Shadow Slave

Chapter 875: Old Roads

The next day, Sunny and his cohort separated from the battered division. The mass of vehicles and soldiers marched down the broad highway, heading to a large city that was situated behind the mountain peaks to the cast. The Rhino, meanwhile, continued south.

"Four hundred kilometers... how long do you think it will take us to reach the research installation?"

Sunny was currently in the cabin of the APC, leaning on a bulkhead as he looked ahead. Luster glanced at him from the pilot's seat and shrugged hesitantly.

"Hard to say, sir. The terrain here is really rough, and we'll need to climb over many mountains before reaching the coastal plain. There are some old roads here and there, with tunnels that can serve as convenient shortcuts. But since no one took care of them for half a century, it's mostly a stone labyrinth. So... several days at the least. Maybe even a week if we want to be really careful and lower the risk of stumbling into a horde of Nightmare Creatures."

He hesitated for a few moments, and then added:

"Of course, I can get us there in a day if we leave the mountains and drive along the coastal thoroughfare."

Since most of the Antarctic Center was mountainous in nature, moving across its expanse with speed was somewhat of a problem. It would have been much faster by air, but no one was suicidal enough to use an aircraft in these circumstances.

on a flying vehicle. Not only would its electronics and navigation be swiftly fried by the interference of the Gates, but even worse than that, countless Nightmare Creatures in a hundred-kilometer radius would be able to see and take

Awakened could fight effectively in the air, being swarmed by winged abominations or taken down by a

Antarctic Center quickly. Since the terrain was much more flat near the coast, there was a convenient highway running along the shore of the cold ocean. It's just that traveling by it was not exactly safe, especially these

Nightmare Creatures. All kinds of

Sunny sighed.

tunnels, too. Just take your time and take us over the

The young man smiled.

sir! Will

shook his head. Ever since the revelation of his identity as Mongrel, Luster had been acting as an overly enthusiastic sycophant. It

"Well... alright then..."

past month, the importance of replenishing one's essence had become painfully clear to all Awakened in Antarctica. There were just too many Nightmares Creatures around and too many battles that had to be fought... maintaining one's reserves was often the difference between life and death. It was also an inescapable restriction that defined how often

his soul restored it was only twice as fast. As a result, he

a dire deficit of essence. That was another reason why the campaign grew harder as days went by, and why everyone was exhausted. His

Luckily, they were not supposed to fight any serious battles in the

his eyes closed, Sunny rested as his

the mountain chain with agility that was surprising for a machine of that size. The Aurora Australis