Debuff Master-Chapter 1090

Chapter 1090
Siegfried immediately led the Proatine Force deeper into the territory of the Holy Alliance.
Of course, they did not all move together.
The Proatine Force was an elite group composed of twenty teams with fifty members each.
Siegfried came to the conclusion that if just one depot came under attack, then the security around the remaining depots would tighten even more.
Thus, he decided to launch simultaneous, coordinated strikes against the food depots scattered across the Holy Alliance’s territory.
‘
I’m confident this will work,’
he thought, convinced that the operation would be successful.
After all, the concept of special forces carrying out covert operations was foreign to this world. There was no such thing as a rapid-strike mission where troops would infiltrate enemy lines covertly and neutralize a target in a short amount of time.
At best, there were assassins capable of assassinating a target, but there were hardly any other elite units capable of carrying out missions like the Proatine Force.
That was the reason numerous nations across the continent crumbled helplessly under the Proatine Force's attack. No matter how tight their security was, they simply couldn’t stop the covert infiltration tactics used by these elite units.
“I’m sure you all understand the mission. Don’t push yourselves if things get too hard. If things look risky, get out first. Pull out if necessary and don’t risk your lives trying to complete this mission,” Siegfried commanded.
“As you command, sire!”
“Then I wish you all good luck.”
After parting ways with the Proatine Force units, Siegfried headed for the nearest food depot with Hamchi.
Then, he waited. The operation was scheduled to begin at 1:30 a.m., so he was going to hold his position until then.
‘
They should all be in position by now. Time to get ready,’
Siegfried thought.
He figured the Proatine Force units scattered across the enemy territory were almost ready, so he decided to wait a little longer until the clock struck 1:30 AM.
Time passed...
“Let’s go, Hamchi.”
“
Kyuuu!
Roger that!”
Siegfried, who was accompanied by the giant hamster dressed in full special operations gear, headed toward the Midland Merchant Company’s food depot. The depot was enormous. It was so large that it felt more like an entire trading port rather than just a warehouse.
And it was actually just one food depot.
The food depot Siegfried had chosen as his target was located right by the Piaro River, and it functioned as a massive logistics hub rather than just a simple warehouse.
The Midland Merchant Company was indeed massive, as the scale of trade they conducted was practically on a national level.
“How are we supposed to blow up this huge place, owner punk?!
Kyuuu!”
“What do you mean? We just destroy everything like we always do,” Siegfried replied with a shrug.
“
Kyu?”
“Shut up and let’s go.”
Siegfried transformed his +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp into a field shovel and began digging.
The security around the food depot was so tight that charging in through the front, even for someone like Siegfried, was tantamount to suicide. Thus, he began tunneling underground to bypass the walls.
Once he got past the walls, Siegfried snuck between containers, evading patrols as he moved toward the center of the depot. As soon as he reached the heart of the warehouse, he activated Green Hell Magno, unleashing a fog of radioactive gas.
Completely destroying a supply depot of this size was impossible. Instead, Siegfried was going to contaminate the food supplies with radioactive energy.
***
At 4:00 a.m...
Bam!
General Deldelos slammed his fist down hard on the desk.
“Are you calling this a ?!”
He was furious at the delivered to him at the crack of dawn.
Who could blame him? He had been fast asleep when the urgent news arrived, and the news contained information that was simply too outrageous to believe.
In a matter of a few hours, every supply depot managed by the Midland Merchant Company, which was responsible for supplying the entire Holy Alliance’s army, was destroyed.
The war supplies meant for nearly a million troops were now completely gone.
At first, General Deldelos thought he had misheard. Then, he questioned whether he was having a nightmare or what, as the was simply ludicrous.
“So now you’re telling me that we have no food? That the entire army is about to be cut off from supplies?” General Deldelos growled through clenched teeth.
“Y-Yes, sir. At this rate, our supplies will be completely depleted within a month,” the lieutenant replied, sweat streaming down his face.
“And we won’t have any food until the next harvest?”
“Yes, sir. Our only option would be to forcibly requisition goods from the civilian populace—”
“Damn it all!”
Bam!
General Deldelos slammed the desk again. He slammed the desk so hard that the bones in his hand cracked from the impact.
“Son of a bitch!”
He was on the verge of passing out from sheer rage. The fact that they would run out of supplies in a month essentially meant that they had lost this war.
Once a month had passed, they would not even be able to sustain the war anymore, and they would have no choice but to surrender. Sure, they could forcibly seize supplies from civilians to keep the army fed, but it would only buy them a month or two at most.
And if the military began forcefully requisitioning civilian resources, what were the people supposed to eat? They couldn’t just suck on their fingers through the harsh winter all the way until the next harvest season—autumn.
The moment the military started seizing food supplies from the people, riots would erupt across the region and would inevitably explode into full-blown rebellions. If a civil war erupted within the Holy Alliance during a time when unity was already an issue...
‘
We’re out of time,’
General Deldelos thought, reaching a grim conclusion.
This war had to end within the next two or three months, as their food supplies would completely dry up by then. If that happened, then the Allied forces did not even need to attack. All they had to do was drive the Holy Alliance into a corner and watch them crumble on their own.
