All kinds of things could happen during these 10 days. Yang Kai couldn’t help but be a little resentful. [This Xiang Shan is such an insensible bastard. If you are about to break through to the Eighth Order, why did you come to a place like this? Aren’t you just looking for trouble?]
In any case, since things had already reached this point, there was no point in complaining. As Dawn happened to be at the right place at the right time, they would naturally fight to the death to protect Xiang Shan. No matter what, they could not allow the Black Ink Clan to interfere with Xiang Shan’s advancement; after all, this matter would decide whether Blue Sky Pass would have another Eighth-Order Master or not!
Dawning Light’s speed was pushed to the limit, but even so, it still took them over a day to reach the place where Xiang Shan was breaking through.
It was a deathly silent asteroid and there were many Black Ink Clan corpses floating around it, evidence of a huge battle having been fought here.
When Dawn arrived, they spotted a Warship flashing through the void in the distance. The entire Warship was surrounded by arcs of lightning and flickering with a dark blue glow. From the deck, Secret Techniques and artifacts were being cast, shooting at the several figures surrounding the Warship.
Although this Warship was quite agile, its efficiency in killing enemies was not very high. At the very least, it was not comparable to Dawn.
Fortunately, not too many Black Ink Clansmen were attacking the Warship, nor were they too strong. By the time Dawn arrived, more than half of these Black Ink Clansmen had already breathed their last. After Dawn joined the battlefield, the remaining survivors were swiftly wiped out.
The two Warships converged in the void as a figure flew over and landed in front of Yang Kai.
“Junior Brother Yang, you’re also here.”
Yang Kai nodded in response, “Senior Brother Wan.”
The newcomer was Wan Zheng Xin, the Squad Leader of the Breeze Squad. Yang Kai had many dealings with him, so they could be considered friends.
“What’s the current situation?” Looking at the asteroid below, Yang Kai could vaguely see a figure sitting cross-legged. He was the source of the fluctuating aura.
Wan Zheng Xin replied, furrowing his brow, “We arrived just half an hour earlier than you, so I’ve no idea either.”
Of the five Special Operations Squads, Breeze’s Warship was the fastest, so it was only natural that they would be the first to arrive. However, when they got here, they happened to run into a detachment of Black Ink Clansmen who were trying to interfere with Xiang Shan’s advancement.
“Junior Brother Yang, do you know who the guy below is? Why is he alone and why can’t I see any of his Squad members?” Wan Zheng Xin asked.
Yang Kai replied with a sigh, “If I’m not mistaken, the one advancing is Senior Xiang Shan. Has Senior Brother Wan heard of him?”
Wan Zheng Xin was extremely taken aback, “It’s actually him!?”
Judging by his expression, he had obviously heard of Xiang Shan, but since the latter was a reclusive person, his face wasn’t well known. Even Feng Ying rarely got to see him, so although Wan Zheng Xin had heard of Xiang Shan, he had never seen him and thus didn’t recognize him.
It wasn’t difficult to understand why he was here alone. Rumour had it that after he fell from the Eighth Order to the Seventh Order, his temper had become extremely strange, and very few could cooperate with him. Considering his original Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm status, there had been several Squads that had tried to recruit him, but none of them had succeeded. In the end, the Army Commander could only let him move about solo.
“This is going to be a bit troublesome,” Wan Zheng Xin furrowed his brow.
He originally wanted to persuade the person advancing to return to the forward base and break through there, but since it was Xiang Shan, he couldn’t interfere at all.
Since his Order had already fallen, it would be much more difficult for him to break through than an ordinary Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. Now that Xiang Shan finally managed to grasp an opportunity to break through, he would naturally go all out and could not be disturbed in the slightest.
It was probably for this reason that Xiang Shan immediately chose to go through with it when he sensed the opportunity to break through. Otherwise, he would have used the Universe Transference Law to return to the forward base camp.
“The Old Turtles and Water Snakes are also in this area, they will be arriving to support us soon. It looks like we need to protect him well.”
Yang Kai glanced at him, “The Wild Boars are also in this area.”
Wan Zheng Xin was surprised, “All five Special Operations Squads are here?”
Yang Kai earnestly nodded.
“Five Special Operations Squads just happened to be hunting in this area while there are no signs of any other Squads active here, and now there is someone breaking through to the Eighth Order. Do you think the Army Commander knows something?” Wan Zheng Xin asked thoughtfully.
Yang Kai lowered his head, looking below, “Whether the Army Commander knows something or not is beside the point, now that things have reached this point, we must stand guard here and wait for reinforcements. I’ve already sent someone to report back to the forward base. Since the Senior is here, we should pay him a visit. At the very least, we should let him know that someone is guarding him so he can safely advance.”
“But of course,” Wan Zheng Xin nodded.
The two of them immediately flew down together, but didn’t get too close. Xiang Shan’s aura was fluctuating more and more rapidly, so if they got too close, they might disturb him. As such, the two stopped after reaching a certain distance from the asteroid.
Yang Kai cupped his fist and introduced in a loud and clear voice, “The members of Dawn and Breeze Squad are here. Senior, please focus on your breakthrough, there is no need to worry about external factors.”
There was no response from below, but Yang Kai didn’t expect one; after all, at this juncture, Xiang Shan wouldn’t be distracted by answering them.
After making the announcement, the two returned to Dawning Light.
“Senior Brother Wan, is there anyone in Breeze who is proficient in Spirit Arrays? We can arrange some around the asteroid just in case!”
Although true Array Masters were not allowed to enter the battlefield, every cultivator had a hobby or two which they practised in their free time. Owing to this, every cultivator had developed various abilities over the course of their long lives.
For instance, Yang Kai had mastered a little bit of both the Alchemic Dao and the Dao of Artifact Refining.
Although none of the members of the two Squads majored in the Array Dao, there were still a few who were a little proficient in arranging Spirit Arrays.
Wan Zheng Xin agreed, nodding, “There is, but his attainments aren’t high. Furthermore, if he is asked to set up an Array in a hurry, its power won’t be very high.”
Yang Kai replied, “It’s still better than nothing.”
“That’s true, but setting up a Spirit Array requires resources, and we don’t have any.”
In a special environment like the Black Ink Battlefield, where the cultivators were not sure whether they would be able to make it back alive or not, everyone would not bring anything other than essential healing and restorative items; after all, if they were to die outside, the resources they brought with them would be wasted.
Therefore, even if they wanted to set up a Spirit Array, they had no resources to do it with. Even the cleverest housewife couldn’t cook a meal without rice.
Yang Kai stated as a smile appeared on his lips, “I have some on me, I can provide whatever he needs.”
The Black Ink Battlefield had an unspoken rule that didn’t allow anyone to carry any extra resources, but Yang Kai never followed it, nor had anyone asked him to do so. As such, all of his possessions were stored in his Small Universe and Space Ring.
Since he had resources, there was nothing else to say.
The two of them immediately gathered all those capable from their respective Squads and began setting up Arrays around the asteroid. None of them had high attainments in the Array Dao, so their work was completely worthless compared to a true Array Grandmaster. None of them could say for sure how effective this arrangement would be, so the main force protecting the asteroid was still them.
