Debuff Master

Chapter 1297

‘Let me show you what a proper ambush is.’

Siegfried circled around to the rear of the barbarians waiting behind the well and subdued them all in an instant.

However, he did not kill them.

Why? It was all because these barbarians would be more useful to him alive than dead.

“Gahk!”

The last barbarian collapsed.

Wooong...!

Once subdued, Siegfried injected his radioactive microbes into them, transforming them into Irradiators.

“We greet our master.”

“We greet our master.”

“We greet our master.”

One by one, the barbarians knelt before Siegfried as if they had been his loyal slaves from the beginning.

This was the strategy he decided to use in this map. Instead of killing them, he would turn them into Irradiators and slowly expand his forces.

In addition, those inhabiting this jungle would know best about this jungle.

“What kind of buff does this well give?” Siegfried asked the leader of the barbarians.

The Irradiator bowed and replied, “It is said that drinking from this well grants strength, Master.”

“Oh? I see.”

Siegfried took a sip from the well.

[Alert: Attack Power has increased by 15%!]

[Alert: Strength has increased by 5%!]

[Alert: Stamina Regeneration has increased by 150%!]

The well water granted powerful buffs the moment he drank it.

‘Ah, so that’s how it works.’

It turned out that the wells scattered across the Twisted Jungle were extremely valuable objectives. Drinking from them bestowed immense buffs, making it worthwhile to visit as many of them as possible.

However, danger constantly lurked near these wells. One mistake and Siegfried would find himself in a trap or an ambush.

Still, the buffs bestowed by it made it worth the risk.

“You over there."

“Yes, Master?”

“I’m your chieftain from now on, got it? You’ll listen to my commands and do whatever I tell you to do.”

“As you command, Chieftain.”

Having gained the buffs from the well, Siegfried became the new chieftain of the barbarians.

It was a completely different strategy from Lee Geon's.

Lee Geon had slaughtered everything in sight and took whatever he wanted by force.

On the other hand, Siegfried chose to convert the natives rather than killing them, turning them into Irradiators and using them to his advantage.

This was like watching a tiger and a lion in action.

Lee Geon was a lone tiger who hunted in solitude, while Siegfried was the leader of a pride of lions.

“You should be familiar with this place, right?” Siegfried asked.

“We do, Chieftain.”

“Then tell me what dangers lie around here, where the other wells are, and if there’s any secret shops nearby.”

“I know of a secret shop nearby, Chieftain. Shall I guide you there?”

“Good. Lead the way.”

Siegfried and his new subordinates began moving toward the location of the nearby secret shop.

Five minutes later...

Rumble!

Kaboom!

A fiery blast struck the ground.

[Alert: Warning! Warning!]

[Alert: Beowulf has purchased an Area Bombardment Ticket from the secret shop!]

[Alert: The targeted area will be completely sealed off after the bombardment!]

It seemed that Lee Geon, too, had found a secret shop and bought some sort of ticket that allowed him to bombard a specific area of the jungle.

Fortunately, the bombardment was not anywhere near Siegfried’s location, so he took no damage.

‘Oh? He already found a secret shop? That was faster than I expected.’

With that thought, Siegfried continued forward toward the secret shop.

***

The third match set in the Twisted Jungle was the perfect stage to witness the individual prowess of both Siegfried and Lee Geon. Since they had to fight separately until they inevitably crossed paths, their skills and preferences were highlighted.

— Lee Geon has just slain a champion monster! What an incredible display of combat skills!

— Look at those survival instincts! He’s dodging every acid spewed out by the swamp!

— Does he even know what danger is?! He’s roaming this jungle like it’s his own backyard!

Even within the treacherous terrain of the Twisted Jungle, Lee Geon displayed his overwhelming skills and rose as the jungle’s apex predator.

No matter what traps or monsters appeared, he crushed everything before him with raw power. In addition, the stealth buff he obtained from the well armed him with the element of surprise, giving him a massive tactical advantage.

As for Siegfried... he was showing something far more shocking than whatever Lee Geon had just shown everyone.

— What in the world are we witnessing right now?! Han Tae-Sung! Just what are you?!

— The King of the Jungle! Han Tae-Sung is the king in that place!

— Has anyone ever pulled off something like this in the Twisted Forest? I can’t believe my eyes!

