Shadow Slave novel Chapter 872

Chapter 872: Spreading Nightmares

The initial several weeks of the Antarctica campaign were the most intense... at least for now. The divisions of the First Army steadily moved south, fighting through the swiftly growing swarms of Nightmare Creatures and establishing strategic encampments along the way. These encampments were going to serve as the transit points of the evacuation networks soon.

Moving through them, all the population of the Antarctic Center was going to be relocated to the siege capitals to await eventual salvation. The same thing, only on a much larger scale, was happening in East Antarctica, where most people of the Southern Quadrant lived.

As days went by, the Chain of Nightmares grew more rampant. New Gates manifested with increased frequency, disgorging more and more abominations into the waking world. Luckily, the burden pressing down on the First Army also grew lighter, since more and more divisions reached their destinations and entrenched themselves inside the cities that would become humanity's strongholds in the coming months.

Without the need to brave the enemy-infested wilderness, the lives of the soldiers became less perilous. That was not to say that they were not terribly busy - turning a populous city into a wartime fortress was a laborious task, too.

However, no one was as busy as the First Irregular Company.

Just like Master Jet had promised, the Irregulars almost never rested. While other soldiers had specific tasks that sometimes forced them into battle with the Nightmare Creatures, and sometimes did not, the seven cohorts of Irregulars constantly moved between various flashpoints to douse their flames.

Day after day, battle after battle... soon, the novelty of Antarctica's sobering reality dissipated, and the endless procession of combat engagements blurred into one continuous, bloody ordeal.

They were doing their job, still.

Not all battles were as large-scale or as dire as those in the first two days of the active operation. Some demanded more precision than all-out effort, others simply had to be fought because no one else could be spared to address the situation.

Tempered in this terrible crucible, Sunny and his cohort were becoming accustomed to the trials of the Chain of Nightmares, as well as each other. Their ability to fight as a single cohesive entity increased, finally reaching a satisfactory level. Their personal power grew, too.

Sunny was not the only one who had managed to enhance his arsenal of Memories, for one. With so many Nightmare Creatures that needed to be slaughtered, each member of the cohort acquired new combat tools.

Quentin, for example, had received a beautiful suit of plate armor for killing a Fallen officer of the stone hive. Just like the carapaces of the monstrous insects, it was pure white and incredibly durable. Luster managed to acquire a charm that was supposed to increase his luck, even if no one could really tell whether it actually worked or not. Samara was now wearing a chameleon cape that blended into the environment and masked her position.

Others were using new Memories, too.