Although Gu Lan's squad had beaten back the assault and kept "Ashes" safe,

the "Anvil" Mecha had been hit by stray rounds during the interception just now, its shield energy heavily depleted, and Gu Lan's own Mecha had also triggered minor structural alarms from operating at the limits.

More importantly, they had been successfully pinned down, and their search progress was severely hindered.

Almost at the same time, Rose's and Kuang Xin's squads were also subjected to similar harassment and containment—only even more targeted. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

The enemy refused to engage them head-on, instead constantly using the terrain and environment to stir up trouble, slow their advance, and try to funnel them into preset trap zones.

"They're stalling for time and trying to split us up and wear us down." Rose quickly read the opponent's intent, her expression grim.

Splitting into groups had indeed expanded the search range, but it also gave the enemy a chance to pick them off one by one.

And the threat posed by the Faceless was far greater than they'd imagined.

If Gu Lan hadn't risked his life to pull off that rescue just now, "Ashes" would very likely already be out of the match.

As every second ticked by, both squads felt the pressure mounting.

As "Hunters", they had to actively seek out and eliminate the enemy, yet in this arena that belonged to their opponents, every step felt like walking on a knife's edge.

The hunt-or-be-hunted game inside the steel maze of the Silent Graveyard was rapidly tilting against the "Hunters".

"What do we do next?"

"We can't move to their rhythm." Rose's voice over comms was unusually firm. "The rules press down on us 'Hunters', but the map also gives us specifically designed advantages—the relay points. As long as we can establish and hold all four main relay points, we can gradually light up the full map and detection network of this entire Silent Graveyard. Once that happens, if they still want to hide, there'll be nowhere left to run!"

"But," Gu Lan raised his concern, "setting up a relay point takes time, and during the stabilization period after activation, someone has to stay behind to guard it, or it'll be easy for them to destroy. We only have five people—if we spread out to hold four points, we'll be picked off individually."

"We don't need to hold all points at the same time." Rose pulled up the tactical map. "We can use a 'leapfrog' tactic. First we concentrate our strength to quickly seize and activate the two closest points to us: C7 and D3. Then we split—one group stays at C7 as a forward outpost and mobile force, while the other continues pushing toward the farther B5 and A8 to activate them. As long as all four points get activated, even if we can't hold them for long, the map-lighting effect will persist for a while—long enough for us to lock down their main activity zones."

"That could work, but it's still very risky." the support Mech Pilot "Ashes" added. "The enemy will definitely throw everything they've got at the relay points we're activating or have just activated."

"Which is why speed is critical, and our defenses need to be ready." Rose looked around at everyone. "Kuang Xin, Gu Lan—you come with me, we'll form the fast assault team in charge of activation and initial holding. 'Ashes', 'Anvil', you'll be the support and follow-up defense team. Once we activate a point, you move in fast, build defensive structures, and hold the key nodes."

The plan started off relatively smoothly.

Relying on their excellent coordination and mobility, Rose, Kuang Xin, and Gu Lan quickly took the C7 relay point.

The activation process went off without a hitch. A region of the map lit up, detection waves swept through, and for the moment no trace of the Ghost Walkers was found.

However, just as "Ashes" and "Anvil" arrived at C7 to take over defense and Rose's team was about to move for their next target, point D3, an attack descended again.

This time the strike wasn't aimed at the personnel, but at the freshly activated C7 relay installation itself!

Several specially-made electromagnetic pulse bombs were lobbed in from a very distant high point. They didn't score direct hits, but the intense EMP pulse generated by their detonations nearby instantly disrupted the relay's stable operation. The lit-up map flickered a few times, and the visible range began to shrink.

"They're trying to stop us from lighting up the map!" "Ashes" immediately tried to rush repairs and reinforce the relay's protection.

Meanwhile, on the way to D3, Rose's squad ran into fierce suppression fire.

The Ghost Walkers had clearly guessed their tactical intent and had laid dense traps and ambushes along the critical routes.

Although the three of them forced a breakthrough on the strength of their individual skills and managed to activate point D3, Gu Lan's Mecha suffered severe damage from preset explosives during the breach. Its mobility was greatly reduced, and he had no choice but to fall back to C7 to rendezvous with "Ashes" and "Anvil", switching over to defensive duty.

Rose and Kuang Xin then continued toward the more distant B5 point.

This time, the enemy's interception was even more frenzied.

The Faceless himself led two teammates in a vicious dogfight against Rose and Kuang Xin near B5.

Their objective was crystal clear: stop B5 from being activated, no matter the cost.

The battle was brutal.

In order to protect Rose while she tried to activate the device, Kuang Xin used his own Mecha as a shield, tanking several lethal sneak attacks from the Faceless. His Mecha was severely damaged and, at the exact moment B5 was successfully activated, another Ghost Walker teammate struck from the flank, driving a Spiritual Cutting Blade through his power core. His Mecha crashed to the ground in a thunderous fall and he was ruled out of the match.

Although Rose had successfully activated B5, her own Mecha was covered in scars, with almost no energy left.

She could not head for the last point A8 alone, and could only follow the plan—pull back to the relatively secure C7/D3 area, link up with Gu Lan and the others, and prepare for the final stand.

However, holding the points turned out to be far harder than they had imagined.