Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage

Chapter 810: Heavenly Tribulation And the Nest Queen II

CH0810 Heavenly Tribulation And the Nest Queen II

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Zora’s lonesome and graceful figure walked across the frozen landscape as though it were her personal domain.

A look of concern rested upon her beautiful face as she gazed at the dark clouds gathering across the entire Frontier March.

‘The Tribulation of Heavenly Secrets…’ she murmured to herself. ‘But this is different from the last time.’

The worry in her eyes was impossible to conceal.

The Heavenly Tribulation looming above the domain felt remarkably similar to the one that had descended when Alex first created the Rune-Tech platform—only this one was far more powerful.

That was why her first suspicion had fallen upon Alex.

It wasn’t that there weren’t other brilliant minds within the domain.

Rather, Alex was the only person who had already provoked such a tribulation once before—and the only one reckless enough to have a realistic chance of doing so again.

Under normal circumstances, Zora wouldn’t have been overly worried.

After all, Alex had survived a Heavenly Tribulation before.

This one, however, was different.

It felt far less like a trial… and far more like an execution.

It was as though the force behind the Heavenly Tribulation had already decided that Alex—and whatever had caused this catastrophe—must be erased from existence.

Although she had complete faith in him, she couldn’t stop herself from worrying.

For a brief moment, she considered informing her fellow sister wives.

‘No.’

She gently shook her head.

‘Let’s not worry them until we’re certain.’

Fortunately, the Heavenly Tribulation clouds were not dramatically different from ordinary storm clouds—aside from their immense scale, sudden appearance, and overwhelming pressure.

Unless someone was already familiar with Heavenly Tribulations, it would be difficult to realise what they truly were.

The sound of approaching footsteps drew her attention.

Turning around, she saw Kavakan and Sinia making their way towards her.

“The repairs are complete,” Kavakan reported, resting his twin axes across his shoulders.

“We’re almost ready for the next battle.”

Battle intent and barely concealed excitement radiated from the Were-Tiger warrior.

He was so eager for the coming fight that he failed to notice anything unusual.

Sinia, however, immediately sensed that something was wrong.

“Is something the matter, my lady?” the older woman asked.

She looked at Zora, whose elegant bearing resembled that of a mystical Ice Empress who had descended into the mortal world.

“Nothing he can’t handle,” Zora replied calmly. “We just need to defend his domain in the meantime.”

Sinia didn’t fully understand what Zora meant, but she did realise that something had happened on the Count’s side.

Even so, like Zora and Kavakan, she wasn’t overly worried about his safety.

After all, if things truly went wrong, he could always retreat through a Space Gate.

…or so they all thought.

Alex came to a halt several dozen metres from the gathering Berserk Beasts, carefully assessing the situation.

The moment he entered their vicinity, however, the beasts became visibly restless.

Almost every one of them turned towards him, baring their fangs and growling in warning.

Yet beneath the crimson glow of their eyes, Alex sensed something far more primal…

Fear.

They weren’t truly afraid of him.

They were afraid of something else.

And Alex immediately realised what it was.

His gaze turned towards the dark clouds overhead.

Although the Heavenly Tribulation appeared to blanket the entire Frontier March, its true focus had always been him.

By approaching the herd, he had brought the Heavenly Tribulation’s attention directly above the beasts.

Their growls weren’t challenges.

They were warnings.

They were warning this harbinger of doom to stay away from them.

A grin slowly spread across Alex’s face.

‘It’ll work.’

With this unexpected variable, he quickly reassessed his plan and reached his conclusion.

Mana surged through his body and flowed into his weapons as his grip tightened.

Sensing his intent to fight, the beasts immediately tensed. Several lowered their bodies, preparing to pounce.

Then, just as Alex settled into his fighting stance…

…they turned around and fled.

Alex stood there in stunned silence for the briefest of moments.

Then he reacted instantly.

[Body Strengthening Magic]!

[Featherflight]!

[Featherfall]!

[Fleetfoot]!

[Haste]!

At a single mental command, OmniRune refreshed every support spell currently acting on his body before layering even more enhancements onto it.

[Silver Body]!

[Bear Strength]!

[Buff: Strength Up]!

[Buff: Agility Up]!

[Buff: Defence Up]!

[Buff: Endurance Up]!

[Buff: Speed Up]!

Power flooded every fibre of Alex’s body.

Without hesitation, he hurled himself after the fleeing Berserk Beasts.

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

In an instant, he closed the distance to his first target— An Earthshaker Bull.

[Death Perception]!

Alex instantly identified the Berserk Beast’s weak point.

