Debuff Master

Siegfried spent two hours aiming the cannons on the Iron Golems’ shoulders.

“Can he really see beyond this thick steam…?” Yong Seol-Hwa asked.

“Oh? Did hyung-nim not tell you that he can use a map hack?” Seung-Gu replied while playing Hardstone with Hamchi.

“Does that really exist?”

“Yes, it does. Hyung-nim can see things others cannot. Ah, he cannot see ghosts. Haha!”

“...”

“Was that not funny…?”

“Yes.”

“Argh…”

“Yes, that's—”

“Kyaaaak!” Hamchi shrieked and grabbed Seung-Gu’s wrist, interrupting the latter's words.

“Ack!” Seung-Gu screamed in agony.

“Kyuuu! Are you playing with me, Seung-Gu?! I caught you!” Hamchi exclaimed. He turned Seung-Gu's hand over, revealing a hidden pair of cards.

“Argh!”

“I’ll have your hand for this! You stinky cheater! Kyuuu!”

“Aaaack!”

In the end, Seung-Gu could not answer Yong Seol-Hwa’s question. Hamchi had caught him red-handed and proceeded to beat him to a pulp.

Siegfried returned after finishing his job, and he looked at Seung-Gu with eyes full of pity, “Eh? He got caught cheating again?”

“H-Hyung-nim…”

“Why did you cheat?”

“You always cheat and get caught too, hyung-nim—”

“I’m tired!” Siegfried exclaimed before Seung-Gu could even continue. Then, he turned to Yong Seol-Hwa and asked, “Can you call your guild members, Seol-Hwa? We will attack right now.”

“Huh? Right now?”

“Yes.”

“But…”

“It’s fine. We won’t suffer many casualties.”

“Okay.”

Yong Seol-Hwa hurriedly went back to camp and relayed the news to the Mandate of Heaven Guild.

“Tae-Sung said that?”

“Yes, father.”

“Hmm…” Yong Tae-Pung pondered for a moment. The Hell’s Staircase was a natural fortress. There was zero visibility due to the thick steam, and the water boiling above five hundred degrees Celsius was lethal.

There was no need to mention that attacking such a natural fortress was akin to suicide.

Anyone sane would suspect that Siegfried was a spy planted by the Oberg Guild to force the Mandate of Heaven Guild to commit suicide.

“What should we do, father?” Yong Seol-Hwa asked.

“Hmm…” Yong Tae-Pung pondered further. Then, he replied, “We have to trust him. I’m sure he has a plan.”

“I think so, too.”

“Let’s go.”

“Yes, father.”

Yong Tae-Pung and Yong Seol-Hwa led the Mandate of Heaven Guild members and headed to Hell's Staircase.

“Hello, uncle.”

“What’s the plan?”

“We will bombard them and then attack them.”

“Bombard?”

“The bombardment will wreak havoc on their defensive lines, allowing us to easily attack them.”

“That doesn’t sound easy…”

“It is easy… if the cannons' accuracy rate is at least ninety percent.”

“Yes, but that is only if it's at least ninety percent.”

“I can make sure that it's going to be ninety percent.”

“Really?”

“Yes, uncle.”

“Alright. Let’s do it.”

Yong Tae-Pung decided to trust Siegfried once again.

Siegfried turned to Seung-Gu and said, “Fire away, Seung-Gu.”

“Yes! Hyung-nim!”

Despite the thick steam, Seung-Gu commanded his Iron Golems to fire into the thick steam upon receiving Siegfried's order.

“Three! Two! One! Fireee!”

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Kaboom!

The Iron Golems didn't move an inch and fired according to how Siegfried had set them up earlier.

“Are we attacking right after the bombardment?” Yong Tae-Pung asked.

“No, uncle. We're attacking them now,” Siegfried replied.

“Now? But those golems are still firing?”

“Ah, you guys will come in later.”

“...?”

Siegfried smiled and said, “I will go alone for now.”

“A-Alone?!”

“I will see you later!”

“Hey! Tae-Sung! Wait!” Yong Tae-Pung shouted, but it was to no avail.

