Debuff Master

Chapter 730

Siegfried had no idea why, but the cart filled to the brim with corpses that clattered along in the distance caught his gaze as if they were magnets.

“A cart full of dead bodies...” he muttered, transfixed on the rolling cart that eventually disappeared into the Zavala camp.

“Kyu! What are you thinking about, owner punk?” Hamchi asked.

“I was wondering... what if I snuck inside one of those carts?” Siegfried asked.

“Kyu?”

“I mean, they’re just corpses, right? No one’s gonna bother checking them too carefully. At least on the battlefield.”

“Kyu! You’re right!”

“And since the weather has cooled down lately, they won’t rot too fast. They’re probably just going to stash them somewhere before sending them back to their kingdom. I don’t think they’re going to burn them after going through the trouble of collecting them from the battlefield.”

“That makes perfect sense! Kyu!”

“It could be the perfect way to bypass their security and enter straight into their camp, no?”

“Kyu?!”

“This can actually work...”

Siegfried’s instincts screamed that those carts carrying the dead was the key he was looking for to turning this desperate situation around. If he could infiltrate the Zavala camp by hiding among the corpses and move under the veil of the night...

‘This is it!’ Siegfried exclaimed inwardly with his eyes shining.

“Lieutenant!”

“Yes, sire!”

“Send out an urgent summon! I want the entire allied commanders immediately! Tell them we have a new plan!”

“As you command, sire!”

Siegfried rushed to the communications room to contact Quandt after requesting the allied commanders to gather.

“Are you free, Quandt?” he asked.

— Yes, Your Majesty. But I’m just a bit tied up preparing equipment for our men to use.

Quandt was busy crafting essential gear for the soldiers on the battlefield. His role in this war was beyond important, as the items he had sent to Siegfried, Lohengrin, Nanuqsa, Beggarius, and Duke Decimato had proved invaluable in defending the fortress.

It was not an exaggeration to say that Quandt was the true hero of this war, as he was fighting with the strength of a thousand men from the rear lines.

“I’m always grateful for everything you’ve done for the kingdom. But could you put that aside for a moment? I need you to urgently make some bombs.”

— Bombs? Your Majesty?

“Small and light bombs would be the best. And if possible, the more powerful the explosion, the better.”

— It’s possible but... it won’t be cheap. We’d need highly condensed mana stone just to craft one so...

“Forget about the cost. I need you to produce as many as you can ASAP.”

— But how do you intend to use them, if I may ask?

“I’m going to plant them right in the middle of the enemy camp.”

— Huh? Excuse me?

Siegfried proceeded to share his plans with Quandt.

— I see... Leave it to me, Your Majesty!

“How much time do you need?”

— I should be able to produce enough in two days. But be prepared that this will drain more than thirty percent of our defense budget.

“The entire kingdom’s at stake. Money is the least of our concerns right now.”

At this point, money was irrelevant, so Siegfried was willing to spare no expense to execute this plan.

“Please make as many as you can as quickly as possible.”

— Understood. I’ll send them over to the frontlines as soon as they’re ready.

“Thank you.”

Siegfried headed straight to the war council after ordering the bombs. Then, he immediately shared his plans with the allied commanders.

“I have come up with a plan that we can use to strike back at them.”

The allied commanders listened to his plan, and their faces lit up after hearing it.

“Oh!”

“That’s a brilliant idea!”

“If it works... we’ll be able to deal devastating damage to those damned bastards.”

“It’s very risky, but I think it’s worth a shot.

“I guess as long as we don’t get caught? If we do manage to pull it off then... that single plan alone could change the course of this war.”

The allied commanders were unanimous. None of them objected to the plan, and everyone seemed onboard with it despite how risky it sounded.

Why?

It was all because they knew that they had nothing left to lose.

Each day was a struggle for survival, and doing nothing while waiting for death was not an option. After all, there was a saying that the best defense was a well-timed offense, and they needed to rattle the enemy now more than ever.

“Good. Then we will proceed with the plan,” Siegfried said. n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

“What shall we call this operation, sire?” Oscar asked.

“The name of this operation? Hmm...” Siegfried muttered.

He pondered for quite a while before he finally came up with an excellent name for this risky operation.

“Operation Troy. Let’s call it Troy.”

He decided to call it Operation Troy upon being reminded of the Trojan Horse.

***

After receiving the agreement of the allied commanders to execute Operation Troy, Siegfried immediately summoned Ninetail from the southern front.

“Have you called for me, your Majesty?” Ninetail asked, after arrival in O’Toul Fortress.

“You really came through last time. And... I’m sorry...” Siegfried replied with an apology.

Ninetail was the infamous and legendary Phantom Thief, but she had never taken another person’s life before. However, she now had blood on her hands after assassinating King Deville and his officials.

Siegfried knew that she had forced herself to cross that line for his and the kingdom’s sake.

“No worries. It was for my homeland, after all,” Ninetail replied with a smile and a shrug.

“Your homeland?” Siegfried asked, looking surprised.

“Yes, it is my beloved homeland now.”

“Oh...”

Siegfried was moved. The woman who once lived in darkness was reborn as a true patriot working tirelessly for the Proatine kingdom.

On the other hand, Ninetail felt grateful for Siegfried.

‘Thank you, my king, for giving me a new life,’ she thought inwardly.

