Debuff Master

Chapter 1275

‘Should I just take my own life? But is that the right choice?’ Ninetail wavered

Just then, someone’s words flashed through her mind.

“You have to try until the very end.”

“Giving up just isn’t my style.”

“If it doesn’t work, then fine. But at least I know I tried.”

“I’m not someone who gives up easily.”

Those were the words Siegfried often said. He was someone who did not know how to give up, no matter how bad the situation was; he was a stubborn person who refused to surrender.

‘Think...’

Ninetail pushed back the fear of death for now and began pondering how she could get out of this crisis alive.

‘I still have time. Think, think...’

Once she calmed herself down and thought about things, she came up with one method that could just work.

It was not anything flashy or special. In fact, it was a basic trick she often used.

Though it was basic, it was perhaps the most effective method out there.

‘I need to lay down the groundwork,’ Ninetail thought, deciding to give it a shot.

She spent about an hour setting things up while making sure to avoid drawing any attention to herself. Then, she went to the director of the intelligence bureau.

“Hm? Did you ask to see me face-to-face? What is this about?”

“I have something to report, director.”

Lies flowed out as smoothly as ever from Ninetail’s mouth.

“A report?”

“Yes, sir.”

“What kind of report?”

“Colonel Dalton of the Strategic Assets Operation Division has been using a secret frequency to communicate with someone outside.”

“What?”

The director frowned at her report.

Colonel Dalton was one of the core figures of the intelligence bureau. He was the one who made the decision on where and when to deploy the three Grandmasters to the battlefield.

“That’s a very serious accusation. Are you certain of it?”

“Yes, sir. I clearly witnessed Colonel Dalton possessing an unauthorized communication device in his office.”

“Hmm...”

“It seems... Colonel Dalton has been leaking information to the Proatine Empire about when and where our strategic weapons would be deployed.”

The simple method Ninetail chose to stake her life was none other than falsely accusing someone else. By pinning her own crime on someone else, she could deflect all suspicion targeted at her.

While this was the oldest trick in the book, it was really effective.

“But Colonel Dalton is—”

“Simply possessing an unauthorized communication device is already a serious offence,” Ninetail cut him off and pressed firmly. Then, she added, “If you raid the colonel’s office and check the frequency, you will know the truth.”

“Hmm...”

“And if that unauthorized device happens to be tuned to the Proatine Empire...”

“Well, I guess that would be undeniable proof.”

“I merely discovered it by chance, so perhaps you should confirm it for yourself, sir.”

“Very well.”

The director temporarily set aside suspicion of Ninetail and immediately conducted a raid on Colonel Dalton’s office.

“We found an unauthorized communication device, sir!”

The guards uncovered a small device in the colonel’s office.

Of course, the communication device belonged to Ninetail, and she had planted it in the colonel’s office in advance.

“Arrest Colonel Dalton immediately!”

“Yes, sir!”

Just like that, Colonel Dalton was arrested without even knowing why and was dragged straight into an interrogation room.

“This is unjust! I am an officer of the great Marchioni Empire! I have never committed any crimes deserving of this treatment!”

“How do you explain the unauthorized device discovered in your office?”

“This is a setup! A clear setup!”

“We will see. We will know once we test it, no?”

“What....?”

“Guards! Activate the device!”

The director called the guards to bring the communication device and switch it on.

“Yes, sir!”

The device was activated, and the interior of the Proatine Empire’s intelligence bureau was revealed through the magical crystal orb.

— Hm? What is the matter, Colonel Dalton? I believe we still have a few hours before our scheduled reporting time.

An intelligence officer of the Proatine Empire spoke as though he knew Colonel Dalton too well.

“W-What in the world?! Who are you?! How do you even know who I am?!” Colonel Dalton cried out. He had never seen the officer before nor had he ever heard of him, yet this stranger was greeting him as though they were acquainted.

