Chapter 1139

The quest details popped up in front of Siegfried’s eyes.

[Surpass the Master]

[Subdue the Sword Emperor, Betelgeuse, to prove that you have surpassed him.]

[Type: Special Quest]

[Progress: 0% (0/1)]

[Reward: +5 Levels]

It was a special quest that gave five whopping levels as a reward.

‘

Damn, this is a sweet quest but—!’

Unfortunately, Siegfried couldn’t savor the moment.

“Die! Enemy of our glorious race!”

Betelgeuse lunged at him again, slashing with his hand as if it were a blade.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Betelgeuse’s attacks on Siegfried’s +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp were so heavy that shockwaves would run across Siegfried’s arm at every attack, staggering him with every blow.

‘

H-How is this old man so strong?!’

Siegfried shrieked inwardly, his eyes widening at the brute force pushing him back.

Betelgeuse’s strength could only be described as monstrous. He stood nearly two meters tall and weighed one hundred twenty kilograms of pure muscle. Every swing reminded Siegfried that there was a huge weight class difference between them.

But that was not all...

Betelgeuse was not just strong; he was fast, too. One would think that such a massive man would be slow, but that was not the case with the Sword Emperor.

The Sword Emperor could rival Siegfried when it came to speed.

He was, quite literally, a monster among monsters.

‘No, I can defeat him,’

Siegfried thought, not backing down.

Why was he confident? The answer was obvious—Betelgeuse had no sword.

He couldn’t wield the lightswords used by the Corals, so he was unarmed at the moment.

A warrior of his caliber could easily tear through enemies with his bare hands. However, for someone who had walked the path of the sword his entire life, not having a sword in his hand meant that he couldn’t exert his true power.

If Betelgeuse had a sword in hand, then Siegfried would have immediately abandoned any hope of subduing him.

However, Betelgeuse had no sword in hand, so he was confident that he had a shot.

‘

I have to debuff him first.’

Siegfried cast Elemental Shower, shredding Betelgeuse’s elemental resistances.

Then, he unleashed Embrace of Despair.

A crippling aura spread through the air. The Embrace of Despair was a water attribute skill, so it synergized perfectly well with Elemental Shower, making it even more effective.

The cold crept up Betelgeuse’s limbs, slowing him down and dragging him down as if it were some sticky sludge.

‘

Now’s my chance!’

Siegfried seized the opening and swung his +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp that was still in shield form.

BOOM!

The shield bash was so powerful that Betelgeuse’s massive figure bent backward from it. Any ordinary person would have been blasted dozens of meters away, but Betelgeuse merely buckled at the waist.

Fortunately, it was more than enough.

‘

I’ll take his legs out,’

Siegfried thought, driving a vicious low kick into the old man’s thigh.

Bam!

Betelgeuse staggered. The low kick had thrown him off balance. The sheer force behind Siegfried’s kick was so powerful in its own right that even a Grandmaster staggered from it.

Bam! Bam!

Siegfried immediately followed up by smashing his shield down onto Betelgeuse’s skull twice in a row.

“

Ghhrk!”

Betelgeuse spat blood and lurched forward.

‘

Time to knock him out!’

Siegfried raised his shield again, preparing to finish the battle with one last blow to the head, but—

Shwiiiik!

Betelgeuse’s hand swung up like a blade.

“...!”

Siegfried instinctively jerked back, and the hand barely grazed the side of his neck, missing his throat by mere centimeters.

Plop, plop...

Blood trickled down Siegfried’s neck, and a cold shiver shot down his spine.

‘

What the hell was that...? Was that counterattack even possible?’

Any normal person would have been stunned by Siegfried's chain of attacks, but Betelgeuse managed to launch a counterattack that could have severed Siegfried’s head from his shoulders.

“Die... Kill all... enemy of our... glorious race...!” Betelgeuse’s eyes glowed red as he muttered the same thing over and over again like a broken record in an endless loop. Then, he lunged at Siegfried again, attacking with relentless and berserk fury.

***

The brutal clash between Siegfried and Betelgeuse dragged on. They exchanged blow after blow as if they were trying to test each other to their very limits.

“

Kyuuu!

Hang in there, owner punk! You got this!” Hamchi exclaimed, summoning his magical hamster wheel and running on it to buff Siegfried.

