The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - Chapter 290

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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 290. Assault (1)
Kraaaaaaaaaaaagh─!!!
A colossal roar that shook the very heavens and earth.
A terrifying killing intent that sent shivers down the spine.
I checked the Quest notification that materialized before my eyes.
==[All paths to supremacy ultimately lead through the Dragon]==
[Objective] – Devour the Dragon
[Reward] – Complete awakening of 【Primordial】 bloodline
[Rejection] – No penalty
An evolution Quest that had reappeared after the Ogre.
The objective was to devour [S+] the Dragon.
And Mungu, while not entirely sane, never lies.
And it never asks me to devour [S+] something that doesn’t exist.
In other words, the Dragon exists and has awakened.
But.
‘The Dragon didn’t awaken due to Yggdrasil’s absence.’
Yggdrasil had already exhausted its power thousands of years ago.
After pouring everything into sealing the Dragon, it barely maintained its life force in seed form.
It wasn’t suppressing the Dragon all this time.
It wasn’t even maintaining the seal continuously.
In other words, the Dragon’s awakening wasn’t caused by Yggdrasil’s absence.
‘Someone from the outside has intervened.’
Something or someone deliberately awakened the Dragon.
Who intervened… I don’t know.
I had my suspicions.
The Emperor.
But I wasn’t certain.
This never happened in my past life.
Therefore, the purpose remained unclear.
So the only thing I knew for certain now was one thing.
The Dragon.
The ancient ruler of the Continent who reigned supreme over all had returned.
Therefore, that roar just now.
‘It’s far beyond merely awakening.’
Someone was already clashing with the Dragon.
And not a simple encounter, but a full-scale collision.
I immediately asked Rielin.
“Rielin. How much longer until we reach Feractrum?”
“A… about 3 more days of travel should do it.”
Rielin’s voice trembled.
The roar from just moments ago had reached us despite being roughly three days’ distance away.
An overwhelming roar.
Even Rielin’s nature itself had been subdued by it.
Regardless.
Three days.
I had no time.
There was no leisurely time to ride an ether carriage.
But I didn’t know the exact location of Feractrum.
A moment of deliberation.
I pulled Rielin toward me forcefully.
“Eek!”
With a small cry, Rielin found herself in my arms.
Her delicate frame.
Her slender shoulders.
Rielin fit perfectly within my embrace.
“W-what are you—!”
Rielin struggled weakly.
Her face flushed crimson.
Her emerald eyes remained wide with shock.
I drew the struggling Rielin closer still.
Close enough that our breaths mingled.
I could distinctly feel her heart pounding against my chest.
Her trembling transmitted through me entirely.
Her flustered breath brushed against my cheek.
Soon, her bewildered eyes looked up at me.
“Why… why are you doing this…?”
I held Rielin’s waist firmly in place.
Her heart surged violently.
Her breathing became even more shallow.
“What are you trying to—”
“We’re about to move very quickly from here.”
“Huh? Oh?”
“We have no time. Protect yourself with spirits of the wind.”
“…Ah, okay…”
Rielin gave a faint nod.
Soon, she closed her eyes.
Wind began to swirl around her.
I tightened my grip on Rielin and channeled power throughout my entire body.
“You must hold on to me tightly.”
Rielin wrapped both arms around me in a firm embrace.
Delicate hands wrapped around my back, gripping me firmly.
Her breath brushed against my ear this time.
“Then let’s go.”
I hesitated no longer.
◆Transcendent Skill, Berserk [?] activated.
◆101 Sanity consumed.
◆Berserk [?] grade applied as [B].
◆Fusion Skill, Heartbeat Acceleration [E] activated!
Thump!!
Blood flow exploded throughout my body.
My transcendent stats amplified once more, pushing my physical form far beyond the boundaries of biological existence.
There was no room for hesitation.
I channeled Rillenium’s vast energy into my legs.
And then.
◆Eruption Skill, Dragon Impact [E] activated!!
Boom!!
In an instant, I shattered the sound barrier.
The atmosphere fractured into fragments, followed by the deafening roar of a vacuum.
And once more.
I unleashed Rillenium’s full output.
Boom! Boom!!
Beyond supersonic speed, tearing through Mach, the explosive pressure consumed everything.
Rielin’s screams were swallowed by the cascading sonic booms, her body instinctively clinging to me even tighter.
* * *
Shrieeeek─!!
Roaaaar─!!
Monsters poured down in torrents from the collapsed ceiling.
They were Feractrum’s attackers.
“How is this possible…?”
A Dwarf muttered in bewilderment.
And for good reason—Feractrum’s exact location had never been revealed to the outside world.
A land buried so deep it could deceive even the Continent’s own geography.
Not quite eleven kilometers down.
Yet deep enough to be beyond any reasonable detection.
