Shadow Slave | A Slave Once Again

Chapter 30: Hunting Grounds

A/N: Thanks for all of those who have been asking about my health recently I really appreciate that. Regarding my arm, things went from "manageable" to "bad" and from "bad" to "worse" due to a medical misjudgment in my diagnosis. That was the reason I disappeared in the past couple of weeks. Things are quite rough but bearable now, wish me luck.

Third POV:

With Tessai out of the picture, the remaining powerhouses of the castle likewise chose to retreat.

The Hunters, the Artisans, and the Handmaidens retreated under the command of their respective leaders. As for the Guards, the remaining bunch who were a tad a bit later than the rest or couldn't cross it to the other side of the hall eventually chose to surrender.

It wasn't like they had a choice.

With their leader fleeting with his tail tucked between his legs and the large numbers of furious men and women blocking their path, they couldn't help but pale gazing upon their unforeseen future.

And if all of that wasn't enough, if they somehow managed to make their way toward the steps, there was a fearsome black-clad man mid-way up the stairs waiting for them menacingly.

They were pretty much stuck between a death pit and a dead end.

By the end of the day, the new Lord of the Bright Castle was still not decided. The castle itself became divided between three warring factions, led by the three contenders for the throne.

As for Tessai, his whereabouts remained unknown.

The first faction was led by Gemma and Kido, the chief Artisan. While the two of them had fewer fighters than both other factions, each of these fighters was worth a dozen. They were the Hunters, the most experienced and formidable Sleepers in all of the Dark City. Although the territory this faction held was not large, it was of utmost importance, since they controlled the only reliable source of food and water in the Bright Castle.

The second faction belonged to Nephis. She controlled the southern part of the Castle, where its main gate was situated, as well as the outer settlement, to where many of the previous inhabitants of the ancient citadel had fled in hope of finding shelter.

A large number of The two hundred sleepers who had previously lost their lives in the halls of the Bright Castle were from the inhabitants of the outer settlement for obvious reasons.

They were less equipped with memories than the Guards, they were also less experienced in battle than the Hunters, and most importantly, they weren't strong enough to defend themselves amid the chaos.

But with the survival of those sleepers, the numbers of Neph's faction had now rivaled those of the Guards and the Handmaidens combined. Although they lacked quality, their quantity was still welcomed.

Despite all of this....there was still a glaring weakness in all of that.

The Crimson Spire was not a place one could conquer with cannon fodder. So, they did not need a thousand weak humans. What they really needed was a few hundred powerful, battle-hardened fighters.

Which unlike before...the current Sleeper army did not have.

By preventing the battle from breaking out, Sunny had snatched them away from their opportunity to gain experience and the opportunity to absorb a vast portion of their enemy's soul essence.

All of that had befallen Sunny's shoulders. It would be up to him to find a way out of this dilemma.

***

In the next couple of weeks, the Bright Castle had become a strange place.

Inside its magnificent halls, barricades were built and three makeshift fortresses appeared, each faction holding a specific territory. Beyond these protected areas, there was no man's land. Going outside of a faction's stronghold was often tantamount to death.