Debuff Master

Chapter 457

Chapter 457

“...!”

“...!”

The coalition forces were taken aback by the sudden fog. The white fog was so thick that it resembled a massive gas leak rather than a fog.

‘Don’t tell me... Is this poisonous gas?’ Siegfried suspected the fog was similar to his Irradiate. Unfortunately, there was nowhere for them to neither run nor hide as the fog spread extremely quickly and it was already right in front of them.

“Cover your mouths and don’t breathe!” Siegfried shouted.

However, what he feared did not happen, as the fog was not poisonous at all. It seemed the fog only hindered their sight; it seemed unable to hurt them directly.

“Where the hell did this thick fog come from...?” Siegfried grumbled at the fog that now spread throughout the Sky Fortress. He could barely see two meters in front of him, and there was no saying what was hiding behind the fog.

“Owner punk! I can’t see anything! Kyuuu!” Hamchi cried out.

“Yeah, I know,” Siegfried nodded in agreement. Then, he grimaced and grumbled, “How are we supposed to move around like this? I can’t even tell which direction I’m currently facing...”

“Me, too! Kyuuu!”

“Hold on,” Siegfried said as he activated his thrusters and flew up. He soon had a bird’s eye view of the entire Sky Fortress, but the sight only made him grumble, “Tsk... The entire place is covered by that fog...”

The entirety of the Sky Fortress was covered by the thick white fog, and the only thing visible was the castle standing tall at its center.

— Siegfried-nim!

Someone called out to Siegfried from afar.

“Huh? Was that Beowulf-nim?” Siegfried muttered while looking toward the direction the voice came from. He was not sure how, but the voice carried mana, and that was probably how it reached him without reverberating throughout the entire place.

Shwoooong!

Siegfried flew toward where the voice came from until he met Beowulf halfway.

“This fog is very thick,” Beowulf said.

“Yes, you are right,” Siegfried replied as he nodded in agreement.

“What do you think if we scout around from the air and guide our allies to safety first?” Beowulf suggested.

Siegfried pondered for a moment before disagreeing, “Hmm... All of them might end up dead if we do that.”

“Why do you think so?”

“First things first, this fog is too thick. Do you think it will be possible for everyone to move as a group? Not to mention, we are not even familiar with the terrain over here.”

“I agree, and that is the reason that we have to split them into smaller groups.”

“What if the enemy is waiting in ambush and picks them off one by one?”

“...!”

“If I were the enemy, I would hide within the fog and wait until an opportunity presents itself while my enemies are wandering around. I’d probably walk alongside them pretending to be an ally before... Shwak! And cutting their necks. Did I make that sound too easy? I think it is quite possible, though?”

Beowulf was speechless at Siegfried’s reasoning. He was absolutely right. There was no way to tell if an enemy was lying in ambush or if one was walking amongst them due to this thick fog. These ambushes were extremely effective against larger groups of enemies, which were basically the coalition forces.

Why would it be so effective?

It was all because the bigger the crowd, the easier it was to blend in with it.

“Phew...! You're right, Siegfried-nim,” Beowulf said as he let out a sigh of relief.

Siegfried found it was quite surprising how Beowulf easily admitted the fault in his logic.

Then, Beowulf asked, “What are we supposed to do?”

“Huh?” Siegfried blinked a few times. Then, he wondered, ‘Is this for real...?’

He found it hard to believe that the top-ranking Adventurer on the continent was asking him for his opinion, so he decided to ask just to make sure.

“Are you asking me?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm...” Siegfried pondered for a few seconds before he replied, “I think it will be best if we proceed with as few people as possible.”

“As few people as possible?”

“I mean, we do not have a choice. Only our casualties will increase if we mobilize everyone, and we could even end up getting wiped out if things go south.”

“I agree with you, Siegfried-nim.”

Beowulf finally made his decision. “I will ask our allies to wait at the airships just in case they have to evacuate. Meanwhile, you, me, and Lohengrin-nim, along with a few other groups of elites, will proceed further from here.”

“Thank you for listening to my suggestion,” Siegfried courteously replied.

“Then should we meet every fifteen minutes in the air to check up on each other?”

“That is a brilliant idea,” Siegfried replied with a nod.

