In the end, none of the forty ships were lost. Some suffered moderate damage, and others not so moderate, but overall they could be repaired quickly without being affected.
The convoy advanced rapidly, leaving the black water behind, cutting through the black waves swiftly.
The workers began replacing the ammunition for the cannons and torpedoes that had been used in the battle.
While exploring a bit, Shade had heard how the Saint of the Night himself had killed a fallen tyrant and then faced an awakened terror at the rear of the convoy, which was the area where he was.
Apart from that, none of those who were on the ship, at least those inside them, died, thanks to him having killed the invaders quickly, which mostly kept the ship he was on intact, at the cost of using two of his soul cores to maintain so much darkness for several hours.
...
As the days progressed, the government announced the news about the approaching cataclysm in Antarctica. Although government propaganda managed to present the cataclysm in an easy and encouraging way, ignoring the fact that tens of millions would die.
Shade sighed. He was in his cabin, reclining, practicing his sorcery to create enchantments. So far, he had learned to make five enchantments.
The first enchantment was one that allowed masking scent. When testing it on a cup of coffee, the smell of hot coffee simply vanished, although it still maintained its flavor and temperature.
The second enchantment was a simple one; it was a thermoregulatory one that could be applied to clothing or the body to not feel so cold.
The third enchantment was about one that could generally help alleviate mental stress to a certain extent.
Using the third enchantment as a base, he had developed the fourth, which was a mental one. By applying an enchantment to an object, it could provide some protection against weak mental attacks.
Finally, the last enchantment he was still developing to isolate noise. If he managed to do it, the noise of the Rhino wouldn't be a problem when moving.
All this cost him many hours of study, trial and error, using the basics of the sorcery material he had obtained about runes. With enough time, he was sure he could achieve enormous things with runes.
...
After another week of travel, and after he visited the dream realm to see the overall situation, he returned to the ship. He could no longer be anchored to the Ivory City, because it now belonged to the Domain of Valor, so he couldn't talk to his friends.
'It will be tough months,' Shade thought as he walked towards the bow of the ship. He could see the guards posted on deck who let him pass easily, because of the three stars on his uniform and his own strength.
Looking at the horizon, he observed a thin line that was slowly growing. They had finally reached their destination: Antarctica.
After another day of travel, the ships finally arrived at their destination.
When Shade got off the battleship, his cohort followed him. They would first gather in Falcon Scott, to organize themselves and assign the divisions and evacuation routes through the Antarctic center to Eastern Antarctica, where civilians would be evacuated and taken to the other three continents.
From what he studied, the Antarctic center was a huge area full of mountains that served as the administrative center of the continent. As such, it housed a large number of priority targets that had to be evacuated at all costs.
During the first few days, the city was in chaos. Millions of ordinary people had just found out that their lives would be uprooted, or even lost. Although the government did its best, it was useless against the collective panic of civilians.
When Shade arrived, the situation was difficult. At first, there was a portal every few weeks, then one a week, then several a week, until a gate opened daily, releasing hundreds of abominations.
As for the nightmare call, Shade found it a bit annoying, but he could deal with it. However, he needed to be careful with his subordinates so they wouldn't be sent to their second nightmares while sleeping.
After spending about four or five days immersed in the chaos of Falcon Scott, a large part of the army stayed behind to begin turning it into an impregnable fortress. The city would become a fundamental part of the evacuation logistics over the next few months.
However, most of the government forces withdrew and began their long march south. Their mission was to reach other population centers, establish safe evacuation corridors, and, through them, begin moving civilians towards the few designated capitals.
For this, the first irregular company was used, which departed with the field army and was divided to assist its divisions.
And now, finally, after his second week in Antarctica, Shade would be on his first mission with his cohort.
Hidden behind some large mountain rocks was the powerful Rhino, concealed.
"See anything?" Shade asked through the communicator in his ear. He was observing his surroundings from a high place.
"Yes, I found them, Captain," Asher said. "They are to the south, stationed near the gate. Their Guardian seems to be a Fallen Demon."
"Do you have an estimate of their number?"
"Around two hundred abominations. Most are Awakened, and some are Fallen."
"Lily, how are you doing?"
"I'm already in position, sir."
"Excellent. Lucien, are you ready?"
"Yes, we're just waiting for your signal."
"Good. Once the Fallen Demon dies, the rest of the beasts will start advancing. Remember the plan and don't take unnecessary risks. If you die, I'll revive you just to kill you again."
"Understood," they all said.
Shade created wings of darkness, rising into the sky, observing the army of nightmare creatures, focusing on the largest among them.
