Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage

Chapter 529: Lord Bonsai’s New Menu Listing

CH529 Lord Bonsai’s New Menu Listing

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Within Alex’s Sanctuary pocket dimension, the Bonsai Tree’s trunk emitted a faint glow as energy surged upward through its roots.

The tree rapidly processed the divine energy absorbed from the kobold ancestral spirit, stripping away the Providence bound within it before redirecting the remnant power through a creeping, outstretching branch toward the Nest Queen.

More reddish-gold vein-like patterns surfaced across the cocoon’s exterior as the branch delivered the energy.

When the transfer ended and the branch withdrew, the cocoon trembled.

Cracks began to form—

as though the Nest Queen was about to break free.

But the Bonsai Tree reacted at once.

Its branch snapped forward again, wrapping around the cocoon, pulsing with a gentle rhythm.

The sight resembled a mother humming a lullaby, coaxing a restless child back to sleep.

Gradually, the cocoon calmed.

The fractures receded.

Within moments, it returned to its quiet, sealed state.

Only then did the branch retreat back to the Bonsai Tree.

As for the tree itself, a change had taken place.

Small patches of lush leaves were sprouting along its limbs.

It was still far from fully restored—barely forty percent of what it once should be—but those fresh buds carried a promise of recovery.

And more than that, from the subtle sway of its branches, it was clear the tree relished the ancestral spirit’s divine energy far more than Juror’s.

Juror’s power had been vast, overwhelming, and quite the feast.

But that had also been the problem.

Lord Bonsai was not in prime condition. It had been a starving, dying tree forced to gorge itself at the first opportunity.

Though it managed to swallow the feast, the experience had been anything but pleasant.

And worse, Juror’s divine energy had been stubborn— difficult to digest.

But, well, that occasion hadn’t been a time to be picky.

Compared to Juror, the ancestral spirit’s divine energy was small.

Compared to forcing down an entire roasted cow until it hurt, like with Juror’s divine energy, this energy was like a carefully prepared gourmet dish. Modest in portion, yes, but so exquisitely palatable that it slid down without resistance.

The Providence bound within it was extracted with almost no effort at all from the metaphysical Bonsai Tree.

The refined essence gently nourished the withered trunk, breathing vitality back into it and laying the groundwork for the return of the lush green canopy that had once defined its glory.

Suffice it to say, the kobold ancestral spirit’s offering was a welcome addition to Lord Bonsai’s dinner menu.

While Lord Bonsai basked in its meal and the lingering afterglow, Alex found himself locked in a silent stare-off with his wives.

”So, the reason you had us attack the mountain wasn’t for a pre-emptive strike like you said, but because you wanted to absorb the kobolds’ ancestral spirit’s divine energy for the Heartwood Tree?” Zora asked.

”No, the pre-emptive strike was the main reason. Getting to the ancestral spirit and absorbing its divine energy was just a bonus,” Alex quickly argued.

”You should have told us before dragging us into a battle against a divinity, Alex,” Eleanore said.

”I know, but things happened so fast, and since the tree is a closely guarded secret...” Alex began piling up excuses, but then he stopped.

He realised that wasn’t the point.

”I’m sorry,” he said instead.

”I would say you shouldn’t do this again, but we all know I’d just be wasting my breath. Just don’t get us into trouble, okay?” Expectedly, Zora replied after a sigh.

”Trust me, I would never,” he said quickly. ”I only did this because I had already carefully gauged the risk.”

He paused again, wisely deciding to stop talking.

The women ignored him for the moment, then turned to examine the cavern they were in.

Zora and Eleanore moved off to search for valuables, while Udara walked toward the blocked entrance, leaving Alex standing alone at the centre of the cavern, lips twitching.

He felt like a child told to face the wall and reflect on his mistakes.

Chuckling wryly to himself, he slipped into the Sanctuary Pocket Dimension to check whether his gamble had been worth it.

When he returned, his wives didn’t even need to ask about the result.

The smile on his face said everything.

”There isn’t really anything valuable here,” Eleanore reported. ”Unless we find another kobold tribe to sell the... artefacts here—if we can call them that—we’re better off leaving them or outright destroying them.”

”The divine seal reinforcing the rocks at the entrance has shattered,” Udara said. ”I can probably break part of it, collapse the rest outward, and open a path for us.”

What she didn’t say was the risk of bringing part of the cavern ceiling down on top of them.

Still, Alex, Eleanore, and Zora read the warning between the lines.

”Go ahead,” Alex said.

The three spellcasters quietly prepared shield spells, holding them at the ready as Udara stepped up to the blockage and threw out a punch.

[Amazonian Might]!

Boom!

Udara’s strike shattered nearly a quarter of the rocky obstruction into fragments and dust. The remaining mass buckled and collapsed outward, leaving a gap more than wide enough for the four of them to pass through.

The thunderous impact alerted Alex’s other four followers, who came rushing toward them.

Alex waved away their concern and asked instead, ”How was it? Did you find anything?”

”Just a Kobold Warlord. We believe it was the clan chief,” Silver reported.

”How did you handle it?” Alex asked.

”We ganged up on it and clobbered it to death,” Kavakan said proudly, without any hint of warrior’s shame present at all in his voice.

Kobold Warlords were technically Class 4 monsters.

Technically, because their real strength lay in commanding and coordinating kobold troops. Individually, they weren’t particularly powerful.

With the entire clan already dead, there was no way for the warlord to display its innate advantage.

Once again, Alex’s foresight in attacking the mountain had proven ingenious.

”Sir, the cavern appears to be a treasury,” Silver continued. ”The kobolds seem to have gathered all manner of shiny objects over time. We might be able to find something of value there.”

”Even if they aren’t worth much, the metals themselves won’t go to waste,” Alex said after a moment of thought. ”They can serve as scrap for Sugud to work with for now.”

Collecting proof of the kobolds’ deaths and looting the mountain took far longer than the actual battle.

Still, no one complained.

After all, the feeling of making money and acquiring wealth was intoxicating.

By the time they finished, the noon sun already hung high in the sky.

With whatever fatigue they might have felt from the earlier fights now gone, the party pressed onward toward the location of the reported berserk human gathering.

But alas, the beasts and monsters of the Wildlands desert continued to obstruct their path.

And to make matters worse, not every obstacle was something they could simply kill and walk past.

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