Shadow Slave novel Chapter 2006

Chapter 2006 The Real Mess

Sunny was on the left flank of the battlefield, while Nephis was in the center. The right flank, meanwhile…

[Cassie?]

There were a few moments of silence, and then the blind seer's voice resounded in his mind. [I've arrived.] Indeed… today's battle was so important and terribly skewed in favor of the enemy that even Song of the Fallen, the Seneschal of the Great Clan Valor — someone who was not supposed to appear on a battlefield often, serving her King and Domain in other ways — had no choice but to enter the fray. In fact, every Saint of the Sword Army was either already here or on their way — except for Sky Tide, who had been ordered to remain with the King of Swords in the rear. Their enemies were already here, too. As the tide of Song soldiers receded, dozens of motionless figures were revealed, standing apart from each other across the expansive battlefield. Sunny felt a strange mixture of somber wariness and anticipation. Each Saint was a force to be reckoned with… and the enemy had twice as many Saints as his side. There were the puppets of the Queen, as well. There was also the horde of Nightmare Creatures enthralled by Beastmaster…

And he had not forgotten that there were still three of Mordret's Reflections left intact, somewhere out there. The odds did not seem very promising for the Sword Saints. 'How many will die?'

Sunny suddenly felt a chill. It was hard to kill a Saint, and even harder to prevent one from escaping should they wish to flee. Those who had reached Transcendence also possessed an incredible wealth of martial experience — they would know when to continue the fight and when to retreat.

…Still, Saints were going to die today. Countless soldiers would be spared from the cold embrace of death, but death would not remain unfed. It was just that the souls it swallowed would be far more nourishing and potent. Of course, the number of the fallen would be infinitely smaller…

But not the significance. In fact, the two Domains would sustain far more damage if a handful of Saints were killed than if a myriad of Awakened died.

That was because only Saints could claim Citadels, thus expanding a Sovereign's Domain over vast territories. Currently, there were more Saints in the world than there were conquered Citadels — but not by much. If enough Transcendent champions were killed today, some of the strongholds of humanity in the Dream Realm would be left without masters. And therefore…

The Domains would shrink, losing some of their overall power… a directly opposite result to what the Sovereigns had wanted to achieve by fighting over land in Godgrave.

The Domains would grow weaker. …Was that part of Neph's calculation, as well? It surely was. 'How devious.'

Sunny should know... after all, he had come up with the plan himself.

In the end, her enthralling display of grace and noble virtue had not just empowered her nascent Domain, but would also lay the groundwork for weakening the Domains of her enemies. Sunny smiled sadly behind the mask. He felt a little dirty. Neither of them really wanted to see Saints die — each Saint was a treasure of humanity, after all. So, usually, they would not take steps to ensure the loss of Transcendent lives. However, the situation was different today, because these lives were weighed against the lives of countless Awakened and Ascended warriors. Those were a treasure of humanity, too — both as they were, and due to their unrealized potential. So, in a zero-sum, the conspirators were justified to choose the sacrifice that would further their goals more. And on a purely human level… it felt less shameful, to sacrifice a few for the benefit of many. Especially if they themselves would be risking their lives side by side with those few.

But still, Sunny did not feel good about the situation.

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