Debuff Master - Chapter 1145
Chapter 1145
The Elite Coral Knights were far stronger than Siegfried expected.
A quick check using the Rune of Insight showed that their stats were higher than most Masters, and the fact that there were twelve of them made them an overwhelming force.
Instead of backing down, Siegfried walked straight toward the Elite Coral Knights without a hint of hesitation in his steps.
He raised his +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp.
‘I’m strong now. I can do this.’
That was the only thought in his mind.
Others would think that he was being overconfident, but he was not being overconfident at all. After all, he was a Grandmaster. Moreover, he was armed with buffs from both Hamchi and Chae Hyung-Seok.
On this battlefield, Siegfried was practically invincible, so he had no reason to hesitate at all.
Click… Clack!
The +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp transformed into a saber.
‘I’ll cut down the six at the front.’
Right afterward, he swung his saber and unleashed Heaven and Earth Cleaving Blade, sending out a cross-shaped aura blade that cleaved through the six charging Elite Coral Knights in a single attack.
‘And teleport behind them!’
Siegfried teleported right into the midst of the Elite Coral Knights and—
‘Freeze them up!’
He unleashed his powerful freezing skill, Absolute Zero.
The Elite Coral Knights froze in an instant.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Then, he charged up Crushing Tremor and struck the frozen knights, detonating a chain of explosions.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Six more Elite Coral Knights dropped to the ground. None of them managed to get in a single proper counterattack against Siegfried.
It was an anticlimactic end for warriors of their caliber.
[Alert: You have gained Experience Points!]
[Alert: You have gained Experience Points!]
[Alert: You have gained Experience Points!]
[Alert: You have gained Experience Points!]
(omitted…)
[Alert: You have gained Experience Points!]
Taking down these powerful knights earned him a ton of Experience Points.
[Alert: You have leveled up!]
[Alert: You have reached Level 477!]
Siegfried used an SS-Grade Stone of Transcendence, earning him a whopping twenty levels, boosting him from Level 456 to Level 476.
Having just obtained a ton of Experience Points thanks to the growth stimulant from Emperor Stuttgart, Siegfried instantly reached Level 477.
“…!”
Everyone present was shocked by what they witnessed. Their mouths hung agape at the absurd force Siegfried had just displayed, as he wiped out the Elite Coral Knights, who were considered absurdly powerful monsters, in the blink of an eye.
Well, not that Siegfried cared what they thought.
‘Oh man, there’s still a ton of Experience Points for me to farm here,’ Siegfried thought, his eyes gleaming as he stared at the tens of thousands of Corals still standing.
In his eyes, they were nothing more than Experience Points.
He was already obsessed with hitting Level 500 and attaining his third class advancement, so he was practically drooling at the sight of these Experience Points begging to be farmed.
Without a hint of hesitation, he gave in to the temptation.
Wooong!
The Primordial Force swirled violently around him and…
Fwoosh!
Thousands of blazing aura blades appeared in the air around him. He had drawn his fire attribute energy from his mana hall and unleashed Transcendent Torrential Flower Rain, manifesting these blazing aura blades.
“Wipe them all out. Every single one of them,” Siegfried commanded.
Shwaaaaak!
A torrential rain of flaming aura blades rained down on the Coral Forces, as if the heavens had unleashed divine punishment upon them.
It was literally an inferno raining down from the skies.
The Corals were mercilessly shredded, cut down, and scorched by the raining inferno.
“Retreat! Retreat!”
“All units! Fall back!”
“Pull back immediately!”
“Run for your lives! Save yourselves!”
The Coral Forces abandoned all thoughts of continuing the battle and fled the battlefield like a receding tide after witnessing Siegfried’s overwhelming power.
The intense battle that raged on for so long without a clear victory was over just like that.
However, Siegfried was not about to let them run away.
‘There’s no way I’m going to miss out on all those Experience Points,’ he thought, running after the retreating Corals.
