Debuff Master

“Haha… Hahaha…” King Longines the Third could not help but laugh in sheer disbelief, as the absurdity of the current situation had already broken off from what could be considered reasonable.

Could this truly be happening right now? How did things spiral into this madness?

The king of the smallest and most insignificant kingdom on the continent had just threatened the Bayerische Kingdom, an economic titan! Even a dog passing by on the streets would laugh at this situation, as it was just too ridiculous!

“You reckless fool. Do you truly believe that nothing in the world can harm you just because Emperor Stuttgart favors you?” King Longines the Third said, shaking his head slowly. His voice was filled with pity rather than anger as he gazed at Siegfried.s.

— Hmm?

“I may show you mercy if you return Avant and grovel before me with your forehead glued to the ground.”

The way he spoke had an air of haughtiness as if he were scolding a young child—like he was trying to make a child understand the consequences of their actions. His tone was not threatening at all. Instead, he sounded condescending and patient, just like a teacher indulging a foolish student.

“Have you ever considered the consequences of your recklessness? Tsk… How can someone so ignorant even call himself a king?”

— Oh? Really?

“Will it please you to see your lands razed and your capital burned to the ground? Will you revel in the sight of your people killed or enslaved?”

— Oh my…

“As a king, you have a responsibility to keep them—”

— Okay, boomer.

Siegfried interrupted King Longines the Third in a voice filled with contempt.

— Eww… It smells like an old man in here. I can’t stand this stench.

“What did you just say?”

— Instead of wasting your time and breath lecturing others, why don’t you clean up your own mess?

“You insolent brat! I was trying to offer you mercy, yet you insist on—!”

— Enough. Listen to me.

Siegfried interrupted him again.

— I’m not sending Avant back. And as for the Bavarian Workshop’s distribution network, we’re taking that. So, you might wanna wrap your head around that since I’ve given you a heads-up already.

“W-What did you just say?! You dare claim the workshop for yourself?! Ha!”

— You should be grateful this is all I’m taking, considering the crap your diplomats had spat on my face. I suggest you back down now while I’m being nice. You know, for your sake.

“Hahaha…! Bwahahaha!” King Longines the Third burst into laughter, but his laughter sounded far more sinister and icy compared to before.

— This is your final warning.

“It seems we have nothing more to discuss,” King Longines the Third said before signaling to his soldiers.”

“Men!”

“Yes, sire!”

“Prepare the army for immediate battle!”

“As you command, sire!”

“And send a formal declaration of war to the Proatine Kingdom. Inform the Marchioni Empire as well, and make it clear that Proatine had given us every justification to strike first!”

Siegfried found it unfair, but he knew that King Longines the Third was not entirely wrong. Yes, the Bayerische Kingdom had overstepped its diplomatic boundaries, but the kingdom hadn't gone as far as to invade a foreign kingdom and kidnap its people.

Siegfried's move was a clear and undeniable act of aggression, and even the Marchioni Empire wouldn't be able to defend him.

King Longines the Third grinned smugly and scoffed, “Hmph! Do you see what you’ve done? Your poor judgment and rash actions will cause your kingdom's destruc—”

Before he could even finish talking, however, the communication channel was severed.

— Zzzt! Zzzt!

Siegfried had one-sidedly ended the call.

“T-That bastard! Get me Proatine again, now!” King Longines the Third roared.

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

“Hurry! Reconnect the line, quick!”

“Yes, sire!”

King Longines the Third was so furious that he barely managed to contain his rage as he barked orders at his men.

“Sire! The Proatine Kingdom is not responding!”

“Those dogs! Try again! Again!”

“It seems… they have severed the network to us, sire…”

“That damned Adventurer! That half a king dares to insult me?! What are you all standing around for?! Mobilize the army! I will personally go and crush that tiny kingdom with my own hands and trample their pathetic palace with my own feet! Call the council to convene at once!”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

And with that, King Longines resolved to invade the Proatine Kingdom without any further delay…

***

Meanwhile, Siegfried was dragging Avant, who was bound and gagged, to the construction site of the New Bavarian Workshop.

“What’s going on here…?”

Quandt rushed after hearing news of Siegfried’s arrival, but his gaze immediately fell on Avant, who was thrashing wildly on the ground. The sight was so shocking that Quandt almost dropped the hammer he was holding.

“Mmph! Mmmph!”

Avant desperately struggled against the rope binding him, and he even tried to shout through the gag.

“Here you go.”

“Your Majesty…”

“Why don’t you have a little family reunion?” Siegfried said nonchalantly before removing Avant’s gag.

“Quandt! You snake! You hired Adventurers to abduct me?! And you call yourself a dwarf?!” Avant screamed the moment the gag came off, his face red with rage.

“Haha…” Quandt laughed weakly.

“You’ve always been like this! You snaked your way and ousted me to take over the workshop! I knew you were scum since we were young! Do you not fear the wrath of the gods?!”

Avant’s sheer audacity could only be described as "astounding." He had already been caught red-handed with his dirty tricks yet he was calling Quandt names for something far less than he would usually do.

“You’re still the same as ever, brother,” Quandt muttered with a sigh.

“What did you say?!”

“Let’s set the record straight. I didn’t take the workshop from you. You got kicked out after crafting all kinds of evil artifacts using forbidden methods.”

“Shut up! You’re the one that ratted me out to the elders! I know what you did!”

“Ratter you out? Nobody needed to rat you out! You were buying materials for demonic weapons without even trying to hide your traces! Do you really think nobody noticed?!”

“T-That was—!”

“Don’t even get me started. And what did you do after you forced me and the other veteran blacksmiths out? You did that ridiculous clearance sale and destroyed the reputation that our workshop has built over centuries!”

