The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - Chapter 273

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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 273. A Fabricated Spectacle (1)
The Empire Border Region.
Beyond the horizon, the sun had surrendered to darkness, casting the landscape into shadow.
A solitary silhouette cut through the frigid night air, racing through the gloom.
It was Kai.
I crouched low, my body pressed against the earth.
Every nerve stretched taut with tension.
The Empire.
Penetrating its surveillance network was an attempt bordering on madness.
Even for someone like me, it was no simple feat.
I sharpened every sense to its limit.
Holding my breath, I cautiously approached the observation post.
And yet.
The post was empty?
‘…?’
My head tilted in confusion of its own accord.
Even focusing my gaze revealed no trace of sentries.
Scanning the surroundings, I detected not a single presence.
‘…This shouldn’t be possible.’
The Empire’s border defenses couldn’t be this lax.
Yet this peculiar void.
It appeared to be an intentional gap.
‘A trap?’
The moment that thought crossed my mind.
A murmur drifted through the air.
Voices echoed from beyond the post.
I hastily concealed myself in the darkness.
Hand resting on my sword hilt, I lowered my stance, ready to strike at any moment.
Soon, the voices of sentries carried from beyond the post.
“So it’s really true?”
“That’s what I’m telling you. I was shocked when I heard it too.”
The soldiers’ voices were relaxed.
They didn’t seem to have noticed me at all.
“Seriously, how does one person win more than double the Gambling District’s daily revenue?”
“Apparently the guy’s insane. Undefeated at roulette and blackjack.”
“What? That’s even possible?”
“Of course it’s impossible!”
The soldiers drew gradually closer.
I held my breath completely still.
“He must’ve rigged something, right?”
“Of course. But the problem is, no one knows how he did it.”
“They don’t know?”
“Right. Apparently, there’s no way to trace how he drained all the money.”
“Wasn’t the Gambling District system authenticated by an Imperial Direct Administration Bureau appraiser?”
“It was.”
“And yet they couldn’t figure out what happened?”
“That’s why the higher-ups are in complete chaos right now. It’s basically the same as saying the Empire’s security network was breached.”
“Ah, so that’s why all the surveillance personnel got pulled from here.”
Soldiers passed in front of Kai.
Kai carefully lowered his hand from the hilt of his sword.
“Our entire checkpoint garrison got reassigned to the Information Bureau headquarters.”
“No wonder the checkpoint passage felt so empty.”
“It’s less empty than it was back then.”
“Back then?”
“You know, when some lunatic destroyed District 3.”
“Ah, when the Interior Ministry command center got demolished?”
“I heard several high-ranking officials died then?”
District 2 nearly fell—that says it all.”
The soldiers’ voices grew increasingly distant.
-Could it be that same lunatic from back then?
-No way. This one’s identity is clear.
-Who is it?
-Kim Fujiwara Bloodhound? Something like that.
-What a ridiculous name.
-But apparently he’s incredibly handsome. They say he looks like The Saint of the Holy Kingdom.
-That good-looking?”
-Apparently so.
-Wait, are there really two people on The Continent with a face like The Saint’s?”
-That’s why some people are saying The Saint is disguised as a man.”
-That can’t be right. The Saint is preparing for canonization, and besides, the Devotees of the Fallen Souls are after The Saint—.
The murmur faded into indistinct noise.
The distant voices became inaudible.
Kai waited until the soldiers were far enough away before emerging from the darkness.
‘The checkpoint surveillance is empty, then.’
Kai moved immediately.
Even as he did, I replayed the soldiers’ conversation in my mind.
The entity currently drawing all of the Empire’s surveillance and attention.
Kim Fujiwara Bloodhound.
The name made it obvious who it was.
It was a name you could tell who it was just by looking at it.
* * *
They were all elite operatives.
Masters of concealing their presence.
Nearly all of them were field-based surveillance specialists with dozens of real-world operations under their belts.
But.
They could not deceive my senses—those of one who had reached the pinnacle of biological evolution.
My spatial awareness[U] allowed me to perceive the surveillance operatives’ patterns and even their subtle breathing rhythms.
My neural hyperadaptation network[A] used that information to map the operatives’ positions in real time.
‘Nine in front. Six on the flanks. Fifteen behind.’
A total of thirty surveillance operatives.
‘Quite the number.’
And that wasn’t even the end of it.
New operatives were positioned at every corridor I passed through.
I could feel their determination not to miss a single move I made.
Honestly, it was excessive.
But on the other hand, I understood.
‘The Gambling District’s system has been neutralized.’
