Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage Chapter 648: Revenge Raid I

CH648 Revenge Raid I

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Previously a humble settlement with a population of approximately one thousand souls, this base was forcibly occupied by the dark mercenary group known as the Lost Heathens. Their motive was its strategic position along a crucial supply route they utilized to serve their major clients.

Intelligence acquired by the scouting party—gleaned from one of the scarce survivors who managed to reach BloodIron—revealed that the Lost Heathens initially sought to purchase the village.

The sum they proposed was, to put it mildly, an insult.

However, beyond the paltry offer, the villagers harbored a profound connection to their land. It was a land they had painstakingly transformed into a home, despite the region's harsh and unforgiving terrain.

Tragically, their assessment of the Lost Heathens' true nature proved to be gravely mistaken.

Rejection was not an outcome that wicked group tolerated with ease.

To facilitate further expansion and solidify his operations, Brock Peyton commanded his forces to eradicate the village completely.

A small contingent of villagers, absent during the massacre, eventually reached BloodIron to report the horrific event. Nevertheless, no one was willing to step forward on behalf of impoverished commoners—or a village that had ceased to exist—especially when it meant confronting a formidable and influential entity like the Lost Heathens.

The Wildlands operated not on principles of order or justice, but on the foundation of self-interest. Without a compelling incentive, no action would be taken.

Naturally, the Fortuna Company adhered to this same principle.

Their presence here was driven by a desire for their own retribution—not for the sake of the villagers.

From a vantage point, the group surveyed the village.

The Lost Heathens had evidently made substantial enhancements to the settlement's defenses. The earthen walls were now more imposing and reinforced, with watchtowers installed at each end of the perimeter, both affording a clear view of the central gate.

Each watchtower was staffed by three archers, diligently maintaining a vigilant watch over the surrounding area.

Silver conveyed a silent signal to the crossbow unit. The six of them divided into two groups and, concealed by the darkness, rapidly approached the watchtowers until they were within effective range.

Thwack!

Bolts discharged, impacting the watchtower guards with lethal accuracy.

’Shit!’

One of the crossbowmen failed to hit his target. His intended victim had stooped precisely as the bolt was launched, narrowly escaping death.

Silver reacted instantaneously. Her hands worked the mechanism of her bolt-action crossbow with practiced dexterity. The instant another bolt was loaded, she fired without hesitation.

Thwack!

This time, fortune did not favor the guard. The bolt found its mark, causing him to topple from the tower—his body plummeting past the outer walls on the opposite side.

The crossbowman directed an apologetic glance toward Silver.

Silver offered no verbal reply. Instead, she deliberately operated the mechanism of her crossbow.

The sharp, decisive action served as an unspoken reprimand—a silent reminder that he should have seized the opportunity presented by the crossbow’s rapid firing rate to neutralize the target immediately after the initial miss.

The crossbowman accepted the correction without protest.

As the remainder of the Fortuna Company commenced their advance toward the village, the two crossbow teams pushed forward, reaching the base of the walls directly beneath the watchtowers.

Employing grappling hooks, they swiftly scaled the five-meter-high mud walls and infiltrated the guard towers situated above.

Thwack!

They eliminated the two guards stationed below, just behind the main gate.

Immediately thereafter, the crossbowman who had received the reprimand descended from the wall to unbar the gate, while the others proceeded along the perimeter, neutralizing any remaining enemy combatants stationed on the walls.

Upon entering through the now-open gate alongside the rest of the Fortuna Company, Alex's gaze swept from right to left along the inner perimeter of the settlement.

A slight furrow appeared on his brow as he recognized the most significant deficiency of Sugud’s modified crossbows, particularly within an urban combat setting.

’They are loud,’ Alex thought.

Akin to their firearm counterparts, though to a lesser extent, the bolt-action and pump-action crossbows produced a discernible sound. This was especially true for the longer-range, high-powered bolt-action variants.

Compounding the issue, within a settlement characterized by winding pathways, narrow alleys, and densely packed structures, the sound would echo and reverberate between the buildings, extending its reach and amplifying the potential for detection.

While the unfamiliarity of the noise might momentarily disorient the enemy, delaying their comprehension of the threat, it would invariably rouse them to a state of alert.

’Even so, it won't take them long to recognize it as a danger,’ Alex continued his internal monologue.

’We need to move swiftly—’

"Enemy attack!"

Regrettably, before he could finish his assessment or issue an order, someone discovered a body and sounded the alarm.

Hostiles started to emerge from every direction. The archers took their positions, launching volleys at the scouting team that initiated the assault.

The remainder of the Fortuna Company charged forward to engage.

Under normal circumstances, a squad of merely twenty individuals attacking a settlement large enough to house over a thousand would be deemed utter foolishness.

However, equipped with the game-changing devices in their grasp, the Fortuna Company swiftly carved through the opposition. They transformed the enemy’s own structures and tight pathways into strategic assets as they pushed onward.

The Fury knights were the most relentless in their assault.

They maintained constant movement, firing and eliminating hostiles before they could close the distance.

Leaping from rooftop to rooftop, traversing buildings, and repurposing alleyways as choke points, they weaved through the structures in a determined bid to prevent encirclement and to confront their targets individually.

The newly implemented weaponry, coupled with the unconventional—some might label them ‘cowardly’—strategies implemented by the Fortuna Company, utterly blindsided the Lost Heathens.

Compounding their difficulties, any enemy leader who attempted to rally the situation and marshal a counterattack was immediately identified and eliminated by specialized raid units specifically assigned to thwart such actions.

Yet, despite the impressive efficacy of the new crossbows, not everyone was fully embracing them.

Havel, Kavakan, and Mogal remained steadfast in their traditional fighting methods.

Equipped with a sword, a pair of axes, and bare fists respectively, the trio operated independently, hunting down significant targets and any hint of leadership that dared to show itself.

The three engaged in such a fierce and continuous onslaught of eliminations that they began to attract more attention from the hostiles than their comrades wielding crossbows.

Paradoxically, this diversion played into the Fortuna Company’s favor. With the trio drawing the majority of the enemy’s focus, it became considerably simpler for the crossbow units to eliminate additional targets with precision.

However, as the old adage states, all good things eventually reach their conclusion.

Before long, the Fury knights started to run critically low on bolts. There was no possibility of recovering spent ammunition; doing so would necessitate a considerable amount of time to retrieve, reload into their magazines, and then feed into the crossbows before they could be employed again.

“Another significant drawback,” both Alex and Sugud acknowledged internally, their eyes meeting in a swift, shared glance.

Without a moment's delay, the Fury knights drew their close-combat weapons, preparing to transition into melee engagement.

The Lost Heathens responded with malevolent smirks.

They had erroneously perceived the Fury knights as weak, stemming from their earlier hesitation to engage directly.

Now that the knights had been compelled to unsheathe their blades, the enemy believed victory would be easily attained. The fact that the Fury knights’ aura coating appeared devoid of color only further solidified this dangerous miscalculation.

However, they were on the precipice of a brutal realization.

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