Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage

Chapter 402: Upper Barnsil Fortress

CH402 Upper Barnsil Fortress

***

Thanks to their horses, the expedition group covered the distance quickly, skirting around Lower Barnsil before angling toward the fortress so as not to alert the town.

They reached their staging position in less than half an hour.

Although Barnsil Fortress was described as a hilltop fortress, the ”hill” was so modest that none of the Pangeans would ever consider calling it one.

It was most likely a flattering exaggeration meant to elevate the prestige of the fortress rather than describe its geography.

The fortress itself sat a few hundred metres west of the southern main road leading out of the Duchy.

No force could enter or leave Luxen Duchy’s southern border without being vulnerable to a flanking strike from this position.

Alex would have preferred to simply sneak past without provoking anything, but caution—and cold logic—dictated otherwise.

If they ignored the fortress and were spotted even once, it would become exponentially more difficult to deal with the garrison in the open fields surrounding the road.

A direct confrontation under such conditions would be dangerous for their small force.

Furthermore, Alex fully expected the Duchy to deduce their general location sooner or later.

When that happened, Baron Leland Helton’s troops—especially the fortress garrison—would join the manhunt.

Eliminating them now would significantly reduce the manpower the Duchy could bring to bear.

Not to mention, no other force under the Duchy was likely as familiar with the terrain around this border as the Barnsil soldiers.

And then, of course, there was loot.

Barnsil Fortress doubled as Baron Helton’s personal castle.

No matter how low-ranking, poor, or politically insignificant the baron was, he was still nobility.

Nobility always possessed coin, books, equipment, armaments, and any number of valuables that could prove extremely useful to the expedition party.

In short, there were far more benefits than drawbacks to taking the fortress.

They dismounted a few metres short of the fortress.

Any closer and the watchtowers would almost certainly spot movement in the moonlight.

Up close, Barnsil Fortress was an imposing structure—far larger than the Fury family’s Northern Dankrot Fort.

This was no mere roadside military outpost.

From its height, width, and layered defences, Alex suspected it was intended to oversee the entire region and, in times of war, act as a major stronghold safeguarding the Luxen Duchy’s southern border.

Forget a modest garrison of three hundred; Alex wouldn’t be surprised if over a thousand soldiers could be housed here comfortably.

’This couldn’t have been built by a mere baron,’ Alex deduced.

Something about this fortress, Baron Helton, and the Duchy’s intentions didn’t quite add up.

But even if his suspicions proved true, they wouldn’t alter his plan.

Alex signalled to five Fury soldiers.

They retrieved bags from the horses—each bag containing a special contraption—and strapped them onto their backs.

Then Alex stepped aside, gesturing for Zora to take the lead.

Zora moved to the front of the group, raising both hands.

Her soft, melodic chanting filled the air for half a minute. Then—!

[Illusionary Mist]!

With Alex currently handicapped magically, Zora had taken over as the expedition’s primary combat spellcaster.

Water mana surged outward, forming a mist that refracted light around the party—an illusionary veil that concealed their presence from sight.

”Advance,” Alex ordered.

Enshrouded in the camouflage mist, the group crept toward the fortress’s western wall, completely unnoticed by the watchtower sentries above.

Upon reaching the base of the wall, the five Fury soldiers unstrapped their bags, revealing the contraptions. They assembled them relatively swiftly with only slightly faint familiarity.

The devices looked odd to the Pangeans.

Their compact, reinforced frames resembled a miniature ballista, though unlike any Pangean siege tool.

Anyone from Alex’s previous life, however, would recognise them instantly...

A crossbow.

With the power of money, Alex had commissioned Master-tier craftsmen of the DragonHold Enclave to research and produce a functional prototype of his crossbow concept before the expedition.

He couldn’t predict the technological level of whatever plane he might end up on, so he secured the prototype in Pangea while he still could.

With a working model existing, the hardest hurdle—bringing the concept to life—was already cleared. Future iterations could be made anywhere, on any plane, as long as they had this baseline to work from.

And that was before he acquired Sugud.

With Sugud now on the team, Alex had no doubt that between the two of them they would solve the prototype’s shortcomings and eventually create something far more destructive.

Perhaps even begin developing the quintessential weapons platform that had defined warfare in Alex’s previous world across the last hundred to two hundred years of its history.

For now, though, these five prototype crossbows weren’t meant only to fire standard bolts.

The crossbows had a modular form that allowed for the grappling hook bolts to be loaded as well.

He remembered clearly the baffled expressions of the Enclave forgesmiths when he insisted the crossbow be built with a modifiable bolt channel—one that allowed it to fire not only bolts but also grappling hooks and other attachments.

The forgesmiths couldn’t understand why anyone would waste so much money adding such ’unnecessary complexity’ to a weapon they believed was ’unlikely to see widespread adoption’.

But they were Master-tier forgesmiths.

And since their wealthy client insisted—and paid—they brought his strange idea to life.

The soldiers slotted the grappling hook attachment into the widened bolt channel and fired.

The hook sailed over the six-metre-high wall with ease, catching securely on the crenelation gap of the battlements.

Each soldier tugged their rope to confirm a solid hold.

Then, without Alex needing to speak, they adjusted the firing-output mechanism and reset the variable-width bolt channel back to the narrow configuration needed for regular bolts.

Silver’s eyes lit up the moment she saw the weapon in action.

She didn’t need an explanation—its practicality and lethality were immediately obvious.

The presence of a power nucleus capable of adjusting limb tension hinted at something far more dangerous; the possibility of firing bolts far stronger than the wielder’s natural power level... as long as they could withstand the recoil and feed it the required energy.

She suspected the nucleus was powered by a Mana Stone.

For a wealthy noble like Alex, getting low-grade Mana Stones wouldn’t be difficult—especially if it meant enabling lower-ranked soldiers to kill higher-ranked professionals.

Alex caught the spark in her eyes as she watched the Tactical Modular Crossbow (TMC) work.

Her reaction told him everything.

If an experienced Archer like Silver found it promising, then his crossbow ambitions were very much viable.

The Fury soldiers-turned-crossbowmen quickly loaded their TMCs—only slightly slower than competent archers—slung them over their shoulders, and began climbing the ropes.

Two soldiers reached the top first and instantly shot down the guards patrolling that section of the wall.

While those two reloaded, the remaining three spread out to provide area control and kill any response patrol.

After securing the walltop, the first pair tugged on the ropes, signalling those below to ascend.

The rest of the expedition party climbed up, including Sugud—whose unexpectedly nimble ascent reminded Alex that the man did, in fact, have elven blood in his veins.

Once atop the wall, Alex noted how the Fury soldiers secured the area with clean, efficient precision. He allowed himself a faint nod of pride.

Even without the Close Quarters Tactics training of his previous life, his soldiers had adapted with nothing more than a few explanations from him.

It was proof that knowledge—even fragmentary knowledge—could be transplanted into this world, just as easily as he had done with Pinchcoin, Haggleworth, and Alpha.

He shook off the thought. Now wasn’t the time to indulge in strategic satisfaction.

The easy part was over.

The real assault on the fortress began now.

Alex turned to his team.

”Alright. Keep to the plan. And remember—follow my instructions to the letter once they come in.”

He paused, red eyes narrowing with controlled intent.

”Move out.”

****