Debuff Master-Chapter 1042

Chapter 1042
The Holy Alliance’s troops inside the Pallas Fortress were on the verge of mental collapse due to Siegfried’s relentless psychological warfare.
Growl... Groooowl...!
Grrrrk! Grrruk!
Throughout the day, the Pallas Fortress was filled with the sounds of soldiers’ stomachs growling in hunger. For two days straight, these able-bodied men had been surviving on nothing but water, so their hunger was driving them to the brink of madness.
Some soldiers even began showing symptoms of hypoglycemia—dizziness, blurry vision, and uncontrollable tremors. They could feel their strength draining away.
But the worst part of it all—the smell.
“Stop it! Stop it already, you bastards!”
“Fuck... I’m already starving to death and those assholes are...”
“Just one bite... Give me just one bite, please...”
The soldiers of the Holy Alliance were tormented by the scent of barbecue wafting in from outside the fortress walls. All day long, the scrumptious and rich smell of perfectly grilled meat filled the air, which pushed the soldiers to despair.
“If they gave me even a scrap of meat off the bones... I’d desert in a heartbeat...”
“Food... Just give me some food, you sons of bitches...”
They endured the agony of hunger during the day, and an even greater hell awaited them when night fell. Some of the soldiers managed to force themselves to sleep even in their starving state, but then, the singing began from beyond the fortress walls.
The song clawed at their nerves like nails on a chalkboard.
Screech! Kyaaaah! Kyaaaaaaaaah!
Gringore’s Nightmare Lullaby echoed through the night, tormenting the Holy Alliance troops with an unholy serenade without mercy.
“Let us sleep! Just let us sleep! Fuck youuu!”
“Stop it! We need to sleep, damn it! You sons of bitches!”
The Nightmare Lullaby robbed more than half of the soldiers of any sleep at all. Even those who tried to plug their ears and doze off were wracked by nightmares, waking up drenched in cold sweat or screaming themselves awake in terror.
And the result?
“I want to die...”
“
Ughh...”
“I’d rather just fight and die right now...”
In just three days, the soldiers had turned into walking corpses, stumbling around the fortress like mindless zombies. Their appearance was utterly haggard after having an empty stomach for days and being tormented by sleepless nights.
Inside the Pallas Fortress, the Supreme Commander of the Holy Alliance forces, General Larsson was fuming over the situation he had never anticipated.
“Goddamnit! When are the reinforcements coming?! When?!”
“Sir! We have received word that a force as big as five corps is moving to recapture the Piaro River naval base!”
“They have to retake the naval base and provide us with supplies as soon as possible! We can’t hold out much longer!”
General Larsson was not exaggerating, as the situation within the Pallas Fortress was absolutely dire.
They could somehow manage if their combat rations were simply contaminated, but they found themselves unable to survive upon realizing that even the wells were tainted with radioactive energy.
Some of the soldiers who had tried to stave off hunger by filling their stomachs with water were now collapsing one by one, vomiting blood.
The Pallas Fortress had neither food nor clean water. At this rate, the majority of the Holy Alliance’s troops would lose all combat capability within just two more days.
And yet, charging out of the fortress for a decisive battle was no longer an option.
“How the hell did they build a fortress in just two days?!” General Larsson shrieked, reeling in shock.
The Allied Forces—no, to be precise, the Proatine Empire’s imperial army had constructed a fortress at a pace that defied all common sense.
The moment the labor force appeared, they worked two days and nights to erect a small fortress.
As a result, the Holy Alliance forces were now trapped inside the Pallas Fortress. Sallying out was no longer an option, as the moment they rushed out from the fortress, they would be forced to go on the offensive and siege the small fortress.
How could they possibly besiege a fortress when they were already dying from hunger?
In other words, they had no choice but to endure this living hell until reinforcements arrived.
“...We missed the golden time,” General Larsson growled, clenching his fists in bitter regret.
As soon as he heard the that the naval base was lost and that the supply lines had been cut, he ought to have immediately ordered all troops to sally out and break free from the Pallas Fortress.
He ought to have boldly made his decision without hesitation, but he hesitated, causing the golden window of opportunity to close.
