Shadow Slave

Chapter 3042 Hired Blades

Azarax the Mighty, the King of Kings, the conqueror of a hundred thrones... the Plague of Steel.

He was indeed a plague that had befallen the mortal realms.

Due to his powerful Aspect, endless bloodthirst, and insatiable greed for power, he was not satisfied with carving out pieces of other Domains to build his own. He wanted to conquer all the realms, subjugate all other Supremes, and become the sole ruler of all humans.

And after his conquest of the mortal realms was done... he would probably turn his gaze to the Divine Realms, continuing his endless campaign of conquest and slaughter in a war against the gods themselves.

That had not happened yet, but Azarax was already the commander of the most powerful army in the mortal realms — an unstoppable horde that washed the rest of existence like a steel plague, destroying and subjugating one Domain after another.

And as he conquered more lands, both his personal power and the might of his conquering horde continued to grow. Powerful enemies became his thralls, and every corpse sacrificed on the altar of his ambition made him stronger. The bloody tide of his tyrannical conquest seemed truly unstoppable...

Until it crashed into the tall walls of the peaceful city that stood on the shore of a warm sea.

The reason why that city, which did not command a strong army and had no history of military excellence, had been able to resist Azarax and his Dread Warriors for more than a year...

Was a mercenary army the Mason had hired to defend it.

At the dawn of the Nightmare, Effie found herself taking on the role of the leader of that mercenary army — a Transcendent warrior from an obscure, but ancient sect of War God zealots... a War Maiden, one of the precursors of the women who had trained her in the Second Nightmare, and of Solvane herself.

Kai and Morgan were high-ranking officers of the mercenary army, while Jet, Seishan, and Nightwalker took the roles of independent Saints inside or in the vicinity of the Mason King’s city.

No mercenary was insane enough to accept a commission to fight against Azarax and his terrifying horde... except for someone like the War Maiden, who was both a renowned warrior and a priestess of War, and therefore followed sacral logic instead of mundane reason.

To her, war was akin to a sacred ritual, so fighting against an overwhelming foe was a solemn and glorious act of worship — even if chances of surviving the fight were slim. Armed with that knowledge, the Mason invited the War Maiden and her army to his city. That was where the Nightmare began, and before Effie knew it, she was in charge of defending the city against a bloodthirsty Supreme and his unstoppable horde. Needless to say, what followed was endless horror and bloodshed.

Day after day... months after month... battle after battle.

The city had no chance of withstanding even one assault by Azarax and his Dread Warriors, and yet, it endured them all, still standing even after a year of ceaseless attacks.

There were several reasons why the city remained unconquered.

The first reason was the Mason himself. That Supreme might not have possessed great combat power, but he was old and seasoned in wielding the Will. More than that, the city he had built was reinforced through mystical means, so even the unfathomable strength of Azarax could not topple its walls.

The Mason also possessed the Ability to augment chosen champions of his Domain, which he used to empower Effie and her companions — that was how the six of them were able to face Azarax in battle.

Granted, each clash against the terrifying Supreme left them battered and broken, barely clinging to life.

The second reason was Morgan, their strategist, who single-handedly caused more damage to the conquering horde of the King of Kings than anyone before. From burning the fields to poisoning the wells, and a hundred other devious tricks, the defenders of the Mason's city were able to resist the vast army of Azarax despite being fewer in number and possessing far less strength under her guidance.

The third reason was Effie, Kai, and Seishan.

What made Azarax so dangerous was not only his personal power, but also his ability to share that power with his elite thralls — the Dread Warriors. The elites of his great horde were not only tremendously deadly, but also emanated a debilitating aura of dread that weakened and paralyzed the enemy soldiers. It was because of them that his conquest had been so unstoppable.

In fact, many kingdoms had surrendered to Azarax without a fight simply because their soldiers were too terrified to raise their weapons against him.

That advantage, however, was countered by Effie's ability to inspire and empower her warriors, Kai's ability to command courage and strength with his voice, and Seishan's eerie ability to change chosen followers by infusing them with her blood.

Combined, their three Aspects not only made the aura of dread ineffective, but also augmented the defenders of the city, granting them far greater strength.

The fourth reason was Jet, who was by far the most deadly and dangerous one among them. Because of her insidious Aspect and the unpredictable versatility of her ghostly blade, even Azarax had to exercise a measure of caution when faced with their combined assault.

And lastly, the fifth reason why they were still alive was Nightwalker and his ability to elude the enemy forces.

After the first few direct assaults failed, the horde swiftly surrounded the city and established an impenetrable naval blockade around it, aiming to starve the people inside and force them to surrender — or at least grow too weak to mount any resistance. Nightwalker, however, managed to bypass the blockade over and over again, delivering food and supplies to the besieged city despite all the efforts to stop and eliminate him.

That was why they were still alive, and the city was still standing.

That did not mean that they would remain alive for too long, though.

Looking at the mountain of corpses burning in front of her, feeling nauseous because of the stench, Effie sighed and looked at Kai.

"Judging by your expression, there is good news, and there is bad news."

Her voice was somber.

He nodded.

"The good news is that Nightwalker is back, so we won't need to ration food for a while."

Effie tried to smile, but failed.

She was too tired to smile.

"What's the bad news, then?"

Kai's eyes dimmed.

He remained silent for a short while and then said in a grim tone:

"The disease... it's spreading."

Effie was too tired to curse, as well.

It seemed that the Plague of Steel was not enough.

Not long ago, as if to mock them, a different, mundane plague had started to spread in the city, as well...