‘
Just where did things go wrong...?”
General Deldelos couldn’t bring himself to accept what was happening.
He had always found it strange that the Allied Forces were moving as though they could see right through the Holy Alliance’s every plan. No matter how much he thought about it, the level of intelligence gathering the Allied Forces showed was something that couldn’t be done through normal means.
That alone was already driving him crazy. But now, the Allied Forces had pulled off a raid to wipe out their supply depots hidden deep within their territory.
‘
This is dangerous...’
General Deldelos thought. He could feel the noose tightening around his neck. He managed to survive the previous failure thanks to his achievements of killing the Beggar King and incapacitating King Leonid.
But this time was different...
The Midland Merchant Company's supply depots were in ruins, and the entire supply chain was obliterated. He had no other way out of this predicament than to win a decisive victory and put an end to this war as quickly as possible.
His only hope to avoid getting punished for his failures was to crush the Allied Forces in a massive battle or at least wipe out half of their troops. To achieve this, there was no more room for tactical maneuvers, as only a full-frontal confrontation could help him achieve that goal.
The lieutenant nervously asked, “W-What should we do now, sir?”
“Why are you asking me that?” General Deldelos retorted bitterly.
“T-That is...”
Every last soldier in the Holy Alliance, even the lowest private, already knew they were screwed. Unless a Celestial Gate was opened and the angels themselves warped in en masse, the Holy Alliance had no real chances of winning this war.
Of course, there was still one last card General Deldelos could play.
“Tell the men to... prepare for full-scale assault.”
At last, General Deldelos pulled out his last hidden card in a desperate attempt to turn the tide of the war. Even if it meant charging in recklessly and fighting with a tactical disadvantage, he planned to use their sheer numbers to emerge victorious.
‘
A lot of our men will die in this assault. But that’s fine. It means fewer mouths to feed, and fewer mouths to feed mean the food supplies will last longer, even for at least a little bit longer.’
This was the twisted rationale behind his command.
“Effective immediately! The entire army is to prepare for combat! All forces are to prepare to march out!”
With that, General Deldelos threw everything on the line on a single, desperate gambit.
The enemy commander had outmaneuvered him time and time again, so the only option he had was to brute-force his way to victory.
***
Siegfried returned to the Allied Forces camp, and the moment he did, he was met with overwhelming cheers from the officers.
This was only natural.
In a single night, he had utterly decimated the enemy’s entire supply infrastructure, which meant that he had created the decisive turning point to tip the scales of this war.
“So what’s next?” Siegfried asked.
“We retreat, sire,” Hansen replied.
“Retreat? Wouldn’t a war of attrition work in our favor? They will be too busy worrying about their next meal to fight properly.”
“No, sire. We will be the ones in danger if we attack.”
“
Huh?
How so?”
“Their entire supply chain was decimated. By now, their entire army must be panicking... Especially their commander, who should be desperate to save his own neck.”
“
Oh?
”
“And with their supply chain in ruins, there is only one move they can make.”
“What is it?”
“A full-scale assault.”
“...!”
“They will likely rally every last available soldier to try and land a decisive victory. I am certain of it.”
Hansen had seen straight through the enemy’s intentions once again—more specifically, through General Deldelos.
His ability to see the big picture was truly astounding, as he remained calm and made the wise call, even in a situation where most would be easily tempted to finish the war and claim glory.
“Okay, got it. Order our men to retreat and form a defensive line,” Siegfried said.
“I am deeply honored, sire,” Hansen replied with a bow.
As always, he was deeply grateful for Siegfried’s willingness to heed his advice.
‘
Good. Let’s wipe out the Holy Alliance,’
Siegfried thought with a smirk.
It was then.
“Y-Your Imperial Majesty!”
Chaos came bursting into the war tent, completely out of breath.
“We have a problem, sire!”
“
Eh?
What are
you
doing here?” Siegfried raised a brow at the sight.
As far as he knew, Chaos returned to the Demon Realm with Metatron after attending Siegfried’s coronation ceremony. Both of them had been swamped with managing things in the Demon Realm and had no time to spend in the Middle Realm.
“S-Sire!
Huff! Huff!”
Chaos, despite now being a high-ranking demon, was panting heavily, struggling to even form words.
“What is it?” Siegfried asked, now looking concerned.
“S-Sire! The Demon King...!”
“Oh? Has he already invaded the Celestial Realm?” Siegfried asked, making a wild guess.
He had already heard about Baal’s plans from Michael, so he figured that was the urgent matter Chaos came to .
“N-No! That is not it!”
“Then what? Hurry up and say it.”
“H-His Majesty the Demon King has... passed away,” Chaos stammered, nearly choking on the words.
“W-What...?” Siegfried muttered, his mind blanking.
Chaos continued, “The Chief Archangel, Lucifer, attacked the Demon King’s castle in District Zero. His Majesty fought valiantly against the Chief Archangel but... eventually fell in battle.”
Siegfried stood frozen, unable to believe what he had just heard. The fact that Lucifer would be the one to invade the Demon Realm first, rather than Baal invading the Celestial Realm, was something that nobody had ever even thought of.