Debuff Master

Chapter 226

“A spy? What do you mean by that?” Siegfried asked.

“That’s…” General Overlock bit his lips and muttered before he explained, “Things were looking really good after we managed to brainwash the Cryptids. Our coalition forces were able to push them all the way back to their main base, but…”

“But?”

“They suddenly started reading our plans to the very minute detail.”

“Really?”

“We thought we just got unlucky initially since we did move our troops a bit rashly, but we soon realized that wasn’t the case. They were counteracting our plans with pinpoint accuracy, and that was when we realized that they knew everything.”

“So… you think there are some humans that are cooperating with the Cryptids?”

“Yes, and it’s not baseless reasoning. Think about it, they were able to create numerous intellectual creatures to control them, so I don’t see any reason they won’t be able to plant a spy among us. However…” General Overlock trailed the end of his words.

Siegfried finished it. “You probably do not want to believe that a human is on those hideous monsters’ side.”

“Yes, you are absolutely correct,” General Overlock nodded and continued. “I can’t think of any reason for a human to side with them in the first place.”

“Me, too. Anyway, the mission is to find out who the spy is, right?”

“Yes, you’re right.”

A chain quest to the Special Forces quest popped up in front of Siegfried’s eyes.

Ding!

[Find the Spy!]

[Find the spy leaking the coalition forces’ plans to the Cryptids.]

[Reward: Restore 50% credit with the Mercenary Guild]

[Progress: 0%]

Siegfried accepted the quest from General Overlock.

[Alert: You have accepted the Quest: ‘Find the Spy!’]

Then, he told General Overlock. “I will do my best to find the spy.”

“Oh! Thank you! I’m confident that I can leave it to you. It’s a very difficult task that could affect the soldiers’ morale, so we sent a request for Mercenary King Grimwood!”

General Overlock had no doubts about Siegfried’s ability at all. In fact, he seemed delighted that Siegfried was taking over the request.

***

Siegfried looked around the barracks before anything else.

The Third Command Center of the Coalition Forces, headed by General Overlock after he got promoted, was filled with high-level NPCs and Adventurers.

‘A spy… There can’t be a spy here…’?Siegfried muttered to himself while flipping through the documents that General Overlock gave to him. The documents were reports of the things the spy had done as well as the failed operations because of the spy.

Unfortunately, the lengthy document wasn’t helpful at all. There was basically no correlation between the operations, and the members deployed were always different. On top of that, even the commanders were always different for each operation, so it was nearly impossible to suspect anyone at this point.

‘What the hell? Does this spy even exist?’?Siegfried scratched his head.

He tried to come up with something, but he couldn’t think of anything, no matter how much he racked his brains.

‘Hmm… Should I try smoking the rat out?’?he wondered. In the end, he decided to call Gringore, who was standing right beside him without any presence.

“Scribe Gringore.”

“Yes, Your Majesty?”

“Can you go trail the key personnel of the command center and let me know if any of them are acting strange?”

“Certainly, Your Majesty,” Gringore replied. He hid his presence and immediately moved.

‘Let’s try a few things first. I should get something if I do that,’?Siegfried thought.

He was planning to use the authority bestowed upon him to attack a Cryptid lair with a few Adventurers.

***

On the same afternoon, Siegfried gathered nine Adventurers above Level 200 at random and commenced his own operation.

“We will destroy the hatchery and retreat. Do you understand?” Siegfried asked.

The Adventurers nodded in response.

Siegfried also brought a very powerful ally for this mission…

“Marquis Decimato.”

“Yes, Your Majesty?”

“Shall we start things with a blast?”

“I, Decimato, will carry out Your Majesty’s command!”

Great Wizard Decimato was indeed a powerful ally who could be considered a cheat code that boosted the party’s overall firepower by two hundred percent—no, at least five hundred percent.

Of course, the Adventurers had no idea who Siegfried was or what was Decimato’s level. Siegfried was wearing his Metamorphosis Mask to hide his identity, while Decimato had cast a spell that could deceive the Rune of Insight on himself.

The Rune of Insight wasn’t an omnipotent ability, so they were easily deceived into thinking that Decimato was a slightly high-level NPC.

“All right, let’s go,” Siegfried said.

The ambush operation started.

Siegfried led the party to the Cryptid’s main base, which was also known as Cryptid Giant Lair,?to attack the Cryptid Giant Hatchery.

Fwaaaaah…!

Siegfried placed down his Blaze Field, and Great Wizard Decimato cast an area-of-effect magic spell called Hellfire Lightning, which was a fire and lightning property magic.

“Sul S’naa… Taqs…!”

[Alert: You have gained experience points!]

[Alert: You have gained experience points!]

[Alert: You have gained experience points!]

Dozens of Cryptids were disintegrated in an instant, and a flurry of messages popped up in front of Siegfried’s eyes.

The Adventurers were flabbergasted.

“What was that damage…?”

“What happened just now?”

“…?”

“For what did we come here then…?”

They were stunned and rendered speechless by the damage that Siegfried’s buff and Decimato’s spell dealt.

The combo was truly fearsome because Siegfried’s debuff shredded the Cryptid’s Defense and Magic Resistance before it was followed up by Great Wizard Decimato’s spell. However, what was truly surprising was the fact that Decimato only used forty percent of his strength to hide his identity from the Adventurers.

