Debuff Master-Chapter 1038

Chapter 1038
Siegfried’s coronation ceremony was quite grand in itself.
It wasn't as extravagant or luxurious as the Holy Alliance’s ceremony, but it still followed the proper decorum, fitting for a coronation.
In front of countless citizens and honored guests from across the continent, Siegfried underwent the rites of ascension.
The one who presided over the coronation ceremony was none other than the Emperor of the Marchioni Empire himself. Since it was Emperor Stuttgart who had officially recognized Siegfried’s ascension to an emperor, it was only fitting that he presided over it.
Emperor Stuttgart held a golden crown upon Siegfried’s head and proclaimed, “I, Stuttgart von Posteriore, Emperor of the Marchioni Empire, hereby anoint Siegfried van Proa as Emperor.”
“Your grace is immeasurable, Your Imperial Majesty,” Siegfried replied, bowing his head deeply before the emperor.
Siegfried reaffirmed the relationship between him and Emperor Stuttgart in front of everyone present. This unspoken gesture demonstrated his intent to maintain the diplomatic relationship between the Proatine Kingdom and the Marchioni Empire.
Even though he was now an emperor himself, he was openly showing that the hierarchy between him and Emperor Stuttgart still existed, and he was basically acknowledging that he stood a rank below the Marchioni Empire.
It was truly a wise decision, as the Marchioni Empire was a crucial ally of the Proatine Kingdom—or rather, the newly established Proatine Empire.
The Proatine Kingdom itself originated as a vassal state of the Marchioni Empire. If the Proatine Empire suddenly began acting like it was on equal footing with its former suzerain, then that would be pure foolishness.
Rather than acting out because the kingdom was now an empire, the Proatine Empire ought to stabilize itself internally and raise its military might. At the moment, the continent was embroiled in turmoil, and any power struggle resulting from arrogance could result in dire consequences.
Thus, maintaining the relationship while working toward restoring peace on the continent took precedence over anything else.
“From this day on, Siegfried von Proa is the Emperor of the Proatine Empire, and Brunhilde von Proa is the Empress of the Proatine Empire,” Emperor Stuttgart declared, officially crowning the couple as emperor and empress.
Just then...
Shwaaaa...!
Suddenly, a divine light beamed down from the sky, bathing Siegfried in it.
“Ooooh!”
“Oh my god!”
“Even the heavens have blessed His Majesty!”
Everyone witnessing the unexpected and wondrous sight was in complete awe.
However, the one surprised the most was Siegfried himself.
“W-What the hell?!” He shrieked and stumbled back in shock after the light resembling a UFO abduction beam shone down on him. This was not an event prepared for the coronation, so he had no clue what was going on.
Ding!
Then, a notification popped up before his eyes.
[Alert: Congratulations!]
[Alert: You are a creature blessed by the Creator!]
[Alert: The Creator’s blessing celebrates your rise to the imperial throne!]
[Alert: You have received the buff: Glory of the Empire!]
***
‘
So the Creator really does exist...’
Siegfried thought.
He had little doubt that the Creator was real after seeing the blessing he received. He had no idea where that divine being was or what He could be doing, but either way, the blessing was granted.
Siegfried was now benefiting from the Glory of the Empire buff, which was bestowed directly upon him by the Creator.
The effects of the blessing were...
[Glory of the Empire]
[O lands blessed by the Creator!]
[Prosperity and glory shall be yours for all generations to come!]
[Type: Passive]
[Rating: Mythic]
[Effects]
- Chance of high-tier talent appearing within the territory +200%
- Chance of technological breakthroughs occurring within the territory +200%
- Chance of great individuals appearing in the territory +200%
- Chance of bountiful harvests within the territory +200%
(omitted...)
(omitted...)
- All forts gain +120% combat power when defending within the territory.
The Glory of the Empire buff was simply overwhelming.
‘
This is crazy!’
Siegfried exclaimed inwardly while skimming through the details.
