Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage

Chapter 384: Rapid Response

CH384 Rapid Response

***

Alex moved swiftly, issuing orders with barely little time to explain their goal.

”Mogal, Kavakan — head towards Silver’s direction. Beast modes.”

”Havel, Mordor, Udara — with me. We’re heading toward the beasts.”

”Fury Knights — protect the rest of the party, the horses, and the storage chests. Move north for now.”

’Fen, return. Head towards Silver,’ Alex commanded telepathically.

Everyone acknowledged their orders with crisp nods.

”Move quickly,” Alex added. ”I’ll issue further instructions on the way.”

Mogal and Kavakan instantly bolted into the forest, following Silver’s trail toward the incoming natives.

Alex briefly turned back. ”Stay safe,” he said to Eleanor and Sugud.

Then to Zora, ”I’m leaving the group in your hands. Keep them safe.”

Zora nodded firmly. With that, Alex took off with Havel and Udara.

--

As the two strike teams closed in on their targets, Alex sent the next set of orders—making his intent unmistakable.

[Lycanthropic Transformation: Beast Forma]!

[Call of the Wild]!

Kavakan’s body morphed mid-run. His head morphed into that of a tiger, orange-black fur sprouting rapidly across his skin as his arms and legs thickened with primal muscle—Weretiger form.

But he didn’t stop there.

Moments later, he dropped to all fours, fully transforming into a massive tiger. A reddish aura flared around him — the mark of Call of the Wild amplifying his ferocity.

[Beast Totem]!

Not to be outdone, Mogal invoked his barbarian power.

A colossal phantom bear materialised behind him — far more vivid than during his fight with Kavakan — showcasing a deeper connection to the Bear Essence he had absorbed.

For a moment, the phantom partially engulfed Mogal’s figure, blurring the line between man and beast.

--

Meanwhile, within the forest, the native human search party had only just begun spreading out to form a wide encirclement... when disaster struck.

At the northernmost edge of their formation, two ”beasts” burst out from the amongst treeline.

The vanguard warrior barely had time to react. A massive tiger paw slammed into him, sending him crashing into two of his comrades.

Before the tiger could follow up, two more warriors — a spearman and a short-sword fighter — rushed forward to intercept, forcing the beast back.

But the tiger was not alone.

The bear—or what they believed was a bear—wrapped a thick, muscular arm around a thick tree trunk, wrenched the entire tree from the earth—roots and all—and hurled it at the clustered humans.

The spearman and sword-wielder dove aside, rolling away just in time. The other three weren’t so lucky. The tree crushed them beneath its weight; their fates uncertain.

The combined pressure of these two ”beasts” far surpassed anything the natives could handle. The two standing warriors exchanged grim glances—they had no intention of dying here. But they had no plans of letting the beasts go unpunished either.

With ruthless intent flashing in their eyes, they turned and sprinted back toward the main group...

Dragging the two monstrous ”beasts” straight toward the rest of their companions.

Howl!!!

On the opposite end of the encirclement, a black, hellhound-like wolf—its spine lined with a streak of stark white fur—stood before another three-man scouting unit responsible for closing the formation from this side.

Howl!

Its call was immediately answered by several distant howls echoing from deeper within the forest.

The three humans stiffened. Their expressions darkening.

They recognised the significance instantly.

An Alpha.

If they didn’t eliminate this wolf right now, its pack would converge on them.

The three swordsmen charged at the wolf without hesitation.

Grrr!!

The wolf bared its fangs, eyes glowing with a cold, eerie intelligence.

One of the swordsmen lunged first—but he never reached his target.

Unbeknownst to them, the bared teeth wasn’t a show of aggression, but a nefarious means of hiding the attack brewing within the wolf’s mouth.

[Flame Breath]!

A torrent of flame erupted from the wolf’s maw, engulfing the leading warrior. He was set ablaze instantly, screaming as fire ate through his armour and flesh.

The wolf swung its head sharply, sweeping the flames in a wide arc and forcing the other two swordsmen back.

