Debuff Master

Chapter 31

He decided that it was going to be better for him to let the Goblin Lord stab his side than try to avoid or block it. Of course, he was not the type of person to give something up for free, so he was planning to profit handsomely from letting the Goblin Lord stab him.

‘Let’s give what it wants and end this fight in return!’?he steeled his resolve as he decided to take Gorgo’s life in exchange for getting stabbed by its scythe.

Giving up the flesh to take the bone!

Siegfried was reckless enough to take a calculated risk to kill the Goblin Lord in return for letting it wound him.

Puuuuk!

Gorgo’s scythe dug into his side.

‘I have to endure it!’?

Siegfried steeled his resolve and gritted his teeth. It was all over if he fell here, and he might as well forget about dragging the Goblin Lord down with him.

‘Die…!’?he exclaimed inwardly as he gritted his teeth and gripped his steel rod.

Paaak!

He swung his steel rod as hard as he could and used Smite at the same time to smash the Goblin Lord’s head.

Then, a message popped up in front of Siegfried’s eyes.

[Cross-Counter!]

His life dangled on a paper-thin margin between life and death, but things turned out according to his plans.

However, the results were much greater than what he had anticipated.

[Gorgo]

[Level: 50]

[HP: ??????????]

The Goblin Lord had 30% HP left, but…

[Gorgo]

[Level: 50]

[HP: ??????????]

Siegfried managed to kill the Goblin Lord in one hit thanks to the damage buff he received from the ‘Contempt for the Strong’ skill!

[1… 0…]

[The buff duration has ended.]

His buff timer expired right on time, and the bluish-red aura enveloping his body dissipated.

***

Thud…!

Gorgo fell to the ground.

Silence blanketed the entire Biermann Territory, and everybody held their breaths.

Gulp…!

The sound of someone swallowing their saliva could be heard.

“Did we…?” someone carefully muttered.

Then, another person suddenly exclaimed, “Waaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

The shout signaled the start of the Biermann territory’s celebration as jubilant shouts resounded throughout the territory.

“Waaaaaah!”

“Bravo! Bravo!”

“We won! We woooon! The Goblin Lord has fallen!”

“Siegfried won!”

“Kyaaaaaaaah!”

“Siegfried has slain the Goblin Lord!”

Shouts of praise praising Siegfried’s name started to resound throughout the territory.

“Siegfried! Siegfried! Siegfried!”

The Biermann Territory citizens continued shouting the name of the hero who protected their homeland—Siegfried.

***

Siegfried was at a loss after killing the Goblin Lord, Gorgo, and it was not because of the people shouting his name.

It was because of the numerous messages that appeared in front of him.

[You have successfully hunted the Goblin Lord!]

[Experience Points +5,600!]

[You have leveled up!]

[You are now Level 31!]

The first series of messages notified him of the experience points he had gained and his level rising up to 31. Then, it was followed up with many more messages.

[The effect of Recluse Elixir has expired.]

The next message informed him that his doping had worn off.

[Alert: You have successfully completed the Quest: ‘Protect the Biermann Territory’!]

[Alert: Go to the Mercenary Guild to collect your reward!]

[Alert: You have successfully completed the Quest: ‘Goblin Lord Gorgo’!]

[Alert: Go to the lord of Biermann Territory, Baron Wegmann to collect your reward!]

More quest clear messages appeared.

[Congratulations! The residents of Biermann Territory like you!]

[Alert: The Biermann Territory resident’s Affinity with you has increased by +1,000!]

[Alert: The increase of the Biermann Territory resident’s Affinity with you has increased your Fame by +150!]

[You will be able to obtain more Fame when you do commendable deeds in large cities.]

[Alert: The Affinity of the Biermann Territory’s citizens with you has been upgraded from ‘Respect’ to ‘Revered’!]

[Congratulations! You are now the legendary hero of the Biermann Territory!]

[Your deeds as the legendary hero will be passed down from generation to generation and you will be remembered by the residents of Biermann Territory as long as the territory exists!]

Even messages informing him of the residents’ increase in Affinity with him popped up, and even more other messages appeared, covering Siegfried’s vision.