While they were bustling about, a figure walked out from Dawning Light’s cabin.
It was none other than Qi Tai Chu, who had been sent back by Yang Kai to report this matter.
Seeing him return, Yang Kai quickly asked, “What did the forward base camp say?”
Qi Tai Chu reported, “The Army Commander told us to stand guard and wait for reinforcements. Division Commanders have been dispatched, but as this place is quite far from the forward base, even an Eighth-Order Master will need at least 10 days to arrive.”
Yang Kai let out a sigh. This was within his expectations. In the end, their position was simply too deep into enemy territory.
Many Black Ink Clansmen in the vicinity had been alerted to this disturbance and were already swarming around, hiding in clusters of Black Ink Clouds and shattered asteroids, watching from afar. Fortunately, due to the deterrence of the two Human Race Warships, none of them dared to approach, but this situation would not last long. Once the Black Ink Clan had gathered a certain amount of force, they would definitely launch an attack.
Their current situation was like sharks swarming over from all around after smelling blood.
During the tortuous wait, many simple and crude Spirit Arrays were set up around the asteroid. They were not proficient enough to lay profound Spirit Arrays down, so they could only make do with these.
After another three days, more Black Ink Clansmen had gathered. Some were even daring enough to test the limits of Yang Kai and the others’ endurance, constantly provoking them from a distance.
Wan Zheng Xin couldn’t help but send a voice transmission to Yang Kai, “Junior Brother Yang, you guard this place while I lead some people to kill these bastards.”
Yang Kai persuaded, “That’s not appropriate. My Dawn only has 37 members. If you leave, we may not be able to protect the entire area by ourselves. If any of them managed to slip through the net and made their way to Senior Xiang and interrupted his breakthrough, everything would be for nought.”
Wan Zheng Xin suggested, “Then why not take your Dawn Squad to kill them, while we guard this place.”
“It’s the same principle, we should just wait and see.”
Wan Zheng Xin speechlessly stated, “Even if we don’t take any action, do you think the Black Ink Clan won’t? The longer we wait, the more Black Ink Clansmen will gather. By then, the situation will be very hard to control. We might as well take advantage of this opportunity to kill some of them and reduce the pressure we will face later.”
Yang Kai stated with a smile, “The Black Ink Clan has reinforcements, but we don’t?”
Wan Zheng Xin was stunned for a moment before asking thoughtfully, “You mean…”
“It’s been a few days since we arrived here, but we haven’t seen any trace of the other Squads. Since they’re all in this area, they should have been here by now, no matter how far away they were. Since they haven’t appeared yet, it means they’re hiding somewhere, waiting for an opportunity to act. We should wait for now, and when the time is right, I’m sure they’ll appear and take the Black Ink Clan by surprise. There’s no need for us to act. Since they have not made their moves yet, it’s only because there’s too little meat to eat.”
Wan Zheng Xin thought about it for a moment before cursing, “Damn it, we came too early and lost the opportunity to get more kills. If I had known that things would take such a turn, I would have come later and then would have been able to kill to my heart’s content.”
Yang Kai burst into laughter, joking, “Among all the Squads, your Breeze Squad is the fastest. Who else could have arrived earlier than you?”
Wan Zheng Xin was slightly depressed, “I guess, you’re right.”
While they were speaking, a powerful energy fluctuation came from a certain place, followed by deafening bangs as a series of Secret Techniques and Divine Abilities suddenly lit up the void, hitting the asteroids and dispersing the Black Ink Clouds. The next moment, a wild laughter reverberated through the void as a raucous shout rang out, “Hahaha, there are so many fish here! Brothers, let’s run wild!”
Hearing this voice, Wan Zheng Xin felt a headache coming on, “That pig is here!”
Yang Kai’s face also twitched. The Wild Boars’ way of doing things was as unrestrained as ever. They could have acted stealthily, but no, they had to make a huge scene, like they were afraid that the Black Ink Clan wouldn’t know of their arrival.
It was the Wild Boars’ signature style to always rush forward without a second thought. Under the leadership of their Squad Leader, Zhu Yu Ming, the entire Squad had taken this as their way of life.
From another side, someone immediately started cursing, “You freaking pigs, can’t you think a bit before you act!? Why would you purposely alert the enemy!? Arghhh… you drive this Old Master crazy!”
Another cold snort came from another side, “If these pigs knew how to think, they wouldn’t be pigs!”
Immediately, chortles of laughter and people cursing in disdain rang out across the void. To the Black Ink Clansmen’s shock, who were lingering in the vicinity, three Human Warships started attacking from three different directions. Fearsome artifacts and Secret Techniques blasted out from each of these three ships, raining down on the Black Ink Clansmen.
The Black Ink Clansmen were dumbstruck for a moment. Without their knowledge, they had been surrounded. Originally, all of their attention had been focused on the Human breaking through on the asteroid, and the two Human Squads guarding him. The sudden appearance of the other three Squads had thrown their thoughts into chaos.
Although they put up a brave fight under the coordination of some of the Feudal Lords, these suddenly appearing Human Squads were clearly different from the ordinary. Not only were they much bigger, but the proportion of Seventh-Order Masters in them was also extremely terrifying. Furthermore, the power each Warship could display was far more fearsome than what average Human Warships could.
These were the Special Operations Squads of the Human Race!
Having fought with the Humans for so many years, the Black Ink Clan naturally had some understanding of the Special Operations Squads. They knew that there weren’t many Special Operations Squads on the Human Race’s side, just 5 in the Blue Sky Theatre, but each one was capable of defeating a Feudal Lord Army.
The Black Ink Clan came to the conclusion that if they wanted to take care of such a Squad, they would need the Territory Lord to personally act, or at least 20 Feudal Lords.
This was for one Squad, and right now, there were 5 such Squads here. Although there were many Black Ink Clansmen, they were mostly weaker Low-Rank and High-Rank Clansmen. They were simply unable to contend with these Special Operations Squads.
Under the leadership of their respective Squad Leaders, the three Squads rampaged through the void, with the Wild Boars acting the fiercest.
In just a short time, all the Black Ink Clansmen present in the vicinity had been slaughtered, leaving mangled corpses floating about everywhere.
The outcome was decided.
Wan Zheng Xin heaved a sigh, “Junior Brother Yang’s foresight was on point, the Old Turtles and Water Snakes were indeed hiding nearby, but unfortunately, all their plans were destroyed by that pig.”
Yang Kai chuckled, “You can’t say that. Those two Squads probably wanted to wait for the Black Ink Clan to gather more troops before starting the bloodbath, but although Senior Brother Zhu acted a bit rashly, this isn’t a bad outcome either.”
Wan Zheng Xin nodded, lamenting a little, “When will the Wild Boars change their style?”
Yang Kai and Wan Zheng Xin had no intention of taking part in such a one-sided battle as right now, the most important thing was to protect Xiang Shan, not fight for Military Merits.
What’s more, this was only the beginning, things would surely become grimmer with time. Whether it was Yang Kai or Wan Zheng Xin, after being Squad Leaders for so many years, they both understood the principle of conserving their strength before the battle.
