Debuff Master-Chapter 1049

Chapter 1049
It took less than ten minutes for the Allied Forces to completely annihilate the Holy Alliance’s naval base.
This outcome was inevitable, as the Invincible Armada possessed overwhelmingly powerful firepower, and the Holy Alliance’s naval base was far too small in scale to withstand it.
On top of that, thanks to the efforts of Siegfried and the Proatine Force operatives, the enemy’s defenses were neutralized before they could even return fire. That, too, was a major reason for the one-sided slaughter soon to take place.
“Warriors of the North! Kill more than those damn Blanc bastards! Get moving, now!” Lionbreath commanded the moment he landed at the naval base.
At his command, the Nordic Warriors charged straight toward the enemy like a pack of hungry wolves.
“
Hmph!
Don’t fall behind those incompetent fools.”
Nanuqsa, not to be outdone, commanded his Blanc Warriors as soon as they landed and charged straight at the enemy.
Each time the Nordic Warriors and Blanc Warriors took to the battlefield, it would always be a contest to see who could slay more enemies.
They would also always start a brawl right after the battle, which made them quite a handful to control.
However, the results they brought were undeniably good.
Thanks to the outstanding performance of the Nordic Tribe and the Blanc Clan, the Allied Forces’ two hundred thousand-strong army landed on the Holy Alliance’s naval base in the blink of an eye.
Having evacuated to a safe zone with the Proatine Force, Siegfried re-entered the naval base and was greeted by the Allied soldiers.
“All hail His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Siegfried von Proa!”
“Long live the emperor!”
“All hail the Allied Forces!”
“Long live the Allied Forces!”
“All hail the Proatine Empire!”
“Long live the Proatine Empire!”
One after another, the commanders, including Oscar, knelt on one knee before Siegfried and paid him their respects.
“Congratulations on your victory, sire!”
“Our sincerest congratulations, Your Imperial Majesty!”
“Rise,” Siegfried nodded and ordered them to rise. Then, he commanded, “We march on Ador in two hours. Allow the troops time to rest, and ensure that they are fully resupplied before getting ready to march.”
“As you command, sire!”
Two hours later...
“Handsome! Soldier!”
“Delicious! Soldier!”
“Handsome Soldier!”
“Delicious! Soldier!”
Siegfried led the Allied Forces on the march toward Ador.
He swore he could hear someone in the ranks singing the wrong lyrics of the marching songs, but he decided to just ignore it and think it was just his imagination.
Meanwhile, the command staff in Ador sent a communication inquiring whether anything unusual had occurred at the naval base. The Holy Alliance was keeping a close watch on the movements of the Allied Forces and was wary of a possible landing operation.
But then...
“Loyalty! All clear! Nothing out of the ordinary! No unusual activity to , sir!”
Siegfried’s faithful slave, the Irradiator, sent a to Ador’s command calmly and without a hint of hesitation.
— Understood. Maintain your post and inform command of anything out of the ordinary.
“Sir, yes, sir! Loyalty!”
The command center trusted the from the communication officer stationed at the naval base, unaware that they had just been deceived.
As a result, they remained completely oblivious to the fact that the Allied Forces were already marching toward their doorsteps. It was only a matter of time before the City of Ador was ambushed by the two hundred thousand Allied Forces troops.
***
The whole operation hinged on the element of surprise. The Allied Forces had to make sure Ador remained oblivious to their approach, which was why Siegfried and the Proatine Force operatives moved out ahead of the main army by over five kilometers to carry out a reconnaissance mission.
After all, the Holy Alliance was not stupid, and they would certainly send out scouts around the city’s perimeters.
‘
Let’s see...’
With Hamchi riding on his back, Siegfried soared through the night sky and activated Inzaghi’s Clairvoyance to scan the area.
‘
Just as I thought.’
He spotted the Holy Alliance’s scouts hidden throughout the mountainous terrain. The Holy Alliance had rangers positioned across the cliffs and ridges, making full use of the topography.
‘
I knew it.’