That was how the coalition forces chose to proceed with only a few elites rather than the entire army.

***

Siegfried, Hamchi, Seung-Gu, and the Weapon Maestros ventured through the fog. Finding their way inside the fog was a huge challenge, and Siegfried was forced to fly up every five minutes just to make sure they were going in the right direction.

Of course, that was the same for Lohengrin and Beowulf, too, as they flew up and down to scout ahead before their groups proceeded further.

“Father-in-law! Are you alright?”

“I’m fine! What about you? Take care of yourself!”

Siegfried would ask Beowulf and Lohengrin whenever he saw them.

“Kyu! How much longer until we reach the castle?!”

“Around thirty minutes?”

It was while Siegfried was busy talking to Hamchi that he suddenly noticed someone infiltrate their ranks. The infiltrator was wearing the Guardians' uniform, and they were brazenly pretending to be one of them.

‘Elder Brother.’

The eldest one among the Weapon Maestros sent a signal with his eyes to Siegfried.

‘I know,’ Siegfried nodded in response.

They continued walking for five minutes until...

Whoosh!

Siegfried, Hamchi, Seung-Gu, and the Weapon Maestros instantly turned around and surrounded the infiltrator.

“Who are you?” Siegfried asked.

“P-Pardon? W-What do you mean by that, sir?”

“Oh? Playing dumb, are we?”

“W-What? I am not playing anythi—Kuheok!”

Siegfried smacked the infiltrator with his +13 Horse Fly without even giving him a chance to explain.

“Gwuuu Eeeh!” The infiltrator cried out in agony and revealed its true identity.

[Fog Assassin]

[A humanoid monster inhabiting the Fog Forest.]

[It possesses an excellent ability to disguise itself and assassinate its unsuspecting victims.]

[Type: Monster]

[Level: 250]

[Class: Silent Assassin]

[Note: Its stats will drop whenever it is not inside a fog.]

[Note 2: It possesses extremely high Attack Power, but it possesses extremely low HP and Defense in return.]

It turned out that the infiltrator was a humanoid monster called Fog Assassin, who specialized in disguising itself to approach its target before assassinating them.

Siegfried swung his +13 Horse Fly while asking, “Did you really think we wouldn't notice if you snuck in our ranks?”

Pukeok!

Of course, Siegfried did not bother listening to the response of the Fog Assassin and smashed its head open. The Fog Assassin’s head exploded, and its body dispersed into the fog before scattering.

“Phew... It was smart of us to leave the others behind,” Siegfried let out a sigh after making swift work of the monster.

What if they decided to mobilize their entire forces through the fog? What if numerous Fog Assassins sneaked in amongst their ranks while they were making their way through the fog?

Many of them would definitely fall victim to assassination, and the Fog Assassins alone could cause so much confusion that they would end up getting annihilated before finding their way through the fog.

In other words, Siegfried’s suggestion to divide the troops and only bring a handful of elites was the right call.

However, he did not seem that happy right now.

“What’s wrong, hyung-nim? You don’t look so good. Are you worried about something?” Seung-Gu asked.

Siegfried seemed disgruntled about something as he replied, “Yeah, we’re losing people.”

“Huh? But I don’t think we lost any so far—“

“Yes, we didn’t lose any right now, but don’t you find it strange? We’re losing people the closer we get to the castle, don’t you think so?”

“Oh? Now that I think about it...”

“We lost Daode Tianzun Elder-nim, Betelgeuse Elder-nim, and Decimato at the start, right? What about after that? We were forced to proceed with only a handful of our forces.”

“Wow...”

“Someone crafty set the stage, and they’re continuously dividing us. Ah... I really hate these kinds of battles...” Siegfried grumbled.

However, there was nothing he could do about their current situation. After all, it was not like he could simply refuse to fight and leave just because he did not like the stage set by the enemy.

“Let’s proceed with utmost caution for now.”

“Okay, hyung-nim.”

“Let’s go.”

Siegfried really hated being out in these kinds of situations, but he had no choice but to push through, as this was something he had to do.

***

Siegfried’s party was repeatedly subjected to ambushes by the Fog Assassins, and the number of these monsters they killed until they reached the castle gates numbered fifty.

“You were right, Elder Brother.”

