Debuff Master

Right after the Zavala Kingdom’s fleet was split in half by the Sword Emperor, the latter immediately grinned and asked, “Isn’t it impressive?”

Then, he smiled proudly and declared, “I call it Heaven Splitting Slash!”

Daode Tianzun raised a brow and replied, “That’s quite the grand name you’ve given it.”

“You saw it yourself, didn’t you, Elder Brother? A grand majestic name is only fitting if a single slash can cleave the skies like that! Hahaha!” Betelgeuse boasted.

Daode Tianzun chuckled and replied, “Looks like you’ve crafted a technique worthy of being remembered by history. But, you know—”

“Enough talk,” Betelgeuse interrupted, as a look of annoyance flashed across his face after realizing that the Archmage was about to lecture him. Then, he pointed up and said, “Will you do something about the aftermath, Elder Brother?”

“Hmm?”

“Look up.”

The wreckage from the airship split in half by Heaven Splitting Slash was plummeting toward Preussen below.

“Fine, I guess it’s my job to clean up after you,” Daode Tianzun said with a sigh. Then, he muttered an incantation, casting an anti-gravity spell to slow the descent of the wreckage.

Meanwhile, the mothership of the Zavala fleet had descended into utter chaos.

“W-We’re crashing!”

“This is an emergency! Escape at once!”

“Prepare your parachutes!”

The commander strapped himself to a parachute enchanted with an anti-gravity spell and jumped out of the crashing mothership. While in freefall, he looked at the remnants of his fleet, which were scattered like leaves in the wind.

Who in the world was capable of splitting dozens of airships and even the mothership in half?

No, it was impossible for someone to be capable of something like this, as it was simply illogical. Despite the unrealistic sight, the commander displayed unwavering resolve toward his mission and parachuted down to the royal palace with his elite troops, who were known as the infamous Ironblood Knights.

Thud…! Flap!

He landed with the Ironblood Knights. These knights were far stronger than the main forces of the Zavala Kingdom, the Iron Knights. It was rumored that they never parted with their platemails and would even wear them to sleep. ṝà𐌽ŎᛒĘṩ

Nothing was known regarding the gender, lineage, or names of the Ironblood Knights. In fact, these knights wouldn't utter even a single word unless the words they had to utter were related to their mission.

These knights were devoid of any personal emotions; completing their missions was the only thing in their minds. They were trained from a young age in order to become Sword Wraiths who only knew how to follow orders.

“Find the queen and the princess! We must hurry, or else we might not escape this place alive!” the commander barked orders.

The Ironblood Knights split into groups of three or five and started their search for the queen and the princess.

***

A group of Ironblood Knights was running through the corridors, searching for the queen and the princess, when they found themselves face-to-face with two servants.

The knight at the forefront raised his sword without hesitation to cut them down in one fell swoop, but—

Clang!

—His sword was stopped in mid-air, wedged between the fingers of one of the servants.

“Sigh… What a pathetic bunch,” the servant said while shaking his head.

This servant was none other than Metatron, the Deputy Steward of the Proatine Kingdom as well as a prince of the demon world. He glared at the knight and sneered, “You dare interrupt me while I’m doing laundry?”

Beside him, his loyal subordinate, Chaos, growled in anger, “Do you have any idea how much care went into that flowerbed you trampled when you landed? Her Majesty herself adored those flowers and appreciated their beauty every morning! A-and…! Look what you’ve done! You damn bastards!”

Both Metatron and Chaos seethed with rage after their duties were disturbed. Ironically, they had fully embraced their roles as servants of the Proatine Kingdom, so the disruption to their work caused by the invasion had their ears blowing out steam.

“Die, you fools,” Metatron said, sending forth a host of dark spirits straight into the helmets of the knights.

Kyaaaaah!

“A-Aaargh!”

“Kuheok!”

“Aaaack!”

Screams echoed through the hallways as the knights staggered after the spirits entered their helmets. They screamed in agony as the spirits slashed and gnawed at their bodies from within, and blood started trickling down from the gaps in their armor.

Seuruk…! Seuruk…!

Not a single knight remained standing by the time the spirits returned to Metatron, and only their cold corpses lay strewn across the floor.

“Chaos.”

“Yes, Master?”

“Clean this up. I will not allow these corridors to be filthy.”

“As you command, master. I shall take care of it immediately.”

Chaos swiftly dragged the dead knights into a nearby closet, stuffing them in there. Then, he returned with a mop and bucket, diligently scrubbing away the blood that had pooled on the floor.

“I will not allow the palace to be sullied by their filthy blood.”

“Of course, Master!”

As ironic as it sounded, even the son of a demon lord and his most loyal retainer were nothing more than servants in the Proatine Kingdom.

***

Elsewhere in the palace, another group of Ironblood Knights were on the hunt for the queen and princess when they stumbled upon two old men.

Unfortunately for them, the pair they encountered were none other than Siegfried’s master, Deus, and his close companion, Vulcanus. Well, he was called his close companion, but he was really nothing more than his new slave.

Shining!

The Ironblood Knights drew their sword as soon as they spotted the two, and they charged at them, intent on making quick work of the two old men, as they seemed nothing more like a minor obstacle in their path.

“Should I take care of them, Brother?” Vulcanus asked. The reason he asked for permission before killing the Ironblood Knights was out of fear of getting scolded and punished for acting out if he jumped in first.

“Is there any need for you to even bother? Leave them be; I’ll handle it,” Deus replied before casually waving his hand.

Then, an unexpected and unexplainable force was unleashed. The Ironblood Knights were struck and were forced to watch in horror as their armor and bodies disintegrated into fine particles.

