Debuff Master-Chapter 853

[King God General Supernatural Bald Three-Legged Crow]

[A title given to a person who had transcended the realm of a normal person when it came to looting random drop items.]

[Type: Title]

[Rating: Universal]

[Effects: Adventurers who die within a one-kilometer radius of the title holder are guaranteed to drop an item upon death, plus an additional item. Adventurers killed by the title holder are guaranteed to drop three valuable items plus an additional valuable item. Dying at the title holder's hands has an additional 300% chance of dropping an extremely valuable item and a 100% chance of dropping their main weapon.]

[Additional Effect: Three-Legged Crow’s Blessing]

[Three-Legged Crow’s Blessing: The legendary crow will appear and automatically pick up all of the items dropped on the ground.]

[Special Effect: This title's effects cannot be seen by the Rune of Insight (wink~!)]

Any Adventurer unfortunate enough to die near Siegfried would drop a valuable item due to the effect of his title. However, Siegfried could not smile despite the fortune flooding into his Inventory.

This was no time to celebrate his profits.

‘Damn it... All that work building our defensive lines for it to just collapse in an instant,’ Siegfried thought, gnashing his teeth.

The defensive line? It was completely destroyed.

Even the dragons and the Iron Fleet, which he had brought as backup just in case, were being held back by the Dragon Slayers.

‘I should’ve brought everything I could...’

Siegfried could not help but regret his decision. His overconfidence had led to this disaster. He had placed too much faith in the dragons.

A group of six dragons and even the Blue Dragon Lord seemed more than enough to secure victory, but who could have known that the Dragon Slayers were hiding in plain sight, disguised as mere street vendors?

Unfortunately, regretting was not going to resolve things as the damage was already done, and he did not have the time to dwell on it.

‘Let’s go.’

Siegfried gripped his +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp and stepped forward with Hamchi.

The entrance of the Western Great Rift was now a graveyard with corpses strewn all over the floor. He walked over the ground tainted with the blood of the Adventurers until he arrived at the center of the carnage, where a lone figure stood.

It was an old man dressed in a pristine white robe.

Siegfried flashed his Rune of Insight at the old man standing amidst the carnage.

[White Knight of Conquest: Romulus of the Plague]

[A catastrophic entity once imprisoned in the prison of the Celestial Realm.]

[As the father of all diseases, Romulus had once unleashed a plague so devastating it annihilated half the intelligent life on the Nurburg Continent.]

[Type: NPC]

[Race: Transcendent]

[Level: 351.312 ▲]

[Class: Plague Lord]

[Note: Romulus grows stronger for every life killed by his disease.]

From Michael’s warning, Siegfried knew that Romulus was undoubtedly the manifestation of disease itself. He was one of the four apocalypses alongside war, famine, and death.

However, there was something strange about his level, which was 351.312.

‘What kind of level is that?’ Siegfried wondered. He had never encountered a level displayed with decimal points, let alone down to three decimal places. While he was pondering over the strange occurrence, a voice snapped him back to reality.

“S-Siegfried...!”

An Adventurer rasped his name with his final breath before succumbing to the disease.

The moment he died, Romulus’ level ticked up.

[Level: 351.313]

‘T-That is...!’

Siegfried’s mind raced as he connected the dots from what was happening around him.

“We will have no choice but to eliminate it immediately. These creatures grow stronger over time, and the only chance of eliminating them is to destroy them the moment they cross into this realm."

Michael's words at the time finally became clear. Romulus would grow stronger the more lives he claimed. If left unchecked, Romulus would only grow stronger and stronger.

Leaving him alone for even a single month could lead to catastrophic consequences, as he spread disease like a plague, which would allow him to annihilate millions—no, billions of people without lifting a finger.

‘I have to stop him here,’ Siegfried thought, gripping his +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp.

***

“Ahh... the scent of death and pestilence. How long has it been since I’ve last taken a whiff of this?” Romulus inhaled deeply and savored the fresh air for the first time in ages before exhaling heavily.

Whoosh!

With each breath, a terrifying wave of pathogens would rush out of him, contaminating everything around him.

“Ughh!”

Siegfried quickly opened his inventory and took out a Tattered Old Cloth, wrapping it around his face as a makeshift mask just in case he succumbed to the plague like the other Adventurers.

He was immune to poison thanks to the training that he had experienced, but he was not entirely sure if his immunity protected him from plagues and diseases as well. Thus, he decided to play it safe and take precautions just in case.

“Hmm?”

Romulus turned his gaze toward Siegfried upon noticing that he was still standing.

“Still alive, are you? You seem to be a creature with exceptional resistance.”

He proceeded to mutter a few words to himself before suddenly blowing a gust of breath in Siegfried’s direction.

“Get back!” Siegfried shouted, shoving Hamchi aside and stepping in front of the incoming breath attack.

Hamchi was a Great Spirit with a different immune system compared to ordinary creatures, but Siegfried was not willing to take any risk when it came to the former. He could still remember the incident at the Great Rift, where Hamchi almost became a ghoul.

Whoosh!

The toxic breath enveloped Siegfried, and a string of messages popped up one after another in front of his eyes.

[Alert: Status Ailment!]

[Alert: You have been afflicted with Plague!]

[Alert: Your Stamina has reduced by 1!]

