld, none were ignorant of Vister from the Lawless City.
So that brutish-looking man was Vister?
Could it be that these soldiers are all there is?
Now that I think about it, what happened to Vister’s forces from Violess?
…What became of them?
Violess fell to The Saint, and its poor were newly resettled in the Holy Kingdom.
But what of Vister’s men?
…There had been an oddly complete absence of news.
Who survived.
How they scattered.
‘Could it be… these men…?’
Cold sweat dripped down the recruits’ cheeks.
Their eyes wavered as they stared at Sarpedon.
“If you stare at me without reason, I’ll need to carve you open with a blade, and if you get carved, I’ll need to slit your throat to satisfy myself.”
“….”
“Unlike you lot, we Vister dogs are different, you see. Whether the opponent looks strong or not, we bite first and ask questions later—we’re that kind of bastards.”
“….”
“So if you’re going to do something, do it right. I haven’t broken that habit yet. Understand?”
Gulp.
The sound of swallowing echoed from various places.
And for good reason—this wasn’t mere intimidation.
That gaze and presence could only be emanated by someone who had truly, genuinely done such things.
The level… was different.
These soldiers were no ordinary soldiers.
Beasts who had clawed their way up from the bottom and survived in a place devoid of law and order, filled only with malice.
Compared to them, pickpocketing, smuggling, forged documents—
Most criminal records were beneath their notice.
To them, such things weren’t criminal history but mere ‘hobbies.’
This land… was no refuge.
A place that trampled the savage nature of beasts and forged them into men.
Those beasts that could never be truly tamed were silently buried beneath the snowy earth, just as had happened moments ago.
Here, one could only survive by truly becoming human.
“Now, those who can’t understand orders will learn through their bodies. If you understand, all eyes down!!”
…A harsh military life awaited them ahead.
* * *
The first phase of migrant screening took several days.
With more displaced persons arriving than expected, more than half of each day was consumed merely using Predator’s Instinct to process them.
As a result.
“I’ve roughly assigned positions as well.”
The recruits were also gradually adapting.
Thus the settlement of migrants proceeded faster than anticipated.
==【Whitewolf Territory】==
[Territory Area] – 2,234㎢
[Population] – 8,251
[Prosperity Grade] – Fortified Town
Nearly all of the first wave of settlers had been recognized as territorial residents under “Management Mode.”
The current population had swelled to a remarkable 8,251.
I had successfully achieved the Fortified Town prosperity grade.
My internal market had grown to rival a small city in scale, and consequently, the domestic market was expanding at a breathtaking pace.
Food, clothing, and more.
Every demand was increasing by the day.
The Whitewolf Territory thrummed with vitality each passing moment.
At last, it was finally beginning to take on the appearance befitting a true territory.
◆Territory Quest [Our Territory Has Changed!] has been cleared!
◆You have obtained 3,848,000 Quest Experience!
The Territory Quest had been cleared, and—
◆The 【Territory Buff】 function has been unlocked!
The moment the 【Territory Buff】 reward was unlocked—
◆Ah, I’m done with this now!!!
…Mungu had sulked so thoroughly that he was now pouting.
Seeing the floating Mungu twisted in displeasure—
◆Quests, questas, pastas, whatever! You handle it from now on!!
He was genuinely upset.
In any case.
The 【Territory Buffs】 existed by function and category within the unlocked “Management Mode.”
Starting with the【Resources】category I had unlocked first.
【Finance】, 【Buildings】, 【Trade】, 【Military】, and more besides.
Along with the recently unlocked【Diplomacy】and【House】categories.
Even the【Administration】and【Culture】categories that had been cleared while I was unconscious.
It appeared that once I unlocked a function in “Management Mode,” I could then use the corresponding buffs that matched it.
“Let me check the Military section first.”
Immediately, the 【Territory Buffs】 related to the【Military】category scrolled down before my eyes in a list.
==【All Field Manuals Are Written in Blood】==
[Activation Condition] – Field Manual Established
[Activation Effect 1] – Base Combat Power +75%
[Activation Effect 2] – Individual Soldier Combat Training Speed +350%
==【Weeds Grown in Hail】==
[Activation Condition] – Extreme Adaptation Training System Established
[Activation Effect 1] – Battlefield Environment (Snowy Plain, Mountain, Desert, etc.) Adaptation +90%
[Activation Effect 2] – Fatigue Accumulation Resistance +50%
…I understood immediately.
Why Mungu had been so enthusiastically promoting (?) these buffs.
◆He’s really going to monopolize everything by himself! Absolutely!!
I could immediately tell why Mungu was so upset.
* * *
Empire Central Information Bureau.
Beyond the heavily sealed door of the security chamber.
Vice Director Elowin’s eyes gleamed with cold intensity.
In her hands lay a single report spread open.
[Wearbeast Experiment Report]

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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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