“...!”

The Ironblood Knights were famous for having no emotions and no independent thoughts, but even they could only stare in shock as their armor, bodies, and everything else disintegrated into nothingness and scattered into the wind after an old man's gesture.

Shwaaa…!

The Ironblood Knights vanished within seconds, leaving no trace behind.

Deus’ mere wave of his hand had erased them from existence.

This ability was actually the ultimate evolution of the Debuff Master’s skill Circle of Weakness[1] that gradually drains the HP of enemies around the caster.

This was often used alongside Circle of Mortality, which was the bread and butter of the Debuff Master.

Siegfried was using the skill in a different way by combining it with radiation energy to create Eraser Swarm, but the core concept of the skill remained the same.

‘Unbelievable…!’ Vulcanus was stunned after witnessing Deus’ might. Even he, an Ancient Red Dragon and a soon-to-be god had never imagined that such a power could even exist.

“Let’s go,” Deus said with an air of impatience.

“Y-Yes, Master!” Vulcanus replied, grabbing the fishing gear and following after him.

Ironically, he called him "master" instead of "brother" this time.

***

The Ironblood Knights scoured every corner of the royal palace, but they couldn't kill even a single servant, let alone find the queen or the princess.

Wooong…

As they roamed the palace, a glowing magic circle suddenly appeared beneath their feet.

Flash!

After a burst of light, they were teleported and instantly brought together from every corner of the palace.

“See that? That’s experience for you! Hohoho! Not a single one left behind, all of them here, just like that! No need to go around hunting them down!” Daode Tianzun boasted with a chuckle.

“Magic is definitely handy, I’ll give ya that,” Betelgeuse replied with a snort, flicking his hand dismissively.

Whoosh!

Betelgeuse swung his sword lazily at the gathered Ironblood Knights. In an instant, a sharp thin line appeared across their waists, and they simultaneously collapsed, cleaved neatly into two.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Their lifeless bodies fell to the floor, except for one.

Only one was left standing, and he was none other than the commander in charge of leading this operation.

“W-What…? Y-You two are… Sword Emperor Betelgeuse and Daode Tianzun…?!” he exclaimed, his eyes wide with shock after recognizing them.

“Oh? Well, look at that. Does he think we’re friends now or something?” Betelgeuse sneered, glaring at the commander.

“Tsk… Hoho… What a rude young man,” Daode Tianzun said, clicking his tongue and letting out a low chuckle.

‘T-This doesn’t make sense! How does a small backwater pathetic kingdom have this many powerful people?! Why are they all here?!’ the commander screamed inwardly in disbelief. He recalled the report from the Siege of O’Toul Fortress.

The report stated that three Masters and a Great Wizard had appeared on the battlefield.

He found that to be odd, but this… this was simply beyond logic.

He couldn't understand how and why one of the Five Star Heavens, Sword Emperor Betelgeuse, and the legendary Archmage, Daode Tianzun, could possibly be in this tiny, puny, weak, insignificant, pathetic, and small kingdom!

The commander felt like he was going crazy as he stammered, “W-What kind of nightmare is—”

“Silence,” Betelgeuse growled.

Bam!

He punched the commander in the head, knocking him unconscious.

“Well, I believe we earned our keep today, don’t you think so, Elder Brother?” Betelgeuse asked with a sly grin.

“This should be more than enough to keep the old man satisfied. Hoho!” Daode Tianzun replied with a chuckle.

“Then, I guess we should take this guy in for questioning and offer him up to the young master,” Betelgeuse said with a shrug before lifting the commander with one hand.

“Good idea,” Daode Tianzun replied with a nod.

“Go on ahead, Elder Brother. I’ll deliver this fellow and catch up in a bit.”

“Sure.”

And that was how Betelgeuse and Daode Tianzun made themselves useful for the day instead of loitering around playing chess…

***

Siegfried rushed to the royal palace as soon as he heard about the attack on Preussen, but what greeted him was not the scene he was worried about.

“Oh, right…” Siegfried muttered after seeing the Zavala fleet’s commander kneeling on the floor before the throne, tightly bound and gagged. Then, he said with a shrug, “Oh well, so much for worrying about my house getting ransacked…”

In hindsight, he realized he had no reason to worry. Sure, the capital would inevitably suffer some damage, but breaking into the palace?

That was nothing short of a suicide mission, as the royal palace was swarming with all sorts of elite warriors—No, invading the palace was more like walking into one’s death rather than it being any kind of mission.

‘I guess I’ll have to prepare some gifts for everyone to show my gratitude,’ Siegfried thought with a smile.

With a sigh of relief, Siegfried gestured for the guards to remove the commander's gag.

“What’s your name?” Siegfried asked.

The commander hesitated for a moment before finally uttering his first words to Siegfried.

“W-Who… are you?” the commander asked with obvious disbelief and confusion in both his voice and gaze.

“Me?”

“W-Who the hell are you…?”

“My name is Siegfried van Proa. An Adventurer and also the King of the Proatine Kingdom. Does that answer your question?”

“That’s not what I’m asking! Who the hell are you that this puny kingdom is crawling with so many—”

Bam!

A nearby guard kicked the commander’s side.

“Argh!”

“Show some respect when addressing His Majesty! You have been warned,” the guard growled.

“Ughh…”

Bam! Bam!

The guard struck the commander twice more. After a brief but good beating, the commander finally answered Siegfried’s questions properly.

1. For those of you who don’t remember, Circle of Weakness is the original form of Irradiate, now evolved to Eraser Swarm. ☜

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