Debuff Master

Chapter 537

Krwaaaang!

Splitting Heaven and Earth infused with light attribute energy flipped the world upside down and called forth lightning from the sky.

“Three! Two! One! Fire!”

Seung-Gu followed up by commanding his Iron Golems to unleash their cannons at the incoming group of undead monsters.

[Alert: You have obtained Experience Points!]

[Alert: You have obtained Experience Points!]

[Alert: You have obtained Experience Points!]

The thick cloud of black smoke kicked up by the cannon barrage made it difficult to see anything else aside from the string of messages that had popped up in front of their eyes. The firepower of Splitting Heaven and Earth combined with the Iron Golems’ cannons was so destructive that it completely decimated the group of undead monsters.

However, their problems were far from over; the next one came from above their heads.

“Kieeeeeek!”

“Kiyuuuuuu!”

The ruckus kicked up by Siegfried and Seung-Gu seemed to have attracted the aggro of the Bone Wyverns patrolling in the sky, causing them to dive straight down for them.

“Seung-Gu!”

“Yes! Hyung-nim!”

“Hide between the trees and shoot them down!”

“Roger!”

Siegfried looked down and said, “And you, Hamchi...”

“Kyu?”

“Hop on.”

“You want me to get on you? Kyu?”

“Yeah.

“Okay! Kyu!” Hamchi exclaimed and jumped up onto his shoulder.

Siegfried opened his Black Crow Wing Suit and bent his knees before jumping toward the sky.

Shwoooooosh!

He resembled a black crow flying up into the sky, and he came face to face with the Bone Wyverns.

“Kieeeeek!” one of the Bone Wyverns shrieked and darted toward him.

‘I should fly up.’

Siegfried had no plans to face them head-on. Instead, he flew higher than the Bone Wyvern before swooping down and landing on top of its skull.

What did he do next? It was obvious.

Bam!

He swung his +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp as hard as he could on the Bone Wyvern’s tough skull.

C-Crack!

A crack resembling a spider web formed on the Bone Wyvern's skull.

“Oh? This guy’s skull is tougher than I thought,” Siegfried grumbled. Then, he grabbed the horns of the Bone Wyvern and pulled it with all of his strength.

“Kieeeeek!” The Bone Wyvern shrieked and trashed, trying to get rid of the pesky human on its skull.

“If one blow is not enough, then I’ll just have to hit it until it breaks!” Siegfried grabbed the horn with his left hand and held his +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp with his right. Then, he used Machine Gun Smash and swung it as hard as he could at the Bone Wyvern’s skull.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

The Bone Wyvern’s skull was smashed into pieces before Machine Gun Smash was over.

Thud!

Siegfried kicked off of the crashing Bone Wyvern and flew up to the sky.

“Kieeeeek!”

Another Bone Wyvern seized the opening and swooped down at him—

“KYUUUUUUU!”

—But Hamchi shot the Bone Wyvern down with his laser beam.

Boom! Boom!

Seung-Gu’s Iron Golems shot their cannons at the crashing Bone Wyvern, preventing it from recovering during its fall.

Shwoooong...! Bam!

The Bone Wyvern couldn't attack even once before it was shot down and crashed into the ground, smashing into pieces.

“Nice shot!” Siegfried exclaimed and gave a thumbs-up before darting to his next target.

Thirty minutes later...

Thud!

The last Bone Wyvern crashed to the ground, and the battle finally ended.

“Great job, everyone!.”

The first thing Siegfried did as soon as he landed was praise Hamchi and Seung-Gu for their efforts.

“What should we do now, hyung-nim?” Seung-Gu asked.

“Hmm...” Siegfried pondered for a second. Then, he said, “More importantly...”

“Yes?”

“I think you’ll have to cancel your date today or delay it.”

“Eh?”

“I don’t think we can reconquer that fortress in an hour or two.”

“N-Noo...”

“Why don’t you log out first and go talk to your girlfriend? You might get into trouble if she thinks you stood her up to play games.”

“A-Alright... But what are you going to do now, hyung-nim?”

“Me? I’ll call for backup.”

“Okay.”

“See you later.”

