Chapter 1216 On the Run

Chapter 1216 On the Run

'Crap, crap, crap...'

Sunny did not know what the creature pursuing them was, exactly. He had hoped that the possessed corpses were not the vessels of a single being, but instead separate abominations, akin to minions of a tyrant... but even if they were, there was obviously a way for them to share information.

He knew it because his hopes were being crushed right in front of his eyes.

If there was no way for the puppets of the Gate Guardian to share knowledge, then he could have pretended to be oblivious to their presence and bought some time. But the seven taken Masters were all seemingly aware that Sunny could tell what they were.

They slowly started to move. At first, their movements seemed inconspicuous, but it quickly became apparent that they were encircling those Ascended who remained human.

There were eerily human smiles brightening their faces.

On one side, there were seven possessed corpses with the power of a Great abomination.

On the other side, there were Sunny, Nephis, Kai, Effie, Jet, Seishan, Morgan, and eleven more unaffected Masters.

Morgan had three Transcendent Echoes left. Seishan had one.

Sunny had Saint and Nightmare.

...And Imp.

In fact, the scrawny goblin was the linchpin of their survival.

[Get everyone to come closer.]

Sunny had already explained the situation to Morgan and coordinated with the rest of his allies. Their only chance to survive was to run... but escaping from the ring of possessed corpses seemed impossible.

Nevertheless, they had to try.

Knowing what to do, Morgan calmly looked at the eleven Ascended who had not been taken by the Gate Guardian yet and called:

"You there! Come here. I have questions about our rations and water reserve... you, too. How many tents can we make from that hide?"

The Masters left what they had been doing and walked over. By that time, even they started to notice that something strange was going on.

One group of people was standing in the center of the hollow tower. The other group had spread out, surrounding them.

The ancient steel was groaning as it was assaulted by the wind.

'That is all. There are also three Ascended outside... but only two of them are human.'

"Lady Morgan? What, uh... what is going on?"

The human Masters seemed confused.

Meanwhile, the other humans were slowly shifting, assembling into a loose battle formation. Their weapons were already in their hands.

Sunny was the only one who remained motionless.

What was the point of trying to fight seven Great abominations?

"Come closer."

'It's almost time... I just need a few seconds!'

At the same time, a whirlwind of sparks manifested into Transcendent Echoes, who threw themselves at the abominations. Everyone used their own means to slow the enemy down.

There were screams, there was noise. There was an explosion of white flame, and the sharp sound of the air being cut by countless blades. Blood spilled.

Falling onto the white sand, Sunny rolled and jumped to his feet.

"Run!"

Most of them had made it out of the tower, but five out of the eleven Ascended that Morgan had called were nowhere to be seen.

The white dunes around them trembled, and then exploded, and a vast cloud of sand covered everything in sight.

Kai held Effie's hand as he soared into the air.

Nightmare appeared out of the darkness, rushing toward Jet.

Morgan had her own mount, which looked like a horned destrier made of steel.

...Sunny found himself near Nephis.

Without thinking about what he was doing, he grabbed her tightly...

And stepped through the shadows.

An instant later, the two of them appeared a few kilometers away, in the shadow of a tall dune.

He had pulled her with him into Shadow Step.

Sunny stared at Nephis with a startled expression, and she looked at him with wide eyes.

"What... what was that?"

He opened his mouth, then froze for a moment.

"That, uh... I just thought that it might work. What would you know? It did."

Sunny couldn't bring other living things with him when he stepped through the shadows, but his Aspect had already shown that it treated Nephis as an extension of him in certain instances. Or rather... it was more like it treated Sunny as an extension of Nephis.

They were connected by Shadow Bond, which meant that their souls were bound together. Sunny didn't have to like it...

But it would be foolish not to use it.

Nephis looked at him for a moment, then nodded.

"Okay."

She looked at him some more and added:

"You can let go of me now."

Sunny smiled crookedly.

"Oh, but I really can't."

Just then, a black steed jumped over the dune and rushed down its slope. Jet shouted from Nightmare's back as they flashed past them:

"Move! They're following!"

Burning through his essence, Sunny sighed, and then pulled Nephis back into the shadows.