Debuff Master

Both Emperor Stuttgart and Marquis Randoll had completely misunderstood Siegfried.

Make no mistake, Siegfried was no hero.

A quest was forcing him to rescue the other rulers.

A new quest popped up in front of his eyes.

[Alert: You have obtained the Quest – Rescue the Rulers!]

[Rescue the Rulers!]

[Description: Roam the emperor’s private hunting ground and rescue the rulers in danger.]

[Progress: N/A]

[Reward: 1 reward per 1 ruler rescued]

[Currently Rescued Rulers: 0 Rulers]

[Warning: The faster you move, the more rewards you stand to reap!]

Emperor Stuttgart was just the tip of the iceberg, as countless rulers were still stranded within the hunting ground. The Marchioni Forces were going to rescue the stranded rulers sooner or later now that the mana restriction had been lifted, but rescuing all of them was, without a doubt, going to be a major challenge.

Unfortunately, countless rulers had already died, and more would definitely die as time went on. Of course, Siegfried wasn't only concerned about the quest and its reward. He was also worried about those he had close relations with such as Lord Angele, King Arsha, and Saintess Janette.

Well, Siegfried was still Siegfried, so he calculated how much reward he was going to make if he managed to rescue all three of them plus a few other rulers…

Why?

“Hey, Hamchi.”

“You know the scent of Lord Angele, King Arsha, and Saintess Janette, right?”

“Let’s look for them.”

“Really?”

“Okay!!”New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on Noᴠᴇlꜰire.nᴇt

Siegfried ran after Hamchi.

“Your Majesty! Wait for me!” Oscar shouted and ran after the duo.

***

The two signal flares shot up by Emperor Stuttgart ended up helping the stranded rulers.

The monsters in the hunting ground ran toward the signal flare, which gave the rulers and their knights a much-needed respite. However, the rulers weren't completely safe.

Siegfried was right; quite a few rulers had already perished, and plenty more were still struggling for their survival even after the mana restriction barrier was lifted.

King Arsha was one of them. Her attending knight had fallen in battle while protecting his liege, and she was left to wander the woods all alone—until she came face to face with a wandering monster.

King Arsha managed to evade the monsters and survive so far, but her luck had run out.

Why?

It was all because she was a ruler incapable of combat.

“D-Don’t come near me!”

“Don’t coooome!”

She screamed at the top of her lungs, almost pleading with the monster not to come near her, but there was no reason for the monster to listen to her. It also couldn't understand what she was saying.

Therefore, it wasn't strange that it had decided to attack King Arsha.

The monster pounced on King Arsha, but…

Horse Fly smashed the monster’s head, leaving a beautiful trail in the air.

“K-King Siegfried!” King Arsha exclaimed as her face brightened after seeing her savior.

“Did you come to save me… King Siegfried…?” King Arsha asked.

“Of course!” Siegfried replied with a smile, and then he extended his hand toward her and added, “Please get up. I will be escorting you from now on.”

“King Siegfried…”

[Alert: You have rescued King Arsha!]

[Alert: Total Rulers Rescued: 1 Ruler]

Starting with King Arsha, Siegfried prioritized rescuing the rulers he had a close relationship with, so up next was Lord Angele. Fortunately, Lord Angele and her knight had managed to hide themselves in a crevice, so they didn't suffer any injuries.

“Have you come to save me?” Lord Angele asked.

“Of course!” Siegfried exclaimed in response with a smile.

A message popped up in front of Siegfried's eyes.

[Alert: You have rescued Lord Angele!]

[Alert: Total Rulers Rescued: 2 Rulers]

Siegfried set out in search of Saintess Janette after rescuing Lord Angele.

Unlike Lord Angele, Saintess Janette was in danger. Thankfully, the barrier restricting the use of mana had been lifted, and she wasn't alone. Some rulers were with her.

“I will give you strength! Please hang in there!” Saintess Janette exclaimed as she used her holy powers to buff the rulers and their knights. Despite her powerful buff and healing abilities, there were just too many monsters.

The rulers and their knights were starting to get pushed back.

“Everyone! Get back!” Siegfried shouted and jumped up.

He landed in the midst of the monsters and used Splitting Heaven and Earth to sweep away all of the monsters attacking Saintess Janette and the other survivors.

[Alert: You have gained Experience Points!]

[Alert: You have gained Experience Points!]

[Alert: You have gained Experience Points!]

[Alert: You have gained Experience Points!]

