Debuff Master

Instead of facing Vladimir's overwhelming power head-on, Siegfried jumped back and pulled the trigger, firing round after round at the Red Cardinal.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Each shot pierced Vladimir’s stomach, chest, and knees, leaving holes the size of an adult male’s fist. Despite staggering from the impact, however, the Red Cardinal refused to fall.

“You wretched little worm!” Vladimir's head snarled and grinned as it regenerated slowly.

The Red Cardinal remained standing while regenerating from the damage he had suffered. What made him even more fearsome was the fact that he withstood six shots from the +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp despite being subjected to multiple debuffs.

‘I need to force him to use his mist form,’ Siegfried gritted his teeth and recalled Vladimir’s greatest weakness. He had discovered it by pure coincidence during the incident at the Arctic Pangea, where he had nearly killed the Red Cardinal.

The Red Cardinal’s mist form was a defensive ability that would allow him to escape from danger by transforming into a red mist, but Siegfried countered it back then by freezing the mist with Absolute Zero before delivering a fatal blow with Touch of Death.

However, things had changed drastically compared to back then. Vladimir had grossly underestimated Siegfried at the time, but the Red Cardinal was now using all of his strength, showcasing his monstrous abilities.

Vladimir was so strong that Siegfried was going to struggle against him, so how could the latter force him to use his mist form in a one-on-one battle? It was possible, but it was nearly impossible.

The +13 Vanquisher Grasp’s barrel frosted over as Siegfried dashed into close combat.

The ensuing clash could only be described with the word "intense."

Vladimir used his brutal brute strength and regenerative abilities to drive Siegfried to a corner, but Siegfried used every tool in his arsenal to fight back. He stacked debuffs on his opponent, activated the third stage of Overclocking, and exploited Vladimir’s elemental weakness.

However, the battle seemed like it would continue for a while.

[Alert: Status Ailment!]

[Alert: You have been afflicted with Bleeding!]

[Alert: Your HP is decreasing!]

[Alert: You have been afflicted with Sepsis!]

[Alert: Your blood is decaying! Your character’s stats are reduced!]

‘Damn it…!’

Siegfried could feel his speed slowing down. He pushed through the pain to keep up, but Vladimir was unforgiving.

Chwak!

Vladimir grabbed Siegfried and squeezed him with immense force.

“Argh!” Siegfried gasped and struggled to breathe.

“Did you really think that you could defeat me, you maggot?! I’ll pull your spine out with my bare hands before tearing you apart limb for limb!” Vladimir snarled. ŕＡΝÖᛒʧ

Meanwhile, Siegfried’s vision blurred, making it difficult for him to retort. The pressure clamping down on his body was simply too strong that he was suffocating and losing consciousness from the pain.

“Kyuuuu!” A high-pitched cry rang out. Hamchi jumped out of his magical wheel and darted toward Vladimir.

Bam!

Hamchi swung his paw at Vladimir’s back, sending the Red Cardinal flying several meters away.

Thud!

Siegfried collapsed to the ground, gasping for air.

“H-Hamchi…!” he gasped in a raspy voice.

“Kyu! Are you alright, owner punk?!”

“No… Not really…”

“Don’t worry! Hamchi will—" Hamchi suddenly staggered.

“Hamchi? What’s wrong?”

“Kyuu… Hamchi feels… dizzy…”

Hamchi trembled upon getting afflicted with the same Bleeding and Sepsis that had been plaguing Siegfried.

“Hey! Snap out of it!”

“Kyuu… Hamchi is too… sleepy…” Hamchi muttered weakly and slumped in Siegfried’s arms.

Vladimir rose and chuckled. “Hoho! That pathetic rodent won’t save you now. Soon, you’ll join him—in the dirt!”

“You just crossed a line you shouldn’t have,” Siegfried said, and his voice turned icy as he glared at the Red Cardinal before growling, “Stand right there. I’ll make this quick.”

“Ha! Big talk for a brat about to die soon!” Vladimir sneered in response.

But before Vladimir could finish, Siegfried unleashed thousands of ice shurikens. The ice shurikens swirled into a vortex that formed a protective barrier around him.

“What?!”

Siegfried had activated Torrential Flower Rain, but he formed a defensive dome around him to keep the Red Cardinal at bay rather than use it to attack.

“It’s time to end this once and for all,” Siegfried said icily and bolted like a lightning bolt toward Vladimir.

***

Siegfried’s decision to use Torrential Flower Rain defensively was a stroke of brilliance.

Shwiiik!

The icy shurikens, imbued with devastating cold energy, swirled around him, cutting into Vladimir’s figure whenever the latter got too close. These attacks weren't just physical in nature, as the frost energy coating the shurikens froze Vladimir’s wounds upon contact, drastically suppressing his regenerative abilities.

“Damn you! Y-You bastard!” Vladimir roared and charged with all of his might.

However, Siegfried maintained his distance rather than fighting Vladimir head-on.

Shwiiik! Shwiiik! Shwik!

The relentless blizzard of shurikens spun violently, dealing damage after damage to Vladimir. They gnawed away at Vladimir's HP. The damage was adding up, but the cold energy within the shurikens was an even bigger problem for Vladimir.

The cold energy had slowed down Vladimir; his once-fluid movements became sluggish.

As if that wasn't enough, Siegfried cast more debuff fields. Shadow Hell bogged down Vladimir with its powerful slow debuff while the Frost Hydras unleashed their freezing breath. The Night Stalkers clung to him as well.

“You damned bastard!” Vladimir cried out, thrashing against the chain of debuffs. Unfortunately, he couldn't break free from the chain of debuffs.

Whenever Vladimir was about to break free, Siegfried would swing his +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp, which was infused with frost energy, at Vladimir, slowing him down once again.

