Debuff Master-Chapter 921

Oscar shuddered at the terrifying aura radiating from Siegfried.

Shwaaa...!

Siegfried unleashed an overwhelming surge of energy that radiated with killing intent.

“The King of the Sacon Kingdom... that would be Ganeva the Third, right?” Siegfried asked, his eyes fixed on Oscar.

“Y-Yes, sire,” Oscar stammered in response.

“That bastard was the one who made that ridiculous demand, wasn’t he?”

“...Your Majesty.”

“I’ll handle this matter personally.”

With those words, Siegfried headed straight to the communications room and initiated contact with the Sacon Kingdom.

‘This is how he repays me after I saved his ass?’

Ganeva the Third was one of the rulers swept up in the terrorist attack during the World Peace Conference. At that time, he nearly lost his life only to be fortunate enough to be saved by Siegfried.

Yet, instead of cooperating, he dared to extort his benefactor?

This was no different from saving someone from drowning only to be sued for compensation.

— Ah! King Siegfried! It’s been a while. How have you been?

Ganeva the Third answered the call as if he had no idea why Siegfried was calling him.

Siegfried fought back the urge to unleash a barrage of curses; he kept his cool and tried talking it out first.

“Have you been well, King Ganeva?”

— I’m the same as always! Kekeke!

“...”

— But tell me. To what do I owe this pleasure of receiving a call from you at this hour?

“It’s regarding the request my kingdom sent to yours earlier. I wanted to discuss it directly with you.”

— Ah, that matter? I see... It must be quite urgent for you, the king of a rising power, to contact me personally.

Siegfried’s blood boiled upon hearing Ganeva the Third’s words, nearly sending him over the edge. Ganeva the Third sounded polite, but his voice dripped with mockery.

“It must be quite urgent” basically meant “you must be really desperate,” and “the king of a rising power” could be interpreted as “serves you right for acting all high and mighty these days.”

In short, Ganeva the Third was blatantly mocking him.

‘I’ll let it slide just one last time...’ Siegfried thought, suppressing the rage boiling inside of him.

“My wife’s homeland, Elondel, is in grave danger. So, can you please release the warp magic frequencies for our army?” Siegfried pleaded.

— I would love to help, but I’m afraid that’s out of my hands. Altering the warp magic frequency is no easy task. I mean, you should be aware of it too, right? It will cost me a fortune if we deactivate everything and reconfigure the network!

“I will cover all of your expenses.”

— It’s not about the money, King Siegfried. Disabling the network will leave my kingdom vulnerable. How could I possibly agree to that as a monarch?

“Then at least allow the Proatine Army to transit through your kingdom.”

— That, too, is impossible.

“What?”

— What if you decide to invade my kingdom after crossing over to our lands? This could all be a ruse staged by Elondel and the Proatine Kingdom to get us to lower our guards, no?

“I would never. Am I crazy? Why would I stage something like—”

— Listen, King Siegfried. Just sign the treaty agreeing to give up half of your territory that my kingdom had proposed. Once you do that, I’ll release the frequencies, and your army can use them right away. Won't that make things easier for the both of us?

“Have you forgotten that I saved your life?” Siegfried asked, his voice sounding cold.

— Of course not! I’m still very grateful for that. But surely you, a monarch, understand the importance of separating personal matters from national interests, right?

“What?”

— Look here, King Siegfried. Allow me to offer a word of advice, as it seems you’re still naive when it comes to diplomacy. In international relations, there are no such things as permanent enemies or allies. Yes, I would love to help you, but as king, I must prioritize my people’s security and interests before anything else.

Siegfried cut him off, “Hey.”

— Hmm? Did you just say hey to me?

“That’s right, you bastard.”

— Hoho!

“What’s so funny, asshole?”

— I think you’re crossing the line now, King Siegfried.

“You crossed the line first,” Siegfried said icily. Then, he smirked and said, “I’ll give you five minutes. Open the warp gate frequencies within that time.”

— Hoho! Are you threatening me right now?

