Shadow Slave novel Chapter 516

Returning to the Shipwreck Island felt strange. It was almost exactly the same, but also different.

They followed the remains of the ancient road and crested the hill to see the desolate valley below. The wreck of the once graceful ship was at its center, the dead tree wrapped around its mast. Thick vines were growing out of the breaches in its hull and spreading outward, some laying on the ground, some buried beneath it.

Here and there, piles of wooden debris could be seen — those were the Sailor Dolls, which had yet to assume their humanoid form after shapeshifting to withstand the Crushing.

What had changed, however, was that there was no chain on the other side of the valley anymore. The Twisted Rock had been destroyed and crumbled into the Sky Below, and now, the Shipwreck Island directly bordered the Tear.

Sunny felt as if the air itself was slightly different as the result.

He gestured at the wooden debris and said:

"Those are the Sailor Dolls. In a few minutes, they will assume their usual form, and after one notices us, the others will know of our presence, too. They'll swarm you pretty fast."

The Fire Keepers had already summoned their weapons and were prepared for a fight. The faces were calm, cold concentration burning in their eyes.

Cassie nodded.

"This is it, then. We will see you on the other side."

Sunny hesitated for a moment, then glanced at the members of the cohort. Out of habit, he had wanted to tell her to be careful, but then remembered who she was, and who he was, what they had been through together, and how it all ended.

The corner of his mouth twitched.

"...Give them hell."

The Fire Keepers smiled. One of them laughed:

"I'm pretty sure that this place is already enough of a hell… you stay safe too, Sunny."

He sighed, then took a step back and disappeared into the shadows. Safely hidden in their dark embrace, Sunny observed as the Fire Keepers moved forward in a flexible battle formation. A few seconds later, he followed behind them unseen.

Soon, the piles of debris shuddered and started assembling into tall, menacing wooden humanoids, their arms ending with jagged blades.

The Fire Keepers did not wait for the first one to lunge at them, and launched an attack themselves.

Shakti, the former Artisan with an Aspect revolving around plants, drew a heavy bow, and sent an arrow flying. It hit the nearest abomination in the head and suddenly exploded into shards, creating a cloud of icy mist.

The creature swayed, then turned to face them, one side of its body in shambled. As it moved toward the humans, a thin crust of ice formed on its limbs, slowing the doll down.

Before it could strike with its blades, another Fire Keeper dashed forward and brought the blade of a heavy axe on its shoulder, severing one of the abomination's arms completely. Another appeared by his side, receiving a retaliatory strike on his shield. The young man grunted, but held his ground.

A moment later, the Sailor Doll was dead, hacked into pieces by the rest of the cohort.

'Not a bad start…'

But that was just the beginning.

Soon, the eight humans were surrounded by a dozen more Fallen Beasts, all towering above them with menacing, bloodthirsty determination. Things were about to turn bad for the Fire Keepers, but at that moment, Kaor — the Artisan specializing in carpentry — froze for a moment and narrowed his eyes. Immediately, a subtle change happened to the wooden creatures.

While not really rendered weak, they did, however, become a bit sluggish and slow. That made it possible for the members of the cohort to hold against the onslaught of the Nightmare Creatures a whole Rank above their own.

The Fire Keepers held their formation, but only just barely. The young men armed with the heavy axe was now using his Aspect Ability, which made the blade of his weapon shine with an angry red glow. It bit into the wooden flesh of the abomination he was fighting, penetrating much deeper than it should have been able to. _{freewebnøvel.com}