[Alert: Your HP has reduced by 1!]

“Eh? Just one? It only dropped by one?” Siegfried muttered in surprise, startled by how negligible the damage was.

But that was not the end of it...

Wooong!

The heart of the First Black Dragon, Inkarthus, nestled within Siegfried’s mana hall vibrated before suddenly unleashing a highly concentrated wave of radioactive energy.

[Alert: Radioactive Energy has burned all the virus!]

[Alert: You are no longer afflicted by Plague!]

Shockingly, the status ailment was cured in less than a second.

“...What the hell is this?” Siegfried muttered, blinking in sheer disbelief.

However, the one who was truly shocked by the unexpected turn of events was none other than Romulus.

“T-This... This is impossible!”

Romulus was shocked to see his breath attack fail. Normally, any living creature would suffocate, cough uncontrollably, and writhe in pain while clutching their chest before vomiting blood.

It was a death that spanned merely three short yet agonizing seconds.

But this young man before him?

In addition to withstanding the breath attack, he was also frowning as if he was annoyed upon getting engulfed by it.

‘Is he... an extraordinary being?’ Romulus wondered.

After realizing that his breath was useless, the old man glared at Siegfried with eyes glowing with an ominous blue hue.

Flash!

A wave of energy surged from Romulus’ eyes, completely engulfing Siegfried.

This was Plague Gaze, a dreadful skill that infected anyone with a deadly virus simply by Romulus looking at them. When afflicted, the victim’s blood vessels would dissolve, leaving them to die in a pool of their own blood.

Plop...!

A drop of blood dripped from Siegfried’s nose.

“Any last words?” Romulus asked.

“Huh? Last words?” Siegfried replied with a grimace.

Romulus smirked and explained, “You will soon bleed out and die. I’m giving you a chance to say your final words before—”

Siegfried ignored the old man entirely as he wiped away the blood on his nose with the back of his hand.

“Ugh... Why a nosebleed all of a sudden?” he grumbled.

The reason behind his reaction was...

[Alert: Status Ailment!]

[Alert: You have been afflicted with Plague!]

[Alert: Status Ailment!]

[Alert: You have been afflicted with Bleeding!]

He was afflicted by both Plague and Bleeding, but neither of the two status ailments lasted long.

This content is taken from freёnovelkiss.com.

[Alert: Radioactive Energy has burned all the virus!]

[Alert: You are no longer afflicted by Plague!]

[Alert: You are no longer afflicted by Bleeding!]

Due to his radioactive energy and his immunity to all poison, no virus or disease stood a chance against him.

***

“T-This is preposterous!” Romulus shrieked in horror.

His composure shattered into pieces after seeing that Siegfried was completely unaffected by his diseases.

Romulus was no ordinary being. Since the dawn of creation, he had claimed countless lives using his diseases and plagues, much more than any other being, earning him the title of "Greatest Mass Murderer of All Time."

He was the embodiment of pestilence and the father of countless diseases. The plagues and diseases ravaging the continent to this day were his creations.

However, this young man in front of him was absurdly unique.

Even the deadliest of plagues capable of killing dragons within a few days or a week at most were utterly useless against him.

“You... What are you?!”

“...?”

“What in the world are you?! Why are you immune to my powers?!”

After losing his composure, Romulus raged while foaming from his mouth.

“Are you... a Black Dragon? Or perhaps a Green Dragon?!”

Romulus knew that the only creatures capable of wielding such high concentrations of toxic energy and could withstand his diseases were ancient beings like black dragons or green dragons well over seven thousand years of age.

Siegfried frowned and grumbled, “Hey, what the hell are you rambling about?”

He couldn't make sense of what the old man was spouting, but then a thought suddenly popped up in his mind. ‘Oh? Wait a second... If his attacks don’t work on me at all, then I can easily take him down, no?’

But before he could act—

“You! You insolent wretch!” Romulus raged.

His fury reached its peak. He felt like the young man, Siegfried, was looking down on him because his diseases had been neutralized.

“How dare you...! You dare stand before Romulus of the Plague?!”

His rage materialized into a swirling wave of energy that flew across the battlefield. In response to it, the corpses of the fallen Adventurers twitched and rose one by one.

“Arise! Warriors of the Plague! Kill that insolent wretch!”

The reanimated bodies of the Adventurers—no, Plague Ghouls—charged at Siegfried and Hamchi.

“...!”

Siegfried gripped his +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp tightly at the swarm of undead monsters.

“Kyuuu! Hamchi will punish you! You filthy creatures!” He grew large and lunged at the charging Plague Ghouls, swatting one of them away with a powerful strike of his paw.

“Hey! Don’t get infected!”

“Hamchi doesn’t get infected! Hamchi is a Great Spirit! These kinds of diseases can’t hurt me! Kyuuu!”

It seemed that Hamchi was immune to the pathogens created by Romulus, just like Siegfried.

‘As long as he doesn’t get infected...’ Siegfried thought, letting out a sigh of relief.

If that was the case, then...

‘I need to finish this quickly before things go out of control.’

As Siegfried jumped into the fray, he couldn't help but be grateful that Romulus was far easier to deal with than he had anticipated. This was an opportunity he couldn't afford to miss, as failing to stop Romulus here would lead to a catastrophe of unimaginable proportions.