Debuff Master-Chapter 828

A few hours later...

“Did you all have a good break?”

When Supreme Commander Grand Marshal Claude returned to the meeting room, the Naval Alliance's meeting resumed.

“I, Grand Marshal Claude of the Naval Alliance, hereby grant each of you a single day of leave, effective immediately.”

The sudden leave left the naval officers in the room puzzled.

Leave? Out of nowhere? And for just one day?

Not three days, not a week, but just a single day?

The announcement made no sense at all.

“Go home this evening and take the time to rest. Spend tonight and tomorrow with your families and enjoy the moments together. Then, report back first thing in the morning the following day,” Claude commanded.

Admiral Henry, the Deputy Commander of the Naval Alliance, carefully asked, “Erm... Why the sudden leave, sir?”

Claude smiled faintly and replied, “Because proper rest is essential before taking on something monumental, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Something... monumental?”

“Once this leave ends, you’ll hardly have the chance to sleep for at least a month–no, maybe even three to four months. Use this single day to rest well and make meaningful memories with your families.”

“Sir...? Monumental? Are you implying that—”

“In three days, we will commence an all-out assault on the Green Isles.”

“T-The Green Isles?! A full-scale assault?!”

“The very reason the Naval Alliance was established—our mission to subjugate the Green Isles—can now be accomplished.”

At that very moment, every officer in the room froze.

The conquest of the Green Isles? For days, they sat through countless meetings where Claude remained largely silent. Therefore, his monumental declaration was even more shocking.

One officer broke the silence, asking, “But... how? We do not even know the exact location of the Green Isles. How could we possibly—”

Claude cut him off and said confidently, “I have obtained its precise location from a credible informant.”

“What?!”

“More precisely, this informant has agreed to personally guide our forces to the Green Isles.”

“Could this be true?!”

“I’ve spoken to this individual myself, verified the facts thoroughly, and confirmed their identity numerous times. As I said, they are a reliable source.”

“Unbelievable!”

“Therefore, we must seize this opportunity to strike the Green Isles. This is the perfect chance—no, perhaps the first and only chance we will ever get.”

The Naval Alliance began to get rowdy as the meeting room was filled with a different kind of raised voices this time.

“Good heavens!”

“To think we will finally conquer the Green Isles!”

“After centuries of searching, it’s finally within our grasp!”

“Ha! Time to feel those damn pirates to the fishes!”

The morale of the Naval Alliance had completely shifted.

This wasn't a surprise, as even the more reserved officers, who had been advocating about giving pirates a chance to reform, had only done so due to the location of the Green Isles being a mystery.

After all, it was impossible to attack an enemy’s base shrouded in mystery.

However, the location of the Green Isles was now revealed, so there was no longer any reason to hesitate or give them a chance to reform.

Allowing a maritime kingdom of criminals to establish itself on the seas of the continent was unthinkable, and it was far better to eradicate the root cause of piracy altogether than to let them set sail under an officially recognized legitimate flag.

“That will be all for now. Go home and rest; we will reconvene in two days.”

With that, Claude concluded the meeting while marking the official declaration of the Naval Alliance’s conquest of the Green Isles.

***

That evening, Vice Admiral Jimbo of the Naval Alliance wasted no time reporting the developments to his homeland, the Lambda Kingdom.

The Naval Alliance was a coalition of naval forces formed by various nations contributing ships and high-ranking naval officers, so it was only natural for Lambda’s representative to be involved.

— What? The Naval Alliance will be launching a full-scale assault on the Green Isles?

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

— Ha!

King Leonid of the Lamba Kingdom scoffed upon hearing the report.

— This is a disaster!

The reason he was concerned regarding the subjugation campaign was that he knew the truth; Captain Francis de Drake was, in fact, Siegfried van Proa. He was also aware that the Green Isles had already become part of the Proatine Kingdom’s territory.

However, the Naval Alliance was actually planning to attack a territory of the Proatine Kingdom?

There was nothing he could do to convince the Naval Alliance to stop the attack, as revealing that the Green Isles belonged to the Proatine Kingdom was out of the question.

