"T-Thanks." Ascalon stuttered, a bit disoriented after taking down his remaining opponent with the help of the guy he was supposed to help.

Had it not been for the echoes of inconsistent, dull clangs a few meters from where he was, the SS-ranker wouldn't have been able to regather his wits as quickly.

"Quick, let's help Lesha."

Daru nodded in acknowledgement before swiftly turning and proceeding to help their Veshari comrade end the remaining Twisted Custodian.

Putrid black blood fountained a dozen seconds later, then flowed to the ground as the bony head of the last wraith rolled on the ground.

A macabre scene unfolded shortly after.

The trio of top-rankers proceeded to further mangle the bodies of their vanquished foes, brandishing their swords and slicing the fallen wraiths into more grotesque pieces.

Some looked like they were huge chunks of edible meat, had it not been for the smell and the rather off-putting color, saying otherwise.

Apparently, this chipped at the might of the lord of the cemetery.

Only once they were done with this extra task were the trio allowed to relax…a bit.

They focused on their breathing while surveying the surroundings.

Ascalon couldn't help but glance at Daru, inwardly reassessing the latter.

Perhaps he was…too worried?

Unfortunately, none of the three had much time to ponder the results of the battle deeper.

Another small group of enemies appeared in the distance.

This time, there were six of them, though none was an elite.

A cacophony of both dull and piercing clangs echoed in the gray world, calling upon the defenders of the god-forsaken cemetery.

The trio fought fiercely, their swords dancing as they worked to take the lives of the enemies — faster this time due to Ascalon and Lesha having successfully upgraded their weapons, even if only temporarily.

Snarls, hisses, growls, and grunts accompanied the chaotic sifting of the ashes and the clangs as the skirmish continued.

Reinforcements of the pallid wraiths arrived from time to time, making the battle more difficult for the top-ranker trio.

Yet they persisted…for as long as they could.

A miraculous minute has passed already, and somehow, Daru, Ascalon, and Lesha were still somehow managing, albeit barely.

They were surrounded by nine wraiths, two of which were Accursed Soulcatchers.

'That should be more than enough…'

Gritting his teeth, Ascalon asked: "Thrad, are you and your party done?"

"Almost!" a response sounded almost immediately.

The stocky dwarf had been waiting for the question for quite some time already, greatly surprised that the three were able to hold on for so long.

Thanks to their valiant efforts, Thrad could claim with confidence that they would be able to finish digging out the target grave assigned to his party.

The bony arms of their target bladeborn were already sticking out from the condensed ash.

By the time the top-ranker cohort arrived, they'd be long done and ready to hold the enemy back in full numbers.

This would, in turn, give more time to the other parties to finish their tasks, perhaps do more.

The raid operation was going unbelievably smoothly…so far.

Whether it would stay that way was still up in the air, though, and as far as the experienced Damnedling Dwarf knew, a few things always went wrong.

Thrad was now among the oldest in Egress Haven.

Not in actual age, but in the number of years of being a Damnedling. He had been a member of a huge number of operations, some more disastrous than others.

But this was the first time everything was going this smoothly. This was why he couldn't help but form a few negative scenarios in his head, simulating the possible ways in which things would start to go south.

He, as an experienced party leader, should always be ready.

Of course, never once did his bony arms stop moving, claws digging deep into the ground, slowly but surely delivering light and hope upon the despairing, abyssal eyes of the Visitor that was now a Damnedling like them.

The disoriented and crazed rescuee soon realized that there was suddenly a chance to break free from the cold, harrowing ashes, madly struggling, snarling furiously to escape.

A few more moments later, another hunched, bony abomination was added to Thrad's party.

The new Damnedling couldn't be considered an ally yet, though.

It struggled fiercely from the grasp of the rescuers, flailing

"D-Damn it, AAH! Stop, you idiot! We're trying to save you!" roared one of the rescuers holding the maddened new member, bonking the wretch on the head with his bony arms, but the rescuee only bit harder.

"Bin! Why are you hitting the poor thing?! You know this is a normal reaction! Jessie, quick, tie the ribbon!"

It was utter chaos for a while.

However, once the mystical white ribbon was tied to the crazed new member's arm, Thrad and his party were finally able to talk to it…her, eventually calming the Damnedling down.

It was a risky and difficult struggle, but Egress had gained a new member.

Whether she was a capable fighter or not, she would help in advancing their salvation, one way or another.

As the mayhem subsided, Thrad and his party members were finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.

The new member, of course, was still shaking, greatly traumatized after being buried for only Nando knows how long.

Only a little over a minute has passed since they started and finished their assigned task.

Yet, everyone was largely spent.

It would be nice if they could rest for at least a minute or two.

Unfortunately…

Violent sifting of the ashes sounded in the distance, accompanied by snarls, hisses, and clangs as three stubborn figures — two Damnedlings and one human — appeared.

They fought fiercely while making an organized and tactical retreat from a little over ten wraiths.

There was no rest to be had for Thrad and his party.

Gritting his teeth, the rowdy dwarf roared: "Jessie, stay behind and explain the situation to our sister here. The rest, come, we'll relieve the vanguard!"

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