A small section of its chest, directly above the heart, where the muscles were naturally thinner to allow the organ to beat freely.

Compared to the rest of its body, it was the least protected area.

That was, of course, only relative.

The Earthshaker Bull’s flesh was still extraordinarily tough.

[Warlord Sword Art: Second Sword]!

Using the Skywalker House’s swordsmanship, Alex drove the Skywalker Sword straight through the beast’s weak point.

The Earthshaker Bull’s eyes widened in almost comical disbelief as life rapidly left them.

Alex paid it no mind.

As he withdrew the Skywalker Sword, the weapon greedily absorbed the beast’s blood, but leaving both the flesh and Beast Core intact.

The entire exchange lasted only an instant.

Alex was already turning towards his next target—

A Green Sabretooth Tiger.

Witnessing Alex effortlessly kill the Earthshaker Bull, the tiger’s predatory instincts immediately took over.

Rather than allow this strange two-legged creature—followed by an overwhelming sense of impending doom—to strike first, it decided to eliminate the threat before it could act.

In the beast’s primal mind, if the bipedal creature died, the terrifying omen surrounding it would disappear as well.

Alex’s Truth-Seeker Eyes locked onto the lunging predator.

Its weakness was immediately revealed.

An old injury along its spine.

[Abyssal Conqueror’s Step: First Step—Ghost Step]!

[Warlord Sword Art: First Sword]!

Alex slipped effortlessly to one side, narrowly avoiding the tiger’s claws.

At the same time, his blade sliced cleanly across the midpoint of its spine, instantly paralysing the beast.

Before it could recover, he brought the Draconic Baton stabbing down onto its neck, pinning the struggling tiger firmly to the ground.

A heartbeat later, the Skywalker Sword pierced its body, draining away its blood and life force.

Although Green Sabretooth Tigers possessed brownish-orange fur, they earned their name from the green, wind-aligned energy constantly surrounding their bodies.

That energy not only enhanced their attacks but also formed a protective cushion that weakened incoming blows.

Alex had deliberately used the Warlord Sword Art’s energy-ignoring First Sword to bypass the tiger’s wind barrier, inflicting a fatal wound before delivering the finishing blow.

Without pausing for even a moment, Alex shifted his gaze towards his next target.

His combat strategy never changed.

The Truth-Seeker Eyes’ Spirit Sight and Death Perception identified each target’s weakness.

Then he used the most suitable technique from the Abyssal Conqueror’s Steps, combined with his speed-enhancing support spells, to close the distance in an instant.

The Skywalker Sword, wielded through the Warlord Sword Art, delivered the killing blow, while the Draconic Baton, enhanced by Dragon Kumite, and the concealed wrist blade provided close-range control and surprise attacks whenever necessary.

The Plate of Happenstance replenished the Internal Energy consumed by Dragon Kumite, while the Skywalker Sword restored the energy required to continue using the Warlord Sword Art.

The Everspring Rune Tattoo also continuously restored his spent stamina.

The entire battle became a perfectly efficient cycle.

Using this strategy, Alex carved a trail of corpses through the migrating horde, almost single-handedly slaughtering hundreds of Berserk Beasts.

So long as his opponents were Class Three or below, he could kill each one with a single decisive strike.

Eventually, every Berserk Beast within a five-hundred-metre radius lay dead.

The survivors had long since fled beyond his reach.

For a moment, Alex considered using a movement spell to pursue them.

In the end, he abandoned the idea.

Although the Plate of Happenstance and the Skywalker Sword allowed him to recycle much of the mana and energy expended during battle, he still deliberately limited his spellcasting to preserve the pure mana within his Mana Heart.

After all, he still had a Heavenly Tribulation to survive.

‘Speak of the devil…’

Suddenly, the oppressive pressure of the Heavenly Tribulation descended with full force.

Even if he wanted to cast another movement spell now, he no longer could.

It seemed the Heavenly Tribulation had seen enough.

It was finally ready to strike.

Just as Alex expected a bolt of righteous heavenly lightning to descend upon him… space suddenly tore open before him.

The familiar portal to the Sanctuary pocket dimension appeared.

An egg slowly floated out through the opening.

Crack~!

Beneath the crushing pressure of the Heavenly Tribulation, the cracks covering the golden shell spread even faster.

BOOM!

The Heavenly Tribulation seemed unwilling to wait for the creature inside to hatch naturally.

A red-gold bolt of heavenly lightning crashed down mercilessly upon the egg.

The shell exploded into countless fragments, revealing the creature hidden within.

***