Debuff Master - Chapter 1154

Chapter 1154

After receiving the report, Siegfried went to the command center and rushed straight to the defensive frontline.

“Ah…” He let out a long sigh the moment he arrived, as the defensive frontline was already a wasteland.

“Ughh…”

“Help… me…”

Wounded soldiers were sprawled out everywhere, groaning in agony.

The defensive structures had been reduced to rubble, the fortress walls were completely destroyed, and every cannon had been smashed to pieces.

However, that wasn’t all.

“This is… it’s literally hell…’

Siegfried stood frozen at the sight in front of him.

Corpses, corpses, and more corpses.

No, calling them corpses was an understatement.

Torn limbs and lumps of fresh flesh littered the entire battlefield, and the blood from the carnage merged together to form small streams. He had witnessed countless battlefields in his life, but never one this gruesome and horrific.

The gruesome sight was more than enough to send a chill down his spine.

“That guy… destroyed all this and simply vanished…?” Siegfried muttered, looking around.

He decided to focus on helping the wounded and evacuating them after judging that the massacre was over and the assailant was nowhere to be found.

The battle had ended, so staying here was meaningless. The Corals would soon swarm the area to take control of it, so it was best to retreat while he still could. The only thing left for him to do was to gather up the few remaining survivors and get them out alive.

“Hey, Hamchi.”

“Kyu?”

“Let’s gather the wounded together and get them out of here.”

”Kyuuu! Got it!”

Siegfried opened a communication link to the command center and was about to call in medics for help when—

Bzzt! Bzzt!

Siegfried stopped in his tracks and froze. His feet were planted firmly on the blood-soaked ground. He could feel an overwhelmingly powerful presence in the distance.

Badump! Badump! Badump!

His heart was pounding wildly against his chest.

‘My body’s reacting this strongly…?’

The overwhelming presence was not even close by, yet his heart was racing just from sensing it. It was proof of just how monstrously strong the unidentified assailant was.

‘So that bastard’s still here somewhere…’

Siegfried realized that the unidentified assailant hadn’t left the battlefield at all.

He turned to Hamchi and said.

“Hey, Hamchi.”

“Kyu?”

“Keep gathering the wounded for me, will ya?”

“Kyuu! Where are you going, owner punk?”

“To catch the bastard responsible for this.”

“Kyu?”

“Anyway, I’ll leave things here to you. I’m leaving.”

With those words, Siegfried headed in the direction where he could feel the overwhelmingly powerful presence.

It took him about five minutes on foot to finally see him.

A man clad in black armor was sitting atop a mound of corpses as if it were a throne.

Badump! Badump! Badump!

The closer he got to the man, the more violently his heart pounded against his chest.

‘Who is this guy? Why is my body reacting like this?’ Siegfried wondered.

A rush of worry and excitement filled him as he walked closer.

The man seemed to have sensed Siegfried as well.

“Hello, junior brother,” said the man, sounding calm and casual.

***

The man addressed Siegfried as “junior brother,” which was a term used to call someone who was younger and studied under the same master.

‘If he’s calling me junior brother… then he must be the first disciple master ever had,’ Siegfried thought, realizing who the man was.

“I don’t have any elder brother. There’s only one disciple under my master, and that’s me,” Siegfried retorted coldly. Then, he drew his +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp and added, “My master has only ever had one disciple, and there has been no one else aside from me.”

“Haha… Such an arrogant junior you are. You dare deny the existence of your senior?” Sigurd let out a chuckle.

“I’m not denying anything. I’m merely stating facts. There’s only one true successor to master’s teachings. And that’s me,” Siegfried said, his voice firm and unwavering.

“Is that so?” Sigurd mused, slowly getting up from the pile of corpses. Then, he asked, “Do you truly believe you alone can carry the lineage of invincibility with that pathetic level of skill, junior brother?”

“I’ve already told you. I don’t have a so-called elder brother,” Siegfried retorted. Then, he said, “Just cut the crap and let’s settle this.”