Just as the three elite Human Squads made their appearance, far away, the Black Ink Clan Territory Lords were gathering in a hall on a giant asteroid in the depths of the void.
The Black Ink Clan had suffered heavy losses in the last large-scale war, especially in regard to Territory Lords, of whom several dozen had been killed. It could be said that they had lost an arm and a leg, infuriating the Royal Lord.
Immediately after, the Human Race Army stormed out of the Great Pass to launch a crusade. With morale at a record low, the Black Ink Clan lost vast swaths of territory to the Human Expeditionary Force, only halting their advance three Territory Lord territories away from the Royal City.
This was something that had never happened before. The Human Race and Black Ink Clan had been fighting on the Black Ink Battlefield for countless years, but the Black Ink Clan had never suffered such a great loss before. It had always been the Black Ink Clan who attacked the Human Race Great Passes, whereas the Human Race were always passive. The Humans might launch a raid every now and then, but this time, it was completely different.
What was even more frustrating to the Black Ink Clan was that the Human Race had actually built a forward base camp at the very front of the territory they had conquered. By the looks of it, they were planning to completely settle in there.
How could the Black Ink Clan tolerate this?
If the Human Race succeeded, the entire Black Ink Clan of the Blue Sky Theater would lose all face. In the future, they wouldn’t be able to hold their heads up high in front of their fellow clansmen in other Theatres.
Over the past few decades, the Black Ink Clan had also mounted counterattacks, but their efforts had been fruitless. With so many of their Territory Lords dead, it was difficult for them to suppress the Eighth-Order Humans. Although the Black Ink Clan held the advantage in terms of overall numbers, that was only among the weaker Realms, while their top Masters were now completely outnumbered. The majority of the Black Ink Clansmen were far too weak. If the troops they sent out were too small in number, any Human Squad would be able to wipe them out, and if they deployed a bigger Army, they would be met by a fierce assault from the Human Race’s forward base.
Thus, the Black Ink Clan was caught in a dilemma.
The lack of action by the higher-ups caused the lower-ranked Black Ink Clansmen to bitterly grieve and spontaneously gather their forces to fight against the Human Race. On the other hand, the Humans had been hunting down these scattered groups over the past few decades. How could the Black Ink Clan not try hunting them down in return? This kind of scattered battle had basically become a kind of tacit agreement between the Masters on both sides. No one knew how long this situation would last, and no one knew what kind of variables would appear in the future.
The Human Race forward base had many Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters gathered, forcing the Territory Lords to form a coalition in order to prevent the Human Army from continuing their conquest or simply picking them off one by one.
This asteroid was originally a Feudal Lord’s Fief, and was only a few million kilometres away from the Human Race’s forward base. In the vastness of the void, such distance was quite short, almost within fighting distance. If one stood at the edge of this asteroid, they could even vaguely see the Human outpost.
Because it was quite close to the Human Race’s forward base, this place had become the frontline for the Black Ink Clan’s resistance.
At this moment, many Territory Lords were gathered here, not to discuss some battle plan or anything, but to wait for that variable that would change the situation, hoping to break the stalemate.
The Territory Lords had already been waiting here for several decades, but that was nothing more than a snap of the fingers to them.
Suddenly, a Feudal Lord rushed out from the Fief’s Low-Grade Black Ink Nest and hurried into the main hall. He put his fist before his chest and respectfully reported, “Sir, I bear an urgent report!”
One of the Territory Lords opened his eyes and asked, “Is there any movement at the Human’s forward base?”
The Feudal Lord quickly replied, “It’s not about the forward base, it’s in the depths of the void, near Sir Gu Song’s Territory.”
Gu Song’s Territory was the territory of a Territory Lord, and it wasn’t very close to this place, but it happened to be a space where the two races were fighting.
“What’s going on over there?” The Territory Lord asked.
The Feudal Lord replied, “There’s news that a Human is breaking through to the Eighth Order there!”
As soon as he reported this, the other Territory Lords, who had remained silent all the while, opened their eyes as one of them leaned slightly forward, “Someone is advancing to the Eighth Order over there? Is the news accurate?”
The Feudal Lord replied, “It’s absolutely accurate. A Feudal Lord observed the situation at close range. There are indeed signs of a Human breaking through from the Seventh Order to the Eighth Order.”
The reason why this news had reached this place so quickly was naturally because of the Black Ink Nest’s network ability; otherwise, it would have been impossible for it to arrive so quickly.
“Damn it, is the Human Race going to gain another Eighth-Order Master?” One of the Territory Lords indignantly cursed. After the last war, the balance between the number of Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Masters had been broken. If the Humans gained another Eighth-Order Master, it would put even more pressure on the remaining Territory Lords.
One of the Territory Lords coldly snorted, “The Humans are taking us more and more lightly, actually trying to advance to the Eighth Order at that position. They’ve gone too far!”
“The advancement of the Human Race depends heavily on opportunities. When an opportunity is before them, they won’t be able to suppress it even if they want to. Forcefully suppressing it will only lead to terrible consequences. Since that Human chose to advance in that location, they must have had no other choice.”
“Is there any point in discussing this? Are we just going to sit back and watch the Humans gain another Eighth-Order Master?”
“What else can we do? Don’t tell me you want to go and stop him? Not to mention the distance, even if we can make it in time, who can guarantee that this isn’t some Human plot? Didn’t we suffer enough last time?”
The group of Territory Lords fell silent. Even the Territory Lord who had just spoken didn’t say anything. The insidious and cunning schemes of the Humans were too deeply ingrained into the Black Ink Clan’s hearts. They had suffered heavy casualties because of the Humans’ schemes in the last war.
It was an extremely important matter for a Human to advance to the Eighth Order. If they wanted to break through, they would have made careful arrangements beforehand, so how could they have advanced so far off in the void? Thus, when the Territory Lords heard about this matter, their first reaction was that the Human Race was plotting something, possibly having set up a trap to lure them out and kill them.
But if they didn’t do anything about it, it would be quite frustrating; after all, this was an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. If they could kill him before he broke through, they would be able to deal a big blow to the Human forces.
At this moment, the Feudal Lord who had come in to report the situation spoke again, “There is one more thing I must inform Sirs about.”
“What is it?”
“According to the Feudal Lord who relayed the news, the one who is breaking through might be Xiang Shan!”
As soon as he reported this, all the Territory Lords were shocked.
A Territory Lord with a braid behind his head asked darkly, “Are you sure it’s that Xiang Shan?”
Three millennia ago, the name Xiang Shan had a great deterrence on the Black Ink Clan. It was not surprising either, as when he was the Army Commander of the Western Army, he had killed 7 Territory Lords relying on his deep heritage and fearsome strength.
This was an almost insurmountable achievement.
It had to be said that neither the Humans nor the Black Ink Clan would lose Eighth-Order Masters or Territory Lords in a battle very frequently. Even in large-scale wars, having more than 2 or 3 such Masters fall would be considered unusual. It would be considered a great achievement if any Eighth-Order Master was able to kill 1 Territory Lord in 1,000 years, but during his tenure as Western Army Commander, Xiang Shan had killed 7!
That was an astonishing feat.
