Debuff Master-Chapter 1077

Chapter 1077
The Holy Alliance’s decision to abandon the fortress and retreat was a wise one.
Their soldiers were in no shape to fight, so even if they held the advantage as the defenders in a siege, clashing against the Allied Forces in their state would be tantamount to suicide.
In addition, the Allied Forces seemed to have no intentions of attacking directly.
Thus, the Holy Alliance’s command had to make a tough call. Rather than trying to hold out any longer and lose both the fortress and their troops, they decided to abandon the fortress and at least save their soldiers.
“Wooooah!”
“They’re pulling back!”
“The enemy is retreating!”
The Allied Forces erupted into cheers at the news of the enemy’s retreat.
It was a victory that would go down in history.
To capture a fortress without a single battle or any bloodshed was something that would happen only once in a hundred years.
There were rare cases when one side possessed power so overwhelming that the defenders were forced to surrender. There were also times when a dragon showed up and forced people out of the fortress. Except for those cases, giving up a fortress without putting up a fight was almost unheard of.
Thus, this legendary achievement was indeed worthy of being etched into the annals of history.
What happened next could only be described as surreal.
Rumble!
Gringore, who had collapsed from exhaustion after pushing himself to his limits, suddenly began to emanate a bright, radiant gold light.
“W-What?! Is he evolving?!” Siegfried jumped back in shock and exclaimed after seeing what was happening to Gringore.
He was familiar with the phenomenon before him. This visual effect would occur when a character had awakened and was going through their second advancement.
[Alert: Congratulations!]
[Alert: Gringore has awakened!]
[Alert: The class Phantom Singer has evolved into Virtuoso!]
The second-tier advancement of the Phantom Singer was the Virtuoso.
[Virtuoso]
[The evolved version of the Phantom Singer.]
[It is unlocked when the Phantom Singer attains enlightenment while singing.]
[This class boasts greater versatility than the Phantom Singer and is capable of converting sound waves into physical force.]
[It is possible to invoke miracles through songs.]
[Type: AoE DPS/Support/Artist]
[Weapon: Microphone]
[Armor: Cloth]
[Potential]
[Attack: ■■■■■■■■□□]
[Defense: ■■□□□□□□□□]
[Utility: ■■■■■■■■■□]
[Singing: ■■■■■■■■■■]
It turned out that Gringore had quietly broken through Level 299, overcoming the wall to finally hit Level 300.
“H-Holy shit...” Siegfried muttered under his breath, stunned by the unexpected turn of events. However, he soon realized that this turn of events was not that surprising at all.
Gringore had been going around the continent on world tours after world tour, which was basically the Proatine Kingdom’s way of exploiting him for foreign currency, and he racked up experience points along the way.
Those experience points added up until he reached Level 299.
Today, he surpassed his limitations and attained enlightenment, which allowed him to finally overcome the wall and become a Master.
Siegfried walked over and extended a hand, saying, “You’ve done a great job, Gringore. And congratulations, too.”
“Y-Your Imperial Majesty...” Gringore muttered.
He still seemed dazed, as if he couldn’t believe what was happening to him.
“I am suddenly... overwhelmed by inspiration...”
“
Huh?
What do you mean by that?”
“Melodies I have never known before are flooding into my head. I do not understand what is going on. I am not composing them on purpose, but the music just keeps coming to me.”
“That’s what happens when you reach the realm of Masters, Gringore.”
“W-What?! Y-You mean... I've become a Master?!” Gringore gasped.
“Exactly,” Siegfried smiled and proceeded to explain.
NPCs did not possess status windows, so more often than not, they were unaware of their own growth. Unlike the Adventurers, who could see everything at a glance through their status screen, the NPCs had to rely entirely on intuition alone.
“You will figure it out in time. But anyway, congratulations. You’re now one of the Masters on the continent.”
“Oh my god...”
“And also, thank you,” Siegfried added, placing a hand on Gringore’s shoulder.
“Pardon me...?”
“We captured the fortress without any lives lost thanks to you, Gringore.”
“
Ah...
”
“You are a hero of our empire.”
Siegfried bowed his head in respect to Gringore, and this was something that Gringore truly deserved. There was no question that he had earned the right to be called a hero, as he led them to a historic victory without any bloodshed.
“Three cheers for Gringore!” Siegfried exclaimed.
“Hurrah!”
“Long live Gringore!”
“Hurrah!”
“Long live the Proatine Empire!”
“Hurrah!”
“Long live the Allied Forces!”
“Hurrah!”
At once, the entire Allied Forces army erupted in cheers, raising their voices in unison to celebrate the miracle and honor the man who made it happen.
***
The Holy Alliance forces rushed to retreat, but the Allied Forces had no intention of letting them go.
“The enemy is exhausted. We must chase them down and annihilate them,” Hansen said, proposing a plan to pursue and kill all of their enemies.
“I approve,” Siegfried accepted the proposal without hesitation.
It was the obvious decision.
The Holy Alliance soldiers were worn out, which meant that their movement would be sluggish. In contrast, the Allied Forces soldiers were well-rested and at full strength. They could easily hunt them down and annihilate them all.
If they managed to crush the fleeing enemy forces, then this was a golden opportunity to deal yet another massive blow to them. Thus, the Allied Forces passed right through the fortress and began marching in pursuit of the Holy Alliance troops.
When they were close enough to see the fleeing enemies, Hansen suddenly shouted, “All troops, halt!”
His order to stop made no sense at all. All they had to do now was press forward and annihilate the enemy, so there was absolutely no reason to stop now. Moreover, the Allied Forces soldiers were not even tired, which made the order to halt seem even more irrational.
