Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage Chapter 610: All-Weapon Intent II

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Sword gave rise to Sword Intent.

Blade gave rise to Blade Intent.

Bow gave rise to Bow Intent...

Every single weapon harbored its own Intent—a mysterious power forged from the wielder's unyielding devotion to their chosen armament.

This power elevated their command over it in manners that shattered ordinary logic.

No fixed route existed to ignite a Weapon Intent; every person reached it via their personal odyssey.

Still, those who triumphed were invariably exceptional—for it marked the acknowledgment of their supreme skill.

Usually, a person could only ignite one Weapon Intent.

Although uncommon, certain figures—particularly immortals beyond mortality, Legends and higher—might command several.

Nevertheless, one Intent towered above all in terms of scarcity.

Labeling it rare... fell woefully short.

All-Weapon Intent!

The ultimate embodiment of total weapon dominion.

If grasping a sword—it morphed into Sword Intent.

A blade—Blade Intent.

An axe—Axe Intent.

Regardless of the armament, their Will adjusted flawlessly, and the Intent synchronized perfectly.

A paramount power enabling its bearer to enforce their expertise on whatever weapon they grasped.

And crucially, the unmistakable sign of a genuine Weapon Master.

Alex’s followers shared bitter grins.

Earlier, they had reveled in their personal advancements—unlocking their individual Intents via the Heaven-Earth Concordance ordeal.

They felt they had edged nearer to their guide.

But now, that guide had come back, utterly eclipsing them.

And as though that fell short—

’...He’s a mage!’

Such notions resounded in their muted desperation.

Mages weren’t incapable of igniting Weapon Intent. Indeed, even mages could swing a weapon.

However, it happened far too seldom.

Awakening Weapon Intent demanded commitment, hours, and a deep bond with the weapon.

Mages inherently poured their souls into magic.

They delved into tomes, honed spells, and rehearsed casting.

At best, weapons served as backups—to spare mana or in dire straits.

Truly committing to a weapon—to attain such profound insight—was a path few mages ever pondered.

Yet Alex stood there.

A mage who handled diverse weapons with effortless grace, attaining a legendary depth of insight others deemed fable.

True Weapon Masters were scarce even in Pangea.

But per the tales encircling them—

’The emergence of a true Weapon Master... is announced by a thousand weapons.’

Pangeans gazed at each other in wonder.

A phrase long brushed off as legend now materialized right before them.

Alex brought it to life.

Weapons quivered, striving to honor the advent of a true Weapon Master.

Down below, Alex appeared entranced.

His thoughts lay vacant—except for one obsession.

’How to slay... with utmost efficiency.’

His motions tightened, honed sharper, grew ever more precise.

Simultaneously, mana cloaking his weapons swelled—streaming fluidly—mirroring each weapon's essence as his draconic baton morphed shapes.

Countless more cadavers marked his advance, forging a wake of carnage.

His dominant aura swiftly attracted notice from the real threats— the elite Fourth Order berserk humans.

Almost twenty of these specially mutated beasts wheeled toward him.

They forsook their feast, fixating on the ambulatory font of premium energy: Alex.

The slain bodies of allies strewn about him failed to dissuade; rather, it whetted their appetite.

Witnessing this, Alex’s wives and followers knew they couldn’t linger as watchers.

Thus, they sprang into motion.

"Stay here. Be ready to retreat if necessary," Udara commanded.

The team plunged down the slope—

Intent on blocking the Fourth Order berserk humans before they swarmed Alex.

Yet others beat them to the punch.

Neigh—!

A colossal, jet-black warhorse exploded from the throng, thundering ahead with irresistible force, hurling berserk humans aside.

Trailing it, a direwolf bounded through the breach it forged.

Overhead, a gigantic eagle soared the field, unleashing razor-edged energy rays that sliced through the tougher berserk humans.

Alex’s trio of beast allies had joined the fray.

In unison, they blazed a trail right to him.

[Flame Wave]!

Feeling Dread’s approach, Alex loosed a roaring fire surge—torching close foes and shoving others away.

He dashed ahead without pause.

Bouncing off a berserk human’s skull, he rocketed skyward.

Leaping across the mob, then touching down smoothly on Dread’s saddle.

"Let’s go," he ordered.

The nightmare mount bolted forth.

