Debuff Master

“Your Majesty! It’s still too early to do such a thing! There will be severe consequences if you suddenly carry out a purge!” Oscar tried her best to convince Siegfried to do otherwise.

He wanted to carry out a purge when he had just gotten here?

Sending the previous lord’s head flying off when he had just gotten here was too rash, and things would certainly spiral out of control if that happened. Not to mention, the peace and security Baron Verbon had built through his corrupt dealings would come crumbling down as well the moment he died.

However, the new king didn’t seem concerned with the aftermath.

“It’s not like you aren’t going to cook just because you are scared of flies, right? Let’s just get rid of him and think about things after that.”

“Your Majesty! Please! Please give it some time first…”

“What if Baron Verbon retaliates? Let’s say a power struggle breaks out. Then who will stand to lose the most out of it?” Siegfried asked.

“…!”

“Is it my blood? Or is it Dame Oscar and the soldiers?”

Oscar could no longer retort at Siegfried’s words since she knew very well that it was neither Siegfried’s nor Verbon’s blood that would drench these lands.

It was the soldiers. The people whose only task was to enforce the peace and safety of the territory were the ones who would end up paying the price in the event of a political conflict.

“If we strike now, everything will end with only Verbon’s blood as the price. The consequences? We can think about things like that later on. Things will just go into a death spiral if we let things be… at least that’s what I learned from life,” Siegfried said.

“Your Majesty…”

“This is the perfect timing. I am the king appointed by the emperor himself. Verbon will not be able to carelessly attack me because he will get arrested for going against the emperor’s wishes, so I have to strike first while he is looking for an excuse to do something against me. Alright, that’s the end of the explanation,” Siegfried started walking toward the doors once again after finishing his explanation.

Oscar could no longer stop Siegfried as the words he said echoed in her mind.

“Let’s say a power struggle breaks out. Then who will stand to lose the most out of it?”

She could not help but feel that Siegfried was going to become an excellent ruler. Of course, his tendency to bulldoze over things without thinking of the consequences that he showed just now worried her a bit.

***

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“I came to meet Baron Verbon. Is he inside?” Siegfried asked Baron Verbon’s maid.

“The lord is currently in a meeting,” the maid replied.

“At this hour?”

“He is currently in a meeting with Sir Ronan and Sir Batista.”

“Where is the meeting room?”

“Ah, yes. You will be able to find it at the end of this corridor, Your Majesty.”

Siegfried immediately headed toward the meeting room.

“Your Majesty!”

“Y-Your Majesty…!”

Two knights who were direct subordinates of Baron Verbon were guarding the entrance to the meeting room.

“I came to meet Baron Verbon,” Siegfried said.

“Baron Verbon is currently in a meeting with Sir Ronan. What do you think about visiting him tomorrow morning, Your Majesty?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. It is late as well, so it will be better for Your Majesty to rest for the night.”

The knights tried their best to convince him to go back to his chambers.

‘Look at these bastards,’ Siegfried thought as his eyes turned cold.

The king came to meet his subject, but his subject’s subordinates were asking him to go back since the subject was busy?

“Open it,” Siegfried commanded in a cold voice.

“We cannot do that.”

“There is an important meeting going on right now, Your Majesty.”

The two knights resisted despite Siegfried’s command.

“Ha…” Siegfried let out a sigh before…

Pak! Pak!

He smashed the heads of the knights guarding the door with his mace.

“Oh my god…” Oscar muttered in horror after witnessing Siegfried’s tendency in action.

***

Clack!

The meeting room’s door was flung open.

“So, you are saying that we should wear that greenhorn out until he leaves of his own accord? W-What the hell?!” Baron Verbon exclaimed and turned around toward the door to check what the commotion was about.

He wasn’t the only one who turned toward the door.

“Who’s that bastard?!”

“Hey, isn’t he that bastard?!”

“The King of Survival?”

“Hey! Are you brave or just plain stupid?”

The Elf Hunters exclaimed after recognizing Siegfried, but he didn’t care or react to them.

“Baron Verbon? I think we need to have a talk,” Siegfried said while staring straight at Baron Verbon.

“Huh? W-What kind of talk…?”

“Come here for a second. I have something to tell you.”

“Y-You can just say it from there, Your Majesty…”

Baron Verbon tried to maintain a distance between himself and Siegfried when he noticed that there was something wrong with the entire situation.

“C’mon, how can we do that? We have to talk face-to-face, don’t you think so?”

“I am fine where I am, haha…”

“Well, I’m not fine with it, so why don’t you come closer? This is an order.”

“Y-Yes, Your Majesty…”

Baron Verbon couldn’t help but obey Siegfried’s order. After all, Siegfried’s rank was higher than his.

‘He can’t just kill me, right?’ Baron Verbon thought as he went closer to Siegfried.

“So… what is it that you urgently have to tell me…?”

“Baron Verbon.”

“Yes?”

“I sentence you to death.”

“W-What?!”

“Your crimes are corruption, bribery, and the persecution of another race. Your execution is effective immediately, and I will be carrying it out myself.”

“W-What do you mean by that…?” Baron Verbon tried to defend himself but…

Pukeok!

Siegfried smashed Baron Verbon’s head with his mace.

Thud!

Verbon collapsed to the ground.

“…!”

Everyone in the meeting room froze in horror.

***

“Hey, are you crazy?!”

“Have you gone insane?!”

“This fucking bastard!”

