Debuff Master

Chapter 538

“Those evil undead dares to speak of the peace of the continent?!”

“Your Highness! Please compose yourself!”

“Do you really expect me to compose myself right now?!” Prince Kyrix lashed out at the knight, who was attempting to calm him down. Then, he retorted, “Those damned undead monsters have murdered my father and the prime minister! Those monsters are my sworn enemies, yet you want me to remain calm while they speak of peace?!”

“B-But Your Highness...”

“I’m going to kill them! I’ll vanquish those filthy undead with my own hands if it’s the last thing I do!” Prince Kyrix swore vengeance with bloodshot eyes.

The people from the other two kingdoms had the same reaction as the prince. They swore blood vengeance against the undead after all of their people had gathered at Axion Fortress to discuss whether a coalition should be formed against the Ephedrine Kingdom or not, but they ended up becoming undead monsters.

‘Sigh... This wouldn’t have happened if you attacked earlier. You’re in this mess because you let your greed get the better of you,’ Siegfried let out a sigh and shook his head.

Siegfried was right. The three neighboring kingdoms could have quashed the Ephedrine Kingdom before the undead managed to get a foothold on it just by supporting the Kingdom Faction. Instead, they had chosen to observe from afar and wait until the optimal timing to maximize profits.

While all of that was happening, King Stallone and his undead forces had discreetly started turning all of those present in the Axion Fortress into undead monsters. And by the time the three neighboring kingdoms realized what was going on, it was already too late.

They had reaped what they sowed. Their greed had blinded them, and they ended up allowing the cub to grow into a tiger.

But what could they do at this point? The milk had already been spilled, and they had to clean up their mess—technically, it was Siegfried’s job to clean up the mess.

Sigh...

Siegfried let out a sigh and called for the attention of the representatives from the three neighboring kingdoms.

“May I have your attention, please?”

Then, the representatives of the kingdoms directed their focus at him.

“Firstly, we need to reclaim Axion Fortress as quickly as possible. There is no hope once the undead reinforcement reaches,” Siegfried said.

Nobody opposed his plan; everyone agreed this was their best course of action.

The three kingdoms quickly mobilized their armies and set up camp about ten kilometers away from the fortress. Their soldiers pitched their tents while the officers from each kingdom gathered to discuss the upcoming war.

‘I guess I should make preparations too,’ Siegfried thought. He went to call for reinforcements before heading to the meeting tent.

***

There was another strategy meeting ongoing simultaneously with the coalition forces, but this was taking place in the Ephedrine Kingdom.

“Any signs of movement from them?” King Stallone asked his subjects. He was sitting on a throne made out of skulls, and there was a purple gem embedded at the center of his forehead.

“They have gathered their armies around Axion Fortress, Your Majesty.”

“It is highly likely they plan to reconquer the fortress, sire.”

His subjects, who were once humans, were now loyal undead servants of his.

“Hmm... They discovered it a day or two earlier than we had expected,” King Stallone said while looking at the map.

A lich, who was once a duke of the kingdom, stepped forward. He bowed to his liege before answering, “Yes, sire. But we have already bought enough time. I believe the fortress has served us excellently.”

“You are right.”

“My lord.”

“Our kingdom will not be affected even if they reconquer Axion Fortress, as we have finished our transformation into the Immortal Kingdom.”

“Well put, sire.”

“But that doesn’t mean we should hand over the fortress just like that. We are hard-pressed, surrounded by enemies. The living creatures of this world will not look favorably upon us, the undead.”

“Wise words indeed, my lord. But not everyone is our enemy.”

“Hmm? What do you mean by that?”

“The Adventurers, sire.”

“Adventurer?” King Stallone—no, the Fragment of Apocalius, Death Fog, combed through his memories after hearing what the lich said. Well, these memories belonged to King Stallone, but he was technically Stallone too.

The Fragment of Apocalius, Death Fog, had taken over Stallone’s body and mind.

“Are you talking about those who came from another world?”

“Yes, my lord.”

“So you want us to make use of them?”

“The Adventurers are willing to do anything for money.”

“Yes, they are indeed. If my memory serves me correctly, they are willing to risk their lives for money and rare artifacts.”

“What if we use them to our advantage? Your Majesty no longer requires any object this world has to offer.”

“Yes, that is indeed true.”

“Also, we have already declared ourselves as a supporter of peace. Based on the Siegfried Law, we are allowed to hire Adventurers as mercenaries. Besides, those Adventurers will not care if their employer is a human or an undead as long as they get paid.”

“Oh?”

“Our kingdom should improve relations with other kingdoms by sending them gifts. Our coffers are plenty, so that should buy us all of the time we would need.”

“And we should hire the Adventurers and use them to destroy the neighboring kingdoms?”

“Yes, my lord.”

“That is an excellent idea.”

Immortal Lord Death Fog smiled after hearing the prudent advice of the lich. The whole continent was hostile to them, so knowing that the Adventurers were willing to work for them was like rain during a drought.

“Alright, proceed as you have suggested.”

“Thank you, my lord!”

