Debuff Master

Chapter 735

What was the source of this divine energy? Siegfried had no idea where this power had come from or why it had chosen him.

However, none of that mattered right now. He and his allies were healed, and he even received a buff that was no short of a miracle, so why would he care where this power had come from at this moment?

This wasn't the time to be skeptical of this newfound power of his.

“What I have to do now is...” Siegfried muttered, glancing around the area. Then, his gaze fell upon where the highest concentration of enemy soldiers were gathered. The next moment, he launched himself on them.

Swoosh!

He didn't even have to rely on his Black Crow Wingsuit, as he simply soared across the battlefield, landing precisely where he wanted to in one single leap. His strength had surged to the point where a mere jump was no different from taking flight.

But that was not the end of it...

Baaaam!

A massive shockwave erupted the moment he landed, and the Zavala soldiers around him were swept away by it. Surprisingly, the Proatine Alliance soldiers were left untouched by the shockwave for some miraculous reason.

“T-This is crazy...” Siegfried muttered, astonished by his newfound power.

Then, he turned to face the Zavala soldiers.

“Waaaah!”

“Charge!”

“We’ve breached their gate!”

The enemy soldiers were pouring into the breached fortress gate.

‘With this power, I can...’ Siegfried thought before feeling a surge of overwhelming energy rushing throughout his body.

He placed down Blaze Field first, and then he took to the air with his +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp in hand. He slammed it into the ground, unleashing Splitting Heaven and Earth right in the crowd of enemies.

Krwaaaaang!

Splitting Heaven and Earth shot forward in a fan-shape before stirring up what could only be described as a natural disaster. The ground cracked open, and bolts of lightning struck down from the heavens.

The skill lived up to its name—splitting both heaven and earth; it unleashed the wrath of nature upon the enemy soldiers and wiped them out.

"...”

Siegfried could only stare in stupefaction at the destructive power of his skill.

Did it make sense that his skill caused the same destruction as the area of effect spells of Duke Decimato? The fact that he—a physical damage dealer—managed to unleash the same destructiveness as a Great Wizard was nothing short of impossible.

However, his astonishment lasted only for a short while.

Wooong!

Siegfried simultaneously placed down Blaze Field and Shadow Hell.

Fwaaah! Fwaaaah!

Seuruk...! Seuruk...!

The two debuff fields spread across the entirety of the O’Toul Fortress, debuffing a much wider area than ever before.

However, that wasn't all.

“Hiss!”

“Hiss! Hiss!”

“Shwiiik! Shwiiik!” Nôv(el)B\\jnn

“Seuruk...!”

The Blaze Hydras, Frost Hydras, and Night Stalkers emerged from within the debuff field, but their numbers had increased drastically compared to a while ago. Each of them looked noticeably stronger as well, which was a testament to the absurdity of Hero Time.

‘This is... wild...’ Siegfried marveled inwardly. He was utterly amazed by Hero Time's power, but he snapped out of it in an instant.

‘I don’t have time.’ Siegfried reminded himself.

[Alert: 4 minutes and 24 seconds remaining!]

[Alert: 4 minutes and 23 seconds remaining!]

[Alert: 4 minutes and 22 seconds remaining!]

[Alert: 4 minutes and 21 seconds remaining!]

Hero Time wasn't indefinite, so Siegfried had to squeeze every bit of profit he could get from it while it lasted. He knew very well that this was their only hope of defending the O’Toul Fortress from falling into enemy hands, so he wasn't going to waste a single second of it.

‘I can do this!’

Siegfried ran across the battlefield, tearing apart the Zavala soldiers.

***

The O’Toul Fortress teetered on the edge of falling into the Zavala Kingdom’s hands, but it was at this desperate moment that the Proatine Alliance witnessed a true miracle.

Siegfried van Proa—the King of the Proatine Kingdom as well as the hero who had saved the continent from a demon invasion—descended upon the battlefield.

He came cloaked in golden light and decimated the enemy soldiers. The way he darted across the battlefield and vanquished his foes created a scene straight out of a legend.

No, Siegfried was legendary at the moment. He was far more powerful than a Master, and his mere presence inspired his allies while striking fear in the hearts of his enemies.

Siegfried van Proa was both a hero and the savior incarnate.

“Ah... A real hero...”

“T-The Hero is here!”

“Praise be to the Hero!”

The Proatine soldiers trembled in awe, marveling at the godlike display of martial prowess Siegfried was exhibiting.

It was then.

“All forces! His Majesty fights at our side! How could we possibly lose when he is with us?! Do not doubt our victory! We are the King’s army! Arise, men! Draw your weapons and annihilate the enemy!”

Oscar’s voice echoed across the battlefield and rallied the soldiers.

The Proatine soldiers tightly gripped their weapons and got back up to their feet. Siegfried’s Divine Power might have rejuvenated their bodies, but Oscar’s cry renewed their vigor and lit the fire in their hearts.

“His Majesty will protect us! Charge!”

“I will fight beside His Majesty!”

“Forward, men!”

Invigorated by Siegfried’s overwhelming presence and Oscar’s rallying cry, the Proatine soldiers charged forward without an ounce of fear. The fortress was on the verge of being conquered by the enemy, but it became a fiery battlefield once again as the Proatine Alliance launched its counterattack.

Siegfried’s buff replenished their HP, Mana, and Stamina. On top of that, the powerful debuff fields spread throughout the battlefield massively debuffed the enemy soldiers.

The combination of these two factors allowed the Proatine Alliance soldiers to tear through the Zavala Forces with ease, and with the return of the three Masters and Duke Decimato, the tide of the battle shifted dramatically.

Meanwhile, Saintess Janette watched Siegfried from afar, and she looked troubled by what she was witnessing.

