The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - LLD Chapter 23. The Delinquent and the Chief Knight (2)

The cold wind of the Snowy Mountains whipped across Kai’s cheek like a violent gust.

With every step closer to the Ice Drake, it felt as if death itself was breathing down his neck.

…The pressure was overwhelming.
It was hard to believe that Adrian had fought under such pressure alone.

Kai couldn’t hide the trembling that crept into his body under the overwhelming presence of Ice Drake.

And the moment the drake stared at him with one eye, Kai was seized by a fear so intense it felt like even his soul had frozen.

At that critical moment—

“Get a grip!!”

Adrian’s thunderous shout snapped Kai back to his senses.

‘That just now was…’

Dragon Fear.

The aura of terror that only dragons possess.
It went beyond mere fear—this was overwhelming despair, unavoidable to any living being on this continent.

Dragons were the supreme beings that reigned above all.

In front of a dragon, all others were nothing more than prey.
Kai was no exception.

But Adrian was different.

Crouched low, Adrian dashed again toward the drake’s side.

Unaffected by the Dragon Fear.
Even if it was a weakened form… how?

Ice Drake lashed his tail, trying to shake Adrian off.
The drake then retreated a few steps.

Kai instinctively moved to pursue it.

But just then, Adrian’s voice rang sharply in his ears.

“Stop!!”

Kai froze on the spot.
He didn’t ask why.
Because he, too, had sensed it.

A faint aura of death was seeping from the retreating Ice Drake.

…Something was wrong.

Then, Ice Drake inhaled deeply, and a bluish chill began to gather in its massive jaws.

“It’s a Dragon Breath!”

Adrian shouted, and Kai’s eyes widened.

Dragon Breath.

Named after the way dragons exhale energy or matter as if breathing, this was a terrifying ability.

It was known that only monsters related to dragons could use it.
Specifically, those possessing strong dragon genes.

Only those with a deeply embedded lineage could wield this authority.

‘It can use Breath…?’

That meant Ice Drake carried a substantial amount of dragon lineage.

It wasn’t called the Master of the Snowy Mountains for nothing.

Of course, it was nowhere near the real Dragon Breath.
And judging by its reluctance, it seemed the drake couldn’t use it casually.

If it could, it would’ve used it from the beginning.

In other words, Ice Drake was desperate now.
Unable to guarantee victory against Adrian and Kai, it was going all-in.

This would decide it.
Who was the predator… and who was the prey.

The breath being exhaled now—
True to the name Ice, it was a frost-colored, icy-blue breath.

In short, it was Ice Breath.

Even a weakened breath would leave nothing behind if it hit directly.

It had to be avoided.
This wasn’t something one could block or counter.

“Right now—!”

Kai began to shout, but he never finished the sentence.

The moment Ice Drake opened its jaws, filled with Ice Breath,
Kai realized just how foolish it was to even think of dodging it.

The surrounding air froze instantly.
The sky darkened in the blink of an eye, as if a blizzard had swallowed it whole.

Frost spread outward—

KRAAAAAAAHHHH!!!

A surge of pure white icy breath exploded forth like a waterfall.

The frigid, bluish energy froze everything it touched.
The moment it made contact, time seemed to stop—it froze everything instantly.

The powerful frost blanketed the Snowy Mountains, encasing them in ice.

Wherever the Ice Breath had passed, it left behind a frozen world—as if a massive river of ice had swept through.

…This was on a completely different scale from an avalanche.

This cold was powerful enough to instantly extinguish life, even surpassing the wrath of nature.

It was impossible to avoid.
But could it be blocked?

Kai hastily summoned his Aura to shield his body.
And yet, he trembled violently like a leaf in the wind.

He believed it was only because of the Ice Breath’s cold.

And at that exact moment—

Adrian suddenly stepped in front of Kai.

KWAHHHHHHHH—!!!

The icy chill of Ice Breath swept across his entire body.
The moment he crossed his arms to shield his face, his skin began to freeze.

◆ Toughened Skin [D] resists Ice Breath!
◆ Toughened Skin [D] resists Ice Breath!

Transparent system messages flickered rapidly before his eyes.
Each time, the chill briefly withdrew.
But even so—
Just Toughened Skin [D] wasn’t nearly enough to block the cold of Ice Breath.

Crackle, cra-crack!

In the blink of an eye, ice crystals spread over his body.
Starting from his fingertips, the frost rapidly engulfed his arms, legs, and entire torso.

Have you ever seen a person freeze in real time?

Probably not.
That kind of thing doesn’t happen often.

