Debuff Master

“Are you… planning on killing me?”

“You call that a question?”

“You do not have to do that.”

“Why?”

“We are on the same side.”

“The same side?” Carlisle muttered before he narrowed his eyes and asked, “Don’t tell me, are you from the Renoma Kingdom too?”

“No, I am not.”

“Then how are we on the same side?”

“Who knows?”

“Stop playing games with me!”

“Kyak!”

Carlisle slammed Jessie against the wall and pressed the cold dagger against her smooth white neck.

“Y-You will regret this…!”

“What else is there to regret when my identity has been exposed?”

“I am not your enemy. I would have reported it immediately if I were!”

“Hmm…”

Carlisle was about to thrust the dagger into her neck but stopped after thinking about what she said.

It made sense. She could have easily reported him without confronting him like this.

“How did you find out I have been poisoning the snacks?”

“C-Can you put this down first… before we talk?” Jessie stuttered and asked as she pointed at the dagger pressed against her neck.

“Sure,” Carlisle replied as he let her go before asking, “How did you find out I had been poisoning the queen?”

“I found out while throwing away the food scraps.”

“The food scraps?”

“I gave Her Majesty’s food scraps to the pigs.”

“I see…”

Carlisle laughed in disbelief as he knew exactly what happened to the pigs even if the maid did not tell him.

“But why didn’t you report this to the chamberlain?”

“I was about to, but it was too much of a waste to do so.”

“A waste?”

“I needed an ally.”

“What kind of ally?”

“I am a follower of a secret organization called the Church of Osric.”

Carlisle recalled Siegfried grumbling to himself.

“Ah, those Osric bastards… I need to beat them up, but where are they hiding?”

The Church of Osric was not an organization Carlisle could know about since he was just a knight captain of a small kingdom. However, he was certain that the Church of Osric was Siegfried’s enemy.

“The Church of Osric, you say…” Carlisle muttered under his breath before he asked, “What kind of organization is it?”

“Who knows? I think you do not need to know that far.”

“Hmm…”

“But one thing I can say is that we have the same enemy.”

“Siegfried van Proa?”

“Yes,” Jessie replied with a nod, and then she added, “Siegfried van Proa has been branded an eyesore by our church.”

“I see…”

“However, I am the only remaining follower within the Proatine Kingdom.”

“So what?”

“I need your help.”

“My help?”

“Our church is planning to launch an operation against Siegfried van Proa, but it is impossible for me to achieve that alone.”

“And that’s why you need my help? But what will you give me if I help your organization out?”

“Revenge.”

“Revenge… That is an enticing word indeed…” Carlisle mumbled before he flashed a bitter smile and added, “But it is quite difficult as well.”

“It is not that difficult if we help each other.”

“Do you have a plan?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s hear it then.”

“Our church is…” Jessie took a step forward and whispered the Church of Osric’s plans to him.

“Oh?” Carlisle smiled after hearing the plans of the Church of Osric. “That’s quite interesting.”

“It is possible for us to set the plan in motion if you are willing to help us.”

“All right.”

“So, will you help us?”

“Why not?”

“Excellent.”

Carlisle seemed quite happy as well after accepting the proposal.

“Ah! Please stop poisoning the snacks.”

“I stopped a long time ago. I have no idea why, but my poisons don’t seem to work on her. The queen just treated the poison as some seasoning.”

“Of course, the child inside her has already attained a body immune to poison, so no poison will work on her or the child within her.”

“Oh my god… So there was such a reason…” Carlisle muttered in despair after realizing the reason.

“The elder says it, so it must be accurate.”

“Well, there’s no way that monster would be wrong.”

“Anyway, please be careful and try not to get caught for now. We will be able to complete our revenge in a month and a half’s time.”

“Sure,” Carlisle nodded in agreement at Jessie’s request.

***

[Alert: You have obtained Bavarian Workshop Enhancement Coupon!]

[Alert: You have obtained Bavarian Workshop Equipment Protection Coupon!]

[Alert: You have obtained Ice God’s Essence!]

Siegfried stored away the treasures that Fernandes the Third and Duke Alto had offered to him after ordering their execution.

‘Jackpot!’

He grinned ear to ear. Getting the gold and all was good, but the fact that he had obtained an item that would upgrade his skill along with enhancement coupons was the real deal.

In fact, the items were so good that he could not help but feel grateful toward Fernandes the Third and Duke Alto even though they had stabbed him in the back after he had saved their kingdom.

“I will remain and oversee the affairs here, Your Majesty. I believe there is a chance of rebel uprisings and declining public security due to the confusion,” Oscar said.

“I am always grateful to you, Dame Oscar,” Siegfried replied.

“Not at all, Your Majesty.”

“It will be difficult for us to absorb them into our kingdom, so let’s do what we did with the Renoma Kingdom and set up a puppet government.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Ah, I guess it will be fine if you appoint the feudal lords that fought alongside me in the golem invasion.”

Siegfried acknowledged the feudal lords who had defended him from the false accusations and decided to form a Pro-Proatine Faction with them at the core. This was an excellent decision as it was going to be much easier to rule the Lexus Kingdom if local lords were appointed to govern it.

“I shall discuss the specifics and documentation required with Sir Michele.”

“That will be great.”

“Also, Your Majesty.”

“Yes?”

“We have acquired the cape that Fernandes the Third was using. Would you like to take a look at it?”

