Debuff Master

Chapter 535

“What are those?” Michele asked, pointing at the stack of documents with a trembling finger.

‘Did I really do something? But I can’t think of anything...?’ Siegfried checked the documents while anxious that he unknowingly caused a problem and it was all recorded in them.

However, he did not find anything that could be attributed to him causing any problem, big or small, no matter how many pages he flipped through.

“Hey, these are official documents from the Marchioni Empire, right?” Siegfried asked while continuing to flip through the pages. Then, he looked at him and said, “This is about the emperor granting me the Cronasia Plains and the lower streams of the Piaro River.”

“Yes,” Michele nodded.

“But what does this have to do with me causing problems?”

“Just what in the world did you do to bring something this big back?”

“Huh?” Siegfried tilted his head in confusion. He could not understand what Michele meant by that, but he soon understood after a few seconds, “Wait a minute, are you thinking that I brought something this big to cover up whatever problem I stirred up?”

“Is that not the case?”

“...”

Michele raised a brow and added, “Your Majesty has also recruited the Phantom Thief to bolster our intelligence department.”

“So what?”

“I concluded that Your Majesty most definitely caused some big problem and was trying to make amends by bringing all of these back. Frankly speaking, it is highly likely that this is all an attempt to cover up—”

“Get on the ground.”

“Pardon me, sire?”

“I said get on the ground?”

“Get... on the ground?”

“Don’t just get on the ground. Make sure you put your head on it.”

“...?”

“This is a royal command.”

“...”

“Pronto.”

“P-Pronto?”

Michele had no choice but to do as he was told, as Siegfried added that it was a royal command.

“Hey, you little punk. Do you have any idea how hard I’ve been working for our kingdom? Ha?! I was running all over the place just to protect Emperor Stuttgart’s favorite art piece! But what? I’m doing this to cover up what?”

“...”

“Sure! As you wish! I’m going to stir up big trouble today!”

“D-Did Your Majesty really bring this back no strings—”

“Three months pay deduction.”

“...!”

“You do know lese-majeste is punishable by death, right? I’m already being very gracious, ending it with just a pay cut.”

“...”

“What are you doing? Hurry up, and thank me for being gracious!”

“T-Thank you for your grace...”

In the end, Michele paid a terrible price for misunderstanding Siegfried. Still, it was only normal for him to think this way, as Siegfried had caused all sorts of troubles for the kingdom ever since he became the king.

‘Hehe~ I bet it hurts, you little punk! Did you really think you could keep pestering me?’

Meanwhile, Siegfried felt as if ten years' worth of—no, as if one hundred years of frustration had gotten flushed out of his system after seeing Michele trembling with his head on the ground.

He was the king, but he had to endure all sorts of rebuke from a guy much younger than him. This was his payback for all of those moments.

“Make sure you write up a report on how we are going to incorporate the new territories into our kingdom and how we plan to develop them,” Siegfried added.

“Yes, Your Majesty...”

“Also, you know the Aphrodite Merchant Company, right? I managed to acquire it for cheap, so make sure you send our guys to finalize the contract. Ah, don’t forget about bolstering our intelligence department, too.”

“...”

“Anyway, I’m going now. Make sure you get to work one hour later. In case you’re about to ask, yes, you have to stay like that for an hour.”

“T-Thank you for your grace, sire...”

Siegfried did not miss this opportunity to dump all of his workload on Michele and make a run for it.

Michele was now left all alone in the office with his head on the floor.

‘W-Why does it feel like His Majesty has become more cunning and ruthless...?’ Michele worried that his liege would become a tyrant at this rate.

***

Siegfried went to Brunhilde and Verdandi after he was done punishing Michele.

“Papa! I wuv yoo!”

“Gasp!”

“I wuv yooo! Papa!”

Shockingly, Verdandi was already capable of speaking short sentences.

‘Do kids speak this fast?!’ Siegfried was shocked by how fast she started speaking.

However, that wasn't the only shocking thing. Verdandi was only a few months old, but she was already showing signs of growth far beyond her age.

Siegfried was told that she could already recognize letters and were reading them out loud. She would soon hit the same physical and mental capacity of a six or seven years old child in a few months based on her current growth speed.

Brunhilde smiled sweetly at Siegfried's stunned face. “Our daughter is really smart, right, honey?”

“V-Very smart...” Siegfried replied.

“Don’t you think she will start teaching us things soon?”

“I think that’s going to happen.”

“I believe so.”

“I will work harder so I won’t embarrass her,” Siegfried said resolutely. He wanted to show only his good sides to his daughter in hopes that she would be proud of him.

Brunhilde wrapped her arms around his and said, “I will too, honey.”

‘How I wish they existed in reality, too...’ Siegfried thought, feeling her warmth on his arm. What if Brunhilde and Verdandi—no, the NPCs existed in real life? His life would never be boring if that were the case.

‘Damn it... This game’s artificial intelligence is too good for its own sake...’ Siegfried grumbled, and his grumbling was directed at Beehive.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

The chief eunuch entered the room and announced, “Your Majesty! We have received a transmission from the Guardians!”

“Oh? Tell them to wait for me,” Siegfried replied before heading to the communications room.

***

— I called just in case... but you’re already online? Not even an hour had passed since you reached home, no? Did you have a hard time dealing with your game withdrawal symptoms, Mr. Gaming Addict?

Cheon Woo-Jin sneered.