“Hey! You lunatic!”

The Elf Hunters started cursing Siegfried. It was a normal reaction since Baron Verbon was their important business partner. He closed his eyes whenever they were hunting elves, and he even paid them a stipend for keeping the peace around Casein Castle. However, Baron Verbon’s death meant that their main source of income was gone.

“Dame Oscar,” Siegfried said.

“Yes, Your Majesty?” Oscar immediately replied.

“Go ahead and sweep them up. I can’t stand seeing such dirty things in my household.”

“I, Oscar, have received my lord’s command.”

Oscar unsheathed her sword and cut the Elf Hunters down one by one.

She was Level 101, while the Elf Hunters were only Level 50 to 80 at most, so the battle’s result didn’t need to be said.

“Are you crazy? Ha?!” the strongest Elf Hunter screamed in anger as he made a run for Siegfried.

He was Level 85, which meant that he was 35 levels higher than Siegfried.

“Your Majesty!” Oscar rushed to defend Siegfried.

She couldn’t tell the levels of the Elf Hunter and Siegfried since she was an NPC, but her instinct as a knight told her which one of the two was stronger.

Between her lord Siegfried and the Elf Hunter. Her instincts were telling her that the Elf Hunter was definitely stronger than her lord.

“Your Majesty! I will handle him! Please stand back!” Oscar shouted in a hurry.

“Ah, it’s alright,” Siegfried dismissed her concern while waving his hand before saying, “I will take care of him, so just make sure not to let a single one get away.”

“But…!”

“This is an order,” Siegfried said before blocking the Elf Hunter’s attack.

Clang!

Sparks flew all over when the sword and mace clashed against each other.

“Have you lost your mind?! You low-level punk!” the Elf Hunter screamed at Siegfried.

“Yes, you high-level punk,” Siegfried sneered as he activated Contempt for the Strong.

Shwiiik! Shwiiiik!

A blue and red aura started rising up from Siegfried’s body.

However, that wasn’t the end of his buffs.

He also cast Proof of Existence, which was the other buff skill of the Debuff Master that allowed him to become an explosive damage dealer.

Woooong!

He quickly activated his three debuff combo of Circle Mortality, Circle of Weakness, and Speed Restraint.

“This bastard dares!” the clueless Elf Hunter swung his sword at Siegfried.

Seuk!

The sword grazed Siegfried’s shoulder, and that was the Elf Hunter’s one and only attack.

Baaam!

After the sword grazed his shoulder, Siegfried used Smite and smashed the Elf Hunter’s head with his mace.

It was a perfectly timed counterattack.

Thud…!

The Level 85 Elf Hunter collapsed on the spot in one hit, and the other Elf Hunters couldn’t believe their eyes.

“W-What the?!”

“A Level 50 killed a Level 85 in one hit?!”

“How was that possible?!”

The Elf Hunters were flabbergasted by what they just witnessed. It was logically incomprehensible that a Level 50 was able to kill a Level 85 in one hit, and what happened just now defied the sole iron rule in most games where levels were king.

“Let’s hurry up and take out the trash,” Siegfried said without paying attention to the other Elf Hunters’ reactions.

He only wanted to rid his lands of scumbags like them as soon as possible.

***

It took less than five minutes for Siegfried and Oscar to take care of the Elf Hunters.

‘How... How was it possible? I’m certain that the Adventurer was stronger than His Majesty, so how did he win so easily? He won in a single strike as well… Were my instincts mistaken? Or is His Majesty a powerful being who can trick my senses? I don’t know…’ 

Oscar was troubled and confused.

“Dame Oscar,” Siegfried called out.

Oscar immediately abandoned her thoughts and replied, “Yes, Your Majesty,”

“Summon everyone at once.”

“D-Do you mean right at this instant, Your Majesty?”

“Yes,” Siegfried nodded in response before saying, “After stirring things up, we have to patch things up as soon as possible.”

Hearing that, Oscar finally realized…

‘Ah… His Majesty isn’t an ordinary person…!’

She finally realized that Siegfried wasn’t an ignorant greenhorn inside, unlike how he looked on the outside.

***

Two hours later…

“What is going on?”

“Hoho, who knows why we are called to assemble at this hour?”

“Did something happen? It hasn’t even been a day since the new king arrived…”

The influential officials of the Proatine Province, who numbered less than ten, gathered at the lord’s hall, and they were all confused about the reason for the summons since it was late at night and it was an inappropriate time to summon everyone.

“His Majesty, Siegfried van Proa has arrived!”

Siegfried appeared after a servant exclaimed and announced his arrival.

‘Huh? That kid is the new king?’

‘What happened to Baron Verbon? Where is he?’

‘I wonder what he is going to say…?’

The officials looked at their new king while wondering what he was going to say.

Step… Step… 

Siegfried was well aware of what the officials were thinking, but he didn’t utter a word as he silently walked up and sat on his throne. He wanted to keep them anxious.

His steps were full of confidence, and his eyes were sharp as arrows while his expression commanded authority and respect from those around him.

It was exactly as he had learned from Deus. There was no way he was going to forget the first lesson he had learned from his master.

‘Should I sit here?’ 

Siegfried wondered while staring at the throne.

Then, a message suddenly popped up in front of his eyes.

[Alert: Quest – ‘Sit on the Throne!’ has appeared!]

[Alert: Do you wish to accept this Quest?]

A Quest appeared out of nowhere.