Alex’s draconic baton lengthened into a lance, fortified by packed mana.

He dipped it low, positioning the point right in Dread’s path—like a jousting knight.

[Flare Brand]!

Solar mana amassed thickly at the tip, honing its piercing might to horrifying degrees.

With the enchanted lance tip and Dread’s Class 3 velocity, rider and steed fused into a hurtling ballista dart, ripping through the berserk human pack.

Behind and aloft, Fen and Senu trailed seamlessly, mowing down stragglers.

Skree—!

Senu’s piercing screech echoed.

Alex’s wives and followers had stalled some unique berserk humans—

But not every one.

A few still pressed toward him.

Alex’s eyes snapped ahead, fixing on a hideous monstrosity.

A hugely distended berserk human lumbered his way.

Its shape ballooned past recognition. Skin pulled taut over a frame pulsing with aberrant life force, hinting at origins from a vitality berserk human.

As it advanced, it snatched lesser berserk humans, cramming them into its lone head maw and grinding them to bits.

Every footfall trailed fizzing, corrosive ooze.

"Don’t worry," Alex stated coolly, as if answering Senu’s alert. "I haven’t forgotten about them."

He lifted a finger skyward.

Far up, the enormous [Heaven’s Punishment] array, invoked at battle’s start, improbably lingered...

Still amassing mana.

’That ought to suffice.’

His gaze iced over.

[Grade 8 Special Warfare Spell

Extinction Lightning Style — Heaven’s Fury]!

Via a wordless directive to OmniRune, a titanic reddish-purple-black lightning column plunged from above.

BOOM!!!

The blast annihilated all in its wake, hurling up a vast dust shroud engulfing the field.

For an instant, visibility vanished.

Then dust cleared.

Weaker berserk humans had vanished.

And the grotesque vitality-type—despite its healing might—erased utterly.

Not a scrap lingered.

This raw power display rippled terror through surviving unique berserk humans.

They faltered—

Then bolted.

’No... you don’t.’

Tapping his ballooned Elite-rank mana pool—at minimum tenfold prior—Alex commanded once more.

A fresh array materialized—

This one upright above him.

Light rays lanced from it.

Each zeroed in on a fleeing unique berserk human with precision.

The rays hit dead-on.

Yet, against all odds, no harm or jolt showed.

Rather, each ray shrank to a minute, elaborate glyph, etching quietly on targets, unseen by any.

Next, the vertical array above Alex rotated, going flat as it ascended to blend with the sky-suspended prior one.

The arrays merged.

Instantly, huge ambient mana inflows fed it.

[Grade 8 Great Warfare Spell — Heaven’s Judgement]!

The unified array shifted into a sprawling cloud crackling with rainbow lightning.

Soon after—

It crashed down.

Bolt upon bolt hammered, echoing Heavenly Tribulation’s wrath.

No distance saved the unique berserk humans; strikes pursued unyieldingly, felling them at lightning pace.

"Argh..." Alex gripped his chest.

A sharp ache throbbed from his Mana Heart.

Such swift mana drain strained it to breaking.

Still, regret evaded him.

"The strikes won’t kill them!" he snapped over comms. "Finish them off—now!"

His order jolted everyone alert.

Wives, followers... everyone unleashed peak moves, charging to dispatch lingering unique berserk humans.

Oddly, bolts varied in might.

Farthest runners took the fiercest hits, dying on impact.

Closer ones endured milder zaps.

Insufficient for death, ample for maiming.

Alex’s intent shone clear: precise strategy.

Zora, Udara, Fen, Senu, Havel, Mogal, Kavakan, Silver—All dashed in, ending the downed foes.

From mountaintop vantage, leftover Fortuna folk—barbarians and orcs foremost—couldn’t hold back.

Roaring eagerly, they stormed downward, diving into the carnage.

Alex held back now.

Perched on Dread—he bore the fading chest agony—and observed his team purge remaining berserk humans.

With Fen earthbound and Senu ruling skies, his intervention proved needless.

Nor feasible, truly.

’Pushed too hard, overextended,’ Alex conceded with a smirk.

But surveying the stares upon him.

Awe, dread, veneration...

’Worth every bit.’ He concluded.

Thus, Fortuna’s group exterminated the berserk swarm.

And thereby, culled a hefty chunk of berserk humans infesting this Wildlands zone.

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