Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage

Chapter 841: Skywalker Appears II

CH841 Skywalker Appears II

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“Soldiers of the North-East Fortress, do you accept my authority?”

Alex’s words hung in the air.

The soldiers looked towards their new de facto leaders.

These men had been nothing more than privates or corporals until now. They knew very little about the political implications of what Alex was offering.

However, they could sense from the man’s tone that it wasn’t a decision they should make lightly.

In fact, it was as though this projected image of Count Skywalker was all but explicitly telling them as much.

Still, the men cared little for the politics, aristocratic manoeuvring, and hidden undercurrents at play.

All they cared about—indeed, all they could think about—was survival: their own survival, their comrades’ survival, and the survival of their Stronghold and city.

“We accept!” they replied in unison.

“Very well, then.” Alex’s projection nodded. “In that case, the North-East Fortress is now my territory. And in the name of House Skywalker, I shall not allow any harm to come upon my territory,” he declared.

The projection raised a hand before him. At the same time, Senu’s eyes turned golden as a powerful spiritual force exuded from them.

A magic circle began forming before Alex’s projection.

Perhaps because he wasn’t physically present and was instead casting the spell through his connection with Senu, the spell formation developed slowly, taking about five seconds to complete.

However, after his earlier declaration, the slowly forming spell circle possessed a strange charm. Coupled with the pressure it exuded, it gave the projection—and the man it represented—an overwhelming air of authority and power.

It was as though not Alex, but the world itself, was casting the spell in order to validate his declaration.

Not a single beast, whether in the skies or on the ground, dared move. They all watched single-mindedly as Count Skywalker’s spell formation reached completion.

Then, finally, after five tense seconds, the spell activated.

[Spirit Magic: Five-clawed Divine Dragon]!

Fire and Light Mana rushed into the spell formation, powering it as a serpentine dragon emerged from within.

A tiny spark of fire shot from Senu’s beak and merged into the formed dragon.

ROAR!!!!

The dragon seemed to gain a spark of life as it unleashed a roar that sent a powerful blast of air in all directions—pushing back the Vulture Bee Drones and forcing even the closest defenders to stagger backwards.

“Go,” Alex’s projection ordered softly.

The dragon moved.

Unlike the massive destructive strike everyone expected, the dragon shot forward, transforming into a thin line of mana that pierced through the bodies of the drones like a bolt of lightning—entering from one side, exiting through the other, then continuing on to attack more drones.

The frozen drones dropped from the sky like gentle rain, silently and almost immeasurably.

Within moments, the swarm visibly shrank by more than a third before the spell finally ran out of energy.

Alex’s projection turned towards Udara.

“Clean up the rest,” he said.

“By your will, my lord.”

The armoured Udara bowed.

Alex’s projection moved as though to leave. But then his gaze drifted towards the Stronghold and Mirador City.

“The people below are now my people. In my name, no harm must come to my people,” he said. “Do not fail my name,” he added with emphasis.

“I… we will not,” Udara replied.

“Good.”

Alex nodded.

Then his projection gradually faded away.

With the projection’s disappearance, so too vanished the pressure it exuded.

Even without meeting him in person, the weight of Count Skywalker’s presence—conveyed through nothing more than a projection—had subdued the entire battlefield, leaving an indelible impression upon the hearts of everyone who had seen and heard him.

‘This man… he is superior to the Commander.’

That impression inadvertently took root in the hearts of the Stronghold’s soldiers and echoed repeatedly through their minds.

HUM~~!!!

However, with the Count’s departure, the attacking Vulture Bee Drones also regained their aggression. They appeared enraged by their dwindling numbers and began attacking with reckless abandon.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Stinger after stinger crashed into the Stronghold’s structure, causing sections to collapse and bringing the fortress down one brick at a time.

‘Their nature has degraded even further. They’ve gone completely berserk,’ the soldiers thought, believing the Vulture Bee Drones had succumbed entirely to the berserk instincts of berserk beasts.

‘They are no longer targeting us soldiers on the walls, but instead seem intent on bringing the entire wall down on us!’ the soldiers’ new leaders thought.

That was not the only problem.

Even in the lower city, the beasts had all begun focusing on destroying the buildings, paying little heed to the people.

This meant the people found it easier to escape since the beasts were no longer targeting them directly. However, it also meant they had fewer and fewer places to shelter.

In fact, hiding had become even more dangerous, as any random beast could bring a building crashing down on their heads.

“No, you don’t!”

Udara and Senu immediately engaged the Vulture Bee Drones.

“Hurry up! Get your asses up and shoot! Can’t you see Her Ladyship is trying to buy us a chance?!” one of the new archery leaders roared at the others as he lined up a shot and fired.

This spurred the others into action as they also began shooting.

Meanwhile, other defenders began operating the defensive weapons and fortifications to hold back the beasts on the ground.

BOOM!!!

However, the situation took an even worse turn. An entire section of the fort’s wall was brought down by the beasts.

For the first time in many decades, the walls of the Frontier Stronghold had been breached!

Horror filled the soldiers as the beasts charged towards the breach, seeking to pour into the Stronghold.

HORN~~~!!!!

But just as panic was beginning to spread amongst the soldiers, another change occurred.

A horn bellowed across the battlefield.

“Over there!” someone shouted, pointing towards the north.

When they looked over, they saw a group of mounted soldiers charging towards the Stronghold.

At first, the soldiers thought it was another attack. But when the newly arrived army reached the berserk beasts, they immediately began cutting them down.

The beasts fell with alarming ease—one strike was all it took.

The new army tore through the beast horde, carving a path through the enemy and splitting the horde into two.

One half of the army broke away from the rest, wheeling their cavalry charge around and slowly grinding the isolated beasts to death.

Meanwhile, the other half continued onwards towards Mirador City.

As they passed in front of the Stronghold, the soldiers atop the fortress walls finally saw the House banner they flew.

“House Skywalker!”

***