Debuff Master - Chapter 1143
Chapter 1143
Once again, Siegfried was in the presence of Emperor Stuttgart.
“You’ve done well, brother.”
Emperor Stuttgart seemed to have already heard of how Siegfried had infiltrated the research facility of the Corals and rescued the revered Grandmasters, Daode Tianzun and Betelgeuse.
“I simply did my duties, Elder Brother Majesty,” Siegfried replied, still bowing. Then, he added, “Both Elder Daode Tianzun and Elder Betelgeuse are like mentors to me as well, so rescuing them was my personal duty too.”
“Still, that does not make your exploits any less impressive. Your courage deserves my deepest respect,” Emperor Stuttgart said.
“Your grace is immeasurable,” Siegfried replied, bowing his head.
“As promised, here is your reward,” Emperor Stuttgart said, gesturing to an attendant to step forward.
The emperor took out a shining stone and passed it to the attendant, who brought it over to Siegfried.
[Alert: You have obtained SS-Grade Stone of Transcendence!]
It was the item that would raise Siegfried’s level by twenty at once. It was truly a priceless treasure.
Siegfried immediately dropped to his knees and bowed low to the ground, his forehead touching the floor.
“This is such an invaluable gift! I am unworthy of such generosity, Elder Brother Majesty!” he exclaimed at the top of his lungs.
Emperor Stuttgart let out a laugh and said, “Seeing you pleased makes me feel good too.”
“Your grace is immeasurable, Elder Brother Majesty!”
“You’ve done well, truly, you have,” Emperor Stuttgart said, raising his glass and taking a sip of red wine.
The two chatted for a while until it was time for Siegfried to slowly broach the real reason for his visit today.
“Elder Brother Majesty.”
“Hm?”
“There is something… I must ask of you.”
“Speak freely, brother,” Emperor Stuttgart replied nonchalantly.
“It is about the Adventurer, Beowulf,” Siegfried mentioned carefully.
“I’ve heard the rumors. He and his followers roam the land, slaughtering innocent people, am I right?”
“Yes, Elder Brother Majesty,” Siegfried replied, bowing once more. Then, he continued with a serious look, “But the worst part is… they are all Adventurers, so there is no way to truly put an end to them.”
“Certainly. Adventurers are immortal beings, so they will just come back to life when killed. Even killing them a thousand times won’t do.”
“Precisely, Elder Brother Majesty. I have no means to restrain them permanently.”
“I see what you’re after,” Emperor Stuttgart said. Then, he raised a brow and asked, “Do you need a way to contain them permanently, brother?”
“Yes, Elder Brother Majesty.”
Emperor Stuttgart tapped his finger on the table before chuckling. Then, he said, “To bind an Adventurer temporarily is not that difficult. Any rope can hold one for a few hours.”
At those words, the emperor opened his Inventory and pulled out a vivid red rope that glowed faintly with a strange ominous hue.
[Rope of Judgement]
[A legendary rope that can bind Adventurers.]
[Once bound, they cannot escape for ten hours, no matter how strong they are.]
[Type: Rope]
[Rating: Legendary]
[Durability: 1,000/1,000]
[Restrictions: NPC use only]
[Effect: Binds an Adventurer for ten hours.]
“With this, you can capture them and drag them to a cell,” Emperor Stuttgart explained calmly.
“But I have no way to permanently keep them in prison, Elder Brother Majesty. The Adventurers are strong, and keeping them locked up will require a lot of powerful guards.”
“I suppose you will end up spending a fortune by imprisoning the Adventurers and keeping an eye on them around the clock,” Emperor Stuttgart said casually.
“It is as you have said, Elder Brother Majesty.”
“Brother.”
“Yes, Elder Brother Majesty.”
“Are you perhaps familiar with Alcatraz?”
“Yes, I am.”
It was impossible for Siegfried not to be aware of Alcatraz.
Alcatraz was an infamous prison located in the Marchioni Empire, and it was a name synonymous with the most fearsome curse among the Adventurers.