“But bear in mind that time is not on our side. Finding my fragments is our utmost priority.”

The “my fragments” that Death Fog was referring to were the fragments of Apocalius.

“Certainly, my lord. Our Harbingers of Death are combing through every nook and cranny of the continent in search for my lord’s fragments.”

“Excellent,” Death Fog nodded. Then, he added, “Send an official letter to the World Peace Conference that we are invoking our right to hire Adventurers as mercenaries based on the Siegfried Law, and then I want you to start recruiting mercenaries immediately. Pay them unsparingly but make sure the strongest ones are working for us.”

“Yes, my lord!”

The undead officials replied in unison and bowed.

***

“Please use mass teleportation and bring more troops from your kingdoms,” Prince Kyrix said.

The prince was elected to lead the coalition forces. He was not elected because he was talented or possessed any special talent. In fact, he was still young and had yet to ascend to the throne after the passing of his father, the king.

The sole reason he was elected as the leader was that the Solid Kingdom was the mightiest one among the three kingdoms.

“We will launch a full-scale offensive tomorrow morning at eight,” Prince Kyrix said.

Siegfried raised his hand and asked, “May I say something?”

“Ah! King Siegfried!”

All eyes in the tent shifted to Siegfried after Prince Kyrix called his name.

“Please, go ahead,” Prince Kyrix said.

“Thank you,” Siegfried replied with a nod. He was satisfied with the prince’s response, ‘They would’ve ignored me before.’

The representatives of each kingdom would have disregarded his opinion solely due to the fact that the Proatine Kingdom was a weak and tiny kingdom located in some backwater region if it hadn\'t been for Siegfried\'s improving reputation.

The Proatine Kingdom was the rising star of the continent these days, and it was now considered a new superpower. Yes, it was the size of a booger, and its economy was in shambles, but the recent acquisition of the Southern Great Jungle, Cronasia Plains, and Piaro River had changed everything completely.

The other kingdoms noticed the recent expansion of the Proatine Kingdom, and this made them suspect that the kingdom was merely putting up an act to fool others. They found it highly likely the kingdom was hiding their claws, as they were most likely not as weak as they looked.

Thus, numerous kingdoms dispatched their spies to find out as much as they could regarding the first Adventurer to be crowned king, Siegfried van Proa.

~

1. He had insanely good connections.

2. He has killed two dragons thus far.

3. He\'d always crush his enemies thoroughly.

4. He is stronger than he looks.

5. He is a VVIP customer of the top workshops on the continent.

~

These were just some of the information that they had gathered about him, and these were more than enough to show that he was not an ordinary person.

On top of that, the Black Crow Wing Suit he was wearing made him look very charismatic, and the aura he exuded was on a completely different level compared to before.

In other words, the NPCs no longer treated him as the king of a weak and tiny kingdom.

They finally recognized him as the ruler of an up-and-rising kingdom.

Enough about that.

“I suggest we delay the attack by two hours,” Siegfried said.

“Huh? By two hours?” Prince Kyrix muttered. He did not seem very pleased by the suggestion, and he had no problems voicing out his opinion, “Time is of the essence when we do not know how long it would take before the enemy’s reinforcements arrive. We cannot afford to delay, as that would make things far riskier for us.”

The officers participating in the meeting nodded to show they agreed with the prince’s reasoning.

“The prince is right.”

“The coalition forces have suffered great casualties after failing to react in time. It will be an uphill battle from now on, so we cannot afford to give time to the enemy.”

They voice their opinions one by one.

Then, Prince Kyrix asked, “But why have you requested to delay the attack, King Siegfried? May you please enlighten us with your thoughts?”

“Certainly,” Siegfried replied. Then, he smiled and said, “We cannot win this fight without the Adventurers.”

“Hmm?” Prince Kyrix raised a brow. Then, he replied, “I find it hard to believe that we cannot win without the Adventurers. Our soldiers are strong, and our knights are stronger. The coalition forces have enough fighting forces to win even without the help of the Adventurers—”

Siegfried cut him off and said, “Allow me to prove it to you then.”

“How do you plan to prove it?”

“Send five knights to scout the Axion Fortress. You will realize what I mean once you do that.”

“Huh?”

“I will personally grant one hundred thousand gold if the scouting party manages to capture an undead monster while scouting and bring it back here. Ah, it doesn’t matter, even if it’s the weakest monster.”

What he said surprised everyone. Who in their right mind would award one hundred thousand gold for capturing a weak undead monster?

This was the most reckless bet out of all reckless bets in the world.

“Can you take responsibility for those words?” Prince Kyrix asked.

“Sure thing,” Siegfried replied nonchalantly with a shrug.

“Alright, I will look for volunteers then,” Prince Kyrix replied.

Ten minutes later...

“I will go!”

“I am willing to go!”

“Please leave it to me!”

“One hundred thousand?!”

“Ten—no, one hundred! I’ll bring back one hundred undead monsters for you!”

“I volunteer tribute!”

The knights gathered around the meeting tent, trying to appeal to the best of their abilities.