Debuff Master

Thud…!

King Longines the Third collapsed onto the table with a gaping hole in his face.

“That bastard sure was loud,” Siegfried grumbled disdainfully. Then, he scratched the side of his head with the smoking barrel of his gun while his eyes remained locked on King Longines the Third’s corpse. He gazed down at the corpse and grumbled, “Did he have to make me the villain here?”

It was then.

“You treacherous swine!”

“You animal!”

“Do you think you can get away with this?!”

“I’ll kill you for this!”

The officials of the Bayerische Kingdom screamed in fury; their voices filled with rage were aimed at Siegfried.

“You guys can go fuck off, too,” Siegfried said icily.

He threw the ice shurikens from the Blood Frost Orb at the Bayerische officials.

Shwiiiik!

The Torrential Flower Rain raged and pierced their vitals with pinpoint precision.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

One after another, the officials collapsed lifelessly to the floor.

“What happened?! Are you alright, hyung-nim?!”

“Owner punk! What’s happening?! Kyuuu!”

“Your Majesty!”

Seung-Gu, Hamchi, and Carrell came rushing into the room after being alerted by the commotion they heard.

However, the sight before them left them utterly speechless.

“W-What?! Kyuuuu! Did you lose it and end up doing this?!” Hamchi exclaimed, his eyes wide from shock.

“Hyung-nim… I think you went too far even if you were mad…” Seung-Gu muttered carefully.

“What in the world happened here, Your Majesty?” Carrell asked, looking bewildered.

They thought Siegfried had lost his temper during the negotiations and caused this irreversible catastrophe, but he simply shook his head in response.

Then, he said, “No, it’s not like that. What happened was—”

It was then.

“What have you done?!”

“Don’t you fear the heavens?!”

“Kill him!”

The Bayerische Knights rushed into the room and cried out after seeing the sight in front of them. Seeing their own dead in front of their eyes caused them to be both shocked and enraged, which eventually made them charge toward Siegfried and his comrades. ᚱÁꞐȪᛒƐṥ

“Ugh… Could everyone just shut up for a second?” Siegfried grumbled, sounding irritated.

Shwiiik!

He swung his +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp and eliminated all of the charging knights in the blink of an eye.

“...”

Hamchi, Seung-Gu, and Carrell stood there, dumbfounded by what they were witnessing, staring at Siegfried and hoping to get an explanation from him.

“Let me explain,” Siegfried proceeded to explain what happened during the negotiations.

“What?! No way! Kyuuu!”

“Wait, what?”

“Oh my god…”

They were shocked to hear that the Zavala Kingdom had declared war against the Proatine Kingdom.

“And to make things worse, that guy over there tore up the treaty and started running his mouth,” Siegfried grumbled, pointing at King Longines the Third’s corpse. Then, he added, “So yeah, I got pissed. There’s no way I could let him live after that when he has been provoking me for weeks now.”

This was the reason he made the decision to kill King Longines the Third.

The Zavala Kingdom’s declaration of war meant that time was running out for the Proatine Kingdom, so Siegfried seized the moment to wipe out King Longines the Third and his officials in a bid to temporarily cripple the Bayerische Kingdom’s command structure.

As the group was busy gathering their thoughts…

The knight captain of the Hoyer Kingdom stormed in and shouted, “W-What is the meaning of this?!”

“Your Majesty! What have you done?! We offered you our kingdom as a meeting place, yet you have turned it into a slaughterhouse!”

Siegfried bowed his head at a perfect and sharp ninety degrees and said in a genuinely regretful tone, “I deeply apologize for causing such a disturbance. I’m aware that what I’ve done is inhumane, but the circumstances left me with no other choice.”

“But this is…”

“I’ll personally apologize to your king at a late time.”

Siegfried had a personal connection with King Tag the Second, the King of the Hoyer Kingdom. He was one of the monarchs Siegfried had saved during the terrorist incident during the World Peace Conference, which was why the Hoyer Kingdom readily offered its capital city as the venue for the truce negotiations.

“But I’m in a bit of a hurry right now, so may I leave?” Siegfried asked.

“Certainly, Your Majesty,” the knight captain replied, opening the way for him.

