Debuff Master

Chapter 621

The Proatine Kingdom’s forces that entered the banquet hall were not ordinary soldiers. They were elite knights who had gone through extremely grueling training, and these one hundred knights were called the Proatine Special Forces.

Their specialties were assassination, subterfuge, information gathering, and numerous other missions that special forces soldiers in real life would take on themselves. Just like their missions, these knights used a completely different fighting style compared to ordinary knights.

The Proatine Special Forces knights were armed with compound crossbows specially crafted by the Bavarian Workshop, leather armor painted with the same Dark Imperial Ink that Siegfried’s gear was painted with, a rope with a grappling hook attached at its end, and magical goggles that allowed them to see through walls.

They were an elite unit capable of moving quickly in a clandestine manner, and their long-range mobility was further enhanced, all thanks to the fact that they were allowed to use Super Airship Huracan for this mission

Perhaps that was how the Proatine Special Forces had taken over the banquet hall in the blink of an eye.

Swoosh! Puuk! Puuuk! Puuuuk!

The elite knights shot bolts at the Espadrille Coalition knights that were guarding the banquet halls and not a single bolt missed its target.

The compound crossbow that they were using was specially crafted by the Bavarian Workshop, and each crossbow was so expensive to make that its options could put most legendary items to shame. Thus, the bolts fired from these crossbows carried enough force to penetrate the skulls of the Espadrille Coalition knights.

Thud, thud, thud!

The Espadrille Coalition knights fell to the ground with a bolt sticking out of their heads.

Baaaam!

The banquet hall doors were completely destroyed, and the Proatine Kingdom’s marines rushed in.

“W-What is the meaning of this?! What’s happening right now?!” Count Gunther exclaimed, completely baffled by the sudden turn of events.

When did the Proatine Kingdom invade them? How did they even manage to do so in the first place?

This was something impossible, no matter how much Count Gunther thought about it.

Well, there was no way the count could have noticed that the assassins he had sent after Siegfried had decided to hide in his own castle to sabotage his own anti-air cannons, allowing the Proatine Kingdom’s flying armada to seize control of the airspace.

***

“Looking good,” Siegfried said sheepishly while sitting relaxed on the throne that originally belonged to Count Gunther.

Then, he watched as his elite soldiers seized control of the entire banquet hall.

Why did he bother traveling throughout the Espadrille Province, meeting the nobles one by one, if he was going to do this in the end? He had done that to filter the ones he was going to kill and which ones would be spared.

In other words, Siegfried was compiling his very own Death Note with the nobles’ names. In addition to that, there was another reason he waited until the nobles gathered in one place.

“They’re just going to group up and resist if I don’t sweep them up in one go, and that will be the start of a rebellion.”

Siegfried knew that the Proatine Kingdom would be plunged into civil war if he sloppily picked a fight with the nobles. Thus, he decided to gather them in one place and kill those that had to be killed and tasked the Proatine Forces to occupy their territories in advance.

In other words, today was the day of their culling, and Siegfried had no plans to give them the time or opportunity to even attempt a rebellion.

“It’s not the right time. It will be better to just kill all of them at the optimal timing.”

Siegfried had mentioned that to Hamchi, and the meaning behind those words was finally clear.

“I will summon all of the nobles and convene a meeting. It would be easier for Your Majesty to meet everyone together rather than meeting them one by one.”

Count Gunther’s plan had backfired badly on him. Offering to gather the provincial nobles in one place had proven to be a fatal mistake, but there was no way he would know that Siegfried was planning something like this.

Ah! I Am Backstabbing!

Siegfried was backstabbing and backstabbing was Siegfried. The big picture of this enlightened being was truly different from what most ordinary people could come up with.

“K-Kill them! Kill those scum from that weak and pathetic kingdom! Are you going to let those fools kill you?!” Count Gunther lashed out.

The Espadrille Coalition’s knights proved their worth as knights of the empire by instantly consolidating their forces and pushing the Proatine Kingdom’s soldiers back.

