Debuff Master-Chapter 1078

Chapter 1078
“H-How could this be...?”
Deldelos couldn’t understand how they saw through his plan.
And truthfully, it made no sense.
From a logical standpoint, the Allied Forces were supposed to have no way of knowing the movement of the Holy Alliance’s troops.
It was not like they had airships in the sky, nor did they send out any scouts.
‘
Do we have a spy in the command center?’
Deldelos began to suspect an intelligence leak, as there was simply no other explanation for how such a flawless plan could have been exposed.
However, what he did not know, or rather, would have never imagined even in his wildest dreams, was that an artificial satellite in the sky was tracking every single move of the Holy Alliance.
“S-Sir! The Allied Forces have surrounded our troops!”
“Our troops lying in ambush are being wiped out!”
“They have caught up to our retreating troops!”
Bad news began flooding in one after another, and not a single one of them was in the Holy Alliance’s favor.
‘
N-No...! This can’t be happening!’
Deldelos began to panic. This operation was his first mission as the Supreme Commander, yet it was about to end in a total disaster. No matter the reason, the rulers of the Holy Alliance were not going to look kindly on this.
He wanted to prove himself to the Holy Alliance and the rest of the continent, but all he had done was expose his lack of experience.
‘
I can’t let it end like this!’
he thought, sensing that his life was in danger.
The atmosphere within the Holy Alliance was extremely volatile these days. One mistake, and his head would roll. If his very first battle as the Supreme Commander were to end in such catastrophic failure, then it wouldn't end with just him losing his position.
Execution.
There was a high chance that he would be put to death as punishment for the defeat.
A shiver ran down Deldelos’ spine at the thought of losing his life before he could even show what he was capable of doing.
‘
N-No! I can’t let that happen!’
Defeat was already inevitable, but he had to at least do something so that he could claim they fought valiantly and inflicted damage to the enemy. That was the only way he could escape an execution.
In that case...
“Deploy ten High-Ranking Fallen Angels,” Deldelos commanded.
He decided to play the hidden card he had kept in reserve just in case. Each High-Ranking Fallen Angel possessed combat power equivalent to a Master-tier warrior or higher, so having ten of them on the same battlefield meant that they could basically annihilate anyone.
“Tell the High-Ranking Fallen Angels to eliminate the strongest enemies,” he added.
Deldelos planned to use them to go after the key figures in the Allied Forces. If his plan worked, then even if they lost this battle, it would still be a worthy trade.
Just one Master was worth more than a hundred thousand ordinary soldiers. Even if he couldn’t win this battle, he could justify the loss by taking out the enemy’s key members.
“I’ll give you my flesh, but in return, I’ll be breaking your bones,” Deldelos growled under his breath. After issuing his commands, he grabbed the whiskey on his desk and gulped it down, trying to quench his thirst.
The die was cast, and all he could do now was to wait for the outcome—a favorable outcome.
***
The Allied Forces surged forward with unstoppable momentum after dealing a devastating strike to the Holy Alliance forces.
Their enemies were already quite exhausted, so the battle was extremely advantageous to them.
Moreover, the one leading the charge was none other than Siegfried and the other Masters.
“
Bwahaha!
Pathetic weaklings!”
The Beggar King, Beggarius, who was a Master from the Intelligence Department of the Allied Forces, was on the battlefield. He was proving exactly how he had earned his place among the elite of the continent.
He was considered to be the weakest among the Masters, but compared to regular soldiers, the difference between their combat prowess was like the distance between heaven and the earth.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
His palm strikes and kicks landed with such power that the Holy Alliance’s knights fell in a just blow.
He was the weakest, but even the weakest tiger was still a tiger. Once thrown into a flock of sheep, even the weakest tiger would tear through the sheep in a one-sided massacre.
It was the same for King Leonid.
“Come at me if you dare!”
He killed four to five enemy soldiers with a single punch, showing off his unmatched physical prowess.
And he was not the only one...
“Is this all you’ve got?! Is there truly no one among you who can face me, Draculis?!”
The Dragonkin, Draculis, displayed the martial arts of his kin, striking fear into the hearts of the enemy soldiers. With three Masters rampaging on the battlefield, it was no wonder that the Holy Alliance couldn’t do anything at all.
However, the one who truly struck fear into the hearts of the Holy Alliance soldiers was none other than Duke Decimato.
The true worth of a magician was most evident in large-scale wars like this.
“Phana’napha Sama’yai Maesa’neph!”
“Yubuk Photha’seth!”
“Chathon’sothad Non’nakhassoth Exa’exa Chaz!”
Duke Decimati unleashed wide-area spells in rapid succession, bombarding the battlefield with relentless magical firepower.
Snowstorms howled, blazing meteors rained down, and lightning struck from the sky.
The Holy Alliance troops were wiped out under the onslaught of Decimato’s spells. This was why the destructive might of a Great Wizard could bring an end to a full-scale war.
“
Bwahaha!
Die, you fools!”
“I might spare you if you surrender!”
“Kill them all!”
The combined might of three Masters and one Great Wizard easily crushed the Holy Alliance forces.
Had Nanuqsa, stationed at the Piaro River naval base, been here, the battle would have ended much sooner.
“Good! Excellent!” Beggarius exclaimed while rampaging around the battlefield.
Thud!
Just as the Allied Forces were about to end the battle, five beings dropped from the sky and blocked his path.
“
Keke!
