Debuff Master-Chapter 914

The victory celebration came to a close after Emperor Stuttgart rewarded those who fought in the civil war.

However, this was just the beginning.

The entirety of the week was lined up with festivities to commemorate the suppression of the rebellion. A massive celebration was prepared where the masses would eat, drink, and be merry without any worries.

Of course, none of this had anything to do with Siegfried.

“Siegfried van Proa.”

“Yes, my lord?”

“Let us go in.”

“As you command.”

At Emperor Stuttgart’s command, Siegfried obediently followed him into the Palace of Blood.

“Hurry up. You’re falling behind.”

Meanwhile, at the very end of the procession, Cain was scolded by the servant again.

“...”

Cain was dumbfounded.

The fact that he—a globally renowned Adventurer and the guildmaster of a top ten guild on the continent—was being scolded by a mere NPC servant?

It was absurd!

However, he held his tongue.

‘Damn it...’

He was furious indeed, but there was nothing he could do. He was on shaky ground right now. One wrong move could end up with his head on the gallows, so he had to be extra careful.

Ironically, even though Cain was a king of a nation, he dared not scold a servant of the great Marchioni Empire. After all, there was a reason the Marchioni Empire was the world’s greatest superpower.

Even a count from the empire held such overwhelming authority that kings of small kingdoms would grovel before them in hopes of currying favor.

Thus, Cain had no other choice but to shut his mouth despite the servant's harsh treatment of him.

Kwachik!

Cain gnashed his teeth while glaring at Siegfried, who was trailing behind emperor Stuttgart. Then, he swore that one day, he would drive Siegfried out and take his place beside the emperor.

Unfortunately, that was easier said than done.

***

After entering the Palace of Blood...

“King Siegfried van Proa.”

“Yes, Your Imperial Majesty?”

“Follow me.”

Siegfried was summoned for a private conversation by Emperor Stuttgart before they attended the evening banquet.

Of course, he was not the only one.

“Adventurer Cain.”

“Yes, Your Imperial Majesty.”

“Come along.

“I am deeply honored.”

Emperor Stuttgart called Cain to join the meeting, too.

‘Huh? What’s going on?’ Siegfried wondered.

He could not understand why Emperor Stuttgart would summon Cain as well. It made no sense at all, as there was no reason for them to interact with each other.

‘Is he planning to introduce us to each other?’ Siegfried figured the emperor wanted to introduce the two kings, both Adventurers, to each other.

“King Cain.”

“Yes, my lord.”

At the emperor’s call, Cain knelt on one knee and bowed.

“This is King Siegfried van Proa. You must have heard of him.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“As a baron of the empire, pay your respects to Grand Duke Proa.”

The Poatine Kingdom was a vassal state of the Marchioni Empire. In other words, Siegfried was not only the King of Proatine but also held the title of "Grand Duke" within the empire.

On the other hand, Cain held the temporary title of "Baron."

In other words, Siegfried far outranked Cain.

“Greetings, Your Majesty, King Siegfried van Proa,” Cain greeted with a bow.

It was Emperor Stuttgart’s command, so he had no other choice but to bow his head to Siegfried, even though both of them were Adventurers.

‘Damn it...’ Cain growled inwardly.

“Pleasure to meet you. I am Siegfried van Proa. Hahaha!” Siegfried replied with a warm smile.

After the two exchanged greetings, Emperor Stuttgart spoke up.

“Siegfried van Proa.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“Do you remember what we discussed before?”

“Which...?”

“Our plan to invade the world of the Corals.”

“Ah, yes. I do remember.”

“King Cain will lead the first expedition to their world.”

“Ah!”

Siegfried suddenly understood the connection between Emperor Stuttgart and Cain. The emperor tasked Cain with leading the first expedition to invade the Coral Race’s world.

In exchange, he would spare Cain and the Arkasas Kingdom.

‘Wow... This guy’s really screwed. How does he plan to get out of this?’ Siegfried thought, shaking his head. He knew better than anyone just how much of a burden this mission was.

‘If I were him, I wouldn't bother founding a kingdom. Why chase after glory and riches when you have to go through this hell first? Tsk, tsk...’

Siegfried didn't need details to understand how grueling the task would be, as he had firsthand experience of the Coral Race's advanced technology and combat prowess.

Why?

The invasion of the Coral Race’s world was going to be the new endgame content of BNW. The current endgame content was the Great Rifts, but only one Great Rift remained, which was the Northern Great Rift.

The Coral Race’s world would inevitably become the new max-level dungeon.

The problem was that whenever it came to newly released content, the first pioneers always suffered. They would obtain a huge buff or riches if it were hidden content, but that wasn't usually the case for pre-planned content.

The monsters were stronger, the attack patterns were trickier, the environment was unfamiliar, and many other challenges would present themselves.

Pioneering a new dungeon meant dying countless times, losing equipment multiple times, and using tons of potions. There was also the unimaginable mental stress.

‘No way. I wouldn’t do it even if they paid me a fortune,’ Siegfried thought, looking at Cain with sympathy, feeling sorry for him.

He knew that Cain was screwed and was destined to be tormented soon enough.

“M-My lord?” Cain stammered.

He realized that something was terribly wrong. He expected his mission was to mop up the remaining rebel forces and establish a forward base in wherever the rebels’ main stronghold was located.

“W-What do you mean by that...?” Cain asked.

“It’s exactly as I said. Are you perhaps familiar with the Corals?” Emperor Stuttgart asked in response.

