Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage

Chapter 806: The Beast Tide Arrives

CH0806 The Beast Tide Arrives

***

Dark clouds filled the sky, pouring down heavy rain, almost as though the heavens themselves wept for the ordeal that was about to descend upon the Frontier March.

This was the first time in many years that many of the domain’s residents had remained through the rainy winter season. Yet this year, the new Domain Lord, Count Skywalker—Alex Fury—had convinced them to stay and defend their home.

Across each of the domain’s three major settlements—Fonterra, Castin, and Ashwell—the citizens, particularly the women, children, and elderly, had gathered within the numerous underground shelters constructed throughout the domain.

Most military-aged men had joined the volunteer militia formed to assist the domain army and security forces in defending the settlements.

Alex was currently in Ashwell—the most threatened of the three towns.

He stood atop the outer wall surrounding the expanded outskirts of Ashwell.

This wall had been constructed almost ten kilometres beyond the main settlement, with the sole purpose of intercepting and dispersing the Berserk Beasts before they could reach Ashwell itself.

Ignoring the rain, Alex gazed towards the horizon, which was concealed beneath dark, brooding clouds. Though he could see little with his naked eyes, his Spirit Sight illuminated the world before him, revealing one mana signature after another advancing towards their position.

Even without Spirit Sight, the growls and roars of the approaching beasts, accompanied by the thunderous pounding of countless footsteps, could be heard by everyone standing upon the wall.

Alex recalled the explanation Milton had once given him.

“My lord, this is called a minor Berserk Beast Tide because it is smaller and less dangerous than the true Beast Tides that occur every decade or two. These minor tides take place every five years, between the major Beast Tides.

“According to the records gathered over the years, these minor Beast Tides occur because Berserk Beasts from across the domain and the neighbouring lands to the north-east migrate through our territory to reach the main tributary of the Rotbark River, west of our lands, for their seasonal mating.

“Berserk Beasts are naturally territorial and possess an innate hostility towards humans. During the mating season, they become even more aggressive as they search for mates. As a result, whenever they encounter humans or human settlements along their migration route, they attack without hesitation.”

Alex’s expression was exceedingly solemn. His gaze remained fixed on the forested mountains ahead, from where the majority of the Berserk Beasts were expected to emerge, as Milton’s words replayed in his mind.

The mana signatures visible through his Spirit Sight had long since exceeded the thousands. There could easily be tens of thousands—perhaps even hundreds of thousands—of Berserk Beasts taking part in this vast seasonal migration.

Alex couldn’t help but compare the scene to the great animal migrations across the savannahs of his previous life, driven by the changing seasons and the search for water.

Even if the majority were herbivorous Berserk Beasts, much like the migration he was imagining, the tide would be no less dangerous. It would almost certainly be accompanied by carnivorous Berserk Beasts as well, even if they were fewer in number.

‘It’s a good thing that, mutated or not, Berserk Beasts are still beasts.’

While beasts became more aggressive during the mating season and while protecting their young, they also became more sensitive to danger.

Although he had heard stories of Beast Tides so overwhelming that even an empire like Celahan could do little against them, hearing about such a disaster and witnessing it with his own eyes were two entirely different experiences.

He had assumed that, since this was considered a minor Beast Tide, it would consist of only a few hundred to perhaps ten thousand beasts at most.

What he was witnessing had already surpassed one hundred thousand gathered beasts, and this was merely the beginning of the migration.

Thankfully, it was unlikely that all of them would go out of their way to attack the major settlements. Even so, a sizeable portion certainly would.

And Alex began to doubt that the measures they had put in place to disperse the beasts would be enough to scatter every one of them before they converged into a tide too great for the three fortified towns to withstand.

His plan now was simple: inflict as much damage as possible to awaken the beasts’ instinctive sense of danger.

As long as the towns posed a sufficient threat, the Berserk Beasts—whose primary objective was to reach the Rotbark River and find mates—would most likely abandon any unnecessary assaults on the settlements.

Alex’s grip on the battlement tightened.

This plan was not without its risks.

It was predicated on the assumption that the Berserk Beasts would still behave like ordinary beasts and choose to avoid a location that posed too great a danger.

If they didn’t… there was a significant chance that the domain’s hostile actions would only further provoke the Berserk Beasts, inflaming their aggression and turning the battle into a pyrrhic victory for whichever side survived.

While Alex was contemplating this, beasts began breaking away from the migrating horde and heading towards Ashwell.

One became two… then ten… fifty… a hundred… and before long, a group of roughly a thousand mana signatures was advancing in their direction.

The beasts soon came into view as they emerged from the forests and crossed the open plains to the north-east of Ashwell.

‘Prancing Antelopes, Branch-Horned Mountain Goats, Green Sabretooth Tigers, Water Elks, Steelscaled Rhinos, Bloodhorned Boars, Earthshaker Bulls, Crimson-Striped Horned Zebras, Air-Strider Horses, Maned Hippos…’

Alex’s lips twitched as he identified one group after another.

“Damn it!” one of the Silver Wolf Guards beside him suddenly exclaimed, slamming a fist against the battlement.

“What’s wrong? Are you afraid?” another Silver Wolf Guard jeered.

“Huh? What are you talking about?” the first guard replied in confusion. He looked back towards the approaching beasts. “Look at how fat those bulls, hippos, and goats are. Just think about the masterpieces Fen could make with them.”

