Chapter 1096: Murder of Crows

They defeated the swarm. However, the smell of the blood attracted a migrating horde, so the expedition force had to fight their way through the flood of Nightmare Creatures, as well.

Eventually, the column broke free and escaped into the vast plain, but the peace was short-lived. Very soon, they had to fight another skirmish, which grew into another battle, which grew into an unending onslaught of enemies that threw themselves on the speeding vehicles without reprieve.

The mundane soldiers fought admirably. Although not as experienced as the veterans of the First Army, these men and women had also tasted their fair share of bloodshed and strife. Everyone was calm and collected, performing their duties with deadly efficiency and poise. Their performance was immaculate, and their morale seemed unshakable.

Was it because the Second Army had not lived through the same hopelessness as the soldiers in the Antarctic Center, or was it because Effie and Kai were able to inspire them better than Sunny had been able to inspire his soldiers? He was not sure. Regardless, the Wolves and the Nightsingers were a spirited bunch.

The Awakened were as resolute as the mundanes. Although fewer in number, the impact they had on the battlefield was immeasurably higher. All kinds of Aspects worked in harmony to create an impenetrable death zone around the column. The abominations that managed to survive it were promptly dispatched by the melee fighters.

...And, of course, the influence of the four Masters was even greater still.

Effie was serving as the vanguard of the expedition force, cutting a bloody path for the vehicles to follow. Her lustrous figure weaved through the mass abominations, leaving devastation in its wake. The bodies of the creatures she killed were left crumbled and broken, as if an invisible colossus had crushed them under its feet as it walked across the vast plain.

The blows raining on her sculpted steel body, in turn, rang against metal without ever slowing her down.

Kai was soaring high in the sky, observing the rolling battlefield in its entirety and taking out the most dangerous creatures before they could approach the column. His arrows seemed to have a mind of their own, unfailingly slipping through the tiniest cracks in the armor of the abominations. Usually, one arrow was all it took to bring even the most fearsome creature down.

His secondary role was to protect the expedition force from the aerial attacks, and in that task, the archer performed admirably as well.

'Although... I'm not sure if I can keep this up much longer...'

As the siege capital drew nearer, the onslaught of the Nightmare Creatures only grew more intense. Sunny was already struggling, and his reserves of essence were swiftly reducing.

Something had to change.

...And soon, it did.

He smelled it before he felt it. A sweet, sickening scent was suddenly carried over by the wind...

Then, the battlefield was suddenly shrouded in a vast shadow. Sunny opened his eyes and looked up, at the thing that had blotted out the sun.

Above them, a myriad of crows filled the sky. There were numerous thousands of them, all circling like a giant whirlwind of darkness. As he watched, the countless crows pivoted with eerie synchronicity, and dove down. Their black beaks and vicious talons emanated a sense of deadly sharpness.

The myriad of crows... was Wake of Ruin.

That was his Transformation. What came in the wake of a bloody battle?

A swarm of carrion birds.

The Saint had arrived to guide them into the city personally.