“His cape? But I already have a good cape…” Siegfried said as he glanced at his cape.

The Blood Butterfly’s Wings crafted from the Heavenly Silk was a rare item that was not going to lose against most capes.

“Please take a look at it, Your Majesty.”

“Well, I guess there’s no harm in that.”

“Present the spoils to His Majesty!” Oscar commanded.

The Proatine Marines brought in a white cape with black stripes on it and presented it to Siegfried.

“Is it from the leather of a zebra? No, it’s too luxurious for a zebra leather…” Siegfried muttered in awe while looking at the cape.

He could tell in a single glance that the cape was crafted from a rare animal’s hide, and its appearance alone did not lose in grandeur against the Blood Butterfly’s Wings.

“It is a cape crafted from the hide of a monster called Arachnid, and I believe that this cape is far more befitting of a ruler like Your Majesty rather than someone like Fernandes the—”

“Did you just say Arachnid?!”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Siegfried hurriedly used his Rune of Insight to inspect the striped cape.

[Emotional Cape]

[A cape crafted from Arachnid’s Leather.]

[It is a mystical cape that flutters depending on its wearer’s current emotions.]

[Type: Cape]

[Rating: Unique]

Surprisingly, the cape that Fernandes the Third loved to wear turned out to be crafted from the Arachnid’s Leather, which was the material required to craft the Vanquisher’s Grasp.

“Oh!” Siegfried exclaimed after realizing that he no longer had to trouble himself to hunt the Arachnids.

‘Wow, these guys are gifts that keep on giving!’ He could not help but think that Fernandes the Third and Duke Alto were monsters that dropped excellent loot for the trouble it took to hunt them down.

“How is it, Your Majesty? Is it to your liking?”

“It’s more than my liking,” Siegfried replied with a big smile and added, “It’s made from the material I needed.”

“Oh, is that so?”

“But this is still a better cape,” he added as he motioned with his chin to the cape on his back.

The Blood Butterfly’s Wings was the clear victor when comparing the effects of both capes. However, Siegfried was still extremely satisfied with the Emotional Cape as it was crafted from the last material he needed to craft the Vanquisher’s Grasp.

“I was able to save a lot of time thanks to you, Dame Oscar.”

“I am happy that Your Majesty is delighted with it,” Oscar replied with a bright smile.

‘Your Majesty is my salt and light in this world,’ she thought.

Her loyalty was equal to or even greater than Carell\'s.

“Okay, I’ll be off now. I’ll drop by the Bavarian Workshop before heading back to the kingdom, so I’ll leave the things over here to you.”

“I will faithfully carry out the duties you have commanded me, Your Majesty!”

Siegfried left the Lexus Kingdom and headed to the Bavarian Kingdom.

‘But what am I going to substitute the Golem King’s Core with…?’

However, he was still troubled by what he could use to replace the Golem King’s Core.

***

Siegfried took the Warp Gate and appeared in the city where the Bavarian Workshop’s headquarters was located.

“Let’s sneak in like some rats. It’s going to be extremely embarrassing if they see us coming!”

“Yes, I agree, owner punk! Kyu! Their performance is so tacky that it’s embarrassing!”

It seemed that Hamchi agreed that the Bavarian Workshop’s greeting was quite embarrassing, so he dove inside Siegfried’s pocket.

Murmur… Murmur…

Siegfried spotted a crowd gathered and noisily chatting while pointing at a poster on the wall.

‘What’s that?’ He could not help but let his curiosity get the better of him, so he went to take a look. He asked one of the NPCs in the crowd, “Did something happen?”

“Well, something indeed happened, alright. Look at that,” the NPC replied.

“Hmm?”

“It seems like it’s some famous Adventurer, but he has a bounty of one hundred thousand gold.”

“O-One hundred thousand?!” Siegfried exclaimed after hearing the massive bounty and immediately looked at the poster. The poster had a sketch of someone he was quite familiar with, along with some words underneath the sketch.

[WANTED]

[This Adventurer is hereby wanted for breaking his promise with His Imperial Majesty.]

[Anyone that gets a sighting of this Adventurer is to report the information to a diplomatic office of the Marchioni Empire.]

[Marchioni Empire – Imperial Palace]

The criminal wanted was none other than Chae Hyung-Seok, and it seemed that Siegfried’s hard work to run to the emperor after Chae Hyung-Seok had failed to pay up was finally bearing fruit.

Chae Hyung-Seok’s gaming life was as good as over now that he was wanted by the Marchioni Empire.

“Whew~ Our Hyung-Seok is so famous now~ Kekeke!” Siegfried whistled and said with a cackle.

“Kyuuu! It’s Chae Hyung-Seok!” Hamchi chimed in.

Siegfried knew very well what was going to happen from now on. The media channels related to the game were going to report about this over and over again, the Genesis Guild was going to decline even more, and Chae Hyung-Seok would either have to quit the game or hide like a rat even if he did log in to the game.

“You should’ve lived kindly~ Tsk tsk tsk…” Siegfried clicked his tongue and sneered before he headed for the Bavarian Workshop.

Crack…!

Meanwhile, someone was trembling in fury white hidden in the crowd. The face of the individual in question was hidden by a hood, and he was glaring at Siegfried.

“Han Tae-Sung… You fucking son of a bitch…”

The man whose face was covered by a hood gritted his teeth and muttered Siegfried’s real name.