That was tantamount to the Empire’s security network being breached.
From the Empire’s perspective, I wasn’t merely a fortunate individual—I was a hacker who had penetrated the Empire’s security.
‘I never imagined Probability[M] could be applied in such a way.’
Honestly, I didn’t know either.
That I could apply it not just to skills, but to phenomena themselves.
In that sense, I had won even on a table the dealer had rigged.
Because I had calculated the probability[M] of the ‘phenomenon’ itself.
‘It would be strange if they weren’t going mad.’
Moreover, mana doesn’t work on me.
In other words, mana detection devices couldn’t even sense or monitor me.
But the Empire?
They believed me to be a ‘mage.’
More precisely, they believed Kim Fujiwara to be a mage, but regardless.
‘They might be losing their minds.’
Because nothing registers on their detection.
From the Empire’s perspective, it was: ‘That bastard definitely did something, but we have no idea what.’
That ignorance bred anxiety.
And that anxiety had spawned this excessive surveillance.
‘Should I plunge them deeper into confusion?’
I stopped in my tracks.
Then I collapsed to the ground with a thud.
* * *
Empire Central Information Bureau.
Beneath the mana lamps casting down from the ceiling.
Deputy Director Elowin reviewed the report.
==[CLASSIFIED] – Surveillance Report==
[Target Identification Code] : Kim Fujiwara Bloodhound
[Surveillance Level] : Top Priority Target (Class-S)
[Surveillance Location] : District 5 – Production District / Central Market Vicinity / Surveillance Zone F-17
Rustle.
As I flipped through the report, it was packed with entries related to Kim Fujiwara organized by time of day.
●9:00 AM
-Descended the stairs by leaping four steps at a time.
└Same behavior throughout the entire staircase.
└Surveillance officer following behind stumbled trying to match pace.
●9:12 AM
-Moved toward Central Market.
-Repeated numbers to himself: “Three, six, nine.”
└Strategic analysts gathered to analyze meaning.
●9:41 AM
-Purchased freshly baked bread at the market.
-Threw the purchased bread against a wall.
└Nine departments attempting interpretation.
“…?”
What in the world is this…?
Elowin continued reviewing the surveillance report.
●10:07 AM
-Suddenly lay down on the ground while walking.
-Afterward, remained motionless for an extended period, staring blankly at the sky.
└Five surveillance officers fell asleep.
└Disciplinary action taken: removal from position.
●11:21 PM
-Stopped staring at the sky.
-Afterward, returned to Nocton House saying “That was fun!”
└Behavioral psychology analysts gathered to interpret.
“…Is that all?”
What he did in a single day?
Staring blankly at the sky for over twelve hours straight?
And that’s why the Information Bureau’s analysts and multiple departments have attached themselves to analyzing just this one thing?
“….”
My words caught in my throat.
And right then.
-Deputy Director! Deputy Director!!!
An urgent voice of the Aide came from outside the door.
* * *
Clouds drifting lazily across the sky.
Not a single worry in the world weighed upon them.
Quiet, without purpose.
The clouds flowed gently wherever they wished to go.
I lay beneath them in a daze.
My mind was empty, as though I had lost all sense of time.
‘What does Rielin find so amusing about this?’
She clearly enjoyed it.
She had done it all day long.
Even on rainy days.
Even when her body was soaked through.
Even when her hair clung to her skin.
Even when the sky hung heavy with storm clouds.
She would simply lie still and gaze up at the heavens in this vacant manner.
And what did she call it again?
Munsoro? Schimza?
In any case.
She spent her days repeating these meaningless actions.
‘I understand it one moment, then lose all comprehension the next.’
Perhaps that was why.
The Empire’s state matched my own bewilderment exactly.
The surveillance operatives I could sense were thoroughly perplexed.
What was I doing?
Why had I sprawled out like this?
They were lost in confusion, utterly unable to comprehend.
In the meantime, they seemed to be attempting to analyze my behavior, exchanging information among themselves.
But let them analyze for a hundred days.
‘They will find nothing.’
Even the Allied Forces’ strategic analysts could not decipher the meaning of these actions.
I continued repeating these inexplicable gestures—Schimza and Munsoro, or whatever they were.
One day passed, then two, then three.
And on the fourth day.
The perimeter of my senses grew slack.
The gazes that had always been spread at fixed intervals.
They had diminished considerably.
‘Have they grown weary?’
Yet something about it seemed urgent.
The rotation of the watchers had become noticeably unstable.
As if the chain of command had been twisted somewhere.
Five days passed, then six.