“Send word to all troops. Tell them reinforcements are coming and that supplies will arrive by tomorrow morning. It’s the only way to keep morale up, and we will be able to hold on by then.”
“Yes, sir!”
Thus, General Larsson resolved to hold out in this living hell until the five corps came to their aid.
***
On that same night...
“The Holy Alliance’s reinforcements will arrive soon. Their objective is both to reconquer the naval base and deliver supplies to the Pallas Fortress. They will bring a fleet composed of numerous warships and transports to retake the naval base from us.”
Hansen had grown quite adept at giving briefings by now that he presented his analysis confidently and without hesitation even in front of a gathering of senior officers.
“What’s our plan of action?” Siegfried asked.
“Please look here, Your Imperial Majesty,” Hansen replied, pointing at a spot on the map.
However, the place he pointed to couldn’t technically be called a strategic stronghold.
“Huh? That’s just an open plain, isn’t it?”
“Yes, that is correct, sire.”
“What are we looking at right now?”
“Upon investigation, I found that here, at this spot, the river narrows sharply.”
“And?”
“Up until now, this location has not drawn much attention for several reasons. But the situation is different now. If the Holy Alliance’s reinforcements want to reach the naval base we have occupied, they have no choice but to pass through here.”
“Hold on, if the river narrows over there...” Siegfried said, immediately realizing what it meant.
“According to my calculations, we can strike the very center of the river from both banks with the artillery we possess.”
“Basically, you mean that we can shoot down the enemy fleet as they cross...”
“Yes, Your Imperial Majesty,” Hansen nodded. Then, he further explained, “This stretch of the river will become the deadliest of death traps for the Holy Alliance fleet. All we need to do is bombard them from both banks and then deploy the Nordic Warriors and the Blanc Warriors.”
A brief silence fell upon the room.
Hansen looked around the room and added, “At that point, we can drown the reinforcement fleet.”
As soon as he finished speaking—
“
Ooooh!
”
“Truly a brilliant idea!”
“Oh my! This will be a complete slaughter!”
The officers gathered in the war council marveled at Hansen’s outstanding tactical insight and threw their full support behind him without hesitation.
The strategy he presented was so exceptional that no one found any ground to make any arguments.
“Guess the fish won’t have to worry about food for years,” Siegfried said with a smirk.
He could already see what would happen if Hansen’s plan played out as he proposed, and the three hundred thousand-strong reinforcement fleet would be entirely wiped out.
“Damn it... I heard that too many corpses in the water is a bad omen,” Siegfried muttered under his breath, shaking his head. He could already picture it vividly without even seeing it.
The sight of three hundred thousand soldiers drowning all at once was beyond horrifying—corpses drifting down the river and the waters turning blood red.
But what choice did they have?
This was a war—a fight where one side had to kill and the other had to die.
“Second Lieutenant Hansen,” Siegfried called out.
“Yes, Your Imperial Majesty!” Hansen replied, straightening up.
“I’m promoting you two ranks. You will now be a Captain.”
“W-What?!”
“I’ll assign some knights and officers to assist you, so make sure you study every night. You can’t exactly enroll in the military academy at this point, can you?”
“But, Your Imperial Majesty...”
“Does anyone oppose his promotion?” Siegfried ignored Hansen’s hesitation and turned to the officers in the room.
“A truly righteous decision, Your Imperial Majesty!” Oscar quickly cried out in support.
“A wise decision, Your Imperial Majesty!”
“A wise decision, Your Imperial Majesty!”
“A wise decision, Your Imperial Majesty!”
One after another, the other officers echoed their agreement with enthusiasm.
Considering the massive benefits the coalition stood to gain from Hansen’s proposed strategy, awarding him such a big promotion was more than justified.
Moreover, the Proatine Empire valued ability over their background, so anyone with the skills to back it up was rewarded, regardless of their origin.
Thus, no one raised any objection to Hansen’s meteoric promotion.
Why?
It was all because he had more than earned it through his achievements.
***
Trapped inside the Pallas Fortress, the Holy Alliance forces waited desperately for reinforcements while being completely clueless about the situation outside.
“Just you wait.”
“Those sons of bitches... Once reinforcements get here, we will kill every last one of them.”