Nearby trees caught fire at once.

The wolf’s flames were anything but normal. They devoured bark and trunk like acid, hollowing the bases of trees within seconds. Several trees collapsed with a thunderous crash, scattering embers, ash, dirt, and smoke everywhere.

The wolf had engineered the chaos deliberately.

The instant thick smoke blurred the warriors’ vision—

—it struck.

A flaming paw ripped into the stomach of the closest warrior, dragging downward with ruthless precision. The man’s burning entrails spilled out as the wolf yanked its claws free.

The final survivor fell onto his backside, trembling so violently he nearly dropped his weapon. Terror broke him completely.

He tossed his sword aside, spun around, and fled — stumbling on two feet, scrambling on all fours, doing anything he could to escape the hellhound behind him.

He was the weakest among the three—perhaps the weakest in their entire search party. That was precisely why he’d been assigned this remote point of the formation: he wasn’t supposed to fight anything here.

He had never signed up to face a Berserk Beast.

Terrified that the wolf and its incoming pack would pursue him, he bolted back towards the centre of the encirclement, screaming internally at every step.

Behind him...

The wolf simply walked.

Slowly.

Deliberately.

It carried the disembowelled man in its jaws by the torn remnants of his clothing, letting the body drag across the dirt.

A thick trail of blood dripped steadily onto the ground.

A perfect lure for the approaching pack of wolves — and every other hungry beast in the forest.

Truly, a cunning and malevolent creature.

On the inner side of the forest—where the beasts were rushing in from—Alex’s group emerged from the flank, running parallel to the leading edge of the incoming horde.

These beasts felt... wrong.

Their eyes glowed red.

Every single one of them!

’It’s almost as if they’ve all gone berserk.’ Alex thought grimly.

It made no sense. Carnivores at the back of a beast tide becoming frenzied was one thing.

But even the herbivore-types at the very front—twisted rabbits, deer, and rooster-like creatures sporting dagger-like fangs and claws—were in full bloodlust.

Herbivore or carnivore, the entire tide had fallen into the same berserk madness.

’Well... it should make our job easier.’

”Begin!” Alex commanded.

[Shadow Dash]!

Udara vanished into the shadow cast by a nearby tree and emerged from beneath the shadow of a deer-type beast leading the charge.

Her dagger flashed in a swift arc, tearing across its flank.

The cut wasn’t deep—but it was more than enough.

The beast released a bellowing roar, whipping around to impale Udara with its thorn-tipped, branch-like antlers. But Udara was a Shadow Dancer. Agile manoeuvrability was her forte.

She slipped past its thrust, danced around the attacks of two other beasts, then dissolved into shadow once again.

Moments later, she reappeared ahead of the tide, crouched lightly on a branch before dropping back onto the ground.

The enraged leading beasts locked onto her immediately. Without hesitation, they veered off course, dragging an entire wedge of the tide with them as they gave chase.

On the opposite flank, Havel burst forward, sprinting far ahead before planting himself firmly in the path of another advancing group.

He placed one hand on the hilt of his still-sheathed blade.

His eyes closed.

He waited.

The ground shook violently as the stampede approached, the force of their combined footsteps kicking stones into the air around him.

The beasts were only tens of metres away when—

Havel drew his sword.

[Quick Draw: Sweep]!

Click!

The draw was so fast an ordinary person wouldn’t even see the blade leave its sheath—only hear the soft click of metal on scabbard after the strike had already landed.

And the strike itself...

The first two ranks of beasts split neatly across the waist—their upper halves collapsing to the ground while their lower halves staggered forward a few more steps before toppling.

The third rank suffered deep, clean cuts, and only sheer momentum kept them moving.

Ten beasts died in a single stroke.

Yet instead of being frightened, the survivors roared even louder, eyes blazing with heightened fury.

Havel exhaled calmly, pivoted on his heel, and accelerated forward—luring his cluster of maddened beasts in the same direction Udara had taken.

**34**