Still, recent interactions with humans had become more frequent.
Whitewolf Territory.
Information could have inevitably leaked as Dwarves traveled back and forth.
But.
Even if they had discovered Feractrum’s location, launching an assault was an entirely different matter.
Feractrum was absolutely inaccessible through conventional means.
A self-regenerating labyrinth.
A gravity distortion field.
The surrounding terrain itself warps continuously.
It neutralizes all directional sense in external intruders and blocks approach entirely at the source.
Furthermore, a multi-layered arcane engineering defense system—including auto-triggered turrets—ruthlessly eliminates any invader.
In other words, mere location awareness cannot breach it.
And even if one did reach it, survival would be impossible.
“But how…?”
A portion of the defense system had been neutralized.
I could not pinpoint the exact cause.
But one thing was certain.
Feractrum was no longer safe.
Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom—!!
A colossal tremor shook the ground.
Monsters poured down from the ceiling, surging forward.
And.
Broombar launched himself into action.
“Aaaaaaaaaaaa!!”
A roar erupted from his throat.
Broombar charged toward the monsters.
His muscles, already swollen with power, bulged further as if ready to burst, and his following strike obliterated the vanguard of the creatures outright.
Crash—!!
Upon impact, a radius of ten meters collapsed.
The monsters within the blast zone didn’t even have time to scream before being hurled in all directions.
Broombar seized the opening without hesitation.
A second strike, a third.
He unleashed punches in rapid succession.
Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-boom—!!
The landscape shattered.
As the monsters’ vanguard crumbled in an instant, the creatures retreated their formation backward.
At that same moment, Broombar’s brow furrowed.
‘…These aren’t monsters.’
Monsters lack intelligence.
They are creatures born from flora and fauna mutated by the rogue factor known as madness.
Therefore, monsters do not cooperate with other races.
They exhibit no organized movement.
No cooperation, no retreat, no judgment.
Only the ‘madness’ to kill any living thing before them.
But these creatures were different.
They had retreated.
They were making tactical movements, regrouping and repositioning their forces.
But most troubling of all.
‘Their appearance is wrong.’
Monsters are mutated specimens born from flora and fauna.
Therefore, they retain the basic form of their original species to some degree.
Trolls bear the likeness of koalas.
Ogres carry the silhouette of whales.
Orcs retain the shape of swine.
And these creatures’ forms—.
‘Human?’
Their exterior was bestial.
Yet their overall silhouette resembled that of a human.
The skeletal structure, the proportions of limbs.
Unmistakably human in construction.
In essence, it appeared as though various animal characteristics had been layered atop a human body as the foundational base.
More precisely, they looked ‘engineered.’
This was no natural mutation born of madness.
These were creatures deliberately combined and modified by someone’s hand.
Thus they were new entities capable of employing strategy and tactics.
Therefore, this was no simple monster attack.
This was war.
Broombar’s voice thundered out.
“All units, battle stations!!”
His command echoed across all of Feractrum.
“First artillery battery, hold the front! Second line, seal the flanking passages!!”
The Dwarves responded instantly.
Metal plates clanged and locked together from all directions.
The arcane engineering defense system deployed throughout Feractrum activated immediately.
Boom, boom, boom!
Defensive barriers descended, sealing off the forward approach.
Arcane cannons jutted forth from the walls.
Reports from the Dwarves flooded in as preparations were completed.
“Central barrier secured!”
“Ether core output confirmed!”
“First defensive line. All positions manned, Clan Chief!!”
Steel gleamed in Broombar’s eyes.
The Dwarves were formidable.
A race of iron and steel.
The Dwarves had walked the path of progress.
Though their bond with Yggdrasil had been severed long ago, that was merely a distant golden age now past.
I have transcended the age of relying upon spirits, and now reshape the very laws of the world through my own hands.
The pinnacle of that technology: Arcane Engineering.
The sum total of all that advancement now converges here, in Feractrum.
“Fire at will!!”
Broombar’s voice thundered across the chamber.
In that same instant, all of Feractrum trembled.
Dozens of arcane cannons erupted in unison, spewing torrents of fire.
Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-CRASH!!
A tempest of artillery fire descended upon the creatures.
Thick smoke and debris billowed forth, obscuring the vision entirely.
Everyone held their breath, their eyes fixed upon what lay beyond the haze.
ROOOOOAAAAAARRR!!
A deafening roar pierced the air, shattering eardrums.
Through the parting smoke.
A colossal form burst forth between the fragments.
“An elephant…?”
More precisely, it was a massive creature that resembled an elephant.
From its enormous body extended a trunk shaped like a great scythe.
Along its spine rose heavy plating, hard as the shell of a crustacean.
Against this, the weapons of Arcane Engineering proved utterly useless.