And on the seventh day.
‘The surveillance had vanished.’
Every watchful eye directed at me had disappeared entirely.
Even when I focused my senses, I felt no trace of presence.
This meant one thing.
An event far more important than monitoring me had occurred.
* * *
The Distribution Bureau of The Empire was located in District 4 – Commercial District and oversaw the circulation of all imperial resources.
External goods flowing inward.
Internal goods flowing outward.
And when external goods circulated inward, the reach of that influence extended only to District 3 and District 2.
District 3, the noble jurisdiction.
A zone directly controlled by the Empire’s high nobility, where the Distribution Bureau moved imperial resources through their hands.
On the surface, it was trade among the upper classes, but in reality, it was the distribution of power.
And District 2, the central government administrative zone.
Here stood the Interior Ministry, Foreign Ministry, Information Bureau, and others.
The departments that actually operated The Empire were concentrated here.
If District 4 – Commercial District, where the Distribution Bureau was located, was the lungs of The Empire.
Then District 2 could be called its heart.
Therefore, the Distribution Bureau’s influence ended at District 2.
Resources entering the Empire’s interior had to undergo strict verification and authorization procedures at District 2.
In other words, any zone beyond that.
Was the domain of the Imperial Direct Administration Bureau, not the Distribution Bureau.
But this Runesteel shipment was different.
The final destination for the transport of a staggering fifty thousand tons of Runesteel was.
【District 1, Imperial Palace Direct Control Zone – Resource Transfer Order】
The center of The Empire, where all law ceased.
An absolute zone that no one could enter without authorization.
“Verify and seal, then verify and seal again.”
Barelto personally oversaw this transport operation.
The Runesteel was loaded onto cargo carts.
Verification was repeated, and thorough sealing procedures followed.
‘If only we could transport it using mana-powered devices.’
Unfortunately, Runesteel made that impossible.
It possessed the property of neutralizing mana.
Merely keeping fifty thousand tons of Runesteel nearby would sever all mana circuits.
In the end, physical transport was the only option.
Moving it required nothing but pure manpower and mechanical equipment.
After completing his inspection over five days, Barelto personally led the transport convoy.
The journey proceeded without incident.
We swiftly departed District 4 – Commercial District.
Moving smoothly through District 3.
We entered the noble-controlled territories.
Here, where the Empire’s highest-ranking aristocrats resided.
Ironically, security was at its most lax.
Intruders could never penetrate this far into District 3 in the first place, and the nobles’ privacy and dignity took precedence over security measures.
However, approximately four months prior.
After some madman had launched a terrorist attack, the security system had been reinforced.
“…?”
Yet strangely, those guards were nowhere to be seen.
The main gate checkpoint stood empty.
Not even a trace of the Guard Corps’ presence remained.
Even the surveillance lights atop the guard towers were extinguished.
“…Something’s amiss.”
Barelto halted the carriage and issued an order.
“Check the nearby checkpoints.”
Two aides immediately rushed forward.
And moments later, a sound reached us.
Screech—!
Barelto’s eyes turned glacial.
He immediately drew upon his essence power to survey the surroundings.
The texture of the air shifted, and the density of shadows wavered.
Traces of faint body heat emanated from somewhere nearby.
And then.
The breathing of someone in the darkness became audible.
Short and shallow, yet unmistakably the presence of something ‘alive’.
In that instant.
Whoosh.
Wind brushed past as something shifted subtly.
Wind?
It was closer to space itself warping.
In other words, something was approaching.
Barelto’s essence power reacted first.
Kieeeeeee—!!
An ear-piercing shriek tore through the darkness.
Simultaneously, grotesque entities emerged crawling from the shadows.
Flesh matted with blood and soot.
Beings that seemed to blend human limbs with bestial legs.
Incomprehensible yokai crawled forth, moving as though licking the earth itself, their murderous intent laid bare—when it happened.
Shred—! Shred!
They were torn to shreds, all of them.
The yokai scattered into fragments without even a chance to resist.
From within the scattered remains, a figure emerged.
A face concealed behind a mask.
A single blade that reflected no light.
The masked figure lifted their head.
A glimpse of golden radiance flickered between the gaps of the mask.
Eyes gleaming like blue opal shone through the mask’s crevices.
“…Who are you.”
Barelto asked in a low voice.
Then came a rough voice in response.
“Wolf’s Swordsmanship.”
Third Form – Blooming.
Crimson Thunder Burst.
Boom! Boom-boom!!
Lightning erupted and detonated thunder pierced through Barelto with a shockwave.

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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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