Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage

Chapter 151: One Move to Change the Tides

CH151 One Move to Change the Tides

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People often assumed that beasts lacked intelligence simply because humans were generally smarter. But that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Beasts had their own brand of cunning, an instinctive savagery tempered by fighting experience and inherited primal wisdom. It made them a force to be reckoned with in their own right.

The ambush formation of the Verdant Stalkers, Shadowcats, and Lightning Serpents wasn’t a random gathering—it was a calculated strategy. The beasts had combined their unique strengths with terrifying precision, leveraging their individual advantages to devastating effect.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t a moment for admiration.

Alex had seconds—just one decisive moment—to turn the tide before people under his command started dying.

He could only afford a single coordinated move.

And that move had to cripple or disable all the enemy beasts—or at the very least, shake them enough that the platoon could clean up the rest.

To do that, Alex knew he had no choice but to weaponised the beasts’ own strengths against them.

He began issuing rapid commands to those closest to him—Fen, Laura, the platoon’s healer, and both the Spear and Bow Captains.

Once he confirmed that Lieutenant Cross and the Shieldbearers had locked down the Verdant Stalkers, Alex shifted his attention elsewhere.

Contrary to what Cross expected, Alex had no intention of raining fire spells down on the Wardens while his frontline troops held them at close range.

Lieutenant Cross may have been a veteran of three expeditions into the Dankrot Forest, but this was the first time he had actually faced a Verdant Stalker. Everything he knew about them came from rumours and second-hand accounts.

Alex, however, had prior experience—sort of. Enough to give him an edge.

The bark of a Verdant Stalker was a valuable magical material—an extravagant one—used by the DragonHold Enclave’s craftsmen.

Despite their plant-like nature, a Forest Warden’s bark was remarkably fire-resistant. Enclave artisans used it to create durable, fireproof wooden artefacts—something that spoke volumes, considering how high their standards were for the materials they use.

From what Alex could observe, these Stalkers were still young. Even the largest of them stood no taller than three metres, and their power levels hovered around the Intermediate rank range.

Technically, with enough force and the right spell composition, Alex could burn them. But to generate the required heat would mean incinerating not only the Wardens, but also the Shieldbearers fighting them—and possibly setting half of the nearby forest ablaze in the process.

This was not an option

So, he devised another approach.

With the Shieldbearers now fully engaged, the Spearmen restructured their ranks into a defensive circle—long spears pointed outward, protecting the formation’s vulnerable core from the stealthy threat of the Shadowcats.

As for the Lightning Serpents, their containment had been delegated to the archers per Alex’s orders.

But neither the Spearmen nor the archers could reach their targets.

The Shadowcats were entirely invisible to the human eye, thanks to their fur absorbing ambient light. Meanwhile, the Lightning Serpents slithered through the treetops with high agility and speed, evading every arrow with ease.

The entire platoon was locked in a frustrating stalemate.

Inwardly, doubts began to rise among the soldiers. The Spearmen clenched their jaws. The archers gritted their teeth. The Shieldbearers, holding the line with everything they had, couldn’t help but wonder if they’d been sacrificed.

But none broke rank.

Not because they understood Alex’s plan, but because of their discipline... And the fact that, so far, no one had died.

That alone was enough to keep them steady... if only barely.

Then, just as frustration reached its peak—

Alex moved.

The moment Fen and Laura dashed out—claws and sword drawn—Alex began his chant.

A magical radiance ignited around him, catching the attention of the lurking beasts.

The Shadowcats and Lightning Serpents instantly reacted.

They didn’t know what spell Alex was casting—but they knew it had to be stopped.

...Completely unaware they were playing right into his hands.

The invisible Shadowcats darted toward the Spearmen’s formation. Leaping from cover, they aimed to vault over the ring of spears and take down the most dangerous target—the mage.

Simultaneously, arcs of lightning crackled from the treetops as the serpents fired at him.

Adrenaline surged through Alex’s veins.

Time seemed to slow.

He could see it all—the bolts of lightning streaking toward him... and at last, through the haze of the Forest Wardens’ interference, his Spirit Sight finally pierced through the mana shroud concealing the Shadowcats.

Instead of panic, a smile touched his lips—cold and calculated.

A glint of ruthless clarity lit up his eyes.

Calm Madness!

’Do or die.’

He raised a hand skyward and roared:

”Lightning Rod!”

Instantly, the glowing spell circle around him shifted—becoming a radiant disc of white light. All incoming arcs of electricity bent toward him, pulled in like iron to a magnet.

Grade 5 Spell: Lightning Rod.

A mid-tier defensive spell typically used by Elite-ranked Lightning Mages to absorb magical or natural lightning strikes and channel them safely to the earth through their bodies.

Alex force-cast the spell, his bloodline affinity and Elemental Affinity Enhancement talent enabling him to bypass the usual requirements.

But he wasn’t done.

Simply redirecting the electricity to the ground wouldn’t stop the pouncing Shadowcats.