The way Siegfried orchestrated taking control of the Green Isles by pretending to be a pirate was not something most nations would view favorably.

Moreover, the fact that the Proatine Kingdom was an emerging power that had already demonstrated its might in the recent war against the Zavala Kingdom was a cause for concern for the other nations.

They shared no borders with the Proatine Kingdom, so the issue wasn't a cause for concern in their eyes. However, if such a kingdom suddenly gained a territory right in the middle of the ocean... it would undoubtedly heighten tensions among the other nations.

Why?

It was all because it would appear as though Siegfried van Proa was using his pirate allies to kickstart the Proatine Kingdom’s expansionist ambitions, which was something that no country would surely accept.

— Ahem! What are we to do about this?

King Leonid could foresee the consequences all too clearly.

If it were revealed that the Green Isles was a part of the Proatine Kingdom, then the Naval Alliance would demand that Siegfried relinquish control of the Green Isles.

In the event that Siegfried refused to comply, it would lead to severe disputes between the Proatine Kingdom and the various nations that make up the Naval Alliance.

This dispute could very well escalate into a large-scale war with both sides forming their own coalition, and it might grow into something that might engulf the entire continent in war.

On the other hand, doing nothing would leave the Green Isles vulnerable, as it had already greatly weakened after the deaths of three Pirate Lords. If the Naval Alliance managed to invade it, then it would barely last a week at best.

— I must inform King Siegfried of this immediately. Good job, Jimbo, for reporting this matter.

“Yes, sir!”

— Ah, one more thing. Announce that the Lambda Kingdom formally opposes the invasion of the Green Isles.

“Y-Your Majesty?”

— We cannot risk being hostile toward the Proatine Kingdom.

“Ah, I understand, sire!”

— From this moment forward, the Lambda Kingdom officially withdraws from the Naval Alliance. Draft the necessary documents and deliver them to Grand Marshal Claude.

Without hesitation, King Leonid decided to withdraw from the conflict between the Naval Alliance and the Green Isles.

For him, no scenario could ever justify attacking Siegfried, no matter what.

***

Siegfried worked tirelessly through the night to excavate the Praystones from the Mine of Abundance.

The result?

[Alert: You have obtained Praystone!]

[Alert: Praystone collected (139/150)]

[Alert: Praystone collected (140/150)]

[Alert: Praystone collected (141/150)]

(omitted...)

[Alert: Praystone collected (150/150)]

He successfully mined all one hundred fifty Praystones he needed to complete his epic quest.

“Ah! My back!” Siegfried groaned, stretching his stiff body after the mining was finally complete. After squatting all night and using a hoe to dig up the minerals, his back felt like it would break anytime soon.

“Kyuu... Are we all done, owner punk...?” Hamchi asked. He was still clutching his hoe while bobbing his head up and down out of exhaustion.

“You little rascal,” Siegfried said with a chuckle.

Hamchi was so tired that he started drooling while half-asleep.

[Alert: Insert the Praystones into the Hero’s Status: Siegfried van Proa located across the continent! (0/150)]

All that remained was to embed the Praystones into the statues, which was a relatively simple task. Once he was done, Siegfried would finally unlock his dual class.

“Ugh... This guy is so heavy,” Siegfried groaned while carrying Hamchi on his back and left the Mine of Abundance.

The Mine of Abundance contained countless rare and mystical minerals, and what Siegfried had mined overnight couldn't even amount to a tiny fraction of its total deposits. It would require full-scale mining operations to properly utilize the mine and extract riches from it.

Of course, Siegfried neither had the time nor the will to spend days digging into the ground with a hoe, so the Proatine Kingdom’s manpower would be the one handling things from now on.

“Let’s head back, log out, and get some rest first...”

With that thought, Siegfried drove the Aqua Runner back to Kraken Harbor.

***

Chaos erupted the moment Siegfried arrived at Kraken Harbor...

“A-Aaah!”

“Oh my god!”

“Monsters! Sea monsters are attacking!”

People screamed and ran for their lives after seeing over thirty sea monsters had gathered to attack.

