Shadow Slave

Getting close to the port turned out to be complicated. There were too many people and too many vehicles heading the same way — at some point, driving forward became simply impossible. The road was utterly jammed, which was a truly strange scene. Back in NQSC, PTVs were somewhat of a rare sight, but Falcon Scott was brimming with military transports of all kinds.

Understanding that their vehicle was truly stuck, Sunny grimaced and told everyone to get out. As they did, a litany of sounds assaulted their ears — the rumbling hum of engines, the ear-piercing wail of electric horns, the anxious shouts of countless people… all of it fused into a cacophonous cloud of noise.

Around them, a vast crowd of people was flowing through the congested road, the vehicles waiting hopelessly for a chance to move forward. There were men, women, and children — some carrying bags and backpacks containing their belongings, some empty-handed.

A driver of a massive transport was standing on the side of the cabin, screaming furiously for everyone to get out of his way and that he had orders to reach the port. His yells were useless, of course. Even if the crowd of people parted, there was another vehicle right in front of the transport, and another one after that, and another one after that — all similarly stuck.

The people moving toward the port on foot were acting senselessly, as well. It was not like they had a chance of getting on a ship simply by reaching the fortress — most of them had simply panicked and lost all reason. Some had not even wanted to go, but were swept up by the crowd.

In any case, the mob presented a serious obstacle to Sunny. Luckily, his uniform had turned out to be good enough of a deterrent — where he walked, a small bubble of empty space magically appeared, allowing his group to advance forward with sufficient speed. Even in this state, the people were able to recognize a Master.

Some moved aside out of respect and reverence, some out of fear.

'This is… damn…'

Sunny had considered himself an experienced person, and not without reason. From the starless void of the Forgotten Shore to the frozen hellscape of Antarctica, he had seen and lived through a lot of things, both incredible and terrifying. However, he had never experienced anything on the scale of what was currently happening in Falcon Scott.

Even the destruction of the Ivory City did not quite come close.

By the time the cohort reached the northern section of the wall, he was in a grim and sober mood. Here, there was another massive gate, its wings currently retracted into the framework of the barrier. Beyond it was a vast span of concrete that led directly to the edge of the tall cliffs.

Usually, there would be several organized lines of refugees waiting for their turn to use the elevators, and a lot of loader robots carrying cargo to and from the fortress. Now, however, the whole space was covered by a sea of people, all frantic to get closer to the edge and get a chance to descend to the coast.

the personnel of the transfer station had clearly given up on trying to control the mob. People were pressed tightly against the alloy barriers that were meant to prevent them from falling down,

.

a few moments, then looked away. He felt a chill that had nothing to do with the unbearable cold of the polar

thing. It was even more frightening because everything had been fine just half a day ago. In such a short time, the whole city seemed

fools hoping to

Sunny flinched.

he

crowd. His uniform and aura of authority cleared a path, and when that was not enough, he simply pushed people away — with Sunny's strength, it was not at all hard. Remaining gentle enough

soldiers followed. After experiencing the horrors of the Nightmare Spell and the tempering of countless battles, they all managed to remain composed. Beth and Professor Obel, however, looked deeply rattled. Still, they followed,

finally reached the entrance to one of the elevators. Currently, it was closed, since the platform had not yet arrived. The refugees moved slightly aside to give the Awakened some breathing room. However, he

"Look! A Master!"

there, officer! What the hell is

me with

"Curse you!"

looking forward, ignoring the yells. Some people tried to ingratiate themselves with Sunny, some cursed him out and demanded explanations. Some stupidly became overjoyed, as

it's

bodies around, the oppressive cold had

the cliffs, and the barrier retracted into the ground. Sunny led his group forward, taking a place near the

below. There was only one gargantuan ship currently anchored near it, with several large ferries coursing between the vessel and the pier to bring people aboard. The port

the elevator plummeted down. It seemed to be moving at a greater speed than usual, causing several passengers to yelp in fear. However, the platform safely reached the bottom of the cliffs in less than a

for pedestrian traffic, half for the vehicles — that road was congested as well, but further away. Sunny noticed soldiers standing watch above it, carrying out their duty with lost expressions on