Shadow Slave

Chapter 1922 Not a Last Stand Now that the dreadful march was over, the battered expedition force found itself in a somewhat better position.

The flooded clearing was effectively defending them from one side, which meant that they would not be surrounded, at least. With that, the army could assemble into a stable battle formation.

It was truly a miracle of perseverance and discipline that they had managed to maintain a semblance of order and keep themselves from being decimated by the enemy while fighting their way through the nightmarish jungle — but armies were not meant to fight battles while moving.

Finally reaching their destination, the Song Army came to a halt and spread along the edges of the flooded plain, building a proper battle line. It had two layers, so that forward units could rotate back and give way to fresh troops — then switch again after a period of rest. A field hospital was being hastily arranged behind the two layers, as well.

By then, the stalwart Saints already cut down the terrifying predators who had lunged at the expedition force from the flanks during the march. Those were the true rulers of the Hollows, old abominations of the Great Rank — luckily, there were far fewer of them than the Saints, so the champions of the human army were able to team up and bring each of the monsters down in groups of three or four.

Many were wounded, but none had perished yet... the situation might have been different if not for Lady Seishan and Princess Hel, though, who had culled the rulers of the scarlet jungle on their way to the Citadel. Now, the Saints were free to assume positions in front of the battle line, serving as its pillars and anchors. In any case, the situation of the Song Army, while still resembling a hellish nightmare, was much better than before.

However, it was also much more perilous than before, because their fates now depended on the success of Lady Seishan and her party. If the Great Demon guarding the Citadel triumphed, then every advantage gained by the expedition force would turn to ash. The Demon would attack the battle formation from the rear, and they would be devoured from two sides.

Of course...

First, the army had to survive long enough to learn who prevailed in the battle for the Citadel.

'It's going to be fine. Yeah... definitely...‘

to convince herself that the current preparations of the Song Army did not resemble getting ready for

hell, suffocated by sweltering heat, their back pressed against the territory of a Great Demon, and facing an endless flood of Nightmare Creatures — that definitely

very dead. She had no aspirations

'Damn it.‘

"Archers! "

clash with the vanguard of the nightmare horde. The Blood Sisters — there were around a dozen of them — were very noticeable among the centurions with their red garments and striking

unleash their fury on the approaching horde was rather

Creatures were, one would think that she did not have to aim too well in order to hit something... but sadly, that was not the

by the human army. It was like mundane archers showering heavily armored cavalry with arrows — a few abominations stumbled and fell, but most remained unscathed. Worst still, the Nightmare Creatures

they crashed

monsters broke against the Saints, flowed past them, and reached the front line of the Seventh Legion. Tamar and Ray were in front of her, surrounded by the Awakened warriors of their centuria — which was in a worse situation than most because it lacked an

once more, grabbing

a chilling roar and plunged further into

'...The bow is useless.‘

anything with an arrow. The situation might have been different if they were in an open field, but the jungle blocked her line of sight, while the thick canopy prevented her from

Prey and let her snake tattoo turn into a black tachi once again. Gritting