“Launch a full scale assault the moment I fire the signal flare! See you later, uncle!”

“What?!”

“Let’s go, Hamchi!”

“Kyuuu!”

Siegfried and Hamchi ran toward the Hell’s Staircase while the bombardment was still ongoing, and both of them disappeared into the steam.

“I-Is he planning to fight the enemy all alone…?” Yong Tae-Pung muttered in disbelief.

***

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Kaboom!

Mortar shells rained down upon the Hell’s Staircase, turning it into a literal hell. The bombardment broke the limestones into sharp fragments, sending them flying all over the place along with the boiling water.

‘If we can’t see you, then you can’t see us too,’ Siegfried thought with a smirk. The Hell’s Staircase was a natural fortress, but it could be detrimental to the defenders as well.

Just as the Mandate of Heaven Guild could not see the Oberg Guild, the same applied the other way around. And the fact that nobody from the Oberg Guild reacted while Siegfried aimed the Iron Golems at them was proof that they could not see them, too.

“Hey, Hamchi.”

“Kyu?”

“Make sure you fight near me. Don’t go anywhere else.”

“Alright! Kyuuu!”

Siegfried activated Inzaghi’s Clairvoyance and put the screen on his HUD.

Wooong!

Every unit and object on the map appeared in front of his eyes.

‘They’re severely injured, so I just have to finish them off,’ Siegfried thought, trusting in his map hack ability and rushing to the enemy camp.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Kaboom!

The bombardment continued, but that did not matter to him at all. He spent two hours aiming the cannons himself, so he knew exactly where the mortar shells were going to drop.

In other words, Siegfried had meticulously calculated all this.

Of course, there was still the risk of getting struck by the limestone fragments, but that was not enough to pose a threat to his life. His Defense was pretty high now, so he could easily withstand such a low amount of damage.

“Argh…!”

“D-Damn it…!”

“My arm! I lost my arm!”

The Oberg Guild members were moaning in agony on the ground. They hurriedly took out their potions to recover from their paltry HP.

‘Let’s go.’ Siegfried rushed to the Oberg Guild members +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp.

Smack, smack, smaaack!

The Oberg Guild members had their heads smashed open without even knowing who attacked them.

“Kyak! Kyaaak!”

The Three-Legged Crow appeared and picked up the items dropped by the Oberg Guild members.

“Next!”

“Kyuuu!”

Siegfried and Hamchi ran around the Hell’s Staircase as if it was their own backyard and slaughtered the Oberg Guild members while the bombardment continued.

It was then.

Baaam!

The final mortar shell dropped.

Wooong!

Siegfried immediately used Absolute Zero and Discharge.

Flash!

A bright flash of light spread throughout the Hell’s Staircase freezing everything in its path.

Siegfried took out a flare gun from his Inventory.

Shwooong… Kaboom!

The green signal flare shone brightly in the sky.

“Let’s goooo!”

“Attack!”

“Attaaaack!”

The battle cry of the Mandate of Heaven Guild members echoed in the distance.

“Ah, I guess I can leave the rest to them and get some rest,” Siegfried muttered, leaning against a limestone boulder.

“Kyuuu! Great job, owner punk!”

“You too, punk.”

Siegfried and Hamchi rested on top of the boulder while waiting for the battle to be wrapped up.

***

The Mandate of Heaven Guild easily seized control of the Hell’s Staircase, and it was all thanks to Siegfried’s efforts.

“He did all of this alone…?”

“Wow…”

“That guy’s crazy…”

The Mandate of Heaven Guild members were both speechless and in awe of Siegfried’s feat. This might have only been possible thanks to him possessing the Inzaghi’s Clairvoyance, but it was still an impressive feat nonetheless.

Yong Seol-Hwa ran up to him and exclaimed, “Awesome work, oppa!”

“You too, Seol-Hwa,” Siegfried replied.

It was then.

C-Crack…!

Siegfried's armor set cracked open. He was wearing the new and improved +10 Real Quad Turbo-Set crafted by the Autonika Workshop, but the intense battle seemed to have reduced its durability to the point that it was about to get destroyed.

