Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage Chapter 832: The Frontier March’s Reversal I

CH832 The Frontier March’s Reversal I

***

Suddenly, a canine figure leapt from the wall surrounding Ashwell Town.

Mist gathered beneath its paws as it rapidly crossed the distance between the battlements and the Stronghold Army through the air.

At the same time, its body rapidly expanded until it became a towering, two-metre-tall ashen-grey direwolf.

It descended with claws outstretched, landing a deadly strike squarely on Etgar Dunn, knocking the man clean off his mount.

Four deep gashes were carved across his torso—so deep that bone was visible beneath the shredded flesh.

Etgar Dunn never stood a chance.

The wolf, however, was far from finished.

It slammed both forepaws into the ground.

A violent burst of flames erupted around it, forcing back the soldiers attempting to surround it.

Then, from its lowered stance, thick wooden tendrils burst from both the earth beneath it and its back, shooting out in every direction to impale the surrounding soldiers.

Even Baron Stodge only narrowly escaped.

One of the tendrils sliced across his cheek before he managed to leap backwards.

The Baron hurriedly donned his helmet.

He stared in disbelief at the strange direwolf.

Not only could it wield the opposing elements of Water and Fire, it also possessed mastery over nature (wood).

If that alone was not alarming enough, several soldiers impaled by the wolf’s wooden tendrils rapidly shrivelled before everyone’s eyes, while the direwolf itself appeared visibly more vigorous.

"Energy Absorption!" The Baron’s expression immediately darkened.

"Surround it! Kill that beast immediately, damn it!" he roared.

Despite the soldiers’ attempts to encircle and trap it, the direwolf moved with remarkable intelligence, weaving effortlessly through their formation while avoiding every attack.

Yet, while the soldiers remained completely focused on the wolf, they failed to notice the true herald of death descending from above.

SKRREEEE!!!!

A piercing eagle’s cry echoed across the battlefield.

The great bird of prey glided gracefully overhead, unleashing one [Spatial Rend] after another upon the Stronghold Army.

Invisible spatial blades silently tore through the ranks, dismembering the unfortunate soldiers caught in their paths with eerie precision.

Baron Stodge’s expression darkened even further as these bizarre ’berserk’ beasts—creatures unlike any he had ever encountered—ripped through his men.

He watched the two beasts weave across the battlefield as though it were nothing more than their own backyard.

Fortunately for him, the Stronghold’s soldiers were veterans in their own right.

After the initial barrage claimed the lives of many of their comrades, they rapidly adapted to the attack patterns of the two beasts.

Sensing the change almost immediately, the direwolf and eagle disengaged without hesitation, retreating before the soldiers could capitalise on their newfound awareness.

One in the air and the other on the ground, the two beasts silently watched the soldiers.

They were none other than Fen and Senu.

Then—

"AWUUU!"

"AWOOOOO!!!"

Fen let out another resounding howl, which was immediately echoed by the hundreds of wolves waiting upon the surrounding mountains.

’Oh no...’

Baron Stodge’s expression changed the moment he understood Fen’s intention.

As expected, hundreds of wolves came charging down the mountainside.

They crashed into the flanks of the Stronghold Army, which had already begun to lose its formation while responding to Fen and Senu’s earlier assault.

This had been the true plan all along.

Fen had never been meant to leap from the wall.

At least, not yet.

His role had been to remain atop the battlements, directing and coordinating the wolf pack from an elevated vantage point.

However, the moment he saw Etgar Dunn glaring threateningly at Alex, the direwolf’s predatory instincts had taken over.

Enraged, Fen had immediately leapt down to eliminate the perceived threat to his alpha, tearing Etgar Dunn apart before carrying out his original assignment.

Only now did he finally issue the command he had been meant to give from the very beginning.

The wolves slammed into the Stronghold Army with reckless ferocity.

Almost immediately, the soldiers noticed that something about them was deeply unsettling.

It went far beyond them being ’berserk beasts’.

Although berserk beasts could become partially or even completely deranged depending on the severity of their berserk contamination, they still reacted instinctively to pain and injury.

These wolves did not.

They fought like lifeless puppets, displaying complete indifference to wounds that would have crippled any ordinary beast.

Even severed limbs failed to stop them from clawing and biting at their targets.

Were it not for the flesh and blood spilling from their mangled bodies, many soldiers would have believed they were fighting animated constructs rather than living creatures.

Most of the wolves were Class 2, making each of them individually stronger than the average Stronghold soldier.

However, the Stronghold Army outnumbered them by nearly ten to one, and its well-trained veterans quickly began exploiting that numerical advantage.

Atop the wall, the group watching the battle grew increasingly restless.

Alex noticed their reactions and gave a subtle shake of his head.

"Only those capable of surviving the jump from this wall may join the battle," he said calmly.

The weaker soldiers atop the wall immediately felt their excitement evaporate.

To the stronger warriors, however, those words might as well have been an order to charge.

"Dalton," Kavakan called with a grin, "care for a competition?"

"Alright. My joints have been feeling a little stiff for a while now. Come on then, I’ll humour you," Dalton Asheton said with a laugh as he rolled his shoulders and rotated his arms.

Dalton shot a challenging glance towards the other former BattleBane Captains, Dyrk and Gunnar.

At the same time, Kavakan did the same towards Mogal and Havel.

In an instant, the occasion silently transformed into a competition between the former BattleBane Captains and Alex’s original retainers.

Only one thing remained unclear though; would it become a contest between the two groups, or an individual competition amongst all of them?

Sinia and Silver exchanged glances, each seeing the other’s expression of exasperation reflected back at them.

They sighed in perfect unison.

Both immediately realised they would have to join the battle as well, if only to keep the more battle-hungry members of their respective groups from getting completely out of hand.

The next moment, Kavakan, Mogal, Havel, Dalton, Dyrk, and Gunnar leapt from the wall with weapons already drawn.

The instant their feet touched the ground, all six exploded into a sprint.

Had someone not known better, they would have thought the six warriors were racing towards some priceless treasure rather than charging headlong into a battlefield.

Several of the domain’s other Gold-rank warriors followed close behind, also leaping from the battlements.

The moment Kavakan’s group of six—comprising three Combat Masters and three Class 3 warriors possessing Combat Master-level combat strength—crashed into the Stronghold Army, the effect was immediate.

Kavakan’s twin axes carved a bloody path through every Stronghold soldier unfortunate enough to stand before him.

The Domain Army’s Commander deliberately ignored the more powerful Stronghold officers, instead focusing on slaughtering as many rank-and-file soldiers as possible.

Thanks to the Mark of Slaughter, every life he claimed made him stronger while steadily replenishing his stamina, allowing the massacre to continue unabated.

Mogal remained close to Kavakan through the assault.

The weretiger’s overwhelmingly aggressive fighting style naturally drew the attention of numerous Stronghold officers, all eager to stop his advance.

That was exactly what Fortuna’s Champion wanted.

Mogal did what he did best.

He confronted the strongest opponents the enemy could field.

And with every powerful foe he faced, with the adversity imposed on him by them, the Chains of Unyielding pushed him to grow even stronger in the midst of battle.

One after another, Mogal cut down the Stronghold Army’s Gold-rank officers almost as quickly as Kavakan was sending the ordinary soldiers to the great beyond.

***