‘

Argh!’

Unfortunately, Siegfried was still struggling against Betelgeuse even with the buff.

Whenever he struck or countered, he would be forced to hold back, as killing Betelgeuse was out of the question.

Meanwhile, the Sword Emperor was fighting unrestrained, and every single one of his attacks aimed to end Siegfried’s life.

He had neither sword nor any weapons, yet he was still a formidable opponent.

‘

Damn it... This won’t do...’

Siegfried thought, his mind trying to come up with a solution to his current predicament.

Just then...

“Hey, you really can’t do anything without me, can you?” A familiar cocky voice echoed. Someone parted the bush and emerged from it.

“

Eh?!”

Siegfried’s eyes shot wide open, and he nearly dropped his guard from shock.

The person who emerged from the bush was none other than his once mortal enemy, Chae Hyung-Seok.

“Hey! How the hell did you—

ack!”

The distraction caused Siegfried big time.

He was caught with his guard down by Betelgeuse and ended up getting headbutted.

Surprisingly, the headbutt sent him flying into the air, scattering dirt and leaves as he slammed into the ground.

The sheer shock of seeing Chae Hyung-Seok here of all places had left him wide open.

“How the fuck do you expect me to play my game when you’re pulling this crap on me?” Chae Hyung-Seok grumbled, walking over to Siegfried, who was half-buried in leaves.

“

Huh?

What the hell are you talking about?”

“A portal opened while I was in the middle of farming mobs. It said that you were about to die.”

“A portal?!”

“

Huh?

You didn't call me?”

“I didn’t!”

“

Hmm...

Was it automatic then?” Chae Hyung-Seok murmured to himself.

Neither of them was aware of it, but the system would force Chae Hyung-Seok into a portal whenever Siegfried was in danger, whether he liked it or not. As Siegfried’s slave, he would be summoned automatically whenever his

master

was in mortal danger.

“

Bah!

It doesn’t matter if you called me or if it was automatic. I hate getting dragged around against my will like this,” Chae Hyung-Seok grumbled before lazily flicking his hand in the air.

[Alert: Your HP has been fully restored!]

With just a flick of his hand, Siegfried’s wounds were sealed, and his HP was refilled to max.

Chae Hyung-Seok’s healing power was so absurd that Siegfried was instantly back in peak form.

“Let me guess... The crazy old grandpa lost his mind, and you gotta knock him out, am I right?”

“Are you blind?!”

The two bickered for a while, going back and forth at each other.

‘

Tsk! This bastard’s been getting a bit too comfortable with me lately,’

Siegfried grumbled inwardly.

Chae Hyung-Seok seemed to have a thing for showing up all of a sudden and saving him whenever he was in danger. Of course, this came at the price of Chae Hyung-Seok acting smug every time he did so.

Thus, Siegfried made a silent vow. ‘

You’re gonna pay for this, you arrogant punk.’

“Whatever. Here, take your damn buffs,” Chae Hyung-Seok said, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

Rumble!

He cast his buffs, and the air around Siegfried pulsed with overwhelming energy.

[Alert: Attack Power has increased!]

[Alert: Magic Power has increased!]

[Alert: Defense has increased!]

[Alert: Magic Resistance has increased!]

(omitted...)

[Alert: Strength has increased!]

(omitted...)

Chae Hyung-Seok’s buffs were so powerful that Siegfried’s stats skyrocketed by more than forty percent in the blink of an eye. Even though Chae Hyung-Seok was arrogant and annoying, Siegfried had to admit that his buffs were the real deal.

“

Phew!”

Siegfried let out a sigh as he put his +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp away. Then, he clenched both fists, feeling raw power surging through his body.

Boom!

He shot forward like a cannon and lunged at Betelgeuse.

‘

This fight will be a piece of cake now,’

Siegfried thought.

There was no way he could lose against Betelgeuse now that he was armed with Chae Hyung-Seok’s buffs. Without wasting another second, Siegfried dragged Betelgeuse into his realm, the World of Despair.

“Enemy of... our glorious... race...!” Betelgeuse snarled and tried to counterattack, but it was futile.