She was once a legendary thief, but she was, in the end, still just a thief—a criminal. But now, thanks to Siegfried, she managed to leave her criminal past behind and had risen to the prominent position of the director of intelligence for a kingdom.

On top of that, the previous assassination mission showed her that she could protect the kingdom in more ways than one such as leading covert operations similar to the one that she had just successfully carried out.

“So what do you need from me this time?”

“We’re going to infiltrate the Zavala camp, so I need someone skilled in disguise.”

“You came to the right person then. So, what’s the plan?”

“Well, here’s what I was thinking...” Siegfried proceeded to explain Operation Troy in detail to Ninetail.

***

Two days later, The siege on O’Toul Fortress continued while the preparations for Operation Troy were still underway.

The Proatine Alliance soldiers were getting more and more exhausted with every battle.

Siegfried and the three Masters, along with the Great Wizard, Duke Decimato, had led them to victory in the first four battles. By the fifth battle, however, their momentum faltered visibly.

A Master was a mighty individual, but they were still mortals in the end.

Meaning, they would eventually reach their limits if they kept pushing themselves, and there was only so much they could do to keep holding the line once they were at their breaking point.

“Ughh... This is starting to become more difficult...” Siegfried grumbled, sprawled on the rampage after the seventh battle ended.

“Your Majesty! Preparations for Operation Troy are complete!” Oscar reported.

“Really?!” Siegfried exclaimed, his face lighting up at the report.

There was still one day remaining for them to hold on, so they had to endure at least until the next morning before Michele would contact them again.

In such a grim situation, Oscar's news was like an oasis in the middle of a desert.

“Yes, Your Majesty. It is time for us to strike back,” Oscar said, pointing to the carts in the distance.

“Finally! Let’s get moving!”

Despite his exhaustion, Siegfried jumped up when he heard that the preparations were complete, and he moved without wasting a single second.

Meanwhile, Colonel Legent was overseeing the recovery of the fallen Zavala soldiers just outside O’Toul Fortress.

‘Hmph! The end is near,’ Colonel Legent thought, watching the pitiful state of the Proatine Alliance soldiers stationed atop the wall. He had no doubt that victory was already in the Zavala Kingdom’s hands.

The soldiers looked so tattered and ragged that nobody would believe that they were soldiers. This was only normal, as they had fought seven battles over the past four days. In other words, even the strongest among them would be utterly worn out by now.

‘Those bastards... To think that such a weak and pathetic kingdom would kill two hundred thousand of our men. I’ll make sure that not a single one of them gets spared once we capture the fortress.’

It was then.

Creak...!

The fortress gates opened, and Oscar led a group of soldiers out of O’Toul Fortress.

Dozens of carts were behind them, and each cart was covered in black cloth.

“Hmm? Isn’t that General Oscar?” Colonel Legent muttered. He watched them intently from a safe distance; he only proceeded to approach and greet her after realizing that she had no intention of fighting them.

“Hello, General Oscar.”

“Colonel Legent, I presume?”

“Yes, that would be me.”

“These are the bodies of your fallen soldiers who fought and perished on the ramparts. Please, take them and give them a proper burial.”

“Ah...”

They were enemies, Colonel Legent held great respect for Oscar.

‘So the tales of her being a noble knight was not an exaggeration...’ Colonel Legent thought. Then, he bowed slightly and replied, “Thank you, general.”

“I am merely doing what is right and noble,” Oscar replied.

She didn't mention anything about Siegfried, as she feared Legent might grow suspicious if Siegfried’s name was mentioned. After all, his reputation—no, infamy was not the best when it came to gaining someone's trust.

“Well then, please continue what you were doing,” Oscar said before returning to the fortress.

“Thank you,” Legent replied with another slight nod. Then, he turned around and barked at his soldiers, “You lot! Get back to work! Ah, inspect the bodies in the carts just in case, too!”

The men inspected the carts that they had received from Oscar.

“Anything unusual?”

“No, sir! These are indeed our men.”

“Good. Load them all up and let’s go back once we collected all of our men.”

“Yes, sir!”

Thus, the Zavala soldiers continued their grim task of collecting their fallen comrades from the battlefield.

“Fwoosh...! Ah, perfect,” Legent muttered. He sat on one of the carts and lit his pipe.

Just then, faint rustling noises echoed as one of the corpses in the cart sat up as if it was a reanimated ghoul. Then, it covered Legent’s mouth.

Shwik!

A dagger was plunged deep into Legent’s neck.

Just like that, he died before he could make any cry for help.

Colonel Legent was killed by one of the corpses without anyone even noticing it. None of the Zavala soldiers saw Legent’s tragic end, as their attentions were all fixated on the corpses littered on the battlefield.

The assassin dragged Legent’s lifeless body inside the cart and laid him down quietly. Legend's corpse blended seamlessly among the other corpses as if he really were dead to begin with.

Rustle, rustle...

Ninetail emerged from beneath the cart, perfectly disguised as Colonel Legent. Her impersonation was flawless, as she had not only mimicked Colonel Legent's voice and appearance but also his distinct mannerisms and way of speech.

“Just load them up! Who cares whose limbs are those?! Get them on the carts! Move it!” Ninetail barked orders in the same manner as Legent.

“Yes, sir!”

One hour later.

“Are you done?! We’re moving back to camp! Move!”

“Yes, sir!”

Colonel Legent—no, Ninetail, led the Zavala soldiers back to camp with hundreds of carts piled high with bodies following behind her.