Moreover, his style of doing things was extremely unyielding and had caused the Black Ink Clan Army to suffer great losses many times. His name was a taboo in the Black Ink Clan in this era and many of the Territory Lords present had once lived under his shadow.
There was also one thing that made the Black Ink Clan unable to eat or sleep in peace, and that was Xiang Shan’s aptitude.
According to various Black Ink Disciples’ reports, Xiang Shan’s aptitude was extremely high, and when he broke through to the Open Heaven Realm, he advanced straight to the Seventh Order! In other words, the Eighth Order was not his limit, he had a chance of reaching the Ninth Order and becoming an Old Ancestor.
An Eighth-Order Xiang Shan was already so difficult to deal with, so if he were to break through to the Ninth Order, what would happen?
Because of these considerations, the Black Ink Clan in the Blue Sky Theatre only had one goal 3,000 years ago, which was to destroy Xiang Shan.
During one battle, the Royal Lord severely wounded Xiang Shan even at the expense of taking a fierce blow from the Human Old Ancestor. After that, the Territory Lords swarmed him, wanting to cut weeds and pull out roots, but the Eighth-Order Humans all came to his aid one after another and a chaotic battle ensued.
Although Xiang Shan had luckily escaped death in that battle, his cultivation had fallen from the Eighth Order to the Seventh Order, and he slowly faded from the eyes of the Black Ink Clan. The Royal Lord’s attack might have failed to kill Xiang Shan, but they had achieved their goal, albeit barely.
The Royal Lord was severely wounded by the Old Ancestor in that battle and had to recuperate for 300 years to return to his peak.
Additionally, in that battle, more than 10 Territory Lords had died under the wrath of the Human Old Ancestor!
The battle that had taken place 3,000 years ago was still fresh in their minds as most of the Territory Lords had personally experienced it. How could they forget such a tragic war?
Originally, they thought that the threat of Xiang Shan had been eliminated. They never dreamed that they would once again hear news of him breaking through after 3,000 years.
Had any other Seventh-Order Human been breaking through to the Eighth-Order, they wouldn’t have been too bothered. There had been many new Eighth-Order Humans over the years, and many who had lost their lives in the war. Overall, the number of Eighth-Order Humans had maintained a kind of balance, so one more wouldn’t really affect the overall situation.
But if it was Xiang Shan, they had no choice but to take it seriously!
Counting the time, after 3,000 years of silence, even if Xiang Shan had regressed to a lower Order, it was indeed possible for him to cultivate back up again. Thinking back to the dark times 3,000 years ago, which Territory Lord was willing to experience that again?
Therefore, when the Feudal Lord first reported that a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was breaking through to the Eighth-Order, most Territory Lords didn’t take it seriously, but after hearing the name Xiang Shan, they couldn’t remain calm.
“Are you sure it’s Xiang Shan?”
The Feudal Lord confirmed, “I’m absolutely certain. The Feudal Lord who reported this news had also seen Xiang Shan’s terror from afar in the past and clearly remembered his aura.”
Since the person reporting had said so, there could be no mistake. The Territory Lords looked at each other, and they could clearly see the seriousness in each other’s eyes.
After a long silence, a Territory Lord asked, “Are there any movements at the Human’s forward base?”
“I don’t know, but I can ask,” another Territory Lord replied. Saying so, he sent a message with his Divine Sense.
A moment later, the Territory Lord reported, “Just half a day ago, 2 Eighth-Order Masters emerged from the forward base, making a beeline towards Gu Song’s Territory!”
“It seems that news of Xiang Shan’s breakthrough has been reported back to them. Those Division Commanders must be heading there to guard him.”
“In other words, Xiang Shan’s breakthrough should have been an accident; otherwise, the Humans wouldn’t be scrambling to make arrangements now.”
“It’s still hard to say if this is another of those Humans’ schemes.”
“Whether it’s a scheme or not, we can’t ignore Xiang Shan’s advancement. If he returns to the Eighth Order, he will be the most difficult enemy we have to deal with; none of the Territory Lords can resist him.”
“Yes, we must stop Xiang Shan from breaking through, no matter what!”
“Even if the Humans are plotting something, they won’t be able to do anything with Xiang Shan’s position being so far away. In fact, we might as well beat them at their own game.”
“What do you mean?”
“Wu Jiang, Mao Chi, Zhong Ning, and Hong Hu are not here; send a message to any two of them to intercept those two Eighth-Order Humans and stop them from assisting Xiang Shan. Then send a message to the other two to investigate Xiang Shan’s advancement. If the Humans have not planned any ambushes, they can take action, and everything will be solved. If there is an ambush waiting for them, they should still be able to escape if they work together.”
As soon as he suggested this, the Territory Lords pondered for a moment before one of them nodded in agreement, “Good, we’ll go with that!”
One of the Territory Lords also questioned, “Although that’s the case, we still don’t know where all the Eighth-Order Humans are. If they are all lying in ambush near Xiang Shan, wouldn’t we be walking right into a trap if we send fewer people? The Territory Lords suffered heavy casualties in the last war, so we can’t afford to lose any more.”
The Territory Lord who had made the proposal first suggested once more, “That’s why we should launch an attack on their forward base! We don’t need to achieve anything decisive, just cause a big enough disturbance to figure out the situation at their base. If we can determine the number of Eighth-Order Masters there, we can basically determine the situation on Xiang Shan’s side. At that time, we can inform Wu Jiang and the others, so that they can act appropriately.”
“Attack the forward base?” One of the Territory Lords furrowed his brow, “If a war breaks out, it won’t be so easy to quell, and we will have to pay a certain price. If we win, it’s fine, but if we lose, the Black Ink Clan will completely lose the territory occupied by the Humans. We won’t have enough troops to continue fighting.”
“Compared to Xiang Shan’s breakthrough, it is worth it, no matter what the price is.”
“Since we have different opinions, we might as well vote. Those who agree to attack the forward base, please rise.”
After a moment, more than a dozen Territory Lords stood up. Basically, all of the Territory Lords who were standing had lived during Xiang Shan’s era, and most of the sitting Territory Lords had just recently advanced. From this, it was obvious that the old Territory Lords were all extremely wary of Xiang Shan. They were willing to pay any price in order to kill him. Compared to these Territory Lords, the new Territory Lords of the last 3 millennia didn’t fear Xiang Shan so much. They were satisfied with their current state and didn’t think that a large-scale war with the Human Race was a good idea at this point.
However, most of the Territory Lords had already agreed to fight, so they couldn’t influence the overall situation.
A storm was brewing, and war was about to break out!
Over the past few years, the Black Ink Clan’s various reinforcements had gathered around this Feudal Lord’s Fief, forming a stalemate with the forward base. The Black Ink Clan didn’t dare act rashly, and the Human soldiers in the forward base didn’t have any intention of getting themselves into a large-scale battle; but today, because of a single person’s breakthrough, this stalemate was about to be broken.
The Black Ink Clan began to mobilize their troops and advance towards the forward base.
Although their actions were extremely well-hidden, how could such a large deployment possibly be hidden from the vigilant Humans?