“...Oops.”

Siegfried finally realized that he had inadvertently brought the sea monsters with him.

Unfortunately, the situation had already spiraled out of control, as the pirates had scrambled into battle formation to attack the invaders.

“Don’t worry! These guys are all tamed and under my control. It’s safe, so go about your business as usual!”

Siegfried reassured the pirates with a few words before casually heading toward the governor’s building. He walked so casually that he made it seem like nothing had ever happened.

“...”

“...”

“...”

The pirates were left speechless and stunned by what they just witnessed.

Captain Francis de Drake was telling them not to worry and claimed to have somehow tamed the terrifying sea monsters that had been terrorizing the Green Isles for countless years.

Then, they looked out to the sea to find that the terrifying sea monsters were calmly floating on the water’s surface as if they were docile pets waiting for their owner to return.

It was a scene so bizarre that even those who had witnessed it with their own eyes had difficulty believing it.

***

“...Where and what in the world have you been doing, Your Majesty?”

Captain Bellatrix was diligently working—or rather, struggling against the endless paperwork when she heard the news about how Siegfried had brought sea monsters to the harbor.

‘T-This can’t be real...!’ she screamed inwardly while burying her face in her hands.

To her, Siegfried was an utterly incomprehensible man. She would have understood it if he had hunted down the sea monsters to ensure the safety of the Green Isles, but to tame and bring back over thirty of them? This was something she couldn't have imagined, even in her wildest dreams.

And yet, Siegfried remained unbothered.

“Here, this island right here. It has a Mine of Abundance. Assign some miners and begin developing it immediately. I will make sure additional manpower will be sent from the capital, so just focus on the basics for now.” Siegfried said, handing over detailed information about the mine to her.

“...The Mine of Abundance? Are you telling me you've already found it? Did I hear you correctly, Your Majesty?” Bellatrix asked, struggling to believe her ears.

“Yeah, I looked around for a bit, and it was just there.”

“That is... uh... I see. So, it was as simple as just looking for it? Haha...”

She could only laugh weakly at how easy Siegfried had made it sound. He said it in a way as if he went to the hillside to pick berries for fun.

Just then, Bellatrix realized something important. She realized that trying to gauge Siegfried by any normal standard of logic was utterly impossible.

“Oh, by the way, Your Majesty,” she said.

Bellatrix suddenly remembered that there was a message for him that she almost forgot after being dumbfounded by his antics.

“Hmm? What is it? Do you have something to say?” he asked.

“There was a call from the capital while you were away.”

“What was it about? If it’s nothing urgent, then I’ll deal with it later. I’m really tired right now.”

Siegfried was ready to collapse on the spot after mining throughout the night, so he was not in the mood to take calls or do anything else.

“They said it was regarding the Dragon Market...?”

“The Dragon Market?”

“Yes, the prices have plummeted so drastically that they can’t sell anything at the moment. I believe that was the gist of the message–”

Without even waiting for her to finish, Siegfried interrupted her and asked, “Where’s the communication room here?”

No matter how tired he was, he would not ignore anything related to money. Before logging out, he needed to find out exactly what was going on.

***

Ten minutes later.

“What’s going on? Why has the price of dragon parts plummeted?” Siegfried asked, staring into the image of Ninetails projected by the communication device.

— It is because the supply has increased. They are still expensive, but the kingdom will only make about sixty percent of the profit we are expecting if we were to sell at the current market rate.

“Even after processing them with Quandt’s skills?”

— Yes.

“What the hell...? How did the supply of dragon parts increase? Did they commit mass suicide? Or did someone discover a dragon graveyard?”

The sourc𝗲 of this content is frёeωebɳovel.com.

— Those are interesting guesses, but no.

“Then what’s the reason?”

— Someone has been hunting dragons indiscriminately.

“...!”

— After some investigation, we found that three dragons have already been killed just this month.

“Which guild is responsible for this?” Siegfried asked immediately.

He had a hunch about the identity of the culprits behind the dragon hunts. In his mind, the only group capable of systematically hunting dragons would be none other than the Adventurers.