Debuff Master-Chapter 860

Alexei wanted nothing more than to rip Tae-Sung apart limb by limb, but he calmed down before calling again. He knew fighting would only result in losses, so negotiating a favorable outcome was far more beneficial than picking a fight.

— What is it? It’s chest day today, so I’m busy. Don’t you know that Monday is bench press day in Korea?

Alexei could not help but scowl at the absurd response. ‘Do Koreans have a tradition of focusing their workout routines on a specific body part on certain days of the week?’

As a Russian, Alexei had no knowledge of Korean gym culture, so he had a hard time telling whether Tae-Sung was joking or not. Still, he decided to play it safe and apologize regardless.

“I apologize. I didn’t realize it was such an important day. I hope your chest workout goes well.”

— T-Thanks... Pfft! Hehehe!

“...?”

— Anyway, why are you calling?

“I’ll offer you fifteen percent.”

— Ninety percent.

“What?!” Alexei could not believe his ears.

Asking for ninety percent was in no way a negotiation. It was plain daylight robbery.

Why?

It was all because ninety percent was essentially demanding the entire thing!

“Han Tae-Sung! Are you kidding me?! Ninety percent?! That’s no negotiation! If you had asked for fifty percent, at least I could have considered it!”

— And now you understand.

“Huh?”

— You’ve seen the news, right? Let’s broadcast our fight live if we’re going to war.

“What?! Why do you have to go this far, Han Tae-Sung? Do you really need to take everything to be satisfied? If we fight, we will both spill blood!”

— Whose blood do you think will spill more? I’m confident I’ll only suffer a nosebleed. But you? I bet you’ll bleed to death.

“Han Tae-Sung...! There’s no need for bloodshed! We split it equally, and both sides will benefit!”

— I’m not satisfied unless I take everything.

“So, you’re saying you want to go ahead with the fight?”

— How many times do I have to say it? I’m taking it all. And also... Do you even know what the consequences of mismanaging a Great Rift are? Can you handle the aftermath if you can’t control it from rampaging?

“Hey, are you looking down on our guild? Listen, Han Tae-Sung. I’ll admit that you’re impressive. But things are going to get messy if you keep pushing things like this.”

— I’m not underestimating you. I’m warning you. Have you experienced how difficult the dungeons that appear whenever the rift is rampaging? You wouldn’t know, would you?

“Shut up! The mana stone mine is ours! The Execution Guild can perfectly handle the Great Rift, so shut it with your nonsense!”

— Oh really?

“Eat shit, Han Tae-Sung! Fine, let’s do the live broadcast if that’s how you wanna do things. I might as well show the world what we’re capable of if we’re going to fight anyway.”

In the end, Alexei had no other choice but to accept Tae-Sung’s challenge.

‘Yes!’ Tae-Sung cheered inwardly.

Upon savoring the sweet taste of good ‘ol capitalism, he had clapped his eyes on just how profitable live matches could become. In his previous fight against the Loser Trio, the broadcasting rights alone amounted to billions. If the sponsor money was added to it, then Tae-Sung had pocketed more than several billion from a single match.

Back in the real world, boxing legend Floyd Mayweather earned around two hundred seventy billion won for his fight against Manny Pacquiao. If a boxing match could generate that kind of money, then BNW, which was the hottest VR game in the world, could bring him much more than that.

Even after sharing tens of billions with his teammates, Tae-Sung would still take home an astronomical amount of money.

‘Jackpot! This is a jackpot!’

Tae-Sung was secretly grateful to Alexei for occupying the Eastern Great Rift.

Why?

It was all because the upcoming war guaranteed him a fivefold windfall.

He stood to gain huge broadcasting fees, ownership of an A-Grade mana stone mine, the items dropped by the Execution Guild members upon dying, worldwide fame, and a huge boost in his market value.

He would also be able to portray himself as a peacekeeper.

Instead of killing two birds with one stone, Tae-Sung was going to kill five birds with one stone.

— Sounds good! Let’s find some sponsors and get things moving. See you on the battlefield!

With that, Tae-Sung hung up.