Inside the temporary Army Headquarters of the forward base, a group of Eighth-Order Masters was waiting with Zhong Liang and Liang Yu Long in the lead.
Suddenly, a Seventh-Order Master entered, cupped his fist, and reported, “The Black Ink Clan has started moving.”
Zhong Liang’s eyes flickered with a sharp gleam, “They took the bait!”
The group of Eighth-Order Masters were all excited. They had been worried that the Black Ink Clan would not act, and only once they did, it would mean that their plan could be implemented. This wasn’t surprising though, as the bait they had thrown out was no small matter to the Black Ink Clan.
Be that as it may, no one was certain what the Black Ink Clan’s choice would be without a concrete report, so they had been waiting here on tenterhooks.
A worried look appeared on Liang Yu Long’s face, “I wonder if Senior Brother Xiang’s situation is going well.”
Zhong Liang said, “Since Senior Brother Xiang has agreed to this plan, he must have made some preparations. There’s no need to worry about him, we just need to do our own thing. Send a message to Blue Sky Pass and tell Ding Yao that they can start.”
“Good!” Someone immediately complied.
Two figures shot through the void, both of them in the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm. They were flying quite fast, making a beeline towards a certain direction.
While flying, one of them sent a voice transmission, “Brother Zhang, do you think the Black Ink Clan will take the bait this time?”
Hearing this, the Eighth-Order Master surnamed Zhang smiled, “We’ll know if there is any obstruction along the way; however, I’m sure that the Black Ink Clan will not be able to resist. After all, this concerns Senior Brother Xiang. If I were a Territory Lord, I would definitely not allow him to advance peacefully. They finally made him fall to the Seventh Order, so how could they allow him to advance back to the Eighth Order?”
The other Eighth Order asked curiously, “Does Senior Brother Xiang hold such a great deterrence to the Black Ink Clan?”
The Eighth-Order surname Zhang answered, “Brother Sun, you haven’t been on the Black Ink Battlefield for long, so you haven’t seen Senior Brother Xiang’s power with your own eyes. When he was commanding the Western Army, he tossed around the Territory Lords like they were chickens. It could even be said that their faces would be filled with dread at the mere mention of his name.”
The cultivator surnamed Sun sighed, “Alas, I didn’t get to see Senior Brother Xiang’s divine might. I hope his breakthrough this time goes smoothly.”
Zhang Xian added, “Although it will be much more difficult to break through after a drop in one’s Order, it shouldn’t be a problem for Senior Brother Xiang with his aptitude. All we need to do is wait for good news. It just so happens that Blue Sky Pass needs someone to play the opening act, and Senior Brother Xiang was about to break through. After learning of the plan, I volunteered for this duty.”
After chatting for a while, the two of them stopped talking and continued on their way.
Two days later, the two Masters who were speeding forward suddenly came to a stop at the sight of two Black Ink Clouds approaching from the opposite side. The next moment, two huge figures appeared from the Black Ink Clouds, attacking them without saying a word.
The two Eighth-Order Masters naturally wouldn’t just sit back and wait for their deaths. Each cast their own Divine Abilities to fend off the attackers descending from the darkness.
Shortly after, the four figures separated and faced off against one another.
The Eighth-Order surnamed Zhang coldly glanced over and snorted, “Mao Chi, Zhong Yan!”
Having fought with each other for so many years, this man surnamed Zhang naturally recognized who these two Territory Lords were.
After exchanging a glance with the cultivator surnamed Sun, both of them calmed down. As these two fellows had suddenly appeared and blocked their path, it was apparent that the Black Ink Clan had taken the bait; otherwise, there was no reason for these two to come here and stop them.
Everything was going according to the plan!
It was laughable that the two Territory Lords didn’t even notice. Mao Chi was even more valiant and spirited as he coldly shouted with a look of disdain on his face, “This road is blocked!”
The Eighth-Order Master surnamed Zhang sneered, “Shamelessly boasting!”
Without wasting another moment, he summoned his sword with a wave of his hand, sending out a flurry of sword lights towards Mao Chi. On the other side, the cultivator surnamed Sun and Zhong Ning engaged in a one-on-one battle. Neither side held a decisive advantage.
Be that as it may, as far as the two Territory Lords were concerned, so long as they could stop these two Eighth-Order Masters here, that was enough. They really did not care if they could do anything to them or not.
The two of them had also learned the seriousness of the situation from the message sent via the Black Ink Nests. If not for this, they wouldn’t have been lying in ambush here waiting to intercept the Eighth-Order Division Commanders.
The two Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were intercepted by Mao Chi and Zhong Yan along the way and were now locked in a fierce battle.
On the other side, the battle near the vicinity of the asteroid where Xiang Shan was breaking through was also raging.
The Wild Boars, Water Snakes, and Old Turtles, these three Special Operations Squads, were rampaging through the void, killing the Black Ink Clan to the point that they were unable to fight back.
It had been several decades since the establishment of the forward base and every Human Squad had been carrying out hunting missions over this period, but none of them had ever been able to kill to their heart’s content like this.
The Black Ink Clan’s harassment and support kept coming unabated, seemingly never-ending. The scattered Black Ink Clansmen emerged from all directions and kept charging towards the asteroid where Xiang Shan was, obviously trying to disrupt his breakthrough at all costs.
Most of the Black Ink Clan forces had been intercepted by the three Special Operations Squads, and even if some of them managed to slip through their net, they were unable to break through Dawn and Breeze’s defences.
At first, not many Black Ink Clansmen were attracted by Xiang Shan’s breakthrough, so the five Special Operations Squads were able to handle everything easily by working together.
But more and more Black Ink Clansmen were drawn in over time. Yang Kai and the others gradually started to feel the pressure, but they still held on.
In order to avoid wasting too much energy, Yang Kai had a brief discussion with the other four Squad Leaders before coming to a decision of guarding Xiang Shan in turns.
No matter what, the five Squads ensured that two would remain at the periphery of the asteroid, preventing the Black Ink Clan from approaching while the other three fought further out at full force.
No one knew how long this situation would last. Perhaps it would be over very soon, or perhaps it would be a drawn-out battle. Everything depended on Xiang Shan’s progress; nonetheless, no one had any thoughts of retreating. Xiang Shan was advancing without any protectors, so if they retreated, he would definitely be doomed.
Although this battle was fierce, compared to the clash between the two Armies at the forward base, it was just a small skirmish.
Over the past few decades, the Human Race Army and the Black Ink Clan Army had been confronting each other across several million kilometres. The Humans had no intention of advancing, and the Black Ink Clan didn’t dare provoke them. The two races had only sent out small teams to harass each other from a distance.
This balance lasted for several decades, with both sides bearing some casualties.
But today, the balance was broken due to the sudden, undeclared war by the Black Ink Clan Army.
The empty space between the forward base and the Black Ink Clan’s temporary camp was instantly filled with the soldiers of the two races, and soon both Armies were locked in a fierce battle. At every moment, someone’s aura would vanish from existence as severed limbs and mangled corpses started piling up everywhere in the void.
Human Warships shuttled back and forth, protected by their respective Seventh-Order Squad members, fighting bravely to cut down the enemy.
