The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - LLD Chapter 90: The Stirring Continent (1) (Part 1)

In the trading city of Caravana, one could hear about incidents and accidents occurring across the entire continent.

And many of them were downright bizarre.

For instance, the Siren was a mermaid monster with the upper body of a beautiful woman and the lower half of a fish.

Sirens reproduced by kidnapping human men—and yet, there was a case of a man who deliberately let himself be seduced and captured by one.

Only to find out that, being a fish, the siren reproduced via external fertilization.

In the end, the man never got what he wanted and simply died after being repeatedly “squeezed dry.”

Truly absurd, unbelievable, and ludicrous events—stories so outlandish they’d be laughed off even in fiction—constantly poured in from all corners of the continent.

And since people in Caravana were exposed to such things regularly, it took a lot to shock them.

Which is why, lately, only one rumor had managed to stir the city:

Monster meat.

Monster meat distributed from the commercial city of Frecce.

Its ecstatic flavor had left the entire city of Caravana buzzing—no, outright giddy.

Caravana, after all, was a free city specialized in trade.

As a central hub for interaction with outside regions, material circulation, and the trade network, Caravana was always the first to catch wind of new trends.

Which meant that when something stirred Caravana, it usually meant the entire continent would follow.

Thus, the rumor of monster meat had now spread continent-wide.

—

“What…? Baoless disappeared?!”

The claim that Baoless had vanished from the map was even more shocking than the monster meat.

“What kind of bullshit is that?”
“At least make your lies sound believable.”

Unsurprisingly, most people didn’t believe it at first.

And who could blame them? Just what kind of city was Baoless?

It was a breeding ground for criminals that roamed the entire continent.

If Langrid Magic Tower was the cradle of mages, then Baoless was the cradle of criminals.

It was no exaggeration to say that every criminal across the continent had once come out of Baoless.

In fact, crimes like kidnapping and murder that occurred across various kingdoms were often orchestrated from within Baoless.

Illegal weapons, drugs, and cursed artifacts—many of them were trafficked across the continent through Baoless.

It was a city with deep, continent-wide issues.

And yet… it had been left alone.

More precisely, there were reasons it had to be left alone.

“You’d need more than your average military force to bring down Baoless, wouldn’t you?”

First off, Baoless was a lawless city that even a kingdom’s army couldn’t tame.

A free city without a ruling Monarch or Lord, where the only real authority was brute strength.

In other words, the Vister groups’ combat power was overwhelming.

Subduing Baoless would require an enormous consumption of both military force and resources.

“Wasn’t it a few years ago? Even the Principality of Illure mobilized its army and got totally wrecked.”

The cost in manpower and resources had been devastating.

Even with a principality’s military strength, it was impossible to handle.

Who would dare draw their sword first, knowing they’d take such losses?

“I also heard rumors that Baoless had connections with noble bureaucrats from various kingdoms behind the scenes.”

So Baoless wasn’t just untouchable militarily—it was also shielded politically.

“It’s really gone?”
“We’ve confirmed it multiple times. Baoless truly no longer exists.”
“Good heavens…”

That was the true reason why the entire city of Caravana was in an uproar.

And the reasons for Baoless being left alone weren’t only military and political.

“Then what about the people who were living in Baoless?”

Baoless was a lawless city, but not every person who lived there was a criminal.

There were exiles and fugitives from kingdoms.

Impoverished people who had nowhere else to go.

Slaves who’d been kidnapped and sold there.

Even people who had simply been born in Baoless.

It was still a city where people lived.

Erasing Baoless from the map meant taking full responsibility for all of those people.

To abandon them would be no different from throwing tens of thousands of lives into certain death.

“It would cost a fortune to resettle all those people…”

That was the core reason Baoless had been left alone.

And also the inescapable reality behind it.

“I heard they’re providing new settlements for the poor people of Baoless.”
“W-what? Is that for real?!”
“Yes. I even heard that those with places to return to—like slaves—are being generously supported to get back home.”
“My god…”

For the entire city of Caravana to be in shock was no surprise.

And when Caravana is shocked—

“Hey, what are you all going on about?”
“Yeah, let us in on it too.”

—merchants and adventurers from all over the kingdoms caught wind of it—

“W-what?!”
“That’s real?!”

—which meant the rumor spread rapidly across the entire continent—

“W-what is this!!”
“You’re saying that’s true?!”
“Unbelievable!!”

—the entire continent was now in an uproar.

And naturally, a single question rose to the surface:

“W-who was it?!”
“Who the hell pulled this off?!”

Who was the one who had erased Baoless from the continent’s map?

* * *

“Ah, and one final request,” said Adrian suddenly.

Just as Isolde’s mind snapped back from her brief reflection.

“Could you publicly announce that the Baoless incident was resolved by you and the Holy Kingdom?”
“…You want your name left out of it?”
“That’s correct.”

“Why?”

This was the one thing she simply couldn’t understand.
More accurately—couldn’t accept.

Toppling Baoless wasn’t just impressive. It was monumental.
He had resolved a problem no kingdom had managed to solve. That alone made it a historic achievement.

Thanks to this, Adrian had shaken off the disgraceful label of a troublemaker in one fell swoop.
Beyond that, it was an immense honor that could spread his name across the entire continent.

Most of all, it was a feat he had accomplished practically alone.
Frankly, it would only be right to exclude Isolde’s name from the equation.

And yet, he was voluntarily giving up such an opportunity? Such glory?

Isolde simply couldn’t understand—or accept it.

“Because information gets severely distorted by even a single hole.”

“You mean… you don’t want to reveal your identity?”

“That’s right.”

“Why?”

She asked the same question again.
And Adrian answered with an impassive face and voice.

“I’m someone who carries out missions that aren’t meant to be recorded.”

That answer came with a tone far too familiar with this kind of treatment.
As if it were only natural.

“As always, glory isn’t meant for me.”

As if to say the one who basked in glory… was Isolde.

“I simply hide in the moonlight, doing unspeakable things, and dream of walking under the starlight.”

A man who hides in moonlight, dreaming of walking under the stars.

With those final words, Adrian slowly disappeared into the shadows of Baoless.

And yet… why was it?

Even after his voice faded,
Even after his figure vanished—

“……”

A trace of Adrian was etched deeply into Isolde’s heart.

“I heard the Saintess of the Holy Kingdom personally stepped in to resolve the issue!”

The one who erased Baoless—Isolde Cordelia.
A miracle once deemed impossible had now become known as nothing short of a saintly miracle.

“The Saintess herself…?”
“My goodness…!”

Throughout the entire city of Caravana, Isolde’s name resounded endlessly.
And that name continued to spread—across kingdoms, across the entire continent.

“I heard the Saintess herself neutralized the Visters of Baoless and gave the poor a new lease on life.”
“I heard the same thing. I could hardly believe it at first…”
“Ah, didn’t you say you visited Baoless once?”
“Don’t even talk about it. That place is hell—a gathering of every vice in the world.”

The people of the continent began to sing Isolde’s praises without end.

“To think she truly brought order to that hell…”
“It proves that divine grace exists—and that the Saintess is its true vessel!”
“I even heard the Saintess moved the Holy Kingdom itself to provide relief supplies, without holding back!”

Now—

The name Isolde wasn’t just known in the Holy Kingdom.
She had become a symbol of hope and salvation across the entire continent.

“Glory to the Saintess!!”
“The only light we can follow!!”

Isolde’s presence spread like a legend, stirring the hearts of all across the land.

Translatin_Otaku