If the buff remained permanently, then it was only a matter of time before the Proatine Empire grew to rival even the mighty Marchioni Empire in terms of technology development.
However, that was not the end of the buff.
[Alert: Congratulations!]
[Alert: You have gained a level!]
[Alert: You have reached Level 375!]
[Alert: You have reached Level 376!]
[Alert: You have reached Level 377!]
(omitted...)
(omitted...)
[Alert: You have reached Level 390!]
The blessing bestowed by the Creator raised Siegfried's level sixteen times, bringing him from Level 374 to Level 390.
But that was not all...
[Alert: You have acquired a new skill!]
[Alert: Go to "My Skills" tab to view your newly-acquired skill!]
For the first time in what felt like an eternity, Siegfried had gained a new skill as the Lord of Despair.
‘
What could it be?’
he wondered.
The urge to check his new skill was almost unbearable, but he was unable to do so.
“All hail His Imperial Majesty!”
“Long live His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Siegfried von Proa!”
“All hail the Proatine Empire!”
“Long live the Proatine Empire!”
Rather than checking the details of his new skill, Siegfried decided to accept the cheers of his people first.
This was still a formal event, so he had to act accordingly.
In other words, he did not have the luxury to assign stat or skill points, let alone open his skill window to check his newly-acquired skill.
***
After ascending the throne, Siegfried established an official Allied Forces led by the Proatine Empire and declared war against the Holy Alliance.
Meanwhile, the Holy Alliance was in utter chaos.
Siegfried's terrorist attack during the coronation ceremony resulted in the deaths of high-ranking officials. To make things worse, it was no exaggeration to say that Bismarck II suffered the worst of it.
He had to be submerged in a special tank filled with a special liquid solution, and there was a ventilator attached to his mouth so that he would stay alive. He had been fully exposed to the radioactive energy, so he wouldn't survive a minute without this setup.
“Your Holiness! Please endure just a little longer! We will find a cure, no matter what!”
“Stay strong, Your Holiness!”
The healers of the Holy Alliance struggled desperately to heal Bismarck II, but it was all futile, as curing radiation exposure was nearly impossible. His chromosomes had been completely damaged, making it impossible for any cellular regeneration to take place.
In other words, his body was slowly disintegrating, cell by cell.
— Hurry... Make preparations... for the Archangels... to descend...
Bismarck II issued his commands to the clergy through a communications device linked to his brain.
— Only they can... heal me... and restart the... war against... the heretics... Vengeance... I must have... my vengeance...
Even in his state, Bismarck II swore revenge on Siegfried—the culprit who had reduced him to such a state. His desire for vengeance was so fierce that even while submerged in the tank with his mangled body, his eyes gleamed with a terrifying thirst for blood.
“Yes, Your Holiness! We shall immediately resume the war! We will punish those wicked heretics by the will of the Creator!”
“We shall hasten the descent of the Archangels!”
In response to Bismarck II’s command, the clergy reorganized their armies and began preparations for war.
On that same night—
“Your Imperial Majesty! We have received transmission from an unidentified frequency!”
Siegfried had just settled down in bed, ready to share an intimate evening with Brunhilde to celebrate his coronation, but he was interrupted by a . Without delay, Siegfried got up and rushed to the communication room.
Who was the one contacting him? It was none other than the leader of the Illuminati—the Master.
— Siegfried van Proa–or should I be calling you Siegfried
von
Proa now?
As soon as the line connected, the Master started the call by mocking him.
‘
Wow, look at this bastard,’
Siegfried scowled, certain that the Master was none other than Beowulf. Why was he calling in the middle of the night just to pick a fight when he attended the coronation earlier today?
“What do you want? Why are you calling?”
— I warned you. I told you to stop and join us. But you chose to fight us, you chose war. And the gift you sent, I received it quite well.
“Did you like it? Maybe I should’ve packed some more for you?” Siegfried sneered in response.
