The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - LLD Chapter 46: The Bait and the Trap (Part 1)

A dark night, with the moon hidden behind the clouds.

The snowy mountains, heralding the approach of the season of frost, were merciless to Serapia.

“Haaah…!!”

The cold seeped through her fur clothes, making her shiver uncontrollably.
Her fingertips felt like they had turned into blocks of ice.
Even when she blew on them, her breath froze white—useless.

Her nose and ears were numb and red with frostbite.
Her legs grew so stiff it became hard to take even a single step.

And yet, she trudged forward, following the path Adrian had carved through the mountains.

“I wish… we could’ve gone together…”

But of course, that was just wishful thinking.

Adrian had already gone far ahead, seemingly unconcerned about her. He was beginning to fade from view.

Keeping up with him felt like torture.

Under normal circumstances, she would’ve collapsed long ago.

‘Good thing I started working out…’

Wanting to get closer to Adrian, she had been exercising regularly—something that turned out to be helpful now.

“Haaak…! Haaak…!”

Still, poor stamina was poor stamina.
Panting hard, Serapia finally reached the mountain peak.

Adrian, who had arrived earlier, was already setting up camp.
With bare hands, he cleared away the thick snow and ice beneath his feet to create solid, level ground.

Bitter wind howled from all directions.

To block the skin-piercing gusts, Adrian built a windbreak using nearby rocks and snowdrifts.

His movements were not just skillful—they were professional.
Even mercenaries who had survived decades on battlefields wouldn’t be able to do this as well.

‘A-Amazing…!’

Serapia couldn’t help but be impressed.

While she was still caught in awe, a small fire pit had already been set up at the center.
Adrian brought out firewood from who knows where and carefully lit it.

The flame struggled at first, on the verge of being extinguished, before finally catching and burning bright.

Darkness was driven away in an instant.
Adrian finally noticed Serapia.

“Come warm yourself.”

“Yes! Thank you!”

Serapia rushed to sit in front of the campfire.
The gentle heat soothed her trembling body.
She held out her hands, letting the warmth of the flames envelope her whole body.

While Serapia thawed herself—

Adrian brought out dried meat and finely ground grain powder.
He scooped snow into a kettle—also from who knows where—and boiled it.
Then, with swift movements, he got to work.
Soon, a steaming, savory stew was complete.

“Eat.”

“Thank you for the meal!”

Serapia quickly took the plate of stew.
Without hesitation, she brought it to her mouth.

“Mmm…!!”

Her eyes shot open in delight.

“This is so good!”

It truly was.
The stew was made with nothing but dried meat and grain powder, yet it was rich and flavorful like something served at a high-end restaurant.

“If you want more, help yourself.”

“Yes!”

She nodded with enthusiasm.
Adrian resumed his remaining camp preparations.

It felt like they were truly traveling together.

‘This is… nice.’

It really was.
When would she ever get to eat food Adrian made with his own hands again?
When would she ever spend time like this with him again?

No matter how she looked at it, choosing to be the bait was absolutely worth it.

‘I wish this could go on forever…’

Serapia silently wished for more moments like this to come.

Serapia devoured the stew.

Despite being a simple stew with dried meat, my Agility stat was now at a whopping 33.35.

Since [Promote Metabolism C+] had become a passive skill, I now received a constant +15% boost—making all food taste far better.
With a bit of exaggeration, I could probably make garbage taste decent.

“It’s seriously, seriously good, Oppa!!”

Transforming stew into gourmet fare wasn’t even difficult anymore.
Watching Serapia happily dig in—

‘…Damn it.’

A sudden surge of irritation rose.

Even if this was all to hunt the werebeast…

What the hell was this?

Serapia.
The Monarch of Frost.
The greatest enemy of the Allied Forces.
The witch who took Hero Ian’s left arm.

The screams of those who died at Serapia’s hands still echoed vividly in his ears.

When hit by her frost, you didn’t simply freeze.
Your blood and bodily fluids solidified.
It was as if blades of ice erupted from within.

The frozen bodies looked as though they had been shoved into a meat grinder—horrifying and agonizing.

There isn’t a single organ in the body that doesn’t rely on blood.
The corpses of agents whose organs were torn to shreds remained etched in his mind.

Their hearts were obliterated. Their brains shredded.

Their skin turned blue, coated in a thin sheet of frost.
They had tried to escape, but their frozen limbs had become stiff and immobile—trapping them in place.

That’s how the Special Ops agents had died—utterly desperate.

All he could see was a cold grave where life had vanished in an instant.

And all of it—every last bit—was Serapia’s doing.

Serapia, the absolute Monarch of Frost, wielded cold on a scale beyond comprehension.
Ian’s left arm was lost to that same power.

Even the miracles of the Saintess couldn’t undo the damage—it was that horrifying and cruel.

The Monarch of Frost—Serapia.

Of the six Monarchs who served the Emperor, the Allied Forces had dubbed her the [Greatest Enemy of the Allied Forces].

Serapia froze mid-bite.

A piercing gaze stabbed through her.

As she slowly lowered her plate, she met Adrian’s eyes—filled with murderous intent.

His gaze was fiercer than last time.
More intense than when he had choked her.

Serapia, reading the mood, quietly set the plate down.

She wanted another bowl…
But that didn’t seem like a good idea.

Adrian continued to glare at her as if he was going to kill her.

And now she realized—it wasn’t just a figure of speech.
He really was going to kill her.

Only some unknown force was restraining him.
But if something triggered it… he’d kill her without hesitation.

She thought they’d grown a little closer.
She was so happy just being near him.

“Click.”

…And yet, for some reason, he hated her.

Suddenly, Adrian threw everything aside with a scowl and stormed off.
Serapia wanted to stop him—but she didn’t have the courage.

Fortunately, just then, Kai returned from outside the camp and ran into Adrian.
He had departed later, taking time to change clothes, and had just arrived.

“Where are you going?”

“I told you. I shouldn’t stay nearby.”

“You said it would take about three days for the werebeast to react.”

“I did.”

“Then can’t you stay just for today?”

Instead of answering, Adrian turned to look at Serapia.

Serapia quickly lowered her gaze to avoid his eyes.

“When the werebeast arrives, send a signal.”

Translatin_Otaku

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