“I have heard rumors about them, but I have never actually seen one, my lord.”

Only a handful of Adventurers who had participated in the Marchioni Empire’s civil war knew about the Corals. Thus, even Cain had only heard of them through rumors.

“They are the remaining rebel forces I mentioned,” Emperor Stuttgart said nonchalantly.

“Eh?”

“You will lead an expedition to their real world.”

It was then.

‘Fuck this!’ Cain screamed inwardly, but he barely managed to prevent those words from slipping out of his mouth. He, too, realized what the emperor had in store for him and foresaw the hardships awaiting him.

“You will be the commander of the first expeditionary force. Lead your Adventurers and your army to the Coral Race’s world.”

“...!”

“Your mission is to spearhead the invasion, establish forward bases, and secure strongholds. Those are your duties.”

Cain finally understood the cruel reality.

Emperor Stuttgart had just dumped an enormous pile of shit on him.

But that was not even the end of it...

“Once you’ve completed your mission, King Siegfried here will take command of the entire expeditionary forces.”

Upon hearing those words, Cain was struck with despair.

‘Are you fucking kidding me? I’m supposed to pave the way to a new dungeon, only for that bastard to show up and boss me around? How is that fair?!’ Cain screamed inside, but he dared not voice it out.

Any sign of discontent to the emperor’s commands could result in his head rolling and his kingdom being razed to the ground.

The only thing he could do was lower his head before the emperor and accept the task given to him.

“I... will fulfill my mission without fail, my lord...” Cain replied with a bow.

“Good,” Emperor Stuttgart said with a smile. Then, he waved his hand and commanded, “You are dismissed.”

“Yes, my lord...”

With that, Cain was shooed out of the emperor’s office.

That was it...

Emperor Stuttgart forced a shitty quest on him without even promising any rewards.

***

After Cain was sent away...

“A bold ruler indeed. Wouldn’t you agree?” Emperor Stuttgart asked with a smile.

‘Is he being sarcastic right now...?’ Siegfried wondered, finding the emperor’s smile to be mischievous.

It was as clear as day that the emperor was punishing Cain for his audacity. The emperor was willing to forgive Cain for his insolence, as he had voluntarily surrendered himself, but it seemed that the emperor intended to make Cain suffer by giving him an impossible task.

“It would be too harsh for me to entrust this difficult task to you. Besides, you are already fighting tirelessly to protect this world from danger, aren’t you?” Emperor Stuttgart said.

“I am deeply grateful for Your Imperial Majesty’s kind words,” Siegfried replied with a bow.

“Carry on with your battles. I will protect this world from the Corals.”

Everyone had their own battles to fight.

Siegfried would fight to fend off the invasion of the angels, while Emperor Stuttgart would repel the Coral invaders.

It was truly a good division of roles.

“Ah, by the way.”

“Yes, my lord?”

“I heard today is the birthday of your father-in-law, His Majesty King Lohengrin.”

“Eh?!”

Siegfried was shocked that Emperor Stuttgart knew about Lohengrin’s birthday, but what surprised him even more was the fact that the emperor addressed Lohengrin with utmost respect.

However, Siegfried was not fully aware of it, but the most powerful human ruler, Emperor Stuttgart, held great respect for the King of the Elves, Lohengrin.

“I truly feel bad that you had to miss your father-in-law’s birthday because of me.”

“It is all right, my lord.”

“No, it is not. I have caused you far too much trouble today, and I even owe an apology to King Lohengrin.”

Siegfried had no idea what the emperor meant by “far too much trouble." Missing Lohengrin’s birthday was one thing, but why was he apologizing for causing too much trouble?

‘Is there something else...?’ Siegfried wondered if there was an underlying meaning to the emperor’s apology.

“That’s why I sent a gift to King Lohengrin.”

“Eh?!”

“I hope he accepts my gift and apology with grace.”

Emperor Stuttgart even showed consideration by sending a gift to Siegfried’s father-in-law, Lohengrin.

‘W-What the hell is going on...?!’

Siegfried had a bad feeling about this. His instincts were screaming at him that there was something else being cooked here.

Yes, he appreciated the emperor’s thoughtfulness, but he could definitely tell that something was off about the whole thing.

‘W-Why is he smiling like that?!’

Siegfried noticed that a mischievous smile was tugging at Emperor Stuttgart's lips.

Siegfried had never seen that smile before, and a chill shot down his back.

He even broke out into a cold sweat.

‘W-What’s going on? Something’s definitely up... but what? What could it be...?’

He was certain that Emperor Stuttgart was scheming something against him, but there was no way to find out what it was. ƒгeewebnovёl_com

The emperor was always reserved with his words and would never reveal anything more than necessary.

Just like he did with Cain, he was most likely doing the same thing with Siegfried right now. Unfortunately, it would already be too late for Siegfried by the time he realized the emperor’s devious scheme.

“Oh, right. Are you aware that there will be a masquerade ball at tonight’s banquet?” Emperor Stuttgart asked.

“Huh? T-This is the first time I am hearing of it, my lord.”

“Make sure to prepare a mask then. After all, a mask is essential in a masquerade, isn't it?”

“Yes, my lord.”

“Good.”

Siegfried bowed in response, but his anxiety grew deep inside.

‘Just what is he scheming this time...?’

An unexplainable sense of worry and unease welled up inside of him.

This content is taken from (f)reewe(b)novel.𝗰𝗼𝐦