“Kyu! Owner punk was right!”

“Wow... I think we would’ve been screwed if we brought everyone here...”

The others unanimously agreed that Siegfried was indeed right. They faced fifty Fog Assassins on the way to the castle gates, but that number could have easily totaled to more than one thousand if the entire coalition forces marched through the fogs.

“That’s not what’s important right now. Are we the first to reach?” Siegfried asked while looking around.

Then, the Elondel’s Flying Squadron and Lohengrin emerged from the fog.

“Son-in-law!”

“Oh! Father-in-law! Is everyone safe?”

“The Fog Assassins attacked us, but no one was hurt. This is all thanks to your keen insight!”

“Not at all, \Father-in-law.”

Lohengrin’s party was safe, too. Well, Siegfried did not doubt them to begin with, as their leader was a Master, so it was highly unlikely the Fog Assassins could do anything against them.

“Oh, you arrived earlier than us,” Beowulf said as he and his party emerged from the fog.

After him were Lionbreath and the Nordic Warriors...

“I’m here, my little brother!”

Seven more parties arrived after that, and all ten parties successfully made it to the castle gates without much casualties.

“It seems everyone is here. Then, we shall now further proceed into the castle,” Beowulf said before he led his group into the castle.

“Let’s go too,” Siegfried told his party and followed behind Beowulf.

When Beowulf and Siegfried’s party entered the castle gates...

Bam!

A steel cage-like gate fell, and the gates shut the moment the last of Siegfried’s members stepped into the gates.

“...!”

“...!”

“...!”

Everyone was shocked by the sudden shutting of the gates, but they did not have time to react to it.

“It’s the enemy!”

“Take cover!”

“Prepare for battle! Hurry!”

Shouts could be heard from outside the gates.

“Father-in-law! Are you alright?!” Siegfried desperately screamed.

“I’m alright! Some monsters popped up, that’s all!”

“I will help you! Please wait for me!” Siegfried shouted. Then, he gripped his +13 Horse Fly and swung it as hard as he could at the castle gate.

Taaaaaaang!

The ear-splitting sound of metal clashing against metal rang in the air.

“Ack!” Siegfried screamed in agony and ended up letting go of his +13 Horse Fly due to the sheer feedback from the impact.

“Please step aside. I will try to break it down,” Beowulf said as he swung his +15 Sword of Colossus at the gate.

Baaaaaam!

An explosive sound thundered throughout the air, yet the gate remained steadfast. Well, the gate did sustain a scratch, but that was about the extent of the damage he managed to deal to it.

It was a mystery what this gate was made of, but some sort of protection magic was cast on it that made it nearly indestructible.

“We’re fine here! Go on without us!”

“Don’t worry about us, little brother! We will wrap this up real quick and follow after you!”

Both Lohengrin and Lionbreath urged Siegfried to press on.

“Should we continue with just us, Siegfried-nim? I am certain they will defeat those monsters in no time and join us; they are strong, after all—“

“No,” Siegfried shook his head and cut him off. Then, he said, “It will be over for us if we get any more divided.”

“Hmm...”

“Our enemy is too cunning. How many people do we have remaining if we separate from them? We are not even a tenth of our original fighting force, and we are no different from sitting ducks in the eyes of our enemies—“

“Kekeke! Kekekeke! Kyaaakyaakyaaa!”

A shrill laughter reverberated throughout the castle and interrupted Siegfried.

‘The enemy!’ Siegfried instantly turned to where the shrill laughter came from.

There was a man and a woman with a smug smile looking down at Siegfried and Beowulf’s party.

Chwaaak!

Slurp!

The woman cracked her whip and licked her lips seductively while looking at Siegfried’s party specifically.

“Hey, cuties~” she said with a wink.

“Huh...?” Siegfried muttered and tilted his head in confusion. Then, he squinted his eyes to get a clearer look at her, “I think I’ve seen her from somewhere...”

He could not help but feel that he knew her from somewhere, as she felt oddly familiar.

In the end, he decided to flash his Rune of Insight at her, and the result of that was...

“Queen of Pain... Eh? I-Ingrid...?”

It turned out that the woman holding the whip was none other than the missing daughter of Lionbreath, Ingrid.