Charles sneered as he watched Marcus charge at him. "Retreat!"
The Tide Warriors broke away from the battle at speed and retreated upward.
Charles and Bruce stayed behind to cover the rear.
Charles cast several spells in succession, slowing Marcus down and letting Bruce flee up the mountain first.
He remained behind until Marcus was nearly upon him. Then, after the Book of Orenis rapidly flipped to the page for Lightpath Blink, he turned into a ball of light and vanished from where he stood.
When he appeared again, he was already beside Bruce.
"Ah!"
Marcus's furious roar came from behind them.
It was as shrill and wrathful as the howl of a crazed lone wolf.
Marcus had meant for his charged strike to land on Charles, but it could only smash into a tree instead, shattering the crooked trunk to pieces.
He turned to look at his men.
Isabella was injured, blood still flowing from her back, and her combat strength had dropped severely.
The rest of his men were dusty and disheveled as well.
The Tide Warriors who had charged ahead all still had sticky spiderwebs clinging to them to varying degrees.
The ordinary pirates who had rushed up afterward were even dirtier and more ragged, and quite a few bore injuries.
This delaying battle of Charles's had cost the Bone Anchor Pirate Crew at least fifty or sixty ordinary pirates, along with six or seven Tide Warriors.
Besides that, many pirates had expended a great deal of stamina in the fighting.
Staring at the not-too-distant mountainside, Marcus gritted his teeth. "Keep pursuing!"
"They've used up all their tricks. Go up there and slaughter them all!"
"I'll grind that bastard's bones to dust, inch by inch!"
Marcus waved his hand, and the Tide Warriors continued leading the other