“Shut up! I was getting rid of the garbage all of you incompetent losers had crafted!”

“Garbage? Fine, let’s say they were garbage. But you could’ve released them to the market slowly, couldn't you? Because of your actions, our brand’s reputation is in the gutters! How do you plan on fixing that?!”

“You know nothing, fool! You talk about the workshop as if you care about it, yet you crafted those garbage artifacts! You don’t know the true spirit of the Bavarian Workshop!”

“The spirit of the workshop? Sure, it’s about crafting deadly artifacts. But it was never about crafting artifacts of mass slaughter!”

“What?!”

“You craft artifacts that kill without distinction! Enemies, civilians, it doesn't matter to you, does it?! How can you call that the spirit of our workshop?!”

“Shut up! You know nothing!” Avant screamed, fuming with frustration.

However, Quandt no longer responded to him.

Instead, he turned to Siegfried and bowed and said, “I am ashamed to stand before Your Majesty and show something so unsightly."

“There’s no need to apologize. It’s fine,” Siegfried replied.

“Frankly speaking, I would like to ask you to execute him, but—”

“Quandt! You damn snake!” Avant roared and lunged at Quandt.

Bam!

Siegfried swung his +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp, knocking Avant out cold with a single blow but not enough to kill him.

Avant collapsed to the ground, completely unconscious.

“What should we do with him?” Siegfried asked.

“As much as I despise him… He’s still my brother, the only family I have left in this world…”

“Hmm…”

“Please, Your Majesty. I beg of you… Please show him mercy and spare him…”

“Mercy?”

“I beg of you to spare his life at least.”

Quandt had every reason and right to demand his brother’s death, but instead, he knelt before Siegfried and begged for Avant to be spared.

“Oh, come on. There’s no need for this. You don’t have to beg.”

“Please, sire…”

“Fine, fine. I won’t kill him. I’ll just lock him up in a cell, but I’ll make sure it’s nice and cozy. How does that sound?”

Siegfried decided to show mercy even though he was not that fond of Avant. The only reason that he granted mercy was that Quandt was far too valuable to alienate. He was essential to rebuilding the Bavarian Workshop in the Proatine Kingdom, which was bound to be one of the economic pillars of the kingdom.

Besides, Quandt’s request was not that difficult for Siegfried to grant compared to what he stood to gain from granting it.

“It’s settled then.”

“You have my deepest gratitude, Your Majesty.”

“Alright, I’ll be going somewhere, so please feel free to continue what you were doing,” Siegfried said, turning to leave.

“Your Majesty! Where are you headed in such a hurry?” Quandt called after him.

Siegfried looked back and flashed a grin before shouting back, “To war!”

His next destination was none other than the battlefield.

***

On that same night, an emergency meeting was convened in the Bayerische Kingdom. They were discussing the invasion of the Proatine Kingdom, and none of the officials or military officers in the meeting were particularly worried.

Why would they be worried? They acknowledged that Siegfried van Proa was a formidable Adventurer and the hero who had once saved the world, but their opinion of the Proatine Kingdom’s military was far less generous.

To put it bluntly, the Proatine Kingdom was the weakest of the weak.

Even though the kingdom had recently expanded after absorbing the Espadrille Province, it was still nothing more than a small tiny kingdom.

“We should first secure air superiority with our fleet. That will force the enemy into their fortresses, and we will siege them down one by one after.”

“That sounds like a reasonable plan.”

“Well, their army is nothing more than a bunch of peasants dressed up in armor and twigs they repurposed into spears.”

“How about a three-pronged attack? We can surround and annihilate them that way.”

The Bayerische Kingdom’s generals only talked about one thing, and that was to attack.

What about defense? The mere idea of discussing defending was a joke. A small and weak kingdom like the Proatine Kingdom would never even dream of invading the Bayerische Kingdom.

Thus, the generals continued to discuss their strategy while never once considering the possibility of having to defend.

By dawn, they had already finished their discussion and agreed on a strategy.

“Alright, I think that covers everything.”

“Yes, this is, without a doubt, a solid plan.”

“Well then, it’s late already, so why don’t we all go get some rest?”

“Great job, everyone.”

“Is anyone up for a drink before bed? Strangely enough, I’m too pumped to sleep.”

The generals were satisfied with their work, so they decided to end the meeting and disperse.

About an hour later, however…

“Emergency! Emergency!”

“The Proatine army has captured five of our fortresses and is advancing south!”

“Alert! Alert!”

The Bayerische Kingdom’s command center was thrown into chaos.

The Supreme Commander of the Bayerische Forces, General Oris, burst into the command center, shouting at his aide, “What’s going on?!”

“Sir!”

“What’s this nonsense?! The Proatine Kingdom is attacking us? That’s impossible!”

“But the reports are true, sir! The front lines have already been breached!”

“What?!”

“We have lost all of our key strategic points!”

“Bring me a map! Now!”

General Oris grabbed the map from his aide and traced the positions of the captured fortresses. Then, his face went pale as he muttered, “Oh no…”

The situation could only be described as "catastrophic." The border had long since fallen and the Proatine Forces had already seized all three major strategic points leading to Glashutte, the Bayerische Kingdom’s capital.

The Proatine Kingdom had struck first while the Bayerische generals were busy planning their strategy.

“T-This is absurd…” General Oris muttered. Then, a thought hit him as he gasped, “Could it be…?!”

A chill traveled down his spine the moment he realized that the Proatine Kingdom had been preparing for this invasion all along. That was the only way they could have launched such a surprise attack right away, even though war had just been declared.

“Quickly! We must stop them!” General Oris shouted. Then, he said, “Keep an eye on things and report to me immediately if something happens! I must see His Majesty immediately!”

General Oris bolted from the command center and rushed to request an audience with King Longines the Third.

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