At that moment, Samara appeared from the hatch of the Rhino and called out to Sunny:

"Captain! We are being hailed on the comms."

He sighed, then opened his eyes and reluctantly stood up. As the Awakened soldier stared at the pale young man with wide eyes, he smiled pleasantly… and then disappeared without a trace, prompting the man to flinch and take a step back.

…Back inside the APC, Sunny emerged from the shadows, walked over to the communication suite and sat down behind a terminal. At the press of a button, Master Jet's face appeared on the screen.

Soul Reaper seemed to be standing in front of a pile of mangled corpses, illuminated by an angry orange glow. Dancing flames reflected in her icy blue eyes, making it seem as if they were glowing.

Set against that backdrop, her smile looked rather sinister.

"Hey, Sunny. I heard that your cohort won its first battle. I guess congratulations are in order?"

He nodded and studied the carcasses of Nightmare Creatures behind her.

"Yeah… you seem to have achieved a victory, as well. What's the situation like with the other divisions?"

The field army had separated into seven divisions after reaching the Antarctic Center… or was it brigades? Sunny was still a bit confused about the hierarchy of army units. In any case, one of them had stayed behind in Falcon Scott, while the other six had deployed south and were currently on the move. Each consisted of ten to fifteen thousand soldiers and was accompanied by seven hundred Awakened or so.

Master Jet shrugged.

"It's not too bad… yet. The Irregulars are doing their job as well. For now, everything seems to be going according to plan. What about you? How did your cohort perform?"

Sunny sighed.

"Not… bad. We mopped up the opposition easily enough. However, we wasted a lot of essence. If the intensity of the conflict picks up, I'm not sure if I can employ the same strategy again."

She nodded.

"It will definitely pick up, so… good thinking."

At that moment, something thundered from the dynamics, and the image on the screen became noisy for a few moments. Soul Reaper lowered her communicator and looked somewhere to the side with a resentful expression.

She pursed her lips, then said in a neutral tone:

"Anyway, I have to go. Follow the flanking battalion for now and help them deal with the horde that's blocking your division from advancing south. Don't exert yourself and your soldiers, though. Take it easy and conserve your essence."

Sunny smiled.

"Will do."

Master Jet glanced at him briefly and nodded.

"Good luck, Sunny."

He sighed.

"Good luck to you, too."

…However, the signal had already cut, turning the screen black. All that remained was his pale reflection.

Sunny lingered for a few moments, then shook his head and headed toward the exit hatch of the Rhino.

Nothing much had changed outside. The sky was still cold, dim, and illuminated by the distant cannonade of human artillery.

In the valley below, the army engineers were setting up autonomous observation posts around the active Gate and laying explosive charges around it. While humanity could not close every Gate, it had learned to diminish their threat in various ways over the years. Encasing them in cement or burying the rift under tons of soil were just a couple of methods to slow down the emerging Nightmare Creatures at least a little.

Another group of support personnel was already cleaning up the road and harvesting the soul shards. Sunny could have made a point about securing his share of the spoils, but it was too much hassle. The results would be tallied and converted to an appropriate amount of contribution points, anyway.

Plus, Luster and Kim were already back with their trophies.

Stepping out of the APC, Sunny looked at his soldiers.

"Gather up!"

As the cohort assembled around him, he pointed to the glimmering crystals:

"Those with unsaturated cores, share the soul shard among yourself and absorb them. We have ten minutes to get ready to move out. Our next task is to support the assault on the flank of the bunch of abominations making a ruckus on the other side of the mountain. Only Dormant Abilities and passive enchantments this time, so don't get too rowdy. Once the threat is eliminated, we can get some sleep. Understood?"

There were no questions. Ten minutes later, the Rhino joined the column of the army vehicles and rolled forward, in the direction where the flashes of light and the sounds of explosions were coming from.

The flanking battalion passed the small valley, climbed high up the slope of the mountain, then crested a narrow pass and came in view of a massive battle below.

Around two thousand Nightmare Creatures were pressing down on the defensive line of a well-organized human force. The soldiers were not in a hurry to attack and concentrated on keeping the abominations away from themselves. The barrage of explosive shells, squall of slugs unleashed by the towering war platforms and countless soldiers of the mechanized infantry, and several hundred Awakened were doing a good job of containing the raging horde.

Looking at the chaotic battlefield from above, Sunny grimaced.

At this distance, the six Nightmare Gates that had disgorged the horde were already whispering into his ears.

'This is going to get old really fast, isn't it?'

The Army Command soon sent them a packet of information, marking down priority targets in the mass of abominations and transferring other important data.

As the battalion formed to start the assault on the flank of the enemy force, Sunny studied it all and then pointed at an especially ugly monstrosity.

"That will be our target. We must take this Gate Guardian down. You guys help me clear the path to the big bastard, then stay back."

Sure, Master Jet had told him to take it easy… but Sunny was not going to miss a chance to earn a few shadow fragments!

His eyes gleamed with bloodlust, making the members of the cohort shift uncomfortably.

Soon, the preparations were done, and the flanking force attacked. At the same time, the main body of the division changed its routine, initiating a charge of their own.

Pressed between the two, the horde of Nightmare Creatures stood no chance.

…Of course, the battalion attacking from the slope of the mountain — and the Irregulars accompanying it — got it much worse than the rest of the human force. Nevertheless, the resistance of the abominations was quickly crushed, and they were ruthlessly eradicated.

Sunny managed to take down another Gate Guardian, as well.

As the exhausted soldiers celebrated the decisive victory, he scowled deeply, and then looked south.

The whispers assaulting his mind were growing stronger and stronger.

A moment later, the ground shook, and the fabric of reality seemed to split open in the distance.

Sunny closed his eyes for a moment.

'One, two, three…'

As he watched with a weary expression, several new Nightmare Gates suddenly tore a path into the waking world.

Then, even more.

The shocked soldiers rushed to get back into formations while countless abominations were appearing from the rifts, flooding the air with their frenzied howls and shrieks.

…Worse still, one of the Gates opened directly behind the army, putting it into an encirclement.

Standing on top of the corpse of the massive Guardian, Sunny sighed and shook his head dejectedly.

'This… is going to be a long day.'

Well, of course it would be. Since they were in Antarctica, this day was going to last for another few weeks, and then turn into a night that would last for many months.

He had a feeling that this endless night would feel even longer. © 2024.