Shadow Slave

Chapter 864: Breaking the Balance

Stuck in the middle of a neverending massacre, barely holding on, and sensing a ruinous hint of exhaustion already seeping into his muscles, Sunny knew that the battle was entering its decisive stage.

For now, it seemed to remain in a fragile equilibrium. The jade beetle and Saint Tyris were clashing somewhere high above, neither of them capable of striking down the adversary yet. On the ground, Master Jet were fighting alone in the tide of Nightmare Creatures, seeking out the most powerful foes. She had already killed many, but her task was far from being accomplished.

The Irregulars held, pushing back against the rabid onslaught of the stone hive. They had managed to avoid being overwhelmed, but could not throw the enemy back and go on the offensive. Even with Winter and her sharpshooters taking out the most deadly Fallen abominations, the situation was extremely precarious.

And finally, Sunny was protecting the rear of the formation. He was containing his share of Nightmare Creatures, as well, but was not anywhere near prevailing against them. For every hive soldier he killed, two immediately took its place.

Neither side could wipe out the other. This balance, however, could be

destroyed at any moment.

Time was working against the Irregulars, for the most part, since their soul essence and endurance were not infinite. The soldiers were not going to be able to keep up with the ruthless tempo of the furious battle for much longer.

Their only hope was that Soul Reaper would finish off the last of the Corrupted abominations and join the fight against the mass of lesser soldiers soon. However, from a few glimpses that Sunny had caught, things weren't going too well for the commander of the First Irregular Company.

Master Jet had quickly dealt with the comparatively weak Corrupted, but now, only the most powerful of them remained. More than that, the stone hive seemed to have understood how much of a threat this single human represented. With each second, it was getting harder and harder for Soul Reaper to move and attack her targets.

She would probably be able to kill them all eventually, but was that going to be fast enough?

Currently, Sunny was not sure.

'I need to do something...'

the divine flames burning within the blade of the Cruel Sight to conserve essence, and was now fighting against the frenzied abominations with nothing but its somber silver steel. Mounds of corpses surrounded him, and

can

he supposed to break the balance of

battlefield... and failed. Preventing the soldiers of the stone hive from advancing at the rest of the Irregulars was all that

his ability. If Sunny chose to join the Awakened fighters, they would gain a boost of inspiration from the Dying Wish... however, they would also be forced to split their focus and defend against attacks from two directions. Whatever benefit he could bring would

of slaying a Corrupted abomination or several. It would take him some time.

one component of the battle

the shadow tentacles to suddenly pull himself away from the advancing enemies and pierced the body of a somewhat

briefly looked

of lightning danced between them, and rivers of caustic black ash

His face turned grim.

too strong. I can't kill it. Can't

then again... did

forget about the

lantern that was tied to his belt suddenly surged forward and formed a barrier around him. Even the tentacles that had been slaughtering hive soldiers

the barrier, Sunny

a heavy blow shook the shadow cage he had constructed around himself. Then, another, and another, and

with his Ascended essence, it was much more resilient than the armored hull of the mighty battleship he had once helped

sharp chitin blade shot through one of them, scraping against the onyx surface of the Mantle of

However, it was enough.

the black bow appeared in his hand, Sunny commanded the shadow cage to transform itself. Immediately, it lost solidity and substance... instead,

skewered by them, but most were only stalled for a moment as

paying them any attention, Sunny

[Soul Arrow].