Debuff Master-Chapter 1047

Chapter 1047
Afterward, Tae-Sung and Yong Seol-Hwa strolled through the forest, talking about various light and serious topics.
“But will you really be okay, oppa?”
“With what?”
“It’s not easy to completely separate me in real life from the me in the game, right?”
“
Ah...
”
Tae-Sung immediately understood what she was getting at.
After all, he was married to Brunhilde and even had a daughter in the game world. Now that he had a real relationship in the real world, could he truly erase those feelings in the game world?
“Well... Like I said over dinner, I do think it’s important to draw a line between games and reality,” Tae-Sung replied.
“I agree with that, too.”
“But I also know it’s impossible to draw that line perfectly. No matter how artificial the game world is, the one living in it... is still me.”
This was a dilemma that plagued all players of BNW. There were countless cases of players who had become so deeply immersed in the game that their relationships with NPCs ended up destroying their lives in the real world.
“I do feel some guilt about it, but that doesn’t mean I can abandon who I am in reality just for the game.”
“Yeah, that’s true.”
“In fact, that’s why I’ve been buying up shares of the beehive’s stock. To keep playing the game as long as I can.”
“The beehive’s stock?”
“Yeah. I thought that if I became a major shareholder... I could preserve the game for myself even if its service ends someday.”
“I guess that just shows how much you love and care about this game. And for the NPCs, too—you never treated your relationships with them lightly.
“Yeah. That’s why I honestly don’t know how I should deal with Brunhilde moving forward.”
“I can imagine.”
“It’s a burden I’ll have to carry on my own. Anyone who’s formed real relationships in a virtual reality game has to go through this at some point. One day, when I’ve sorted out how I feel... I’ll talk to Brunhilde.”
“Oppa...”
“But for now, I need time to think it over. And when the time comes, I’ll be honest with her. I don’t want to keep it a secret. How she takes it is... that’s something I’ll have to take responsibility for.
"However, I can’t neglect the life I have in the real world. I can’t live in a game forever.”
This was the depth of Tae-Sung’s internal conflict. He had a relationship with a game character and a relationship with someone in real life. When those two paths collided, the mental strain was unbearable.
Of course, if Tae-Sung were treating his bond with an NPC as just another part of the game, then he wouldn't be suffering this much.
But that wasn't the case.
“I understand how you feel. And if you ever need to get something off your chest, don’t hesitate to talk to me. I’ll always be here to listen.”
“...Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. I’m your girlfriend now.”
“...Thank you.”
“Really, it’s nothing.”
With that, Yong Seol-Hwa smiled, grabbed his hand, and pulled him away.
“Let’s go now, oppa.”
“Okay.”
Thus, Tae-Sung followed her lead, and the two of them continued their peaceful walk through the forest.
***
The next afternoon, Tae-Sung returned home and did what he always did.
He worked out, ate, took a short nap, and then logged into the game.
[Marchioni Empire: Pallas Fortress]
A notification indicating his current location popped up in front of his eyes.
“I have an urgent to deliver, Your Imperial Majesty,” Oscar said. She walked up to Siegfried as soon as he appeared. It was clear that she had been waiting for him for quite a while now.
“Oh boy...” Siegfried let out a deep sigh, immediately sensing that something had happened again. There was not a single peaceful day in this damned game world. Incidents and disasters would always happen whenever he was away, even for a moment.
“What is it, Oscar?”
“We have received an intelligence that the Holy Alliance is preparing a ritual to open a small Celestial Gate.”
“
Tsk...
Of course, there’s no way those bastards would just sit still,” Siegfried clicked his tongue and grumbled.
“I agree, sire.”
“So, anything from the rat?” Siegfried asked, clearly referring to Ragdoll IV.
“We have a general idea where the ritual is being held, but nothing is for certain. Our intelligence agents have been mobilized, but they are having a hard time gathering concrete information.”
“This sounds bad...”
