"Retreat!" Ascalon roared once more.

The number of the wraiths was growing rather exponentially, so they weren't able to hold their position for the same length of time, even after regrouping with Aesyn and her band.

But this was expected.

The elven leader had outdone herself this time, courageously going for two graves and pulling it off, trusting her instincts based on the timing of Ascalon's orders.

Now, they had already secured three new members from the first two parties alone, both of which had the roles of stalling the last two for time.

The cemetery raid operation was turning out to be a massive success.

Daru slashed forward, beheading an Ashen Cleaner after parrying its blow, then proceeding to block a full-powered blow from an Accursed Soulcatcher that sent him staggering a few steps, but with a smile on his face.

'Good strike!' He praised inwardly before jumping back and turning tail with Ascalon and Lesha.

They, the vanguard cohort who were now the rear guard, had done their job well again, and the Damnedlings of Egress were now en route to meet up with Borz's party.

There were times when the wraiths caught up, but the trio of top-rankers, occasionally assisted by the two party leaders, were able to delay them for just long enough to allow the lower-rankers to continue retreating to a better position.

Needless to say, they suffered a few cuts here and there.

Lesha's left arm was bleeding heavily.

However, she said she was fine, and it seemed that her movements, somehow, weren't affected by her wounds, so Ascalon allowed her to stay on the rear for now.

The Damnedling Army continued retreating as they did, the top-ranker trio as the rear guards, with the two party leaders ready to assist.

Behind them, the sands violently sifted, and the mist parted as the wraiths gave chase, fueled by burning hatred for the inferior wretches who dared invade the sanctuary of their lord, which they should be fearing instead.

A few more moments later, another group appeared in the distant mist, charging towards the Damnedlings.

But their arrival only brought a smile to Ascalon's face.

"Gar! We're here-gar!" Borz announced through the white ribbon, his raid party rushing to assist.

Their numbers were enough to temporarily hold their position again and kill a few cemetery wraiths.

Ascalon didn't even have to bark any orders; the Damnedling Army smoothly made space for the arriving party, allowing Borz and his wretches to join the battle seamlessly.

They've clearly done this multiple times already.

If not, then at least they had practiced the convergence diligently over and over.

Such tiny details didn't seem too important in the superhuman, if not outright inhuman, battles of the Myriad Sword Realm, yet it was.

It truly was.

Mundane strategies work just as well, if not more, in large-scale battles, though of course, there were a few exceptions.

One of which was an overwhelming enemy.

Tactics and strategies are simply useless against absolute power.

Luckily, a few bony, level fifty-wraiths couldn't be farther from the word absolute, though their sword skills caused quite a lot of trouble.

The gray crescents fired by the Ashen Cleaners, imbued with the ailment of decay, always forced the lines of the Damnedling Army a few steps back.

Had the servant wraiths been as coordinated as their elite counterparts, there was no way the wretches of Egress could hold on for this long.

They weren't allowed to use sword skills, after all, plus their bodies weren't as tough.

It was only their sentience and swordsmanship that made up for the gap.

The Twisted Custodians, on the other hand, had a slightly simpler but more insidious passive skill: poisoned blades.

It was a good thing that they were the weakest among the three types of wraiths.

Of course, the most horrifying were the elite Accursed Soulcatchers.

The gray, ghostly hands that would appear behind them were seemingly the very manifestation of their burning hatred for the Damnedlings.

Once grabbed, a Damnedling would lose energy at a disastrous rate, unable to move within just three to four seconds.

This ability also explained why the elite wraiths were the bane of the Damnedlings.

Even the veterans of Egress didn't want to engage the bastards and mostly left them to their leaders, who had no choice but to fight the dangerous abominations simply because no one else could and would.

Nonetheless, with the arrival of Borz's party, the Damnedlings were able to hold on for a little less than a minute before having to retreat again.

This raid operation — first of the many for Daru — was coming to an end.

All they needed to do was meet up with Hark's party and then make a mad rush out of the cemetery through the fences they entered from.

The top-ranker trio brandished their swords almost simultaneously, deflecting a few attacks while backpedaling before turning tail and fleeing with the rest.

Being the rear guard was quite tricky, but Daru was getting the hang of it.

Meanwhile, Ascalon scanned his eyes over Borz's party.

Three more new members were running with them. While none of them were in condition to fight right now, the numbers delighted the SS-ranker.

This meant that they now had a total of six new members.

Ascalon couldn't help but be excited at the massive success of their operation.

If they could exit without any casualties, which had a high chance of happening based on the current situation, then today would be the most successful raid in the short history of Egress.

"Hark, we're on the way, meet us halfway," he instructed, evidently in a good mood as he continued to flee with the rest while occasionally turning his head to check on the wraiths chasing them.

…Then he frowned.

There was no answer from the kobold.

Ascalon's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly asked again, a hint of worry slipping in his tone.

"Hey, Hark! Status! Is your party alright?"

To his relief: "Y-Yes, sorry-sah! We need a bit more time-sah!"

Then, the SS-ranker's brows furrowed in the next moment, finding the matter strange.

They'd been given the most time out of all the parties.

How could they be the ones needing more?

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