Shadow Slave

Chapter 872: Spreading Nightmares

The initial several weeks of the Antarctica campaign were the most intense... at least for now. The divisions of the First Army steadily moved south, fighting through the swiftly growing swarms of Nightmare Creatures and establishing strategic encampments along the way. These encampments were going to serve as the transit points of the evacuation networks soon.

Moving through them, all the population of the Antarctic Center was going to be relocated to the siege capitals to await eventual salvation. The same thing, only on a much larger scale, was happening in East Antarctica, where most people of the Southern Quadrant lived.

As days went by, the Chain of Nightmares grew more rampant. New Gates manifested with increased frequency, disgorging more and more abominations into the waking world. Luckily, the burden pressing down on the First Army also grew lighter, since more and more divisions reached their destinations and entrenched themselves inside the cities that would become humanity's strongholds in the coming months.

Without the need to brave the enemy-infested wilderness, the lives of the soldiers became less perilous. That was not to say that they were not terribly busy - turning a populous city into a wartime fortress was a laborious task, too.

However, no one was as busy as the First Irregular Company.

Just like Master Jet had promised, the Irregulars almost never rested. While other soldiers had specific tasks that sometimes forced them into battle with the Nightmare Creatures, and sometimes did not, the seven cohorts of Irregulars constantly moved between various flashpoints to douse their flames.

Day after day, battle after battle... soon, the novelty of Antarctica's sobering reality dissipated, and the endless procession of combat engagements blurred into one continuous, bloody ordeal.

doing

the first two days of the active operation. Some demanded more precision than all-out effort, others simply had to

as well as each other. Their ability to fight as a

his arsenal of Memories, for one. With so many Nightmare Creatures that needed

received a beautiful suit of plate armor for killing a Fallen officer of the stone hive. Just like the carapaces of the monstrous insects, it was pure white and incredibly durable. Luster managed to acquire a charm that was supposed to increase his

were using

weeks without suffering any casualties. The swiftly racked up kills and contribution points, as well as soul shards and reputation among the soldiers

to that of Mongrel, who

but the circumstances forced him to make a different decision. There was just too much for him to do. Often, several missions of utmost importance appeared simultaneously,

the Sin of Solace, which synergized extremely well with both of them, his Shadows had become a real menace on the battlefield. They were also able to traverse the mountainous terrain of

or not, Saint and

with the most dangerous tasks, Mongrel popped up here and there without any discernible pattern, appearing from nowhere and disappearing without a trace after dealing devastating damage to the Nightmare

Saint's popularity among the rank and file of the First Army grew explosively. The Guardian Angel of Antarctica... that title, coined by a random network journalist, was spoken by them more and more often, jokingly at first, but then a bit

the Irregulars. No one else dared to speak it to his face - or behind his back, really, considering that the rumor that he