— Huh? What do you mean by that, Colonel Dalton? We’ve been talking for quite a while now. You even passed us information about the movement of the Grandmasters just this morning. Hold on... Don’t tell me... Has your cover been blown?

“Y-You bastard! What nonsense is this?! I have never colluded with the Proatine Empire! Who are you to—”

Dalton vehemently protested, but that was as far as he got.

The director said icily, “Terminate the transmission.”

“Yes, sir!”

Beep!

“Hmm... Colonel Dalton.”

“D-Director! Sir! This is a—”

“I never took you for such a man, but it turns out you are a traitor to our great empire.”

“N-No! This is a setup! Someone is setting me up!”

“Silence!”

“...!”

The director roared, shutting up the colonel.

“Guards! Throw him into the dungeons at once!”

“Yes, sir!”

Thus, Colonel Dalton was dragged off to the dreaded dungeons without being able to defend himself.

Ninetail’s tactic had worked flawlessly.

In fact, it was so perfect that the poor, innocent colonel was framed and sent to the dungeons to be tortured.

***

After Colonel Dalton was dragged off to the torture chamber...

“It seems that I owe you an apology.”

The director turned to Ninetail with an apologetic look.

“...Sir?”

“The truth is, I had suspected you to be a traitor. You graduated quite late and joined last, no? I couldn’t help but be suspicious because I wasn’t familiar with you.”

“I understand, sir.”

“But... How did you manage to enter Colonel Dalton’s office?”

“Ah...”

Ninetail realized the director had yet to completely drop his suspicions of her. As expected of a seasoned intelligence officer, he acted as though he was sincerely apologizing for suspecting her, but he was actually interrogating her.

However, Ninetail had already expected it, so she prepared a lie for this very situation.

In fact, this was the reason why she chose Colonel Dalton as the scapegoat.

“The truth is...”

“Speak freely.”

“Colonel Dalton... H-He... sexually assaulted me...”

“Hm?”

“It first started when he summoned me to his office and started making inappropriate comments. Then, he would brush his hand across my backside when passing me in the corridor.”

“Hmm...”

“It became routine until... he demanded sexual favors in exchange for helping me get promoted,” Ninetail said with hollow eyes. Then, she steeled her resolve and added, “He continued summoning me to his office to take advantage of me. But since we are currently at war, I... I couldn’t bring myself to report it to my superior officers.”

“Good heavens! Something like that, here in our bureau?”

The director didn't suspect a single thing Ninetail had said.

Why?

It was all because Colonel Dalton was infamous when it came to women.

This was not the first time he had caused trouble with his behavior toward women. He had a long record of internal complaints against him for repeated harassment and assault, but his prestigious family background and remarkable abilities as an intelligence officer allowed him to avoid any serious punishments.

Ninetail knew about his reputation, so she took advantage of that by spinning her web of lies with it at the center.

“Ahem! I see... I can well imagine the humiliation, fear, and anger you must have endured.”

“Sir...”

“I’ll make sure that nothing like that ever happens again in our bureau.”

“Thank you, sir!”

“Damn it... This is a disaster... There will definitely be inquiries, and I might be in trouble, too...”

The director’s face darkened.

One of his trusted subordinates had been exposed as a spy colluding with the Proatine Empire, so this was not something that could be swept under the rug.

At best, he could be forced to retire from his position. At worst, he and his entire household could get executed for high treason.

‘That sounds like a you problem, buddy,’ Ninetail sneered inwardly.

“You are dismissed.”

“Loyalty!”

Ninetail quickly took her leave once she was dismissed by the director.

‘I need to find the right moment to escape. There won’t be another chance.’

Before she made her great escape, she tampered with the frequency controlling the Eye of Behemoth. As her final act, she scrambled the feed so that the satellite images provided by the Eye of Behemoth would be skewed beyond recognition.

Once she was done, she immediately slipped away, leaving the Marchioni Empire and returning to the Proatine Empire.

