The "Ghost Walkers" did not launch a direct attack on the C7/D3 area heavily defended by New Bauhinia, which had already established a certain amount of defensive fortifications.

Instead, they adopted a more insidious strategy—continuous harassment, precision long-range strikes on relay point equipment, and using the environment to create chaos.

Although "Ash" and "Anvil" were fighting desperately to defend and repair, the continuous attacks caused the stability of the relay point equipment to drop consistently, and the illuminated map area was gradually shrinking.

Worse yet, under prolonged high-intensity pressure and defense, Ash's mecha experienced a sudden sensor and electronic warfare system failure due to overload, creating a brief defensive gap.

In that fleeting moment, the "Faceless" appeared like a true ghost from a ventilation shaft blown open by an explosion, connected to other areas, aiming directly for Anvil who was repairing the D3 relay point!

Despite Gu Lan and Rose's quick reaction and attempt to intercept, the "Faceless" assault was too eerie and swift.

He took a direct heavy slash from Rose's mecha and, using the impact, thrust the Shadow Piercing Sword into the seam of Anvil's mecha's back armor, damaging its main energy system.

Anvil's mecha instantly went paralyzed.

Immediately after, in the moment Rose and Gu Lan were distracted by Anvil's fall, two other "Ghost Walkers" members leaped from the shadows, focusing their attacks on "Ash," who temporarily lost electronic protection.

Ash, despite fierce resistance, had already suffered severe damage, quickly losing combat effectiveness under the siege.

Within minutes, the defense of the C7/D3 area collapsed.

Gu Lan's mecha was already damaged. In an attempt to rescue Ash, he was caught off guard by the Faceless, who cut through the leg joint drive shaft with a single strike, leaving it barely able to lean against the wall for support, losing most of its mobility.

Now, within the entire "Silent Graveyard," the only one left standing on New Bauhinia's side was Rose, piloting a nearly depleted, armor-damaged "Dark Assault" mecha.

Out of the four relay points, only the earliest activated C7 point was still flickering weakly, barely maintaining a last relatively stable detection area of less than two hundred meters in diameter; the other three points had gone completely dark due to destroyed equipment or lack of maintenance. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Rose was forced to retreat to the core area of this only remaining illuminated C7 relay point.

This area was a relatively spacious circular hall, once a small energy dispatch center of the space station.

In the center of the hall, the C7 relay equipment emitted an unstable hum, projecting a pale blue holographic map light, covering about a hundred meters in diameter, contrasting sharply with the deep darkness of the steel ruins outside the hall.

Rose parked the damaged mecha next to the relay equipment, leaning against the cold metal base, tightly gripping her only remaining high-frequency cutting blade powered by energy.

She glanced at the tactical map—her teammates' signals were all dim now.

The communication channel was dead silent, with only the relay equipment's operation making electrical noises that seemed as if they could cut out at any moment.

She was the last line of defense.

If she fell or the relay point was destroyed, the "Hunter" side would completely lose the map advantage, making it nearly impossible to locate the hidden "Escapees" within the remaining time, sealing their defeat.

And at that moment, at the edge of the hall, where the pale blue light met the deep darkness, shadows began to stir.

One, two, three... a total of five stealthily camouflaged "Ghost Walker" mechas, like demons crawling out from hell, slowly emerged from the darkness all around.

They made no sound, only silently closing in step by step, stopping at the edge of the light, completely surrounding Rose and the humming relay equipment in this hundred-meter-diameter island of light.

A few beams of distant starlight filtered through the broken observation window at the top of the hall, mingling with the blue glow of the relay equipment, casting long, twisted shadows behind the five silent steel killers.

And Rose's battle-scarred, dirt-stained blue-black mecha stood like the last solitary lighthouse in a storm, erect in the center of the light, facing the fivefold staring from the dark.

Outside, through the last transmitted signal from the relay point, the scene was clearly relayed to all viewers.

The stark contrast of the scene—the isolated hero in the center, surrounding ominous shadows, the extreme division of light and dark—brought an unspeakable sense of tragic grandeur and shock.

The internet exploded, not with pessimism, but with complex emotions under the impact of this image:

"My god... this image..."

"Rose... she's the only one left..."

"Five mechas surrounding her alone... how's that even a fight?"

"Though we may lose, this scene... it's so tragic."'

"New Bauhinia has done its best..."

"Why hasn't Bai E acted yet?!"

In Zone 7 of the International Pavilion, in New Bauhinia's observation room, the atmosphere was extremely tense.

Catherine, Kuang Xin, Gu Lan, and others wore solemn expressions.

Gong Yan bit her lip tightly.

The Elorin scholar was furrowing his brow, quickly analyzing data, but also couldn't hide the worry in his eyes.

Yue Ying stood in the shadowy corner of the room, her gaze not on the screen but on Bai E standing silently in front of the observation window.

There was a hint of unnoticeable confusion in her eyes.

From her understanding of Bai E, he was not one to sit by and watch his companions fall into despair without taking action.

Yet why had he not taken any action yet?

Even if he himself couldn't enter the field directly, the near "descend" ability he previously demonstrated was not without intervention possibilities.

Bai E seemingly sensed Yue Ying's gaze. Without turning back, his voice calmly echoed directly in Yue Ying's mind: "You're wondering why I'm still not taking action?"

Yue Ying slightly nodded.

"Rose's potential is far beyond this." Bai E's gaze seemed to pierce space, falling on the solitary yet still standing blue-black mech in the "Silent Graveyard".

"She has been through the most brutal battles, emerged from seas of blood, and her will is as tough as hardened alloy. Her Absolute Spirit constitution ignores spiritual energy interference—pure combat skill is her sharpest weapon. But she has mostly been my most reliable comrade and vanguard. I want to see just how much her own brilliance can shine in absolute adversity, pushed to the edge. Her 'path' should be refined and proven by herself."

Yue Ying remained silent for a moment, her cool voice also responding in Bai E's mind: "You trust her greatly."

"Just as I trust you," Bai E's reply was simple and affirming.

...

On the battlefield, Rose was unaware of the conversation between Bai E and Yue Ying.

She only knew her comrades had fallen, time was passing, and she was the "Hunter" side's last hope.

Facing enemies slowly closing in from four directions, a looming net of shadows, she took a deep breath.

In the cockpit, her gaze was sharp as a knife, with no trace of fear, only the boiling battle spirit to the utmost.

"Come." The mecha raised its Sharp Blade, a sole figure challenging five enemies.

The battle erupted in an instant!

Rose chose not to hold defensively but instead launched into action, rushing toward one of the injured enemy mechs!

Her movements were ghostly quick, the "Dark Assault" mecha maximizing concealment and suddenness, weaving through the complex ruins, high-frequency cutting blade shrieking towards the opponent's vulnerable point!

Simultaneously, the five "Ghost Walkers" mechs, including the "Faceless" with the ghastly gash on its chest, also pounced.

Like a coordinated wolf pack, they attacked from five directions, with lethal intent, upon the solitary shadow in the center of the light.