“That damned bastard...! So that’s how he wants to play? Fine! Just you wait, Han Tae-Sung!” Alexei cursed and stormed to his VR capsule.

***

Tae-Sung clearly had a knack for business.

His provocation and public declaration of war generated immense attention, captivating BNW fans around the globe.

Massive sponsors lined up to back Tae-Sung’s Head Crusher Guild and the Mandate of Heaven Guild. The sponsors ranged from luxury car companies to high-end boutique brands, premium watchmakers, and global conglomerates.

The list of sponsors hoping to throw their money was nothing short of extraordinary.

However, that was not the end of it...

The broadcasting rights to the war were sold for an exorbitant sum, driving up the event's value.

The price for a mere ten-second advertisement during the match was set at a staggering ten billion won, but what was even more surprising was how quickly those advertising slots were sold out.

As the stakes continued to rise, Tae-Sung’s expected profits from this event grew exponentially.

He was projected to make more than five hundred billion won if appearance fees from the broadcasting station, winning bonuses, sponsorship deals, and viewer donations were all calculated.

[Breaking News] This Year’s First Big Match! Han Tae-Sung Executes the Execution Guild!

[V-Sports/General] Pre-Match Analysis... Who Will Emerge Victorious?

[Column] What Is Han Tae-Sung’s Economic Value?

“Good, good. The hype is building nicely,” Tae-Sung said with a nod.

After confirming that the event was gaining more and more buzz, Tae-Sung entered his VR capsule and logged into the game.

With the groundwork prepared, it was time to prepare for war with the Execution Guild.

‘I can’t be sloppy or careless,’ he thought.

Even a tiger would use all of its strength when hunting a mere rabbit, and this philosophy applied to Tae-Sung as well. The Execution Guild was one of the continent’s top ten guilds, after all, which meant they packed quite the firepower.

The guild was also ranked in the upper half of the top ten, so they were quite formidable in terms of combat prowess.

Thus, Siegfried gathered the whole Head Crusher Guild and even brought in the Mandate of Heaven Guild, led by Yong Tae-Pung.

Yong Tae-Pung was studying the map near the Eastern Great Rift. He was busy coming up with a strategy when he turned to Siegfried and said, “Hey, nephew.”

“Yes, Uncle?”

“Anything happening lately?”

“Pardon? What do you mean by that?”

“Nothing, but it seems like you’ve been unusually obsessed with money lately. So I was wondering if you had some big expenses coming up soon.”

“Ah...”

Siegfried finally understood what Yong Tae-Pung was trying to say.

Yong Tae-Pung knew that Siegfried was not the type to make a big deal out of something, but this time, he seemed to have intentionally raised the stakes to rake in as much money as possible.

“My little sister just got accepted into Seoul National University’s medical school.”

“Oh? That’s wonderful news!”

“Yes, it is indeed!”

“But this still seems like overkill... for tuition, no?”

“Tuition? Ah, no, no. I’m planning to open her a hospital one day.”

“A-A hospital?!”

“I’ll need to make a lot of money now if it’s going to be as big as a university hospital[1]. Hahaha!”

“...You could probably afford that even now.”

Yong Tae-Pung was baffled by the reason, but Siegfried actually had another goal in mind. His ultimate goal was to become a major shareholder of Hive and eventually turn BNW into his private possession.

To achieve that, he needed much more than just pocket change. He was wealthy, but accumulating enough capital to invest in a global corporation with high stock prices took grueling efforts, too.

“I also need to upgrade my gear,” Siegfried added.

The items crafted by Yong Seol-Hwa had lost much of their effectiveness after he awakened as the Lord of Despair. The set was designed to synergize with the debuff skills being placed down as fields, but his debuff skills had evolved into auras, so the field effects could no longer be applied.

In other words, the hydras could no longer appear.

In other words, the gear crafted by Yong Seol-Hwa had become nothing more than a normal armor set with better stats than others.

“I see...”

“Yes, Uncle.”

“By the way, Tae-Sung...” Yong Tae-Pung trailed the end of his words, trying to change the subject.

It was then.

“Make way!”

“Disperse at once!”

