Shadow Slave

Chapter 1849 Taste of Ash The Sword Army entered Godgrave with relative ease. Of course, it was a tense and solemn day. The Awakened warriors were pale with dread as they ventured into the scarlet jungle and crossed over from the humerus bone of the dead deity to the vast collarbone.

They were in a Death Zone, after all.

However, the army barely suffered any casualties. Changing Star and her Fire Keepers had pulled the attention of the local Nightmare Creatures away and established a beachhead on the collarbone plain. Most importantly, the brought the authority of the king to this dire purgatory — emboldened and empowered by his presence, the army marched on.

The veil of clouds did not break, held together by the power of Sky Tide of the White Feather clan. The Transcendent and Ascended warriors repelled the sporadic attacks of remnant abominations without too much strain. And later, the King of Swords himself descended upon the battlefield, using the Ivory Island as an anchor.

Once the storm of swords manifested above the jungle, the battle was ostensibly over.

The army cut a path through the predatory jungle, using the beautiful silhouette of the Ivory Tower to navigate it. By the time they reached the scene of slaughter, there were no abominations left for them to fight against. They were only numerous corpses and the rustle of countless swords swirling in the sky above.

Instead, the task they faced was of a more mundane nature. They had to establish a camp and start fortifying it, building an impregnable fortress on the surface of the ancient bone. That fortress would serve as the staging ground for the rest of the military campaign in Godgrave.

…The Song Army, however, fared much worse than that.

***

Rain was staring at the ground with a tired expression. On the ground in front of her, the wind was playing with flakes of ash.

She was staying completely motionless, and those flakes of ash had been a person not too long ago. Above her, an incandescent white void shone blindingly through the broken clouds.

Her first day in Godgrave had been a long, bitter nightmare.

The first battle the Song Army had fought was a sobering experience. Led by the seven princesses, the Saints and the Ascended warriors of the Song Domain clashed with the horde of Nightmare Creatures and repelled it. The unimaginable violence unleashed by that clash made the world quake — but, worst of all, some of it reached the battle formation of the Awakened warriors.

The casualties were not immeasurable, but they weren't negligible, either. Perhaps because it was the first time the soldiers fought against the abominations of Godgrave, the strategies developed by the royal clan to breach the difference in Ranks between them could not be deployed promptly, or at all.

That could improve as the army gained experience, but today, too many people died.

Rain herself did not participate in the slaughter, because the Seventh Legion was positioned in the second line of the formation, where the battle had not reached. However, she could hear and feel the terrible mayhem of the desperate struggle happening ahead.

Nevertheless, eventually, the battle ended. The vanguard obliterated the horde of the frenzied Nightmare Creatures. Those of them who had got past were immobilized and eventually cut down by the Awakened soldiers. After the soul shards were harvested, the corpses of the abominations were pushed aside, and the bloodied army continued to ascend the arm of the dead god.

enough, they entered

invading humans as the horde of Nightmare Creatures had been. Everything here was not what it seemed — but all of it was

did not seem too phased, taking the dread of the scarlet jungle in stride. But those who were younger and less experienced, like member's of Tamar's cohort, were left shaken. Their mental fortitude was sorely tested, and that was after having already received a

impervious to being damaged by the Awakened as the Corrupted Nightmare Creatures were. It was still incredibly tough and tenacious, but they could at least try to contend against the myriad of deadly dangers hiding in the jungle. So, they did not feel as helpless,

still

died, screaming, after inhaling a bit of drifting pollen. Falling to the ground, then wailed and convulsed as their

paralytic poison was instantaneous, making the victims fall down without making a sound… however, it was unclear if they remained conscious and felt excruciating pain when the eggs deposited by the vermin into the wounds started to hatch

moss. Some

not for the fact that the Dream Realm was much more

no time to drown

in its center, while the various legions and divisions took turns defending the outer perimeter. The entire arrangement was spearheaded by the thralls of Beastmaster, who faced the most dire peril and suffered the heaviest

like Rain also had a lot to do — both when marching on the outer rim of

know how to miss, striking down even the smallest pests with daunting

was a bit safer in this hellish place than most Awakened were. It was because she could sense the

swiftly

draw her bow over and over again. It was not even because of having

of enduring the horror of Godgrave without allowing herself to

dread of the Dream Realm after hunting in the wilderness around Ravenheart for four years. But now, she realized just how tame those settled regions of this terrible world were

on to her

a while,

not change, but the soldiers of the Song Army had adapted to its gruesome reality — at least a little

established a robust bridge under the protection of the First Legion, and then, the Song Army slowly

Godgrave. Rain felt incredibly tense while the Seventh Legion waited for its turn to enter the bridge… however, in the end,

over side was much the

was a

than the last division had crossed over, a strong wind rose, and a loud wailing of a war horn washed over the

"Don't move!"

shout was quite timely. The members of her cohort remembered the meaning of the wailing horn despite their fatigue and mental exhaustion, but many of the surrounding soldiers were slow to

army

the ancient bone was almost painful to look at… a wave of unbearable heat crashed into the human invaders, and the