A sea of sparks appeared in his hand, and the next instant, he held a bow, along with an arrow.
Placing the arrow on the string, he drew the bow with great force. He observed the abominations; they were a kind of hyena with black fur and large spikes on their backs, like a porcupine.
Shade observed for a few moments before finding a weak point, which was the abomination's head, specifically its forehead.
Shade drew the bow even tighter and then released the arrow. The arrow shot out at a devastating speed, covering the distance in seconds.
After about two or three seconds of flight, the arrow pierced cleanly through the abomination's head, leaving a neat hole.
The spell whispered in his ear.
[You have killed a Fallen Demon, Twilight Walker]
[You have received a memory]
Shade frowned slightly but didn't think anything of it.
He watched the nightmare creatures, stunned by the death of the strongest among them.
A second later, everything moved quickly. All the abominations ran in the direction the arrow came from, just as Shade had planned.
The swarm advanced rapidly, beginning to ascend the hill, abandoning the rift. As they advanced, they approached the pit trap on the path.
Shade's plan was simple: throw all the abominations into the pit.
"Asher, your turn."
"Understood."
The archer drew his bow, using enchanted arrows, and began to quickly eliminate the abominations, reducing their movement.
Thanks to his awakened ability, he could know the exact location of each abomination, and his skills with the bow were surprisingly good for an awakened.
"Lily, your turn," Shade ordered.
Lily, who was in another area near where the abominations were heading, smiled. Her body became enveloped in a ghostly mist.
Walking calmly towards the abominations, she began to run towards them a moment later, wielding her weapon, a scythe.
The scythe danced in the air, cutting the souls of the abominations, which fell dead instantly as if their strings had been cut.
The abominations that reached Lily couldn't harm her because her body was intangible.
Without a doubt, it was an insidious and annoying attack for them to deal with.
Every now and then, Shade used his bow, firing another arrow that struck another abomination.
"Lucien, rain rocks on them. Lily, move away."
"With pleasure!" Lucien responded.
"Okay," Lily replied.
Lucien, who was at the highest point, smiled as he let an avalanche of enormous rocks begin to roll downhill, directly towards the nightmare creatures.
The rocks descended at high speed like a powerful natural stampede.
By the time they were a fifth of the way down, it was too late. Huge, heavy rocks slammed into the bodies of the nightmare creatures, sending them tumbling into the deep pit beside the path.
While a large part of the creature army was eliminated by the rock avalanche, Shade initiated the second part of his plan.
Although 69% of the creatures were eliminated, 31% still remained. Shade flew calmly to the front of the beasts, descending with tranquility. From the darkness, he formed the blade of a black sword.
A smile was on his face.
When the rock avalanche ended, the monsters lunged at Shade, who did the same, beginning a massacre.
His body moved at terrifying speeds, cutting and eliminating the awakened creatures in a matter of seconds. In less than a minute, the last of the nightmare creatures was completely eliminated.
Shade smiled, feeling energized again. After a month of doing nothing, he was dying of boredom. He still had two more weeks before he could rest for a good while.
Using the Winged Mantle over the Holy Mantle, he returned to the Rhino, ordering everyone to come back.
When everyone returned, they gathered around the Rhino and started a dinner, which, of course, he cooked for everyone.
Looking towards the twilight of the sunset, he sighed. Soon, Antarctica would be covered by night for months, which would be best for moving freely and strengthening himself with the darkness.
"Miranda, report to army command that this passage is now secured. The rest of you, rest while you can, and good job."
"Captain, when you said it would be an easy mission, I didn't imagine you'd throw a bunch of rocks at nightmare creatures to toss them into a cliffside pit," said Abel, who had stayed in the Rhino along with Tiffany and Miranda.
"I'm a man who uses what's practical and what's at hand. Why fight like madmen when we can simply use the environment to our advantage and reduce our workload?"
"Still, won't they escape?"
"There are rocks sharp and hard enough to pierce their skin, plus the wall is smooth, so they won't be able to climb if they survive. A perfect trap."
"Captain, you are diabolical," said Tiffany.
"I am the Lord of Darkness. Did you think I was a saint?"
"No, you're more like the very devil himself," corrected Lucien.
"Well, whatever. You did well."
Saying that, Shade looked at the nightmare gate, feeling its call, but then looked away. Instead, he summoned his runes.
Name: Uriel.
True Name: Lord of Darkness.
Rank: Ascended.
Aspect: Dark Lord.
Aspect Rank: Divine.