On the other hand, the Eighth-Order Masters were locked in combat with the Territory Lords on a separate battlefield.
The forward base was not like Blue Sky Pass, which was a massive Mobile Palace Artifact that had been slowly expanded and enhanced over countless years by the Human soldiers. Relying on the power of Blue Sky Pass and its various offensive and defensive Arrays, the Human Race’s defences were at least twice as effective.
This was also one of the foundations that the Human Race’s entire resistance was based on.
The forward base didn’t have such advantages. Although Blue Sky Pass’ soldiers had installed a number of Arrays at the forward base over the past few decades, none of them were comparable to the ones at the headquarters.
It would be difficult to resist the attacks of the Black Ink Clan Army under normal circumstances.
Fortunately, the Black Ink Clan had suffered heavy casualties in the war a few decades back, and the Humans had not stopped hunting down the Black Ink Clan in recent years. The Black Ink Clan’s casualties were so large now that they were difficult to calculate. As a result, it was not that difficult to deal with the Black Ink Clan forces attacking the forward base.
The Black Ink Clan Army of several hundred thousand might have appeared quite big, but the proportion of their elites couldn’t even be compared to before. Not to mention that the number of Territory Lords was less than half, even the proportion of Feudal Lords was much smaller than in the past. Most of the Black Ink Clan present were only Low and High-Rank Clansmen.
As such, when the soldiers of the forward base were facing the Black Ink Clan Army, not only did they not suffer any disadvantages, they even gained the upper hand.
After several decades, the Human Race had accumulated enough Purifying Black Ink Pills to support a large-scale battle; furthermore, they had even more Artifact Refiners than before, so whenever the damaged Warships returned, the prepared Grandmasters would immediately start repairing them at full speed. If they couldn’t repair them, they would simply provide a new Warship.
With the lessons learned from the previous crusade, the forward base’s logistics support had grown exponentially.
Amassing Purifying Black Ink Pills and building additional Warships was of paramount importance.
Blue Sky Pass had decided to refine a large number of Squad Rank Warships, with the goal being to have at least one spare Warship for each Squad so as to enhance the staying power of the Armies and prevent any more incidents like the ones during the last crusade from happening. In the last war, many Warships became too damaged and lost all combat effectiveness, requiring them to be scrapped and for the Squads using them to withdraw from the frontlines.
200 years ago, Blue Sky Pass did not have the capacity to carry out such a plan.
The refining of each Warship required a massive amount of resources, and in the past, Blue Sky Pass didn’t have the necessary foundation to make spares, but now it was different. Resources could no longer impede Blue Sky Pass’ development. Not to mention that Blue Sky Pass had accumulated a massive amount of resources using the Void Yin-Yang Mirrors, if they were to win this most recent war, they would be able to completely occupy a large portion of the Black Ink Clan’s former territory. At that time, it would be an easy task to mine all the resources they needed. There were so many dead universe worlds in the void that the resources could essentially be considered endless.
Any war between two large Armies would take time, and victory and defeat could not be determined in a short period. It would be a long while before a conclusion was reached.
A few days later, two Warships stood side by side in the periphery of the asteroid where Xiang Shan was breaking through, with more than 10 Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realms scattered around, vigilantly observing their surroundings.
Everyone, whether it was the scattered Seventh-Order Masters or the Fifth and Sixth-Order Humans aboard the Warships, was taking advantage of this short respite to swallow Spirit Pills and recover some strength.
After several days of fierce fighting, the several hundred members of the five elite Squads had all consumed a great deal of energy. In the face of Black Ink Clan’s continuous assault, they had to use every opportunity they received to recover.
Yang Kai was among these people.
Dawn had already finished their third combat rotation, so this time, they had returned along with the Water Snake Squad for guard duty.
While adjusting his breathing, the Water Snake Squad Leader, Dongfang Wen Bing, suddenly asked via voice Divine Sense, “Brother Yang, did you notice?”
Yang Kai’s expression remained unchanged as he replied, “The Black Ink Clan’s attack seems to be employing some sort of strategy.”
“So Brother Yang has noticed too.”
“Indeed. Initially, the Black Ink Clan was attacking in a disorderly manner, but for the last two days, something changed. Although the difference is subtle, it is still obvious when everything is taken into account.”
“That’s right, there seems to be a Master guiding them from behind,” Dongfang Wen Bing grinned.
“How strong a Master do you suspect?”
“Someone as high as a Territory Lord?”
“Great minds think alike!” Yang Kai lightly nodded his acknowledgement. In fact, he had been searching for this Black Ink Clan Master hiding behind the scenes this whole time. Unfortunately, he failed to pinpoint their location. If there really was a Territory Lord hiding nearby, it would be difficult for him to discover them amid the raging battle in the void as the chaotic energy fluctuations propagating everywhere could completely obscure a concealed aura. On top of that, he was only a Seventh-Order Master, so trying to find a hidden Territory Lord was naturally not easy.
Dongfang Wen Bing’s smile cramped, “I was just speaking randomly. Could it be that there really is a Territory Lord here?”
“En,” Yang Kai solemnly stated, “It’s quite possible.”
Dongfang Wen Bing went slacked-jaw at this revelation, “Brother Yang, don’t try to scare me. You have mastered the Dao of Space, so you can escape from a Territory Lord if one appears, but we can’t. Besides, if there really is a Territory Lord, why would he hide in the shadows and not show up? Why would he just keep sending these trash to their deaths?”
“Perhaps… they think we have laid some kind of ambush here? I think they are sending cannon fodder to probe us. There’s a saying that the older one grows, the more timid they become. These Territory Lords have suffered quite a bit at the hands of the Eighth-Order Masters recently, so they’ve become overcautious and indecisive.”
“What ambush could we have laid here!?” Dongfang Wen Bing’s head hurt as he listened to Yang Kai’s speculation. He then looked around, as if afraid that a Territory Lord would emerge out of thin air all of a sudden.
“We know that, but the Territory Lords don’t, so they are probing us.”
Dongfang Wen Bing grimly asked, “Brother Yang, are you serious?”
Yang Kai didn’t justify it with an answer and simply continued, “Whether it’s true or not, we’ll know after seeing the changes in the situation. It won’t be long.”
Dongfang Wen Bing couldn’t help but cluck his tongue, “Why is Senior Xiang’s advancement not progressing? The sooner he breaks through, the sooner we’ll be able to escape this abyss of suffering.”
As Dongfang Wen Bing mentioned, Xiang Shan’s advancement had not made much progress. Although his aura was circulating methodically and showing no signs of collapsing, there were no signs of progressing either. It was not as troublesome for a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master to reach the Eighth-Order as it was for a Sixth-Order Master to reach the Seventh-Order as advancing from the Sixth-Order to the Seventh-Order was a watershed moment. Under normal circumstances, this kind of advancement would take from a few months to a few years or even more than a decade. The time one would take would depend on various conditions.
This was also why Zhong Liang and the others were so shocked when Yang Kai broke through to the Seventh Order in a matter of days.
However, Yang Kai was an exception as his Small Universe had already fully materialised when he was in the Sixth Order, so he did not need to go through this transformation.