[Alert: You have obtained the title ‘Goblin Slayer’!]

[Alert: You have obtained the title ‘Protector of the Biermann Territory’!]

He even obtained two titles.

‘Goblin Slayer’ allowed him to deal twenty percent more damage to goblin-type monsters, and ‘Protector of the Biermann Territory’ allowed him to use various facilities within the territory for free, along with a tax exemption if he ever decided to purchase real estate in the territory on top of various other benefits.

He was bound to have a ton of messages waiting for him since he had just cleared the chain of quests after finally killing the boss monster, Gorgo.

‘Excellent,’?Siegfried thought with a huge smile on his face.

‘It was a bit difficult because of the level difference, but… did I really deal that much damage…? Haha…’?he thought while laughing inwardly in disbelief.

He was very satisfied with his buff skill ‘Contempt for the Strong’ since it allowed him to wipe thirty percent off of a boss monster’s HP twenty levels stronger than him.

“Siegfried!” Bleigh called out. He approached Siegfried and said, “Well done! You did a magnificent job! You protected our territory!”

“Not at all; this is all thanks to you, Sir Bleigh, as well as your elite troops for buying me time,” Siegfried replied.

“But—” Bleigh muttered.

However, Siegfried interrupted him and said, “Please do not push yourself too hard. Medic! Hurry up and escort Sir Bleigh!”

Bleigh’s condition was very bad. His life might not be in danger since Siegfried had fed him potions and tied a makeshift tourniquet to stop the bleeding, but it was still a grim situation. After all, the Knight Captain had lost an arm.

“Siegfried…” Bleigh muttered.

“Please rest for now; we can always talk later on,” Siegfried insisted.

“Ah… alright…” Bleigh muttered with a hint of disappointment in his voice.

“Everyone! Hurry up and get moving! The wounded still needs help!” Siegfried shouted to the others.

Their victory against the goblin army was indeed a joyous occasion that made the residents want to celebrate, but the Biermann Territory was currently a huge mess. There were corpses strewn all over, and the cries of the wounded filled the air. Buildings and structures were destroyed, and there were even some buildings currently burning.

It was imperative for them to attend to the issues at hand before celebrating their victory.

“Oh!”

“As expected of Siegfried!”

“He is a man who knows how to prioritize things!”

“He is truly an amazing young man!”

The Biermann Territory residents started to praise Siegfried even more.

‘Ah… don’t exaggerate and praise me for every little thing I say, will you??Siegfried thought while feeling awkward.

‘Haaa… I should get some rest as well. But first, I should collect the item that bastard dropped,’?he thought.

While he was about to go and collect the loot, a soldier’s voice reverberated.

“The Lord is here! Pay your respect!”

A white-haired old man made his appearance—he was Baron Wegmann.

“Are you Siegfried?” Baron Wegmann asked.

“Yes, Baron Wegmann,” Siegfried replied.

“Thank you for saving our territory. I—the lord—and my people deeply express our gratitude to you,” Baron Wegmann said.

“I just did what anyone would have done…” Siegfried replied.

“Thank you,” Baron Wegmann said, going down on one knee in front of Siegfried.

“I—Baron Wegmann—the lord of Biermann, pay my respect to the hero who saved our territory,” Baron Wegmann said.

He wasn’t alone…

“We pay our respects to our hero.”

Everyone in the Biermann Territory got on their knees, and they showed their respect and gratitude toward their hero.

“Ah, please do not do this,” Siegfried said as he hurriedly helped the baron up before continuing, “I am an Adventurer from another world as you are aware. I did not protect the territory purely out of goodwill, so you do not have to be so excessively grateful.”

“No.” Baron Wegmann shook his head and said, “Your reason for protecting our territory is not important. You have given your everything to protect our land, and you have successfully defended it from the monsters. Our territory would have already fallen into the hands of those evil goblins if it weren’t for you and your heroic bravery.”

“Err…” Siegfried muttered in embarrassment.

“I have been watching over you for quite a while now. You are quite diligent and passionate, but it did not seem like you were being driven only by the rewards. You seem to be faithfully doing your best in every situation, and that is indeed admirable,” Baron Wegmann added.

