Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage

Chapter 760: The Shy Charmer II

CH760 The Shy Charmer II

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On the sofa, Alex had Udara give him a rundown of everything she had noticed in town since arriving a week ahead of his unit.

His hands roamed over her body mischievously, teasing and stimulating her without crossing a certain boundary.

Previously, Udara’s body would instinctively twitch and shiver. Now, after undergoing many such ‘therapy’ sessions at the mercy of Alex’s wolfish paws, she had become somewhat accustomed to it.

She managed to deliver her report through it all.

However, it seemed she had finally reached her limit.

Udara suddenly turned around and pushed Alex down, pinning him to the sofa.

For a moment, her eyes glowed with a strong amorous light—her Succubus bloodline traits threatening to take hold.

However, in the very next moment, Udara regained control of herself. She leaned down and bit Alex’s shoulder.

“Ouch!” Alex exclaimed, caught completely off guard.

“That’s for almost triggering me, Master.” She lightly pounded his chest.

Alex laughed sheepishly.

Udara lowered herself onto him once more, but this time she kissed him instead.

It was then that Alex noticed the amorous glow had not completely vanished from her eyes.

The couple continued to make out on the sofa until the sun fully rose, bathing the study in warm morning light.

Only then did Udara finally escape Alex’s naughty paws.

“I am leaving. I need to oversee the operation,” she said.

“Okay.” Alex nodded with a wry smile.

Then his expression turned serious.

“It is possible I might need your help with a problem in a few days.”

“Understood, Master,” Udara replied, equally solemn.

Alex flashed her a reassuring smile.

Udara kissed him goodbye before departing.

Alex ran a hand through his hair before getting up and returning to the desk to look over the documents one more time before the others arrived.

They were going to discuss the plans and future direction of the domain.

Milton lived alone. Not because he didn’t have a family, but because they were all dead.

Almost three decades ago, Milton had lost his wife and two children to beasts that attacked Fonterra during a beast tide.

That year, men from the Frontier Stronghold had come to Fonterra, claiming they intended to establish a defensive line deeper within the Frontier March in preparation for the expected beast tide.

Usually, the townsfolk would have retreated to the Stronghold months in advance to wait out the tide before returning to rebuild their damaged town. However, because the commander of the Frontier Stronghold wanted to earn an impressive military merit for himself, he devised a hasty plan to establish a forward defensive line and prevent the tide from ever reaching the Stronghold and the new imperial border.

The Stronghold forces compelled the townsfolk to remain in the town and help maintain a supply line for the defensive position.

Unfortunately, the defensive line collapsed, and the soldiers were forced to retreat to Fonterra, where they turned the town itself into a battlefield in order to stop the beasts.

Officially, the Stronghold commander’s plan was deemed a success and enabled him to rise in status.

Unofficially, however, that battle cost Fonterra many of its citizens—including Milton’s wife and children.

Back then, Milton had worked tirelessly to support the Stronghold soldiers, establishing the most efficient supply line he could manage, all in the hope of drawing the commander’s attention and finally escaping the cursed town he had been born into through no fault of his own.

And he succeeded.

He earned the commander’s notice, and the man even offered him a position as a direct retainer.

However, before he could accept, news reached him of his family’s death.

Worse, he later discovered that the Stronghold soldiers had not only failed to save his family when they easily could have, but had even used them as bait to kill several powerful beasts.

After learning the truth, Milton lost his reason for living—and his reason for leaving.

He turned down the commander’s invitation, earning the man’s displeasure. But Milton no longer cared. How could he serve the man whose soldiers had caused the deaths of his family?

As for any retaliation from the commander, Milton couldn’t have been bothered. He felt dead inside anyway.

The commander would only have been doing him a favour by punishing or killing him.

However, the man left without taking any action.

Milton remained trapped in that state for another five years until he received a wake-up call in the form of a noble who was oppressing the townsfolk.

Not wanting the people he knew—some he had grown up with, others he had watched grow up—to suffer as he had, Milton returned to the town’s and domain’s administration, subtly easing some of the townsfolk’s burdens under the noble’s nose.

And before he knew it, he had grown old in that position and could no longer imagine any other life for himself.

Milton placed a hand on the trinkets resting atop the cupboard.

“Maida, my lovely wife… Vilmar, Steffan, my boys… rest well. I will watch over the new noble and ensure he does not harm our people,” Milton muttered.

Then he walked out of his home and headed towards the town manor.

Along the way, the townsfolk greeted him warmly. In their eyes, the old man was the true leader of their settlement.

Many people tried to stop him and ask what they should think or do about the new noble, but Milton merely shook his head, refusing to comment.

All he told them was to do as the noble had requested—watch him.

After all, that was exactly what he himself was doing and intended to continue doing.

Upon reaching the manor, he saw that the noble’s men had completely taken over the building.

Even without much military knowledge, a layman like him could immediately see the difference between the noble’s men and the town guard garrison.

The contrast between a ragtag guard force and professional soldiers from an army unit could not be concealed.

He doubted any threat originating from within Fonterra could reach the new domain lord.

He made his way to the second storey, where the lord’s study was located, under the scrutinising gazes of the guards, which he tried his best to ignore.

Arriving at the study door, Milton knocked.

“Come in,” the domain lord’s voice sounded from within.

Taking a steadying breath, Milton entered the study.

However, the moment his eyes landed on the new domain lord, he froze.

In his vision, a serpentine dragon coiled around Alex’s figure, similar to the one he had conjured into the sky the previous night.

This dragon, however, was somewhat different.

It was as beautiful as it was eerily savage, radiating an aura around the domain lord that was not forceful, yet somehow carried a sense of absolute domination that compelled all others to bow in submission and fealty.

‘Coiling Divine Dragon.’

The term flashed through Milton’s mind in that instant.

And before the old man knew it, his knees were already beginning to bend.

Thankfully, before he could fully kneel, the youthful yet powerful voice of the domain lord sounded out, seemingly dispersing the pressure.

“Welcome, Vice-Magistrate. I trust your night was pleasant.”

***