Debuff Master-Chapter 1089

Chapter 1089
“Can you please stop this? If you could just stop this madness...” Michael pleaded.
As always, his pleas fell on deaf ears.
The fallen angels had long lost their nature as angels. They were now creatures filled with hatred and anger, so Michael was nothing more than a traitor to their own kind in their eyes.
Michael's words would never be able to persuade them at this point.
“Do not forgive me, my brothers...” Michael muttered under his breath.
In the end, he was forced to steel his resolve and attack his own brothers.
“
Yikes...”
Siegfried shook his head upon seeing Michael’s sorrowful face. Only those who had been in the same situation, one where they were forced to kill their own kin with their own hands, could ever understand Michael's feelings.
“
Aaargh!”
“G-Ghaaak!
“Y-You damn traitor—!”
It did not take long for Michael to kill the fallen angels.
Now that he had recovered nine wings, these so-called elite angels were no match for him.
[Alert: You have obtained Experience Points!]
[Alert: You have obtained Experience Points!]
[Alert: You have obtained Experience Points!]
(omitted...)
[Alert: You have obtained Experience Points!]
Siegfried got a ton of Experience Points from the three defeated Top-Tier Fallen Angels, courtesy of Michael
powerleveling
him.
[Alert: Congratulations!]
[Alert: You have leveled up!]
[Alert: You have reached Level 441!]
The Experience Points he had accumulated from the High-Ranking and Mid-Ranking Fallen Angels combined with the Experience Points he had just obtained from the three Top-Tier Fallen Angels made him level up.
‘
I have eight levels left,’
Siegfried thought, clenching his fist tightly. He was closing in on the wall.
Michael approached Siegfried and said, “It’s done.”
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“Not at all.”
“I really didn’t want to ask you to do this, but I couldn’t handle them on my own.”
Siegfried did not want to put this burden on Michael. He felt it was wrong to burden him when knowing that he would be asking Michael to kill one of his own brothers with his own hands.
The reason he still called for Michael despite knowing all that was that he had no way of dealing with the situation by himself.
He couldn’t rely on his skill, Demon Lord’s Descent. Perhaps he could take on Top-Tier Fallen Angel if he fought with everything he had, but he stood no chance if there were two or more of them.
Thus, he had no choice but to call in Michael.
Why?
It was all because Michael had recovered nine of his wings and could wipe out even the most powerful of angels with ease.
“It’s fine, Siegfried. Just call if you ever need me,” Michael replied.
“
Haha...”
Siegfried scratched the back of his head awkwardly. Then, he turned to Chae Hyung-Seok and said, “Hey, you too. Good work.”
“Work? Please, I got paid for this. I’m good,” Chae Hyung-Seok replied with a smirk. He had already received a fat down payment from the Illuminati, so he profited quite handsomely from this whole situation.
On top of that, Siegfried had rewarded him generously for his show of loyalty, so Chae Hyung-Seok had nothing to complain about.
“H-Hey! What the hell is this?!”
Just then, Chae Hyung-Seok screamed, sounding agitated while pointing at something above his head.
[Future Backstabber]
[A title given to those who had just begun the path of backstabbing.]
[It is earned upon their very first act of backstabbing.]
[Type: Title]
[Rating: Common]
[Warning: This is not an honorable title.]
Following in Siegfried’s footsteps, Chae Hyung-Seok also earned himself a title related to backstabbing others.
***
Meanwhile, Baal was at the District Zero of the Demon Realm, preparing to head for the Celestial Realm.
“Chief Archangel Lucifer...”
Baal stood before the warp gate that led to the Celestial Realm, imagining the battle that was soon to come.
Soon, he would personally invade the Celestial Realm to take Lucifer’s head, so he needed to steady his mind and maintain his composure before that.
“I will defeat Lucifer and claim the title of the strongest across the Demon Realm, Celestial Realm, and the Middle Realm."
Baal had been dreaming of being remembered as the most powerful being since the dawn of creation, and it had always been his motivation. Of course, it was nearly impossible for him to achieve that dream, as there was no way he could defeat Deus.
However, Deus was already a being beyond the laws of causality, someone beyond this world. In other words, as long as Baal emerged victorious against Lucifer, he could technically claim the title of the strongest in the three realms.
If he somehow obtained that title, he would forever be remembered as the greatest Demon King in all of history.
“No, this won’t do...” Baal shook his head and walked away after staring at the completed warp gate for a while. Instead of the Celestial Realm, he decided to warp to the Middle Realm.
‘
I should seek the Elder’s counsel,’
he thought.
He decided to consult Deus before his decisive battle against Lucifer. Deus was a warrior who had attained the power of invincibility, so Baal believed that he might just be given a way to guarantee victory over Lucifer if he sought Deus’ advice.
This was a testament to how powerful Deus truly was, as even the Demon King, Baal, did not hesitate to seek his wisdom before a major battle.
‘
Surely he will teach me at least one technique I could use—’
Bzzt! Bzzt!
Woooong!
The warp gate leading to the Celestial Realm suddenly sparked and began to swirl.
“...!”
Baal, who was just about to head to the Middle Realm, flinched in shock as the warp gate suddenly started behaving abnormally.
He turned to the demon sorcerers who had been working on the warp gate and asked, “What’s going on?”
“T-The warp gate has begun operating on its own all of a sudden, sire!”
“We do not understand it either! The warp gate is not faulty. But for some reason...”
Even the demon sorcerers had no clue why the warp gate to the Celestial Realm was activating by itself.