If an Adventurer was foolish enough to cause trouble in the territory of the Marchioni Empire, then a squad of elite knights—each at Level 299—would immediately come to arrest them.
Once caught, the Adventurer would be dragged to Alcatraz, locked up for the duration of the sentence they were handed. This sentence was basically the equivalent of getting banned from the game. Of course, it could be a permanent ban.
“The bars of Alcatraz…” Emperor Stuttgart said, reaching into his Inventory again. Then, he took out a piece of black steel that looked quite heavy and added, “…Are made of this very special metal.”
[Devouring Iron]
[A rare metal that absorbs energy.]
[It is virtually impossible to destroy.]
[Type: Metal]
[Rating: Legendary]
[Note: No prison forged from the Devouring Iron has ever been breached.]
“If we build a prison with that metal, then… does it mean nobody can escape from it?”
“Precisely.”
“Oooh!”
Siegfried’s heart pounded with excitement, only for the emperor’s next words to dash his hope.
“But the problem is… all known veins of Devouring Irons in this world have been completely depleted.”
“Ah…!”
“It is highly likely that no more Devouring Iron exists in this world.”
Siegfried felt like the ground dropped out from right under his feet.
Without the Devouring Iron, no prison cell could contain the Adventurer.
***
Siegfried refused to give up even after hearing the grim news from Emperor Stuttgart.
“Then, what if I send the Adventurers I capture to Alcatraz instead, Elder Brother Majesty?”
Emperor Stuttgart shook his head and replied, “That’s not possible. Alcatraz is already over capacity. If more Adventurers are forced in, the Devouring Iron that holds them would reach its limit.”
“What will happen if it reaches its limit…?”
“The hundreds of thousands of Adventurers imprisoned in it would flood back out into the world—all at once.”
Siegfried’s eyes widened. He knew that the chaos those rampaging Adventurers would cause would be nothing short of catastrophic.
“That would be extremely bad… What do we do? We can’t get anymore Devouring Iron nor can we imprison them in Alcatraz…”
“We have the Omnistone.”
“Ah!” Siegfried gasped and exclaimed at the same time.
“But,” Emperor Stuttgart said, raising a hand. Then, he continued, “Refining the Omnistone into Devouring Iron requires extremely advanced alchemical knowledge. Unfortunately, the Marchioni Empire does not possess an alchemist of that level.”
“R-Really…?” Siegfried muttered, unable to hide his surprise.
Alchemy was said to be one of the oldest arts in the world, so it was hard for him to believe that the mighty Marchioni Empire lacked a talented alchemist.
“There are barely any alchemists left, and those who stood at the pinnacle of it had already vanished,” Emperor Stuttgart said with a hint of regret.
“Ah…”
“But of course, we do have one solution,” Emperor Stuttgart said with a smile. Then, he continued, “I have heard that your daughter—my niece—is in possession of the Emerald Tablet, which contains all knowledge of alchemy.”
“Yes, that is true,” Siegfried admitted.
“Lend me the Emerald Tablet. In return, I will have my alchemists and scholars use it to refine the Omnistone into the Devouring Iron. With that, we can build more prisons, which should be enough to imprison the rampaging Adventurers.”
This was a very good offer, as they could finally lock away Lee Geon and every single one of his fanatics if they pulled it off.
“So, what do you think? Will you lend me the Emerald Tablet for a while? Think of this as a knowledge exchange agreement between our empires.”
“I will do it.”
Siegfried felt a bit hesitant to lend a valuable item such as the Emerald Tablet, but he decided to accept the emperor’s offer.
This was the only solution.
Siegfried possessed the Emerald Tablet, but he lacked the Omnistone to build prisons. On the other hand, Emperor Stuttgart possessed more than enough Omnistone to build numerous prisons, but lacked alchemical knowledge.
If they combined their resources, then it would be more than possible for them to achieve their goal.
