Debuff Master

Chapter 72

“We just have to help them overpower the enemies if they can’t overpower them through their own abilities.”

These words from the king did not make any sense to Oscar, but she finally understood what her liege meant the moment he displayed the powers of the Debuff Master.

‘Impossible! Our troops are suddenly winning!’?Oscar inwardly exclaimed in disbelief even after personally witnessing her liege’s powers.

The debuff circles completely turned the balance of power around.

“Euak!”

“Ack!”

“Why are they dealing so much damage?!”

“C-Crazy! I can’t use my strength at all!”

The criminals afflicted by the debuffs could no longer properly fight back, and the Proatine Territory soldiers subsequently massacred them.

It was an obvious outcome.

The reason the Heavenly Peaks Guild was able to resist the soldiers was thanks to their superior stats, but Siegfried’s debuff circles neutralized that. Their superior stats were cut in half by the debuff circles, which meant that the Heavenly Peaks Guild lost their advantage against the soldiers.

“Done,” Siegfried nonchalantly said with a smile.

“Your Majesty…” Oscar bowed in awe and reverence toward her king.

However, Siegfried’s display of his magical abilities didn’t end there.

“I think they need some help as well,” he said while looking at another area where a number of enemies were clustered.

“Hey, you bastards!”

“Have you gone insane?!”

“Come get some!”

There were around ten Heavenly Peaks Guild members that seemed to be stronger than the average member of their guild over there, and they seemed to be putting up quite a fight against the Proatine Territory soldiers.

They managed to resist until now because they were a bit far, and Siegfried’s debuff circles couldn’t reach them.

“I shall go at once,” Oscar said as she prepared to unsheathe her sword.

“No…” Siegfried shook his head in response.

“But…”

“There is no reason for Dame Oscar to get involved,” he said while gripping his Golem’s Rock Fist.

“Stand back!” Siegfried commanded the soldiers.

“Yes, Your Majesty!” the soldiers replied. They immediately widened the distance between them and the Adventurers.

Whooosh!

Golem’s Rock Fist flew at a frightening speed toward the Adventurers. It was Lightning Flying Spur.

Bam!

Golem’s Rock Fist smashed the head of the Heavenly Peaks Guild member at the front.

Bzzzaaat!

Then, hundreds and thousands of bolts of lightning emerged like a pack of hungry beasts, devouring the Heavenly Peaks Guild members.

“I told you there’s no need to get involved, right?” Siegfried turned toward Oscar.

“Y-Yes, Your Majesty,” Oscar nodded, seemingly in a daze.

The sight of the Heavenly Peaks Guild members being grilled by the countless sparks of lightning behind Siegfried seemed to have surprised her a bit too much.

Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt!

The Heavenly Peaks Guild members dropped dead to the ground by the time the lightning dissipated.

***

The battle swung heavily in favor of the Proatine Territory’s forces after Siegfried got involved, and the dozens of Heavenly Peaks Guild members were reduced to not even ten people. No, there were only two people left to be exact. They were the Guild Master of the Heavenly Peaks Guild, Cheon-Ryung, and Vice Guild Master Meng-Ho.

They were the only ones capable of resisting the Proatine Territory soldiers after being debuffed, so they were still alive.

"Your Majesty,” Oscar said as if she had been waiting for this moment as she explained, “That man, Cheon-Ryung, is the ringleader of the Elf Hunters. Please allow me to dispose of him. I will guarantee to bring his neck and offer it to Your Majesty if you grant me this request.”

It seemed that Oscar was pretty confident of her victory.

However, Siegfried shook his head again for the third time and said, “No. I will face him, but I would like to ask Dame Oscar to face him instead.”

He was referring to the Level 100 Vice Guild Master of the Heavenly Peaks Guild, Meng-Ho.

“But, Your Majesty! I am well aware that I should not judge my liege as I am but your subject, but my instincts tell me that…” Oscar retorted.

She wanted to tell him that he wasn’t Cheon-Ryung’s match.

It wasn’t because she was underestimating Siegfried.

‘I will protect His Majesty.’

Those words echoed in Oscar’s mind. Her instinct as a knight was hell-bent on protecting her liege.