“How... is he wielding divine power...?”

The sight was deeply unsettling for her. She was a holy figure, a leader of a religious order, a person handpicked by a god, yet here was Siegfried, wielding divine power that even she herself barely understood.

This would have somehow made sense if Siegfried had been a priest or a devout believer in a god, but to her knowledge, Siegfried was not religious at all.

‘Yet he's wielding divine power...? Is it possible that this power belongs to a god he believes in from his world?’ Saintess Janette wondered if Siegfried perhaps had a religion after all back in his world.

‘Hmm... I’ll have to ask him once this battle is over.’

While Saintess Janette was pondering the source of Siegfried’s divine power, he continued to unleash power that was nothing short of a calamity to annihilate the Zavala soldiers.

He killed his enemies en-masse with Eraser Swarm, caused natural disasters with Splitting Heaven and Earth, and painted the battlefield crimson red with Torrential Flower Rain.

This battle would be etched into the history of the continent, elevating Siegfried’s status from a Hero to a Legend.

“Retreat! Retreat!”

“Everyone! Fall back!”

“We must retreat at once!”

The Zavala Forces abandoned their siege of the O’Toul Fortress despite being so close to conquering it. Even General Andrei, who had to conquer the fortress to save his head from execution, was forced to order a full retreat upon witnessing Siegfried's carnage.

The Siege of O’Toul Fortress finally ended.

The Proatine Alliance triumphed against the invaders, the mighty Zavala Kingdom.

“We did it!”

“They’re retreating!”

“They sounded the retreat!”

“We won! Victory is ours!”

Waaaaah!

Victorious cries rang out from every corner of the O’Toul Fortress as the soldiers hugged and celebrated the magnificent victory that they had achieved together.

This was a victory that none of them would ever forget for the rest of their lives.

***

Just as the Zavala Forces began retreating.

[Alert: 3 seconds remaining!]

[Alert: 2 seconds...!]

[Alert: 1 second...!]

[Alert: Hero Time has ended!]

When Hero Time ended, Siegfried barely managed to stay on his feet by leaning heavily on his +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp as if it were a cane.

“We won! We really won!”

“We did it!”

“Yes!”

The victorious cries of his allies rang in his ears.

Ding!

Then, a string of messages popped up in front of his eyes.

[Alert: Congratulations!]

[Alert: You have gained a new achievement!]

[Alert: You have achieved Legendary War Hero!]

[Legendary War Hero]

[You have performed legendary feats in battle and have become a symbol for the ages!]

[Your achievements will be recorded and remembered throughout history!]

[Your name and exploits will be recorded in the continent’s historical records from now on!]

[Effects: +5,000 Fame; +5% Allied stats in wars you participate in; +150% Morale for all allied forces in your faction during wars; Increased rate of acquiring Divine Power; Increase in respect and goodwill from NPCs.]

“Huh? This game has an achievement system...?” Siegfried wondered, tilting his head in confusion.

Then, he furrowed his brows in confusion after recalling the extraordinary buff he had received, Hero Time. Now that the battle was over, the question of where this miraculous power had come from started nagging at him.

“Hmm... Just what in the world is this power...?” Siegfried muttered.

Unfortunately, there was little time for him to continue pondering about it.

“Kyuuu!” Hamchi ran over and leaped into his arms.

Then, a swarm of soldiers from the alliance surrounded him.

“All hail His Majesty, King Siegfried van Proa!”

“Long live the Proatine Kingdom!”

“Long live His Majesty, King Siegfried van Proa!”

The soldiers clustered around him and lifted their voices, singing praises of him.

It was then.

“E-Enemy attack! More enemy forces are approaching!”

A sentry atop a lookout tower screamed, his voice sounding frantic and desperate.

“Huh? Enemy...?” Siegfried muttered, blinking in disbelief.

The Zavala Forces had launched a full-scale assault but were forced to withdraw after suffering devastating losses.

However, there were actually more enemies?

Siegfried rushed to the lookout tower and squinted his eyes, gazing into the distance.

“Ah...” Siegfried muttered, and his heart sank to the abyss.

Thousands of cavalry were charging toward the O’Toul Fortress from across the plain, and there were what appeared to be tens of thousands of infantrymen marching right behind the cavalry.

Siegfried hurriedly searched for the flag bearers and looked at the banners they held up high. The banners swaying proudly in the air were none other than the banners of the Zavala Kingdom.

The enemy reinforcements had come.

It seemed that despite the intel Nintail had uncovered, additional reinforcements managed to come here through a different channel.

“...”

Siegfried could only stare blankly at the Zavala Forces's reinforcements advancing toward the fortress. He thought that they had won the battle, but despair descended upon them once more before they could get a taste of their sweet victory.

He had poured every ounce of his strength and had even poured his soul into defending the fortress.

But reinforcements? More troops?

“Ah, we’re fuc—” Siegfried couldn't continue with his curse.

Rumble!

Another group of cavalry and infantry appeared in the distance, and they approached the Zavala Forces’ reinforcements at high speed.

“Holy... There were more of them...?” Siegfried muttered, his voice sounding soulless.

The fact that there was one contingent of enemy reinforcements was already bad news, so seeing more of them made him feel sick to his stomach.

Siegfried focused on the new group of reinforcements, but he noticed something different about them.

Their banners.

The newly-arrived cavalry and infantrymen waved banners of various emblems.

Siegfried then realized that they were the emblems of the nations neighboring the Zavala Kingdom.

And this could only mean one thing...

“T-That bastard, Michele!” Siegfried exclaimed. Then, a grin broke out on his face as he cried out, “I knew you’d come through! You damn hero!”