The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - Chapter 23

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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 23. The Reckless and the Chief Knight (2)
The bitter wind of the Frozen Peak whipped across Kai’s cheek like a tempest.
With each step closer to Gelu Drake, it felt as though death itself was bearing down, suffocating him.
…The pressure was immense.
It was almost incomprehensible that Adrian had endured this crushing weight alone in combat.
Kai could not conceal his trembling in the face of Gelu Drake’s overwhelming presence.
And when the Drake fixed him with a single eye, Kai was seized by a terror so profound it felt as though his very soul was freezing.
In that critical moment.
“Snap out of it!!”
Adrian’s thunderous cry jolted Kai’s consciousness back into focus.
‘That just now….’
Dragon Fear.
The aura of dread that a dragon possesses.
Transcending mere fear, it bestowed an overwhelming despair that no living creature on the Continent could escape.
Dragons were the supreme beings that reigned above all things.
Before a dragon, every existence was nothing more than prey.
Kai was no exception.
But Adrian was different.
Adrian crouched low and surged forward with blinding speed, once again targeting the Drake’s flank.
The Dragon Fear had no effect on him whatsoever.
Even a diminished Dragon Fear—how could he….
Gelu Drake’s tail swept through the air in a massive arc, hurling Adrian away.
Then the Drake retreated backward.
Kai moved to pursue Gelu Drake.
In that instant, Adrian’s voice pierced through Kai’s ears.
“Stop!!”
Kai’s movement halted abruptly.
He did not question why.
Because Kai already understood.
From the retreating Gelu Drake, a creeping aura of death began to coalesce.
…Something was wrong.
As Gelu Drake drew in a deep breath, a bluish-white chill began gathering within its enormous maw.
“Dragon Breath!!”
Adrian shouted, and Kai’s eyes widened in shock.
Dragon Breath.
The name was given to the technique of expelling energy or matter from the mouth as if breathing out—the very breath of a dragon.
It was known that most monsters with dragon lineage could employ this ability.
More precisely, monsters that possessed dragon genetics.
And only those who possessed dragon genetics powerfully enough could wield this ‘authority’.
‘It can use Breath…?’
In other words, Gelu Drake possessed an extraordinary amount of dragon genetics within its body.
It was hardly a creature that earned the title of Master of the Frozen Peak without reason.
Of course, it could not compare to a true dragon’s breath.
Yet it appeared this was not something that could be used carelessly.
If it were, there would have been no reason not to deploy it sooner.
In other words, Gelu Drake was also running out of options.
It could not guarantee victory against Adrian and Kai, so Gelu Drake had finally played its trump card.
This single moment would determine who was predator and who was prey.
And the breath Gelu Drake now unleashed—
It was a biting cold befitting the name Gelu.
In other words, an Ice Breath.
Even in its diminished form, a direct hit would obliterate anything without leaving a trace.
Thus, one had to evade it.
This was not something that could be blocked or countered.
“Right now—!”
Kai cried out, but could not finish his words.
The moment Gelu Drake opened its maw, cradling the Ice Breath within.
Kai realized how foolish the thought of dodging truly was.
The air around them froze violently.
The sky darkened in an instant, as if a blizzard were tearing through it.
A frost of cold energy spread outward—
ROOOAAARRR!!!
A torrent of pure white ice breath cascaded down like a waterfall.
The icy aura, cold and tinged with blue, froze everything it touched.
The moment it made contact, time seemed to halt as all things crystallized into stillness.
Powerful cold engulfed the Frozen Peak, freezing everything in its path.
Where the Ice Breath had passed, everything lay frozen as if a colossal river of ice had been carved into existence.
…This was an entirely different magnitude from an avalanche.
This cold, potent enough to steal life in a heartbeat, transcended even nature itself.
There was no way to evade it.
But could one even block it?
Kai hastily summoned his aura to shield his body.
Yet still, his entire frame trembled like an aspen leaf.
Kai believed this trembling stemmed solely from the cold of the Ice Breath.
And at that very moment—
Adrian suddenly stepped in front of Kai, shielding him.
* * *
ROOOAAARRR—!!!
The frigid cold of the Ice Breath engulfed his entire body.
The moment he crossed his arms to shield his face, his skin began to freeze.
◆Ice Breath resists Toughened Skin [D]!◆
◆Ice Breath resists Toughened Skin [D]!◆
Semi-transparent messages materialized before my eyes in endless succession.
Each time, the frigid cold receded momentarily.
Yet it mattered little.
Toughened Skin [D] alone could not withstand the glacial bite of the Ice Breath.
Crackle, crackle-crackle!
In the blink of an eye, ice crystals spread across my body. Beginning from my fingertips, the frozen tendrils consumed my arms, legs, and entire form in an instant.
Have you ever witnessed a person freezing solid at such horrifying speed?
Likely not.
Such occurrences rarely transpire in the world.
Thus, most assume it merely means becoming encased in ice—a simple matter.
