The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - LLD Chapter 5: Find the Hero (Part 2)

“Time to head back.”

Having sorted out my thoughts, I turned to leave.

But then—

“…Where was the estate again?”

I forgot where the family estate was.
Sure, in this timeline, I left it less than a week ago—but in truth, it’s been over 15 years.

I can’t remember the location or anyone from the household.
The only one I remember is my sister—Serapia, the Monarch of Frost.

And…

“Oh, right. That lunatic Kai—he’s still alive.”

Since I’ve returned to the past.
In other words, alongside Serapia, there’s another one in the family I absolutely must kill.

But, well…

“…I’m in no shape to beat him right now.”

…He had no confidence in defeating Kai.
Serapia had yet to awaken as the Monarch of Frost.
But Kai was different.
The chief knight of the House of Whitewolf.

Even now, he was a monstrously powerful man. That was Kai.

“Maybe I should go back after some more Predation.”

In truth, Predation wasn’t an ability that could be used recklessly.

Take the Ice Troll’s [C+] Regeneration skill.
As seen with that, in most cases, just consuming a heart wasn’t enough to wield the full power of a target’s ability.

Sometimes you needed to devour it several times.
Sometimes hundreds.

Predation had to be repeated—and each time, I was engulfed by madness.
That’s why, in the past—
In my previous life, I couldn’t absorb many abilities.

But now—

“Now I’ve got the Player’s Will, don’t I?”

I had Ian’s ability, Player’s Will [EX].
Even if I used Predation freely, I wouldn’t fall into madness.

As long as I had enough targets, I could become infinitely stronger.

And right now, the Emperor hadn’t begun acting yet.
Not only Ice Trolls but countless rare monsters still roamed the wilds.

On top of that—

“Now that I think about it, I haven’t even properly checked the ability ‘Solo Leveling [EX]’.”

Ian’s other ability: Solo Leveling [EX].
I still didn’t know what that ability actually did.

“If it’s like Player’s Will, another of Ian’s powers…”

Ian’s absurd strength—maybe the secret behind it lay in Solo Leveling [EX].

A domain nestled in the heart of the endlessly sprawling snowfield.

Behind the territory stood hills and mountain ranges blanketed in snow, as if they wore white caps.

To withstand the brutal cold, the fortress walls were tall and thick, with ice and snow packed into every crevice.

Centered around a grand castle at the heart of the land, multiple small villages were scattered nearby.
Each was made up of low wooden houses with snow-covered roofs.

As if to display the strong will to survive the harsh winter, the territory still radiated warmth and vitality even in the bitter cold.

“Hmm.”

A man let out a soft hum amidst the landscape.

Sharp facial features and jawline.
His deep, cold blue eyes gleamed like a wolf’s—piercing and alert.

Long, radiant blonde hair that shimmered like sunlight.
A perfectly trained and sculpted body.
And silver armor tailored exactly to that physique.

His icy presence, like the frost itself, kept his emotions unreadable.

His name, evoking the image of a noble wolf, was Kai, chief knight of the House of Whitewolf.

Kai closely inspected the corpse of the Ice Troll brought in by the soldiers.
The Ice Troll’s body was oddly intact—so pristine it seemed like it might still be alive.

Which meant: not much was needed to bring the creature down.

‘It pierced the heart, didn’t it?’

The heart was missing.
But judging from the puncture in the skin, it was clear the heart had been pierced directly.

‘No defensive marks.’

Meaning: the attacker waited for one perfect opportunity and stabbed the heart cleanly.
But judging by the wound—there wasn’t even Aura imbued into the strike.

It was a plain stab. Just that.

To pull that off, you’d need extraordinary kinetic vision to perfectly read the Ice Troll’s movements.
But not just that—

You’d need the agility to dodge its attacks.
The boldness to dive into the creature’s range.
And the timing and synergy to execute the stab.

Every element had to align perfectly, without the slightest error.
But that level of perfection was nearly impossible.

Even with intense training and countless drills, it’s hard to reach that level.
The very act of diving into an Ice Troll’s range is a deadly gamble.
Even seasoned mercenaries who’ve seen countless battles wouldn’t dare.

In short: it was a thrust that even veterans wouldn’t dream of attempting.
That’s how perfect it was.

The weakened Ice Troll didn’t stand a chance.
Even if it had been in perfect condition, the result likely wouldn’t have changed much.

‘Could I have blocked it?’

Kai pictured the opponent in his mind and replayed the exchange a few times.
He reached a quick conclusion.

He probably would’ve dodged, not blocked.
Even thinking about blocking such a perfect thrust was foolish.

Which is why—it was hard to believe.

“……”

He simply couldn’t believe that the so-called “mad dog of the count’s house” had done this.

Kai, having finished examining the corpse, slowly turned his gaze.
Toward his liege—Serapia—the one he was sworn to protect with his life.
Kai stared at the dark handprint on the pale nape of her neck.

Though covered with a scarf, the bruised mark blackened on her white skin was impossible to hide.

It was clear just how tightly she had been gripped.
Kai could read the intent to kill in the shape of the hand.

He meant to kill her.
Without a doubt.
Adrian had tried to murder Serapia.

And so—Kai had to ask:

“Why did you spare him?”

Why had Serapia let Adrian live?
The soldiers said it was Serapia who stopped them.

That she ordered them to release Adrian, and they had no choice but to obey.

If Kai had been there, he never would’ve let that happen.
He wouldn’t have allowed the situation to escalate in the first place, and Adrian would never have made it out alive.

Adrian must die.
That’s the only way to protect Serapia, the House of Whitewolf, and the people of the County.

“Mind your words, Sir Kai.”

But Serapia had a different view entirely.

“No matter what anyone says, he’s the rightful heir of the House of Whitewolf.”

She still called Adrian “older brother.”
She still protected him, saying he was her only family.
But Kai would not accept that.

“He is also the one who threatened Your Grace’s life. As your knight, I only fulfill my duty.”

“All the more reason you should choose your words carefully. The lord is not me—but my brother.”

Exactly.
Kai’s conviction hardened even more.

If that man returned and claimed his birthright…

And then—

Ding! Ding! Ding!

From the castle tower overlooking the area, a bell rang out.
The soldiers on the wall began moving in perfect unison—something had happened.

“S-Something terrible has happened!!”

As expected, a soldier came rushing in, breathless.
Panic written all over his face.

“L-Lord Adrian has returned to the County!”

From within Kai’s cold blue eyes—
A razor-sharp killing intent flared.

Translatin_Otaku

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