Debuff Master

Chapter 120

[Kidnapped Tomboy]

[Type: Special Chain Quest 1]

[Description: Go to the base of the Nordic Pirates, the Black Islands, and help Oscar rescue her sister!]

[Progress: 0% (0/1)]

[Reward: Oscar’s Loyalty +1,000]

The quest was simple and straightforward, but the same couldn’t be said about its difficulty.

‘The Black Islands? Is this quest really asking me to go behind enemy lines?’?Siegfried grumbled in disbelief after seeing the quest details that were more befitting to be given to a suicide squad.

However, he didn’t even hesitate to do it.

“Dame Oscar,” he called out.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“I will give you the vacation you requested.”

“Thank you very much for your graciousness, my lord.”

“And I will be going with you as well...”

“…!”

“You’re going to save your sister, right? In that case, I should definitely help.”

This was a decision Siegfried made to help his loyal subject, Oscar, and his decision wasn’t related to the quest Cheon Woo-Jin had given to him.

“No, Your Majesty. This is my personal business, so I cannot put Your Majesty in danger…”

“Dame Oscar’s business is my business, and my business is Dame Oscar’s business. Don’t you think so?”

“Y-Your Majesty…!” Oscar exclaimed. She looked emotional for a split second before she instantly composed herself.

“Besides, how can I send my loyal subject to a place crawling with pirates all alone?” Siegfried added.

“But, Your Majesty—” Oscar muttered. She was about to say something.

However, Siegfried cut her off by turning around and shouting, “Let’s go!”

***

On the way back to the harbor…

“How did you end up becoming a knight of Proatine instead of Masavara?” Siegfried asked.

“A Proatine Knight saved my life when I was young. I decided to become a knight by then, and I followed the knight who saved me to Proatine after that,” Oscar explained.

“I see. Who is that knight? Is he still—”

“He fell in battle.”

“Ah…”

“It was the day when I graduated from the Macallan Kingdom’s academy and became a fully-fledged knight. There was a monster invasion that day, and he fell in battle while protecting the territory.”

Oscar was talking with her usual calm and composed demeanor, but Siegfried noticed a hint of sadness in her voice.

“Dame Oscar…”

“It is all in the past, Your Majesty. That person was also a knight, and I am certain that he was prepared to die by the sword the moment he picked it up. I have the same resolution as well. I am a knight, and I am prepared to die honorably in combat any time.”

Those who dared to pick up the sword should be prepared to die by the sword as well.

“Dying in combat is an honorable thing for a knight, and I am certain that he had no regrets in his final moments. I am prepared to put my life on the line and fight Your Majesty’s enemies until my last breath.”

“That is not going to happen, Dame Oscar,” Siegfried said with a smile before asking, “Why are you going to die? Our enemies are the only ones who are going to die.”

“That is impossible, Your Majesty.”

“Well, a true leader should make that possible. I will also do whatever it takes to bring you back to life if something were to happen to you, so you do not have to make such resolutions in the first place.”

“I am not someone from another world like Your Majesty, so it is impossible for me to come back to life.”

“Ah, I don’t know. I’m not?listening~” Siegfried covered his ears and said, “I am going to bring you back to life one way or another, so you better not die if you do not want to come back as something strange. Do you understand? This is an order, by the way.”

“I, Oscar, have received my lord’s command,” Oscar replied with a smile.

Did it make sense for a lord to be so concerned with his subordinate?

Siegfried would seem irresponsible and careless sometimes, but she couldn’t help but be attracted to this side of him.

“How are we going to save your sister, Dame Oscar? Are we going to barge in and turn the place upside down?” Siegfried asked.

“H-Hyung-nim… don’t you think that’s a bit too reckless?” Seung-Gu asked, taken aback.

“Then, what should we do? We don’t even have a clue where her sister is located,” Siegfried replied.

“T-That is that but… don’t you think barging in like that is tantamount to committing suicide? We could just assume a disguise and sneak in or something…” Seung-Gu said, seemingly nervous.

“I have a plan,” Oscar interjected.

“What is your plan?” Siegfried asked.

“We can use the Nordic Tribe’s habit against them.”

“The habits of the Nordic Tribe…?”

“The Nordic Tribe considers war as sacred, and they worship the strong. We should use that against them.”

“But how?”

“We will have to find a high-ranking official of the Nordic Tribe in the next battle, and they have to be at least a general.”

Siegfried held the Frost Dragon’s Foot.

“And then?”

“We will challenge them to a duel in the next battle and strike them down. Then, we just have to waltz into their base after that, and I am confident that they will welcome us.”

“What? Why are they going to welcome us? Won’t they rip us to shreds instead?” Siegfried asked while perplexed at Oscar’s plan.

“That is the culture of the Nordic Tribe, and they do not harbor any resentment for what happens on the battlefield. In fact, they will recognize anyone who slays their powerful warriors, and they are known to lavishly welcome the victor to their homes,” Oscar explained.

“But that doesn’t make any sense…”

“I cannot understand their customs, too, but I assume that this tradition of ‘survival of the fittest’ is what has been keeping them alive in the harsh environment they live in.”

“Well, I guess culture is something that exists despite being unexplainable,” Siegfried muttered with a nod.

After all, this place was neither on Earth nor South Korea but the Nürburg Continent, which was the setting of a game. It was actually feasible since they weren’t even on the mainland, and the Nordic Tribe was a quasi-barbarian tribe living in the harsh Black Islands.

“In that case, shall we give it a shot?” Siegfried said as he started walking.

“Where are you going, Your Majesty? That is the direction to the harbor,” Oscar asked.

“Where else? We are going to the Black Islands.”