“Your words are far too gracious,” Siegfried replied.

“I wish to give you a gift,” Baron Wegmann said.

“A gift…?” Siegfried muttered. He suddenly remembered that the message had asked him to visit Baron Wegmann to collect his rewards for completing the quest ‘Goblin Lord Gorgo.’

“Come, follow me,” Baron Wegmann said and led the way.

“Would you kindly give me a moment then?” Siegfried asked. He continued while pointing at Gorgo’s corpse. “I have to harvest that bastard’s blood as soon as possible, you see…”

The blood of the Goblin Lord, Gorgo, was an expensive material sought after by alchemists, and Siegfried had to move quickly to collect it before it got spoiled.

“Ah, alright. I can wait for as long as you need me to,” Baron Wegmann replied.

“Thank you very much,” Siegfried said with a bow.

He immediately took out a lancing device with a lancet attached to it to collect blood and stabbed the lancet into Gorgo’s neck. Siegfried slowly squeezed and released the pump attached to the lancing device, then Gorgo’s blood slowly traveled through the hose and dripped into a leather bag coated with magic.

A message popped up in front of him.

[Alert: You have collected 10 Liters of ‘Goblin Lord’s Blood’!]

“Alright, I am done,” Siegfried said after sucking every single drop of blood out of the Goblin Lord’s corpse.

“Is it fine if we take the corpse?” Baron Wegmann asked.

“Of course,” Siegfried coolly replied. The Goblin Lord’s corpse was nothing but a lump of meat after its blood was drained.

“Thank you. Hey! Cut that evil goblin’s head off and put it on a stake to decorate the entrance to our territory!” Baron Wegmann commanded.

“Yes, my lord!” the soldiers replied. They hurriedly ran toward the goblin’s corpse and dragged it away.

The goblin that dreamt of erecting the Goblin Kingdom and becoming a king had met a pitiful demise.

***

Baron Wegmann brought Siegfried to a treasure vault located deep within the castle. Unfortunately, there was nothing that could be deemed as a treasure in the castle’s treasure vault as the only things in it were a few sacks of gold, some precious stones, and some mediocre-looking weapons and armor.

This was already expected since the lord of a small rural territory wouldn’t be able to earn that much from taxes.

“This is the treasure vault of our territory, and as you can see… It\'s shameful to even call it a treasure vault. It’s called a treasure vault, but it’s nothing more than a normal vault to store gold. However—” Baron Wegmann trailed off as he opened a large steel chest.

Then, he retrieved a small wooden chest from it and passed it over to Siegfried.

“This is different. The thing inside this box is the real treasure being safeguarded by the Biermann Territory, and I can confidently say that even the larger territories do not possess a treasure more valuable than the thing inside that chest as far as I know,” Baron Wegmann explained.

The fact that the baron seemed pretty confident of the thing inside the chest made Siegfried all the more curious about it.

‘I wonder what it is… why is he acting like this? Is it something that amazing…?’?he wondered.

However, he did not have a clue about what was inside the chest.

In the end, Siegfried decided to ask the baron directly, “What is it?”

“See for yourself,” Baron Wegmann replied. He motioned for Siegfried to open the chest.

“Ah, yes… then…” Siegfried muttered in response as he slowly opened the chest while thinking, ‘I doubt it’s going to be anything that valuable…’

He wasn’t actually expecting anything when he opened the chest.

Clack…!

“What is this…?” Siegfried muttered, seemingly confused after opening the chest.

The treasure Baron Wegmann was so confident of was a piece of old worn-out parchment the size of a lottery ticket.

“Coupon to use the Mercedes Workshop…?” Siegfried muttered the large words written on the paper, and then he read the words again, “Mercedes Workshop… Hmm… Huh…? Is it that Mercedes Workshop?”

All of a sudden, Siegfried’s eyes shot open the moment he realized that the Mercedes Smithy written on the paper referred to one of the three most reputable workshops in all of Nürburg Continent.

1. This is a Korean proverb of letting the enemy wound you so that you can take their life.