So you damn pigeons have finally decided to show yourselves?” Beggarius scoffed at the fallen angels, thinking that they were no different from the low-tier ones he had killed before.
Armed with confidence, the Beggar King lunged at the five angels, but...
“...!”
His face hardened after noticing something about these angels. Each of the five angels blocking his path had six wings on their backs, which meant that they were no ordinary grunts.
‘
Are they High-Ranking Fallen Angels?’
The thought raced through Beggarius’ mind.
“We will no longer allow your rampage to continue, human.”
At those words, all five High-Ranking Fallen Angels charged at him at once.
“
Gaaaah!”
Beggarius screamed in agony as the five High-Ranking Fallen Angels attacked him simultaneously.
***
“Kyuuu!
Go kill them all, owner punk!”
“Let’s go, go, go!”
Meanwhile, Siegfried and Hamchi stood at the forefront of the Allied Forces and plowed through the lines of the Holy Alliance.
Siegfried’s combat power was nothing short of overwhelming—no, calling it overwhelming was an understatement.
He was no different from a natural calamity.
Thanks to Green Hell Magno, the area around Siegfried became a radioactive wasteland.
The Holy Alliance troops tried to neutralize him from afar, but their attacks were completely ineffective against him.
The fog created by Green Hell Magno could block all long-range attacks. In other words, the Holy Alliance soldiers had no way of attacking Siegfried.
Why?
It was all because they had to enter the green fog if they wanted to attack him. However, no one dared to step into it, as they were stricken with fear after seeing their comrades die a painful death from radioactive poisoning.
Some of the knights with exceptionally high resistance dared to charge into the green fog. They were prepared to stake their lives if it meant stopping the source of the fog, Siegfried.
Unfortunately, their valiant efforts were nothing short of suicide.
Even without Green Hell Magno, Siegfried was already an opponent they couldn’t ever hope to defeat, so taking him on while also enduring radioactive exposure was a battle they had no chance of winning in the first place.
To make things worse, the debuff effects of Eternal Flames and Embrace of Despair made it almost impossible for them to get anywhere near him.
“
Ugh!”
“Argh!”
“G-Gaahk!”
Even those who barely managed to get close were instantly struck down by a single swing of the +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp.
Thanks to that, Siegfried was able to commit mass slaughter, harvesting a huge amount of soul energy, which was required to use Demon Lord’s Descent.
[Alert: You have absorbed a soul!]
[Alert: You have absorbed a soul!]
[Alert: You have absorbed a soul!]
(omitted...)
[Alert: You have absorbed a soul!]
However, Siegfried did not even spare a glance at the influx of soul energy.
‘
My priority right now is to level up. Once this battle is over, I need to find a way to level up faster...’
He had already vowed to stop relying on the Demon Lord’s Descent skill, as it was far too dangerous to use it now. If he ever used the skill again and his mana hall ended up getting destroyed, then he would be forced to quit the game entirely.
His sole focus right now was to become a Grandmaster.
While he was busy slaughtering every single enemy soldier he came across, something happened.
“Your Imperial Majesty!” Oscar shouted at Siegfried from afar. “His Majesty, King Leonid, was struck down!”
“What?!” Siegfried froze in place at the , utterly shocked by what he had just heard. King Leonid was struck down? King Leonid wasn't some nobody; he was a Master, so Siegfried found it hard to believe that he was struck down.
Siegfried rushed over and asked, “What are you talking about?!”
“Even Elder Beggarius has fallen in battle, sire.”
“What?!” Siegfried exclaimed, doubting his ears.
It wasn't just King Leonid? And Beggarius was dead?
“What... happened exactly?”
Siegfried had no idea what was going on, as he was in the middle of the formation.
Beggarius and King Leonid were at the helm of the east and west armies, respectively.
Siegfried was not some kind of mastermind with eyes everywhere, so there was no way he could know what was going on across the entire battlefield in real time.
“Five High-Ranking Fallen Angels attacked Elder Beggarius. After that, they went for His Majesty, King Leonid as well,” Oscar ed.
“
Ah...
”
Siegfried finally understood what had happened to Beggarius.
The combat strength of a High-Ranking Fallen Angel was already similar to or above that of a Master. In the case of a Top-Tier Fallen Angel, they were at least on par with a Grandmaster or stronger.
Even Siegfried himself had struggled against a Top-Tier Fallen Angel, and he would have lost if he hadn't transformed using Demon Lord’s Descent.
Thus, it was not a surprise that Beggarius had died after getting ganged up by five High-Ranking Fallen Angels.
In fact, that was a natural outcome.
Beggarius was the weakest one among the Masters in Siegfried's camp, so there was no way he could last even five minutes against five High-Ranking Fallen Angels.
‘
Those damn bastards...’
Siegfried clenched his fists and gnashed his teeth in anger.
“His Majesty, King Leonid, was lucky enough to survive, but he is in critical condition right now. And as for General Draculis—”
Oscar continued her , but Siegfried didn't wait to hear the rest of it.
“Let’s go.”
“Got it, owner punk.”
Hamchi hopped onto his shoulder.
Siegfried immediately spread his wings and soared high into the sky. Then, he activated Inzaghi’s Clairvoyance and scanned the entire battlefield to locate the five High-Ranking Fallen Angels who had killed Beggarius.
There was no time to waste; he needed to act fast.
King Leonid was in critical condition, and Beggarius was already dead. He couldn’t afford to lose Draculis or Decimato as well.