“…!”
The Marchioni Imperial Army flinched and froze for a second, unsure how to reach.
If they chased after the enemies, then they would end up deep behind enemy lines and right at the doorsteps of the enemy’s fortress.
However, that was exactly what Siegfried wanted.
“All forces! Pursue the retreating enemies! Hunt them down and kill every single one of them! Today, we will take their fortress and claim victory!” Siegfried roared, his voice booming across the battlefield.
He planned to ride this momentum all the way and conquer the fortress in one go to completely turn the tide of the battlefield to their favor.
“L-Let’s go!”
“Follow His Imperial Majesty!”
“Siegfried von Proa is with us!”
“Chaaarge!”
“Kill those alien bastards!”
WAAAAAAH!
The Marchioni Imperial Army swiftly responded to the command of their supreme commander without any hesitation.
Though Siegfried’s command seemed reckless, the imperial army showed why they were renowned for being the strongest and most disciplined forces on the entire continent.
They charged after the fleeing enemies, running right behind their supreme commander, Siegfried von Proa.
***
On that same afternoon, the Marchioni Imperial Army achieved a stunning victory by capturing the Coral Race’s fortress.
“We won!”
“Victory!”
“Glory to the Marchioni Empire!”
“Long live the empire!”
“Glory to the Proatine Empire!”
“Long live His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Siegfried von Proa!”
“Three cheers for Emperor Siegfried von Proa!”
“Hurrah!”
“Hurrah!”
“Hurrah!”
Thanks to this, the frontlines that had been locked in a stalemate and plunged into chaos by Cain’s betrayal finally managed to get some much-needed breathing space.
Meanwhile, Siegfried captured the Coral Commander alive.
He intended to interrogate him, but he had no interest in wasting time on torture or repetitive questioning.
In his eyes, an interrogation was nothing but a huge waste of his precious time.
Why would he bother with all that when he could just turn them into an Irradiator and make them spill every single secret they knew?
“So, your name was Amarius? Just keep your mouth shut, okay? I’m going to make you talk eventually,” Siegfried said, as he injected the middle-aged Coral named Amarius with his radioactive microbes.
The microbes flooded into Amarius’ head, turning him into an Irradiator.
“I greet my master.”
Upon getting brainwashed and becoming Siegfried’s loyal puppet, Amarius knelt before Siegfried just as a loyal servant would do in the presence of their master.
“What exactly is the Coral Emperor?” Siegfried asked.
“The Coral Emperor is the leader and god of all Corals,” Amarius replied.
“Hm? He is a god?”
“The Coral Emperor is worshipped as the living incarnation of the Creator found in myths.”
“Ah, I see… So for the Corals… the emperor’s authority is absolute? Is that it?”
“Nearly every Coral swears loyalty to the emperor and worships him as a god, except…”
“Huh? Except?”
“Except for the rebel faction led by Mordred, a rebel who attempted a coup three years ago.”
“Mordred? So you got rebels here, too.”
Siegfried had never heard of that piece of information before, so he decided to dig deeper.
‘Know your enemy and you’ll never lose a hundred battles, right?’ he thought with a shrug. It was definitely far more advantageous for him to understand the Corals rather than knowing nothing about them.
“Mordred was a chancellor. But he rose up against the emperor and failed. Because of the failed uprising, this planet fell into ruin,” Amarius explained. Then, he added, “And that is also the reason why they could not properly defend against this invasion.”
“I see…”
“They managed to crush the rebellion in the end, but the Coral Emperor was badly wounded in the process. But as far as I know, he has already recovered.”
“What kind of being is the Coral emperor? Does he have any special abilities?”
“The Coral Emperor has the power to maximize the combat prowess of those around him.
“Huh? Maximize their combat prowess…?”
“Even an ordinary warrior can instantly become an Elite Coral Knight after receiving the emperor’s blessings.”
“W-What?!”