Siegfried had already stacked debuff after debuff on Betelgeuse while Chae Hyung-Seok’s buffs were boosting his strength. On top of that, they were inside the World of Despair—Siegfried’s domain.

‘

Sorry about this, Elder!’

Siegfried apologized before activating Discharge and boosting Embrace of Despair to the max.

The effects of Embrace of Despair—boosted with Discharge—was simply amazing.

‘

Too slow,’

Siegfried thought with a smile. The Sword Emperor’s Movement Speed had slowed down considerably.

What happened next?

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Siegfried unleashed a barrage of blindingly fast punches at Betelgeuse.

“

Kuheok!”

Betelgeuse tried to defend and counterattack, but he soon fell to the merciless barrage of punches.

Chae Hyung-Seok’s buffs turned Siegfried into an unstoppable force of nature.

‘

Now!’

Siegfried ducked, slipped behind Betelgeuse’s back, and wrapped his arms around the Sword Emperor’s neck to perform a chokehold.

Kwachik!

“

G-Gghh! Khhu!”

“Sleep tight, elder!”

“

Ghh—!”

“You’re too strong for an old man!”

Siegfried didn't let go. In fact, he squeezed even tighter until Betelgeuse’s eyes rolled back into his skull and his massive figure went limp.

Thud!

Finally, Betelgeuse hit the ground; he was knocked out cold.

***

The moment Siegfried subdued Betelgeuse...

Ding!

[Alert: You have cleared the Quest – Surpass the Master!]

[Alert: You have leveled up!]

[Alert: You have reached Level 452!]

[Alert: You have reached Level 453!]

[Alert: You have reached Level 454!]

[Alert: You have reached Level 455!]

[Alert: You have reached Level 456!]

Just like that, Siegfried gained five levels after clearing the special quest.

“

Phew!

This old man is too strong for his age,” Siegfried grumbled while standing over Betelgeuse.

He could feel his muscles screaming at him, as he had pushed himself to his limits trying to subdue the Sword Emperor.

Choking a Grandmaster who specialized in physical combat was truly no easy feat.

“Hey, pick him up,” Siegfried said, pointing at the Sword Emperor as if he were some oversized parcel.

“

Ha?

What did you just say, you bastard?” Chae Hyung-Seok retorted.

“Then what? Do I have to carry him? Time to put your ass to work if you’re done buffing, you buff dispenser.”

“W-What did you say...?”

“Oh right, when was your payday again? Was it this week?”

“T-That’s...!”

“About your bonus... Nah, looks like you don’t need—”

Whoosh! Thud!

Before Siegfried could even finish his words, Chae Hyung-Seok bent down and slung Betelgeuse over his shoulder.

‘

J-Just you wait! I’m gonna pay you back for this!’

Chae Hyung-Seok trembled with rage.

Unfortunately, he had to bite his tongue and be the obedient slave he was, as the allure of the word "bonus" was simply too powerful.

“Okay! Shall we get going?

Keke!”

Siegfried smirked and cackled in satisfaction as he walked off.

Just then...

“Enemy of our... glorious race...”

After catching a silent groan, his ears twitched, and he turned around to find Daode Tianzun slowly getting up to his feet. His glowing red eyes were filled with hostility. He channeled a spell under his breath and lifted his staff, aiming it at Siegfried and the others.

“Akhman... Zidar...”

“

Ah,

damn it...” Siegfried grumbled, looking more annoyed than surprised.

Wooong!

Before Daode Tianzun could finish his spell, a powerful pulse wave burst out of Siegfried.

Wave of Oppression.

The skill messed with Daode Tianzun’s flow of mana, interrupting his spell before he could complete it.

“...!”

Now that his spell was interrupted, it was time for him to pay the price.

Pop!

Siegfried vanished and reappeared behind the old Archmage.

Bam!

A knife-hand strike landed on Daode Tianzun's nape.

Thud!

The old Archmage collapsed to the ground.

“Damn it... I really don’t need you to hassle me, Elder,” Siegfried grimaced and grumbled.

Daode Tianzun was an Archmage, someone who stood at the pinnacle of magic.

However, that fact didn't really matter to Siegfried.

Why? He was the bane of all magicians, after all. Even a Grandmaster like Daode Tianzun was no match against Siegfried.