The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - Chapter 47
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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 47. Beast Legion Commander (1)
To be honest.
‘I never expected him to take the bait so quickly.’
I hadn’t anticipated the Lycanthrope would bite within a single day.
The reason being that there had been a window of time for the Lycanthrope to discover Seraphia.
He needed to know the bait existed before he could take it or ignore it.
A minimum of three days.
Even that was a tight estimate.
Yet not even a full day had passed before he snapped at the bait the moment I left.
This exceeded my miscalculation by far.
It was as though he had seen through my entire bait strategy.
And that was precisely why I had been able to see through the Lycanthrope’s trap.
As I descended the Frozen Peak after leaving the campsite, a thought suddenly struck me.
The Lycanthrope was currently watching me with extreme vigilance.
In other words, there was a very high probability he was observing everything I did and everywhere I went.
Which meant there was also a very high probability he had been watching from somewhere as I climbed the Frozen Peak with Seraphia.
If by watching me, he had naturally become aware of Seraphia’s existence as bait?
The Lycanthrope’s desire would have erupted explosively upon seeing Seraphia.
But because I stood at her side, he could not reveal that desire.
So if I were to leave the campsite in such a situation?
What would the Lycanthrope do next?
The moment that thought crystallized, I immediately turned back toward the campsite.
And as expected.
My prediction proved correct.
‘I’m not sure why he attacked Kai instead of Seraphia.’
It seemed the Lycanthrope found Kai more beautiful.
The Lycanthrope was a monster whose eyes rolled back whenever he saw a beautiful woman.
And since beauty was ultimately a matter of personal taste, it appeared Kai aligned more with his preferences.
That was why, even in my past life, the Lycanthrope had been so obsessed with the Saint.
“Now as then. That filthy desire remains unchanged!”
Even returning to the past, he was still the same—an ugly beast forged from the madness of desire.
The Lycanthrope pinned beneath me thrashed savagely.
My current Strength stat was 33.45.
A force equivalent to thirty-three adult men suppressed the Lycanthrope’s writhing body.
But I could not completely restrain him.
The very notion that the strength of merely thirty-three men could suppress the Lycanthrope was arrogance itself.
I seized the Lycanthrope’s thick nape and tore at it with force.
The Lycanthrope’s dense nape was too thick to fit in a single hand.
Moreover, the hide was tough and rigid, and the high-density compressed muscle was itself like steel armor.
But before the dragon’s claws, it was nothing more than tissue paper.
No matter how formidable the Lycanthrope, it could not surpass the genetic legacy of a dragon.
I sharpened my claws to razor edges—crunch!
The Lycanthrope’s hide and flesh tore as I drove my grip deep into its neck.
The thrashing Lycanthrope began to show unmistakable signs of panic.
It twisted its body with renewed savagery, shoving me back while raking its sharp claws through the air in wild, desperate swipes.
Crunch!
A sickening sound of tearing flesh echoed in that instant.
Unfortunately, it was not the Lycanthrope’s throat being ripped away.
Both my hands, which had been clamped around the Lycanthrope’s neck and shoulder, were completely severed. In that single moment, the Lycanthrope broke free.
A guttural roar tore from its throat!
The Lycanthrope charged toward me like a starving beast.
Its claws shredded the air, and the frenzy that erupted in that moment carried not mere hunger, but unmistakable killing intent.
It was no accident that such a vile, lustful creature earned the title of Beast Legion Commander.
The distance between us was far too close.
To respond, I needed my hands—both of which had been torn away.
Then there was only one choice.
◆Activating Combination Skill ‘Metabolic Overdrive [U]’!
◆Caloric Cost – 50,000 Kcal
◆All of the player’s stats increase by [+50%] for [500 seconds]!
My agility surged in an instant, my sensory receptors honed to an almost unbearable acuity.
Before my mind could even process a command, my body was already moving with lethal precision.
The Lycanthrope’s vicious swipe tore through empty air.
I retreated swiftly, my eyes tracking its every movement with predatory focus. The Lycanthrope clawed at the ground again, but—
This time, I was faster.
◆Activating Skill ‘Nutrient Synthesis [B]’!
◆Activating Skill ‘Regeneration [B+]’!
My severed hands regenerated in an instant [B+].
I unleashed the Dragon’s Claws [A] in a devastating arc.
The Lycanthrope’s claws met my Dragon’s Claws [A].
Our lethal talons collided, tearing through the air in a shower of sparks.
* * *
Crack! Boom!