‘Wow… That damage was crazy…’?

In fact, even Siegfried himself was surprised at the massive damage that Decimato dealt.

“Listen up! Now we’re going to…” Siegfried looked at the party before he said, “RUN!”

The party looked toward the lair and saw a swarm of Cryptids rushing at them, and their great numbers dyed the ground black.

***

The operation was a huge success. The Cryptids failed to block the ambush, and tens of thousands of eggs in the hatchery were destroyed in the process. The party that carried out the operation returned without a single casualty from their mission.

Siegfried immediately went to find General Overlock after returning to base.

“Oh! Sieg! You have done something amazing once again!” General Overlock exclaimed.

“Not at all, General,” Siegfried replied with a shrug, and then he said, “Yes, there is indeed a spy.”

“I agree with you. This operation was an independent one that even I had no idea about.”

“Yes, the hatchery is a vital facility for the Cryptids, so they would have definitely reacted if they knew about the operation.”

“Yes, you are right.”

“Anyway, I am certain that the spy exists, so let us wait a little bit more.”

“All right, just let me know if you find anything suspicious.”

“I will,” Siegfried said before he left the tent to prepare for the next stage of his plan.

***

A few days later, Siegfried noticed that the difficulty of each operation kept on increasing every day.

“Well, look at that?” muttered Siegfried.

‘It’s quite strange… It’s normal for them to defend their main base, but it feels that the Cryptids are on the edge… as if they’re expecting something without being sure of what it is…’?

Siegfried was abruptly pulled out of his train of thought

“Your Majesty,” Gringore came back from his mission and gave his report, “I haven’t found anything suspicious in the barracks.”

“Really?”

“I have tailed all of the officers except for General Overlock and his adjutant, Guinness, but there was nothing suspicious about the officers in the coalition forces.”

“What about the general and his adjutant?”

“I did not dig into them since they were the ones who made the request to the Mercenary Guild…”

It was then.

“Y-Your Majesty… D-Don’t tell me…?” Gringore stuttered after seeing Siegfried’s eyes become sharp, and then he asked, “Are you suspecting the general by any chance…?”

“Yes, I find it strange that there were only two names who appeared on the reports of the failed operations,” Siegfried nonchalantly replied.

“G-General Overlock and his adjutant… Colonel Guinness…!”

“Don’t you think eliminating them from the list of suspects just because they made the request sounds strange to you?”

“Still… General Overlock had dedicated his entire life to the coalition against the Cryptids… Do you really think he will side with the enemy?”

“Then, that only leaves us with Colonel Guinness…” Siegfried muttered before he racked his brains and came to a conclusion. “It’s very likely that Colonel Guinness is the culprit…”

The sound of hooves suddenly echoed outside the tent.

Clop! Clop! Clop!

‘What’s that?’?Siegfried went out to take a look and saw a shocking scene. ‘What the hell? Why is everyone armed as if they’re going to war?’

“Your Majesty!” Carell, who was in another battalion, suddenly came to him and reported, “A mobilization order has been issued. They are planning to launch a full-scale offensive against the Cryptid Giant Lair.”

“What?! Who gave the command? Which bastard gave such a dumb command?!” Siegfried exclaimed in surprise.

“It came directly from the command center.”

“Wow… crazy… Does this even make sense at all…? They’re aware that there’s a spy in the army, but they’re launching a full-scale offensive? How is this different from sending the entire army to their deaths—huh?” Siegfried suddenly realized something and froze on the spot.

“This is insane!” he gritted his teeth and made a run toward the command center.

***

Siegfried went inside General Overlock’s tent.

“Oh!?You’re here!” General Overlock warmly welcomed Siegfried, and then he said, “I was about to call you just now.”

“General.”

“Hmm?”

“Have you gone nuts?” Siegfried asked with hostility in his voice.

“What do you mean by that?”

“There is a spy in the army, but you are issuing a full-scale attack?”

“Ah,?that…” General Overlock muttered before he pointed at the map and said, “This point here is quite important. This was an important logistic route for us, but we lost it a few days ago. The entire coalition forces will not be able to replenish its supplies, and it will soon be in danger if we fail to retake this point.”

“Hmm…”

“We have to take risks from time to time, don’t you agree?”

“Who gave this command?”

“Who else? I gave the command as the commander in charge of this army. Ah,?so I was thinking… What if you stand at the vanguard for the army this time?”

Pukeok!

Siegfried swung his +15 Gaia’s Fist and smacked General Overlock in the head.

“Kyu?!”

“Y-Your Majesty!”

“Your Majesty!”

Hamchi, Gringore, and Carell were stupefied.

“Hey! Owner punk! Have you gone insane?! You just committed treason! How can you kill the commander?!” Hamchi protested.

“I don’t think so,” Siegfried shook his head and replied, “Does that thing still look like General Overlock to you?”

“Kyu?”

“Take a look,” Siegfried pointed at Overlock’s body.

Squirm…! Squirm…! Squirm…!?

General Overlock’s was smashed open, but he squirmed as if he was still alive.

“Keke… Kekekeke…!”?A spine-chilling cackle came out of his mouth.