“Kyu! Owner punk!” Hamchi exclaimed.

“I know,” Siegfried replied and stretched his right hand forward while still sitting lazily on the throne.

Fwaaaah! Fwaaaaah!

Seuruk! Seuruk!

Then, Blaze Field and Shadow Hell were placed down, massively debuffing all of the enemies on top of them. The debuff fields greatly weakened the Espadrille Coalition Forces, which allowed the Proatine Forces to end the battle in an instant.

Five minutes later...

Puuuk!

A crossbow bolt struck the last remaining knight in the head, causing him to fall dead to the ground.

Thud...!

The dull thud signaled the end of the battle.

“A decisive victory, Your Majesty!”

“Congratulations, Your Majesty!”

“Long live His Majesty, King Siegfried van Proa!”

“Hurrah!”

“Long live the Proatine Kingdom!”

“Hurrah!”

Siegfried received congratulations from his men and did not forget to thank them for their services. “Thank you for your hard work, everyone. Now, make the criminals kneel before me. I shall swiftly commence with their trial.”

The real culling of the Espadrille Province’s nobles was finally starting.

***

Siegfried started the trial and proceeded to judge the nobles, but before that, he proceeded to address the nobles who agreed to be on his side.

“Firstly, I wish to apologize for surprising all of you. I regret to say that this was the only method, so I hope for your kind understanding,” Siegfried apologized sincerely to the nobles.

The nobles were indeed shocked and confused by the sudden commotion, but none of them dared to voice any complaints in the face of Siegfried's sincere apology. To be precise, they did not voice any complaints, as they knew they could no longer be on the same side as Count Gunther and the other nobles.

“I-It is fine, Your Majesty.”

“I have not doubted Your Majesty for a second.”

“It is only right for a rotting body part to be amputated.”

Siegfried smiled at the response he had received from the nobles, and he bowed slightly to thank them.

“I sincerely thank you for your understanding.”

Then, he commanded the marines, “These noblemen will lead our kingdom in the future! Treat them with utmost respect and ensure their safety at all times! They should be comfortable at all times, and I will not tolerate any rudeness toward them!”

“Yes! Your Majesty!” The marines responded in a unified, resounding voice that made the nobles flinch.

Siegfried handed his future subjects to the marines before turning to the criminals.

“Drag the criminals in front of me one by one.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The first noble to get dragged in front of Siegfried was the feudal lord of the Paraffin Territory, Viscount Horn.

Siegfried pressed his +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp against Viscount Horn’s chin while pretending to be thinking of a fitting judgement.

“Viscount Horn... I hereby sentence you to death.”

He did not bother specifying the crime committed and directly passed judgement.

Bam!

He swung his +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp and smashed Viscount Horn’s head open.

Thud!

Viscount Horn died on the spot and collapsed to the ground.

Siegfried raised his +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp, which was dripping with blood, and pointed it at his next target.

“Viscount Gothic.”

“Y-Your Majesty! I was wrong! Please spare me just this once!” Viscount Gothic pleaded, groveling at Siegfried’s feet.

It was ironic how Viscount Gothic was hoping to be spared after serving food riddled with squirming maggots to Siegfried when the latter visited the Avignon Territory.

“Your Majesty! I will swear loyalty to you if you spare me just this—”

“I hereby sentence you to death.”

“Your Ma—”

Siegfried mercilessly swung his +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp and smashed Viscount Gothic’s head open.

“Ugh!”

“S-Spare me!”

“Your Majesty! I can be useful if you spare me!”

“I was wrong! Please forgive me!”

“Mercy! A righteous ruler should be merciful, too!”

The nobles trembled in horror upon witnessing Siegfried’s ruthless execution with their very own eyes. They groveled, begged, and pleaded, but it was all for naught, as Siegfried was unfazed by their efforts.

He was no longer the pathetic fool who had visited them just a few days ago.

Where had his childishness gone? What about his witty comments?

