F-ranker Sword Saint: My Soulbound Sword is Secretly SSS-tier!-Chapter 233: An Awful Start

Time slowed to a crawl...then burst, as if in fast forward, as Forsaken Legionaries lunged, only to scatter in bisected pieces to the side the next moment, never to move again any time soon.

"Not bad, Onimaru Kunitsuna."

"You too, great job."

"What? Why are your compliments so boring?"

Daru ignored Elara’s extra comment, though, as the two of them stepped onto the lobby of the Stone Castle’s second floor.

Bursting through the initial resistance of the wraith army wasn’t too hard, as there were only quite a few in the immediate periphery.

Now that they were on the second floor, however, things were about to get multiple times harder.

The Condemned Centurions are already hissing commands, getting the Forsaken Legionaries into position.

The spearhead duo only had a few moments to look around and take in whatever information their eyes could gather for their brain to process.

They were currently in a vast lobby.

Their comrades were taking position behind them, and there were a few Forsaken Legionaries who seemed to be mindlessly charging in a disorganized attempt to vanquish them, the invaders.

These few were not a cause for concern.

Beyond them sprawled three massive stone hallways, filled with nothing but wraiths and the occasional Baal Statues.

It was clear just from this that the structure of the second floor couldn’t be any more different than the first, and so, as discussed, they shall not overthink and take the left-most path.

It was impossible for things to go perfectly, and all the veterans of Egress knew this.

Also, even though their army had never been stronger, there was simply no way they could contend with the entire Stone Castle, as they were still outnumbered at least eight to one, most probably more.

All they could do was make some calculated predictions, take the risk, hope for the best, and at least make sure they could go for another attempt should this one fail.

This meant that Caleb would have to make a very early call to retreat or go all out if there was a chance to succeed.

The main problem isn’t the number of wraiths.

Well, the enemy’s sheer quantity is a huge problem, but the most troublesome issue was the fact that they only had a rough idea about where The Crown was, based on where Daru saw Rocante crashing out of the castle. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

The Crown was on the side of the Stone Gate.

Thus, straight ahead from where they currently were.

The reason why they chose the left-most path was that they still needed to climb at least another floor.

Based on the height Rocante fell from, the throne room couldn’t be on the second floor.

This was one of the calculated risks they had to take.

So, after a brief scan, the spearhead duo rushed to the left. Caleb and the Damnedling Army, meanwhile, followed closely behind.

Aside from the Visitor duo and Lesha, everyone was uneasy.

Why wouldn’t they be when the scales leaned more to failure than success?

Furthermore, there was also a chance that the army would succeed, but some of them would not be a part of those who would return to the Surface.

The most unsettling part was that they were now entering deep into the territory of the enemy.

Most of them had already entered the left-most hallway on the second floor, and once the path behind them closed, they were stuck here.

There was truly no going back if their leader still didn’t call for a retreat.

Either they succeed, and some of them would live to join the final operation, or all of them would perish here.

The weak-hearted suddenly wished to back out.

...And they did...they tried, at least.

"S-Sorry!" A Damnedling suddenly said through the white ribbon, turning to flee before the path closed.

Jia was a mere D-ranker.

She would, for certain, be among those not returning, and she couldn’t take the thought in the end, her resolve crumbling completely.

The wraiths have only finished getting into formation; there was still a chance to escape if she acted decisively now!

Jia quickly turned tail, going on an all-out sprint to the nearby lobby, then, without hesitation, she descended to the first floor.

Caleb looked back just in time to witness her desertion...and witness his other subordinates witness her desertion, too.

His heart sank.

"No...No!!"

As expected, her actions made an entire part of the morale and courage dam crumble.

A portion of Damnedlings at the back of the formation paled, and they, too, followed suit.

Only, they were too late.

The wraiths were already on the pursuit. As a result, the deserters were surrounded in the lobby, forced to fight a doomed battle.

There were a handful, though, who used their comrades as bait and immediately proceeded to descend the staircases.

Death cries echoed through the white ribbon and the stone hallways, utterly destroying whatever morale Caleb had painstakingly built.

The pursuing wraiths were momentarily stopped by the deserters.

However, the army, too, was in shambles, with uncertain spaces in between their ranks.

Daru and Elara were still clearing the path with Lesha and a few other courageous Damnedlings at the very front.

But a majority had stopped moving, paling and trembling at what was happening.

If this wasn’t an awful start, then nothing was, and unfortunately, their hesitation and panic only pushed them ever-closer to their deaths.

"MOVE!! YOU’LL ONLY DIE IF YOU DON’T!" Caleb roared at the top of his lungs through the white ribbon.

He, too, was panicking, and all he could do at the moment was preserve his comrades’ lives in the first effective way he could think of.

Threatening them with death proved effective in jolting them awake, at least.

While the Damnedling Army was still an utter wreck, their legs had at least begun moving again, and soon, they caught up to the frontliners, who were still clearing a path while gritting their teeth.

Daru and the others, too, had heard what was happening at the back.

It was just that their hearts and minds were tougher, which was why they were able to instantly determine that the only way to go was forward, despite the chaos.

They never stopped forging a path.

Hearing the footsteps of their comrades behind them, the frontliners recovered the fragments of their courage that had slipped away earlier, and they became even more effective in slaying Forsaken Legionaries one after the other.

Even the Condemned Centurions lasted only a few moments longer before being overrun.

As a result, the wraiths defending the hallway they were in never got to form a proper defensive formation.

Meanwhile, Caleb fell back to the rear, calling Lesha and a few party leaders to form an effective rear guard.

The situation soon stabilized...more or less with his bold maneuver of entrusting the frontline to only Daru and Elara.

Only, how long would this desperate stability last?