Shadow Slave novel Chapter 2096

Chapter 2096 Island of Peace

After Condemnation was slain and its city was reduced to a black wasteland, nothing stood in the way of the King's plan to pass below the Lesser Crossing and attack the impregnable stronghold of the Song Army from the rear. Except for the ancient jungle itself. The biggest threat had been eliminated, but the Hollows still remained a dark and deadly hell. The King and his Saints still had to clear a safe path for the soldiers, and that was a task of a much greater scale. Various units of the Sword Army were secretly pulled back from both siege camps, starting to clear a subterranean pathway from Vanishing Lake to the entrance to the First Rib Hollow. No matter how fast they worked, it was still going to take them days, if not weeks, to ensure safe passage for the actual invasion force.

They were protected by the flying swords of the King, which moved like rivers above the cleared path, sometimes diving to the ground to eliminate unseen threats.

The Saints, meanwhile, were taming the surrounding jungle — hunting down ancient predators that dwelled beneath the scarlet canopy, uprooting man-eating trees, and eradicating swarms of abominable vermin. Sunny had rarely spent such a prolonged period of time in the Hollows before, and all of it — the appalling scarlet jungle, the dim twilight of the great bone cavern, the torrents of swords flowing like torrents of steel high above — was starting to feel like a feverish nightmare. But no matter how nightmarish the Hollows were, what was happening on the surface seemed far more dreadful.

There, the siege of the Two Crossings continued, with tired soldiers losing more of what little sanity they had left with each passing day. The fearsome strongholds of the Song Army had already repelled countless assaults, stubbornly refusing to fall. No matter how the tactics of the besieging army evolved, the defenders never surrendered the ramparts. No matter how terribly the fortifications were damaged, they were repaired and reinforced each time. The white bone was painted rust-red by blood, and the losses of both armies steadily continued to mount.

The Saints were forced to play a passive role in the slaughter, since neither of the Supremes could afford to lose any more of them to the ravages of war… unless there was no other choice, at least. Strangely enough, doing nothing was far more demoralizing than risking their lives in battle would have been. The Two Crossing had become a purgatory.

…On one of these ominous days, Nephis returned to the Ivory Tower after receiving the report on the casualties of the latest battle. Her expression was somber, and there were cold white flames burning in her beautiful eyes. Instead of returning to her chambers immediately, she went to a dark hall where dozens of luminous Memories burned, surrounded by solemn shadows. These Memories belonged to the Fire Keepers, and had been left here to indicate that their masters were still alive. Once an Awakened died, their Memories were destroyed — so, every time an enchanted lantern disappeared, it most likely signified the death of one of her warriors. There had been almost fifty luminous Memories in the hall once. But now, a handful of them were gone, extinguished forever. Nephis spent a long time looking at the levitating lanterns, her face motionless. That was where Sunny found her after a while. He glanced at the shining Memories, then walked over and placed his hands on her shoulders, massaging them gently. "How bad were the casualties yesterday?"

Nephis let out a heavy sigh, then raised her hand and placed it on one of his own.

"As bad as we expected."

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