The sound of tearing flesh and explosive impact rang out simultaneously.
Kai’s eyes widened in shock.
The first sound had been Adrian’s strike tearing through the Lycanthrope’s claws.
The second explosion was the Lycanthrope staggering backward from the impact.
In other words, Adrian was holding his ground.
Yet he was not completely overwhelming the Lycanthrope either.
Adrian and the Lycanthrope.
They tore and clawed at each other, inflicting wounds while unleashing their fury and madness in a savage, unbridled clash.
Each time, a collision sound so powerful it shook the entire Snowy Mountain rang out.
A battle as though two beasts were clashing against one another.
‘What in the world….’
Kai’s eyes naturally filled with astonishment.
Having directly faced the Lycanthrope moments before, I could comprehend just how absurd this spectacle truly was.
A fierce duel between the two that left one breathless merely watching.
But there was no time to merely observe their battle.
I quickly turned my head to search for Seraphia.
Seraphia lay collapsed on the ground.
A legion of monsters surrounded her. I gripped my blade firmly and slaughtered the encircling horde.
Throwing myself forward, I rushed toward Seraphia.
Fortunately.
Seraphia’s condition was manageable.
There were no visible external wounds, no injuries of note.
Yet she had lost consciousness entirely.
It seemed she had fainted, unable to withstand the Lycanthrope’s primal hunger.
I hoisted the unconscious Seraphia onto my back.
Then, preparing for the journey, I tore the thermal stockings I was wearing.
Along with that, I removed the women’s undergarments I wore, fashioned them into rope-like bindings, and secured Seraphia firmly to my body.
Once that process was complete.
The legion’s monsters had encircled us from all directions.
Countless monsters blanketing the Snowy Mountain like a suffocating shroud.
I verified once more that Seraphia was secured properly, then gripped my blade.
Though the legion presented an unexpected variable.
It merely accelerated the timeline.
In other words, the plan itself remained intact.
Remarkably, Adrian had anticipated this.
He had foreseen the variable that the Lycanthrope could command a legion, and had devised countermeasures accordingly.
Thus, the operation and strategy remained unchanged.
Then it was time for me, as a knight, to execute that operation.
And now, I felt I could accomplish it.
I steadied my breathing slowly.
Stepping forward, I honed my blade to a razor’s edge with my Aura.
My blade, sharpened like the fangs of a wolf.
It unleashed rapid, relentless attacks from multiple directions.
A technique that deepened chaos within the legion through ceaseless strikes, granting them no opportunity to counterattack.
Wolf’s Swordsmanship. First Form.
Dance of Fangs.
My azure fangs tore through the legion.
* * *
Kai tore through the legion as if shredding paper.
‘That is….’
My eyes widened involuntarily.
The technique Kai was employing right now.
‘Wolf’s Swordsmanship?’
Wolf’s Swordsmanship.
True to its name, it was a sword technique that wielded the blade like a wolf.
A swordsmanship Kai had devised, drawing inspiration from the hunting methods of wolves.
And it was the decisive technique that would later become the defining moment of Kai’s renown as commander of the Frost Legion.
Its power was formidable enough that even Ian acknowledged it.
What more needed to be said?
‘He’s already perfected Wolf’s Swordsmanship?’
In other words, it was not a technique the current Kai should have been capable of wielding.
It seemed that by stepping into the realm of mastery this time, he had achieved the perfection of his swordsmanship….
‘The madman.’
His growth rate was insane.
Thus transformed into a golden wolf, Kai was slaughtering the legion’s monsters without mercy.
With Seraphia clinging to his back, his movements were considerably constrained, yet Kai was relentless.
When he was the enemy, I despised him with every fiber of my being; as an ally, he was the most reassuring presence imaginable.
That was why the original plan had been.
To use Seraphia as bait, then join forces with Kai to subjugate the Lycanthrope.
But the plan had encountered a complication.
‘He brought the entire legion with him.’
The Lycanthrope had brought the Beast Legion.
A beast mad with desire, yet he valued his own life enough to take out insurance.
In any case, this made coordinated assault with Kai impossible.
Instead, I now faced the coordinated assault of both the Lycanthrope and the legion. The only saving grace was that Kai alone was holding back the entire army.
Slash—! Boom—!
…Or rather, annihilating it.
Kai was not a concern.
The problem was on my end.
In the darkness of the Snowy Mountain, the Lycanthrope’s eyes gleamed.
Yet he did not rush forward recklessly.
And the same held true for me.
‘He’s strong.’
