CH 279

“…!”

Every eye on the battlefield darted toward the Adventurer, who died a gruesome death. It was the law of this world to put deserters to death, but it was quite rare for the deserter to be executed on the spot, not to mention having his head crushed to a pulp.

What was even more surprising was the fact that the deserter’s head was crushed by a person’s bare hands, even though he was wearing a helmet.

‘What the hell is that monster?’ 

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Siegfried saw the gruesome sight as well.

The monster that executed the deserter was a humongous man with muscles all over him, and he seemed to weigh no less than two hundred kilograms with only a single digit of body fat.

However, what shocked Siegfried more than the man’s muscular physique was his back.

The large-framed man was a hunchback.

However, he seemed to be more than 185 centimeters tall despite being a hunchback, and he would have easily towered two meters and a half if it hadn’t been for his back.

‘That guy’s strong,’ Siegfried instinctively knew it.

He used his Rune of Insight on the hunchback.

[Quasimodo]

[The executioner of the papacy.]

[He was scorned by others due to the defect he was born with, but Theophilus, when he was still a cardinal, took him under his wings.]

[He swore absolute loyalty to the pope and would not hesitate to follow any orders.]

[He is the most notorious hitman of the papacy, and none has ever survived his visit.]

[Type: Named NPC]

[Level: 255]

[Class: Cruel Punisher]

[Affiliation: Papacy]

[Position: Executioner]

[Titles: World’s Strongest Hunchback, Killing Machine, Grim Reaper, Stronger Executioner]

General Mikhael hurriedly sent the papacy’s executioner, Quasimodo, a Level 255 Named NPC, to speed up the siege of Vaper Fortress.

In Siegfried’s eyes, Quasimodo seemed to be the strongest person he had ever met in terms of physical strength, and he was definitely stronger than the descendant of Supreme King Braum, Cesc.

Cesc had just become the descendant of Supreme King Braum, and he was still in the process of growing stronger. However, Quasimodo had already reached his full potential and was a Named NPC as well.

“Are you… the traitor who had betrayed His Holiness and sided with that fake emperor?” Quasimodo asked in a screeching voice.

“So what if I am?” Siegfried nonchalantly replied.

“I will kill you by ripping off each and every limb of yours.”

It was quite the spine-chilling threat. The hunchback was basically telling Siegfried that he was going to pull his limbs apart alive.

“Let’s see who’s going to die,” Siegfried replied. He was unfazed, even though he would be up against a Named NPC thirty levels above him.

‘I need to hold them back. The number of soldiers stationed here is proof that the scumbag had made a gamble. I need to endure until that scumbag manages to destroy the pope’s army.’

Siegfried hated the thought of cooperating with the scumbag, but he had no choice since they were on the same boat now.

‘I’ll strike him first.’

Siegfried kicked off the ground and flew toward Quasimodo.

Bzzt! Bzzt!

He shone in gold as powerful electrical currents surged from him after activating his Super Armor skill. He activated Overclocking as well because his opponent was definitely strong.

Shwoosh!

Siegfried swung his +15 Gaia’s Fist at the hunchback’s waist, but…

“H-Huh…?” Siegfried muttered and tilted his head in confusion.

He was stunned after seeing the gigantic hands of the hunchback catch his mace.

His basic attack was basically a skill in itself, and his weapon was the +15 Gaia’s Fist.

In addition, they were standing on two Blaze Fields.

It was a sight he could not believe even after witnessing it with his own two eyes.

“Hmm… that was ticklish,” Quasimodo said dryly.

He had caught the +15 Gaia’s Fist with his bare hand, but that was the only reaction he gave.

‘This bastard is a monster…’ Siegfried thought to himself and switched his stance.

“Die.”

However, Quasimodo’s left hand flew in an uppercut motion and connected with Siegfried’s chin.

“Kuheok!”

Siegfried coughed blood and flew back in a parabola.