The Red Cardinal’s physical prowess was high, but there was no way he could easily escape from this quagmire straight out of hell.

“You… damn… filthy… pest…!” Vladimir growled, trapped in the icy quagmire.

Siegfried ignored him and focused on maintaining the pressure on the latter. He poured everything into sustaining the chain of debuffs while inflicting maximum damage at the same time.

[Alert: Status Ailment!]

[Alert: You have been afflicted with Bleeding!]

[Alert: Your HP is decreasing!]

[Alert: You have been afflicted with Sepsis!]

[Alert: Your blood is decaying! Your character’s stats are reduced!]

Vladimir couldn't make a proper attack due to the debuffs, but Siegfried was in dire straits himself, as the Bleeding and Sepsis status ailment had been steadily gnawing away at his HP.

However, he refused to falter. His strategy was clear and simple—keep Vladimir locked in the chain of debuffs and let the damage add up.

Five agonizing minutes later…

‘Now’s my chance!’ Siegfried slammed the ground with his foot, casting Grand Duel to trap Vladimir within the Barrier of Victory.

Rumble!

Wooong!

At the same time, the +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp shone brightly as he activated Touch of Death.

“...!”

Vladimir’s eyes widened in terror upon seeing Siegfried’s ultimate skill.

Taking a hit from Touch of Death meant suffering a massive injury death, but activating his mist form would expose him to another problem—Absolute Zero. He had already fallen into that trap before, and he knew that he'd surely get hit by Touch of Death the moment he was frozen in his mist form.

In other words, he had no options left.

Vladimir realized that Siegfried had deceived him perfectly. He was trapped in the chain of debuffs, which eventually led to this situation where his death was basically guaranteed.

“You cunning little bastard…!” Vladimir roared in anger. In the end, he had no other choice but to activate his mist form and transform into a crimson haze, as he was going to die anyway if he refused to transform into his mist form.

Flash!

This was the moment Siegfried had been waiting for, and he immediately activated Absolute Zero.

Swoosh!

Siegfried swung his +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp with all of his strength, hitting Vladimir with Touch of Death.

BOOM!

The attack obliterated Vladimir, shattering him into millions of icy shards.

Ding!

A message popped up in front of Siegfried.

[Alert: You have defeated the Descendant of Blood Master Berserk!]

[Alert: Master’s Regret is now 57.1% complete (4/7)!]

Siegfried had done it. He had slain the Red Cardinal of the Church of Osric and the Descendant of Blood Master Berserk.

***

“Phew…” Siegfried let out a sigh of relief as he wiped away the beaded sweat on his forehead.

[Master’s Regret]

[Type: Quest]

[Details: Find and crush the seven successors of the people known as the strongest eight on the continent five hundred years ago.

[Progress: 57.10% (4/7)]

[Descendant of Thunder God Vajra 1/1] ✓

[Descendant of Sword Saint Murcièlago 0/1]

[Descendant of Great Sage Sieghart 1/1] ✓

[Descendant of Blood Master Berserk 1/1] ✓

[Descendant of Enlightened King Maugris 0/1]

[Descendant of God Arrow Windforce 0/1]

[Descendant of Supreme King Braum 1/1] ✓

‘I can duel with Seul-Gi later on, but I still have to find two more descendants,’ Siegfried thought while checking the quest progress. Then, he went over to check on Hamchi.

“Kyuuu! Did you win, owner punk?!” Hamchi exclaimed. He looked extremely tired, but he seemed to be fine overall.

The Bleeding and Sepsis plaguing both Siegfried and Hamchi were lifted the moment Vladimir died, but it did not mean that they were completely fine. Yes, the status ailment had disappeared, but the damage had already been done.

Siegfried was in a worse condition compared to Hamchi. On top of the damage he had sustained during the battle against Vladimir, he had also exhausted his mana after using Torrential Flower Rain for an extended period of time.

However, he could not afford to stop now, as there was no time to rest.

Siegfried rummaged through his Inventory and pulled out various potions.

Gulp! Gulp! Gulp!

He shared the potions with Hamchi and chugged them down.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Tremors and clashing noises could still be heard from the central area of the Feiogh Underground: Old Air Raid Bunker. The noises meant that it wasn't too late yet.

“Let’s go, Hamchi!”

“Kyuu!”

Siegfried ran toward the central area with Hamchi after replenishing his HP, Mana, and Stamina with potions.

They ran for quite a while until the sound of the battle grew louder and louder.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

They were about to reach the central area when—

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A violent chain reaction of explosions erupted, sending shockwaves through the entire bunker. The underground structure began to collapse as the explosives planted throughout it were detonated, triggering a massive chain of explosions.

The Church of Osric was so desperate to claim the final soul fragment that they decided to bring down the entire bunker.

“Kyuu! What do we do, owner punk?!” Hamchi cried out as debris rained from above.

“What else?! Hop on me! Now!” Siegfried shouted back.

“Kyuuu!”

Without hesitation, Hamchi shrank and jumped into Siegfried’s arms.

‘I have to break through this!’ Siegfried gritted his teeth and activated the third stage of Overclocking once again.

Bzzt! Bzzt! Zap!

Sparks of golden energy burst out of him, and a shimmering aura wrapped around him. The shimmering aura was none other than the visual effect of Super Armor. Then, he transformed his +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp into a shield and charged forward, smashing through every obstacle in his path.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

How far had he been running? How many rocks had he shattered so far?

Boom!

Siegfried shattered a massive boulder and emerged into a clearing. There, in the distance, he spotted the Church of Osric members, who looked like cardinals, huddling together.

One of them, clad in green armor, knelt down to pick up a blood-red jewel on the ground.

‘Not on my watch!’ Siegfried’s eyes sharpened, and he decisively hurled the +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp at the figure reaching for the blood-red jewel.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!