Debuff Master

“Your Majesty! The Proatine Kingdom has declined our request to meet!”

“W-What? Aah… What are we going to do?”

King Longines the Third let out a deep sigh upon hearing the report.

“Refusing to meet means they have no intention of negotiating a truce!”

“Y-Yes, sire…” General Oris replied, sweating profusely out of nervousness. Then, he added, “The Proatine Kingdom shows no interest in negotiating… This can only mean they want to conquer our entire kingdom, even at the cost of some losses…!”

“What are we to do? What can we do?!” King Longines the Third asked frantically. His frantic outburst made it clear just how desperate their situation was, as the war had turned heavily against them.

They could hold out for at least a year if they were to keep defending, but the problem was that defending was all they could do at this point.

The Proatine forces had taken control of every strategic point, rendering the Bayerische Forces unable to counterattack.

To make matters worse, they were no different from being on borrowed time, as the Proatine Forces were slowly but steadily wearing them down. Their resources were depleting fast, and they were slowly but steadily losing troops.

The Bayerische Kingdom would inevitably lose this war of attrition. Thus, King Longines the Third sought to negotiate a ceasefire, but the Proatine Kingdom’s refusal made it clear that their dire situation was not going to get any better.

“Do we have any solutions for this matter?” King Longines asked, sounding troubled.

“Please do not lose heart, Your Majesty. Our army remains intact, and we are giving our all to defend our lands from the invaders. Please trust in your soldiers, sire,” General Oris urged.

“But look at our situation! It’s only a matter of time before the kingdom falls!”

“We will hold on, sire. We must endure, be it six months or a whole year! The one who stands till the end is the true victor! I implore you to stay strong, sire!”

“Fine, I understand. I will trust in you and our men to hold out,” King Longines the Third replied, his voice growing weak.

“It is a great honor to have Your Majesty’s trust. I swear on my life that I will defend our kingdom until my very last breath!” General Oris exclaimed, kneeling on one knee and bowing.

Meanwhile, elsewhere, Siegfried was on a call with Michele…

— Your Majesty, I have heard that the Bayerische Kingdom has proposed a truce?

“They did, but I rejected it. I plan to teach them a real lesson and show them who’s boss. I did good, right?”

— Are you out of your mind?

“H-Huh? W-What’s wrong? Shouldn’t we show them who’s the new top dog in this town?” Siegfried asked, taken aback by Michele’s sharp tone.

— Do you even understand the current situation?

“...What?”

— The Marchioni Empire has sent us an official message.

“Oh? What did they say?”

— They say that they are in no position to protect us right now.

“What?!”

— While they will not be making any public announcements, that is their current stance on the matter.

“You mean…?”

— Yes, the Marchioni Empire is in deep trouble right now. It is looking so bad that they no longer have the resources to defend us or their other vassal states. ŖἁƝО𐌱Ęṩ

“That’s… a big problem…”

— It is not simply a big problem. This is a disaster. The entire continent is on the brink of major upheaval. Of course, things could just end without much happening, but as of now, this is indeed a disaster.

“So what you mean is… we should tread carefully from now on?”

— Exactly. We have to be cautious of our neighboring kingdoms without the empire’s protection. More than ninety percent of our military has been committed to the war with the Bayerische Kingdom, and we are relying on the Marchioni Empire’s protection against anyone plotting to invade us while we are busy.

“Yeah.”

— But if anyone were to attack us in this state…

“We’d be easy pickings.”

If what they feared truly happened, then the Proatine Kingdom could be obliterated in the blink of an eye.

— Your Majesty, given the current situation, I believe it would be wiser to enter into a truce. I do understand your desire to completely crush the Bayerische Kingdom, but now is not the time for that. It is simply too dangerous.

“Got it.”

Siegfried readily accepted Michele’s advice. After all, he was no stranger to seizing opportunities. He was probably one of the most opportunistic people on the continent, proven by his track record and titles.

In situations like this, he knew from experience that it was better to lie low than to make any reckless moves.

“Let’s consolidate our defenses around the territories we’ve taken and agree to the ceasefire.”

— That would be a wise decision, Your Majesty.

“Alright, let me know if anything else comes up.”

— Understood.

“Ugh…” Siegfried grumbled in frustration. He wanted to utterly crush the Bayerische Kingdom, but the situation took an unexpected turn, and he had no choice but to abandon his plans.

It was time to end the war.

“Messenger.”

“Yes, Your Majesty?”

“Send word to the Bayerische Kingdom. Tell them we are willing to negotiate for a truce.”

“As you command, sire.”

“Tsk…” Siegfried clicked his tongue in annoyance.

He had no other choice but to halt all of his plans for now.

***

Two days later, Siegfried sat across from King Longines the Third at a summit held in a neutral kingdom, the Kingdom of Hoyer. The atmosphere between the two leaders had drastically shifted compared to their last interaction.

“Ah! King Siegfried! What a pleasure to finally meet you in person!” King Longines the Third greeted with a big smile as though he was ready to offer his heart, soul, and body to Siegfried.

Surprisingly, he was even the one to first extend his hand for a handshake. Despite his warm facade, King Longines the Third was busy trying to suppress how he really felt.

‘Damn it… To think I have to bow to this wretched brat! A mere Adventurer! This is a disgrace! A humiliation that will haunt me for the rest of my life! Just you wait, you little brat. I will repay today’s humiliation tenfold!’

He was gnashing his teeth inwardly, but he somehow managed to continue smiling, doing his best to look as gracious as possible.

“Ah, you must be tired from your long journey. Would you care for some tea?” King Longines the Third offered.

Siegfried gazed at King Longines the Third, looking unimpressed, “You seem different. I think you were hurling insults at me just a couple of weeks ago, no?”

