Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage

Chapter 519: Ungentlemanly Operation IV, Onto Legendary Path

CH519 Ungentlemanly Operation IV, Onto Legendary Path

***

There had long been a peculiar relationship between House Wastelander and Jurgen County to their northeast. Despite the vast difference in size and strength of their territories, both Houses maintained an unusually close, non-vassal relationship rooted in a bond that traced back to their founding ancestors.

The Wastelanders had effectively opened the entire northwest of their territory exclusively to Jurgen trade. Other merchant organisations weren’t merely ignored— they were quietly shut out.

Not even the Golden Palace’s powerful logistics network had been able to penetrate that iron wall.

It would have taken far more than competitive trade rates to loosen the grip of that historic alliance.

That was — until the Rudel Bridge collapsed.

The bridge spanned a tributary of the Argean River, a vital waterway that cut across not just the Virellian Empire, but the entire continent. Its sudden destruction had severed the primary trade artery between the Wastelanders and the Jurgens.

At first, the Golden Palace believed it to be an extraordinary stroke of fortune. They poured gold into convincing bureaucrats and local officials to allow the Palace’s logistics wing to temporarily facilitate trade in the region until the bridge could be repaired.

But Tom Wastelander saw the danger immediately.

He understood that once the Palace’s logistics network entrenched itself in the area, removing it later would be near impossible.

So he resisted. Aggressively.

Haggleworth had asked Alpha for assistance, believing Dark Water could blackmail Tom into compliance — or, at worst, fabricate evidence to discredit him politically.

Assassination had not been part of the plan.

”We had no choice but to eliminate him if we wanted the deal to go through,” Alpha said, flicking open a file on the magic table. ”Tom is a hardline, dogged Trueblood of the Wastelander family. Threats or fabricated scandals would never have achieved the desired result. Permanent removal was the cleanest solution.

”The logistics network is a critical pillar of Master’s plan. We cannot allow a single man to stall it.”

”But—”

”There was another reason,” Alpha cut in before Haggleworth could object. ”Tom was a central piece in the governance of the Wastelander northwest. Removing him creates a power vacuum. That vacuum will expose fractures in their territorial administration we can later exploit.

”I don’t need to remind you that the Wastelanders are Master’s enemies. When an opportunity presents itself to cripple an enemy, you take it.”

Haggleworth’s expression sobered. He nodded.

”Understood.”

”With Tom Jerry Wastelander gone, you should be able to secure the contract now, yes?” Alpha asked.

”Yes... provided suspicion for his death doesn’t point toward us,” Haggleworth replied.

That had been his major concern from the beginning. The Golden Palace was an obvious suspect.

”You have your role. I have mine,” Alpha said calmly. ”Do you think I wouldn’t account for something that obvious?”

She swiped the surface again. A new set of documents appeared.

Haggleworth’s eyes widened.

”Is this... genuine?”

”It doesn’t matter,” Alpha replied evenly. ”What matters is that it convincingly redirects suspicion toward a far more believable suspect.”

She zoomed in on a name.

”With Tom’s documented hostility toward this cousin, he is a far more reasonable suspect than the Golden Palace. You may proceed with lobbying for the trade agreement and contract.”

Haggleworth exhaled slowly, then nodded.

”Understood.”

”Just remember,” Alpha added, ”Master’s instruction still stands. Do not raise prices. The goal is to capture as much of the demand as possible during this window— not to profit greedily from it.”

”I am aware,” Haggleworth replied. ”Like you said, you have your role and I have mine— and this is mine.

”This isn’t the first time I’ve executed one of the Palace Master’s ’Market Share’ plans. Why do you think we went through the trouble of that expensive scheme to distribute the Arcane Libraries on loans and instalment plans? Because of that, nearly every noble house in the Empire now relies on our Arcane Libraries... and those same libraries are now feeding this little toy of yours with intelligence.”

He shook his head with a sigh.

”Too bad the Palace Master left for his interplanar expedition before the system was fully completed.”

”Indeed,” Alpha replied darkly. ”If it had been finished earlier, we might have detected the plot against him in time.”

Haggleworth hesitated, then asked quietly, ”Do you think the Palace Master is still alive?”

Alpha rolled her eyes.

”Do you really think someone like him would die to a scheme like that? They would have had a better chance killing him by attacking him directly. With his fate and fortune, something like this would at most inconvenience him for a while.

”I wouldn’t even be surprised if he somehow turns the whole situation into a benefit for himself.”

”You have that much faith in him?” Haggleworth raised an eyebrow.

”You don’t?” Alpha shot back with a knowing look.

The two leaders of Alex’s organisations —one operating in the light, the other in the dark— exchanged a glance, then laughed quietly.

Just then, a dot on the map pulsed.

Alpha tapped it.

A hoarse voice recording played.

”Mission complete. Target acquired. Heading to rendezvous point.”

Alpha’s smile returned.

”The proposed head of Echelon has been secured,” she informed him.

Haggleworth grinned.

”Excellent. Excellent. Now we can truly begin.”

-

Ashen Castle, Fury Territory, Dankrot Region, Virellian Empire...

Drake Fury lowered his Rune Phone after receiving Alpha’s report.

He shook his head with mild indifference.

Since granting the Silver Fangs autonomy to operate alongside Dark Water, he had largely washed his hands of the matter. Taking Alpha’s call for a situation report had been little more than courtesy.

Rising from his seat, Drake walked to the bookshelf lining the wall of his office. He pulled on a sequence of books in a precise order.

A section of the floor shifted open, revealing a hidden staircase.

Descending the steps, Drake arrived at a concealed cultivation chamber.

This was his private cultivation room — a chamber built to standards suitable even for a Legend.

It had cost Drake an extraordinary amount of money, influence, and favours to install within the castle. Still, an above-Legendary-grade cultivation chamber was worth any price.

However, Drake had not come here to cultivate.

He had come to check on someone.

Jared Rivia.

The Dark Knight who had been absent since the Northern Dankrot battle had, in fact, been here all along.

Jared sat cross-legged in the centre of the chamber, surrounded by a faint, slow-moving swirl of black mist.

He had been using the Darkness Legendary Core not to inherit its contained Law — as most would — but as a bridge to peer directly into the Laws of Darkness themselves.

In Jared’s position, most cultivators would simply accept the Law embedded within the core and progress along that path.

But Jared was not most.

Instead, he treated the core as nothing more than a doorway, choosing to seek his own comprehension beyond it.

’As expected of you, Jared...’ Drake thought. ’You are quite talented, when you actually find time to cultivate instead of playing bodyguard.’

Over the past months of seclusion, Jared had not only perfected his Engulfing derived Law to the required threshold, but his comprehension of the Veil derived Law had also advanced to an impressive degree.

Now, to step onto the Legendary path, all Jared needed was to elevate his Life Blood Internal energy to the necessary threshold.

Only then could he attempt the ascent.

To an outsider, it might appear that the Legendary Core was responsible for Jared’s rapid progress.

But Drake knew better.

The core had merely provided fertile soil for two decades of accumulated experience to finally bloom — now that Jared had the time to nurture it.

And bloom it had.

Without disturbing him, Drake quietly turned and left the chamber.

It would not be long now before the Earl Drake line gained another Legend.

***