As Siegfried flew through the skies, he mapped out the positions of the rangers. Then, he gave his orders to the Proatine Force operatives after landing.
“There’s a signal fire at this point. Destroy it first,” Siegfried said.
“Yes, sire!”
Siegfried’s strategy was simple—prevent the Holy Alliance’s rangers from lighting their signal fires and raising the alarm. Then, he took to the skies once more and began systematically locating and eliminating each of the hidden rangers scattered across the mountains.
“Who the hell are you?!”
“Shut up.”
“
Gack!”
Siegfried dropped down from the sky without warning and took out the rangers one by one.
The rangers were skilled fighters in their own right, but their chances of survival were next to none after being caught off-guard by Siegfried.
Meanwhile, the Proatine Force operatives infiltrated the enemy’s signal fire points just as Siegfried had ordered.
Sukeok!
“
Aaagh!”
“Ack!”
“Kuheok!”
The guards and rangers stationed near the signal fires collapsed, unable to mount any defense against the unexpected ambush. Forget about putting up any resistance, their last words were just a cry out of shock before dropping dead.
Thanks to this covert strike, all two hundred thousand troops managed to pass through the treacherous mountain range undetected and reach the outskirts of Ador. Even with such a massive force in motion, not a soul in the Holy Alliance noticed a thing.
Meanwhile, in Ador, which was home to more than a million people, the preparations for a grand massacre were well underway.
“P-Please! I’m begging you! Please spare me!”
“Shut up!”
“
Eek!”
The soldiers of the Holy Alliance dragged the citizens of Ador to the sacrificial altars and tied them down without showing a shred of mercy or remorse. They also didn't discriminate between men, women, the young, and the old.
In fact, the younger the sacrifice, the more valuable they were, so binding children closer to the altars was the norm.
Why?
It was all because the purer and younger the soul, the more soul energy they could extract from it.
“
Aaaaah!”
“Y-You demons! How can you call yourselves humans?!”
“Please! Somebody help us!”
“Mercy! Please spare me!”
“At least my child! Please, not my child!”
Thus, the city had devolved into a living hell filled only with the screams of its citizens.
The ritual to open a small Celestial Gate was nothing short of an atrocity.
“How much longer?” Nigellus asked the mayor.
Nigellus was a Highest-Ranking Fallen Angel, and he was the one in charge of the ritual.
“
Ah!
Yes, holy one! The preparations for the ritual will be complete in two hours! Please, just wait a little longer!”
The mayor groveled and smiled at the angel while his people were moments away from being sacrificed alive.
A sense of duty as a mayor? He had none of that.
In fact, he was one of the key collaborators, playing a central role in delivering his people as offerings to the angels. The reason the city’s military and bureaucrats cooperated so easily with the demand of the Holy Alliance was all due to the mayor paving the way for them.
Sure, he had made that decision to save his own skin, but he didn't feel even a shred of guilt about it.
“Make haste. My brothers and sisters are waiting to descend. We must not delay,” Nigellus said firmly.
“Yes, holy one! I will see to it that everything proceeds swiftly and without error!”
With that, the mayor barked orders at the soldiers preparing the human sacrifices.
Once the ritual had succeeded, he would be awarded the title of count, which meant that he would surely become a part of the inner circle of the Holy Alliance. In other words, his path to glory was all paved and guaranteed.
“Hey! What the hell are you lot doing?! Move faster! Hurry up! We have to start the ritual soon!”
The mayor barked orders even more viciously, personally leading the charge in the preparation for the upcoming horrific massacre.
It was then.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Explosions echoed from the outskirts of the city.
“...!”
The Holy Alliance troops and the Fallen Angels all flinched in shock at the sudden thunderous roar.
And that was just the beginning...
Boom! Boom! Kaboom!
Shells rained down relentlessly from outside the city walls.
Waaaaah!
Then, two hundred thousand soldiers surged toward the city at once.
A perfect ambush!
Before the ritual to open the Celestial Gate could even begin, it was already thwarted.
***
As soon as the Battle of Ador started...
Ding!
