Debuff Master

Chapter 551

The war between the coalition forces and the Immortal Kingdom entered a stalemate the moment the United Guild jumped into the fray.

The reason was very simple. The coalition forces could no longer engage in skirmishes like they used to. They had already progressed further into the Immortal Kingdom, causing their supply line to be stretched to the limits, so they had to be mindful of their rear as well.

On top of that, the terrain up ahead was all wide-open plains, forcing them to fight an all-out battle sooner or later.

This caused Siegfried to be extra cautious, making him command the entire army to halt and turtle up.

The Immortal Kingdom was in no better situation. They preferred the coalition forces to attack them, so they had nothing to do until their opponent did so. Their enemy was turtled up in a very advantageous and defensible terrain, so attacking them would be disastrous, leading to huge casualties.

Thus, both sides refused to budge an inch from their respective positions, and just like that, the war entered a lull.

However, the Immortal Kingdom was definitely reaping a ton of profit from this state of lull. The United Guild, which was one of the top ten guilds on the continent, joining them massively bolstered their ranks, and there were numerous strong Adventurers joining day by day after getting enticed by the massive bounty on Siegfried’s head.

“Hohoho... Money is truly a scary thing,” Death Fog said with a low laugh, in awe of the power of money.

After all, there was a saying that wars were won by money, and that saying was spot-on. The money Death Fog spent allowed him to recruit masses of Adventurers, and the bounty he placed on Siegfried’s head attracted more and more powerful Adventurers.

“They say that even ghosts will dance if you offer them enough money. I guess these Adventurers are powerless against money, too.”

Death Fog was delighted after seeing the report that two thousand Adventurers had signed up and had attempted to assassinate Siegfried.

“You're shrewd and cunning, but you’re going to end up kneeling in front of me.”

The lich bowed and said, “As you say, my lord! He is strong, but nobody can survive dozens of assassination attempts every single day.”

“He will kneel in front of me soon.”

“Yes, my lord!”

“In the end, it is just a matter of time...” Death Fog muttered while rubbing his chin as if he was thinking of something. Then, he looked up and said, “Tonight.”

“My lord?”

“We will launch an all-out attack on the enemy.”

“Eeeh?!”

The lich could not believe its ears.

All-out attack? Why would they do that when the enemy was turtled up in narrow terrain easily defensible? That was akin to throwing their troops into a meat grinder, which would obviously result in high casualties.

“But my lord...”

“Do it. Attack them relentlessly from tonight. Don’t give them any time to rest,” Death Fog commanded.

“B-But...!”

“Have you forgotten? We are the Immortal Kingdom.”

“...!”

“We don’t tire, we don’t need to eat or drink, nor do we need to sleep. Also, we outnumber them twenty to one.”

“Then you mean...”

“A battle of attrition.”

“Attrition...”

“We are no longer at a disadvantage in terms of quality after these Adventurers had joined us en masse. In other words, we will suffer the same casualties at worst.”

“Oh!”

“I will no longer play that pesky brat’s games. Instead, I will be the one to gnaw away at his troops!”

The lich bowed to the ground and exclaimed, “A-A wise choice, my lord! A truly wise choice! The enemy will fall in no time if everything goes according to my lord’s plan!”

“Prepare our troops and send them out.”

“Yes! My lord!”

The stalemate between the coalition forces and the Immortal Kingdom was now going to turn into a battle of attrition.

***

Meanwhile, the coalition forces were gripped with fear and anxiety around the clock. That was only normal, as they had a ticking time bomb amongst them.

They saw a huge surge in Adventurers signing up to join their ranks, but almost every single one of them had signed up in hopes of getting close to Siegfried, cutting his head off, and claiming the massive bounty.

To make matters worse, even the Adventurers who had been fighting bravely alongside them were starting to try their luck in killing Siegfried.

The coalition forces’ commanding officers were downcast. They had no idea when and where their supreme commander would get assassinated by the Adventurers, and this uncertainty unsettled a lot of them.

Siegfried’s tent was guarded twenty-four hours around the clock in shifts by two hundred elite knights of the coalition forces. Nobody was allowed to approach two hundred meters from the tent without any prior approval.

What if they approached two hundred meters without approval? They would be instantly executed. It did not matter whether they approached intentionally or by accident, as the knights were instructed to kill anyone outright.

“Damn it...” Prince Kyrix cursed under his breath. He was currently sitting in his tent contemplating what to do from now on. “How are we supposed to protect His Majesty when there are assassins all over the place...?”

Siegfried was the most important person in the coalition forces. He had been undefeated ever since he took command of the army, so they had to protect him at all costs from the assassins.

However, there were too many assassins after him, and some of them were even among their own ranks. There had been cases where some of the coalition forces’ knights had attempted to assassinate Siegfried, which meant that it was no longer only the Adventurers after him.

“How can I protect King Siegfried–”

It was then.

“Your Majesty! Your Majesty!”[1] A knight screamed as he rushed into the tent.

“Your Majesty! We have a big problem!”

“What is it?” Prince Kyrix asked.

“T-The supreme commander has been abducted!”

“W-What?! Abducted?!” Prince Kyrix exclaimed, standing up abruptly. His face turned ghastly pale.

The knight stuttered in response, “Y-Yes, Your Majesty!”

“Oh my god...” Prince Kyrix muttered.

Thud!

His knees gave out, making him fall back to his chair.

“H-How can this be... Our supreme commander has been abducted from right under our nose...” Prince Kyrix muttered weakly.

