Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage

Chapter 117: Bloodline of Ambition and Rebellion I

CH117 Bloodline of Ambition and Rebellion I

***

Alex calmly returned to the Back Mountain Lodging with Fen nestled in his arms.

Though outwardly composed, his mind was a storm of thoughts and contingency plans.

Earl Drake Fury had allowed his challenge, but the opposition had successfully slipped in an annoying clause:

Both duels had to be held on the same day.

Yes—Alex would be fighting two duels.

The first would be a one-on-one match against Kurt, a direct duel to determine the heir to Earl Drake’s branch once and for all.

The outcome of that match would determine whether the second duel happened at all.

If Kurt won, that would be the end of it.

But if Alex emerged victorious, he would face a second duel, immediately afterwards—against the heirs of the Family Council’s faction.

That, however, came with another caveat.

Because Alex had publicly denounced the Family Council as a collective, the duel would not be a series of one-on-one fights.

Instead, it would be a handicap match—Alex versus the heirs of all the nobles he had offended.

And Earl Drake had agreed to it.

Alex found that unsurprising.

His father had already been as biased in his favour as possible. Any further concessions would only appear as blatant favouritism—and that could damage Alex’s credibility and future authority.

On paper, life was more valuable than reputation.

In reality, it was far more complicated.

After eating and watching Fen curl up and drift to sleep—something that oddly had a therapeutic effect on his restless mind—Alex sat cross-legged on the bed and began to meditate.

He didn’t cultivate.

Instead, he quietly replayed the events of the day.

To be honest, he would have preferred to avoid escalating things to this point. But his instincts—and the accumulated wisdom of two lifetimes—were warning him not to let Kurt roam free any longer.

Kurt and his mother were making the same mistake as many before them:

Underestimating the Family Council.

Yes, the Furies were warriors at heart, and novices when it came to political intrigues and the subtle games of influence.

But what they lacked in polish and political grace, they compensated with ruthless cunning.

’Kurt and his mother... No—who am I kidding?’

Alex’s eyes opened slightly in the dim room.

’This is all Joselin Holt’s doing. She was the mastermind.

’Her plan must’ve been to weaponise the old nobles—those whose families predated Earl Drake’s golden age—to check my rise.

’She is smart... Smart enough to know that the so-called Family Council couldn’t actually oppose Father’s decisions. They lacked both the power and legal standing to do so.

’But what they could do... was make noise. Enough noise to make even the Mad Earl pause, if only briefly.

’And that brief pause? That brief pause was all she needed.’

’My momentum... That was the real target of this farce

’She saw my influence growing... how easily I subdued Kurt during our last encounter... how Father’s soldiers were beginning to acknowledge me...

’It spooked her.’

’So she played her cards—using the dissatisfaction of the old nobles as leverage.’

Joselin Holt knew full well that the Council couldn’t punish Alex directly. After all, it wasn’t Alex who had chosen to enter the Ancestral Grounds. It was Earl Drake’s decision.

So even if they kicked and screamed, no blame would ever land on him.

But they didn’t need to win.

Not really.

If things had gone as Joselin intended, the Council’s uproar might have pressured Earl Drake to throw Kurt a few crumbs—to make token changes for the sake of appearance, or to delay some of Alex’s rising momentum... if only for a short while.

Not to protect his own reputation—

But to protect Alex’s.

’Subtle... but dangerous.’

Alex referred to Viscount Lars and his allies as ”the old nobles” because their families were remnants of the Fury bloodline’s former order—before the current era, the golden age ushered in by Earl Drake Fury himself.

And now, they were desperate.

And desperation made even old dogs... unpredictable.

Prior to Drake Fury’s defeat of the Schaumers—before he conquered their lands and rose to become Head of the Fury family—the family had only six nobles in total:

One Count, two Viscounts, and three Barons.

Now?

Thanks to Earl Drake’s quiet, yet far-reaching influence, the Fury family boasted more than twenty noble lines, with three more Counts having risen in rank and the previous sole Count, Mathias Fury, now elevated to Earl.

Minus Earl Mathias Fury, however, the other five noble lines had relatively declined—at least when compared to their former glory within the family and the rising power of the newer lines shaped under Earl Drake’s rule.

’Joselin Holt thought she was using the old nobles...’

Alex’s thoughts simmered darkly.

’...but in truth, it’s those old foxes who are using her and Kurt as well.’

The Fury doctrine of ’power above all’ had become a blade turning against the old noble lines.

If they left things alone, they would inevitably be outgrown and devoured by the new nobles rising under Earl Drake’s shadow.

To avoid being consumed, they accepted Joselin’s plan—to form a Family Council, as done in other noble houses. Joselin envisioned a council loyal to her, Kurt, and House Holt. A weapon she could wield to resist Earl Drake’s authority.

But she failed to realise something crucial—

She had just opened the door to an entity that could one day grow strong enough to undermine the Head of House Fury himself.

The old nobles may not have been clever enough to devise such a plan on their own, but once they started to taste success, once they realised they could resist or influence the Family Head’s power—even if just a little—they would grasp the true potential of their collective.

Yes, they had grown weaker over the years...

But they were still Furies.

And Furies did not die quietly.

They would become jackals, drawn by the scent of power, driven to seize it by any means necessary.

’Should Kurt and Joselin be left unchecked...’

Alex’s eyes narrowed.

’These cunning old bastards will use them to grow the Council’s strength, until it rivals—maybe even surpasses—the authority of the Family Head.’

’One day, the Family Head’s authority might be reduced to nothing more than a figurehead.’

’Especially if that idiot Kurt becomes Family Head.’

And if that happened?

The Fury family would implode.

The Furor Bloodline was rife with rebellion.

It needed the iron rule of a singular dominant force to suppress that innate defiance.

The Family Council, by design, was a parliament—a body of equals working toward a common agenda.

And yes, united, the Council could indeed become the supreme force to hold the family together...

But therein lay the fatal flaw.

The very trait that the Council needed to suppress—rebellion—was embedded in the blood of every one of its members.

Yes, while the Council was still growing, its members might seem united.

But this unity wasn’t born of harmony or shared ideals—it was born of collective rebellion. A temporary alliance against a common figure of authority.

In truth, the Family Council could only ever unite to rebel.

Once the Family Head is toppled, that unity ends.

They will turn on each other.

A few will vie to hold supreme power over the council.

The rest will rebel against them.

And so the cycle of chaos will begin.

’How ironic.’

Alex exhaled slowly.

’The Council exists to undermine the Head’s authority... but it is that very authority which holds their fragile unity together.’

’The moment that authority is broken, the council will crumble with it...’

’And the Fury family—as we know it—will fall.’

**