He was not the Beast Legion Commander for nothing.
Of course, Dragon’s Claw [A] could tear through even the Lycanthrope’s claws.
Dragon’s Claw [A], which ignored [-35%] of the target’s defense, could shred the Lycanthrope’s thick hide in an instant.
In other words, my offensive power far surpassed his.
But the stats to back that up were lacking.
Agility, strength, endurance.
The attributes that sustained and supported prolonged combat.
My ability to drive the Dragon’s Claw[A] deep into my chest was vastly inferior compared to the Lycanthrope.
Even with Metabolic Overdrive[U] active, I couldn’t match the Lycanthrope’s raw attributes.
‘If I consumed additional calories…’
Then I could amplify my attributes further.
Metabolic Overdrive[U] scaled its amplification based on the calories I expended.
‘That won’t work.’
But I couldn’t afford it.
I couldn’t devote all my calories to Metabolic Overdrive[U].
My current maximum caloric capacity was 100,000.
I had to reserve the remaining 50,000 calories for Regeneration[B+].
‘Once my calories are completely depleted, regeneration becomes impossible.’
And that meant death.
If my HP reached zero, Regeneration[B+] would be useless.
It wasn’t as though I hadn’t stored spare calories in my inventory.
But I had to abandon the naive notion that I’d have time to replenish during combat with the Lycanthrope.
The Beast Legion Commander, the Lycanthrope, was not an opponent who would grant such luxury.
More than that, even if I had time to consume nutrients, my current state—with both arms severed—made nutrient absorption impossible.
On the battlefield, a single mistake, a single miscalculation, determined life and death.
Grrrrrowwwl!
The Lycanthrope’s deep, rumbling roar.
Its snout, nostrils flared, stretched long like a crocodile’s.
The fangs revealed within were sharp and hard enough to crush steel effortlessly.
Beyond that, it possessed exceptional regenerative abilities of its own.
The wound I’d torn from its shoulder earlier had already healed.
The same held true for the wound I’d inflicted on its neck.
While not comparable to the Icetroll, it possessed a significant advantage in sustained combat.
The Lycanthrope’s claws were likewise not to be dismissed.
Of course, they couldn’t compare to the Dragon’s Claw[A].
Yet they possessed enough force to tear through my flesh.
This was true even though I currently gained [+30%] resistance to all physical damage through Hardened Skin[B].
Only Dragon Skin[U] seemed capable of truly blocking such attacks.
But that skill lasted only [5 seconds].
And it consumed [10,000 Kcal] to maintain.
Dragon Skin[U] was not a skill to be used recklessly.
The Lycanthrope and I.
We could each inflict fatal wounds upon the other.
We both knew this fact, and because of it, we watched each other through the darkness, maintaining our vigilance.
◆Metabolic Overdrive[U] duration remaining: 【157 seconds】.
Even as time passed, the duration of my Metabolic Overdrive continued to dwindle.
Approximately two minutes and thirty seconds remained.
To be honest, subduing the Lycanthrope within that window was nearly impossible.
If I tried to replenish calories, the Lycanthrope would never grant me that opportunity.
As I suspected.
‘I cannot do this alone.’
The first operation had failed.
The moment the Lycanthrope arrived with his legion, the operation was doomed.
Though I must emphasize—the ‘first’ operation.
When I had devised this operation, I had already considered the possibility that the Lycanthrope might bring his legion.
In my past life, countless variables had emerged during missions.
I had anticipated as many variables as possible and adapted my plans to shifting circumstances more times than I could count.
Therefore, I had prepared a second operation to counter this scenario.
“Kai!!”
The moment I cried out, Kai hurled himself toward me without hesitation.
I had given no explicit instructions.
Yet Kai understood the meaning behind my call instantly.
I threw myself toward Kai in turn.
In a heartbeat, Kai and I collided.
Our backs and shoulders pressed together.
Using that contact as an axis, we spun a half rotation, and our positions seamlessly reversed.
I, who had been facing the Lycanthrope, now confronted the legion.
Kai, who had been facing the legion, now confronted the Lycanthrope.
By exchanging our positions in an instant, our opponents changed in a single breath.
Both the Lycanthrope and the legion froze in shock.
Kai seized that moment of confusion and rushed toward the Lycanthrope.
And with Kai as he was now, he could buy me time against the Lycanthrope.
Thus, while Kai engaged the Lycanthrope, I could turn my attention to the legion.
Or rather, to be precise—
“Which of you shall I feast upon first?”
I could replenish my nutrients.
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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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