However, Siegfried was already walking toward Cheon-Ryung by the time she finished her words.

“Y-Your Majesty!” Oscar cried out.

“It will be fine. I am an Adventurer, after all. Ah, I am saying this just in case, but you are not allowed to die. It hasn’t been that long since I met you, Dame Oscar, so I hope my subject won’t die on me so early,” Siegfried said.

Oscar was left confused by Siegfried’s words since those words were something that she should have told him instead, but it was already far too late to say anything. Siegfried was already close enough to Cheon-Ryung that they could start exchanging moves.

“Your loyal subject is getting very worried about the future…” Oscar muttered anxiously after witnessing Siegfried’s bulldozing tendency once again.

***

“Hey, it’s nice to meet you,” Cheon-Ryung greeted Siegfried with a smile.

However, his expression was far from friendly because he looked quite intimidating. Cheon-Ryung was smiling, but he wasn’t smiling inside. The look on his face was ferocious indeed.

“Looks like you’re having the time of your life. Hey, how does it feel to win the World’s Greatest Survival Tournament? Life is good, right?”

“Of course, it is,” Siegfried replied with a smirk, and then he added, “I get to sweep up scumbags like you after all.”

“You’re not scared? Can you even afford to talk like that, considering your level?”

“Are you even in the position to say that? I would feel embarrassed to say something like that if I were you.”

“What?” Cheon-Ryung grimaced and asked, “What. Did. You. Just. Say?”

“I mean… How can you even think of bragging about Level 100…?” Siegfried sneered.

It wasn’t something a Level 60 could say to a Level 100, but Siegfried remained composed nonetheless. He had reached Level 200 in the past, so a Level 100 was nothing but a cute opponent for him.

Not to mention, Siegfried had much more combat experience compared to Cheon-Ryung.

“I will pull out your tongue and…” Cheon-Ryung started as he gripped his axe.

Shwiiik!

However, Siegfried’s spear flew toward him without giving him a chance to finish his words.

It was a cowardly ambush.

***

The 1st Form of Lightning, which was the spearmanship left behind by Weapon Master Shakiro, pierced Cheon-Ryung’s shoulder.

“Keuk!”?Cheon-Ryung groaned in agony before jumping back.

However, Siegfried had already expected Cheon-Ryung’s reaction.

Pak!

He smacked Cheon-Ryung’s thigh with Golem’s Rock Fist.

“How dare you!” Cheon-Ryung growled as he tried to retaliate, but even this reaction from him was already within Siegfried’s calculations.

Puuuk!

Using the 2nd Form of Weapon Master Shakiro’s spearmanship, Siegfried pierced Cheon-Ryung’s left thigh.

“Euuuaaak!” Cheon-Ryung screamed in agony, but Siegfried did not give him an inch as he activated all of his debuffs and buffs.

“You fucking son of a bitch! I will beat you to death! I swear it on my life!” Cheon-Ryung roared after recovering his balance.

Wooong!

Mana started rising from Cheon-Ryung’s body as he cast Bloody Butcher, his most powerful skill.

However…

‘What the hell? What is this? What’s going on?!’?Cheon-Ryung exclaimed inwardly.

He realized that something wasn’t right.

It was strange…

It felt as if the flow of his mana was tangled up. It felt completely different from how it usually felt whenever he cast this skill.

What could it be?

He only knew that something was hindering his skill’s activation.

“Why is my skill not—” Cheon-Ryung tried to cast his skill once again.

However, Siegfried smashed his mace into Cheon-Ryung’s head.

Kwachik!

Cheon-Ryung collapsed to the ground, and a message appeared in front of him.

[Alert: Status Ailment!]

[Alert: Your character has suffered a concussion after being hit on the head! Your character will be incapacitated for three seconds!]

He collapsed because of the status ailment that often appeared whenever a character suffered a powerful blow to their head.

‘Move! I said move, damn it!’?

Cheon-Ryung was furious as he struggled to force his character to move, but his character, which had already suffered a concussion, remained motionless on the ground.

‘If I get more hits…!’?

It would be game over for him.

