Shadow Slave novel Chapter 2014

Chapter 2014 Fateful Choice

Sunny was appalled. He might have been the most honest man in two worlds, but he was definitely not the kindest. Subjected to the ceaseless barrage of lethal attacks and battered by the enemy, reeling from Beastmaster's mental manipulation and intoxicated by the thrill of battle, he felt bloodlust slowly bloom in his heart.

His combat instinct had been nurtured by countless battles against Nightmare Creatures, after all — not humans. So, he rarely had to wonder whether to kill the enemy or not. His instincts were telling him to show no mercy and slaughter the Saints of Song in the fastest and most brutal manner. But at the same time…

He did not really want to, or have a reason to. On the contrary, Sunny's ultimate goal required these people to remain alive. They had important roles to play in the aftermath of the war, helping humanity endure and face the dire challenges that lay ahead. He needed to give these Saints a reason to see Nephis as a potential ally, not kill them.

Take Beastmaster, for example…

Sure, she was insidious and chillingly powerful. But she was also the backbone of the entire Song Domain. Her thralls were currently besieging the Sword Saints on the battlefield, but in the time of peace, the same thralls were the foundation of the logistical infrastructure in the eastern reaches of the Dream Realm. With her death, that infrastructure would be disrupted and set back by a decade. Delivering goods from the River of Tears to the inland cities would become many times harder, time-consuming, and dangerous. The same was true for large-scale construction.

So, no matter how frustrated and sickened Sunny felt because of having his mind played with, he ultimately wanted Song Eunbin to survive the battle. The same went for the other six Saints that were trying to kill him with all their might — each and every one of them was a treasure that he could not really afford to lose. That alone made Sunny feel conflicted, making his reason and instincts clash with each other. But also…

He was not even sure that he could afford to spare these people. Defeating an enemy while sparing them was much harder than simply killing the enemy, after all. And Sunny was barely managing to keep himself alive in this battle… mercy was a luxury that had a heavy price. …It was strange. This was not the first war Sunny had participated in, and definitely not his first battle. However, in the past, he had mostly experienced war from the point of view of a footsoldier. Even as an officer of the Evacuation Army, Sunny had only really needed to concern himself with achieving his objectives. But now, he was powerful enough and influential enough to be one of the people responsible for setting the objectives. As such, his perspective of war had no choice but to change. Because war wasn't simply something he had to survive anymore. Instead, it was also a tool to be used in order to attain what he desired. 'How lofty…'

Something inside of him rebelled against the very idea. It was a cynical and revolting thing, to coldly and pragmatically seek benefit in the misery and deaths of countless people. Sunny felt as if he was becoming something that he hated the most. Was this how the Sovereigns had started to lose their way, decades ago?

Would he become no different from those ghouls one day?

Surely, no…

But having experienced Master Orum's memories, Sunny knew that Ki Song and Anvil had not set out to become misguided tyrants, either.

They had just lost their humanity, one little step at a time.

...Perhaps fortunately, he did not have much time to think.

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