The other Silver Wolf Guard also looked towards the beasts that had been mentioned. His mouth unconsciously began to water as he imagined the feast his companion had described.

Wiping the drool from the corner of his mouth, he asked, “I see what you mean. So what’s the problem?”

“I don’t think we brought enough skewers to collect all that meat,” the first Silver Wolf Guard replied, pointing towards the ballista bolts.

“Haha…”

Laughter rippled across the battlements.

Sergeant Lopota glanced at Alex apologetically, but the young Count simply shook his head.

The guards’ antics had dispelled the tension spreading through their ranks.

The Berserk Beasts no longer seemed like terrifying monsters. Instead, they had become nothing more than ingredients waiting to be hunted.

“Ready the ballistae,” Alex ordered.

The artillery crews immediately sprang into action, preparing the ballistae to fire at a moment’s notice.

A juvenile Maned Hippo, standing about three metres tall, lumbered towards Ashwell’s outer defensive wall.

It stopped curiously before the spiked barricades erected across the field to halt charging beasts.

For a moment, it seemed to wonder what the strange structures were for.

Then its eyes lit up as though it had figured them out.

The juvenile Maned Hippo turned around, backed up against one of the spikes, and proceeded to scratch its backside with it.

It let out a long, satisfied groan, as though it had finally relieved an itch that had been bothering it for ages.

The spiked barricades which should have impaled all beasts who approached it, couldn’t even scratch the juvenile hippo’s skin.

Up on the wall, the hippo’s actions somehow felt like a slap in the face to the defenders. Several members of the artillery crew were sorely tempted to fire a ballista bolt straight through the beast. Only their discipline kept them from doing so.

But the hippo wasn’t finished.

It wandered back to its herd and beckoned several other juvenile hippos over, encouraging them to use the barricades as convenient butt-scratchers.

By this point, even Alex’s expression had darkened.

Nevertheless, he ordered his men to hold their fire.

Even ordinary hippos—let alone magical Berserk variants—were notoriously aggressive and fiercely protective when their young were threatened.

Their entire strategy was already walking a fine line. He had no intention of provoking the herd.

Eventually, a five-metre-tall adult hippo approached.

Its crimson eyes slowly swept across the wall and the humans standing atop it. It was obvious that its instincts urged it to attack.

However, it glanced towards the youngsters before seemingly changing its mind.

Instead, it gently nudged them away from the spiked barricades.

Alex’s expression became even more solemn.

The adult Maned Hippo was already Class 3. If there were dozens—let alone hundreds—of beasts like it, the coming battle would be incredibly difficult.

Fortunately, the hippo herd soon lost interest in the area and continued on their migration, leaving only the smaller creatures behind.

The next to arrive were the Branch-Horned Mountain Goats.

The goats happily grazed on the lush vegetation outside the outer wall.

Then one of them accidentally struck its head against a spiked barricade, drawing blood.

“Rrrah!”

The dominant male goat angrily rammed the barricade again, only to injure itself even further.

“It’s quite dumb,” one of the defenders on the wall remarked.

But then, as though it had heard and understood the defender’s remark, the alpha goat’s crimson eyes snapped towards the wall.

“Rrraaah!”

Its cry echoed across the battlefield.

In an instant, every Branch-Horned Mountain Goat in the area turned to face the defenders.

Then they charged.

Led by the alpha Branch-Horned Mountain Goat, the herd effortlessly leapt over the barricades and charged towards the wall.

“You just had to say something,” someone muttered to the unfortunate defender.

The young guard was left speechless.

“Fire!” Alex ordered.

The artillery crews immediately opened fire on the charging goats.

Thong! Boom!

The ballista strings thundered as massive bolts shot through the air, impaling the leading goats to the ground.

Before the defenders could enjoy even a moment’s respite, the rest of the migrating beasts came charging after them.

The Prancing Antelopes bounced forward at deceptively high speed.

The Crimson-Striped Horned Zebras followed close behind in disciplined formation, resembling a well-trained cavalry charge.

The Air-Strider Horses leapt a metre into the air, galloping across compressed cushions of wind as though running upon solid ground.

True to their name, the four-metre-tall Earthshaker Bulls made the ground tremble beneath every thunderous step.

Further behind, the scent of blood from the impaled goats drew the attention of the carnivorous Green Sabretooth Tigers and Bloodhorned Boars.

And as though that weren’t enough, several heavily armoured Steelscaled Rhinos came charging forward with their notoriously foul tempers.

The barricades became little more than decorations. The Prancing Antelopes and Air-Strider Horses vaulted over them with ease. They only managed to disrupt the Crimson-Striped Horned Zebras’ formation before the charging Earthshaker Bulls and Steelscaled Rhinos smashed straight through the obstacles.

Several Branch-Horned Mountain Goats managed to reach the wall as the artillery crews shifted their attention towards the larger and more dangerous beasts.

Displaying the climbing prowess of creatures born upon steep mountain cliffs, the goats bounded effortlessly up the wall.

“Open!” Alex’s eyes flashed.

From his position atop the battlements, his mana linked with a prepared formation.

Suddenly, glowing marks appeared upon the foreheads of every defender standing on the wall.

At the same time, a massive seven-metre-wide spell formation materialised across the battlements.

BOOM!

A colossal beam of light erupted from the formation, annihilating everything in its path.

Alex’s figure immediately became the centre of attention for every defender nearby.

“To arms!” the Count roared.

***