Shadow Slave

Chapter 1823 Mud A desolate plain stretched as far as the eye could see under the cloudy sky. The horizon was shrouded by a rustling veil of cold rain, and the ground had turned into an endless expanse of mud.

A canyon cut the plain like a deep scar, resounding with eerie weeping sounds. It would turn into a raging river soon, but for now, the vertical slopes were drowning in nothing but darkness.

A young woman was moving across the plain, pulling a makeshift sled behind her. . . although, it would have been hard to recognize her as a human from first sight. Covered in mud from head to toe, she looked like a gaunt golem made from clay. The mud stuck to her skin and clothes, making the woman look like a part of the barren wasteland that had somehow come alive.

Her face and hair were covered in layers of dirt, as well. Only her dark, sunken eyes could be seen, burning with fierce determination.

. . . In the end, Rain had lasted more than a day. In fact, she had lasted for six, enduring the inhuman strain and crushing exertion of their desperate flight against all odds.

She had reached her breaking point a long time ago. But, somehow, she managed to keep going even after becoming broken. Later, she faced some other, much deeper limit. . . Rain wasn't sure what it was, and couldn't clearly remember. All she knew was that she was still standing.

That was all that mattered.

The original stretcher had long fallen apart. The enchanted cloak was fine, of course, but the wooden frame had cracked and shattered. Rain had kept repairing it as best she could, but at some point, she could only discard the broken branches and replace them.

She built the new frame from the bones of the

Nightmares Creatures that had attacked them in the dead of night.

The melodious ringing of essence crystals colliding with each other in the depths of her soul was almost deafening now, filling her ears. Her vision had grown vague and narrow. Most of her consciousness was consumed by the sensation of soul essence spinning in a raging whirlpool, permeating every cell of her body. The rest was filled with exhaustion and pain.

Step. Step. Another step.

The further south they went, the more bleak the weather became. Chilling rain poured from the grey sky more and more frequently, and grew more and more forceful. She didn't mind. Not only did it mean that they would not suffer from thirst, but pulling the stretcher through the mud was easier than it would have been if the soil was dry.

Of course, it was a perilous exchange. Rain would have probably been dead if not for her military bodysuit — being wet meant losing heat, and heat was energy. With how much she was exerting herself, energy was a precious resource that she dared not waste.

had already started consuming itself, so it was a

was not

healing. But

blood, and although they

was concerned about the

past six days — most of their time was taken by the endless,

had gone through so much hardship together? The muddy plain, the weeping sky, the burning desire to survive. . . no one else would know or remember these trials,

a sound

roar of the water rushing through the canyon, the melody of her soul essence, and the silence of her numb

Rani! Ra. . .

and came to her senses. In the next moment, she saw several swift silhouettes

Nightmare Creatures.

. .

any time, Rain fell on

up on the stretcher. She was holding a bow in

the arrow loose. It streaked through the pouring rain and hit one of the abominations in the shoulder. Despite her weakened state, Tamar still managed to maintain admirable accuracy — however, it wasn't quite enough. The creature stumbled and rolled on the ground, but then

it had received a deep wound,

‘Damn it.’

a wolf. From the looks of it, they

the two of them had

Awakened abomination was absolutely deadly. Especially in a situation like this one, when the

‘…So tired. ’

then rose to her knees and unsheathed her hunting knife. She gripped the hilt of the enchanted dagger with her

and the ugly wound that stretched across her

pulling the string for the