Debuff Master-Chapter 884

Finding the Tyrant’s Forest was not challenging at all. It was located within the territory of the Palom Kingdom—the same kingdom that was involved in Siegfried’s recent live broadcast. —

Siegfried wandered openly through the Palom Kingdom without even bothering to disguise himself. Yet, no one paid any attention to him.

The Palom Kingdom was ravaged by invasions from their neighbors, leaving the entire kingdom in ruins.

On top of that, the Green Isles, under Siegfried’s commands, was still assaulting the coastal cities and naval bases of the Palom Kingdom.

In other words, the Palom Kingdom was far too preoccupied with its very survival to even notice that Siegfried was wandering within their borders.

“Why is this place so famous, though?” Siegfried muttered, puzzled while studying the map.

The Tyrant’s Forest was almost like a hot destination within the Palom Kingdom, where many entered only to get beaten and thrown out, yet fatalities were shockingly rare in it.

Funnily enough, there was even a joke that said if one wanted a beating, one ought to head to the Tyrant’s Forest.

‘What kind of nonsense is this...?’

Unable to grasp the meaning of the joke, Siegfried decided to venture into the forest and check things out himself. After all, Hamchi did say that the Great Spirit capable of assisting in defeating the Red Knight of War lived in that forest, so he had no other choice but to explore it.

‘It’s quite quiet here,’ he thought while savoring the fresh air, the warm sunlight shining down through the trees, and the gentle breeze caressing his face.

The forest felt more like a place to go on a short vacation to wind down rather than a dungeon. It was indeed dark and quiet, but it was not the eerie type where one would feel monsters were lurking nearby.

Thus, Siegfried leisurely strolled through the forest as though he would go out for a walk with a light heart.

It was then...

A muscular creature emerged to block Siegfried’s path and asked in a booming voice, “Who the hell are you?”

“Huh?” Siegfried blinked, startled at the creature’s sudden appearance.

The creature standing before him was a tiger walking on its hind legs. Siegfried would have somewhat understood and not be as shocked if it was a beastman, but this was an actual tiger that was walking upright.

“Oh? A fearless one decided to waltz into our forest?” the tiger snarled as it glared menacingly at Siegfried while popping its knuckles.

‘Oh, this must be a spirit,’ Siegfried thought.

He quickly realized that the tiger was not an ordinary animal but a spirit in physical form, as he was familiar with spirits thanks to being acquainted with Hamchi.

Hamchi was a Great Spirit, which was a rank below the Spirit King, and he held a pretty high position among spirits. If put into comparison, he was akin to Metatron, who was a rank below their father, a demon lord.

“Greetings,” Siegfried said with a polite smile. Then, he introduced himself, "My name is Siegfried van Proa.”

He knew that fighting would not benefit him in any way, so he decided to try diplomacy instead.

“So what?” the tiger snarled back.

“I have come to meet the master of this forest.”

“What did you say?” the tiger raised a brow. Then, it sneered, “You? You think you’re worthy of meeting the Queen? Don’t make me laugh! Bwahaha!”

“Would it be possible to arrange a meeting somehow?” Siegfried asked earnestly.

“You, a mere human, dare to demand an audience with the Queen? How dare you—”

Before the tiger could say anything.

Smack!

Something smacked the back of the tiger’s head.

“What do you think you’re doing, yelling like that?!”

The one who struck the tiger was not another massive beast but rather...

‘Eh? A rabbit?’

It was a rabbit standing upright and walking on its hind legs just like the tiger.

“I told you to go gather some acorns! Why are you loafing around here?!” the rabbit exclaimed in anger.

“I-I apologize—”

“Why, you little!”

Bam!

The rabbit smacked the tiger again while scolding it.

“...”

Siegfried watched the bizarre scene of a rabbit berating and smacking a tiger, which was surreal, to say the least.

“Excuse me...? I apologize for interrupting, but...” Siegfried said, talking to the rabbit.