However, the most shocking part here was the fact that Quasimodo had shattered Siegfried’s Super Armor in just one attack.

Thud!

Siegfried finally crashed to the ground around fifty meters away from Quasimodo.

“O-Owner punk!” Hamchi shouted and ran over to Siegfried.

“Are you alright?!”

“I… I can’t… My… Eyes…” Siegfried muttered some gibberish as if he had gone insane.

[Alert: Status Ailment!]

[Alert: Your character has been inflicted with ‘Stun’!]

[Alert: You have lost control over your character!]

[Alert: Your vision has dimmed!]

A message notifying Siegfried that he was under the effect of Stun popped up in front of him. His Super Armor had shattered, and he even got stunned.

“You’re tougher than you look. I thought that was enough to kill you,” Quasimodo said while tilting his head.

The hunchback started walking toward Siegfried.

Siegfried struggled as hard as he could to get back up on his feet.

“Hmm… Yeah, you’re indeed tough. That’s quite the admirable spirit you have. I’m sure it will be worthwhile killing you as painfully as possible…”

However, the hunchback made one gross miscalculation.

What was it?

Tak!

Siegfried immediately ran after he regained control of his character, but it wasn’t in the direction of the hunchback. Instead, he ran toward the walls of Vaper Fortress and scaled them.

His movements were so fast that he reached the top of the fort walls in the blink of an eye, courtesy of Pesky Brat.

“Huh? Is he running away?”

“What?”

“Don’t tell me he ran after just a single hit…?”

“W-What is he doing?”

The Head Crusher Guild members and Adventurers on the imperial faction’s side tilted their heads in confusion and were perplexed at Siegfried’s actions.

“Everyone! Run! That bastard is fucking strong!” Siegfried shouted while standing on top of the fort walls.

He really did run away after taking a single hit.

“…”

“…”

“…”

The Adventurers stared at him, dumbfounded and speechless.

***

“This is my first time seeing such a pesky brat…” Quasimodo said in disbelief.

Siegfried was strong. Quasimodo managed to send him flying with a single punch, but the fact that Siegfried was still alive after taking a direct hit from Quasimodo meant that he was strong.

On top of that…

Throb!

Quasimodo hadn’t realized it at first, but his hand that caught the mace was throbbing. He would usually only feel a tickling sensation after catching an enemy’s weapon with his bare hands, but he felt pain for the first time in a long while.

Quasimodo trained his hands by covering them with his mana and dipping them in molten lava. In other words, his hands were stronger than most enhanced weapons, but his hands actually felt pain?

Siegfried was an enemy and a treacherous traitor at that, but Quasimodo had to acknowledge Siegfried’s strength.

Ironically, the hunchback could have never thought that someone he had acknowledged would run away with his tails tucked between his legs after getting hit once.

“You have no honor… You’re not a man. No, you are a disgrace to all men! I shall rip you apart, and I will only kill you once I’ve pulled out your manhood. You’ll die as I dangle your manhood right in front of you,” Quasimodo said with a fire burning in his eyes.

“Hey… That’s a bit extreme…” Siegfried muttered, trembling in fear after imagining the consequences that his manhood could suffer.

Siegfried’s heart was strong, but the hunchback’s threat was on a whole new level—it actually sent chills down his spine.

“W-What are you doing?!” shouted the commander of the papal forces.

“The enemy commander has run away after losing to Quasimodo! All forces! Charge! Break down the walls of those heretics! Break it down in the name of the Nameless God!”

The commander of the papal forces’ words boosted the morale of the papal troops as they resumed their charge toward Vaper Fortress.

“Waaaaah!”

“In the name of the Nameless God!”

“Glory to the Nameless God!”

The fight in front of the fort gates had become a siege once more.

***

On top of the fort walls, Seung-Gu sounded slightly disappointed as he asked, “H-Hyung… Why did you run away? That wasn’t like you…”

“I ran because I can’t beat him by myself,” Siegfried replied.

