Debuff Master - Chapter 1151

Chapter 1151

Siegfried’s hunt of the Corals went on the next day and even the day after that.

Unfortunately, he was no longer leveling up at the same rate as he used to. He managed to hit Level 499, but the amount of Experience Points required to reach Level 500 had increased exponentially, making it almost impossible to meet.

“Hmm… Maybe I should try hunting the native creatures on this planet instead…” Siegfried muttered, considering it for a moment.

The Coral Planet was not just home to the Coral Race. It had its own set of strange yet unique creatures that were unlike anything on the Nurburg Continent.

Rumor had it that those beasts gave out decent Experience Points, and their byproducts, such as their horns, hides, and blood, would all fetch a pretty penny.

Hunting down those native creatures was starting to become popular among the Adventurers.

“A very important piece of intel just came in, sire.”

Right then, Hansen approached with a report.

“Oh? What is it about?” Siegfried asked.

“The Corals are laying a trap to hunt you down, sire,” Hansen said, his voice low but tense.

“Oh really? So they finally decided to come after me?” Siegfried replied with a smirk.

He was not surprised at all, as it was about time the Corals woke up and create a countermeasure against him. After the damage he had inflicted on them, it was a no-brainer that they would try to set a trap in order to get rid of him.

“So, what are they plotting?”

“The Adventurer who betrayed us, Cain, has gathered his guild members and some Elite Coral Knights. And they are waiting for you right here,” Hansen said, pointing at a spot on the map.

“A supply depot?”

Hansen pointed at a major food depot with vital strategic value.

Without a doubt, Siegfried would raid it sooner or later, and it was also a perfect bait for Siegfried.

“It’s a perfect spot to raze to the ground, isn’t it?” Siegfried asked with a grin.

“Well, yes… But—”

“Good! Let’s go then!”

“P-Pardon?! Y-Your Imperial Majesty? Are you really going?”

“Why not?”

“Despite knowing they are lying in wait for you? Why?!”

“That’s exactly why we have to go.”

“Huh…?”

“What do you think they will start suspecting if we don’t hit such an obvious place?” Siegfried asked, tapping the map lightly. Then, he said, “They will start suspecting that we have a spy and information is leaking from their side, no?”

“Y-Yes, that is a possibility, but still—”

“Then we’re going to play dumb. We’ll walk in and look oblivious to what they have in store for us. That way, they won’t suspect that we have spies among them.”

Hansen swallowed a hard lump stuck in his throat after realizing what Siegfried meant.

Preserving Siegfried was indeed important, but their spies getting caught now would ruin their main goal—the Coral Emperor.

With that in mind, Hansen agreed with Siegfried’s decision that somebody like Cain was not worth burning their spies.

“Our goal is to kill the Coral Emperor. We’ll feign ignorance for now and bite the trap they set for us. We can’t let them suspect we’ve got eyes and ears inside,” Siegfried said. Then, he emphasized, “Keep in mind that we will only act when going after our main goal, the Coral Emperor. Okay? Not to avoid a nobody like Cain.”

Hansen couldn’t help but be in awe of Siegfried’s mind. The fact that he was prepared to risk himself in order to preserve their spies, all in order to capture the Coral Emperor, was truly amazing.

“Then… Does my lord plan to walk into their trap…?”

“I have to,” Siegfried replied with a shrug. Then, he grinned and added, “They probably think I’m arrogant and reckless. So we dance to their tune for now in order to fool them.

“Ah…”

“But I won’t be in any danger, so don’t worry. In fact, I’m going to show them exactly what the difference between our power looks like.”

***

Meanwhile, Cain positioned himself in the supply depot, waiting for Siegfried to show up.

“Okay, place your bets!”

“I’m gonna cut your damn hand off if I catch you cheating, got it?!”

While waiting, he played Hardstone with his guild members to pass the time.

However, Cain couldn’t focus on the game at all, as his mind was completely occupied with thoughts of Siegfried.

‘Come on. Hurry up and come here. I’m waiting for you. It’s payback time, you bastard,’ Cain thought, brimming with confidence.

He had undergone explosive growth after receiving the Forced Blooming from the Coral Emperor. With his newfound power, he truly believed that he could defeat Siegfried—no, he believed that he could completely crush the latter.

This was the opportunity for him to destroy the so-called main protagonist of BNW, the one who had become the very face of the game.

Cain was itching for Siegfried to raid the supply depot, so he could finally prove who was the more powerful one between them.

He had no doubts of his victory, and he even had his livestream ready to go. He planned to broadcast the whole battle for the world to see. He wanted to show the world how he was going to humiliate the main protagonist of the game.

‘Come on. I’ve prepared so much just for you,’ Cain thought.

It was then.

“Ah~ Ah~ Ah ah ah~ Aaaah~”

A slow, gentle tune suddenly reverberated throughout the supply depot.

“What the hell?! Who turned on some music? Switch it off, dumbass!”

“The heck is that…?”

The guild members stationed in the supply depot grumbled in annoyance. The tune was so sluggish and slow that it made their eyelids turn into lead.

“Ah… I’m getting sleepy…”

“ZzZz… Zzz…”

One by one, the Adventurers slumped over the tables, snoring.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

They fell asleep one after another, their cards scattered across the floor.

“W-What the fuck?!” Cain screamed, shooting up to his feet.

He couldn’t help but be shocked after seeing everyone guarding the supply depot just get knocked out cold, yet he was not affected at all.

“Hey! Get up! Wake up, damn it!”

Cain grabbed his guildmates by the shoulders and shook them hard.

However, there was no response.

His guildmates were still fast asleep, as if affected by some kind of crowd control skill.

Out of the twenty thousand-strong garrison, only Cain and a few hundred Elite Coral Knights were still standing.