So most people assume it’s like getting “frozen in ice.”

They think they can just melt the ice or break free without much trouble.

But that’s never the case.

When a person truly freezes, it’s not just the surface—it’s the inside, too.

Blood and bodily fluids freeze as well.
And when liquids like that freeze, they solidify, sharpen, and expand in volume.

It’s like blades of ice forming inside your veins.
Tearing blood vessels and cell membranes apart.

In other words, right now, his blood vessels and cells were being shredded to pieces.

But then—

◆ Temporarily disabling sensory nerves!
◆ Activating skill: Regeneration [B-] to repair damaged body!

The moment his body tore apart, it regenerated.
His nervous system was being shut down to suppress the pain.

More importantly—

‘Compared to the Monarch of Frost…! This is nothing…!!’

The frigid chill Serapia, the Monarch of Frost, unleashed—
This was nothing compared to that.

Her cold couldn’t be healed by even a Saintess’s miracle.
Even an Ice Troll’s regenerative power was helpless before it.

It was the terrifying frost that had taken Hero Ian’s left arm.

Compared to that, this Ice Breath pouring over him was practically warm.

Crackle, cra-crack!

His frozen body began turning blue.
Even if weakened, this was still the power of a dragon.

He was barely hanging on with Regeneration [B-], but that was his limit.
He couldn’t endure much longer.

More importantly, the damage he could inflict on Ice Drake was limited.
The only one who could deal a critical blow to Ice Drake was…

“Kai—!!!”

At Adrian’s shout, Kai immediately leapt into action.

Thanks to Adrian blocking the Ice Breath head-on, Kai was unharmed.
Shrouded in aura, he darted out of the attack zone in a flash.

Soon, a deep-blue aura shimmered around Kai’s sword like an aurora.

A blade sharp enough to cleave through anything in the world.
And that blade now pointed—at Ice Drake’s heart.

“Aim for the neck!!”

At Adrian’s urgent cry, Kai hastily twisted the sword’s trajectory.
A shift from a thrust to a slash.

That sudden transition weakened the force behind the blow.

Shhhhk—!

A clear sensation transmitted through the tip of his sword.
But it was shallow.

…He hadn’t cut deep enough.

Would he have killed it if he’d aimed at the heart as originally intended?
Hard to say.
To be honest, Adrian doubted it.

With Ice Drake’s massive body—over 10 meters tall—reaching the heart was extremely difficult.

So Adrian’s call to aim for the neck had been the right one.
The best one.

In such a desperate moment, Kai’s judgment had faltered.
But Adrian had remained cool-headed—even now.

KREEEEEAAAAAAAK—!!!

Ice Drake let out a monstrous, bone-chilling scream.
The neck wasn’t severed entirely.
But it was halfway through—a clearly fatal wound.

And with that, Ice Breath ceased.

But the Drake wasn’t dead yet.
The fight wasn’t over.

Adrian was currently unable to fight.
Kai would have to finish it.

…Could he?

Kai tightened his grip on his sword.
…He had to.

He channeled every ounce of aura he had into the blade.

The moment Kai kicked off the ground—

Adrian charged in like a storm.

Kai’s eyes widened in disbelief.

This was the same Adrian who had taken the full brunt of the Ice Breath.
By all logic, his body should’ve been completely frozen—shredded apart.

‘How…?!’

Kai’s expression was a mix of confusion and shock.

Beyond that gaze—Adrian was chewing something, jaw clenched.

Ice Drake was visibly startled too.
He hadn’t expected Adrian to leap into the fight.

His focus had been entirely on Kai.
He failed to react to Adrian in time.

In an instant, Adrian vaulted onto Ice Drake’s back.

The beast’s long claws and fangs twitched involuntarily.

Its tail instinctively dropped, dragging across the ground.

A low, uneasy growl leaked out.
Gone was the confidence of a predator.
Gone was the dominance of a ruler of the Snowy Mountains.

Its instincts screamed—

It was no longer the hunter, but the hunted.

Adrian had taken the Ice Breath head-on.
But the one frozen in fear was the Ice Drake.

And with that—

The relationship between predator and prey had been reversed.

The predator was now Adrian.
And the prey—

Was the Ice Drake.

Adrian shoved his hand into the half-severed neck.
With brute force, he grabbed the dragon’s spine.

Then tore it out with all his strength.

CRAAACK—!!

It was the moment the ruler of the Snowy Mountains finally fell to his knees…

THUD!!

And the moment a new ruler of the mountains was born.

Translatin_Otaku

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