After all, the Hoyer Kingdom was merely a third party in this conflict, so they had no obligations to arrest him whatsoever.

“Thank you,” Siegfried said with a brief nod before quickly departing from the Hoyer Kingdom with his comrades.

***

While Siegfried was busy killing King Longines the Third and his officials in a fit of rage—

Beep! Beep! Beep!

—Alarms were blaring throughout the headquarters of the Guardians, which was floating somewhere in the skies over the Nürburg Continent.

— Anomalous energy detected!

— Eye of Behemoth has spotted an unusual energy signature!

— The energy signature matches that of the Soul Fragment of Apocalius!

Cheon Woo-Jin rushed to the command center after hearing the broadcasted message.

At long last, the final soul fragment, which seemed to have vanished from the continent, has finally appeared.

“Have you located where the soul fragment is?”

“Yes, sir!”

“Where is it?”

“The coordinates are…”

The operator checked the magical crystal orb to verify the location of the soul fragment. Then, they reported what they found to Cheon Woo-Jin. “The energy signature is coming from Feiogh!”

“Feiogh… isn’t that…?” Cheon Woo-Jin wracked his brain for a moment, trying to recall where that place was. Then, he asked, “Isn’t that the capital of the Zavala Kingdom?”

“Yes, it is, sir! We have detected a single energy signature coming from Feiogh!”

“...!”

“It disappeared moments later, but we are certain. The final soul fragment was in the capital of the Zavala Kingdom just moments ago.”

“Move the Heaven’s Eye to Feiogh immediately!”

“Yes, sir!”

Cheon Woo-Jin hurried off to find Immortal Alchemist Acheron to deliver the news.

Acheron was in her lab on the fourth basement level of the Heaven’s Eye, and she was engrossed in researching the Homunculus Project, a program aimed at transforming the Guardians into enhanced beings.

“Did something happen?” Acheron asked Cheon Woo-Jin.

“I bring good news,” Cheon Woo-Jin replied.

“What kind of good news?”

“We have located the final soul fragment.”

“Ah, is that so?”

“Yes, Acheron.”

“Good. Such a dangerous object shouldn’t exist in this world.”

“You’re right.”

“I’ve been struggling to control the Fated Censer lately, so this is perfect timing. Go and retrieve the final soul fragment so we can end this once and for all.”

“I’ll do everything in my power to ensure we get it back.”

“I have no doubt that you will,” Acheron said with a smile.

“Thank you,” Cheon Woo-Jin replied with a nod.

“By the way, how is the investigation into that sinister cult going?” Acheron asked.

It seemed she was curious about what the Church of Osric was doing. After all, she had joined the Guardians precisely due to the threat they posed to her, so her interest was understandable.

“Well… I wish I had something to tell you, but so far, we’ve got nothing. I’m really sorry,” Cheon Woo-Jin replied with an awkward smile.

“No need to apologize,” Acheron said, shaking her head. Then, she added, “An organization that the world has not even heard of is probably exceptionally good at hiding their tracks.”

“But…”

“It’s alright. I am an immortal being, so I can wait.”

“Acheron…”

“Well, I’d like to get back to my research now.”

With that, Acheron returned to her documents and became fully engrossed in the Homunculus Project once again.

***

Siegfried and his companions returned to the Proatine Kingdom immediately after leaving the Hoyer Kingdom. Upon their arrival, Michele hurriedly convened a royal assembly, summoning all important ministers and officials of the kingdom.

“What’s the current situation?” Siegfried asked as soon as the meeting convened.

The head of the Proatine Kingdom’s intelligence department, Ninetail, promptly responded.

“The Zavala Kingdom has mobilized four legions near the border.”

“Their numbers?”

“We estimate around five hundred thousand troops.”

“...!”

The faces of the officials turned ghastly pale.

Half a million troops was a number the Proatine Kingdom could never face alone.

And to make matters worse, the Proatine Kingdom was already at war with the Bayerische Kingdom. It was truly lucky that they had not been invaded by the Zavala Kingdom while their backs were vulnerable, but the situation was, without a doubt, dire.