“T-That was…! Hahaha! I’ll admit, I may have gone a little overboard that time. You see, I have a bit of a temper, but please don’t take it to heart, King Siegfried! I just lost my cool for a moment, nothing more!” King Longines the Third replied, letting out an awkward laugh with sweat trickling down his face.

“Really? You seemed really into it that time,” Siegfried said with a shrug.

“N-No! Nothing of that sort! I swear it was just a lapse in judgment, nothing more! Haha!” King Longines the Third hurriedly replied, trying to laugh the matter off once again.

“If you say so,” Siegfried replied, sounding uninterested. Both of them took their seats, which signaled the start of the negotiations. The negotiations were straightforward. They would agree to a ceasefire with minimal concessions from both sides.

“I won’t ask for any war reparations,” Siegfried said.

“W-What?! Really?!” King Longines the Third exclaimed, his eyes wide open from shock. He had been mentally preparing himself for the crushing sum that would be demanded in exchange for the truce, but he did not expect Siegfried to offer his olive branch.

“Of course,” Siegfried confirmed with a shrug.

“If that’s the case, then you have my utmost gratitude, King Siegfried,” King Longines the Third said, sounding relieved.

“But I have one condition,” Siegfried added, his voice sounding firm.

“W-What would this condition be…?” King Longines the Third asked, the relief in his voice quickly evaporating.

“I want your crown prince as a hostage.”

“...What?”

“Only then can we both trust this truce will last,” Siegfried said, his words sounding as sharp as a blade.

King Longines the Third hesitated. He had only one son, his heir and the crown prince of the Bayerische Kingdom. Sending his son as a hostage would jeopardize the kingdom’s future, and he knew that very well.

“I’m sure you understand why I’m demanding this, right? A truce without any real guarantees? You could turn on me at any time, so a hostage is the only way to secure peace.”

“King Siegfried, you must understand…! I have only one son! Sending him to your kingdom as a hostage is too much to ask!”

“Really?” Siegfried said. Then, he pulled out a set of documents and pretended to punch numbers into an imaginary calculator. “Let’s see what the war reparations will cost you, then…”

“W-Wait!” King Longines the Third exclaimed, panicking.

“What?”

“Please hear me out! There’s no need to rush! I believe you have a saying in your world that you must hear a person out until the very end, am I right?”

“So you have something else to say?”

“If we must do this, let us find a more reasonable solution.”

“No, send the crown prince. Do that, and we have a truce. Oh, and as for the distribution network of the Bavarian Workshop, we’ll be keeping those too.”

“Ughh…”

“Unless you’d rather pay with gold?”

“I… can’t… We don’t have enough gold for war reparations…” King Longines the Third admitted, sounding defeated.

The Bayerische Kingdom’s economy was in tatters after losing control of the Bavarian Workshop, so paying war reparations on top of that would serve as the final nail in the coffin of their economy.

“Oh well, I suppose we’ll just keep fighting if you can’t do either,” Siegfried said with a shrug.

“N-No…! We cannot continue the war…” King Longines the Third muttered weakly with downcast eyes. After a long moment of thinking, he finally conceded, “Fine, I will send my son as a hostage…”

In the end, King Longines the Third agreed to Siegfried’s demands and sent his son as a hostage to protect his own kingdom.

“Sigh here,” Siegfried said, handing him the treaty.

King Longines the Third reached for the document with trembling hands as his loyal generals and knights welled up in tears at the sight of their liege being humiliated before them.

It was then.

“Your Majesty! Urgent news!”

“Please stop! Sire!”

The messengers from both kingdoms burst into the room, and each rushed to whisper into the ears of their respective leaders.

The report left both men silent for at least thirty seconds.

Then, without any warning, King Longines the Third erupted into a boisterous peal of laughter. “Haha…! Hahaha… Bwahahaha!”

He snatched the treaty from Siegfried’s hands and tore it to shreds.

***

“What the hell are you doing?” Siegfried asked with narrowed eyes.

“You’re finished, you miserable brat! This is the end for you! Hahaha!” King Longines the Third roared, and his attitude changed completely.

The king, who was moments away from signing a humiliating peace treaty and sending his only son as a hostage, was now laughing triumphantly.

“Your Majesty? What is going on?”

“Sire?”

“Did something happen, my lord?”

The generals and knights were at an utter loss of what was happening.

“It’s over! We will be the victors in this war! Mark my words!” King Longines the Third declared triumphantly.

“But how…?” one of the generals asked, sounding baffled.

“Zavala Kingdom has declared war on that wretched brat’s pathetic kingdom! Hahaha! That’s right! The mighty Zavala Kingdom is invading that weakling’s kingdom! He’s doomed!”

Unfortunately, Siegfried’s worst fear had come true. The Zavala Kingdom had seized the opportunity created by the chaos within the Marchioni Empire and invaded the Proatine Kingdom.

Siegfried had already been informed of the invasion by his own messenger, so King Longines the Third’s sudden change of heart did not surprise him, but it did not mean he was not angered by it.

“Your reign of terror is over, you pathetic tyrant! The heavens have finally judged you, and now, you will face the punishment that you deserve!” King Longines the Third exclaimed with a smug grin.

Bang!

A gunshot echoed throughout the chamber, silencing King Longines the Third.

Siegfried’s +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp had transformed into a revolver, and there was smoke coming out of its barrel.

Meanwhile, there was a gaping hole in King Longines the Third’s face.

“...!”

The generals and officers of the Bayerische Kingdom stared in horror. Their king was sprawled out on the ground right in front of them upon getting shot from point-blank range.

Their king was dead, and none of them had imagined that this was how the negotiations would end.

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