Debuff Master-Chapter 883

“Hello, Elder Brother.”

— Oh! What’s the occasion, brother?

As always, Leonid answered Siegfried’s call with enthusiasm.

“I heard you suddenly waged war?”

— Oh? I guess news does travel fast.

Leonid scratched the back of his head while smiling awkwardly.

— Yeah, the fighting just started, but it’s getting fierce. In fact, I’m planning to head to the frontlines myself soon.

“But why? What is the reason you suddenly waged war?”

— I’ve never liked those damn bastards to begin with. All of them are rotten scumbags. I held back for so long now, but suddenly, I thought... Why not just wipe them out?

Siegfried was momentarily stunned and questioned his ears. Then, he decided to ask, just in case he heard wrong, “Excuse me? You went to war because... you don't like them?”

A king had actually waged war because he disliked someone? Even the most tyrannical rulers in history would not dare act so recklessly.

King Leonid was known for being an amiable person who ruled with justice in mind. Well, he never shied away from a fight if one came his way, but this?

— I mean, we had a hunting competition... But they teamed up against me! I’m sure of it!

“Eh?”

— Those damn bastards were in cahoots with each other! I’m sure of it! How else could I lose every single damn time?! Do you know how much money I lost from losing bets?!

“...”

— That’s why I’m going to annihilate those bastards!

Siegfried was left utterly speechless.’ So... he started a war because he kept losing his money at hunting bets...?’

Suddenly, Siegfried found himself empathizing with the other kings.

Why?

It was all because King Leonid was one of the renowned Masters on the continent, and beating him in a hunting competition would be near impossible for ordinary people. Thus, it only made sense that they would band together against him.

In a way, King Leonid’s feelings were understandable. But was that really enough reason to wage war? No, absolutely not.

Was it really possible for kings to gather to foster relationships through hunting but only to end up waging wars against one another over some petty dispute?

It was akin to world leaders playing a round of golf together, getting into an argument, and plunging their respective countries into war all because they got offended by something.

“Are you serious?”

— Listen here! They ganged up on me and bullied me!

“As frustrating as that may be, is it really worth going to war over—”

— What did you say?!

“...!”

— Ha! Are you picking a fight with me now?!

It was then.

‘Eh...?!’

At that moment, Siegfried’s eyes widened in shock when King Leonid’s eyes turned blood-red right in front of him. King Leonid would usually look at him with a warm and composed gaze, but that was not the case this time.

“E-Elder Brother...?”

— Silence!

“...!”

— If you dare to try to lecture me one more time, I won’t forgive you. Mark my words, you will pay dearly even if you are my brother. You better watch your mouth unless you want to see the Proatine Kingdom being reduced to nothing but ashes.

Leonid growled menacingly with bloodshot eyes that made him resemble a madman.

“Haha... Hahaha...”

— I don’t have anything to say anymore, so I’ll be ending this call now. Talking to you has done nothing but sour my mood.

With that, King Leonid disconnected the call.

“He has completely lost it, hasn’t he?” Siegfried muttered.

He sat frozen after being stunned by King Leonid’s behavior. Truthfully, he had no idea what was happening, but he was certain of one thing—Leonid had gone mad.

That was the only explanation...

Holding a personal grudge over something so trivial? Declaring war over that trivial grudge? And even snapping at Siegfried?

Those actions were very uncharacteristic of King Leonid.

“It’s the Red Knight of War.” Siegfried quickly deduced that King Leonid’s sudden change was due to the Red Knight of War’s abilities. “Ah, what should I do...?”

The real problem was that he had no idea how to deal with the situation.

If even a Master like King Leonid could be easily influenced by the Red Knight of War’s ability, then there was no guarantee that Siegfried could resist its maddening influence.

***

Meanwhile, skirmishes started breaking out in the southern regions of the Nurburg Continent.

Border patrols of each kingdom clashed against the patrols of others for no reason, which eventually escalated into wars between those kingdoms.

But that was just the start...

Nobles from different nations gathered for diplomatic talks, only to start arguing until it escalated into them swinging swords at each other, causing diplomatic relations to further deteriorate.

Even in the bustling city centers of each nation, drunks would quarrel until it erupted into large-scale brawls. Sometimes, passerbys trying to break up the fight would start fighting too, eventually escalating into full-blown riots.

In just a week, the southern region of the continent descended into a chaotic battlefield, which eventually spread throughout the world.

The conflict's scale was huge enough to be called a world war, as nearly a third of the nations on the continent, both large and small, were embroiled in wars.

“How the hell am I supposed to clean this mess up...?”

Siegfried was completely overwhelmed after receiving the live reports from the intelligence department led by Ninetails.

This was no longer a problem he could handle on his own, and this situation would not be resolved just because the Proatine Kingdom tried to intervene.

No third party had the capacity to mediate in a conflict of this scale unless it was the Marchioni Empire. More specifically, the Marchioni Empire before it was embroiled in a civil war.

However, the biggest problem was that there was no way for Siegfried to raid the source of all of this chaos, the Red Knight of War.

‘We can all get fucked because of this...’

Siegfried had been tracking the Red Knight of War’s whereabouts, but the issue was that he wasn't confident that he could take down the Red Knight of War even if he gathered the most powerful warriors on the continent.

Even the thought of the aftermath was terrifying, as the devastation from those powerful warriors fighting each other would be unimaginable. Thus, he decided not to go anywhere near the Red Knight of War unless he found a decisive method to deal with it.

‘The casualties will only keep climbing. Tens of thousands have already died, and hundreds of thousands or maybe even millions more will die if the war continues to intensify. No, maybe even tens of millions... or perhaps billions will die...’