Siegfried getting abducted was an even bigger problem than him getting assassinated. He was an Adventurer, so he would come back to life after forty-nine hours, so the coalition forces just had to defend the place where he had died until his return, but it was a different story if he was abducted.

The enemy could keep him locked up for as long as they wanted, and he could not return to the coalition forces until he had escaped.. He was the most important individual in the coalition forces right now, and the void he had left behind would prove disastrous to them.

“How could this happen...”

“Our knights are chasing after them to try and rescue King Siegfried!”

“Who?! Who dares to do this?!”

“T-That is...”

“Tell me this instant! Who is it?!”

“They were the Adventurers King Siegfried kept close... They betrayed him during their meeting and ambushed him...”

“Damn it! Those cursed bastards!” Prince Kyrix exclaimed in anger. His body was trembling uncontrollably from anger, and he was emitting bloodlust that seemed as if he would strike down anyone just to quench it.

“Those monsters pretend to be humans...!”

“Y-Your Majesty! Please compose yourself!”

“How can I compose myself when something like this just happened?!”

“Your Majesty...”

“What’s happening now?!”

“Our knights are in pursuit!”

“Lead the way! I will personally go rescue King Siegfried!”

“But our knights are...”

“Do you expect me to sit and wait when King Siegfried has been abducted?! Hurry up and lead the way!”

“Yes! Your Majesty!”

Prince Kyrix left the tent and went with his knights in hopes of rescuing Siegfried.

***

In the end, they failed to rescue Siegfried.

The kidnappers were far too powerful, and they had meticulously planned their escape route, making them difficult to catch.

Thanks to them, the atmosphere within the coalition forces turned into that of a funeral. The morale of the troops hit rock bottom—no, it had reached the mantle.

That was how important Siegfried was to the coalition forces. His presence alone was enough to influence the morale of the troops, and they were really feeling his absence right now.

Unfortunately, the coalition forces did not have the luxury to mourn their loss.

“T-The enemy is here!”

“We are under attack!”

“All men! Prepare for battle!”

“Prepare for battle! Prepare for battle!”

“Get ready to defend! They’re coming!”

The coalition forces were forced to fight while their troops were still panicking, as the Immortal Kingdom launched a full-scale assault on them.

Thus, the battle of attrition between the coalition forces and the Immortal Kingdom started. A short while after the battle started, Death Fog received a report that made him raise an eyebrow.

“What? They successfully captured that pesky brat?” Death Fog asked.

The lich bowed to the ground and exclaimed in response, “Yes, my lord! The Adventurers have captured Siegfried van Proa and are on their way here!”

“Really?”

“Yes! Congratulations, my lord!”

The rest of the undead officials followed suit, “Congratulations, my lord!”

“Oh! It seems this thing called money is really useful. Who knew they would capture and deliver him to me just because of their greed?” Death Fog said with a grin.

“The bounty my lord placed is enough to make brothers betray each other.”

“Really?”

“Yes, my lord. It is an astronomical sum that would make even ghosts do your bidding, so how could those Adventurers resist it?”

“I see...”

“Those Adventurers will make Siegfried van Proa kneel in front of my lord very soon.”

“How much longer do I have to wait?”

“They will be here in two or three hours. I implore my lord to be a little more patient.”

“Two or three hours? Hmm... that will be a long wait for me,” Death Fog said, sounding impatient.

It was only normal for him to be impatient, as he believed Siegfried van Proa was in possession of two of the fragments. In other words, he wanted to capture Siegfried not because of this war but to get his hands on Siegfried's two Fragments of Apocalius.

“Tell them to hasten their steps. Every single second counts.”

“Yes! My lord!”

Three hours later...

“Oh!” Death Fog exclaimed after seeing the pesky brat.

Siegfried was bound by ropes and dragged like an animal in front of him.

“Let go! Let go of me, you bastards! Just wait and see! I’m not going to let this go!” Siegfried screamed as he thrashed around in an effort to undo the ropes binding him.

One of the Adventurers shouted, “Hey! Quit it, will you?!”

Chwak!

The Adventurer slapped him, causing the sound to reverberate throughout the throne room.

Plop...!

Blood dripped down the side of his mouth.

“Please shut the fuck up, hyung-nim. You’re too noisy.”

“Seung-Gu, you bastard...!” Siegfried glared at the Adventurer, who had slapped him. Then, he growled, “You dare betray me–”

Seung-Gu smirked and retorted, “What? Can’t I betray you? Is it illegal?”

“How could you do this to me? I was so good to you–”

“Haha! What a load of bullshit!”

“What?!”

“You were good to me? Were you really? All you did was boss me around whenever you were bored!”

“Boss you around...?”

“Also, the bounty they placed on you is life-changing! Let me ask you this. Would you really pass on this opportunity if you were in my shoes?”

“You fucking bas—”

It was then.

Pukeok!

Seung-Gu slammed his knee right into Siegfried’s face.

“Kuheok!” Siegfried gasped. He fell backward, spurting blood from his nose into the air.

“Why am I a bastard? Am I your bastard, fucker?”

“K-Kuheok...!”

“Just shut up and keep kneeling,” Seung-Gu growled. Then, he faced Death Fog, knelt on the ground, and said, “Greetings. My name is Seung-Gu, an Adventurer.”

He introduced himself in the most courteous manner possible and even knelt on the floor to show his respects to the undead king.

1. Princes are addressed as Your Highness, but Kyrix has already been unofficially recognized as the king by the knights and others. Author still referred to him as Prince Kyrix because he didn’t have his coronation yet. ☜