Instead, the very moment the electric surge gathered within him—right as it should’ve earthed itself through his legs—Alex gave a prior command through OmniRune.

The lightning changed direction within his body.

Rather than pass through to the ground, it coursed upward, channelled into his outstretched hand.

A spell circle flared to life.

With a crack, a bolt of lightning surged into the sky from his hand—brilliant and blinding.

The explosion of light was blinding.

The stealth of the Shadowcats failed in an instant—the intense burst illuminated them fully mid-pounce, their sleek black bodies now laid bare to the entire formation.

”Thrust!” shouted the Spear Captain.

In perfect unison, the Spearmen jabbed their spears forward—impaling the exposed underbellies of the leaping beasts.

Several Shadowcats were impaled mid-air, their momentum slamming their dying bodies against the sharpened steel.

But one managed to break through.

It lunged past the Spearmen—straight at Alex.

Only... it wasn’t lucky as it believed.

The residual lightning clinging to Alex discharged into the beast the moment it made contact.

The cat froze mid-leap, its limbs convulsing as thousands of volts fried its nervous system. It hovered in the air for a breath—then dropped, dead before it hit the ground.

The charge had also stopped its heart.

But Alex wasn’t finished.

The lightning bolt he had launched into the heavens... came back down.

Clack!

A sharp, sky-splitting crack sounded.

The bolt fragmented—splitting into about a dozen arcs as it descended at an angle toward the battlefield.

Each shard of lightning found its target with surgical precision—one bolt per Verdant Stalker.

They struck like hammers from the heavens.

The blast sent violent jolts through the Wardens, cracking the thick bark across their torsos and staggering their hulking forms.

Screeeeech!

The Verdant Stalkers screeched in pain as the lightning slammed into them. Their bodies spasmed and twisted. Then came the rage.

They entered a berserk state.

Their branch-like arms flailed wildly, smashing down in all directions, battering the shieldwall of the platoon.

Buff!

A golden glow spread beneath the Shieldbearers’ feet—an area buff spell released in perfect timing.

Strength surged through their limbs.

Alex’s coordination through OmniRune, and the healer’s precise casting, turned the tide. Just when the Wardens should have broken through, the spell bolstered the frontline—and held it firm.

That brief window was all Fen and Laura needed.

Ice Breath!

Fen let out a blast of freezing mist that seeped into the cracked bark of the Verdant Stalkers. The frost penetrated the inner layers of their trunks—freezing the sap within their phloem and locking them in place.

The Wardens convulsed mid-rage, unable to move.

Laura arrived beside Lieutenant Cross, her sword gleaming. She swung downward with precision, cleaving into the frozen phloem and exposing the pulsing core beneath.

With a second strike, she twisted her body and sliced straight through the core—killing the largest Warden instantly.

At the same moment, Fen’s claws tore into another immobilized Warden, ending it as cleanly.

”What are you waiting for? Move!” Laura roared at the stunned Shieldbearers.

They had paused for a second—still reeling from the sudden turn of events.

But Lieutenant Cross and the Shield Captain didn’t need the prompt. The moment Laura and Fen had cleared one of their two targets, both men took the initiative and struck the other one.

Their blades pierced through their respective Verdant Stalkers’ exposed cores, killing them swiftly.

Rallied by the sight, and Laura’s command, the rest of the Shieldbearers acted.

Before the remaining Wardens could recover, the platoon surged forward. Blades slashed through frozen bark and brittle core—bringing the forest wardens down one by one.

Meanwhile, the archers nocked their blunt arrows.

The Lightning Serpents, drained from the aftermath of Alex’s earlier spell, writhed in the trees above.

Twhip! Twhip! Twhip!

Arrows fired.

Boom!

Some of the serpents still retained enough energy to self-destruct. But the force of the archers’ arrows knocked them away—far enough that their deaths harmed no one.

The battle was over.

Not a single member of the platoon had died.

The forest had tried to crush them—and failed.

Slowly, the soldiers turned toward the centre of their formation.

To the man who had issued split-second orders, and shattered an ambush of Forest Wardens, Shadowcats, and Lightning Serpents... with a single spell.

Alex stood still.

His cloak fluttered in the charged air. Sparks danced along his shoulders. His crimson eyes glowed beneath his needle-straight hair. At his feet lay the corpse of a Shadowcat—still twitching with residual lightning.

He looked like a true warlord or general descended.

[A.N: Super Saiyan moment 😤⚡]

Unbothered, he casually dusted off his coat, as though what had just happened was nothing.

To the Fury soldiers, he was no longer just a noble scion with a title.

He was now a true commander...

Their commander.

Even the hardened Lieutenant Cross felt his chest tighten.

’It’s like fighting under the Earl again...’

The resemblance was uncanny.

Alex’s poise, control, and appearance mirrored Earl Drake’s presence so completely that it stirred memories deep within the veteran’s mind.

After today, Alex no longer needed to rely on rank or law to lead.

He had earned it.

He had become a true commander—and these troops would follow him to the ends of the forest.

***