“That is why the faith of our people in him is absolute.”
“I see,” Siegfried replied with a nod. Then, he asked, “But where is the Coral Emperor now?”
“I am afraid that is a piece of information I am unable to gather.”
“Anything else?”
“The emperor is most likely going to try and create more Elite Coral Knights. Once he gets them prepared, then he will without a doubt seek vengeance.”
“Got it,” Siegfried replied with a nod.
He had just extracted critical intel from Amarius.
‘The key is the Coral Emperor. Once I take that bastard out, the Coral won’t be able to create any more elite units.’
Siegfried had one more reason to eliminate the Coral Emperor. The so-called emperor was their supreme leader, their god, and the one who was paying for the upkeep of any tabs.
In other words, Siegfried had to strike before the Coral Emperor could produce more troops.
“Bring me any prisoners who seem to be of value. I’ll brainwash them and extract every bit of information they have. I might send a few of them as spies, too.”
“As you command, Master!”
Siegfried decided to focus on gathering information for now.
Why?
It was all because he had far too little information about this place and about the Corals.
After all, planning an assassination attempt on the Coral Emperor was downright impossible if he had no idea where to look to begin with.
Planting a spy among the Corals was not an option, as the difference in appearance between humans and Corals made it too easy to get caught.
However, Siegfried possessed the skill that could allow him to brainwash the Corals, so it was possible to use them as spies.
‘I’ll keep fighting for now and try to find clues about the emperor’s whereabouts. Once I know his location, I’m going for the kill.’
With a plan in mind, Siegfried continued to involve himself in the war.
***
Siegfried finished the post-battle clean-up effort and headed straight for the marketplace.
Just as always, he was once again on the hunt for Coral armor that provided a boost to the skill level of Karma Flare.
He had already experienced just how devastating Green Hell Magno had become after receiving a boost of fifteen skill levels. Now that he knew just how good the skill level boosts were, his thirst for an armor boosting Karma Flare only got worse.
If he could raise Karma Flare’s skill level even higher, then he could wipe out even the powerful Elite Coral Knights with it without having to rely on using his ultimate offensive skills.
‘It has to be there somewhere…’
Wearing his Metamorphosis Mask, Siegfried wandered through the bustling market, scanning stall after stall in search of the item he desperately wanted.
Unfortunately, an armor that boosted the skill level of Karma Flare proved to be elusive, as he found not a single one even after combing through almost an endless number of stalls.
Of course, Siegfried was not the only one struggling to find what they were looking for.
“Ugh! This is killing me!”
“I’ve been looking for two months and I haven’t seen even one.”
“Fuck this RNG. I’m done.”
There were plenty of other Adventurers like Siegfried, who were frustrated out of their minds after failing to find the item that matched their build.
The Coral armor was like a final ray of hope for those who were stuck at Level 299.
In the world of BNW, the system made it extremely difficult to hit Level 300 through ordinary means. One would have to clear a special quest that would help them break through the wall, which meant that the only way to get stronger was to boost one’s power through upgrading their skills or gear.
Thus, the vast majority of Adventurers who were stuck at Level 299 threw everything they had into enhancing their gear, even though it was an extremely risky thing to do.
And that was exactly why Coral was highly sought after.
Just by wearing the armor, the Adventurers would receive a boost to their skill level, which meant that they could grow stronger without having to level up or enhance their gear.
Hence, using enhanced weapons and Coral armor became the new meta for most high-level Adventurers.
‘I guess no luck today too…’ Siegfried thought, disappointed.
Just as he was about to turn around and leave—
“Selling pants with Karma Flare skill!”
A voice rang out from somewhere.
“…!”
The moment Siegfried heard the words “Karma Flare,”he flew like a bullet toward where the voice had come from.
He had been scouring the market for a long time for an item that boosted Karma Flare’s skill level, and he was willing to pay way above market price as long as he could get his hands on it.