They imagine oneself trapped within frozen crystal, believing the ice can be melted or shattered away without consequence.
But that is profoundly mistaken.
When a person truly freezes, not merely the exterior of the body crystallizes, but the interior as well.
Blood and bodily fluids congeal alongside the flesh.
When liquid blood and fluids solidify, they become rigid, razor-edged, and expand in volume.
It is as though countless blades of ice form within every blood vessel throughout the body.
Thereby, every vessel and cell membrane ruptures catastrophically.
In other words, my blood vessels and cell membranes were being torn asunder at this very moment.
Yet.
◆Sensory nerves temporarily suppressed!◆
◆Skill ‘Regeneration [B-]’ activates—damaged body regenerates!◆
The instant my vessels and membranes tore and shattered, I regenerated them.
I merely suppressed the agony by severing sensory perception.
Above all.
‘Compared to the Frost Lord…! This is nothing…!!’
The Frost Lord, Seraphia, and the absolute cold she had exhaled.
Against that, this was truly insignificant.
Seraphia’s cold was an absolute chill that even the Saint’s miracles could not heal—far beyond what an Icetroll’s regeneration could withstand.
It was the horrifyingly terrible cold that had claimed the left arm of the hero Ian.
Compared to that, the Ice Breath now pouring upon me felt less like cold and more like warmth.
Crackle, crackle-crackle!
My frozen body gradually deepened to a pale blue hue.
Even diminished, it remained the power of a dragon.
I barely endured through Regeneration [B-], but that was my limit.
Endurance itself had reached its threshold.
The time I could persist was not long.
Above all, the damage I could inflict upon Gelu Drake was limited. The only way to deal a fatal blow to Gelu Drake was….
“Kai─!!!”
The moment I shouted, Kai exploded from his position, launching himself upward.
Thanks to me blocking the Ice Breath head-on, Kai’s condition remained intact.
Shielding his body with aura, Kai instantly escaped the Ice Breath’s radius.
Soon, the deep blue aura coating Kai’s blade shimmered like an aurora.
A sword capable of cleaving anything in this world.
And its trajectory aimed directly at Gelu Drake’s heart.
“Target the neck!!”
As I cried out urgently, Kai hastily twisted his blade’s arc.
A conversion from thrust to slash.
The sudden shift weakened the force channeled into the blade.
* * *
Skreeeee—!
A crisp sensation transmitted through the blade’s edge.
But it was shallow.
…It didn’t sever completely.
Would I have been able to kill it if I’d targeted the heart as originally intended?
Perhaps.
I cannot be certain. Honestly, I’m skeptical.
Penetrating a drake’s heart with a blade when its body exceeds ten meters is extraordinarily difficult.
Therefore, Adrian’s judgment to target the neck was both the optimal and finest decision.
In this desperate moment, Kai had made an error in judgment.
Yet Adrian maintained his composure even in this critical situation.
Kreeeeeeeeee—!!!
Gelu Drake unleashed a horrific shriek.
The neck wasn’t severed cleanly in one stroke.
But a half-severed neck was undoubtedly a mortal wound.
The Ice Breath ceased flowing.
Yet it still lived.
Therefore, the battle was far from over.
Adrian was currently incapacitated. Kai had to finish this.
…Could he manage it?
Kai tightened his grip on his blade.
…He had to.
He squeezed every ounce of aura from his body, channeling it into his sword.
Just as Kai was about to launch himself from the ground—
Adrian burst forward like a tempest.
Kai’s eyes widened to their limits, bulging from their sockets.
Adrian—the one whose body had been frozen solid by the Ice Breath.
His entire form should have been shattered to pieces.
‘How on earth…?’
Beyond Kai’s eyes, mingled with confusion and bewilderment.
Adrian was chewing on something, his jaw working methodically.
Gelu Drake too was considerably taken aback.
Adrian’s sudden charge was entirely unforeseen.
With his attention wholly consumed by Kai, Gelu Drake failed to react to Adrian.
Adrian vaulted onto Gelu Drake’s back in an instant.
Gelu Drake’s elongated claws and fangs trembled with convulsive precision.
His tail instinctively lowered, dragging across the ground.
A low, anxious growl escaped his throat.
That sound no longer carried the confidence of a predator.
Gone too was the oppressive dominance of the Frozen Peak’s master.
His instincts screamed the truth—he was no longer the hunter, but the hunted.
Adrian had taken the Ice Breath head-on.
Yet it was Gelu Drake whose entire body froze rigid with tension.
Thus.
The hierarchy between predator and prey became unmistakable.
The predator was Adrian.
And the prey was…
Gelu Drake.
Adrian forced his hand into Gelu Drake’s half-severed throat.
With brutal force, he seized the creature’s vertebrae.
Then, with all his strength, he tore the spine free.
Crunch—!!
It was the moment the Frozen Peak’s master finally knelt….
Boom!
And simultaneously, the moment a new master of the Frozen Peak was born.

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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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