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Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage

Chapter 526: Kobold Mountain I · Oct 07, 2026

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Chapter List (889)

Page number / 18

501 Chapter 500: Juror’s Scripture I 2026-10-07
502 Chapter 501: Juror’s Scripture II 2026-10-07
503 Chapter 502: Kron, the Disillusioned I 2026-10-07
504 Chapter 503: Kron, the Disillusioned II 2026-10-07
505 Chapter 504: Nostalgia and Reunion 2026-10-07
506 Chapter 505: Heresy 2026-10-07
507 Chapter 506: Verdantis Cultivation Ways; Beast Tide 2026-10-07
508 Chapter 507: Beast Tide II 2026-10-07
509 Chapter 508: Virgin Interplanar Negotiation I 2026-10-07
510 Chapter 509: Virgin Interplanar Negotiation II 2026-10-07
511 Chapter 510: The Era of Sorcery I 2026-10-07
512 Chapter 511: The Era of Sorcery II 2026-10-07
513 Chapter 512: Guardian Family 2026-10-07
514 Chapter 513: Udara’s Deduction 2026-10-07
515 Chapter 514: Coincidence or... Providence 2026-10-07
516 Chapter 515: Three-pronged Approach; Camp Winston 2026-10-07
517 Chapter 516: Ungentlemanly Operation I 2026-10-07
518 Chapter 517: Ungentlemanly Operation II 2026-10-07
519 Chapter 518: Ungentlemanly Operation III; CIN Breakdown 2026-10-07
520 Chapter 519: Ungentlemanly Operation IV, Onto Legendary Path 2026-10-07
521 Chapter 520: Berserk Humans 2026-10-07
522 Chapter 521: Berserk Humans II 2026-10-07
523 Chapter 522: Wayne’s Commission I 2026-10-07
524 Chapter 523: Wayne’s Commission II 2026-10-07
525 Chapter 524: Bar Fight 2026-10-07
526 Chapter 525: Fortuna Departs 2026-10-07
527 Chapter 526: Kobold Mountain I 2026-10-07
528 Chapter 527: Kobold Mountain II 2026-10-07
529 Chapter 528: Divine Descent 2026-10-07
530 Chapter 529: Lord Bonsai’s New Menu Listing 2026-10-07
531 Chapter 530: Rock Monkey Gorge 2026-10-07
532 Chapter 531: Ambush 2026-10-07
533 Chapter 532: Foiled Ambush 2026-10-07
534 Chapter 533: Shadow Couple’s Assassination 2026-10-07
535 Chapter 534: Divine Heist Gone Wrong? 2026-10-07
536 Chapter 535: State of the Sanctuary’s Residents 2026-10-07
537 Chapter 536: Alex’s Hypocrisy 2026-10-07
538 Chapter 537: Bandits 2026-10-07
539 Chapter 538: Girl Power 2026-10-07
540 Chapter 539: Umbrella in Another World 2026-10-07
541 Chapter 540: Berserk Human Transformations 2026-10-07
542 Chapter 541: A Golden Opportunity 2026-10-07
543 Chapter 542: Wildlands Grand Formation I 2026-10-07
544 Chapter 543: Wildlands Grand Formation II 2026-10-07
545 Chapter 544: Two Sides of Heaven-Earth I 2026-10-07
546 Chapter 545: Two Sides of Heaven-Earth II 2026-10-07
547 Chapter 546: Two Sides— Entering the Formation I 2026-10-07
548 Chapter 547: Two Sides— Entering the Formation II 2026-10-07
549 Chapter 548: Cracks In the Sacred Lands 2026-10-07
550 Chapter 549: Red Truth Seeker 2026-10-07

Chapter 526: Kobold Mountain I

CH526 Kobold Mountain I

***

’Seriously... Raven Horn wasn’t wrong when he said leaving Dragonstone right now would be dangerous,’ Alex thought to himself as the party wiped out yet another pack of monsters.

This time, it was Lizardmen.

Previously, it had been a group of underground desert gremlins.

And before that, a scattered horde of berserk beasts.

It wouldn’t be wrong to say they had killed their way out of the fifteen-kilometre radius surrounding Dragonstone.

Of course, with the numerous kills came numerous rewards in the form of beast cores.

In Verdantis, it seemed all beasts and even monsters possessed beast or monster cores. The only question was whether they were corrupted by berserk property or not.

This meant little to the team, as Alex—and now Eleanore as well—could purify the precious energy cores, which also served as legal tender across the plane.

Alex allowed the weary group a moment to catch their breath after the latest battle. Even the orcs, who usually seemed to have boundless stamina, showed signs of fatigue from the relentless slaughter.

Grrr!!!

Before the party could resume their march toward the last known berserk human gathering point, Fen suddenly became alert.

Skree!!!

High in the sky, Senu echoed the warning.

After killing so many berserk beasts and monsters since entering the Wildlands, both of Alex’s companions had grown far more sensitive to incoming threats.

Alex tapped into Senu’s vision and quickly located the source.

”There are kobolds patrolling the mountain ahead,” he reported. ”There’s no mention of kobolds on the map or in the information Raven Horn gave us.”

”Then they must be new,” Zora said.

