Debuff Master-Chapter 862

“ARGHHH!” Alexei roared and slammed his fist down on the VR capsule lid as soon as he was forcibly logged out of the game. There was only one week left until the live match, but due to the death penalty, he couldn't log into the game for forty-nine hours. freeweɓnovel.cѳm

Every second was critical to prepare for the upcoming war, so losing two whole days of access within that precious week was a devastating blow to the Execution Guild.

However, that was not the worst part...

While the items he had dropped could be easily retrieved from the Palom Kingdom, the levels he had lost weren't something he could make up for immediately. Alexei had lost three levels, dropping from Level 299 to Level 296. Recovering those three levels within five days was nearly impossible.

Even if he played the game nonstop, it would be nothing short of a miracle if he leveled up once in five days.

In short, Alexei died at the worst possible time. To make matters worse, he died in an absurdly humiliating way—a terrorist attack.

“Han Tae-Sung! You fucking bastard! You filthy disgusting son of a bitch! I’m going to tear you limb for limb!” Alexei screamed, hurling curses in the air.

Meanwhile, Siegfried scratched his ear and muttered, “Ah, someone’s cursing me again."

He was preparing for the upcoming war near the Eastern Great Rift when he was struck by a sudden itch that was so unbearable it drove him crazy.

‘Ah, whatever. There’s probably a few out there,’ he thought. He shrugged it off after acknowledging that plenty of people were probably cursing him at the moment. He then shifted his focus back to his war preparations.

Elsewhere, the Radiation Ghouls were wreaking havoc. It wasn't just Enox; the other ghouls were moving as well. The ghouls obliterated the military units stationed eighty kilometers from the Eastern Great Rift in the Palom Kingdom.

They specifically targeted areas where the damage would be most severe, such as the mess halls during meals, the meeting room where commanders were gathered, and the barracks where soldiers rested.

They dealt devastating damage, and the Palom Kingdom suffered nearly one thousand casualties in just half a day.

Worse yet, the victims were high-ranking officers, both commissioned and non-commissioned.

What was the meaning of that? It meant that the damage inflicted was far greater, equivalent to losing over ten thousand soldiers.

This threw the Palom Kingdom into a frenzy as they prepared to invade the Proatine Kingdom.

Two thousand soldiers were massacred before the war had even begun, and now, another one thousand key figures were dead due to the suicide bombings.

Thus, their rage wasn't strange at all.

“Siegfried van Proa... You dare!”

The ruling monarch of the Palom Kingdom, Queen Rosenn, was furious upon receiving the report. Known as the Iron Lioness of the East, she was infamous as a war fanatic and a hot-tempered ruler. She was from an ancient royal lineage and was very proud of her bloodline.

Even during the World Peace Conference, she, alongside other monarchs, dismissed Siegfried as nothing more than a mongrel or a lowly Adventurer with no pedigree.

Her disdain for Siegfried persisted despite the Proatine Kingdom’s meteoric rise as an emerging power and even after he saved the continent from the demonic invasion.

Queen Rosenn had long been nursing the desire to invade the Proatine Kingdom, but it was impossible.

The Proatine Kingdom and the Palom Kingdom were located at opposite ends of the continent, and crossing the borders of thirteen different nations just to invade them made no sense.

Siegfried knew that as well, which was the reason he had brazenly provoked the Palom Kingdom and caused chaos.

“Send... an envoy and warn him. Warn that lowly Adventurer, Siegfried van Proa!” Queen Rosenn growled, speaking through gritted teeth. She had no other choice but to send an envoy to pressure and threaten Siegfried instead, as she couldn't launch a full-scale invasion.

In other words, her message was clear. She couldn't invade his kingdom, but she was going to make his life a living hell, so he better watch his back.

***

Around half a day later, Yong Seol-Hwa approached Siegfried and said, “A delegation from the Palom Kingdom has arrived, oppa.”

“Oh? Hmm... Give me a minute,” Siegfried said.

He paused for about ten minutes and made a rough calculation in his mind. ‘He probably died about five hours ago, so in roughly... forty-four hours? Yeah, he’ll log back in around that time.’

Siegfried came across the news of Alexei’s death in reality through a news article. Using the information he had gathered, he calculated roughly when Alexei would be able to log into the game.

‘And what will he do once he logs in forty-four hours from now...?’ Siegfried wondered. Then, he grinned and muttered, “Hehe... That sounds like an excellent plan.”

Siegfried murmured to himself as he stood up, causing Yong Seol-Hwa to flinch.

‘W-What sort of scheme is he plotting now? Oppa is really...’

She could tell that Siegfried was devising yet another wicked plan. She had no idea what it was, but she could sense the malice in the air.

The envoy sent by Queen Rosenn, Count Hutter, entered and greeted Siegfried.

“Your Majesty Siegfried van Proa, it is an honor to meet you. My name is Count Hutter.”

“So what?” Siegfried replied nonchalantly while scratching his ear.

“Pardon?!”

Count Hutter was taken aback by Siegfried’s abrupt and informal response.

‘What an ill-mannered scoundrel! How can a king of a nation speak without even the slightest decorum? Ugh!’

Although he was cursing Siegfried’s lack of manners inwardly, Count Hutter maintained a composed expression as he continued. “Yes, Your Majesty. I come bearing a decree from the ruler of the mighty Palom Kingdom–”

It was then.

Whoosh!

Siegfried swung his +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp, which was in the shape of a saber, and cleanly chopped off Count Hutter’s head.

Thud!