“Clear the area at once!”

Knights and soldiers suddenly appeared, shouting at the Head Crusher Guild and Mandate of Heaven Guild.

***

“What’s going on?” Siegfried titled his head in confusion and muttered before approaching the knights

‘Eh? Palom Kingdom?’ he quickly identified after seeing the emblem engraved on their armor.

He approached the knight who appeared to be the commander.

“Greetings, my name is Siegfried van Proa.”

“Ah, you must be His Majesty, King Siegfried van Proa. I am Axion, a knight of the Palom Kingdom.”

The knight, identifying himself indeed as the commander, greeted with a slight bow after recognizing Siegfried. He was a formidable knight at Level 299, but compared to Siegfried, he was no real match.

‘Hmm... Interesting...’

Siegfried raised a brow after noticing Axion’s dismissive demeanor. The knight did not even give a proper bow and gave only a curt introduction even after recognizing him.

The Palom Kingdom was a powerful nation, one even stronger than the Zavala Kingdom, but Siegfried was nonetheless the king of a rising power. A mere knight was expected to pay proper respect to royalty.

‘Ah, this guy is looking down on me,’ Siegfried sensed.

He could tell that the knight from a powerful kingdom was underestimating him, a ruler of a newly emerging kingdom.

Still, Siegfried decided to let it slide for now and continue with the conversation.

“What brings you here?” he asked.

“This territory belongs to the Palom Kingdom. Your presence here with Adventurers is considered unlawful, Your Majesty,” Axiom replied with an air of haughtiness.

“...Excuse me?”

“We must request that you immediately withdraw with your Adventurers.”

Siegfried blinked in disbelief. The Eastern Great Rift hadn't been claimed by any nation. It was geographically closer to the Palom Kingdom, but the short distance between the two didn't mean that the Great Rift was their territory.

Axion smirked condescendingly as if his explanation was supposed to be common sense. Then, he said in an equally condescending voice, “As I mentioned, this land belongs to our kingdom. The Execution Guild members stationed here are managing the Eastern Great Rift on behalf of the Palom Kingdom.”

“Ah...” Siegfried finally understood what was happening.

The Execution Guild decided they could not handle both the Head Crusher Guild and the Mandate of Heaven Guild at the same time, so they sought support from the powerful Palom Kingdom.

It was likely a mutually beneficial arrangement. The Execution Guild had probably offered around fifty percent of the profits from the mana stone mine in exchange for the Palom Kingdom providing protection to them.

“So, the Palom Kingdom and the Execution Guild are in cahoots?” Siegfried said with a smirk.

Axion smiled icily and growled, “Mind your words. Cahoots? Do you think the Palom Kingdom is some petty nation like the Proatine Kingdom? Watch your mouth—”

It was then...

Smack!

The +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp struck Axion’s mouth with immense force.

“Gah!” Axion cried out as he was sent flying.

His mouth was shattered from the blow, leaving his face grotesquely deformed.

“...!”

The onlookers, both Adventurers and soldiers, froze in stunned silence.

No one expected that Siegfried would go so far as to mercilessly crush the mouth of a knight of the mighty Palom Kingdom.

However, Siegfried was just getting started.

“Your mouth. That damn mouth of yours is your problem, right?” Siegfried, now standing over Axion, said icily.

Then, he swung down the +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp once more, striking the knight’s already ruined face.

“Gah! Kuheok!”

“Yeah, it’s the mouth. It’s always the mouth.”

Siegfried continued his relentless one-sided assault, smashing Axion’s face with precision until it was completely bashed open.

“S-Stop him!”

“What are you doing?!”

The knights and soldiers of the Palom Kingdom drew their swords and rushed at Siegfried.

“Hey, Seung-Gu,” Siegfried looked back and called.

“Yes, hyung-nim?”

“Kill them all.”

“As you wish!”

At Siegfried’s command, Seung-Gu summoned an army of Iron Golems.

What happened next? A barrage of artillery fire rained down upon the Palom Kingdom’s knights and soldiers.

1. Healthcare in Korea is a bit different. The biggest hospitals are usually university hospitals. ☜