Alex nodded.

”What should we do, Boss?” Kavakan asked.

Alex fell into thought.

”We need to be careful,” he said. ”Kobolds reproduce almost as fast as goblins. There could be hundreds... even thousands of them inside that mountain.”

”What if we smoke them out?” Silver suggested.

Alex’s eyes lit up.

”Yes. That could work,” he agreed. ”If we block the exits to the cave network they’ve dug, a sustained fire spell should be able to smoke, or even choke them out eventually.”

He swung down from Dread’s back.

”Udara, Silver, Havel—on me. We’ll scout the mountain and identify every entrance.”

He turned to the rest.

”The rest of you spread out and encircle the mountain. Stay on standby... just in case.”

”Wait, Alex. Can’t we just bypass them?” Eleanore dismounted, grabbed his arm and asked, worry evident in her voice.

”Kobolds have a strong sense of smell. There’s no way we’ll slip past without them noticing. And we can’t guarantee they won’t chase us.”

He shook his head.

”It’s too dangerous to gamble our safety on whether monsters—whose numbers we don’t even know—decide to attack us or not.”

”Okay.” Eleanore relented.

There was another reason Alex had chosen to take the initiative against the kobolds.

But he kept that to himself for now.

[Abyssal Conqueror’s Step: Second Step – Phantom’s Veil]!

[Shadow Dash]!

[Flash Step]!

[Huntress’s Stride]!

Alex, Udara, Havel and Silver activated their movement techniques and shot forward, gliding stealthily toward the mountain a kilometre ahead.

Except perhaps for Alex, the other three were experts of stealth in their own, so there was little concern about them.

The real concern... was him.

Yet, despite not needing to, Alex had still chosen to spearhead the operation.

However, while he might not be a student of stealth, it wasn’t as if he was completely ignorant either.

Through Senu’s shared senses, Alex constantly adjusted his path according to the wind direction as he advanced toward the kobold mountain.

Darkness mana wrapped around him following the method of the Abyssal Conqueror’s Step, bending light around his body while muffling his footsteps.

Which meant scent remained his greatest weakness.

Fortunately, the kobolds were not actively searching for intruders.

So Alex closed the distance while monitoring the wind.

From Senu’s aerial vantage point, Alex soon located a tunnel exit halfway up the mountainside.

[Abyssal Conqueror’s Step: Wraith’s Crossing]!

Switching instantly to a burst of speed, lightning mana surged around him as he shot upward, arriving at the tunnel mouth, or rather... a vent in a blink.

”Let’s try this out,” he murmured.

Alex placed his palm against the rocky arch of the narrow cave entrance —barely large enough for a human—and triggered a spell.

[Lightning Lance]!

Because his hand was pressed directly against the stone, the lightning spell formed within the rock itself.

Cracks raced outward.

Electric currents ripped through the structure, weakening it from the inside.

Then—

The ceiling gave way.

The collapse sounded natural, like an ordinary cave-in, rather than an external attack.

Rubble sealed the passage.

’Worked like a charm,’ Alex smiled to himself.

[Wraith’s Crossing]!

Without wasting another second, Alex burst back down toward the mountain’s main entrance.

He couldn’t be sure the others would be able to collapse their assigned exits as quietly as he had.

So he wanted to be ready in case something went wrong.

Havel’s interpretation of stealth, on the other hand, was what people in Alex’s previous life would have called... a gamer’s approach to stealth.

Once he realised he was upwind, Havel abandoned the idea of sneaking entirely.

Instead, he chose murder.

After all, the wind wouldn’t carry the scent of blood toward the rest of the kobolds.

So why waste time tiptoeing around them?

[Quick Draw Technique: Flash Slash]!

Bodies dropped silently.

The kobolds dying before they ever saw the hem of their killer’s clothes.

Havel continued forward and soon reached another vent midway up the mountain. It was also too small for a human to pass through comfortably, but more than adequate for kobolds.

He raised his sword into a traditional overhead katana stance.

Then he struck.

[Falling Sickle]!

The blade slammed down.

Yet instead of a violent crash, there was almost no sound at all.

It was as if the strike had landed on water.

Mana rippled outward, flowing across the stone and surging into the cave mouth.

A moment later, the rock trembled. Then it collapsed.

The passage sealed, trapping the kobolds inside.

Silver, meanwhile, was far more faithful to the spirit of stealth than Havel.

But when she reached her assigned vent near the mountain’s upper ridge, she found, to her annoyance, several kobolds stationed there.

She clicked her tongue softly.

’No helping it.’

Arrows slipped between her fingers.

Twack.

Each shot found a throat.

The kobolds dropped without even managing a cry.

After confirming the kills, Silver glanced toward the cave entrance above. Climbing the rest of the way would take time. So she decided not to.

Instead, she pulled a heavy steel arrow from her waist quiver and nocked it.

Mana flooded into the shaft, igniting Runes along it to the arrowhead.

[Power Shot]!

The projectile blasted forward like cannon fire, vanishing from sight—

And a heartbeat later—

CRASH!

The archway imploded, rock cascading down in a thunderous collapse.

But her strike was not the only one that sounded at that moment.

***

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