Class: Titan.
Soul Cores: [7/7]
Dark Fragments: [7000/7000]
Aspect Skills: [Dark Body], [Dark Manifestation], [Dark Shaper].
Memories: [Night Mantle], [Eclipse Claw], [Dark Storage], [Blood Flower], [Hunter's Bow], [Comfy Chair], [Black Rope], [Water Pearl], [Moonlight Fragment], [Deep Lament], [Winged Mantle], [Broken Fragment], [Poisonous Mantle], [Captain's Sword], [Simple Mask], [Infinite Spring], [Mysterious Armor], [Underworld Mantle], [Black Legion Armor], [Wyvern Fang], [Protection Necklace], [Royal Ring], [Crown of Repose], [Holy Mantle], [Silent].
Dark Creatures: [Dark Knight], [Gunlaug], [Soul Devourer], [Illusory Butterfly].
Attributes: [Darkness], [Dark Flame], [Extra Carapace], [Scion of Dreams], [Fated].
Flaw: [Dual Mind].
Dream Anchor: [Ivory Island].
Shade, after looking at his runes after a long time, nodded slightly. He then focused on the memory [Silent], which he obtained from killing the fallen demon. After reading the description, he knew this memory could nullify noise in a certain area, being a tool-type. So, he would use it on the Rhino. Although he would continue working on his last enchantment.
The memories he had obtained on the coast before boarding the battleship he had given to Gunlaug and the knight to strengthen them a bit.
"When you finish eating, Abel, Tiffany, and Miranda, go collect cores for you to use. Lily and Lucien, guard them so nothing attacks them. Asher, I want you to explore the surrounding area."
After giving the orders, his team dispersed, leaving him alone.
After about two or three hours, everyone returned, and an hour later, a column of military vehicles finally arrived to secure the area for the evacuation passage.
The squadron sent to this area would be stationary to keep the passage safe, flanking any abominations that tried to approach.
Then, two dozen awakened arrived in case any dangerous abomination appeared.
Finally, after they were deployed, one of them approached where the Rhino was parked. Shade just looked at the soldier with a bored expression.
"You yourselves killed all those abominations?" he asked incredulously.
"Of course we did," Lucien replied enthusiastically.
"We didn't even lift a finger," Abel commented.
The awakened blinked in disbelief.
"There must be several dozen, maybe hundreds of them."
"So what? We are the cohort of the Lord of Darkness himself. This is just child's play for us," Lily said with pride in her voice.
Shade looked at his subordinate, who looked away.
The awakened opened his mouth before closing it, finding nothing to say.
"Hey, don't worry. We simply used humanity's best weapon to kill that many of those things," Asher said.
"And what is that?" the awakened asked.
"Some rocks and the law of gravity," he replied seriously.
At that moment, Tiffany emerged from a hatch.
"Captain, they're calling us on the communicator," she said.
Shade stood up and walked towards the vehicle.
Arriving at the communications room, he sat in the chair behind the terminal. Pressing a button, the screen lit up, showing Jet's image.
"Greetings, Master Jet. To what do I owe the pleasure of receiving a call today?" Shade said with a slight smile.
"Hello, Uriel. I heard your cohort completed its first mission successfully. I suppose I should congratulate you for that."
Shade looked slightly at the area behind Jet, observing several piles of dead abomination corpses.
"Oh, it's not necessary, Master Jet. I'm sure there are people who do what I do in a better way," he said, feigning humility.
Jet rolled her eyes.
"Humility doesn't suit you, you arrogant brat," Soul Reaper said.
"Guilty as charged. And how are the other divisions doing?"
Jet shrugged.
"Not bad... yet. The irregulars are doing their job well. I also heard that Sunny's team achieved their first victory, and from what they told me, they're doing quite well. And you, how did it go?"
"Nothing complicated. Actually, it was a bit boring. I just dropped some rocks on an army of hyenas, and that was it."
Jet nodded, although she had a vague idea of what a hyena was.
"I have to go now. Follow the advance battalion and help us with the horde blocking the road north," Jet said, and then the communication ended.
When Shade exited the Rhino, he looked at the twilight sky and how the sun was slowly hiding.
He watched as the engineers set up observation posts while others placed explosives to bring down a part of the mountain onto the nightmare gate.
Shade looked at his subordinates.
"Get ready," Shade said calmly.
"Our next task is to join the advance line along the main road to clear it of abominations and create a safe corridor. Don't waste your essence uselessly; otherwise, I will punish you personally." He said with a cold tone that made his cohort shudder a bit.