Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage

CH731 Duke Cyrindale... Father or Aristocrat? I

***

Two weeks later...

Qulin City, Oxborn Duchy, Celahan Empire.

The expedition party finally arrived at Qulin City after a relatively steady return journey from the Great Berserk Beast Forest.

Once they crossed into the civilised borders of the Celahan Empire, the remainder of the journey became noticeably more peaceful.

Unlike within the Hollowcrest Wildlands, incidents involving bandits were comparatively rare—perhaps even close to non-existent—as the group only encountered three such groups throughout the journey.

That said, bandit groups bold enough to operate within civilised territories tended to be far larger and significantly better equipped than their Wildlands counterparts... though generally weaker in individual combat strength.

One thing Alex quickly noticed while travelling through the civilised regions was that the average strength of the populace appeared noticeably lower compared to what he had grown accustomed to within the Wildlands.

Of course, an argument could still be made that they had only seen a small portion of the Celahan Empire—never mind the vast expanse of civilised territories spread across the continent.

Even so, Saul supported Alex’s observations. He pointed out that the regions surrounding the road leading towards the Oxborn Duchy had become overly peaceful, with security growing increasingly lax judging by how easily they passed through multiple domains without undergoing any meaningful inspections.

Within such a stable and comfortable environment, producing large numbers of high-quality, high-ranked combatants on average would naturally become more difficult—at least when compared to the constantly hostile conditions of the Wildlands.

However, what the civilised territories lacked in average individual strength, they more than compensated for through sheer population and scale.

Any equivalent settlement or territory within the Empire could easily field armies vastly larger than those available to their Wildlands counterparts.

’Still, in the face of true power and superior technology... sheer numbers can eventually become irrelevant,’ Alex thought to himself.

Even so, this realisation significantly altered the way he believed he would need to approach his upcoming meeting with Duke Cyrindale.

After arriving at Qulin City—and successfully passing inspection and paying the toll at the eastern gate—Saul led the group deeper into the city.

It was a place that felt both strangely familiar... and yet unfamiliar at the same time.

Qulin City was enormous—far larger than both BloodIron and the City of Ashes.

The city also possessed sturdy defensive walls and infrastructure that took extensive advantage of the surrounding geography and terrain, creating a fortress-city capable not only of withstanding prolonged sieges, but also launching devastating counterattacks against any enemy foolish enough to assault it directly.

It was the sort of behemoth that would require a force several times larger than its defenders to conquer—even if the attacking army possessed elite troops while the defenders themselves were incompetent.

And judging from what Alex had seen since entering the city, Qulin’s defenders were anything but incompetent.

A squad of roughly twenty knights galloped past Alex’s group shortly after they entered the city proper.

Judging from the emblem emblazoned upon their armour, they were the Cyrindale Knights Saul had previously mentioned.

On average, these knights were only around the Intermediate Rank—similar to Alex’s own soldiers back in BloodIron. However, it was obvious at a glance that these men had experienced real warfare.

Not only were they far better trained and equipped, but even the way they maintained formation while moving through the streets revealed a level of discipline that could only be forged through repeated battle.

Alex honestly did not possess the confidence that his own standard forces—without the support of Fortuna’s core members—could easily defeat these knights in a direct confrontation.

Even though the BattleBanes now made up the majority of his military strength, they remained elite primarily in the context of fighting beasts.

In contrast, the Cyrindale troops had spent years fighting territorial wars, suppressing bandits, and engaging almost exclusively against humanoid opponents. Their combat experience was fundamentally different.

After arriving, Saul settled the group within an inn before leaving to meet several acquaintances within the city and arrange an audience with the Duke.

Meanwhile, Alex laid upon the inn bed, lost deep in thought, completely failing to notice—or perhaps simply not reacting to—Udara’s arrival.

Well, that... and the fact that neither his instincts nor his senses considered the Shadow Dancer any sort of threat, meaning they never reacted as she approached him.

"What are you thinking about, Master?" Udara asked softly, pulling him back from his thoughts.

"The meeting with Duke Cyrindale," Alex replied honestly. "I was just thinking that this will likely be the first time I have ever sat down for negotiations with a true powerhouse of an Empire... a genuine powerhouse of this plane."

Alex sat up properly at the edge of the bed before patting the space beside him. Udara quietly sat down next to him.

Alex released a wry smile.

"My personality—or perhaps my ego—does not allow me to accept help from someone purely because of their relationship with another person. Especially not when we are talking about a Duke... a member of high society.

"At the very least, I would prefer to offer him something of value in return—as a gift," Alex explained.

"You want to reduce the implications attached to the favour he would be doing for you?" Udara asked perceptively.

A flicker of surprise flashed across Alex’s eyes before he nodded with another wry smile.

"From experience, I have learned that becoming too indebted to powerful people is rarely a wise thing. When they eventually come to collect on that favour, repaying it can become extremely difficult.

"So I would rather offset the weight of the favour beforehand. That way, if he ever asks for something unreasonable in the future, I can refuse without feeling trapped."

Alex’s expression became more serious.

"At the very least, I need to ensure he does not walk away feeling as though he ’made’ me a noble."

"From experience?" Udara tilted her head slightly.

Alex froze momentarily.

Without realising it, he had spoken from the experiences of his previous life.

He had seen countless people—some he personally knew, others he had merely heard or read about—destroyed after becoming entangled with powerful individuals such as politicians, wealthy elites, and influential figures.

It had become one of his core principles never to place himself in such a vulnerable position if he could avoid it.

And for most of his previous life... he had succeeded.

"Yeah. My father and master taught me early on that it was not a wise thing to do," Alex quickly covered with an excuse.

The explanation sounded reasonable enough to Udara, so she did not probe any further.

Meanwhile, Alex smoothly continued,

"My original plan was to offer him a Rune Tattoo. However, after seeing the state of his territory and military forces, I no longer think that would be sufficient.

"According to Saul, the Duke has been a Saint for even longer than him. At that level, individual combat strength likely no longer matters nearly as much to him anymore.

"In a sense, you could say he is similar to me. What he truly needs now is a large number of elite subordinates.

"And unlike me, it is highly unlikely that he personally sees much battlefield combat these days anyway."

***