Debuff Master

“Do I trust Han Tae-Sung? What do you mean by that?”

“Why do you think he has the title 'I Am Backstabbing'? That bastard is an expert when it comes to stabbing others in the back.”

“Hmm…”

“Trust me. I know that better than anyone. However, you actually hired him to fight alongside us?” Chae Hyung-Seok asked. Then, he smiled icily and added, “Hey, Diesel. I guarantee that he will stab you in the back later.”

“Do you really think so?”

“I can guarantee you that the bastard will show his true colors later. You made a grave mistake hiring him, Diesel. It’s not too late, so why don’t you cancel his contract?”

“Well, I guess that makes sense. But you know what, Chae Hyung-Seok?” Diesel said as if he couldn't be bothered to listen to what he was told.

“Hmm?”

“People stab others in the back when there’s something in it for them, right?”

“Does Han Tae-sung stand to gain anything after stabbing me in the back?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“We hold the overwhelming advantage on top of having the higher ground. He stands to make thirty million dollars even if he just pretends to be active in battles, so why would he betray me?”

Diesel did not bother mentioning that Siegfried stood to gain ten percent of the Geyser of Life’s profits, as Chae Hyung-Seok might ask for more money if he ended up discovering that fact.

“That's…” Chae Hyung-Seok could not find anything to retort with.

“There’s no need to be so sensitive. Actually, I don’t trust Han Tae-Sung, either.”

“Then why did you hire him?”

Diesel took out a gold coin from his pocket and rubbed it before saying, “In money I trust. Money never lies.”

“...”

“As far as I know, nobody is dumb enough to pass on thirty million dollars, and I’m sure Han Tae-Sung is no exception. So stop being so sensitive and just focus on your job, okay?”

“But…”

“Just think about the money.”

That was the end of their conversation.

“It’s getting late now, so go and get some sleep. You need to sleep to grow taller, kid,” Diesel said before logging out, leaving Chae Hyung-Seok all alone.

“...It’s four in the fucking afternoon here,” Chae Hyung-Seok grumbled in disbelief while thinking of the time difference between Seoul and Miami.

***

The next day, Siegfried and Hamchi spent their time playing Hardstone on top of the Sword Gorge. The gorge was the gateway to the entire Cheyenne Plateau, and the Oberg Guild had formed defensive lines and fortified the top of the gorge.

In other words, anyone who dared to step into the Sword Gorge would be instantly focus-fired by the entire Oberg Guild.

“Kyuu! Owner punk!”

“What?”

“Are you really alright? Kyuu?”

“Huh? What are you talking about?” Siegfried asked, tilting his head in confusion.

“Are you really alright betraying your father-in-law and your wife? Kyuuu!”

“Hey! Who the hell is my father-in-law and wife?!” Siegfried lashed out.

“Kyu?”

“It’s not like that!”

“Then what is it like?! Kyuuu!”

“Also, what the hell do you mean by me betraying them? When did I betray them?”

“Kyu?”

“I’ve never betrayed anyone in my life,” Siegfried said confidently.

“Kyu…?” Hamchi muttered in confusion. He was confused about whether the meaning of the word "betrayal' in Siegfried’s head was the same as the meaning of the word in Hamchi's mind.

“Kyu? But betraying others is as normal as breathing for you, owner punk?”

“What did you say? Are you picking a fight?!”

“Kyuuuuu!”

“You’re a dead hamster today!”

Siegfried and Hamchi were about to brawl when…

“Kwuuuuu Ooooh!”

A gigantic fire dragon flew up the Sword Gorge.

Descent of the Fire Dragon!

This was the unique skill of Yong Tae-Pung’s +15 Hwaryongdo, which allowed him to summon a gigantic fire dragon that would wreak havoc across the battlefield.

The appearance of the fire dragon meant that the Mandate of Heaven Guild had come here to attack.

“They’re coming!”

“Get the cannons ready!”

“Enemy incoming!”

The Oberg Guild members and mercenaries immediately reacted and got into battle formations, and their first response was to shoot down the fire dragon with the cannons.

The Oberg Guild’s defensive lines would surely crumble upon colliding with the fire dragon.

“Three! Two! One! Fireee!”

The cannons aimed at the fire dragon and fired the moment the signal was given, but—

Click! Click! Click!

Rather than spitting fire, the cannons let out clicking sounds instead.

“W-What?!”

“Why aren’t they firing?!”

“Damn it! Is there something wrong with the cannons?!”

The artillerymen were flustered.

“Calm down! Check the ignition chamber! Check everything!”

The artillerymen immediately checked their cannons in response to their captain's command.

“T-There are no shells!”

“Here too!”

“Where did my mortar shell go?!”

The artillerymen were shocked to find that there was nothing loaded in the cannons.

These were magical cannons, but they still needed ammo to shoot.

Meanwhile, the fire dragon avoided the cannons and the magicians, heading straight for the other side of the gorge where Siegfried was stationed.

“Kwaaaaaah!”

It unleashed its fiery breath attack at the Oberg Guild members, turning everything in its path to ashes.

“Let’s go, boys!”

“Here we go!”

Waaaaah!

The Mandate of Heaven Guild climbed up the cliff at a scary pace.

“Damn it!” Chae Hyung-Seok cursed after witnessing the fire dragon turn their defensive lines into ashes and hurriedly cast wide area buff at his allies, but…

Flash!

There was a flash of light…

Wooong!

A weak pulse wave then spread throughout the Sword Gorge.

Strangely enough, the wave didn't deal any damage to the defenders, but it did dispel all of the buffs that Chae Hyung-Seok had cast on them.

“M-My buffs are gone!”

“Dispel! They cast dispel on us!”

“Damn it! What kind of dispel can remove all of my buffs?!”