A small kingdom like the Proatine Kingdom being forced to fight two wars on two fronts was nothing short of a death sentence.

Siegfried gritted his teeth and clenched his jaw in silence. The worst-case scenario was unfolding before him, and all the effort he poured into building the Proatine Kingdom would be obliterated in the blink of an eye if things went wrong.

“For now… Withdraw most of the troops stationed on the Bayerische front. Leave only the minimum number of troops required to defend the lands we occupied. Have our forces get into defensive positions the moment they return.”

“As you command, Your Majesty,” Oscar replied with a bow.

“Let the entire military prepare for battle. We need to be ready for this crisis,” Siegfried said. Then, he added, “As for me… I’ll go rally our allies.”

With that, he hurriedly left the hall. The Proatine Kingdom desperately needed allies willing to stand with them against the Zavala Kingdom’s impending invasion.

‘Where should I start…?’ Siegfried wondered about his first destination while rushing through the corridor.

Bam!

He suddenly collided with someone around the corner, sending them both stumbling to the carpeted floor.

“Ouch! Hey! What are you doing here?!”

“What are you doing here?”

Siegfried and Cheon Woo-Jin grumbled at each other while rubbing their backsides.

“Where are you rushing off to?” Cheon Woo-Jin asked.

“Don’t talk to me. I’m really busy right now,” Siegfried grumbled in response.

“Did something happen?”

“Move.”

“Hey, what’s going on?”

“I said move! I don’t have time to waste with you!”

“What the? Hey, do you think I came to chit-chat with you?”

“Then what are you here for?”

“We located the final soul fragment—”

“Get someone else to do it. I don’t have the time or energy to deal with that right now,” Siegfried cut him off.

Cheon Woo-Jin was the Quest Maker, so there were plenty of other skilled Adventurers he could assign the quest to, even without Siegfried. A good example was Beowulf, who was currently ranked number one in BNW.

“Huh?”

“I’ve got bigger problems to deal with right now.”

“Why are you so worked up? What happened?”

“The Zavala Kingdom is preparing to invade. We’re in a state of emergency. That quest has to—”

“Oh? It’s been detected in Freiogh, the Zavala Kingdom’s capital city.”

“What?! The Zavala Kingdom’s capital?!” Siegfried was stunned by Cheon Woo-Jin’s words.

“Yeah.”

“Argh!”

Siegfried’s face twisted with frustration. Dealing with the Zavala Kingdom’s invasion was already bad enough, but now, he had to deal with the soul fragment on top of it. This series of unfortunate events was more than enough to make anyone explode with rage.

“This is driving me insane…”

“Haha…”

Siegfried’s situation was so bad that even Cheon Woo-Jin did not have the heart to tease him right now. His situation was so bad that anyone who heard about it would feel sick after.

“Don’t worry. We’ll help you.”

“Of course, you have to—”

It was then.

“Your Majesty! I’ve found it!” Quandt shouted, rushing toward him, completely out of breath.

“Huh?” Siegfried tilted his head in confusion.

“The objects you asked me to investigate!”

“Did I? I don’t remember–”

“The metallic objects Your Majesty brought back from the Arctic Pangea!”

“Ah!”

Siegfried finally remembered what Quandt was talking about. He had tasked him with analyzing the metal hoses and tanks used by the Church of Osric to inject the strange solution into Inkarthus’ body back at the Arctic Pangea.

“Yeah. Making those kinds of special stuff in large quantities will require a significant amount of money and technology. And being able to install them in this place without being detected by the Blanc Clan is another thing.”

“I thought the Church of Osric was just a bunch of cult-obsessed lunatics, but… I didn’t think they were capable of scheming something this grand. But to scheme something this big, they would require money, power, and influence at a national level, right?”

“The Church of Osric is definitely receiving backing from somewhere. It’s not some small random kingdom. I’m certain that it’s at least one of the established nations—no, it could even be one of the powerhouses on the continent.”

Siegfried had once speculated that the Church of Osric could be backed by one of the powerhouses on the continent.

“Did you finally figure it out?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“What’s the result?”

“After analyzing the composition of these things and tracing its supply chain… we’ve confirmed that these objects were manufactured in the Zavala Kingdom.”

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