Among everyone who had participated in this war, she had single-handedly racked up the biggest achievement.

Though she was operating in the shadows, her actions would probably change the entire course of the war—no, it had already changed.

***

After reclaiming Daode Tianzun and Betelgeuse, the Proatine Empire could finally relax a little. Until now, the three Grandmasters had been appearing on different battlefields, wreaking havoc before disappearing once again.

Whenever one of them appeared, they would leave absolute destruction in their wake.

These three Grandmasters were the very reason why the Proatine Imperial Army had suffered defeat after defeat.

How about now? Not anymore...

Now only one Grandmaster remained—the Lord of Destruction.

The Lord of Destruction was regarded as the most powerful among the three Grandmasters on the continent, and most people would argue that he was the most powerful warrior on the entire continent.

If the Proatine Imperial Army could eliminate the Lord of Destruction, then the tides of war would swing back in favor of the Proatine Empire.

Of course, it went without saying that the one to face the Lord of Destruction was none other than Siegfried.

“Where do you think the Lord of Destruction will appear next?” Siegfried asked.

“It was nearly impossible to predict where the Marchioni Empire planned to deploy the three Grandmasters. But now that there is only one remaining, it is definitely possible to do so,” Hansen replied.

“Yeah, I agree.”

“Now that the momentum has swung in our favor, the Marchioni Empire will have no choice but to focus on defense for the time being.”

“Hmm... So, where do you think he will be deployed?”

“It is most likely that the Lord of Destruction will appear here,” Hansen said, pointing at a specific location on the map. Then, he explained, “If they intend to stop the advance of our forces, they will have to hold this region at all costs.”

“So you think he will appear here?”

“Yes, Your Imperial Majesty. If I put myself in the shoes of the Marchioni Imperial Army’s strategist, this would be my only choice.

“I’ll finally clash against him.”

“You will cross paths within three days at the latest.”

“Sounds good.”

At once, Siegfried moved to the region where the Lord of Destruction was expected to appear.

Having subdued and reclaimed Daode Tianzun and Betelgeuse, the Proatine Empire would be able to dictate the course of this war once Siegfried eliminates the Lord of Destruction.

Two days passed...

“Your Imperial Majesty! The Lord of Destruction has been spotted!”

Upon receiving the report, Siegfried rushed to the battlefield without delay.

“Aaaack!”

“Aaagh!”

“Kyaaaah!”

Siegfried arrived at the battlefield and saw one particular enemy soldier indiscriminately slaughtering everyone around him.

‘That one must be the Lord of Destruction.’

Even from afar, Siegfried could feel the overwhelming presence radiating from the man.

Siegfried moved closer to the scene of the carnage when—

Ding!

A quest window suddenly popped up in front of his eyes.

‘Hm?!’

[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: 71.42% (5/7)]

[Descendant of Thunder God Vajra 1/1] ✓

[Descendant of Sword Saint Murcielago 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 1/1] ✓

[Descendant of Supreme King Braum 1/1] ✓

To Siegfried’s surprise, it turned out that the Lord of Destruction said to have shattered the very heavens with a single swing of his sword was the descendant of Sword Saint Murcielago, one of the Grandmasters from five hundred years ago.

Siegfried hadn't been able to progress with the quest for quite some time now, and the descendant of Great Sage Sieghart was the last descendant he faced, so this was a completely unexpected encounter.

‘I have to win. I must win no matter what,’ he thought, clenching his fists.

He absolutely had to defeat the Lord of Destruction in order to swing the tides of this war, but now, he had one more reason why he had to win.

The dream Deus never managed to achieve in the past, the lingering regret that drove him to pursue the power of invincibility.

A grudge that could no longer be resolved.

The mission was passed on to Siegfried.

‘I will defeat him and prove to the world that your techniques are the best, Master.’

With renewed resolve, Siegfried charged into the very heart of the battlefield where the Lord of Destruction was on a rampage.