This was indeed troublesome, as even a small Celestial Gate would grant the Holy Alliance a massive military advantage. Therefore, the best option was to shut down the ritual before the gate opened.
‘
Hold on... Are they preparing for the descent of an Archangel?’
Siegfried feared the possibility of an Archangel's descent. He knew all too well what that meant, as he had seen what the skill, Demon Lord’s Descent, was capable of doing.
Archangels were celestial beings on par with demon lords, so the descent of even a single one could completely flip the tide of this war.
But that was not even the worst part...
In Siegfried’s case, he would only become stronger after fulfilling a specific condition—harvesting five thousand soul energy. Moreover, the physical toll from using the skill was so severe that he would end up completely incapacitated afterward.
In stark contrast, an Archangel descending with its full power was capable of fighting for twenty-four hours. There was no downtime in their power, and they could continue fighting for as long as they wanted to do so.
In other words, there was nothing Siegfried could do if one descended with their power intact.
“We need to find out where the ritual is being held—no matter what,” Siegfried said firmly.
“Yes, sire. We are on it.”
“Good. Make sure you find something.”
Siegfried immediately made his way to the communications chamber and called the headquarters of the Guardians.
— Oh? What’s the occasion?
Coincidentally, Cheon Woo-Jin was at the headquarters and answered Siegfried’s call.
“Hey, you said you launched a satellite recently, right? The Eye of Behemoth?”
Siegfried remembered that Cheon Woo-Jin had mentioned the re-establishment of the Guardians during their drinking session the previous night.
— Yeah, that’s right.
“Can you use it now?”
— Do you honestly think I would have gone through all that trouble just to launch something I can’t use? Of course I can.
“Then let me use it.”
— What’s up?”
“The Holy Alliance is preparing to...” Siegfried proceeded to explain the situation.
— Got it.
Cheon Woo-Jin accepted the request immediately.
The Guardians' raison d'être was maintaining the peace on the continent in place of the lazy dragons who refused to lift a finger unless they had to do so. As the commander of such a group, there was no way Cheon Woo-Jin would refuse Siegfried's request.
After all, Siegfried was actively fighting against the Holy Alliance.
— Give me some time.
“How long will it take?”
— About four hours?
“Four hours?! You said it was a satellite!”
— Listen here, you little shit. We’re scanning a whole country right now. Do you honestly think four hours is too long?
“I-I guess not...”
— Damn it... You’ve got zero sense of reality. None at all.
“...”
— Just be quiet and wait.
“Yes, sir...”
Siegfried didn't argue, as he was the one asking for a favor.
About five hours later...
— Found it.
Cheon Woo-Jin called back and informed him.
“Where is it?”
— There’s a city called Ador in the northern region of the Corinth Kingdom. It has a population of around one million two hundred thousand people.
“That’s not that big, no?”
— Yeah, but there are three hundred thousand troops stationed in the city. And a massive number of Fallen Angels, too. Don’t you think that’s a telltale sign?
“Nice find.”
Whenever the Holy Alliance attempted to open a Celestial Gate, they would always engage in a ritual requiring human sacrifices. They would slaughter all sentient lifeforms to harvest their soul energy and use that to forcibly open the gate.
“Thanks.”
— No need to thank me. Just let me know if you need anything else. I’ll keep helping you.
“How?”
— I’ll keep tracking the movements of their troops using the Eye of Behemoth and them to you.
“
Whoa!
”
Siegfried felt like he had just gained a thousand-strong army after hearing Cheon Woo-Jin’s offer.
Being able to monitor the movement of the enemy’s troops from above was basically the equivalent of having a map hack. With that, they could play with the enemy as if the latter were dancing in the palm of their hands.
The satellite couldn't help
directly
, but it would, without a doubt, give the Allied Forces a massive advantage in the form of information.
— I’ll send over some data every twelve hours. But I’ll in real time if anything big comes up.