“Excellent,” Emperor Stuttgart said with a smile. Then, he added, “I will see to it that the Devouring Irons required to build prisons will be prepared.”
“Thank you, Elder Brother Majesty,” Siegfried replied with a bow.
“And also,” Emperor Stuttgart added, suddenly remembering another agenda.
“Yes, Elder Brother Majesty?”
“Things are not looking good on the Coral Planet.”
“Eh? But things were looking good just two days ago before I left…?”
“It seems that your absence has left too large a gap.”
“Ah!”
“On top of that, not only did the Coral Emperor make an appearance, but more and more powerful Coral Warriors have appeared. We have lost our seventh consecutive defeat ever since you left.”
“Oh my god…”
“I will have to ask you to return to the Coral Planet,” Emperor Stuttgart requested. Then, he added, “Your strength is needed in the Coral Planet. Without you over there, we cannot continue our mining operations.”
In the end, Siegfried had to return to the Coral Planet in order for the Omnistone to be mined. That was the only way the Marchioni Empire could build the prisons that would hold Lee Geon and his fanatics.
Ding!
At that moment, a notification popped up in front of Siegfried’s eyes.
[Alert: You have received the Quest — End the War!]
[Return to the Coral Planet and eliminate the leader of the Corals, the Coral Emperor.]
[Type: Special Quest]
[Reward: Immeasurable]
[Progress: 0% (0/1)]
[Note: The expedition will fail if you fail this quest.]
“Can you eliminate the Coral Emperor, brother?” Emperor Stuttgart asked.
“Yes, Elder Brother Majesty. I will see it done,” Siegfried replied with a nod.
Then, a notification popped up in front of his eyes.
[Alert: You have accepted the Quest – End the War!]
With that, Siegfried’s audience with Emperor Stuttgart came to an end.
‘Just you wait. I’m going to lock you out of BNW forever with my own two hands,’ Siegfried clenched his fists and gnashed his teeth. He planned to hunt down every single one of Lee Geon’s fanatics once the prisons were complete.
Once he had imprisoned them one by one, Lee Geon would be left all alone.
‘Your turn will come. I’m going to slap you with a thousand-year sentence and have you permanently banned from this game.’
Siegfried planned to make sure Lee Geon couldn’t play the game ever again. Thus, he had to be patient and bide his time. Now that he had a solution, all he needed was to quell the rage burning inside him and wait.
After all, he was confident that he would have the last laugh in the end.
***
Siegfried wasted no time and immediately departed for the transport vessel that would carry him to the Coral Planet.
Meanwhile, Emperor Stuttgart was now back in his office after Siegfried left.
As the emperor, he couldn’t afford to waste even a single second of his time, as tending to the empire’s needs demanded all of his time. In fact, those in the imperial palace had begun to joke that the emperor was working even in his sleep.
It was then.
Duke Neighdelberg entered and said, “We have a grave problem, Your Imperial Majesty.”
“A grave problem, you say?” Emperor Stuttgart replied while keeping his eyes fixated on his documents.
Duke Neighdelberg looked as if the world was ending as he reported, “There has been a prison break in Alcatraz, sire.”
“That is quite the surprise. Was it three hundred years ago since the last prison break in Alcatraz?” Emperor Stuttgart asked.
The emperor was not all too shocked, as he believed that manmade things would eventually have their faults. Even Alcatraz, which might seem to be an impregnable fortress, was built by human hands, so it was possible for a prison break to happen once in a blue moon.
“Is there any reason for you to be this agitated? I don’t believe there was a mass breakout, no?”
“A special-class prisoner has escaped, sire.”
“Anyone who could break out of Alcatraz would without a doubt be a special-class prisoner. Now, tell me, who is it for you to react like this?”
“That is…” Duke Neighdelberg hesitated. Then, he forced the words that were stuck in his throat, “…The prisoner that escaped is the Elder Brother of Emperor Siegfried von Proa, sire.”
Snap!
Emperor Stuttgart’s quill abruptly snapped in half.