He gained a ton of experience points from killing the monsters, but that wasn't all…

[Alert: You have rescued Saintess Janette and 5 other rulers!]

[Alert: Total Rulers Rescued: 8 Rulers]

And that was how Siegfried managed to rescue eight rulers.

Saintess Janette’s face brightened up as she exclaimed, “King Siegfried!”

“Yes! That’s me!” Siegfried replied with a playful smile.

“Thank you for rescuing us,” Saintess Janette said while bowing to show her gratitude.

The rest of the rulers followed suit.

“Thank you! Thank you so much!”

“I will never forget this favor!”

“How could I ever repay you for saving me…?”

The other rulers also expressed their gratitude and vowed to repay Siegfried one day.

He was extremely humble in front of the other rulers.

“Just seeing my seniors safe and sound is more than enough for me. That is all I could ask for,” he replied.

His humbleness earned him a ton of brownie points with the rulers.

***

Siegfried managed to rescue sixteen rulers in total by the time he exited the hunting ground three hours later.

He and the group of survivors with him were greeted by thousands of knights and soldiers of the empire.

“Siegfried van Proa.” Surprisingly, Emperor Stuttgart hadn't left the hunting ground. “You have done an excellent job. You've rescued so many rulers of the continent.”

“I, Siegfried van Proa, greet His Imperial Majesty,” Siegfried knelt on one knee and greeted the emperor.

“I would love nothing more than to throw a grand banquet in your honor, but it is unfortunate this is not the appropriate time for that.”

The emperor was right.

Rescuing the emperor and more than a dozen rulers was a tremendous achievement on Siegfried’s part, but the situation was so grave that it wasn't appropriate to celebrate Siegfried's heroic deeds.

This was the terrorist attack of the century.

If compared to reality, it would be akin to a bomb going off at the United Nations General Assembly Building while the rulers of every country in the world were attending the World Conference.

“I will reward your heroic deeds at a later date,” Emperor Stuttgart said.

“I am fine, sire. I believe resolving this situation should be the utmost priority right now,” Siegfried replied as courteously and humbly as he possibly could.

“I am grateful for your understanding.”

“Thank you, Your Imperial Majesty! I am undeserving of such praise!”

After thanking Siegfried, Emperor Stuttgart directed his attention to the rulers who barely made it out alive.

“I, the chairman and host of the World Peace Conference, Stuttgart von Posteriore, sincerely apologizes for the incident that took place today. Everything is my fault. The lapse in security, the sufferings all of you went through, and the unfortunate lives lost in this incident, I am responsible for all of these.”

Emperor Stuttgart lived up to his reputation as the most powerful man on the continent by not skirting the blame for the incident.

“I will make a formal announcement in lieu of this incident at the earliest date, so I ask for your patience and understanding until then.”

None of the rulers said anything in response to the emperor’s speech. A deafening silence fell upon the entire camp outside the emperor’s hunting ground, and the atmosphere was so heavy that it made most people feel suffocated.

It felt as if the breeze today was thick with the stench of blood.

***

Right after they left the emperor’s hunting ground entrance back to safety, the rulers made haste to leave the Marchioni Empire. None of them said anything as they left in a hurry, seemingly escaping from the empire. Emperor Stuttgart made no attempts to prevent the rulers from leaving, and those who wished to leave were free to do so.

The normal reaction from the rulers would be to jump up and down out of anger and demand to have the culprits behind this incident arrested or to lash out at the emperor and blame him for this incident.

However, none of the rulers reacted in either manner. In fact, even the officials who rushed over from each kingdom kept their lips sealed even after collecting the remains of those who had perished in the emperor’s hunting ground.

Siegfried couldn't help but fall into deep contemplation as the knights from the various kingdoms walked past him.

“…”

The knights did not utter a single word as they carried the coffin containing the remains of their lord.

“Just what in the…” Siegfried muttered with a grimace.

Oscar suddenly spoke, “Your Majesty, are you perhaps having a difficult time understanding the current situation…?”

“I could tell from seeing the look on Your Majesty’s face.”

“Really? Ah, you are right. I am a bit confused right now… Why is everyone so quiet?”

“There is a reason for that, Your Majesty.”

“What is it?”

“Most of the rulers are suspecting… Emperor Stuttgart as the culprit behind this incident…”

“What?!” Siegfried was shocked after hearing her response.

He could not believe his ears and found what she said just now to be utterly absurd.

“Emperor Stuttgart might be the culprit behind this incident?!”

Tokki's Thoughts