It would be a tragic death at the hands of a player forty levels lower than him, and the cause of death would be a beating without being able to retaliate even once.

No, it was already tragic.

Why?

It was all because Siegfried had never been someone who would let an opportunity like this slide.

Pak! Pak! Pak! Pukeok!

The mace struck Cheon-Ryung’s head multiple times.

How many times did he hit the incapacitated player’s head?

As many times as it took until Cheon-Ryung’s head was smashed open.

***

“Ah… Why is he so weak?” Siegfried let out a groan that clearly showed his dissatisfaction.

He had been hoping that the Level 100 player would put up a fight, but Siegfried didn’t expect that Cheon-Ryung would die so easily.

Cheon-Ryung’s class was a fully offensive DPS-type class called Axe Reaper, and that was why his defenses were weak, and he died so quickly.

However, that wasn’t the reason why Siegfried easily defeated him. It was all due to the Debuff Master’s Level 60 skill.

[Wave of Oppression]

[Unleash a wave that disrupts the skill activation of units struck by the wave.]

The Debuff Master could not only debuff his enemies, but he could also disrupt their skill channeling. Moreover, Siegfried had become much stronger than he should have because of the immense home advantage buff from Force of the Lord.

“The ringleader has been taken care of,” Siegfried said before turning around.

Puuuk!

Oscar drove her sword deep into Meng-Ho’s abdomen.

"Your Majesty,” Oscar said as she knelt before Siegfried and offered Meng-Ho’s head to him.

“I, Oscar, have completed Your Majesty’s command. Here is the enemy’s head, and it is my first gift to Your Majesty.”

“Haha…” Siegfried let out an awkward laugh that was as awkward as his smile as he looked at his bloodied first gift.

“His Majesty has killed the enemy’s leader!” one of the soldiers shouted while raising Cheon-Ryung’s head triumphantly.

“Hurray for King Proa!”

“Hurrah!”

“Hurray for King Proa!”

“Hurrah!”

“Hurray for King Proa!”

“Hurrah!”

The boisterous voices praising Siegfried’s name reverberated throughout the forest.

It was his first victory as the King of the Proatine Province.

***

After the battle…

“Dame Oscar.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Please make sure to pay extra attention to the injured. I do not wish for my soldiers to succumb to their wounds and die. I do not wish for them to end up disabled as well.”

“I can feel that Your Majesty cares deeply for his soldiers.”

“Really…? I just need them alive and well to squeeze them dry, though…” Siegfried responded with a shrug.

“Eh…?”

“If Dame Oscar or the soldiers die… then who can I order around?”

“…”

“I’m just joking… well, I was half-joking, so… don’t take it too seriously. Hmm… I’m an Adventurer, so I’m immortal, but Dame Oscar and the soldiers aren’t immortals. That’s why I said that.”

After witnessing Shakiro’s death, Siegfried developed an aversion to NPCs’ deaths.

“I, Oscar, will work until my last dying breath for Your Majesty.” Oscar smiled and bowed respectfully toward Siegfried.

She couldn’t help but express her respect toward her liege, who valued his subjects’ lives.

***

“You may go now. You are free, and I promise you that these things will never happen again in this land. I promise you as the human king of the Proatine Province,” Siegfried told the rescued elves.

Then, the elves expressed their gratitude toward Siegfried.

“Thank you, King of the Humans.”

“You will forever be remembered.”

“May the forest bless you forever.”

Siegfried did not stop there. “Dame Oscar.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Please escort them until they have safely entered their village. Make sure that you are vigilant at all times while escorting them.”

“I, Oscar, shall carry out Your Majesty’s command with my life on the line.”

Siegfried seemed to be pretty meticulous when it came to things like this…

***

The next afternoon…

“I will never forgive those who persecute the other races from now on. In addition, I am issuing a kill order against those who have persecuted the other races,” Siegfried issued a decree that officially ended the elf hunt.

This was Siegfried’s first decree as king, and a scribe recorded this historic moment.

Then, one of the servants came and informed Siegfried, "Your Majesty. The chiefs of the elf villages have requested an audience with you.”

“Tell them to enter,” Siegfried replied. He decided to grant them an audience.

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