“If the warp gate frequencies aren’t opened within five minutes, I’ll wipe your capital city off the map.”

— Bwahahahaha!

Ganeva the Third burst into laughter at the threat, almost falling off his chair. How else was he supposed to react to this empty threat? Yes, the Proatine Kingdom was a rising power on the continent, but how could they possibly erase the Sacon Kingdom’s capital city from the map?

The Marchioni Empire?

This was a matter beyond their reach.

The Sacon Kingdom had the justification of protecting its national borders and security so the empire wouldn't be able to do anything against them.

— Are you seriously threatening me right now?

“I already told you that you have five minutes.”

With those words, Siegfried ended the call. He decided to give an ultimatum rather than waste time going back and forth with threats and negotiations.

***

After the call...

“Keke!”

Ganeva the Third laughed with delight rather than getting angry.

Why?

It was all because Siegfried’s threats sounded so utterly absurd that Ganeva the Third couldn’t even get mad at it.

“How adorable! Kekeke!”

He assumed that Siegfried was merely lashing out in anger and making threats far beyond his capacity.

Of course, Ganeva the Third was not completely brushing off the possibility of the Marchioni Empire getting involved, but that was highly unlikely due to the civil war that ended just a week ago.

Even the mighty Marchioni Empire needed time to reorganize itself after such a devastating civil war, so it would be difficult for them to bear the political and diplomatic burden they would get on the international stage by helping the Proatine Kingdom.

Thus, these factors emboldened Ganeva the Third to make such ridiculous demands.

In addition, he knew this was likely his last opportunity to pressure the Proatine Kingdom before it fully came under the Marchioni Empire’s protection.

‘If the empire does intervene, I can always pretend to concede and lower the transit fees by a tiny bit. That should be enough to satisfy Emperor Stuttgart.’

With that in mind, Ganeva the Third decided to keep playing hardball for now.

Demanding half of the Proatine Kingdom’s territory was indeed excessive, even to Ganeva the Third, the one making such absurd demands. Therefore, he planned to negotiate from there and pretend to compromise, all while extorting as much as he possibly could from the Proatine Kingdom.

It was then.

“We have received communication from the Marchioni Empire, Your Majesty.”

“Ha! Already?!”

Ganeva the Third was stunned. He assumed that Siegfried, pressed for time, went and tattled to Emperor Stuttgart.

Still, he quickly composed himself, straightened his clothes, and stood with a dignified posture before the call was connected. After all, he would be speaking with Emperor Stuttgart, the most powerful man in the world, so he had to appear presentable and strong.

However, the person who called him was not Emperor Stuttgart.

‘What?!’ Ganeva the Third gasped in shock when he saw who was on the other end of the call.

A beautiful woman with a wicked smile was projected on the communication device, and this beautiful woman was none other than Irene von Posteriore, the beloved half-sister of Emperor Stuttgart.

— Hey, you.

Without an ounce of respect, Irene immediately addressed Ganeva the Third as if she were talking to one of her servants.

“W-What did you just say?!” Ganeva the Third fumed.

— I said, "hey, you." What? You got a problem with that?

“Ha! Even if you are a member of the Imperial Family, you should still address a king like me properly as per the customs of—”

— Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just shut it, will you? You’re too noisy. Anyway, I need to warp to Elondel, so open the warp magic frequency.

“I refuse. I wish to remind Your Highness that this is a blatant interference in the domestic affairs of a sovereign nation. And if you dare to continue speaking to me so rudely and go as far as threaten me, then I, too, will respond accordingly for my honor and—”

A messenger rushed in and urgently reported to Ganeva the Third.

“Y-Your Majesty! The Marchioni Empire’s 8th Corp is stationed near our borders!”

“What?!” Ganeva the Third shrieked in horror, his face turning ghastly pale.

The combat power of one corps of the Imperial Army was comparable to more than three corps of the Sacon Kingdom.

In other words, this was not just a mere show of force, but rather, a blatant invasion.

Irene flashed a spine-chilling grin and proceeded to threaten Ganeva the Third.