Hundreds of cannon blasts had not even scratched it.
ROOOOOAAAAAARRR!!
The beast raised its head and bellowed.
Its four massive legs drove into the earth as it charged forward.
“What in the—!!”
“Don’t panic! The barrier will hold!”
“Reload, quickly—!”
CRACK!
With a sudden explosive sound, one section of the outer wall was torn away.
That scythe-like trunk had shredded the barrier of Runesteel like parchment.
“This can’t be happening!!”
It was incomprehensible.
The weapons of Arcane Engineering were powerless before this monstrosity.
Therefore, this was no ordinary creature.
A bioengineered weapon.
In other words, this was an all-out war between Arcane Engineering and bioengineering.
The elephant-shaped abomination breached the inner barrier.
In that moment.
Broombar surged forward once more.
“That’s far enough!!”
Bulging his muscles to their limit, Broombar drove a devastating blow toward the elephant-like monster.
CRASH!!!
The thunderous collision echoed through the cavern.
The elephant-like monster lost its footing and staggered backward.
A creature that had withstood dozens of cannon blasts was being pushed back by Broombar alone.
“Good heavens!!”
“Did he just push that thing back?!”
The Dwarves gasped in shock.
Yet even in that moment, Broombar did not relent.
Standing alone against the elephant-like monster, he held the line.
But.
He could not hold back the other creatures as well.
SHRIEEEEK—!!
ROAAARRR—!!
Monsters poured through the shattered defensive wall.
“Damn it all!!”
“Hold them back!! Whatever it takes, hold them back!!”
The Dwarves rushed forward with their hammers raised.
The strength of the Dwarves did not rest solely in Arcane Engineering.
Robust physiques.
As a race that had tempered themselves through iron and metal, each individual was a warrior born—no exaggeration could capture it.
Yet even a young Dragon feared a full-grown Ogre.
And an aged, sickly Ogre was hunted like prey by a pack of Trolls.
Children and the infirm were vulnerable.
And they had not yet evacuated.
The monsters that had breached the defensive wall began tearing through the alleys and districts of Feractrum.
“Help us! A child is trapped under the rubble! Please, someone help!”
“AAAAHHHHH!”
Cries for aid erupted from every direction.
Beneath the wreckage of a building, a Dwarf woman clutched a child to her chest, wailing.
“Over here! Please, someone—!”
It was pandemonium incarnate.
Where to begin the defense.
Whom to save first.
A despair so absolute that no answer could be found settled over Feractrum.
“Please… please…!”
All they could do was clasp their hands and pray with desperate fervor.
Yet how hollow that prayer felt.
The Dwarves knew this better than anyone.
And still, they clasped their hands and prayed with desperate fervor.
In that moment, I clung desperately to a god I had never believed in before.
But as expected.
The god did not answer.
No divine salvation came.
Yet something else took its place.
Boom—!!
A blast erupted in a straight line from somewhere, piercing through one of the monsters.
The creature’s head exploded outright.
“What… what is that…?”
“What was that just now…?”
The Dwarves turned their heads in unison.
Through the gaping hole in the ceiling above.
Crimson light erupted simultaneously from multiple points.
Boom! Boom-boom-boom! Boom-boom!!!
Condensed energy from each location fired in rapid succession, bombarding all directions indiscriminately.
Crash! Boom-crash! Boom-boom-boom-crash!
Thunderous explosion!!
Energy projectiles poured down like a barrage.
Agonized shriek—!!
A howl tore through the onslaught.
In an instant, the monsters crumbled to ash.
“…!!!”
“…!!!”
The Dwarves’ eyes trembled.
Speechless before a sight they could scarcely comprehend.
Their gazes turned upward toward the ceiling in perfect synchronization.
A figure emerged between the crimson flashes.
A human with black hair and crimson eyes.
And.
“Kyaaah…!”
A female Elf screaming in his arms.
* * *
Perhaps it was the speed that shattered the sound barrier.
Rielin’s eyes were half-open, devoid of focus.
Drool and secretions smeared the corners of her mouth.
Her entire body was drenched in sweat.
Her wet hair clung to the nape of her neck.
I carefully lowered Rielin from my back to the ground.
“Hnngh…!”
Rielin collapsed with a whimper.
My legs gave way beneath me, and I trembled like a newborn fawn, unable to rise.
“Are you all right?”
“Yes, I’m fi—”
Rielin’s words trailed off.
Her half-lidded eyes suddenly widened.
A thin, gasping sound escaped between her lips.
“…Ah, oh…!”
She whirled her head away in an instant.
Her ears flushed crimson in moments.
Even the nape of her neck began to burn red—
‘Ah.’
So that’s what felt missing.
…Dragon Burst: Rapid [E] had incinerated all my clothes.

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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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