A notification popped up in front of Siegfried’s eyes.
[Alert: You have received a new quest!]
The quest details were as follows...
[The Great Escape]
[Stop the Holy Alliance from conducting the ritual to open the Celestial Gate and lead the citizens of Ador to safety!]
[Type: Special Quest]
[Progress: 0%]
Objectives:
- Destroy the Altars (0/3)
- Lead the citizens of Ador to safety (0/1)
Rewards:
- +3 Levels for each altar destroyed
- +10 Levels if you successfully lead the citizens into an escape
[Note: Hurry! Enemy reinforcements will soon arrive, and you won’t be able to evacuate the citizens in time if you take too long!]
‘
So they’re basically telling me to trash the place and make a run for it?’
Siegfried thought with a smirk as he accepted the quest.
[Alert: You have accepted the Quest — The Great Escape!]
Without hesitation, he shot off like a bolt of lightning toward the nearest altar.
He paid no attention to the battles erupting across the city, as his main priority right now was to destroy the altars where the sacrifices would be held.
When he arrived at an altar, he found it surrounded by a countless number of people, bound and gagged, waiting to be sacrificed.
But that was not all...
“Die!”
“How dare you interfere with the celestial ritual?!”
Countless Fallen Angels guarding the altar immediately attacked Siegfried.
‘
Debuff them first...’
Siegfried immediately activated Eternal Flames and Embrace of Despair.
“
Kyuuu!
Hamchi will help you, owner punk! Power up!” Hamchi cried out before summoning his magical wheel, casting a powerful buff on him.
Wooong!
Chae Hyung-Seok’s buffs swept across the city, empowering not only Siegfried but also every Allied Forces soldier with overwhelming might.
[Alert: Your Attack Power has increased!]
[Alert: Your Magic Attack Power has increased!]
[Alert: Your Defense has increased!]
[Alert: Your Magic Resistance has increased!]
[Alert: Your HP has increased!]
(omitted...)
(omitted...)
[Alert: Your Skill Damage has increased!]
Chae Hyung-Seok’s buffs were powerful enough to cover the entire city.
‘
Nice!’
Armed with Chae Hyung-Seok’s buffs, (omitted...) began wiping out the debuffed Fallen Angels one by one.
[Alert: You have gained experience points!]
[Alert: You have gained experience points!]
[Alert: You have gained experience points!]
(omitted...)
[Alert: You have gained experience points!]
As expected of the angels, they provided Siegfried a ton of experience points.
‘
Sweet!’
Siegfried’s face lit up as he watched his experience bar rapidly fill up.
His top priority was hitting Level 449 and breaking through the wall and ascending to the realm of Grandmaster. For someone with that goal in mind, the experience points provided by the Fallen Angels were downright scrumptious and unbelievably sweet.
Just then, Siegfried felt something strange. It felt as if every nerve in his body was tingling; his senses seemed to have awakened at once, and his instincts kicked in without warning.
‘
What’s this? Hold on, no way is it—?’
Just as the thought crossed his mind—
“I will no longer allow you to run wild, Demon Lord.”
A towering angel, radiating an overwhelming presence, appeared and blocked his path.
A chill shot down Siegfried’s spine, and goosebumps broke out all over him.
Fortunately, it was not an Archangel.
But even so, the angel was exuding a pressure that was enough to make Siegfried instinctively tense up.
In other words...
‘
It’s a Highest-Ranking Fallen Angel.’
The Fallen Angel was like Balag in terms of the Demon Realm.
In other words, an opponent whose combat power surpassed even a Grandmaster of the Middle Realm.
A terrifyingly powerful corrupted angel had emerged as Siegfried’s new enemy.
‘
Damn it... Why now of all times?’
Siegfried clicked his tongue.
He had yet to gather enough soul energy to activate Demon Lord’s Descent, so encountering an angel this powerful was the worst-case scenario for him. However, he did not have the luxury to hesitate right now.
‘
Let’s do this. It’s all or nothing.’
Clutching his +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp, Siegfried charged straight at the Fallen Angel blocking his path.