Debuff Master

Chapter 400

“H-How am I? This son of a—do I look fine to you?! You call that a question?!”

“Haha...”

“Do you have any idea of the losses our territory incurred because of that bitch Oscar?! Do you know what happened after that bitch helped Salvatore?!” Count Seraphim roared like a dragon.

“Hmm?”

“Our territory is on the brink of collapse! We’re about to go bankrupt because of her!”

It was understandable why Count Seraphim was raging at Siegfried. He believed the culprit behind the disappearance of the Valencia Family treasures was Oscar, who was Siegfried’s subject, so raging at him somewhat made perfect sense.

‘Haha... Hahaha...’

Siegfried couldn\'t retort because he completely understood why the man was so enraged. However, there was no way he was going to apologize and admit what happened—never!

‘Geez... I’m starting to feel bad for him... Hehehe...’

He brushed off the guilt and replied, “The actions of Free Knight Oscar are truly a shame, Count Seraphim.”

“A shame?”

“As you might be aware, Free Knight Oscar one-sidedly submitted her letter of resignation and resigned from her position before doing whatever she did. Here, take a look,” Siegfried said as he showed Oscar’s hand-written letter of resignation.

He did not forget to emphasize the words letter of resignation.

“This proves that the crime she committed has nothing to do with our kingdom.”

“Ahem!”

“But Count Seraphim...”

“What is it?”

“Regardless of her current status as a Free Knight, I cannot help but feel somewhat responsible for her actions, too.”

“Oh!”

“If I knew she was planning to do such a thing, then I would have stopped her at all costs!”

“But what use is saying that now?! She caused this mess, and now the Valencia Family’s treasure is gone! This will cause irreversible damage to our territory despite us winning the war!”

“That’s why I am here.”

“W-What?!”

“As I have said, I feel somewhat responsible for her actions.”

“Responsible? What do you mean by feeling somewhat responsible? Are you saying you will take responsibility for what happened?”

“Yes.”

“Y-You will?”

Count Seraphim was flustered at Siegfried’s response.

The Proatine Kingdom officially distanced themselves from Oscar and refused to acknowledge any fault in the matter.

But why was their king suddenly claiming he was going to take responsibility?

Count Seraphim could not understand what was going on right now.

“What do you mean by that? I thought you said your kingdom is not responsible for her actions? Are you sure you are willing to take responsibility?”

“Yes.”

“Are you taking me for a fool?! What preposterous—“

“I am hoping to compensate you for your troubles, Count Seraphim,” Siegfried said in a warm gentle voice.

“H-How much are we talking about...?”

Siegfried took out a check and passed it to Count Seraphim.

“Heok!” Count Seraphim gasped after seeing the amount written on the check.

‘Well, that’s technically your money, so you don’t have to be so surprised...’ Siegfried thought with a laugh.

The amount written on the check was a third of the gold he had looted from the Valencia Family treasure room.

“A-Are you giving this to us...?”

“Yes,” Siegfried replied with a nod and explained, “You have suffered great losses due to the actions of a knight previously in my employ.”

“T-That’s right...”

“Thus, I feel it is only fair that I compensate you for your troubles.”

“Are you really giving this amount to us?” Count Seraphim asked with a hint of skepticism in his voice. It was understandable why he would be so shocked and skeptical as the Proatine Kingdom could feign ignorance to the matter, and Count Seraphim wouldn\'t be able to do anything about it.

“Yes, I am really giving it to you.”

“Oh!” Count Seraphim exclaimed as his face brightened.

The McQueen Territory could avoid the catastrophic financial collapse looming in the distance with the amount of money Siegfried wanted to give to them.

“But I have a condition.”

“A condition? What might be Your Majesty’s condition?”

It was funny how Count Seraphim suddenly addressed Siegfried as Your Majesty and spoke in a very courteous manner.

As expected, money was a very powerful thing...

“My condition is...”

“Please, tell me whatever Your Majesty wishes!”

“Amnesty for Free Knight Oscar,” Siegfried said with a smirk.

***

Count Seraphim’s face flushed red the moment Siegfried mentioned amnesty for Oscar.

“Never! I will never agree to that!” Count Seraphim screamed.

“That damage that wench has inflicted on our territory is far too big! She is a criminal deserving of hanging for the crimes she has committed against us!”

“I agree with you, Count Seraphim,” Siegfried replied. He did not deny the accusations as Oscar’s actions and Siegfried’s plundering were indeed grave crimes. However, he was not the kind of person who would simply bend over and do what others wanted!

“You have the right to be upset, Count Seraphim.”

“Then why would you request such a thing!”

“That is why I am compensating you for your troubles.”

“B-But that is...!”

“I am well aware of the troubles your territory will be facing,” Siegfried said before he paused for a moment and added, “...McQueen Territory is in quite the financial pickle, right?”

“Ahem!”

“And the royal family, as well as your neighbors, have started making their move against you.”

Siegfried was right. The Emporio Kingdom was technically a federation of nine territories, and any territory that suddenly became powerful was sure to be targeted by the others.