Over ninety percent of the defenders were incapacitated in the proverbial blink of an eye.

“What the hell is going on…?”

Before Cain could even piece things together…

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The sky roared as meteors rained down from the sky.

Meteor Storm.

It was the spell that even the greatest of magicians could only dream of casting.

Krwaaaang! Krwaaaang!

The meteors came crashing down on the supply depot, instantly causing widespread destruction. Not only were the facilities destroyed, but a vast majority of the sleeping defenders were killed too.

‘W-What the fuck is going on?! What the fuck is this?!’ Cain screamed inwardly, refusing to believe the sight before him.

It was then.

“Oh? I didn’t expect to see you here, man.”

Cain heard a familiar voice from behind. He turned around and saw Siegfried von Proa casually walking toward him with a smug grin.

“What are you doing here, man?” Siegfried asked with his hands in his pockets.

“Han… Tae-Sung!” Cain growled.

Cain realized that all of this was Siegfried’s work.

***

“Fancy seeing you here. So, what are you up to?” Siegfried greeted as if they were old friends bumping into each other on the street.

“What’s it look like, asshole? You’re screwed, Han Tae-Sung,” Cain shot back, flashing a confident grin.

Even though he had just lost thousands of troops in the blink of an eye, he did not look rattled at all.

And it was obvious why.

He had never really counted on the others to begin with. He trusted himself, his newfound powers, and the might of the Coral Race’s elite knights.

“Today is the day you pay for your damn arrogance, Han Tae-Sung,” Cain said with a twisted grin as he drew his sword.

The Elite Coral Knights stepped out from the shadows with their swords drawn, completely encircling Siegfried.

“W-What?! Did I fall into a trap? Oh no!” Siegfried cried out, pretending to be caught off guard.

Despite knowing the whole situation, he still put on his best act to look surprised.

“Look around you! I told you, didn’t I? Your cockiness is gonna cost you dearly one day!”

At those words, Cain suddenly lunged toward Siegfried. His speed was so fast that he turned into a blur the moment he moved.

‘Hm? What happened to this guy?’ Siegfried wondered, narrowing his eyes.

Cain was not the same man he had known before. He was now Level 450 and a Grandmaster.

On top of that, his class became a legendary class, Kaiser Sword.

The guy who was barely Level 300 just days ago suddenly became a Grandmaster overnight.

‘Hmm… Is this one of the Coral Emperor’s tricks?’ Siegfried wondered while weaving in and out, evading Cain’s attacks. The fact that a Master suddenly became a Grandmaster was truly absurd and nothing short of a scam.

Most people had to bust their asses off their entire lives just to get anywhere near the realm of Grandmaster, yet Cain managed to step into the realm with just one trick from the Coral Emperor.

‘So this is why those aliens worship him like he’s some damn god…’

Siegfried finally understood why the Coral Emperor was revered as a god among the Corals.

“Did you think you’re the only Grandmaster here?” Cain sneered as he pressed the assault. Then, he said proudly, “I am a Grandmaster, too!”

Cain believed with every fiber of his being that he now stood equal with Siegfried—no, he believed he was far better than him. Now that their stats were equal, he was confident that his superior skills and talent would completely crush Siegfried.

“Pfft… Do you think just anyone can become a Grandmaster?” Siegfried scoffed, blocking the attacks with ease.

Ssseuuuu…!

A dark, ominous aura spread out from Siegfried and wrapped itself around Cain.

It was the Lord of Despair’s debilitating debuff skill that unleashed a powerful slowing effect on its target, Embrace of Despair.

“Arghhh!”

Cain suddenly felt like his body had become a huge lump of lead as his Movement Speed visibly slowed down. Of course, that was not all.

Fwaaaah!

Siegfried cast Karma Flare and set Cain’s body ablaze, dealing massive damage.

“Hey, you’re not a tank, are you?”

Before Cain even realized it, Siegfried was already right in front of him, asking the most random question.

“W-What the fuck do you—”

“This is going to hurt then.”

Baaam!

The +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp pummeled Cain, who was reduced to nothing more than a sandbag after getting debuffed by Embrace of Despair.

“Argh! Kuheok! Kwek!”

Cain gasped in shock upon seeing a huge chunk of his HP bar disappear in the blink of an eye. The sheer power of Karma Flare was so overwhelming that Cain’s defenses were rendered meaningless.

“S-Stop him! Kill him!” Cain shouted at the Elite Coral Knights.

At his command, the Elite Coral Knights charged at Siegfried.

Unfortunately, their efforts were in vain.

“I don’t like getting lynched,” Siegfried said.

With those words, another dark aura spread out from him, swallowing both him and Cain.

The World of Despair.

Even though Siegfried knew that he was far more powerful, he was not so reckless as to face so many Elite Coral Knights all at once. He had no doubt that he would win against them, but he did not want to take any chances or go through the hassle of dealing with so many of them.

Thus, he decided to kill Cain first before getting to work on the Elite Coral Knights.

***

“Where am I…?” Cain muttered, glancing around warily inside the World of Despair.

“Where do you think? This is the interrogation room, buddy,” Siegfried replied.

“Interrogation room…?”

“Time for you to realize the vastness of the gap between us.”

With that, Siegfried stowed away his +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp in his inventory and clenched both fists.

If there was one thing Siegfried learned from the countless ordeals he had overcome, then it would be the fact that not all Masters were the same, and not all Grandmasters were the same.

Now, he intended to impart that very wisdom unto Cain.

He would make Cain feel the gap between them with his own body; he would engrave into Cain’s very soul that an incompetent fool like him could boost his stats and level using some petty magic trick, but there was still no way he could defeat a true Grandmaster.