None of those could be found right now, as he mercilessly executed the nobles without making a single remark except for the death sentence he handed them.

Right now, Siegfried van Proa was exuding the charisma of a king.

“Viscount Anterlock.”

“Your Majesty! Please spare me! I will swear loyalty to you and do whatever you say!”

“I hereby sentence you to death.”

“Y-Your Majesty!”

“However!” Siegfried exclaimed and did not kill the viscount on the spot.

“...!”

“I shall not be your executioner. Your life will be taken by the knight captain from Elondel as well as the people of your territory.”

Viscount Anterlock was an evil feudal lord who had squeezed his people dry and frequently bought elves to toy with, so Siegfried had decided to hand him the most befitting punishment.

“Take him away!”

“As you command, sire!”

The marines dragged Viscount Anterlock out to where the elven knights and an angry mob were waiting for him. They vented their anger by lynching him, and he met a tragic end at the hands of those he had exploited.

The trial then resumed...

“Viscount Marvin, I hereby sentence you to death.”

“Aaaack!”

“Viscount Telluride, I hereby sentence you to death.”

“Y-Your Majesty! M-Mercy—Ack!”

“Viscount Voynov, I hereby sentence you to death.”

“Kuheok!”

Siegfried executed three nobles simultaneously and had Viscount Cornelius, the feudal lord of the Ophedia Territory, dragged in front of him.

“Viscount Cornelius.”

“...”

“I hereby sentence you to exile.”

Surprisingly, Siegfried did not sentence Viscount Cornelius to death like he had done with the others.

***

The reason he didn't execute Viscount Cornelius was simple. The viscount hadn't cooperated with him, just like the other nobles, but he hadn't ridiculed Siegfried nor tried to humiliate him in any way.

On top of that, Viscount Cornelius was a fair feudal lord who had earned the respect and love of his people.

Siegfried would be in a very awkward position diplomatically if he were to execute someone like Viscount Cornelius just because the latter had refused to cooperate with him.

“Just kill me,” Viscount Cornelius said.

“Do you wish to die?” Siegfried asked.

“Yes, I do,” Viscount Cornelius replied without an ounce of hesitation. Then, he added, “Do not humiliate me any further than this. I am a subject of the empire, and His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Stuttgart, is the only lord I will serve. I do not wish to serve you, King of Proatine, so allow me to die honorably as a subject of the Marchioni Empire.”

“Do you still wish to die even if you will be exiled to the Marchioni Empire?”

“Yes, I still choose to die.”

“Why?”

“It was His Imperial Majesty’s decree to grant you the Espadrille Province, was it not? I have gone against the Imperial Edict.”

“Then let me ask you this. Did His Imperial Majesty also decree for the Espadrille Province’s nobles to serve me?”

“That is...”

“Feel free to speak your mind.”

“At times... There are things a noble cannot obey even if the command came from His Imperial Majesty. Thus, I deserve to die for failing to obey His Imperial Majesty’s command.”

Siegfried suddenly felt a surge of desire gushing from his heart the moment he heard those words.

‘This man... I want him.’[1]

Was it not normal for any ruler to desire such a subject with unwavering loyalty and strong convictions?

On top of that, Viscount Cornelius possessed an ability that made Siegfried salivate all over him.

[Cornelius de Kenny G]

[The feudal lord of the Ophedia Territory.]

[He is a provincial noble, but he holds unwavering loyalty toward the Marchioni Empire.]

[Type: NPC]

[Affiliation: Proatine Kingdom, Ophedia Territory (Previously Marchioni Empire)]

[Title: Viscount]

[Rank: Feudal Lord]

[Class: Experienced Farmer]

[Specialty: Farming (SSS)]

[Note: He possesses innate talent in agriculture, so making good use of him will result in an explosive increase in food production.]

Viscount Cornelius was an NPC specializing in agriculture, and he was a talent that Siegfried was going to pull over to his side no matter the cost.

1. This is a meme phrase in Kdrama usually said by rich, spoiled female characters. ☜