Barely two hours into the third match, Siegfried had become the leader of a massive horde. Barbarians, wolves, monsters of every kind—any enemy he encountered was subdued and turned into an Irradiator.

The number of Irradiators under his command multiplied one after another.

In just two hours, he commanded an army.

“For my master!”

“Woof! Woof!”

“Kyaaaah!

Nearly three hundred creatures were now under his command, every single one of them loyal to only him and him alone.

The main purpose of the Twisted Jungle map was to test one’s survival instincts under brutal conditions, yet instead of merely surviving, Siegfried was thriving—no, he had conquered the jungle and became its undisputed ruler.

As the King of the Jungle, Siegfried did not even have to fight himself.

“Run them over. But don’t kill them.”

At his command, his army of Irradiators swept through the jungle.

Every NPC and monster was subdued and dragged before Siegfried, where he would turn them into Irradiators, growing his forces even more.

He was practically building his own empire within the most notorious map of BNW, where even the most seasoned pro gamers had long struggled to adapt.

— Antenna: Damn... Some people just thrive no matter where you drop them.

— h2h0jur7n: Bro literally founded the Proatine Empire in the jungle LOL[1]

— GiMaeJunIsHandsome: Insane... This is absolutely insane.

— NH: He’s the King of the Jungle! No doubt.

— YeonjuTeacher: That’s an army LOL

— Cybor112: In the jungle, the mighty jungle...

The live chat exploded with comments from people while the commentators started screaming into their mics, almost foaming from their mouths.

— Han Tae-Sung! He’s built an army! He has an army in the Twisted Jungle!

— Ladies and gentlemen! I present to you the King of the Jungle! Han Tae-Sung!

— Look at that horde he’s commanding! I don’t think I’ve ever seen something like this in my entire career!

After commanding a sizable force, Siegfried stopped exploring and finally began his hunt for Lee Geon.

As he moved, his forces grew even more.

By the time the distance between the two players narrowed, Siegfried commanded a legion of nearly two thousand Irradiators. His forces had grown so much that the ground shook whenever they moved.

‘Hm? What’s this?’

Siegfried spotted Lee Geon through the vision of one of the Night Stalkers.

‘Oh? He can use stealth?’

He watched as Lee Geon flickered in and out of sight while fighting a monster.

Whistle!

“Bring the wolves,” he commanded.

“Woof! Woof!”

“Woof!”

“Awooooo!”

Around three hundred wolves sat before him, their eyes glowing with an eerie green light.

“Go over there and pick up his scent. Make sure you don’t engage no matter what happens, got it? Just get his scent and retreat.”

“Woof! Woof!”

“We will hunt him down later.”

“Woof!”

The leader of the pack barked, as if showing it understood the commands, and then dashed off with the rest.

Siegfried did not even need to use Inzaghi’s Clairvoyance. He was confident he could hunt Lee Geon down regardless of whether the latter could use stealth or not.

No matter how far Lee Geon ran or where he tried to hide, escaping would be impossible once the wolves caught his scent.

***

Four hours later, Lee Geon suddenly stopped his search for Siegfried and looked around.

‘Something’s off...’

His instincts were telling him that something was amiss.

‘It’s too quiet.’

The jungle was far from serene when Lee Geon first arrived in it, yet it had now fallen eerily silent.

There was not a single growl, whisper, or rustling of leaves to be heard. It was as if the entire jungle had been muted by a silencing magic blanketing over it.

‘Is it... Han Tae-Sung’s doing?’

He tensed after the name crossed his mind, and he instinctively heightened his senses.

‘Damn it... What is that bastard plotting?’

He parted the dense foliage carefully as he ventured deeper into the jungle when—

“Kyaaaah!”

“Woof! Woof!”

“Awoooo!”

“There! Over there!”

“Splash the blood everywhere!”

“He uses stealth! Mark him!”

Just a second later, the eerily quiet jungle erupted into absolute chaos.

Thousands of monsters, barbarians, and even NPCs burst forth from the dense overgrown vegetation, charging at him from all sides in a coordinated manner.

“...!”

Lee Geon’s eyes shot wide open.

The ambush was so sudden yet so perfect that it almost felt like he had been targeted all along.

‘They’re moving like one army. But in the Twisted Jungle? An army this diverse?’

Various thoughts ran through his mind, but there was no time to think.

“Woof! Woof! Woof!”

