The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - LLD Chapter 75: Lawless City (1) (Part 1)

Predator Merchant Group.

It was a name unfamiliar to most, but Isolde remembered it.

A newly formed merchant group specializing in the distribution of monster meat.
And for some reason, the name of its leader had left a deep impression in Isolde’s memory.

“You mean Adrian Whitewolf?”

“Yes. They say he wore a mask the moment he entered the Lawless City, but before that, his face and black hair were clearly confirmed.”

Black hair—rare on the continent.
The chance of this being false information was slim.

“Have we figured out why he’s in the Lawless City?”

“That part couldn’t be confirmed, but…”

The Lawless City—where even the minimum laws and order had collapsed.

The term “Free City” was a joke; the Lawless City was a cesspool of evil.
A dead city that no one would willingly step foot in.

If it were a trade expedition, it made even less sense.
No merchant dared come here. The Lawless City was riddled with crime and chaos—traders often got completely robbed.
No merchant group on the continent even considered coming here for business.

And yet, if there was a group frequenting that place—

“I suspect he may be affiliated with the Dark Merchant Group.”

The Dark Merchant Group.
They were the only ones who moved in and out of the Lawless City.

To be precise, the Lawless City was one of their major bases.

“Given how drastically Adrian’s behavior has changed lately…”

The attendant priest took a deep breath and cautiously added,

“I believe one of the members of the Dark Merchant Group may have taken over Adrian’s body and is now controlling him.”

At this point, it was more than speculation—it was bordering on certainty.
After all, this was a well-known, despicable tactic frequently used by the Dark Merchant Group.

“What should we do?”

The priest’s question lingered.

Isolde’s long lashes drooped slightly.

A moment of silence.

“Tell the Eye of the Pilgrim to keep observing. Do not act.”

“Understood.”

The priest bowed deeply and exited the chapel.
As the chapel door slowly closed, the flames of the candles on the wall flickered faintly.

“Adrian Whitewolf…”

For some reason, she found herself repeating that name again.

Isolde reached out and pressed one side of the altar. Several patterns began to rise on its surface.
She pushed one specific pattern—

Rumble…!

The heavy altar began to move, revealing a slowly opening hidden entrance.

Lawless City, Baoless.

The moment I stepped into the Lawless City, I pulled out a full-face mask from my inventory and put it on.
Black hair wasn’t common on the continent, so I had brought a mask that even covered my head.

Along with that, I switched to the title .
Baoless wasn’t located in the northern region, so the title wouldn’t have any effect here.

After confirming that the mask was properly equipped and the title change applied—

I proceeded deeper into Baoless.
Once I passed through the narrow and entangled alleyways—

I was greeted by a landscape of haphazard wooden buildings stacked in chaotic disarray.

Creaking noises echoed from every corner, and the air was thick with dust.
In one part of the street, random items were piled up, drawing a crowd.

It was one form of market in Baoless.
The displayed items were magical herbs with unclear effects, mysterious relics of unknown origin, or even rotting food that looked like it had been stolen from somewhere.

In the streets, there were people staggering around, high on drugs.
Others were bleeding and sprawled on the ground, possibly victims of faction fights.
Still others were hiding their bodies deep in alleyways.

‘What a mess.’

Put crudely, it was absolute madness.

‘Compared to the chaos during the Coalition War, this is tame.’

Back then, not even the hardiest lifeforms could survive.
Even if Baoless was squalid, it didn’t compare.

Maybe, just maybe, it was worse than the Count’s Territory where bitter cold never ceased.

‘I guess the Whitewolf County is slightly better.’

It was marginally more livable.

At least there, the main concerns were cold and hunger.
Baoless was plagued by a war of all against all.

‘Hard to believe this was once a Marquessate.’

In fact, Baoless used to be a Marquessate.
It wasn’t a Free City—it was a proper Territory bestowed by a Monarch to a Lord.

But the Marquess must’ve been greedy.

When the citizens rose in revolt, the Marquess hired mercenaries to suppress them.
And as the saying goes, a dog’s nature doesn’t change—
he didn’t compensate the returning mercenaries in any way.

Suddenly, the now-unpaid mercenaries found themselves stranded.
Having reached their limit, they killed the Marquess, occupied the land, built unauthorized homes, and formed a village.

When the kingdom heard of it, the Monarch dispatched troops immediately,
but the battle-hardened mercenaries weren’t easily subdued.

Eventually, the kingdom gave up trying to reclaim the territory.

Time passed.

Exiles, criminals, and refugees from multiple kingdoms began flocking in.
Wanderers and beggars followed, and what formed was a self-sustaining city.

Thus was born—

Baoless, the Lawless City.

Today, it’s a chaotic city crawling with criminals.
Die here, and your corpse might not even be found.

Even the kingdom lacks the power to help someone escape once they enter.
It’s a city where brutal violence and crime are guaranteed.

Even adventurers avoid it. It’s long been classified as a No-Go Zone.

In other words—noble or royal, it didn’t matter.
The moment you stepped in, it was like shouting, “Please kill me!”

In fact, just looking noble or royal made you a target.

Just like now—

Swish—!

A man brushed past me and, crudely put, tried to stab me.

The distance was too close to avoid.

A few days ago, I wouldn’t have been able to.

But not anymore.

241 days of training in the Infinite Labyrinth—
and the +21 stat points from clearing the quest.

All of it had gone into Agility.

My reaction speed had now reached under 10ms.

To be honest, I didn’t even need to dodge.
But there was no reason to take the hit either.

If the blade was poisoned, even [Regeneration B+] might not be enough to recover.

With a reflexive twist of my body, I dodged the stab and raised [Dragon’s Claw A], tearing into the man’s shoulder—

“Gyaaaaaah—!”

Screams rang out. Blood splattered in every direction.

All eyes snapped toward me.
I doubted he was the only one.

But among the approaching crowd, I couldn’t tell who was who.

Still, my senses—now bordering on ESP—picked up the faint killing intent.

Three in front.
Two approaching from the left alley.
One circling from behind.

Translatin_Otaku

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