“What in the...” Baal muttered, furrowing his brow.
Just then...
Bzzt! Bzzt!
Flaaash!
The warp gate churned out of control and unleashed a burst of blinding light.
“
Aaargh!”
The light was so blinding that even Baal had to raise both arms to shield his eyes.
“What the hell is going on?”
Thud, thud, thud...
An individual emerged from the warp gate.
“...!”
Baal’s eyes widened in disbelief.
An individual bearing twelve black wings stepped out of the warp gate.
“C-Chief Archangel Lucifer...!”
Baal was shocked upon seeing Lucifer walk out of the warp gate and set foot onto the heart of the Demon Realm, District Zero.
“Demon King Baal,” Lucifer casually addressed Baal.
“W-What... How...?” Baal stammered. He was so shaken he could barely speak. His plan was to invade the Celestial Realm and take Lucifer’s head, but the exact opposite had occurred instead.
“I've thought about it carefully. I wondered who stood as the greatest obstacle to my conquest of the Celestial Realm, the Middle Realm, and the Demon Realm. And do you know what conclusion I reached?”
“T-That is...”
“There will be no one left to stop me if I eliminate you, the Demon King.” Lucifer grasped his weapon, a long spear. “So I made my decision to strike first—invade the Demon Realm and kill the Demon King.”
Clearly, Lucifer had come to the same conclusion as Baal. Otherwise, there would be no reason for him to personally descend into the Demon Realm like this.
“The frequencies must have aligned when I tried to open a warp gate to the Demon Realm, as the gate had opened automatically from your end.”
“I see... So you came here of your own free will?”
“Is there any reason I shouldn’t?” Lucifer replied in a mocking sneer. Then, he pointed the spear at Baal and said, “You’re no match for me, Baal. I was born at the beginning of time, and I’ve lived longer than you. You, a Demon King born from the lowest of the lower, are no match against me.”
“
Hehe...
Do you know what happened to those who stood before me and said those exact same arrogant words? Every last one of them died by my hands, Lucifer,” Baal replied with a chuckle.
Rather than getting offended, Baal seemed to be amused by Lucifer’s words.
Baal was born as a low-ranking demon and had clawed his way up to become the Demon King. To someone like him, who had to fight against so much discrimination, Lucifer’s words sounded laughable.
“
Tsk...
You really don’t seem to know your place, you lowly demon filth,” Lucifer scoffed.
“What did you say?” Baal raised a brow.
“Let me show you the difference in strength.”
At that moment, all twelve of Lucifer’s wings spread open.
“Die, vermin.”
With those words, Lucifer charged straight at Baal.
“Bring it on, Fallen Archangel!”
Baal likewise drew his sword and clashed head-on with Lucifer.
Demon King Baal vs. Chief Archangel Lucifer.
The battle between the two beings who stood at the pinnacle of all realms began.
***
After thwarting the Holy Alliance’s plot to kidnap Verdandi, Siegfried immediately returned to the Allied Forces’ camp.
“What’s our next move?” he asked.
“Reinforcing and securing our supply lines is our top priority right now, sire. Our forces have already penetrated deep into the enemy’s territory, so we have to ensure our supplies reach the main army,” Hansen replied promptly.
“That’s true.”
“Having an extended supply line is always a weakness the enemy could exploit at any time.”
“Yeah, supplies are critical. You need to be well-fed and well-equipped in order to fight well.”
“Indeed, sire.”
“So, what do we have to do?”
“To stabilize our supply lines, we need to secure full control over the territories we have occupied. And we must strengthen the defense along the entire supply path.”
“
Hmm...
”
“The Holy Alliance knows this, too, so they have begun resorting to sending small detachments to harass and disrupt our supply lines. So from now on, rather than waging full-scale battles, we need to slow our advance and prioritize defending against their guerrilla attacks.”
“That sounds like a solid strategy. Proceed accordingly.”
“As you command, Your Imperial Majesty!”
“Ah, one more thing,” Siegfried added as if remembering something. Then, he asked, “What’s the enemy’s biggest weakness?”
“
Hmm...
”
Hansen did not have an immediate answer.
It was a rather difficult question, as right now, the Holy Alliance did not appear to have any major weaknesses. They still had a sizable army, and the fallen angels could reinforce them at any time.
Moreover, the Holy Alliance was now focusing solely on defense, which made it even harder to find any clear opening.
However, an army, no matter how indomitable, definitely had a weakness, as even the most impregnable fortress was bound to have even a needle-sized hole somewhere.
“According to the intelligence from our agents... about eighty percent of the Holy Alliance’s supplies are being supplied by the Midland Merchant Company,” Hansen said.
“The Midland Merchant Company?”
“Yes, sire. They are a huge trading company that has existed for centuries, and their specialty is distributing grain, meat, and alcohol.”
“
Huh?
”
“Currently, the Midland Merchant Company has an official contract with the Holy Alliance, granting them exclusive rights to supply military provisions.”
“Then... if we hit the Midland Merchant Company’s warehouses... The Holy Alliance will be in serious trouble over the long term, right?”
“That is indeed correct, sire.”
“Then let’s torch the Midland Merchant Company’s supply depots.”
“P-Pardon me?!” Hansen was taken aback.
It would indeed be an excellent move if it were possible.
However, burning down the supply depots located deep within enemy territory was no simple task. Neither the Holy Alliance nor the Midland Merchant Company was a fool, so their supply depots—especially the ones storing food—had to be heavily guarded.