Advancing from the Seventh Order to the Eighth Order was only an increase in Order and not a transformation of the Small Universe. Although the increase in strength was enormous, it was not a fundamental change.
If everything went smoothly, Xiang Shan should have succeeded in a short time.
The time Xiang Shan had spent wasn’t long, but it wasn’t short either, and judging by the current situation, it seemed that he required even more time.
Perhaps this had something to do with the fact that his Order had once regressed. For an Open Heaven Realm Master, it would be even more difficult to progress once their Order had fallen once. However, at the end of the day, Xiang Shan had already walked this path once, so he had more experience than an ordinary Seventh-Order Master. As long as he could find an opportunity, everything should be simple.
Therefore, it was quite possible for Xiang Shan to advance to the Eighth Order in the next instant, but it was also possible that it could take him ten days, half a month, several months, or even half a year…
No one could say for sure.
While the two were recuperating and chatting, they also killed the scattered Black Ink Clansmen who had slipped through the outer perimeter. Meanwhile, on a Feudal Lord’s territory, not far from this place, two Territory Lords were observing the situation.
These two were Wu Jiang and Hong Hu. Like Mao Chi and Zhong Yan, who were responsible for intercepting the two Eighth-Order Division Commanders, they had immediately rushed over to oversee things here after receiving the news.
Although the distance between them wasn’t far, it was not close either. Even with their eyesight, the two Territory Lords couldn’t clearly see what was happening around the asteroid.
Be that as it may, the casualties and incompetence of the lower Black Ink Clansmen were not hidden from them, making them greatly dissatisfied with the Black Ink Clan’s performance.
“Those wastes! A few Human Squads actually managed to stop them, how useless,” Wu Jiang cursed angrily.
Hong Hu shook his head, “Those Squads seem to be the Humans’ Special Operations Squads. They’re much stronger than ordinary Squads.”
Wu Jiang coldly snorted, “So what if their Special Operations Squads!? There’s only so many of them. Even if they have to pay with their lives, our troops should be able to flatten them!”
Hong Hu sighed in response, “I’m afraid it won’t work. Even if we continue sending more and more people over, it won’t help, they’ll just be defeated one by one. They have a total of five Squads, and at any given time, two seem to be resting while the other three are defending. It’s impossible to break through their blockade without overwhelming strength.”
“What do you think we should do?”
Hong Hu pondered for a moment before suggesting, “Amass our power and crush them in one fell swoop!”
Wu Jiang impatiently asked, “There’s no need to go through so much trouble. If you and I fight, how can they be our opponents?”
“No!” Hong Hu quickly stopped him, “Have you forgotten what happened to Wu Ying and the others a few dozen years ago? Over 200,000 of our troops were ambushed by the Humans and defeated in one fell swoop, causing our Black Ink Clan to suffer a great loss in the next battle due to a lack of manpower. Before we are sure that the Humans have not set some elaborate trap here, it’s best if we don’t act rashly.”
Wu Jiang’s expression changed. He naturally remembered what happened to Wu Ying and the other Territory Lords back then. It might have happened a few decades ago, but to the Territory Lords who lived long lives, it was like it happened just yesterday. Although he was angry, he knew that Hong Hu’s worries weren’t unfounded. Xiang Shan was breaking through in this damned place and five elite Human Squads had just happened to be around to guard him. No matter how he looked at it, something was amiss.
Although they had yet to sense the auras of any Eighth-Order Masters, who could guarantee that those sinister and devious Humans were not lurking nearby?
The Human Race’s Spirit Arrays were extremely exquisite, and even a simple one could easily conceal one’s aura.
The reason why they had been waiting here was because, on one hand, they wanted to use their subordinates to attack and probe the situation, and on the other hand, they were also waiting for news from the front lines.
Once they confirmed that there was no trap here, they would definitely make a move.
Xiang Shan’s prestige was quite dreadful, but that was when he was in the Eighth Order. As for the current Xiang Shan, any random Territory Lord could easily deal with him. If they took down Xiang Shan, they would deal a heavy blow to the Human Race and also restore some of their lost prestige.
There was still no definite news from the front line, so it was likely that their companions were still assessing the situation. Wu Jiang and Hong Hu could not remain idle while waiting for the news, though, as they had their own matters to attend to.
After a brief discussion, the two Territory Lords gave orders to the attacking Black Ink Clansmen to retreat and urged the nearby Black Ink Clansmen to rush over to assist.
At the periphery of the asteroid where Xiang Shan was advancing, the Black Ink Clan suddenly retreated like a tide, leaving a mess in their wake.
Under Zhu Yu Ming’s leadership, the Wild Boar Squad relentlessly pursued them, like they were hell-bent on exterminating the entire Black Ink Clan. Fortunately, Chai Fang quickly stopped him, “Don’t chase after a cornered enemy. Our mission here is our priority.”
Zhu Yu Ming cursed a few times. Although he was still somewhat unwilling, he knew the gravity of the situation and quickly led his Squad back.
After a fierce battle, each Squad had consumed a great deal of energy, so they seized this rare idle time to recover.
“The Black Ink Clan has retreated,” Dongfang Wen Bing’s eyes lit up.
Yang Kai narrowed his eyes, focusing his gaze to observe before slowly shaking his head, “It’s just a temporary withdrawal.”
Although they couldn’t see clearly, it was obvious that the retreating Black Ink Clansmen hadn’t really left. Instead, they were gathering in the distance, seemingly waiting for something.
Things were not looking good. Apparently, his and Dongfang Wen Bing’s previous speculations had come true. There was indeed a Master behind these Black Ink Clansmen. If not, it would have been impossible to explain the current situation.
Dongfang Wen Bing also realized this and a solemn expression filled his face.
Yang Kai consoled, “The reinforcements from the forward base should be arriving soon, we just need to hold on for another three to five days.”
Dongfang Wen Bing added in a grim voice, “That may be the case, but judging from the Black Ink Clan’s movements, it’s obvious they’ve made some arrangements. I’m afraid the reinforcements from the forward base will be intercepted halfway.”
No one who cultivated to the Seventh Order could be a fool. Dongfang Wen Bing’s worries were not unfounded, and Yang Kai was also aware of this, but right now, they could only place their hopes on the reinforcements from the forward base or Xiang Shan’s quick promotion.
What the two of them didn’t know was that their worries had long since become reality. The two Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters surnamed Zhang and Sun, who had set out from the forward base, had already been intercepted by two Territory Lords midway and were still fighting fiercely with them.
Time slowly went by as every single member of the five elite Human Squads felt like the passage of each day was as lengthy as a year. The calm and silent void was filled with lingering murderous intent, keeping all of them on edge.
Just outside the nearby Feudal Lord’s territory, the number of Black Ink Clansmen continued to increase, rising from 10,000 to 20,000, then reaching 50,000…
Wu Jiang and Hong Hu stared at these tens of thousands of unappealing goods with great dissatisfaction.
Although they had urgently summoned the nearby Black Ink Clan forces to this place, the number of troops they could muster was still extremely small. This couldn’t be helped though as most of the Black Ink Clan forces had been transferred to the front lines to confront the forward base over the past few decades.