The Oberg Guild members were shocked to find that all of the buffs that Chae Hyung-Seok had cast on them had disappeared for some reason.

“M-My buffs were dispelled…?” Chae Hyung-Seok muttered in disbelief after seeing the string of messages that popped up in front of his eyes.

[Alert: Dispel!]

[Alert: All of your buffs have been dispelled!]

[Alert: You may not be buffed by the same skills for the next 120 seconds!]

[Alert: 119 seconds remaining until Dispel is lifted!]

[Alert: 118… 117… 116…!]

He couldn't believe it at all. Dispel-type skills were extremely rare, and only a handful of people had them. They were also quite complex to use properly in battle..

Then, where did the AoE Dispel come from?

“What is this nonsense….”

It was then.

Swoosh!

Black projectiles flew all over the place, striking down the Oberg Guild members.

‘No way…?’ Chae Hyung-Seok instinctively turned toward where Siegfried was stationed.

Shwik, shwik, shwik!

He saw Siegfried and his pet; the two were mercilessly slaughtering the Oberg Guild members.

Kaching! Kaching!

The words "I Am Backstabbing" flashed intermittently above Siegfried's head.

In the end, Chae Hyung-Seok was right when he said Siegfried could not be trusted, and Siegfried had given up on the thirty million dollars and ten percent profit-sharing offer made by Diesel.

“Fuck… I knew this was going to happen. It’s better to eat shit than trust that backstabbing bastard…” Chae Hyung-Seok growled in anger, cursing Diesel for not believing him.

Then, he quickly left the Sword Gorge without turning back.

Why?

It was all because this battle was as good as over.

Chae Hyung-Seok was not a fool who'd stake his life and fight a losing battle.

***

Meanwhile, Siegfried and Hamchi were busy slaughtering the Oberg Guild members.

“Kyuuu! You backstabbed them, owner punk!”

“Backstab who? I didn’t backstab anyone.”

“This! If this isn’t backstabbing then what is this?! Kyuuu!”

“I just infiltrated the enemy camp, that’s all!”

To rewind a bit, Yong Tae-Pung and Siegfried had made a deal after Diesel left the Proatine Kingdom.

“Nephew, I’ll give you fifty percent of the Geyser of Life’s profits.”

“W-What?! Fifty percent?!”

Yong Tae-Pung made an offer that caused Siegfried’s jaw to drop to the floor.

Siegfried had been planning on helping the Mandate of Heaven Guild from the start, even though Yong Tae-Pung could not afford to pay him as much as Diesel.

It was all because he valued their relationship and planned to be loyal to the living legend. Yes, the thirty million dollars and ten percent profit sharing that Diesel had proposed was a significant amount, but Siegfried could earn that much by himself.

He owned a kingdom on the continent, so he could make even three hundred million dollars if he wanted to do so, not to mention thirty million dollars.

“But I have a condition.”

“What is it?”

“I think there’s a rat in our guild, so you have to keep this a secret.”

“Really? Sure, I can do that.”

“Then, our guild will be in your hands.”

“Haha! You flatter me too much, uncle!”

The reason Siegfried cooperated with Diesel until now was to fool the spy within the Mandate of Heaven Guild.

“I’ll explain later! We have to fight for now!”

“Okay! Kyuuu!”

Siegfried slaughtered the Oberg Guild members and helped the Mandate of Heaven Guild members climb up the gorge. It went without saying that the culprit who had emptied the cannons was none other than Siegfried.

The dazzling display of martial prowess—no, the dazzling display of backstabbing helped the Mandate of Heaven climb up and capture the Sword Gorge.

“Retreat! All forces! Retreat!” Diesel sounded the retreat.

The odds were overwhelmingly against their favor, so they could end up getting annihilated if Diesel were to insist on defending the Sword Gorge.

“Han Tae-Sung! How could you betray me when I offered you thirty million dollars?!” Diesel roared in anger at the top of his lungs.

Siegfried shouted back, “I’m sorry! I hope to see you again next time! I’ll make it up to you!”

“You will regret this!”

“Take care and stay safe!”

Siegfried did not bother chasing down Diesel. HNe smiled brightly and waved his hand as if he was seeing a friend off. Well, Siegfried wanted to chase him down and get rid of him, but he decided not to do so, just in case there were traps or enemies lying in ambush.

The Cheyenne Plateau was infamous for its treacherous terrains and clouds of sulfur hindering vision, so there was a huge risk of falling into a trap or getting ambushed if he blindly chased after Diesel.

“Son-in—! I mean, nephew!” Yong Tae-Pung exclaimed and approached him.

“Uncle!”

“Excellent work!”

“Not at all! Hehe!” Siegfried replied with a stupid grin and scratching the back of his head.

“Come on! We all know we won easily, thanks to you.”

“Naww! I did not do much.”

“No, this is all thanks to you.”

“Hahaha!”

“Tsk… But it’s annoying that we can’t chase after those bastards.”

“Then, should we kill a few so you will not be annoyed?”

“Huh?”

“Give me a second,” Siegfried said and activated the Sniper Mode of his +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp.

“Kyuuu!”

Then, Hamchi rushed over to his side and took on the role of spotter.

“Let’s see~ Where’s my beloved Hyung-Seok? Hmm…Oh?! There’s my Hyung-Seok!”

There were hundreds of targets he could easily shoot down, but he insisted on searching for Chae Hyung-Seok and Chae Hyung-Seok alone.

‘Hold my breath… Focus on the target… Three… Two… One…’

Siegfried counted down and pulled the trigger.

Bang!

The +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp shot an expensive bullet—a whopping one-hundred-fifty gold bullet—at Chae Hyung-Seok fleeing in the distance.

Exactly one second later…

Pop!

Chae Hyung-Seok’s head popped like a balloon.

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