Shadow Slave

Sometimes, great things had small beginnings.

The dark ocean of hungry rats infesting the Burned Forest had begun from a single beast, for example. Sunny himself, the Lord of Shadows, had been an orphan in the outskirts of NQSC once. A devastating rockfall could be caused by a single rolling pebble.

Similarly, the Curse did not immediately vanquish the Black Millipede tribe. In fact, its effect was not that significant when compared to the collective might of their profane kind — there were simply too many of them, and even the awesome power of a Supreme Titan was not sufficient to quell the grotesque swarm.

However, if used at the right time and in the right place, it was enough to make a difference.

Saint and the elites who followed her were facing the most fearsome champions of the Black Millipede tribe and the horde of lesser abominations who followed them.

The [Mercy of Shadow] poisoned the souls of the Nightmare Creatures with the Death Will — those of them who were weak and already wounded simply fell lifeless to the ground, creating gaps in the flood of abominations. Those who were too powerful to succumb to the killing intent of the Sovereign of Death still felt the cold grasp of his lethal authority, losing some of their vitality.

Then, they were branded by the Weakening Curse and lost some of their power, as well. Both enchantments, as well as the [Shadow Flame] that allowed them to spread across the swarm of abominations, were naturally empowered by the [Underworld Armament] as well.

That was enough for Saint and her elites to push their advantage and bring several dreadful Great Nightmare Creatures down in quick succession. Once the pillars of the millipede swarm’s offensive in that section of the battlefield fell, an entire swath of the abominable flood collapsed under the eerily silent advance of the Shadow Legion.

The louder the grotesque millipedes screeched and growled, the quieter the merciless shades seemed to become. The abominations died all the same.

And the more of them died, the more shades there were to continue the slaughter.

That small victory swiftly snowballed into a complete collapse of the Black Millipede swarm. The breach in their slithering mass allowed Saint to cut deep into the vast sea of abominations and attack other powerful champions from the flanks while her soldiers pushed the advance from the front. Before too long, these Great Nightmare Creatures fell like dominoes, as well.

And soon after they fell, the entire western flank of the millipede swarm fell apart. The left wing of the Shadow Legion advanced, slaughtering countless abominations and threatening to encircle those of them who were battling the Rat King from the west.

If the center of the millipede swarm fell, its eastern third would find itself being attacked by Slayer and the Ember Queen from the south while Saint and her forces descended upon them from the west.

It would be utter devastation for the Black Millipede Tribe.

More importantly than that, Saint could choose to bypass the remaining two-thirds of the great swarm entirely and instead push north, where the Millipede Queens and their dreadful bodyguards were hiding behind the endless ranks of their revolting army.

..In the very heart of the slaughter, the corpses of the slain millipedes had formed a tall hill. With the battle still raging around it, Nightmare tore his way to the top of that hill and froze there for a few moments, blood dripping from his fangs as his eyes burned with terrifying crimson flames. Saint sat in his saddle, regarding the scene of unimaginable carnage with cold indifference. She studied the chaos around them and then cast her tenebrous gaze into the distance, where the elusive forms of the Millipede Queens were hidden behind the sea of abominations.

Her gaze seemed to carry the promise of death in it.

Somewhere else on the battlefield, Fiend took a deep breath and then leaned forward while opening all four of his arms wide. A great torrent of roaring flames exploded from his infernal maw, incinerating hundreds of lesser millipedes and melting their black chitin into sludge.

Not too far from him, Serpent had assumed the form of the Ember Queen, sowing confusion in the ranks of the millipedes. The elusive form of the great Nightmare Creature was immediately besieged by countless foes, but escaped their claws and mandibles by hiding in the fleeting moment between the present and the future.

A Great Demon fell, brought down by the twin shadows of Solvane. Someplace else, King Daeron and the shadows of Song Saints were surrounded by a vast field of shattered black chitin. The Shadow Wolves and the Asuras of Condemnation were rampaging in the reeling swarm...

On the other side of the battlefield, Slayer had leapt into the mass of grotesque millipedes and assumed the form of the Wolf. Her jaws snapped, tearing the throat of a huge Great Devil open, and then a chilling howl rolled across the battlefield, drowning out its deafening clamor for a few haunting moments.

‘What will they do?’

Seeing the world through Saint’s eyes, Sunny regarded the distant forms of the six Great Tyrants.

The Millipede Queens seemed to linger for a while, observing the horrifying carnage in front of them. Their grotesque children were dying in scores every moment, and the losses were only continuing to mount... Finally, a peculiar ripple spread through the abominable swarm. 𝙧Ά𝐍о𝖇ËṨ

Acting as one, the countless millipedes dove into the cracks between the blackened branches of the fallen trees, receding into the depths of the tangle like a frothing sea of black chitin.

The Black Millipede Tribe was retreating.

‘Aaabhh..:

Sunny extricated himself from Saint and stepped onto the surface of the morbid hill of slain abominations, watching the swarm recede with an arrogant expression.

He closed his eyes for a few moments, and then inhaled deeply.

Finally...

Finally!

After more than a year of war, the Black Millipedes had suffered their first defeat. And after suffering defeat for more than a year, he finally achieved the first victory. The first, but not at all the last.