“Hmm? What do you want?” the rabbit replied, seemingly annoyed.

“Would it be possible to meet the so-called Queen of this forest?”

“What did you say? You, a mere human, want to meet the Queen?”

“I have an urgent matter to discuss so—”

“Silence! Our Queen doesn’t waste her time with lowly creatures like you!”

“It’s really important. I have to—”

“Why, you little!”

Before Siegfried could say anything else, the rabbit lashed out.

Whoosh!

It threw a punch straight toward Siegfried.

***

The rabbit was surprisingly strong. The tiger was quite muscular, which was no surprise, but the rabbit had an incredibly muscular physique, too.

Judging by the rabbit’s movements, it seemed to be trained in boxing, as its punches were sharp, precise, and packed with power.

However, to Siegfried, who was trained by none other than King Leonid, the rabbit’s punches appeared amateurish at best.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Siegfried effortlessly evaded the punches with shoulder rolls before counterattacking with a low kick.

Kwachik!

A loud cracking sound echoed.

“Eh?”

The rabbit froze for a moment before stumbling backward, hobbling as its leg gave out after being fractured by the low kick.

“B-Big Bro! Are you all right?!” the tiger hurriedly rushed to the rabbit’s side.

“Y-You insolent human! H-He’s no ordinary human!” the rabbit growled and gnashed its teeth.

“B-Big bro!”

“How dare you invade our forest?!”

Siegfried blinked in confusion at the accusation and asked, “Invade? Wait, what? When did I do that?”

But the rabbit ignored him entirely. Instead, it raised its voice even louder and shrieked.

“A human has invaded the forest and is after the Queen! Spirits, hear my call and defend our forest!”

“H-Hey! I’m not an invader!” Siegfried protested, but he was ignored.

“Spirits! Emergency! EMERGENCYYY!”

As if responding to the rabbit’s call, spirits began to appear one by one from the depths of the forest.

“Trespasser!”

“A human has invaded our forest!”

“Code red! CODE REEED!”

Siegfried was surrounded by all kinds of animals, such as turtles, bears, foxes, wolves, squirrels, and much more.

“Seize the invader! Capture him and bring him before the Queen! Her Majesty will deal with him personally!”

“Yes, sir!”

Following the rabbit’s orders, the spirits advanced slowly, tightening the circle around Siegfried. Instead of retaliating, Siegfried stood his ground and assessed the situation with a level head.

‘Hmm... This might actually work out in my favor,’ he thought.

If the Queen that they had been mentioning was indeed the master of the Tyrant’s Forest, and these spirits were going to bring him straight to her, then there was no need to resist.

In fact, Siegfried’s instincts told him this was the smartest move he could make right now. After all, spirits were kind by nature, so they would rarely inflict harm on others. Not only that, they would avoid killing living beings unless it was necessary.

Thus, if he played along and let them capture him, they would most likely escort him straight to the Queen’s location without any delay.

“I surrender! I surrender!” Siegfried shouted, raising both hands above his head.

Hearing his words, the spirits quickly pounced, binding his arms and legs to a long tree branch.

Siegfried now looked like a piece of meat strung up and ready for roasting. With him in the custody of the spirits, they began marching him off toward their Queen.

“Her Majesty will push this fool! Let’s go!”

“Yes, sir!”

Despite limping from his injured leg, the rabbit led the convoy with enthusiasm and vigor, barking commands as the group made their way to their Queen’s residence.

***

About an hour later, Siegfried was brought to the depths of the Tyrant’s Forest and was finally able to meet the Queen.

But then...

“T-That’s a female Hamchi!”

He jumped in shock the moment he saw the Queen. His shock was understandable, as the Queen who ruled over the Tyrant’s Forest looked astonishingly similar to Hamchi.

If Hamchi had white and sky-blue fur, then the Queen had white and pink fur.

That was the only difference between them, as everything else looked eerily identical.

