Shadow Slave

Two days later, they abandoned the resupply station. The underground depot was left almost empty, since Sunny had decided to take everything they could on the road. Not all the vehicles were loaded to capacity, but even if there was just a driver and a shooter inside, every last one was commandeered and put to good use.

Only the discarded civilian transports and those of the Erebus Field vehicles that were too damaged to remain reliable were left behind.

Nightmare, Abomination, and Blackie moved at the front of the caravan, serving as its vanguard. The Rhino was still at the head, but it was now flanked by two lumbering MRWs, both of them constantly scanning the surroundings with their high-tech optical arrays.

Behind them, the long column of vehicles stretched for more than a kilometer on the mountain road. The remaining ten MRWs and two dozen Awakened were spread along its length, meant to protect the caravan in case of an attack from the flanks. Most of the vehicles were armed, and there were personnel carriers with full companies of mechanized infantry placed strategically among the refugee transports.

All in all, the caravan looked like a big, delicious target for Nightmare Creatures... but also one that would be extremely hard to swallow.

'I'd like to see the bastards try... uh, actually, scratch that. I'd rather not...'

Sunny was positioned on the roof of the Rhino, wearing his military coat over the Mantle of the Underworld. With the elemental resistance of the onyx armor and the Memory of Ice slotted into it, he was more or less immune to mundane cold, so the chilling nature of the polar night was not bothering him too much. The falling ash, though, was still irritating. Hopefully, they would leave the area near Mount Erebus soon.

The wind was blowing in the other direction, which not only moved the clouds of ash away from the caravan, but would also make it harder for those Nightmare Creatures that relied on their sense of smell to detect the approaching humans far in advance.

no illusions that theirs would be

map with as many details as he could and planned multiple suitable routes for the caravan. With his shadows scouting ahead and the crow keeping

the long column of vehicles approached, and the black bird with its magical eyes was able to notice

was going to use it well to navigate the treacherous expanse of the Antarctic Center and reach Falcon Scott

of the sheer size of the caravan, but on the other hand, the land they were traversing was also different from the complicated network of decrepit old roads in the south. The infrastructure between Erebus Field and the northern parts of the landmass had indeed

the earthquake the most, so there were fewer signs of

better preserved, the terrain was less rugged. It was not as flat and straight as the coastal highway, of course, but Sunny felt reluctant to return to the ocean just yet. Even if he did, it would only be to bypass an especially difficult region and then swiftly return to the

'...Or not at all.'

that had been in the immediate area probably migrated to the ruins of Erebus Field and were yet to return. What little resistance the caravan

day or so, the MRWs did not even have to fire a

The caravan did not stop, with drivers working in shifts to keep it moving, so the destroyed city was now far behind them.

assaulted the column of vehicles, shattering against its defenses. The devastating barrage of bullets tore them apart, accompanied by arrows and magical projectiles tossed by the Awakened. The MRWs let their monstrous Gatling guns and

fighters made short work of them. If there were Fallen or Corrupted abominations among the swarms, Sunny and Nightmare charged forward before the creatures

the mundane soldiers, Lieutenant Carin commanding most of the Awakened, and Beth caring for the needs of the civilians...