“Well, that monster’s level is higher than you…”

“And who’s going to protect this fortress once I die?”

“Oh?”

“Do you really think that this fortress can defeat the enemy troops without my debuffs? Listen, fighting one-on-one or honor isn’t important during a war. We have to stall the enemy in this battle. Otherwise, the imperial forces’ rear will be exposed.”

“Wow! As expected of hyung-nim! So it’s all according to your plan?!”

Seung-Gu’s face lit up after realizing Siegfried’s intentions.

The Siegfried he knew always fought against stronger enemies, and he was not someone who would back down from a fight. Therefore, Seung-Gu was relieved to find out that he only backed down this time because he had no choice but to do so.

“I need to stay alive and continue debuffing the enemy. That’s the only way this fortress can hold the enemy back until that scumbag destroys that cult bastard’s armies.”

“Hmm…”

“Our goal in this battle is not to win but to stall the enemy forces for as long as we can and stay alive. We will retreat at once if the fortress can’t take it anymore, but we need to stay alive no matter what.”

Siegfried emphasized staying alive because there was no point in putting their lives on the line to protect Vaper Fortress.

What if they died?

They would lose a level and drop a random item from their Inventory.

They would also be temporarily locked out of the game. In addition, their job was to buy time for the scumbag rather than throw away their lives.

“They’re coming. Stay alert and stay alive. You’re already at the level where losing one level will really hurt, right?” Siegfried said while looking at the advancing papal troops.

“Yes, hyung-nim. I will keep that in mind,” Seung-Gu replied.

Seung-Gu’s level had gotten so high that losing a level was guaranteed to bring excruciating pain, so he understood what Siegfried was talking about.

‘Quasimodo… It’s impossible to defeat him one-on-one, so I should try and keep an eye out for anything that could give me an edge once all hell breaks loose.’

Siegfried used Discharge and covered the entire fort walls with Blaze Field and Shadow Swamp while observing the hunchback walking slowly toward them from the distance.

‘I admit you’re stronger than me, and you’ve defeated me as well. However, you can’t kill me. Why? It’s all because you’re the one who’s going to die and not me.’

Unfortunately, the edge that Siegfried was looking for didn’t come as easily as he thought it would.

Soon, the siege started, and a figure kicked off of the ground and soared into the skies.

“H-He can jump that high?!” Siegfried was shocked at the hunchback’s jump.

Swoosh!

Quasimodo jumped nearly thirty meters into the air and flew in a parabola toward the fort walls. He could jump as high as the fort walls, while Siegfried had to run vertically to reach the top of the fort walls.

“Fire!” Siegfried shouted at Seung-Gu.

He knew without a doubt that the entire fort walls were going to be in absolute ruins if Quasimodo landed on it, so he changed Seung-Gu’s main task from firing at the cluster of enemies to preventing the hunchback from landing on a fort wall.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! 

The Iron Golems rooted on the castle walls in their siege mode fired at the hunchback flying in mid-air.

“Hamchi! Fire!”

“Kyuuuuu!”

Siegfried wasn’t satisfied with the Iron Golems alone, so he ordered Hamchi to shoot his ray as well. In addition, he also threw his +15 Gaia’s Fist using Flying Sword.

However, the combined attacks of Siegfried, Hamchi, and Seung-Gu failed to stop the hunchback’s flight.

Ting! Bam!

Siegfried’s +15 Gaia’s Fist struck the hunchback’s chest, but it was deflected and got stuck in the fort walls.

Thud!

Quasimodo successfully landed on a fort wall. He landed in front of Siegfried, to boot.

“Hello, long time no see. Has it been a minute?” Quasimodo asked with a grin.

The World’s Strongest Hunchback licked his lips and stared intently at his prey.

“H-Have we met before? Hahaha…” Siegfried replied with an awkward laugh while profusely sweating.

“Let’s start with folding you in half,” Quasimodo said before lunging at Siegfried with speeds that nobody would believe a hunchback was capable of doing.