“Thanks, man. I really appreciate it.”
— We will keep watching. We will also jump in and help whenever we can.
“Got it.”
— All right, good luck.
***
Siegfried convened a meeting as soon as he received the intel collected by the Eye of Behemoth from Cheon Woo-Jin.
“The ritual is scheduled to be held in a city called Ador, located in the northern region of the Corinth Kingdom,” he said.
“Ador...” Oscar muttered, studying the map with a worried look. Her concern was understandable, as Ador City was located deep within the heart of the Holy Alliance, which meant that infiltrating it would be no easy feat.
A small team of elite could probably get in, but sneaking in a large force seemed virtually impossible.
Using Inzaghi’s Door Handle to strike from within was neither a viable option, as the city was swarming with over three hundred thousand soldiers on top of a massive number of angels stationed there.
The security in the city was so tight that even Siegfried hesitated at the thought of infiltrating it.
“This isn’t looking good. It looks hopeless...” Siegfried muttered in frustration.
The reality of the situation was not looking good at all.
“Should I use the Scourge of God...?” he murmured.
He even considered using the active skill of the +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp, the Scourge of God.
Scourge of God was practically the equivalent of a nuclear bomb, so there was no doubt that he could completely wipe out the entire city with it. It was so powerful that even Inkarthus, the First Black Dragon, was killed during his resurrection by a single hit from the Scourge of God.
However...
‘
There’s no guarantee they don’t have some sort of defensive magic in place.’
Scourge of God's cooldown was a whopping one year. If he were to use that skill only for it to get neutralized by a defensive barrier, it would be a massive waste of the skill.
The one year he had spent waiting for it to go off cooldown would go down the drain.
‘
What the hell do I do...?’
Siegfried wondered.
While he was deep in thought...
“May I, Your Imperial Majesty?” Hansen spoke up.
“
Ah,
go ahead, Hansen.”
Siegfried, knowing Hansen to be some sort of an intelligence-type character with a strategic acumen, gladly gave him the floor.
Hansen didn't possess any flashy powers, but he was a Hero Unit with a natural gift for strategy.
In other words, anything he had to say was worth listening to.
“What if we launched an amphibious assault to attack Ador?” Hansen asked.
“An amphibious assault?”
“Please look at this place, here,” Hansen said, pointing to the area north of the city. Then, he continued, “That’s the North Sea, just a hundred kilometers out.”
“Yeah, it is.”
“As Your Imperial Majesty would be aware, our empire currently possesses the most powerful navy. I suggest that we use our naval superiority to strike their naval base first, land a large force, and then directly launch an offensive on Ador.”
“
Huh?
”
“Ador has no real fortress to speak of in its vicinity, so we wouldn’t even need to lay siege to it. In other words, capturing it should not be too difficult, and our retreat should go smoothly as well.”
Siegfried looked closely at the map as Hansen spoke, and the conclusion he came to was...
‘
Hmm... this might actually work,’
he thought.
Hansen’s proposal was brilliant. Sure, the terrain between the enemy’s naval base and Ador was mostly mountainous and spanned nearly a hundred kilometers, so marching through it would be no easy feat.
However, if they could seize the naval base quietly without sounding the alarms, then they could strike Ador, catching them completely off guard.
‘
I guess I’ll hold off on using the Scourge of God this time,’
he thought.
With that thought in mind, Siegfried decided to accept Hansen’s suggestion.
The troops would be forced to march, but it seemed worth a shot.
“Very well, Hansen. I accept your suggestion and will proceed with an amphibious assault to strike Ador,” Siegfried said with a smile.
“I am humbled beyond words, Your Imperial Majesty!” Hansen exclaimed, bowing deeply to the ground.
“Come on, up you go now,” Siegfried said, personally helping Hansen to his feet. Then, he looked around the room and declared, “We will now start preparation to strike Ador. Start strategizing on how to capture their naval base and march inland.”