The soldiers stuck in the fortress ground their teeth in frustration while desperately praying for reinforcements to arrive with rations. They endured the endless smell of roasting meat and the constant noise pollution coming from the enemy camp with nothing but the hope that help was on its way.
However, the reinforcements they were waiting for never came—not even after a day or two.
“What the hell is going on?! Where are the reinforcements?!” General Larsson shouted, his patience wearing thin.
Unfortunately, there was no way to know what was happening outside.
Just the night before, their communications with headquarters were severed by the enemy’s radio frequency jammers.
“Supreme Commander, sir! It seems that the battle to recapture the naval base is taking longer than expected. If we wait just a little longer, then—”
“Is that something you can say right now?! Our soldiers are starving to death! They don’t even have water to drink! Some are so desperate they’re drinking their own piss just to quench their thirst!”
“B-But... there is not much we can do—”
“Send out messengers at least!”
“Y-Yes, sir!”
Following General Larsson’s orders, his aide hurriedly dispatched messengers outside the fortress, but...
“
Uagh!”
“Aack!”
The moment they left the fortress, the messengers were ambushed and wiped out by agents of the Proatine Empire’s intelligence agents, who had been lying in wait.
In the end, the Holy Alliance forces inside the Pallas Fortress were completely cut off from the outside world, unable to receive any news at all.
Time went on just like that until another week went by.
“Are... the reinforcements... not coming...?” General Larsson muttered, his voice hollow and drained. It had been ten days since they were promised that help was on its way, yet not even a shadow of reinforcements had appeared.
The soldiers were already beyond their limits, and some looked prepared to turn to cannibalism at any moment. Things had gone so desperate that some even proposed drawing lots to decide who would be eaten first.
They were facing a truly worst-case scenario.
“Reinforcements... will definitely come... Our Holy Alliance will not abandon—”
It was then.
“S-Sir! Supreme Commander!”
His aide rushed over to .
“T-The enemy! The enemy is advancing!”
“
Ah...
”
Hearing the , General Larsson dropped his head and let out a weak gasp—a sign that he had lost his fighting spirit.
Why?
It was all because there was no longer any point in fighting.
The Holy Alliance troops were worn down by countless days of starvation and sleepless nights. They were exhausted beyond their limits. They had the numerical advantage and were on the defense, but they were far from capable of combat anymore.
***
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The Allied Forces advanced toward the Pallas Fortress without hesitation.
A few days earlier, following Hansen’s strategy, the Allied Forces had crushed the Holy Alliance fleet crossing the Piaro River in a single battle.
The victory would be remembered throughout history.
Thanks to that triumph, they were able to prevent supplies from reaching the Pallas Fortress, effectively starving and tormenting the Holy Alliance troops trapped inside the fortress for several more days.
This strategy completely incapacitated the troops, and the only ones still capable of fighting were the Fallen Angels.
And today...
Expecting a decisive victory, the Allied Forces marched toward the Pallas Fortress.
Siegfried stood at the front of the army and commanded, “All forces, charge!”
Waaaaah!
At once, the Proatine Empire’s troops surged forward toward the Pallas Fortress with a deafening battle cry.
“Let’s go,” Siegfried said.
“
Kyuuu!”
Hamchi cried out in response.
With Hamchi riding on his back, Siegfried soared high into the sky.
Their targets were the Fallen Angels inside the fortress. If they could eliminate them, then capturing the fortress would be nothing but a walk in the park.
The more angels Siegfried took out, the fewer casualties his side would suffer.
Thus, Siegfried had become the pivotal figure in this battle.
“Why are you so foolish, you creature from another world?!”
“Die!”
“We will cleanse this world of heretics like you!”
Thousands of Fallen Angels took to the air, flying toward Siegfried.
While most of them were Low-ranking Fallen Angels, there was still a considerable number of high-ranking ones among them.
For Siegfried, who had yet to become a Grandmaster, it was an overwhelming force he couldn’t hope to defeat alone.
Since that was the case...
“Demon Lord’s... Descent.”
The moment Siegfried uttered those words—
Whoosh!
A dark current surged forth, enveloping him.
He cast Demon Lord’s Descent once again.