Ding!

A quest window popped up before Siegfried’s eyes.

[Heir Duel]

[Defeat Deus’ exiled first disciple, Sigurd, and prove that you are the one true successor to the power of invincibility.]

[Type: Special Quest]

[Reward: Skill Book]

[Progress: 0% (0/1)]

[Warning: You will lose your class if you fail this quest!]

‘Huh? A skill book if I win? But I’ll lose my class if I fail? What the hell?’

The reward and penalty of this special quest did not make sense at all.

If he ended up losing, he would lose his class as the Invincible Emperor, which meant that his character would basically be ruined. It would become no different from an empty shell.

Just like when he faced Deus’ final trial, this was an all-or-nothing fight.

‘I have no choice…’

However, Siegfried did not even think of backing down. If he wanted to prove himself as the one and only heir of Deus, he had to defeat Sigurd here and now.

‘No matter what. I’m going to win and prove that I’m master’s only true disciple,’ he thought.

With that conviction, he lunged at Sigurd, striking first to seize the momentum.

“How impatient,’ Sigurd muttered, raising his spear to block the oncoming attack.

Clang!

The clash between Sigurd’s spear and Siegfried’s +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp unleashed a deafening shockwave that devastated the area around them.

“Your strength’s not bad. Quite unexpected, actually,” Sigurd said with a grin.

“I’m not just strong, buddy. I’ve got skills, too,” Siegfried sneered in response.

He slipped his weapon down and threw a high kick at Sigurd.

Sigurd twisted smoothly and dodged the kick with ease. Then, Sigurd aimed his spear at Siegfried and said, “Looks like I have to beat some manners into you, junior brother.”

Shwiiiiik!

Sigurd’s spear shot forward at terrifying speeds, aiming for Siegfried’s chest.

‘In our dreams!’

Siegfried swung his weapon down, deflecting the spear, and then he swung his weapon to counterattack.

However, Sigurd parried the counter with a flick of his spear, and then he thrust his spear forward in one fluid movement.

An intense battle between the two disciples unfolded.

The clash of steel was like a raging storm, and they exchanged hundreds of blows in a matter of seconds.

‘Damn it… This guy’s strong,’ Siegfried thought, narrowing his eyes. As much as he hated to admit it, Sigurd’s spear technique had reached a realm bordering on divine.

Siegfried possessed MAX mastery in every weapon thanks to the teachings passed down to him by Shakiro. He could wield any weapon flawlessly, and he knew exactly how to counter all kinds of fighting styles.

However, Sigurd’s spear outclassed him by a level.

‘What the hell? How is this even possible?’ Siegfried thought, surprised after sensing that he was slowly being overpowered.

Sigurd’s spear was so precise and relentless that the longer they clashed, the more ground he gained against Siegfried.

‘I’ll have to switch weapons,’ Siegfried thought, transforming the +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp into different kinds of weapons.

He tried transforming it into a sword, an axe, and a staff, but it was all useless.

Sigurd’s spear was so perfect that it had no gaps.

Bam!

Sigurd slammed his spear into Siegfried’s side.

“Gah!” Siegfried gasped, his breath knocked out of his lungs from the impact.

“Master created the techniques but never the form. Do you know why?” Sigurd asked coldly. Then, he thrust his spear forward, raining down an endless barrage at Siegfried.

“Because the power of invincibility was designed to work with any weapon,” Sigurd continued.

“Argh!”

“I built my own spear style using our master’s skillset. I used that to create this Invincible Spear Art,” Sigurd said, walking casually toward him.

“Invincible Spear Art?”

“I fused an ancient spear art used by a renowned spearman in the ancient days and fused it with our master’s teachings,” Sigurd said. Then, he casually walked toward Siegfried, saying, “I am nothing like you. You just rely on our master’s teachings while using your half-baked techniques.”

Whoosh!

With those words, Sigurd thrust his spear just once, but he unleashed nine thrusts all at once.

“Arghhhh!”