Count Hutter collapsed to the ground, and his severed head tumbled across the floor. Shortly after, the floor was stained with the crimson blood gushing from the stump of his corpse.

“T-This is outrageous!”

“No! How could you?!”

The knights accompanying Count Hutter were horrified by Siegfried’s sudden and brutal act of decapitating an envoy without even a hint of hesitation or emotions.

“Hey, will someone clean that up? It’s staining my floor,” Siegfried said before turning away.

“What should we do with the others that came along with him, hyung-nim?” Seung-Gu asked.

“Kill everyone but one.”

“As you wish, hyung-nim.”

“Thanks, buddy.”

“Leave it to us and go get some rest.”

Seung-Gu watched Siegfried walk off into the distance before turning to the remaining members of the delegation. Then, he took out a cylindrical container filled with long wooden sticks and said, “All right, you lot, you heard him. Grab one each.”

One of the delegation members hesitantly asked, “W-What is this...?”

Seung-Gu grimaced and replied, “Isn’t it obvious? It’s to draw lots, you moron.”

“L-Lots?!”

“Yup. One of you gets to live and go home, but the rest? Well, you’ll get executed,” Seung-Gu explained with a shrug. Then, he flashed a wicked grin and made a mock slicing gesture across his neck before saying, “Now hurry up and draw your lots. I’m itching to get to work.”

‘P-Psychopaths!’

‘What kind of madmen are they?!’

‘I had no idea this place was a den of lunatics!’

The envoys were utterly appalled by Siegfried and Seung-Gu's barbaric behavior. To think that both the king and his subordinate were complete maniacs—no, unhinged lunatics!

Unfortunately, their protest fell on deaf ears.

“Come on now, hurry up and draw your lots,” Seung-Gu said while shaking the cylinder with a sinister grin.

***

“That wretched bastard... Siegfried van Proa! Bring him to me immediately! Right now! Right this instant!” Queen Rosenn roared in fury after receiving yet another report.

Meanwhile, Siegfried continued preparing for the war regardless of whether the queen was raging or not. He was putting his sinister schemes into motion as well. First, he put on the Metamorphosis Mask to disguise himself and used his Rune of Insight to mask his details.

[Alert: Your information will be hidden from all players below Level 300!]

An invisible barrier wrapped around Siegfried, shielding him from the Rune of Insight used by other Adventurers.

‘This should be enough. Hohoho!’

Siegfried infiltrated the Eastern Great Rift with his identity thoroughly concealed. He blended in with the Execution Guild members and even joined them in a few rounds of Hardstone to maintain his cover.

Before long, the call to action came.

“Gather up, everyone! Time to hunt!”

Alexei was eager to grind and restore his level as quickly as possible.

‘I knew it,’ Siegfried smirked inwardly after quietly infiltrating the party.

He predicted Alexei’s move to prioritize leveling up more than anything else, so Siegfried had intentionally visited the Eastern Great Rift.

The Execution Guild members failed to notice that they had a spy among them due to their sheer numbers. Only a select few elite members could keep track of everyone, and the rest could not possibly know every guildmate just from looking at them.

Once they entered the dungeon, a message popped up in front of Siegfried’s eyes.

[Eastern Great Rift: Marsh of Slaughter]

Siegfried kept close to Alexei while seamlessly blending with the group.

‘I should wait until an opportunity presents itself,’ Siegfried thought.

He had a simple but devious plan. He would wait for the perfect opportunity during the raid to sabotage the party, causing them to be annihilated.

What would happen if they ended up getting annihilated? The items of the guild members would drop, and they would suffer a forty-nine-hour death penalty.

With their ranks devastated and crippled, Siegfried would gain a massive advantage in the war set to unfold in five days. In other words, Siegfried planned to chip away at the Execution Guild until they were barely a shadow of their former self before the live match could even begin.

***

The Marsh of Slaughter dungeon was an unforgiving nightmare of sweltering heat and nearly one hundred percent humidity. The environment was so punishing that sweat poured from their face and soaked them down to their undergarments.

The harsh sunlight peeking through the dense jungle canopy pricked their skin on contact as well. To make matters worse, the air was filled with tiny gnats that buzzed around their faces.

It was an environment designed to test the limits of anyone daring to venture into it. In such conditions, even the most seasoned Adventurer could not avoid getting exhausted. The constant sweating drained their bodies of essential fluid while the oppressive heat and treacherous terrain burned through their calories at an alarming rate.

“Huff... Huff...”

“Ugh... It’s so hot!”

“Hold on, I’m dying of thirst. Let me drink some water before I collapse...”

The Execution Guild members struggled to cope with the dungeon’s grueling environment.

Siegfried, however, was unaffected. He was immune to the oppressive heat thanks to the Blood Frost Orb embedded in his mana hall. It was constantly emitting chilling energy that cooled him down.

On top of that, Siegfried also stocked his Inventory with an abundance of tangerines and Mint Chocolate Ade, allowing him to replenish his sugars and fluids continuously.

Unfortunately, the same could not be said for the Execution Guild members. As gamers, they typically carried little supplies for actual sustenance and mostly prioritized potions.

The decision to not pack many supplies was coming back to haunt them now, as their stamina was depleting at a much faster rate in the hostile conditions.

The group trudged on while visibly struggling.

“I’m so thirsty...”

One of the Execution Guild members licked the last few drops of water from an empty water flask.

Shwiiik!

An arrow whistled through the air, burying itself in the middle of his forehead.

Smack!

It was an ambush.

They were attacked just two hours after entering the dungeon.