“We haven’t slain a Nordic General yet, so we will have to wait until the next battle…” Oscar said.

Siegfried pointed at the Frost Dragon’s Foot and said, “This one.”

“I killed one just now, you see,” he nonchalantly added.

“Pardon me, Your Majesty? You have already slain an enemy general…?”

“This hammer was too good to pass up on, you see… Haha.”

“…”

“Shall we go?” Siegfried asked with a smile as he started walking toward the harbor once again.

***

A few hours later, Siegfried and his party rode the Aqua Runners he captured in the previous battle and arrived at the vicinity of the largest island in the Nordic Tribe’s territory, ‘Fadlan Island’.

Naturally, they were instantly surrounded by the Nordic Marines as soon as they approached.

“Halt! Who goes there?!”

A Nordic Admiral shouted at Siegfried and his party.

“We are emissaries,” Oscar replied before continuing. “This person right here is His Majesty Siegfried van Proa of the Proatine Kingdom, and he has come to conduct business with the Nordic Tribe, so pay your respects to him!”

“What? The Proatine Kingdom? Isn’t the Proatine Kingdom a kingdom on the mainland that’s the size of a booger? How dare the king of such a small kingdom come here and act all high and mighty?!” the Nordic Admirable retorted.

“Look at this!” Oscar said as she pointed at the Frost Dragon’s Foot before adding, “This afternoon! His Majesty slayed your general, Warking! The duel between them was a sacred duel that no one interfered with! I’m certain that your marines have witnessed the duel as well, so you can go and check with them!”

“We, the Nordic Tribe, will welcome your king if that is true. However, you lot better be prepared to end up as fish food if you are lying!” the Nordic Admiral threatened before he left to check whether Oscar’s claims were real or not.

The Nordic Admiral returned five minutes later, and he became extremely respectful and polite as he said, “We have confirmed that your king has indeed slain General Warking.”

‘How the hell are they so cool about all this?!’?Siegfried screamed inwardly.

He found the Nordic Admiral’s reaction quite flabbergasting, but he decided to accept it since their customs should make perfect sense for them as people who treated wars as a sacred thing.

“We will welcome your king as our guest. Please, leave your Aqua Runners and come aboard our battleship. We wish to make sure that your journey from here on out will be a comfortable one,” said the Nordic Admiral.

“Thank you for your kind consideration,” Oscar replied.

Siegfried and his party left their Aqua Runners and hopped aboard the Nordic Battleship.

***

The Fadlan Island in the Nordic Tribe’s territory was not a tiny island. It was a huge island, at least three times the size of Jeju Island.

Siegfried and his party hopped off the battleship and rode a carriage as they comfortably made their way to the Nordic Tribe’s capital, Gothland, and the Nordic Tribe’s king warmly welcomed Siegfried.

“Welcome! I am the king of these lands, Lionbreath. Are you King Siegfried from the Proatine Kingdom? I wish to pay my respects and gratitude to you for guiding General Warking to his rest,” the Nordic King welcomed Siegfried and his party.

[Lionbreath]

[The king of the Nordic Tribe and the ruler of the Black Islands.]

[Level: 280]

[Type: NPC]

[Position: King]

[Rank: Generalissimo (★★★★★★)]

[Class: Warlord]

[Titles: Ruler of the Black Islands, Lion King]

Nordic King Lionbreath was a gigantic man and a high-level NPC with an astonishing Level 280.

“I am the king of the Proatine Kingdom, Siegfried. I thank you for your warm welcome,” Siegfried greeted Lionbreath.

“It is nice to meet you, Siegfried. I have already heard of your brave exploits in our previous battle. It is definitely rare for the king of a country to display such martial prowess, so I can clearly tell that you are someone worth respecting.”

“You flatter me.”

“So, why have you come all the way to my territory?” Lionbreath asked.

“One of your soldiers has abducted my knight’s little sister, and I wish to take her back,” Siegfried replied.

“Hmm… so you have come to retrieve the spoils of war,” Lionbreath muttered.

“Huh? Spoils of war?” Siegfried grimaced in response.

Oscar hurriedly whispered into Siegfried’s ear, “Your Majesty, the Nordic Tribe has the tendency to call anything, and anyone looted from the war as spoils of war.”

“I see…”

“I advise that you ignore their terminology, Your Majesty.”

It seemed that the Nordic Tribe was a bunch of people obsessed with fighting.

“Well, sure, let us call her the spoils of war. Anyway, I have come to retrieve my knight’s little sister.”

“You may take her back if you offer up something of equivalent value, but you may not do so immediately. I want you to give me some time to find the soldier who collected the spoils of war first. I think a day or two will suffice.”

Perhaps it was because of their customs toward the strong, but Lionbreath was extremely courteous toward Siegfried.

“I thank you for your consideration.”

Siegfried liked how courteous Lionbreath was toward him.

“Thank you, King Siegfried.”

“You are most welcome.”

“Then, I hope that you will enjoy our warm welcome while I search for the soldier who has the spoils of war you are looking for.”

Then, a message popped up in front of Siegfried’s eyes.

[Kidnapped Tomboy 2]

[Type: Special Chain Quest 2]

[Description: Enjoy the Nordic Tribe’s warm welcome to the best of your abilities while King Lionbreath is searching for the Nordic Marine who abducted Oscar’s little sister.]

[Progress: 0% (0/1)]

[Reward: Nordic Beauty × 11]

[Warning: You will have to show the Nordic Tribesmen that you are enjoying their reception for you. You could incur the wrath of the Nordic Tribesmen if you seem insincere to their courtesy.]

The quest details looked strange for some reason…

1. The largest island in South Korea. More info here: