Debuff Master

The caster began by making a comment before the match started.

— Before we begin, there is something we need to inform the viewers.

— We have received news that the Head Crusher Guild, led by Han Tae-Sung, was hit by a mysterious NPC’s suicide bombing just before the match.

— As a result, only thirty-two members remain available for the match, including Han Tae-Sung and the other leaders.

— This is indeed unfortunate news.

Another commentator responded, expressing regret.

— To be hit by a suicide bombing just before the match… This must have been like a bolt of lightning striking Han Tae-Sung out of the blue.

The other commentator echoed the same sentiment.

— Who could have predicted such tragedy would occur right before such an important match? This is terrible news not only for Han Tae-Sung but also for all of the viewers watching.

The news of the suicide bombing against the Head Crusher Guild spread, and the global BNW community erupted in chaos.

— Aimmy: Ugh… I just ordered fried chicken for this match…”

— 5554411aaa: Wait, what? Are they saying they’re gonna fight five hundred people with only thirty-two? That’s crazy!

— Toolu: Han Tae-Sung is done for… I guess we will see how pretty his bald head is.

— DrunkSeongChun: I was so hyped for this match, but it looks like it’s going to be really boring.

— aroiApple: Did they set this match up, hype it up, all just to blow it up like this?

The hype for this match was really hot, and it was, without a doubt, hotter than any of the previously broadcasted matches. The storyline of Han Tae-Sung going against his ex-rivels, the Three Losers, generated a lot of interest around the world.

On top of that, the punishment of shaving the head or heads of the losing side added an exciting twist to the match. Thus, viewership ratings for the match reached the highest ever recorded rating for a broadcasted BNW match.

However, the news of the Head Crusher Guild getting nearly wiped out by a suicide bomber inevitably deflated the excitement. The sponsors that invested massive amounts of money into this match were devastated by the turn of events, and some of them immediately called their legal teams to look into filing lawsuits.

Surprisingly, the Pandemonium Guild was outraged by the news, too.

“Damn it!” Chae Hyung-Seok exploded in anger upon hearing the news in the waiting room.

“What’s wrong?”

“Which crazy bastard would do such a thing?!”

“Why are you mad? Isn’t this a good thing? It’s a free win, dude,” Diesel chuckled smugly. Then, he said with a smirk, “Why are you pissed when we can just take this win for free?”

He was the kind of person who only cared about his own gain, and it did not matter to him how he won as long as he emerged victorious.

However, Chae Hyung-Seok felt differently about the matter.

“What’s the point if we win like this? We have to crush that bastard and grind him into the ground! Winning like this gains us nothing! Don’t you get it?!”

This match was about more than just winning for Chae Hyung-Seok. It was his chance to destroy Han Tae-Sung in front of the whole world, as merely winning a match was not enough for him.

“Damn it! Which idiot is behind this?!” Chae Hyung-Seok growled, glaring at Diesel.

“Whoa! Don’t look at me,” Diesel said, raising his hands defensively.

“It wasn’t me either. I’m not that reckless. Getting caught doing something like that would be a nightmare to deal with later on,” Palchuck chimed in. Then, he added, “My guess is that it was some NPC. I mean, Han Tae-Sung always deals with them. Right?”

“Hmm? An NPC?”

“Yeah, Han Tae-Sung is always involved with the affairs of the NPCs, so maybe he pissed one of them off?”

“That could be possible…”

“Anyway, what’s done is done. Why are you getting angry over a free win? If you really feel cheated, then you can always challenge him again later.”

“I guess you’re right.”

“Just relax and focus on the match.”

“Tsk… But winning like this just feels wrong…”

Chae Hyung-Seok knew how the fans would react to a victory like this. They'd definitely get embroiled in a controversy, even if they won a decisive victory today.

“Screw it.”

In the end, Chae Hyung-Seok gave up on caring. It wasn't his fault that this happened, so he decided to just focus on the match.

***

Right before the match…

[Alert: Prepare yourselves!]

[Alert: The match is about to begin!]

[Alert: Infinite Battleground effect is now in play!]

The Head Crusher Guild and Pandemonium Guild prepared to enter the battle, and the Infinite Battleground swirled, selecting a random map.

[Alert: Map selection in 3 seconds!]

[Alert: 2 seconds!]

[Alert: 1 second!]

Siegfried prayed hard.

‘Please! Please! Please…!’

He desperately hoped for a map that would give his small force a fighting chance. For example, a map with complex terrain and limited visibility. A map like that would be immensely helpful in their fight against a larger army.

Their chances of winning could increase by one percent. If the selected map was something like a large plain, then they would be surrounded in no time.

And then what would happen?

Massacre.

They would be slaughtered like pigs.

‘Please! Please! Please…!’ Siegfried continued praying.

It was then.

Wooong…!

Siegfried felt a vibration from his earrings.

One second later.

[Alert: Map selection complete!]

[Alert: The Infinite Battleground is now shifting!]

[Alert: The selected map is Night Siege: Fortress!]

[Alert: Head Crusher Guild will be attacking!]

[Alert: Pandemonium Guild will be defending!]

[Alert: May the War God be with you!]

Right after the map and sides were assigned…

“Yes! Yes! YESSSSSS!” Siegfried roared triumphantly.

Night Siege: Fortress was the exact map Siegfried had prayed for.

It would have been a disaster if they were assigned the defending side, as there was no way they could defend a fortress with only thirty-two people against five hundred.

However, that wasn't the case for the attacking side.

This map favored smaller forces when attacking the fortress, as the map was so dark and complex that it would be difficult for the defending team to keep track of a small stealthy elite group sneaking in.

There had been previous matches where the attackers won by sneaking through the defenses and creating an opening to siege down the fort.

In other words, the Head Crusher Guild now had a sliver of hope.

“We got lucky,” Siegfried told his guild members.

The guild members agreed, looking relieved and sighing in unison.

“This seems much more doable.”

“We’re saved!”

“Phew!”

“We were so close to being slaughtered…”

“Thank goodness.”

Siegfried and his guild members marched out of the waiting room with renewed confidence.

“Alright, let’s go!”

Just having an advantageous map made Siegfried brim with confidence.

***

A message popped up in front of the eyes of the Head Crusher Guild members.

[Alert: The match has begun!]

[Alert: Seize the throne within three hours!]

[Alert: Your victory condition is to seize and destroy the throne within the time limit!]

Siegfried dismissed the alert and looked around his surroundings. The dark forest was draped in thick darkness, with only the occasional howl of wolves and the hooting of owls breaking the eerie silence.

The moon shined faintly in the night sky, casting a dim moonlight upon a fortress towering exactly one kilometer ahead.

Siegfried quickly adjusted his settings, linking his screen to his G-Tube channel. This was an option that Adventurers could use, as they could receive donations from fans or outright charge them for watching the battle.

[Alert: NorthernTree has donated 50,000 KRW!]

[Alert: 911992 has donated 109 KRW!]

[Alert: idpeaceb has donated 2,500,000 KRW!]

[Alert: $Mansur$ has donated 10,000 KRW!]

[Alert: Boohooonchung has donated 20,000 KRW!]

[Alert: Boxter_GTS has donated 5,000 KRW!]

Donations flooded in as soon as Siegfried linked his screen to his G-Tube channel, and he had to quickly set the donation notifications to "Do Not Display" to prevent his view from getting covered by the torrent of pop-ups.

Siegfried turned to his guild members and said, “Let’s go.”

The Head Crusher Guild marched through the darkness. While marching, a grim thought suddenly crossed Siegfried’s mind.

‘Ah, I really didn’t want to reveal this…’ Siegfried thought before activating Inzaghi’s Clairvoyance.

Wooong!

Just then, all of the terrain and features of the battlefield were displayed in front of Siegfried’s eyes. As always, the enemies appeared as red dots, while his allies appeared as green.

The fact that Siegfried possessed such a game-breaking item that was practically no different from a maphack had been unknown to the world until now.

— Roider: A map hack?!

— slrwltrl: What the hell…?!

— 44411: He’s using a map hack…

— Juri45: That’s seriously broken ㅡㅡ

— glaemfdjwlsWk: Whoa…

— pptbike: Where the hell do you get an item like that?

— MuscledSquirrel: LMAO, what kinda broken item is that?!

The viewers watching Siegfried’s channel were stunned by the revelation. There had been no known item in BNW that provided such an ability, so this was the first time they had seen such a terrifying ability.

‘I guess it can’t be helped,’ Siegfried thought, silently observing the red dots on the map.

“They’re coming," Siegfried said, noticing a group of around fifty red dots sallying out from the fortress.

‘They’re leaving the fortress? I guess it’s a sneak attack. They’re planning to ambush us before we can infiltrate the fortress. They will most likely wait in the forest and cut us off or hit us from behind.’

Siegfried instantly grasped the Pandemonium Guild's strategy.

“Come this way,” he said, leading his confused guild members in a route that circled around the ambush set by their enemies. Then, he explained, “There’s an ambush over there waiting for us. So we’re going to circle around them and hit them from behind.”

“How do you know there’s an ambush over there?” Daytona asked.

“Because I have this. It works like a map hack,” Siegfried replied, showing Inzaghi’s Clairvoyance. Then, he addressed his guild members, “The ambush group is now heading that way, so we’re going around to this side. We have to move quietly, got it?”

With that, Siegfried led his guild toward their target.

***

Descartes, the younger brother of Palchuck, hid in the forest and observed his surroundings.

“Those bastards should be here any minute now.”

He was a part of the ambush group, and was eagerly waiting for Siegfried’s arrival. He still held a deep grudge against Siegfried after what happened back then.

He had picked a fight with Siegfried and suffered a humiliating defeat, which ultimately dominoed into the downfall of the United Guild.

In other words, Descartes harbored bitter hatred for Siegfried.

“I’ll rip him to pieces in front of the whole world,” Descartes growled and gnashed his teeth.

Someone asked, “Does it really bother you that much?”

“Of course! Do you know what that piece of shit did to me?!” Descartes raged, his voice filled with anger and resentment. Then, he grumbled, “If it weren’t for that bastard, then I would—”

It was then.

“...!”

Descartes’ eyes shot wide open in shock the moment he turned to look at his flank.

Why?

It was all because the person he had been talking to was none other than Siegfried, and the latter was even staring directly at him.

And that was the last thing Descartes saw…

Swoosh!

Siegfried used Quick Draw, chopping off Descartes’ head in one clean motion.

Shwiiik! Shwiiik!

Then, arrows fired by Gosran rained down from above, targeting the other Pandemonium Guild members hidden in the forest.

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