Debuff Master-Chapter 1079

Chapter 1079
Draculis struggled against the five High-Ranking Fallen Angels that instantly surrounded him.
The movements of the angels were so fluid and coordinated. They fought with frightening precision, as if they were a pack of wolves hunting a prey.
Taking down a single opponent like Draculis was not all that difficult for beings of their caliber. Even if they fought against him one-on-one, they would be evenly matched in terms of combat prowess.
With five attacking all at once, killing him was nothing more than child’s play, just like they had done with Beggarius and King Leonid.
However, Draculis did not fall so easily like the two Masters.
This was not because he was more powerful than them—no, it was simply because of what he was.
As a member of the Dragonkin, Draculis wouldn't go down even after suffering grievous injuries. He possessed exceptional regenerative abilities that would heal minor cuts in the blink of an eye, and even losing massive amounts of blood would not send him into shock.
Regardless of his individual combat prowess, the innate resilient nature of his race allowed him to hold on even against five powerful enemies.
Unfortunately, even such a durable body had its limits.
Chwaaak!
Draculis’ left arm was severed.
Chwaaak!
His tail was then severed.
“
G-Grhhhk!”
Draculis screamed like a wounded beast after parts of his body were severed. However, his scream lasted only for a moment. He gnashed his teeth and refused to back down. His fighting spirit grew stronger as he grew even more frenzied.
“I am the Dragonkin General, Draculis! Come at me, you filthy angels!”
His fighting spirit refused to waver despite his injuries.
Draculis released an aura so fierce and defiant that even the High-Ranking Fallen Angels flinched for a split second.
However, that was all he could manage.
“A mere lizard dares to...!”
One of the fallen angels drove a spear into Draculis’ back.
Puuuuk!
The spear pierced deep into his spine.
“Die.”
Another fallen angel thrust a spear toward Draculis’ throat, but—
Whoosh! Clang!
With terrifying speed, the +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp came flying, smacking away the spear and narrowly saving Draculis from certain death.
“...!”
All five angels froze in shock.
Boom!
Siegfried dropped from the sky, landing between Draculis and the High-Ranking Fallen Angels.
He glanced briefly behind him and said, “You fought well, Draculis.”
“M-My lord...”
“Rest now.”
With that, Siegfried turned to Hamchi and said, “I’ll leave him to you.”
“
Kyuuu!
Leave it to Hamchi!”
Hamchi immediately grew big and hoisted Draculis onto his shoulder. Then, he scurried away in search of medics or healers.
“Well, well.”
“
Hm?
It’s you.”
“Have you come to die?”
“What a reckless fool.”
“Isn't he that half-baked demon lord?”
The five angels had already regained their composure and were jeering one after another, but their eyes gleamed with burning fury and killing intent.
Almost all of the angels were now aware that Siegfried couldn’t maintain his demon form indefinitely. They have gathered information through the countless battles fought and came to the conclusion that the amount of time he could stay transformed was limited.
Thus, the High-Ranking Fallen Angels were not afraid of him in his human form, and Siegfried knew that, too.
“I bet you’re feeling pretty confident right now,” Siegfried said with a nod. Then, he flashed an ominous grin and added, “But too bad for you, I have no intention of playing fair today.”
At that moment he said those words—
Whoosh!
The High-Ranking Fallen Angel standing closest to Siegfried suddenly vanished into a black hole that appeared out of nowhere.
“What the...?”
“Where did our brother go?!”
“W-What was that?!”
“What just happened?!”
The remaining angels were visibly shaken by the sudden disappearance of both their brother and Siegfried.
They didn't hide somewhere, nor did they fly into the distance. A random black hole had suddenly appeared and sucked both of them before disappearing.
As they frantically scanned their surroundings in search of any clues...
Whoosh!
Another black hole manifested again.
Thud!
Then, it spat out the angel that vanished just moments ago. This time, the angel's skull was completely crushed.
“...!”
The four angels jumped back in horror at the sight of their fallen brethren.
Siegfried emerged from the black hole and asked in a chilling voice, “So, who wants to die next?”
The angels instinctively retreated a few steps back.
Why?
It was all because Siegfried was radiating an overwhelmingly powerful, murderous aura, even though he was still in his human form.
***
“No volunteers? Should I pick one of you then?” Siegfried said calmly before launching himself to his next target.
‘
You’re nothing against me, you bastards.’
He was not the slightest bit afraid of five High-Ranking Fallen Angels.
In fact, it wouldn't matter even if there were ten of them, or even a hundred.
[World of Despair]
[An upgraded version of Grand Duel.]
[Pulls the enemy into the Lord of Despair’s domain, the World of Despair.]
[The Lord of Despair’s power and debuff skills are greatly amplified while inside his domain.]
[Upon defeating the enemy, World of Despair's cooldown will reset, and the Lord of Despair’s HP, Stamina, and Mana are fully restored.]
[The Lord of Despair will remain unharmed even if the enemy is not defeated within the duration of the skill.]
[Cooldown: 600 seconds]
[Duration: 60 seconds]
He could use the skill infinitely as long as he killed the enemy before the timer ran out.
This strategy wouldn't have worked against the Top-Tier Fallen Angels, as they were too powerful to finish off within the skill’s time limit, but he was not up against Top-Tier Fallen Angels right now.
His enemies were just High-Ranking Fallen Angels.
Siegfried’s combat prowess exceeded that of a Master just like the High-Ranking Fallen Angels. In fact, he wasn't just another Master, as he was now considered as the strongest among all Masters.
Taking out a High-Ranking Fallen Angel inside his domain was a piece of cake for him.
“Not a single one of you will be going back alive,” Siegfried declared.
With that declaration, he immediately dragged the next angel into his domain.
Thud! Thud!
Less than thirty seconds later, the mangled corpse of the fallen angel, which was cleaved cleanly in half, fell to the ground.
“...!”
The remaining three High-Ranking Fallen Angels were stunned.
Two of their brothers had been killed in the blink of an eye.
“R-Retreat! We retreat for now!”
The remaining angels chose to flee, as they knew what would happen to them if they stayed, but...
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Siegfried had no plans of letting them get away.
Flash!
A blinding white light exploded and swept over the angels.
“...!”
The angels suddenly froze in place, unable to move.
They were frozen in place by the freezing energy of Absolute Zero.
They were High-Ranking Fallen Angels, so they would break free soon enough from it, but even that short moment could decide whether they would live or die. A split second was all it would take to decide the outcome in battles between those truly powerful.
But for someone like Siegfried?
Even an opening of a fraction of a second was more than enough for him to finish off three High-Ranking Fallen Angels
‘
I’ll kill them all at once,’
Siegfried thought as he swung his +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp.
Chwaaak!
Heaven and Earth Cleaving Blade burst forth, carving a silver cross into the air.
As a result...
Thud! Thud! Thud!
All three remaining angels collapsed to the ground, their bodies cut up into pieces.
[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!]
[Alert: Congratulations!]
[Alert: You have leveled up!]
[Alert: You have reached Level 433!]
Siegfried managed to level up after slaying the High-Ranking Fallen Angels.
However, he was far from happy.
Kwachik!
He gripped his blood-drenched weapon and continued walking.
‘
Damn it...’
With Beggarius dead and King Leonid in a critical condition, there was nothing for him to celebrate.
***
The battle ended in the Allied Forces' decisive victory. They had annihilated the two hundred fifty thousand-strong army of the Holy Alliance.
However, Siegfried didn't celebrate their victory and headed straight for where Beggarius’ body was located.
“
Ah...
”
Beggarius looked horrible.
He was riddled with gaping bloody holes after being stabbed countless times by spears, his head was half-severed, barely hanging on to his body. One of his legs was torn off as well.
“Stretcher! I need a stretcher here!”
“Medic!”
“I need help here!”
The medics and field surgeons were already in the process of recovering Beggarius’ remains.
‘
I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you...’
Siegfried thought, his heart heavy with sorrow.
The Beggar Guild led by Beggarius was a group formed by those who had no choice but to live in hiding due to their personal circumstances. Siegfried had once promised Beggarius that he would give the members of the Beggar Guild a chance to start anew, a new life with a fresh beginning.
And he had already fulfilled his promise...
He transformed the guild members into intelligence agents and dispatched them across the continent. In exchange for their services, he granted them new identities, which allowed them to live new lives in the Proatine Empire.
Siegfried had done exactly what he had promised.
Still, seeing Beggarius pass away in such a meaningless and tragic way tore his heart into pieces.
Perhaps that was the reason why, but...
“Stop,” Siegfried motioned for the medics and field surgeons to step back. Then, he began tending to Beggarius’ remains himself.
One of the senior medics hurriedly stopped him, “Y-Your Imperial Majesty! Please, leave this to us!”
“He was a hero of our empire. I will handle this personally,” Siegfried replied.
With those words, he carefully undressed Beggarius and wiped his body clean. Then, he ordered a soldier to bring a clean set of military uniform before personally putting it on Beggarius.
“Transport him back to the capital. A hero has left us, so make sure he is treated with the highest honor and respect.”
“As you command, sire.”
After giving his orders, Siegfried stood and saluted as Beggarius was carried away on a stretcher.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The soldiers present stood straight and saluted, honoring the departure of a hero.
***
“...Thank goodness. That was a close one.”
The Supreme Commander of the Holy Alliance forces let out a sigh of relief after receiving the . They had suffered a crushing defeat and lost two hundred fifty thousand troops in the process. There was no way he'd be able to escape punishment for such a huge failure.
However, things were not as bad as it could have become for Deldelos.
According to the , the five High-Ranking Fallen Angels he deployed had successfully taken down two Masters, Beggarius and King Leonid.
Furthermore, they had also managed to severely wound another Master, the Dragonkin General of the Proatine Empire, Draculis.
Of the four Masters of the Allied Forces, Beggarius, King Leonid, General Draculis, and Duke Decimato, three of them were incapacitated. Of course, five High-Ranking Fallen Angels had perished in the process, but Deldelos couldn't care less about that.
Why?
It was all because in a war of attrition, the Holy Alliance held the upper hand. Once they managed to manifest another Celestial Gate, hundreds of fallen angels would descend unto the Middle Realm.
In contrast, the Allied Forces had no way to replenish their lost Masters.
Masters were so rare that only a handful could exist in an era, so every single casualty was a devastating blow to the Allied Forces.
A Master lost was, in essence, an irreparable permanent damage to them.
“Prepare the and submit it.”
“Yes, sir!”
After giving his order to his lieutenant, Deldelos sank into his seat, deep in thought.
‘
That should be enough to keep my head from rolling...’
he thought.
Even though he had suffered a humiliating defeat, managing to kill one Master and incapacitate two others was a huge achievement. Despite such failure, that achievement alone was more than enough to save his head.
‘
But I can’t stop here. I need to start preparing my next move.’
Deldelos managed to survive the biggest threat. Now, he had to find a way to win the next battle. The rulers of the Holy Alliance would probably overlook this failure, but they would undoubtedly hold him accountable or even punish him for the next one.