This was something Count Seraphim knew very well as he was worried about this precisely. The McQueen Territory was in danger of being conquered by their neighbors if he failed to stabilize both the territory and the newly-conquered Valencia Territory.

“Count Seraphim.”

“Y-Yes?”

“You need this money.”

“Ahem!” Count Seraphim cleared his throat.

He could not take his eyes away from the check in Siegfried’s hand.

Whoosh~ Whoosh~

Count Seraphim’s eyes followed the check that looked like it was dancing, and the sight of it was undeniably tempting.

“Please think of the future, Count Seraphim.”

“F-Future...?”

“Imagine your future self sitting on the throne of the Emporio Kingdom.”

“Heok!”

“If you manage to stabilize the Valencia Territory and completely annex it...” Siegfried said in a low voice. He was enticing Count Seraphim with an extremely effective bait called ambition. “I believe occupying the throne will not be impossible if that happens.”

“Ahem! T-That is...!”

“I know Free Knight Oscar has caused a big problem for you, but it was her actions that brought me to you, too. I know this is not that big of an amount for someone of your status, but if you manage to overcome this hurdle, then—“

“But what will people think of me if I forgive that wench?! I will become a laughingstock, and everyone will think lightly of the McQueen Terri—“

“You have to look at the big picture sometimes, don’t you agree?”

“Ahem!”

“This trade deal will turn your territory into the largest one within the Emporio Kingdom that can wrestle the throne away from the current royal family while I will be able to re-employ a talented knight under my servitude. What do you say?”

“Argh...!”

“Oh well, I cannot force you if you do not want it. I will give up on Oscar and use this money to find another knight to—“

“I-I will do it! I will grant amnesty to Free Knight Oscar!” Count Seraphim screamed.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, Your Majesty! I will completely forgive all of Oscar’s crimes, and I swear not to hold anything against her from now on!”

In the end, Seraphim accepted Siegfried’s offer. It did not make sense to continue obsessing over Oscar when his entire territory was on the verge of being invaded by his neighbors.

“All right,” Siegfried said with a smirk, and then he extended a contract to Count Seraphim, “This check will be yours once you sign on this line.”

“I will sign it right now,” Count Seraphim replied right away and signed the paper agreeing to grant full amnesty to Oscar while completely unaware that he was being made a fool.

***

While Siegfried was busy pulling a scam on Count Seraphim.

“Cough! Cough!”

“Chaos! Are you alright?!”

The son of Demon Lord Vernas, Metatron was busy nursing Chaos. It was quite funny how the son of a demon lord was nursing one of his subordinates, but he had no other choice right now.

Chaos’ body was in tatters after failing to uphold his end of the bargain with Salvatore.

“M-My lord...”

“Chaos! Hurry and recover! We need to go retrieve Avenger!”

“Kuheok!”

Chaos was so touched by Metatron’s actions that he ended up shedding a tear. Who would have known he would be on the receiving end of such love and care from his lord, who was also the son of the demon lord? The fact that Metatron cared for a lowly demon like him was more than enough to touch Chaos’ heart.

However, Metatron was simply doing this for his own benefit...

“Chaos! You need to overcome this!”

“My lord! I, Chaos, will recover as fast as possible and serve you with all of my strength!”

“We have already won now that we know where Avenger is! I will become a demon lord, and you, my most loyal subject, will be reborn as a high-ranking demon!”

“Yes! My lord! I shall focus on recovering as you have commanded!”

“Excellent! Let’s do our best together! I have started exercising, and this useless body of mine will become stronger, too!”

“Oh! Have you really started exercising, my lord?”

“Yes, I’m now able to repeatedly sit down and stand up! Walking is still a bit difficult, but I’m confident I’ll start walking in no time!”

“Wow!”

“That human doctor told me that my arthritis has progressed too much to the point that building muscles is the only solution!”

“You can do it, my lord!”

Hearing the son of the demon lord talk about building muscles so he could walk sounded quite absurd, but there was nothing Metatron could do about his current situation. He possessed the body of an old magician who was riddled with all sorts of ailments, so being able to walk normally was considered big progress for him.

“Let’s do this, Chaos!”

“Yes! My lord!”

***

Meanwhile, Chae Hyung-Seok had gone through all sorts of difficulties and obstacles to successfully clear the dungeon that Baccelotti had left behind. He was now standing in front of the dungeon’s clear reward—a scythe

The name of this scythe was Demonic Artifact: Dark Scythe.

This was an artifact that would allow him to contract with a high-ranking demon.

“Wait for me, you fucking bastard, Han Tae-Sung!” Chae Hyung-Seok gnashed his teeth and stretched his hand toward the scythe. There was not an ounce of hesitation in him as his hatred for Tae-Sung was so strong that he was ready to even sell his soul in reality.

Kwachik!

Chae Hyung-Seok grabbed the scythe.

Flash!

A burst of black aura flashed from the scythe, and a summoning circle appeared underneath his feet.