— If you don’t open the warp magic frequency, then I’ll just lead the 8th Corps straight through your kingdom.

“...!”

— I’ll erase every city and village I encounter on my way to Elondel. What do you think about that?

“H-Hiiik!”

Ganeva the Third’s face turned ghastly pale at Irene’s threat. He, too, has heard of Irene’s infamous reputation, and he knew all too well that this damned woman was more than capable of razing the entire Sacon Kingdom to the ground out of a whim.

— I’ll give you five minutes.

Irene gave her final ultimatum.

— If you don’t open the warp magic frequency by then, then things are going to become really fun.

“...”

— You know what? On second thoughts, don’t open it.

“W-What do you mean by that...?”

— I’ll have the perfect excuse to crush that tiny little kingdom of yours if you don’t open the frequency. Kehehehe! Kekekeke!

‘S-She’s crazy! A psycho!’ Ganeva the Third finally realized that Irene was far more terrifying than the rumors.

— Anyway, you’ve got five minutes. I’d hurry and make up my mind if I were you.

Beep!

The call ended abruptly.

Irene gave Ganeva the Third five minutes and ended the call.

“T-Those fucking bastards!” Ganeva the Third exploded with rage.

Both Siegfried and Irene had ended the call unilaterally after giving him exactly five minutes. It was like they had planned it beforehand.

“They dare act high and mighty against me while using Emperor Stuttgart as a shield? I’ll make them pay! They will pay for it—!”

Unfortunately, Ganeva the Third couldn't complete his words yet again.

Boom! Boom!

A deafening noise shook the entire royal palace.

***

“W-What's with the commotion?! Somebody tell me what’s happening!” Ganeva the Third shouted, bewildered by the sudden uproar.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Rumble!

The noise continued as if war had broken out right outside the palace walls.

“Y-Your Majesty!”

At that moment, the captain of the royal guard rushed in, his face pale as if he had seen a ghost.

“An emergency, sire!”

“Sir Felix! What’s going on?! What could possibly be so dire that you’re calling it an emergency?!”

“D-Dragons, sire! Dragons have appeared!”

“W-What?!”

Ganeva the Third couldn’t believe his ears.

Not just a dragon, but dragons? Plural?

Did that mean a swarm of dragons descended upon them?

“What nonsense! Why would dragons come here, of all places? That makes no sense!”

“B-But, Your Majesty! Dragons have appeared and are laying waste to the capital!”

“Nonsense!”

Refusing to believe the knight, Sir Felix’s report, Ganeva the Third hurried to the terrace. He needed to see with his own two eyes if the dragons were indeed attacking the capital.

As soon as he looked outside...

“O-Oh my god!”

—Ganeva the Third nearly fainted at the scene unfolding before him the moment he stepped onto the terrace.

One of the airships defending the capital was shot down by a Red Dragon’s breath and started plummeting from the sky.

But that was not all...

Fwaaaaaah!

The thousands of anti-air cannons installed to defend the capital were being destroyed by a Gold Dragon’s breath attack.

Amidst the chaos, a communication tower, which was hundreds of meters tall and crucial for controlling the warp magic frequencies, snapped and came crashing down.

The tower was something the Sacon Kingdom spared no expense building to safeguard themselves from enemies. It was one of the most heavily defended facilities in the kingdom, arguably second only to the royal palace itself.

However, all those defenses were utterly useless against the overwhelming might of dragons.

After obliterating every defensive structure of the capital, the dragons leisurely began to fly toward the royal palace.

True to their renown as the mightiest creatures in the world, it took them less than two minutes to neutralize the capital’s defenses.

In the process, a third of the royal palace had already been destroyed.

The Sacon Kingdom also suffered massive casualties.

“N-No! Why?! Why are dragons attacking my capital?! WHYYY?!” Ganeva the Third screamed in despair.

Then, as if responding to his desperate cry, the Gold Dragon leading the rest of the dragons roared, “SHOW YOURSELF THIS INSTANT, YOU WRETCHED FOOL, GANEVA!”

The name that came out of his mouth was Ganeva the Third's name.

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