“Eh?”

Siegfried was shocked by what he was seeing.

How come a newly crafted armor set was already on the verge of destruction?

[Alert: Warning! Warning!]

[Alert: Your +10 Real Quad-Turbo Set only has 1% Durability remaining!]

[Alert: Your item may get destroyed unless it is repaired immediately!]

A string of messages popped up in front of his eyes.

This was the exact same phenomenon that occurred when he used Wave of Truth and Discharge in the battle against Count Arial.

It seemed that using Absolute Zero and Discharge had the same effect as well.

The +10 Real Quad-Turbo Set was crafted by the Autonika Workshop, but the immense amount of mana he had infused into it seemed to have been a massive burden on the item, even though it was crafted by one of the top workshops on the continent.

“I just got this… W-What should I do…?” Siegfried muttered while on the verge of tears.

“Kyuuu! Don’t touch it, owner punk! It’s gonna break if you do!” Hamchi warned.

“Ah… What should I do…?”

Siegfried felt extremely nervous at the fact that his +10 Real Quad-Turbo Set could get destroyed at any second right now.

Yong Seol-Hwa chimed in, “Stay still, oppa.”

“H-Huh?”

“Stay still.”

Yong Seol-Hwa opened her Inventory and took out a white liquid resembling silicon. She then proceeded to apply it on every nook and cranny of the +10 Real Quad-Turbo Set.

“W-What’s that?”

“It’s Hucica Liquid.”

“Hucica Liquid…?”

“You can think of it as a first-aid medicine for items. It stops an item from losing any more durability and getting destroyed if you apply it evenly on the cracks.”

“Oh?”

“Please stay still. I need to be very careful when applying this thing.”

“W-Will my item be okay?”

“For now.”

“Phew…!” Siegfried let out a sigh of relief. Then, he smiled and said, “I’m really glad you’re here, Seol-Hwa.”

“W-What?!”

“I would have lost my armor if it hadn't been for you.”

“Don’t mention it…” Yong Seol-Hwa replied with a faint smile. Then, she focused on applying the Hucica Liquid on the +10 Real Quad-Turbo Set, making sure that she wouldn't miss a single spot.

***

Meanwhile, Diesel doubted his ears upon receiving the report that they had lost the Hell’s Staircase to the Mandate of Heaven Guild.

“How did they conquer that place so fast? Wait, does that even make sense to begin with?”

The Hell’s Staircase was a natural fortress, so the fact that it was easily conquered was grim news for the Oberg Guild. Fortunately, their guild members who had died in the battle in the Sword Gorge were soon going to return.

It was almost forty-nine hours since they died, after all.

“Damn it… I should’ve hired Han Tae-Sung no matter what it cost…” Diesel growled under his breath. He realized that Siegfried was the reason the Mandate of Heaven Guild conquered the Hell’s Staircase, and his blood pressure skyrocketed at the realization.

“I should’ve offered him fifty million dollars and twenty percent of the profits…”

He regretted not offering more, but it was now too late, as Siegfried had already jumped onto the Mandate of Heaven Guild's ship.

“Hey! Diesel! The dwarves are here!” Exhole exclaimed.

“Good! Finally!” Diesel replied in delight.

He had hired dwarves to speed up the development of the Geyser of Life.

“Do you want to meet their leader?”

“Sure, why not?”

Exhole and Diesel went to meet the leader of the dwarves.

“Hello, Adventurer. My name is Avant.”

The leader of the dwarves named Avant had a grotesque scar on the left side of his face.

“Quandt?” Diesel muttered with a grimace. He was convinced that the dwarf before him was the head blacksmith of the Bavarian Workshop, Quandt.

However, Avant simply smiled and said, “I’m sorry, but I’m not Quandt.”

Diesel immediately apologized, “I apologize for that. You look exactly like Quandt that I mistook you for him.”

“That’s only normal.”

“...?”

“That bloody bastard, Quandt, is my younger brother. Kekeke!” Avant said with a cackle, and his expression was so ominous that it sent a chill down Diesel’s spine.

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