“Look who’s talking. You’re online too, asshole,” Siegfried smirked and retorted.

— Oh... You’re right?

“It seems your fame back in reality has gotten to your head. Don’t forget who you really are! You’re a gaming addict, too, just like me! Keke!”

— I’m not! Don’t lump me with you!

“Didn’t you tell me that reality was too boring, so you decided to play the game?”

— T-That was...!

“We’re both gaming addicts, so stop with that nonsense and get to the point. Why are you calling me so suddenly?”

— All right, first of all, the True Fated Censer has been crafted.

“Really?”

— Iris is in our headquarters, and the Ignite Soul and Void Soul are in the True Fated Censer.

“So?”

— The soul fragments can’t run amok as long as they are in the True Fated Censer.

“That’s great news,” Siegfried replied while recalling how much he had struggled just to keep the Ignite Soul in his inventory last time.

— But we will have to gather the other soul fragments quickly. The True Fated Censer won’t last long.

“That’s quite troublesome...”

— Tell me about it.

“So, is that all?”

— Nope.

“What else is there?”

— We think we located another soul fragment, but it’s a bit...

“What do you mean?”

— That is... The soul fragment is inside a person.

“Eh? The soul fragment is inside a person?”

— Do you know King Stallone by any chance?

“Stallone? The Ephedrine Kingdom’s king?”

— Well, I guess you’re a king too, so you would know.

“But what about him?”

Cheon Woo-Jin looked troubled for some reason. Then, he bit his lips and proceeded to share what the information network of the Guardians found out recently.

— So what happened is... One of the soul fragments landed in the Ephedrine Kingdom, and it lodged itself in King Stallone of all people.

“Is that even possible?”

— Who knows? But that’s not the problem.

“Then what’s the problem?”

— Undead monsters started appearing in the capital, and their entire kingdom is turning into an undead kingdom.

“What do you mean by that?”

— Our informants say that the soul fragment lodged inside King Stallone is called the Immortal Soul, and that thing is turning everyone in the Ephedrine Kingdom into undead monsters.

“...!”

— Well, I guess he’s no longer King Stallone but now the Immortal Lord?

“Wow?”

— Anyway, things are quite hectic over here because of that. I have a feeling a big war is brewing on the horizon.

“A big war...”

— The Ephedrine Kingdom is undergoing something like a civil war, and the surrounding kingdoms are forming a coalition against them.

“I got what you mean,” Siegfried replied with a nod. Then, he asked, “So what you want me to do is sneak into the Ephedrine Kingdom when the coalition forces invade, kill King Stallone, and retrieve the Immortal Soul?”

— Yeah! I knew you would get it! You’re quite the sharp one, Han Tae-Sung!

Cheon Woo-Jin marveled at Siegfried's quick-wittedness.

“Stop overreacting. Anyone would be able to tell what you wanted,” Siegfried replied with a shrug. Then, he asked, “When will the coalition form?”

— The kings of each kingdom will convene this evening or tomorrow afternoon. Why don’t you join and see what they talk about?

“Okay.”

— Then, good luck. I’ll be searching for the remaining two soul fragments. Oh, right, Beowulf is looking for the Flames of Annihilation.

“Alright.”

— Bye.

The call ended.

“I hope this will be easy, so I can hit Level 299 as soon as possible,” Siegfried prayed.

Then, he left the communications room.

***

However, Cheon Woo-Jin’s assumption that the surrounding kingdoms would form a coalition was off the mark. It seemed they were going to form a coalition, as this was the golden opportunity for them to cut up the Ephedrine Kingdom like a pie and split it evenly now that King Stallone and his officials had turned into undead monsters.

Unfortunately, their greed had gotten the better of them, causing none of the kingdoms to make the first move. As a result, the coalition failed to form.

The civil war within the Ephedrine Kingdom was still raging on the day Siegfried had the call with Cheon Woo-Jin. The kingdom was divided into the Undead Faction, headed by Immortal Lord Stallone and his undead nobles, and the Kingdom Faction, headed by the feudal lords on the outskirts of the kingdom, who were fortunate enough to be spared from becoming undead monsters.

The war between these two factions was fierce, but the surrounding kingdoms only watched with glee. They were keen to see a fiercer fight between the two factions.

Why?

Because it would be easier for them to slurp up the Ephedrine Kingdom the fiercer and longer the civil war raged on...

Thus, no coalition formed against the Undead Faction even after a week haad passed. Instead, the surrounding kingdoms were busy arguing how they would split up the Ephedrine Kingdom once they had subjugated the undead monsters.

Around a week later...

“These crazy bastards! Is this a joke to them? Can’t they tell how serious this situation is?! How can they argue when it’s obvious that things are only going to get worse from now on?!” Siegfried raged after following the frustratingly slow progress of the coalition formation.

In the end, he left the Proatine Kingdom and headed to where the negotiations of the coalition forces were taking place because—

The Undead Faction has conquered seventy-five percent of the Ephedrine Kingdom.

At this rate, the Undead Kingdom will be born in just three days.

A mass-scale subjugation campaign is desperately needed at the earliest.

- Proatine Kingdom Intelligence Department.

Based on the report submitted by the intelligence department, the window of opportunity for the surrounding kingdoms to end this war easily was closing. Any more delays would make it impossible for the coalition forces to subjugate and stop the formation and expansion of the Undead Kingdom.

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