‘What’s wrong with this?’ Siegfried couldn’t figure out why Embrace of Despair was not activating all of a sudden. He tried channeling his mana once more to activate Eternal Flames this time. [Alert: Skill cannot be used!] However, even Eternal Flames would not activate just like Embrace of Despair. Siegfried tried spamming his skills this time. [Alert: Skill cannot be used!] [Alert: Skill cannot be used!] [Alert: Skill cannot be used!] [Alert: Skill cannot be used!] It wasn't just Embrace of Despair and Eternal Flames; none of his other skills would activate. Siegfried looked up at the sky. The sky was shrouded by dark clouds that did not allow even a single ray of sunlight to come through. But that was not all... ‘It’s too dark. Is that the reason why my skills aren't working?’ The battlefield was brightly lit just moments ago, but it was now shrouded in darkness, as if night had fallen. Siegfried suspected that this supernatural phenomenon was interfering with his skill activation. “Try running your wheel.” At Siegfried’s request, Hamchi summoned his magical wheel—or at least, he tried to. “K-Kyuuu?! O-Owner punk! I can’t summon my wheel!” Hamchi shrieked in shock. “Oh?” Siegfried raised a brow. Then, he turned to the scarecrow standing in one corner of the camp and said, “Hey! Chae Hyung-Seok! Why are you slacking off? Where’s our buff?!” “I can’t use my skills!” Chae Hyung-Seok shouted in response. It seemed that the same was happening to Chae Hyung-Seok. ‘How is this even possible? Does it make sense to block everyone in such a wide area from using skills?’ Siegfried was honestly surprised. Being able to blanket this entire battlefield with some sort of ability that prevented everyone from using their skills would mean that the caster would not be an easy opponent. It was all because this was something Siegfried couldn’t do even if he was in his demon lord form. “Torches! Light the torches!” “What are the mages doing?! Shoot up illuminating flares in the sky!” The Proatine Forces hurriedly lit up their torches and shot flares in the sky to illuminate the battlefield. Their surroundings had darkened to the point that they couldn’t see ahead of them anymore. Shortly after, the two sides clashed. The Holy Alliance and the Proatine Forces clashed, and the two sides were locked in a fierce melee battle. ”Bring it on, you bastards!” Soldiers from both sides fought with absolute ferociousness, going at their enemy with the intent to kill. ’What the hell is going on?! Just why?!’ Meanwhile, Siegfried killed the enemies coming at him with basic attacks after having his skills sealed. He tried to check if his skills worked by activating them from time to time, but it was to no avail. [Alert: Skill cannot be used!] He still couldn’t use his skills. Fortunately, he could still use his mana to enhance his body. ’This isn’t looking good,’ Siegfried thought. He was worried that the absence of his debuffs would result in increased casualties for his men. The original plan was for Siegfried to use his debuffs and Chae Hyung-Seok to cast his buffs. If things went according to plan, they would have easily defeated the Holy Alliance. The battle was far from easy without Siegfried’s debuffs and Chae Hyung-Seok’s buffs. Of course, the Proatine Forces were still stronger than the Holy Alliance, so they were still overwhelming them regardless. However, they were not outright slaughtering them like how they overwhelmed the 2nd Corps. In other words, the absence of their debuffs and buffs was clearly obvious. ’I have to find the source of this and get rid of it,’ Siegfried thought and jumped behind enemy lines. ”It’s the evil demon! Siegfried van Proa!” The Holy Alliance soldiers rushed at him the moment they saw him. “Fuck off,” Siegfried muttered and swung his +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp, killing anyone who dared to stand in his way. Even though he couldn’t use his skills, he was still a Master, so there was no way these ordinary soldiers could do anything against him. When Siegfried jumped behind enemy lines... ”Glory to the Kiev Kingdom!” The Kiev Forces hit the Holy Alliance from the rear. ”Glory to the Marchioni Empire!” ”Long live the empire!” Shortly after, the 8th Corps under Irene’s command hit the flank of the Holy Alliance. The coalition of the Proatine Forces, Kiev Forces, and the 8th Corps of the Marchioni Empire hit the 1st Corps of the Holy Alliance, and the battle soon descended into mayhem. Meanwhile, Siegfried found himself surrounded after jumping behind enemy lines. A thick black fog surrounded him, and enemies started emerging one after another from it. These were not NPCs, but rather Adventurers. These Adventurers had black wings on their backs, which were the same black wings used by the Fallen Angels. “Sigh...” Siegfried let out a long sigh after seeing the Adventurers surround him. He had already made a name for himself, so it was almost impossible to find anyone who had not heard of him among those with even a bit of interest in BNW. This meant that people were aware just how strong Siegfried had become. Yet they dared to surround him? This was nothing short of a bad comedy skit. “I am a busy person. Can you please get out of my way?” Siegfried asked nonchalantly. However, none of the Adventurers budged an inch. “Hey, aren’t you looking down on us a bit too much?” “No hard feelings, Siegfried.” “This is just business, nothing more than that.” In fact, they actually looked confident they could take him on. ‘Why are these guys so confident? Is someone backing them up?’ Siegfried wondered. While he was wondering, one of the Adventurers suddenly unleashed a long-range skill. ‘Eh? T-That’s fucking cheating!’ Siegfried shrieked inwardly after seeing the skill. This was the reason the Adventurers were confident they could take him on. The darkness shrouding the battlefield might have restricted Siegfried and his allies from using skills, but it allowed those on the Holy Alliance’s side to use theirs. ‘T-This is insane!’ Siegfried growled inwardly while evading the skill. He had never heard of such selfish and overpowered skill before. But that was about it... ‘Do they think I’m just an empty shell without my skills or what?’ Siegfried grumbled inwardly. Then, he smirked as he evaded all of the skills unleashed at him. Siegfried possessed near-godly control. On top of that, his stats were better than others, so he could easily win against those in the Level 200s with his movements alone. The +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp smashed open the heads of the Adventurers that dared to surround him. It all happened in the blink of an eye that the Adventurers couldn’t react to the one-sided slaughter. One of the Adventurers who luckily survived staggered backward after seeing what had unfolded before him. He was a Level 299 spearman, a Lance Storm. He was also considered one of the stronger players in the game. However, even a Level 299 was nothing but an ordinary mob against Siegfried. Thıs content belongs to 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹~𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮~𝚗𝚎𝚝 Siegfried hurled his +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp straight at the Level 299 Adventurer’s head. And he, too, fell dead to the ground, just like his comrades. “Whew,” Siegfried let out a gasp and smiled after seeing the items they dropped. The Three-Legged Crow’s apparition appeared and swooped down, sweeping up all of the dropped items. Shortly after, Siegfried’s inventory sucked in all of the items. [Alert: You have obtained +14 Thunderstorm!] [Alert: You have obtained +5 Bluffing Ring!] [Alert: You have obtained +13 Spearman’s Courage!] It had been a long time since he last enjoyed someone else’s items. “Ahng... Nngh...! S-So good...!” Siegfried squirmed and moaned, thoroughly enjoying the pleasure running throughout his body for the first time in a long while. Of course, he did not forget to harvest their souls, too. He couldn't use his skills, but he could still absorb their souls. The battle was much fiercer than anticipated. None of the coalition forces could use their skills, so it was only natural that they would struggle against the Holy Alliance troops, who could use their skills. Thus, the battle that should have ended swiftly in the coalition’s victory slowly started to tilt toward the Holy Alliance’s favor. Just by being able to use their skills, the Holy Alliance managed to overcome the difference in numbers. Thanks to that, Siegfried became busier, running around the entire battlefield. ‘I have to find the source of this and get rid of it,’ Siegfried thought as he wreaked havoc behind enemy lines like a train off the rails. “Accept your divine punishment!” “Scourge of the world!” NPC, Adventurers, and Fallen Angels alike tried to stop him, but the result was all the same. All of them had their heads bashed open whenever Siegfried swung his +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp. Siegfried noticed a certain area where the black fog was thicker than others, and he immediately headed there. The dark fog coming from somewhere near the 8th Corps of the Marchioni Empire was slithering about, releasing more of itself, as if it were a living creature. To make matters worse, dead knights of the empire strewn on the ground were revealed whenever the dense black fog moved through them. ‘I found you, damned bastard,’ Siegfried growled inwardly. The black fog was, without a doubt, the reason behind the dark skies, which were preventing the coalition forces from using their skills. Thus, Siegfried ran toward the black fog without any hesitation. As soon as he dove straight into the fog... He came face to face with someone who seemed to have been waiting for him. The young man was surrounded by the dead knights of the empire; the corpses around him numbered around forty to fifty. ‘This guy must be strong,’ Siegfried thought, tensing at the powerful enemy before him. He could tell that the young man was strong just from the aura that the latter was unleashing. Siegfried didn't even have to look at the number of dead knights on the ground. Badump! Badump! Badump! His heart beat wildly against his chest, and he felt like needles were pricking him. The fact that his body was instinctively reacting this way could only mean one thing... ‘A Grandmaster.'’ Siegfried could tell that the young man in front of him had reached the pinnacle of human limits. “Are you Siegfried van Proa? I’ve been waiting for you,” the young man said. “May I ask for your good name, sir?” Siegfried asked courteously, sensing that the man before him was no ordinary person. “The name is Cassius de Blackcrow.” “Forgive me, but I am not familiar with the names of this world.” “Then I suppose you have heard of what people call me? Dark Sky Lord?” “Ah...” Siegfried muttered after remembering hearing the name before. There were three known Grandmasters on the continent—Daode Tianzun, who specialized in magic, Dark Sky Lord, who specialized in war, and Lord of Destruction, who specialized in destruction. Siegfried had never imagined that he would meet another one of the three Grandmasters, Dark Sky Lord. ‘I can’t use my skills, but I have to face off against a Grandmaster? Damn it...’ Under normal circumstances, he would have welcomed with open arms the opportunity to fight against a Grandmaster, but that was not the case this time. Siegfried couldn’t use his skills, so there was a 99.9% chance that he would lose. In other words, he had no chance of winning. ‘Damn it... I think I’m fucked,’ Siegfried thought. “I have nothing against you, Siegfried van Proa,” Cassius said nonchalantly. Then, he brandished his weapon, a pair of Crescent Moon Swords still dripping with the blood of the empire’s knights. The Dark Sky Lord swung his swords, and then layers upon layers of cross-shaped aura blades burst forth, flying toward Siegfried.