Siegfried transformed his +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp into a shield and blocked the spear, but the force sent him hurtling back into the blood-stained ground.

Sigurd crushed him using the Invincible Spear Art he had created. He proved that he was way ahead of Siegfried when it came to the fundamentals of Deus’ techniques.

***

‘This is insane. The Invincible Spear Art? Just what kind of martial art is that?’

Siegfried had never seen a technique so flawless before. Not even Shakiro, Leonid, and Betelgeuse had forged a technique that could match Sigurd’s Invincible Spear Art.

As expected, the technique’s name was in no way an exaggeration of its capabilities.

‘Damn it. I’m losing in terms of techniques against this bastard. And it seems like my new skill isn’t working on him, too,’ Siegfried thought, realizing that his new passive skill, Domination, was not affecting Sigurd at all.

[Domination]

[Kneel and worship the Invincible Emperor!]

[Type: Passive]

[Duration: Infinite]

[Cost: None]

[Range: 30 meters]

[Effect: All targets of lower or slightly higher level will have all of their stats reduced by 25%]

Domination was an insanely powerful passive skill that inflicted a debuff on anyone near Siegfried. With this passive skill, Siegfried could significantly reduce the stats of his enemies with his mere presence alone.

However, the catch was that the skill was useless against enemies more powerful than him.

Clearly, Sigurd was more powerful than him.

Siegfried flashed his Rune of Insight at Sigurd, but he couldn’t even read Sigurd’s stats, which meant that the level gap between them was far greater than the former had imagined.

“Is this all you’ve got, junior brother? Barely on your feet already?” Siegfried mocked, his voice dripping with contempt. Then, he said, “And you claim to be an heir of the power of invincibility with that pathetic—”

Swhiiiik!

Siegfried unleashed Heaven and Earth Cleaving Blade aimed at Sigurd’s throat.

It was a perfect ambush. It was an attack so fast that Sigurd couldn’t react to it, but…

“Ha…” Sigurd let out a sigh and calmly wiped away the trickle of blood on his neck.

‘W-What the hell? No damage?’ Siegfried was shocked.

He was certain that he managed to hit Sigurd, but that wasn’t the problem here.

[Sigurd]

[HP: Infinite (∞)]

The problem was that Sigurd’s HP was literally infinite. No, to be more precise, he didn’t have an HP bar.

“Do you know why the Marchioni Empire didn’t execute me and locked me in Alcatraz instead?” Sigurd asked, his voice calm and steady.

“Why…?”

“They tried to kill me dozens of times. They tore my limbs apart, burned me alive, drowned me, and did basically everything they could. But they couldn’t kill me at all.”

Siegfried felt a chill shoot down his spine.

The Marchioni Empire was infamous for wiping out entire clans if even a single one of them dared to commit treason. They would never negotiate with rebels and would mercilessly kill those daring to go against the empire.

Taking that into consideration, the fact that they spared Sigurd made absolutely no sense. Of course, it was a different story if they couldn’t kill him at all.

“I obtained the power of immortality while exploring an ancient dungeon. I died once and came back to life, but not as an undead. I was reborn into an undying being.”

“T-That’s impossible…”

“I am Deus’ disciple, and I wield the Invincible Spear Art. I hold the power of immortality, too,” Sigurd declared. Then, he stared straight at Siegfried and asked, “Who else but I, could be the true successor of the power of invincibility? Don’t you think so, junior brother?”

Wooong!

A crimson halo spread out from behind Sigurd’s back, and a red hue engulfed the entire battlefield.

Right after, notifications flooded Siegfried’s eyes.

[Alert: Your Defense has been reduced!]

[Alert: Your Magic Resistance has been reduced!]

[Alert: Your Defense has been reduced!]

[Alert: Your Magic Resistance has been reduced!]

(omitted…)

[Alert: Your Defense has been reduced!]

[Alert: Your Magic Resistance has been reduced!]

At long last, Sigurd finally used the debuff skills he had learned from Deus.