The wolves had already picked up his scent and alerted the others to his position.

Splash! Splash!

NPCs hurled buckets of crimson monster blood in his direction, causing the thick, repulsive liquid to splatter all over him and exposing his silhouette.

“You’ve got to be kidding me...” Lee Geon growled, grinding his teeth.

It was then.

“Yo. Long time no see.”

A familiar voice called out to him.

“...!”

Siegfried stepped out from behind the trees with a grin.

Behind him, an entire legion of Irradiators, his personal army of all sorts of creatures, waited for his command.

“Ha! Is that what you’re going to fight me with? A bunch of weak mobs?” Lee Geon snorted.

“Yup. I figured this is enough for you,” Siegfried replied with a shrug.

“Don’t you think you’re underestimating me just a bit too much? I know I lost the first two matches, but this is downright insulting,” Lee Geon growled, venom dripping in his voice.

Woooong!

The air around Lee Geon shook as he activated the Devouring Grand Art. A violent vacuum formed around him, absorbing the life force of every single creature in his vicinity.

The ground trembled, leaves spiraled upward, and stones were turned.

“You made a huge mistake, Han Tae-Sung. You should’ve come alone if you wanted to win,” Lee Geon said with a grin.

Suddenly, he was radiating with confidence.

The Devouring Grand Art drew in power from every nearby source, and the more enemies there were, the more energy he could absorb.

In other words, Siegfried had delivered the very thing Lee Geon needed, as his army of irradiated creatures would serve as an endless fuel reserve for Lee Geon to tap into.

At least, that was what Lee Geon thought.

Siegfried just smiled and replied, “That’s what you think. Who said I was going to let you absorb anything?”

There was not an ounce of fear or worry in his voice.

“Huh?” Lee Geon sensed that something was amiss.

“Well, you can try to absorb it if you can,” Siegfried added.

Then, flashing a grin that would even make the most vengeful of spirits shudder in fear, he raised his right hand.

It was a signal.

“Kyaaaaah!”

At the sign, the Irradiator Goblins charged forward, screeching at the top of their lungs.

Before Lee Geon could even react, the Irradiator Goblins lunged at him.

Woooong...!

Their bodies expanded before unleashing a blinding green light and—

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Kaboooom!

Each one detonated, causing a chain of explosions that ripped through the jungle canopy.

“...!”

Lee Geon’s eyes widened in shock.

The Irradiators had activated their special ability and turned their bodies into bombs that tore through everything around them.

Before Lee Geon could even absorb the energy unleashed, the blasts hit him with overwhelming force.

***

The Devouring Grand Art was helpless before the chain of explosions.

While the radioactive energy unleashed during the explosions could be absorbed by it, the Devouring Grand Art couldn’t absorb the physical impact of the blast itself.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The Irradiators hurled themselves at Lee Geon one after another, launching wave after wave of suicide bombing attacks.

Lee Geon lacked the defensive skills to shield himself, so he was hit head-on by the full brunt of the explosions.

“GHAAAAAK!”

A roar of agony, one similar to that of a wounded beast, tore from him.

It was only natural.

Thousands of Irradiators blowing themselves up in rapid succession was no different from standing right at the ground zero of a barrage of unending artillery bombardment.

‘Now!’

While Lee Geon was incapacitated by the chain of explosions, Siegfried seized the opening.

Wooong!

He unleashed the Wave of Truth straight at him.

A ripple of aura burst outward, sweeping across the battlefield and stripping away every single buff Lee Geon had.

All the buffs he had gained from the wells in the jungle were instantly dispelled.

‘Time to end this,’ Siegfried clenched both fists tightly and closed the distance.

Lee Geon was in tatters from the chain explosions and was wide open.

‘Debuffs aren’t even worth using on you.’

There was no need to cast debuffs on him, as those would just be absorbed by the Devouring Grand Art anyway. Rather than doing all that, Siegfried preferred to settle this fight with pure stats and raw physical power.

He teleported and appeared directly in front of Lee Geon.

“...!”

Lee Geon’s eyes widened in shock and trembled.

Bam!

Siegfried threw a punch so powerful that Lee Geon’s head snapped back violently.

“Guh!”

And in one fluid motion, Siegfried’s knee shot upward, driving it straight into Lee Geon’s family jewels.

Crack! Crack!

1. Veela: Lmao this comment is hilarious ☜