— You will regret this. You will weep tears of blood and wallow in despair.
“We will see about that. Let’s find out who will be the one crying,” Siegfried replied icily.
— Sure, we will see.
“Yeah, let’s—”
While still in the call, a thought suddenly flickered in Siegfried’s mind.
‘
I really need to become a Grandmaster. Only then can I steal the Rabbit Foot of Regression from this bastard.’
The only thing Siegfried feared was the possibility that the Master would use the Rabbit Foot of Regression to rewind everything. If he could somehow remove that artifact from the picture, then there would be nothing left to fear.
— If that’s what you want, then let’s take this to the end. However, I’m curious if you will still look so confident after you’ve lost everything.
“Same goes for you.”
— I’m hanging up.
“Go ahead,” Siegfried retorted without flinching before cutting the call himself. Then, he muttered under his breath, “Damn... The Rabbit Foot of Regression is indeed a terrifying card. I’ll have to rely on Kleptomania and hope I get to steal it.
There was something he had to do first before that.
‘
I have to hit Level 499, break through that barrier, and then become a Grandmaster. Afterward, I will steal the Rabbit Foot of Regression.’
That was Siegfried’s next objective...
***
The Allied Forces that rallied under the Proatine Empire’s banner mobilized immediately to defend the Marchioni Empire.
After all, the key objective of this war was to stop the Holy Alliance from rampaging across the Marchioni Empire’s territories. Once the invasion into the empire’s lands was stopped, the Allied Forces would invade the Holy Alliance to put an end to this war.
Naturally, the position of Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces was given to none other than Siegfried, as there was nobody else who could surpass his martial prowess or strategic intellect.
In response, the Holy Alliance also swiftly moved its troops into position, preparing for battle against the Allied Forces.
The first snow was about to fall, so the Holy Alliance moved quickly to seize key strategic positions before snowfall. They knew that holding the higher ground before winter would be crucial to the outcome of the war.
“Just how much blood will be spilled this time...?” Siegfried muttered to himself as he gazed at the fortress in the distance.
He fielded a massive army of five hundred thousand troops, but the Holy Alliance’s army was just as large—no, larger.
They were evenly matched when it came to the quality of the troops, but the real problem was the overwhelming number of mid-ranking and high-ranking angels in the Holy Alliance’s ranks.
When taking into consideration the combat power of the angels, especially the high-ranking ones, the Holy Alliance had an army that was no different from more than a million in numbers.
Sure, Siegfried’s coalition had plenty of reinforcements from various religious orders, so most of their troops wielded divine power. However, mid-ranking angels and above were not enemies that could be easily dealt with just because one possessed divine power. Unless they wielded considerable divine power, the angels would overwhelm them with their sheer combat prowess.
‘
Even if I mark the High-ranking Fallen Angels, we will still suffer massive casualties in a siege of this scale. There’s gotta be some solution to this...’
Siegfried racked his brains, trying to come up with a strategy for the upcoming siege. As the Supreme Commander, he had a thousand things to consider, so it felt like his brain was going to split open.
‘
First things first—’
“Your Imperial Majesty.”
A voice called from outside the command tent—it was Oscar's voice.
“Come in, Oscar.”
“Greetings, sire,” Oscar greeted.
When she entered, she was accompanied by a private.
“What brings you here?” Siegfried asked.
“This soldier here has something important he wishes to , sire,” Oscar replied, gesturing to the private she brought along.
The man appeared to be a middle-aged man in his forties.
‘
Huh? He should at least be a senior sergeant at his age, even if he’s not an officer. If he's an officer, then he should be a lieutenant colonel at least,’
Siegfried thought, puzzled. Ignoring his thoughts, he turned to the private and asked, “So, what business do you have with me?”
Ding!
A notification suddenly popped up in front of Siegfried’s eyes.
[Alert: The effect of Glory of the Empire has triggered!]
[Alert: Congratulations!]
[Alert: You have discovered a Hero Unit!]