Shadow Slave

On the residential island, the blizzard summoned by the shadow of the Winter Beast had swallowed the lively streets, the private estates, and the groves surrounding ornate palatial manors. There was no easily defensible position here, so Sunny had to create one himself.

Slayer and her bestial army had taken control of the roofs, with aerial bridges made from shadows connecting them like a web. The Obsidian Wasps were able to fly, even if they were vulnerable when taking to the air — so, they were both highly mobile and unpredictable, giving her a vital advantage. Serpent, meanwhile, was supremely adaptable, capable of supporting any strategy.

And then there was the Ember Queen, naturally, the shadow of a Great Tyrant who was not only fearsome in battle, but also capable of commanding the Black Millipedes and extremely elusive.

On the central island, the Marvelous Mimic and its defenders had made it to the top of a tall hill, settling there like a natural fortress. Sunny covered his castle in a carapace of manifested shadows, as well, as if dressing it in a suit of armor. There were few terrain features to make use of here, but there was hardly a more tried and tested combination than a steep slope and the walls of a fortress.

The only thing he was lacking was a deep moat, but even then, the hill bordered a deep lake on one side. Granted, the immortals of the Eternal City were not going to drown even if they fell into its water... but every advantage, no matter how small, mattered.

‘Here they come...’

The forces entrenched themselves as best they could, preparing to be besieged. There was no trick Sunny could use — none that was worth the effort, at least — so he fully concentrated on his countless bodies, wanting to make the most of his combat skill and intelligence.

It was quite fascinating, really.

With the Mind Weave enhancing his mental prowess and the Puppeteer serving as the conduit of his will, Sunny had gained nearly flawless control over his shades. That meant that he could not only take full advantage of the rich legacy of tactical warfare accumulated by humanity over the ages, but also perform strategies that mundane generals had never even dreamed of.

After all, Sunny had not simply gained the ability to command his dead warriors with the same level of responsiveness as mundane soldiers would have shown. Instead, he could directly control each of his shades — so, in fact, the level of cohesion he could achieve was far beyond anything mundane armies had even been capable of. On the most basic level, that was expressed in how well the shades supported each other in combat. The entire Shadow Legion was fighting like one vast, terrifying creature — it was as if Sunny had indeed become a demon with a myriad heads and a myriad deadly hands, sowing death and destruction anywhere he went.

Naturally, that made each of the shades far more lethal, while at the same time drastically reducing the losses of the Shadow Legion.

On a more elevated level, the unnatural cohesion between the countless shades allowed Sunny to perform strategic maneuvers that had not even been invented yet, since they were simply impossible for armies bound by the limitations of mundane warfare.

The fact that he had been able to carve a bloody path to the advantageous locations and fortify them under constant harassment by the fallen immortals was already proof of that. But really, Sunny had not even begun to explore the new horizon of possibilities opened to him now — and understandably so.

After all, it was not easy to invent an entirely new framework of military doctrines based on a set of realities that could be applied solely to him. The knowledge of military strategy Sunny possessed was the result of thousands of years of accumulated insights and breakthroughs made by genius tacticians — so, he could not be expected to accomplish that much in a single day.

He was certainly trying, though, driven by desperation and necessity.

‘I do feel... like I’m a little out of my depth...’ Which was ironic, considering that he was at the bottom of the deepest ocean in the universe.

Sunny had commanded a small group of elite soldiers before, as well as a large contingent of the Sword Army in Godgrave. He had also led the Shadow Legion into battle, but never in such an involved and complicated manner. So, he was both struggling... and learning a lot, with every second of his endless, intensely violent, and harrowing battle.

Three tides of dreadful abominations descended upon the positions of the Shadow Legion...

The violence was unimaginable.

Sunny had been disturbed by the monstrous, sinister nature of the first immortal they had met in the Eternal City. Now that this one Nightmare Creature was replaced by a ceaseless flood of hideous, misshapen horrors, he could not even bother to be repulsed.

But nevertheless, he was getting better at commanding his silent army with every moment. With every attack his soldiers received or delivered, Sunny was learning how to wield his power better. His vast mind spun frenetically, absorbing new information and coming to new conclusions.

And as a result, the position of the Shadow Legion was slowly improving.

On the leisure island, the tide of immortals was washing over the walls of the Hippodrome. On the park island, the defenders of the Dark Castle had established a killing field on the slopes of the hill. On the residential island, Slayer and her beasts were repelling the enemies who leaped or climbed onto the roofs of the few central blocks.

And all the while, Nightmare continued to spread the Dream Curse among the fallen immortals.

The tenebrous steed was fighting his own battle, as well. The maze of nightmares was being destroyed and rebuilt again, slowly expanding as more and more powerful creatures were imprisoned in it.

Sunny just hoped that it would endure until the expedition to the Eternal City was over. ‘Sweet dreams, bastards..’