Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage

Chapter 518: Ungentlemanly Operation III; CIN Breakdown

CH518 Ungentlemanly Operation III; CIN Breakdown

***

Elsewhere, closer to the heart of the Virellian Empire and only a few dozen kilometres from the Imperial Capital, a carriage escorted by a small platoon of mounted soldiers rode swiftly away from the seat of the Imperial Sun.

Up ahead, they encountered a merchant caravan stalled on the road. One of the wagons appeared to have broken down, blocking the path and forcing two other carriages ahead of it to stop as well.

As a precaution, the captain of the guard ordered his liege’s carriage to halt at a safe distance in case this was a staged ambush. He then sent two men ahead to assess the situation.

The people from the halted carriages, initially nervous upon seeing an armed noble escort arrive behind them, quickly relaxed when they realised help had come.

”Oh, it’s a Springfield Mountain caravan,” one of them exclaimed upon recognising the crest.

Springfield Mountain was one of the largest merchant companies in the empire and maintained close ties with the Machholt Grand Duchy — a duchy that their liege also had dealings with.

The two scouts confirmed that the wagon genuinely belonged to the merchant company and that the damage appeared legitimate. They returned to report.

”What is going on, Captain?” a woman’s voice called from within the carriage.

”Just a minor matter, my lady,” the captain replied. ”A wagon broke down ahead. We will have it resolved shortly.”

The carriage door opened, and a woman stepped out. She wore a fitted military-style suit more commonly seen on male officers than noble ladies.

”Hurry it up. We cannot keep the lord waiting,” she said crisply.

”Yes, my lady.” The captain bowed.

After a moment’s thought, he dispatched a squad of six men to assist the caravan. The remaining two squads he repositioned into wider guard formations around the noble carriage.

Unfortunately for him...

His precautions were not enough.

Swoosh! Pucch!

Bolts tore through the air without warning.

The guards dropped before they could even form a defensive line. One after another, they fell, struck cleanly through the throat, the eye, the heart. The precision left no room for retaliation.

Within seconds, the entire escort lay dead on the road.

Only the uniquely dressed lady remained standing beside the carriage.

In the distant treeline, three figures briefly rose from concealment. Between them was a large box-like contraption spotting strange holes. Without lingering to observe the aftermath, they hoisted the device and retreated back into the forest.

Ahead, the merchant caravan and the two halted carriages behaved as if nothing had happened at all. The ’damaged’ wagon was suddenly functional again. The roadblock disappeared as though it had never existed.

While this unfolded, a man stepped out from nowhere and appeared beside the noble lady.

”We are here to pick you up, my lady,” he said in a hoarse voice.

She did not panic nor did she move.

”Why would you go to such lengths to kidnap a little lady like me?” she asked calmly.

”My job is not to ask questions,” the man replied. ”Only to execute them. However, I was instructed to inform you that you are being taken to a place where your intellect will be put to better use.”

He gestured towards the carriages now idling behind the merchant caravan.

”Please follow me, my lady. Unless, of course, you would rather be sacrificed in marriage to a man old enough to be your grandfather for the sake of a House you clearly do not care about — and that does not care about you either.”

Her eyes flickered.

”So you know a great deal about me,” she said. ”Then let me guess. You have removed the leverage that House held over me?”

”We have. He will be waiting for you when we arrive.”

She studied him.

”I suppose you will now be the ones using my brother against me instead?”

”I told you,” the man said evenly, ”I am only an operative and a messenger. I do not make decisions, so I cannot answer that.”

He paused.

”Unless you refuse to come. In that case, I can take you to someone who can.”

The woman nodded once.

”Very well.”

She followed him to the carriage and entered without resistance.

Not long after the carriages departed, other unseen figures arrived. The bodies of the slain guards were removed, and the scene was meticulously altered — repainted into a far more convenient story for those who would later discover it.

-

Gold Palace HQ, Enclave City, DragonHold Enclave, Dragonspine Mountain Range, Virellian Empire

In a concealed operations chamber deep within the Golden Palace headquarters, Alpha stood before a wide magic table, calmly overseeing the unfolding joint operation between the Palace’s Dark Water and the Fury Army’s autonomous Silver Fang brigade.

Her smile never once left her face as success report after success report streamed across the Joint Operation’s private comms channel.

To any outsider, the incidents would appear random, unconnected and chaotic.

But through the Continental Information Network (CIN) system Alex had left behind — powered by OmniRune’s Sub-AI embedded into the runic formation within the table — Alpha could see the threads tying everything together.

From this room, she coordinated a web of actions spanning nearly the entire Virellian Empire.

With the empire’s communication arteries and archival records effectively at her fingertips, she had brought one of Alex’s contingency plans to life — and adapted it to present realities with frightening efficiency.

Not only did the operation quietly strike at the Machholts, Reicharts, and Wastelanders, it also created multiple openings for the Golden Palace and Dark Water to exploit in the near future.

The door opened behind her.

A smaller, sharp-eyed man stepped in.

”How is it going?” Cromwell Haggleworth asked.

”So smoothly it’s unsettling,” Alpha replied.

She tapped the magic surface, and a glowing map of the Virellian Empire projected into view. Markers lit up across multiple regions.

”The ’False Flag’ operation targeting the Holts has executed as planned,” she said. ”Within days, the Holts will blame the Herzogs for violating their territory and killing their men.”

She zoomed the map toward the Konradi region.

”It won’t escalate into a full territorial war — both Houses are too politically cautious for that. But it will keep the Holts distracted long enough to prevent them from focusing on House Fury’s activities in the Konradi Barony.”

Another gesture. The map shifted.

”At the same time, we successfully gained access to House Reichart’s central intelligence archive. From now on, everything they know, we will know.”

A faint glint passed through her eyes.

”And more importantly, this opens the door for the ’Intel Manipulation’ strategy the Palace Master outlined.”

Haggleworth leaned forward, unable to hide his interest. He tapped another glowing marker, bringing up the DragonMourn Highlands.

”And here?”

Alpha nodded.

”One of Dark Water’s operatives embedded within the smuggler network planted one of the new explosive enchantment devices into two tribute chests.”

She enlarged the projection to show the draconian territory.

”The chests detonated inside a draconian settlement. The resulting outrage has already triggered a purge across the Highlands.”

Her smile turned a bit cold.

”The smuggling route through DragonMourn will be shut down for months at minimum.”

A satisfied silence filled the room.

From the outside, the empire would only see isolated incidents, unfortunate accidents, and unexplained violence.

From inside this room, it looked like the careful tightening of a net.

”Excellent,” Haggleworth said with a pleased smile. ”That won’t just hurt the Wastelanders’ coffers since they rely heavily on that smuggling route, it will also drive demand toward our logistics wing now that the smugglers are out of business.”

Alpha slid her hand across the magic surface. The map shifted west of the DragonMourn Highlands, settling just northwest of Wastelander territory.

”As requested, Tom Jerry Wastelander has been neutralised,” she said calmly.

Haggleworth blinked.

”Wait. You assassinated him?” His voice rose in disbelief. ”Why? I only needed him out of the way long enough for us to capitalise on the opportunity created by the Rudel bridge collapse to strengthen our logistics hold in that region of the Wastelander fief.”

***