“Yes, hyung-nim,” Seung-Gu said before logging out from the game.

The Bone Wyverns and undead monsters dropped marbles when they died, so Siegfried went to pick them up.

[Alert: You have obtained Black Otherworldly Essence!]

[Alert: You have obtained Black Otherworldly Essence!]

[Alert: You have obtained Black Otherworldly Essence!]

The undead monsters dropped items called Black Otherworldly Essence, which were the same kind of essence as the Green Otherworldly Essence dropped by the monsters at the Southern Great Jungle mutated by the Ignite Soul.

[Black Otherworldly Essence]

[A marble containing energy from another world.]

[Type: Energy Core]

[Rating: Unique]

[Note: N/A]

“Hmm... I wonder what I can craft with these?” Siegfried wondered while thinking that he should probably give Quandt a call.

***

Siegfried relayed the fact that the Axion Fortress was now under the control of the Ephedrine Kingdom’s undead legion and requested reinforcements. Then, he called the Bavarian Workshop and requested them to send their mobile smithy.

The mobile smithy arrived shortly afterward with Quandt leading it personally.

Siegfried exchanges short greetings with him before showing him the Black Otherworldly Essence dropped by the undead monsters.

“Hmm... This material has the same composition as the Ignite Soul...” Quandt muttered while closely inspecting the material.

“That is probably because they are fragments from the same thing,” Siegfried said,

“Possibly...”

Quandt inspected and analyzed the Black Otherworldly Essence for quite a while. Then, he finally looked up and said, “It will be easier to study this material compared to the Ignite Soul.”

“Oh? You don’t need me to collect samples?” Siegfried asked, slightly wary he was going to get another grindy sample collection quest.

“No, we already have more than enough data from the Ignite Soul, so we don’t need more samples.”

“That’s great news. But what property does this thing have?”

“Darkness. It possesses the dark attribute.”

“Hmm?”

“And it has strong resistance against light attribute.”

“Oh?”

“Any undead monster under the influence of this material will obtain strong resistance against light attribute and...” Quandt trailed off.

“And?”

“If you recall, you needed the Ignite Crystals to fight against those monsters under the influence of the Ignite Soul, right?”

“Yeah, that’s because I can’t get through their shields unless I use the same energy it's made out of.”

“It’s the same for this. You can’t win if you don’t possess the same energy this material holds. I believe you would be busy running away from those undead monsters if it wasn’t for the Ignite Emerald you possess.”

“Oh!”

Siegfried finally realized how the Undead Faction was able to win battle after battle one-sidedly. Everyone in his party possessed Ignite Crystals, so they easily defeated the undead monsters.

Unfortunately, the Kingdom Faction of the Ephedrine Kingdom weren't so fortunate, as they didn't possess any Ignite Crystals. They could deploy their strongest soldiers and use the best tactics known to the continent, but all of those would be to no avail if they could not deal any damage to their opponents.

To make things worse, the knights and soldiers who had fallen in battle came back to life as Skeleton Soldiers and attacked their former allies.

“So we will need people with this otherworldly energy to resolve this situation?” Siegfried asked.

“I believe so,” Quandt replied with a nod. Then, he added, “We will need people possessing the Void Crystals from the Northern Great Forest or the Ignite Crystals from the Southern Great Jungle to fight against these undead monsters.”

“We will need the Adventurers’ help then.”

Most of the people in possession of the Otherworldly Crystals were Adventurers. Thus, the result of this war was in the hands of the Adventurers.

“Can we craft crystals with these ones?” Siegfried asked, pointing at the Black Otherworldly Essences.

“Of course! But I don’t think these will empower the Adventurers like the Ignite Crystals did,” Quandt replied while rubbing his chin.

“Why so?”

“The nature of this essence is to amplify dark attribute energy. It's going to be useful for those handling dark attribute mana like black magicians or necromances, but it will be useless for others. I guess it could still be used to increase dark attribute resistance and destroy the monsters’ shields, but that's about it.”

“I see... And will it be possible to craft the crystals here in your mobile smithy?”

The reason Siegfried asked this was that he had to consider arming the Adventurers directly on the battlefield for this war.

“That won’t be difficult! You can count on our workshop to handle that for you!”