But that was not all...
Hansen even went as far as splitting the army into three, which was an odd thing to do given their current advantage.
“What?! Why are we stopping now?!”
“Don’t you realize we’re this close to wiping them out?!”
“Why would you divide the troops at a time like this?!”
The high-ranking officers of the Allied Forces pushed back against Hansen.
Normally, they would have followed orders without question, but this time, Hansen’s decision was so bizarre that they couldn’t just accept it.
“Major Hansen,” Siegfried called out.
“Yes, Your Imperial Majesty!” Hansen responded.
‘
I’m sure he must have a reason,’
Siegfried thought.
After all, Hansen had advanced to the Legendary Class, the Divine Strategist. If he issued an order like this, then there definitely had to be a reason.
“Why did you tell our men to stop marching?” Siegfried asked.
“I suspect an ambush, sire,” Hansen bowed and replied.
“
Hm?
An ambush?”
“The Holy Alliance’s soldiers might look like they are fleeing, at first glance. It might seem like they have given up on the fortress in order to save their men.”
“And?”
“But they could very well be cunning enough to turn this crisis into an opportunity. This terrain is perfect for the pursuers to be surrounded from all sides,” Hansen explained as he pointed to the map.
“
Oh?
I guess that makes sense?”
“If they had planned an ambush in their path of retreat... then that would mean...”
“
Hm?
”
“What if they had already coordinated with their main command to have two other armies waiting in ambush to the east and west?”
“Then we would be surrounded from three sides and be in a very dangerous spot.”
“Precisely, sire. We would be in great peril if we were surrounded. And I believe the enemy was purposely leading us here, baiting us into the trap they prepared in order to surround and annihilate us.”
“That’s a reasonable suspicion.”
“Thus, I plan to send out scouts first before resuming the chase, sire.”
“No need for that. I’ll handle that.”
“Pardon me, sire?”
“Just a moment.”
Siegfried quickly ran over to the signalman and contacted Cheon Woo-Jin.
— Hey, what’s up?
“Can you get your satellite to scan around our army’s position?”
— Hold on.
About ten minutes later...
— Whoa! You guys almost got screwed big time!
Cheon Woo-Jin sent over the satellite images, and Siegfried couldn’t agree more, muttering, “Holy crap... We really did almost get screwed.”
Just as Hansen suspected, the Holy Alliance had sent additional armies to lie in wait, ready to spring up on the unsuspecting Allied Forces.
“Good thing we asked you first.”
— Right? The terrain’s perfect for an ambush, too. If you guys had recklessly chased them down, you would have suffered brutal casualties.
“Yeah, it’s good that we caught it in time.”
— Be careful out there.
“Thanks.”
— No problem.
Siegfried ended the call and immediately rushed to the commanding officers to explain the situation.
“Oh my god...”
“So we almost got wiped out instead?”
Only after hearing Siegfried’s explanation did the high-ranking officers finally understand Hansen’s decision. Had Hansen not ordered the army to halt, they would have walked right into their deaths.
“Major Hansen.”
“Yes, sire!”
“You have command from now on. Maneuver our troops as you see fit.”
“Your grace is immeasurable, sire!”
Hansen bowed deeply to Siegfried and immediately began issuing orders. The Divine Strategist, Hansen, concocted a plan to ambush the unsuspecting Holy Alliance armies lying in wait.
***
Around the same time, General Deldelos, the newly appointed Supreme Commander of the Holy Alliance, was silently waiting for the Allied Forces.
He was an extraordinary figure from the Hadashite Kingdom. He started off as a young officer and rose to the rank of four-star general in his mid-thirties, which was an achievement that was a testament to his abilities.
His talent was so remarkable that some even claimed he was the reincarnation of Gaius, the legendary strategist and founding hero of the former Marchioni Empire.
“Come on, you bastards. Just come in a little deeper... that’s it...” Deldelos muttered under his breath, burning with anticipation.
Until now, he couldn't dare to even dream of becoming the Supreme Commander, as he was dismissed for his lack of seniority. No matter how capable he was, rising to the top of the military hierarchy over seasoned veteran generals was impossible.
However, the recent changes that shook up the Holy Alliance’s military, more accurately, the execution of generals due to their repeated failures, had created an opportunity for him.
Deldelos was eager to achieve a major victory and prove himself to the entire continent.
“Just a bit more... come on...”
It was then.
“Commander! We have visual on the Allied Forces!”
“Good!”
Upon hearing the , Deldelos leapt to his feet.
A retreat turned ambush, and then an annihilation.
It was finally time for the Holy Alliance to return the humiliation that they had suffered.
“Tell all units to hold their positions. Wait until they move in range, and then begin the operation to annihilate them.”
“Yes, sir!”
Thus, the Holy Alliance soldiers lay in wait, preparing to strike the moment the Allied Forces walked right into their trap. However, the Allied Forces moved faster than expected and completely countered Deldelos’ tactic.
“Sir! Our forces lying in ambush to the east are under attack!”
A sudden came in, but that was not the end of it.
“Sir! Our western forces have been ambushed by the enemy!”
As s came flooding in from both the eastern and western front, Deldelos turned ghastly pale.
He was so shocked by the s that he stood speechless for nearly a full minute.
How come they were ambushed when they were the ones lying in wait?
These s could only mean one thing—the Allied Forces had seen through their plan, and they knew it from the very beginning.
“N-No... That can’t be...” Deldelos stammered in disbelief, unable to accept that his plan had been completely exposed.
He believed that his plan was perfect. He used their defeat as bait to strike back at the unsuspecting enemy forces, but never, not even in his wildest dreams, did he imagine that he would get ambushed instead.