In other words, they were practically the same, aside from the slight difference in the color of their fur.

“Kyuuu. This human here, is he the one who dared to invade my territory?”

Surprisingly, even the tone of her voice was the same as Hamchi’s.

“Yes, Our Queen!”

“Yes, Our Queen!”

“Yes, Our Queen!”

The spirits replied in unison to their Queen, who looked scarily like Hamchi.

“Kyu. Good. And who are you?” the Queen asked Siegfried from her golden throne.

“Ah, I am Siegfried van Proa, the King of the Proatine Kingdom,” Siegfried replied, introducing himself while still dangling from the long wooden stick.

“And why have you come to see me? Kyu?”

“Well, you see...” Siegfried explained the situation in detail. Then, he asked, “Could you please help us? I humbly request your assistance.”

“No. That is a matter for humans to resolve. Kyu,” the Queen said, shaking her head in refusal.

“But countless people will die if you do not help!”

“Kyu. That’s not my concern.”

“I will give you whatever you want. If you help us just this once, I will fulfill any request you have!” Siegfried pleaded earnestly.

This was not just one or two lives on the line, so he set his pride aside and groveled without hesitation.

“Anything? Are you sure about that? Kyuu?” the Queen asked, her lips curling into a smirk.

‘W-What’s she planning to ask for...?’ Siegfried wondered. He felt uneasy but had no other choice but to respond with a nod.

“Yes. I will do everything I can to fulfill your request, as long as it is within my power.”

“Kyu. Very well,” the Queen said with a grin. Then, she continued, “My request is simple, actually.”

“Please, tell me.”

“Find my fiance. Kyu.”

“Y-Your fiance...?”

“That’s right. Kyu.”

“My fiance fled from me hundreds of years ago. Bring him to me, and I will grant your request. Kyu.”

“Your fiance... Could he be...?” Siegfried muttered.

He had a hunch about the fiance's identity, so he opened his Inventory and took out a portrait of Hamchi.

‘Could it really be...?’ he was not sure, but it was worth checking so he held the portrait out for the Queen to see.

“Is it him, by any chance?” Siegfried asked.

It was then.

“K-Kyuuu?! Why do you have my fiance’s portrait?! Kyuuu!” the Queen cried out, and her eyes widened dramatically.

“Haha... Hahaha...” Siegfried laughed awkwardly after piecing things together.

The reason Hamchi fled when Michael said the words "Great Spirit" was that he knew that Michael was talking about his fiance. Otherwise, there was no reason for him to run away. ƒrēenovelkiss.com

“Well, he is actually contracted to me as my spirit. And we are pretty close,” Siegfried explained.

“Kyuuu?! Is that true?!”

“Not a word of it is a lie.”

“Good! Good!” the Queen exclaimed in delight. Then, she shot up from her throne and said, “Take me to him right now! If you do, I will grant your request! Kyuuu!”

“Is that a promise, Your Majesty?”

“IT IS! Now hurry up and take me to him this instant! Kyuuu!”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

Siegfried did not hesitate and immediately untied the ropes binding him. He was simply playing along with the spirits, so there was no way these flimsy ropes could fully restrain him.

“This way, please. Allow me to escort you,” Siegfried said, rubbing his hands together like a sleazy salesman while bowing profusely.

“Kyu! Lead the way at once!”

“Yes, ma’am!”

And so, Siegfried began his journey back to the Proatine Kingdom, now accompanied by the Queen—rather, Hamchi’s fiancee.

‘Hehehe!’

Siegfried grinned wickedly while imagining Hamchi, who was waiting at the palace.

‘Oh, you’re done for, buddy. You abandoned your fiancee and ran off? Hehehe! Time for your punishment! You should experience the joys of being a married man, too, my dear friend. Hohoho!’

The thought of Hamchi being stuck in a pickle caused Siegfried’s brain to produce endorphins en masse, bestowing upon him the intoxicating feeling of ecstasy.