During World War I, the total number of casualties reached forty million. During World War II, more than seventy-three million lives were lost. It was all too clear that the casualties would surpass even those numbers if the current situation were left unchecked.

The more lives were lost to war, the stronger the Red Knight of War would become. In other words, the longer this dragged on, the harder it would be to resolve this madness.

“I guess I don’t have a choice...” Siegfried muttered to himself. He stood up and issued a command to the intelligence agents. “Can you check where Michael is right now?”

“Yes, Your Majesty! We are receiving reports on his whereabouts five times a day!”

“Please locate him and let me know as soon as you do.”

“Yes, sire!”

Later that afternoon, Siegfried met with Michael, who had been traveling across the continent in search of his wings.

“That is grave news indeed. The Red Knight of War once plunged half the continent into a sea of blood, and the wars he caused have already claimed more than two hundred million lives,” Michael said with a troubled look.

“T-Two hundred million?!” Siegfried shrieked in horror.

“It was a horrifying war that lasted for thirty years. I am afraid that the actual death toll may well have been higher.”

“Wow.”

“This is truly grave news. Subduing the Red Knight was nearly impossible...” Michael said, his voice trailing.

“But you did manage to subdue him, right? I have a feeling there’s a solution to this problem. Am I right?” Siegfried asked.

“Well, there is but...”

“But what? Is there a problem?”

“The Red Knight of War has the power to make creatures turn on each other. That ability is so powerful that even we, the angels, couldn’t resist it. But...” Michael said. Then, he turned and continued, “For one of the Great Spirits of the Forest...”

It was then.

“Kyuuu!” Hamchi shrieked and suddenly ran away, vanishing into the distance.

“Huh? What’s wrong with that punk?” Siegfried grumbled, frowning at Hamchi’s sudden disappearance.

“I believe he knew what I was referring to,” Michael replied.

“Familiar? With what?”

“There are quite a few Great Spirits of the Forest. As far as I know, there are at least eight of them.”

“Oh?”

“Among them is one who symbolizes calm. If you can find that spirit and borrow its powers, you can shield yourself from the Red Knight of War’s influence.”

“Oh!”

“To locate that Great Spirit, you would need the help of a spirit but... I believe the spirit closest to you would make the search easier.”

“Thank you for the advice.”

With Michael’s guidance on how to deal with the Red Knight of War, Siegfried turned to leave.

But first, he needed to look for Hamchi.

“Hey! Hamchi!”

Siegfried chased him into the forest, calling out to his trusty companion.

***

Siegfried wandered deep into the forest. He walked for what felt like an eternity in pursuit of Hamchi, but no matter how skilled he was at navigating through dense forests, catching Hamchi proved nearly impossible.

“Damn it... What the hell is wrong with that guy? We’re running out of time here, and he’s scampering off alone?” Siegfried grumbled, his irritation at Hamchi’s sudden disappearance clear in his voice.

Finally, after searching for hours, Siegfried had no choice but to use Inzaghi’s Clairvoyance.

Wooong...!

He quickly located Hamchi and headed there without delay.

Hamchi was trembling inside a hole beneath the roots of a massive ancient tree.

“Hey, Hamchi,” Siegfried called out, his voice a mix of exhaustion, irritation, and concern.

But there was no response...

“Hamchi?”

“...”

“I know you’re in there. I tracked you down myself, so stop hiding and come out already,” Siegfried growled.

Suddenly, a sharp voice screeched from within the hole.

“Kyaaaak! Hamchi’s not coming out! Get lost!”

Instead of coming out, Hamchi lashed out from his hiding place.

“Huh? What’s wrong with you? Did something happen?” Siegfried asked as gently as he could.

“Kyaaak! Don’t ask me! Shut up!”

“It’s fine, man. Just come out and tell me what’s going on.”

“Kyaaak! Nothing happened!”

“Seriously? Is this how you wanna play it? Come on, man. Be a man; rub some dirt on whatever that is. Why don’t you come out and talk, maybe over some drinks?” Siegfried said before pulling out a small table and two chairs from his inventory.

Then, he set up the table with all sorts of nuts and a bottle of wine.

“Kyaaak! Hamchi has nothing to say to owner punk!”

“Are you really going to be like this?”

“Kyaaak! Shut up!”

“...”

“Go deal with your own problems! Hamchi’s not getting involved in this mess! Kyaaak!”

“Are you acquainted with that Great Spirit of the Forest? Are you two on bad terms with each other or something?” Siegfried pressed further.

“Shut up! Leave Hamchi alone!”

“...”

“Come find Hamchi after this is all over! Kyaaak!”

“A-All right.”

Siegfried knew there was nothing else he could do, so he decided to let Hamchi be for now.

‘Maybe he’s got his own issues to deal with,’ Siegfried thought.

Everyone’s entitled to their secrets after all—even Hamchi.

“Sure, then. But at least tell me where I can find that spirit. I’ll handle the rest from there.”

“...In the Tyrant’s Forest.”

“The Tyrant’s Forest? Where’s that?” Siegfried asked, tilting his head in confusion.

“It’s in the eastern region of the continent. It exists, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find if you look hard enough.”

“Got it. I’ll head on over to that place, so you stay safe and wait for me at the royal palace,” Siegfried said, rising up to his feet.

Hamchi did not respond or say anything after that.

‘What’s wrong with that guy?’ Siegfried wondered.

However, he decided to drop the matter, as he knew there was nothing else he could do about it.

Without further delay, Siegfried set off toward the eastern region of the continent to find the Tyrant’s Forest. He needed that Great Spirit’s help, as Michael mentioned, if he was to stand any chance against the Red Knight of War.