“Thank you.”

“Keke! No need for thanks between us!”

“Then we should...”

It was then.

Flash! Flash! Flash!

Dozens of magic circles appeared around Siegfried, and a massive group was teleported through them.

***

Meanwhile, letters were sent to all of the member nations of the World Peace Conference, and these letters shook the entire continent. These were official letters from the King of the Ephedrine Kingdom, King Stallone, containing his stand on the current ongoing conflict.

I, the Immortal Lord, Stallone,

Hereby declares to all of the rulers on the continent.

From this day forth, the Ephedrine Kingdom will no longer be a kingdom ruled by humans. It is now a paradise for all undead creatures... (omitted)

My citizens are not evil undead monsters but the evolution of mankind that overcame death and will... (omitted) and in accordance with international law, I hereby... (omitted)

I urge each and every one of you to set aside all prejudice and consider establishing diplomatic relations with us.

Furthermore, I hope that none of you would attack us without any justification, as that would be against the... (omitted)

The Ephedrine Kingdom is now composed only of the undead, so we no longer have any need for food, water, or supplies. In lieu of this, our kingdom will be sending gifts to each nation shortly and... (omitted)

The letter could be summarized into four major points.

1. The Ephedrine Kingdom has become an Undead Kingdom.

2. They weren't evil undead monsters but an evolved species of mankind that had overcome death.

3. They wish to live in harmony with humans and do not want to get attacked just because they are undead creatures.

4. They no longer need food or money, so they are willing to give them all away.

This was something unprecedented on the continent. The fact that a powerful kingdom had been overrun and conquered by undead monsters already came as a shock, but the fact that they reached out seeking peace came as an even greater shock.

Who would have imagined that undead monsters would send an official letter arguing for their rights using the laws of the continent?

This was the first time in the thousand years history of the continent that such a thing was happening!

Thus, the rulers of the nations on the continent were so shocked that none of them could send a reply.

However, what truly made it difficult for them to send a response was the last point of the letter. The Ephedrine Kingdom was a mighty kingdom and such a kingdom would without a doubt possess massive gold, food, and supplies.

However, they were willing to give away all of that to the other kingdoms? That point alone was more than enough to make anyone think twice before saying anything.

Meanwhile, Siegfried was reading the letter while waiting at the outskirts of the Axion Fortress.

“Hmm... He’s quite smart. I didn’t expect an undead monster to come up with something like this.”

He was really impressed by the strategy King Stallone came up with. Most undead monsters would do something stupid along the lines of “Hahaha! I will conquer the world! Bow before me!” and wage war against the world.

Then what was going to happen?

They would attract the aggro of everybody and have a coalition formed against them. Then, the coalition forces would focus all of their forces and resources on them, turning their dream of world domination into a short-lived one.

Anyone who wanted to conquer or unify the continent under their rule by acting like a thug suffered the same fate.

However, King Stallone was different. He had become an undead, but he emphasized his desire for peace and even backed it up by bearing gifts to every nation on the continent. Of course, nobody knew whether he would actually deliver on them or not, as he had yet to give anything to anyone, but the fact that he had even offered to do so was more than enough to discourage anyone from attacking his undead kingdom.

‘He’s trying to buy time. He’s going to stall for as long as possible until he gathers all of the fragments,’ Siegfried thought. He could see right through King Stallone's plan.

World Peace? Bullshit!

King Stallone’s sole goal was to buy time until he had gathered all of Apocalius’ Fragments.

He would most likely give everything away and even grovel at the feet of the rulers on the continent if it meant he could stall for time. After all, these kinds of materialistic things held no value to Apocalius, who was a being from another world.

All of this would be worth it as long as he could gather all of the fragments and bring Apocalius back to life.

In other words, King Stallone was making a fool out of the rulers on the continent, and it worked like a charm, as they were clueless about the existence of the fragments as well as what kind of terrible being would descend upon the continent once the fragments were gathered.

“Damn it!” Siegfried cursed—no, he did not. The one who cursed was not Siegfried but a blond young man sitting a few meters away from him.

Bam!

The young man banged his fist on the table and ripped King Stallone’s letter to shreds.

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