Currently, the Black Ink Clan forces remaining behind were extremely few in number. Furthermore, 80 to 90% of the Black Ink Clansmen they had gathered here were nothing more than cannon fodder. Many of them weren’t even Low-Rank Clansmen yet.
It was quite an awkward situation. It wasn’t that the two Territory Lords were incompetent, but rather that even a clever housewife couldn’t cook without rice. There weren’t any powerful forces nearby for them to deploy, so their hands were tied.
If the quality wasn’t good enough, then they could only make up for it with quantity. They didn’t hold out any hope that these Black Ink Clansmen would be able to accomplish anything, but they could still be used for attacking and probing.
Two days later, they barely managed to gather 80,000 troops, which seemed to be the upper limit. They couldn’t mobilize any more. Under the orders of the two Territory Lords, the 80,000-strong Army marched towards the asteroid.
From a distance, the Human Squads promptly discovered the approaching threat. The number of enemies was like a tidal wave, making their scalps tingle.
The Wild Boar Squad Leader, Zhu Yu Ming, let out a long roar, whereupon all the Human soldiers who were still recovering started moving.
Three Warships lined up in a straight line, their Spirit Arrays humming slightly. Immediately, various lights began to flicker and fluctuate on the hulls of the Warships.
Yang Kai and Dongfang Wen Bing remained motionless. Their two Squads were responsible for guarding Xiang Shan in this rotation, so they would not make any move unless the situation reached a critical point.
As the enemy Army drew closer and closer, the sight of 80,000 Black Ink Clan soldiers attacking them made the Humans feel like they were facing a tidal wave, giving them great psychological pressure.
At that moment, Zhu Yu Ming’s roar reverberated through the void, “Kill!”
With a loud bang, the three Warships shook violently as dazzling beams of light shot out from various weapon ports, bombarding the Black Ink Clan Army.
The Black Ink Clan Army was thrown into disarray as countless Black Ink Clansmen were reduced to dust by the beams of light. A few beams even cut right through the approaching Black Ink Clan Army.
Thousands of Black Ink Clansmen had fallen from just the opening salvo of attack.
Everyone was stunned at the sight of this, but they quickly understood. Although there were many Black Ink Clansmen attacking, they were not invincible. Most of them were weak cannon fodder; otherwise, so many of them would not have died just like that.
The soldiers in charge of controlling the Warship’s artifacts didn’t need to be told what to do. They once again channelled their World Force into their artifacts and launched another barrage of attacks, further increasing the casualties suffered by the Black Ink Clan.
After three rounds of bombardment, the Black Ink Clan Army was already upon them. Immediately, the Seventh-Order Masters leapt off their Warships, holding their own artifacts and circulating their World Force as they lined up and started attacking the oncoming enemies. The next instant, black blood and pieces of flesh flew here and there as the Black Ink Clansmen’s auras began to wane.
The vicinity of the three Warships was densely packed with Black Ink Clan forces. It was almost impossible to spot the figures of the three Warships and the Seventh-Order Masters protecting them; only the energy fluctuations constantly spreading into the void gave the assurance that they were still alive.
The entire picture looked like black ants swarming towards three candies fallen on the ground, wrapping them up entirely.
A large number of Black Ink Clansmen suddenly bypassed the three entangled Warships and rushed towards the asteroid.
Dawn and the Water Snakes had already made their preparations. The Warships immediately opened fire, unleashing all of their might as the Seventh-Order Masters circulated their World Force madly to unleash their strongest Divine Abilities towards the places where the most Black Ink Clansmen were gathered.
Yang Kai had pushed his Space Principles to the limit. All the Black Ink Clansmen who tried to approach the asteroid immediately felt as if they had fallen into a swamp. Their movements became sluggish, giving the two Squads a chance to kill them at a distance.
All thanks to his Space Principles, just two Squads were somehow able to stop the enemy’s thrust.
Most of the Black Ink Clansmen were nothing more than Serfs, so their strength wasn’t even worth mentioning. Any of the Humans present here could easily kill a large number of them, but there were simply too many of them. Xiang Shan could not be disturbed while he was breaking through, so if any Black Ink Clansman broke through the defensive line, no matter how weak they were, it could cause a huge disaster.
For the time being, the battle was still under control, but it was hard to say how long the Human Squads could keep things that way.
No one would be able to endure such a high-intensity battle forever.
One hour, two hours…
Half a day later, the five Squads had all consumed a great deal of energy, which was reflected most obviously in their greatly decreased rate of killing. Although Yang Kai was still able to hold on and use his Space Principles to delay the attacks of the Black Ink Clansmen, Dawn and the Water Snakes were unable to keep up.
There were more Black Ink Clansmen on the periphery of the asteroid, so it wouldn’t be long before even Yang Kai was unable to stop them all.
[It’s time!]
Thinking so, Yang Kai shouted, “Senior Brother Chai!”
Somewhere in the void in front of them, Chai Fang’s voice rang out from a Warship surrounded by countless Black Ink Clans, “Hahahaha, it’s really pleasant to hear. What’s wrong, Brother Yang, are you unable to hold on?”
Dongfang Wen Bing smiled and scolded, “Old Chai, hurry up! Don’t waste time!”
“Coming, coming!” Chai Fang replied. As soon as his voice fell, a seemingly solid halo suddenly erupted. This halo didn’t cause much damage, but it had an extremely strong repelling force. In an instant, countless Black Ink Clansmen surrounding the Old Turtle’s Warship were all pushed away.
The next moment, the vicinity of Old Turtle Squad’s Warship was all cleared up.
The Black Ink Clansmen who pushed away had not suffered any casualties and resumed their offence on the Old Turtle Squad once more after a brief pause, but why would the Old Turtle Squad take them seriously?
The giant Warship turned around and rushed towards the asteroid, smashing all of the Black Ink Clansmen who tried to stop it to pieces.
In the blink of an eye, the Old Turtle Squad’s Warship flew past Dawn and the Water Snakes and stopped near the asteroid.
Standing at the bow of the ship, the burly Chai Fang formed various hand seals with a solemn look on his face, his World Force surging madly.
All 50 members of the Old Turtle Squad were acting in concert with him. They took their respective positions and performed their respective tasks; their hand seals constantly changing.
“Eight Profound Gates, open!”
“Boundless Heavens, open!”
“Immovable as Mountains, Yin-Yang Perception, open!”
Along with Chai Fang’s shouts, the Old Turtle Squad’s Warship shone with a dazzling radiance. Every time it glowed, the halo of light assumed a tangible shape, not only enveloping the Warship, but the entire asteroid beneath it as well.
At the top of the Old Turtle’s Warship, the tortoise shell-like object suddenly ballooned, transforming into a massive barrier that surrounded the entire asteroid.
In the blink of an eye, the Old Turtle Squad created an impenetrable barrier around the asteroid.
Every Warship of Blue Sky Pass’ five Special Operations Squads possessed its own specialities. The Old Turtles’ Warship had the strongest defence, and not only could its defences cover itself, but it could even form a large defensive region by sacrificing its mobility.
Over the years, many Human Squads had managed to escape death with the protection of the Old Turtle Squad. Besides Dawn, the Old Turtle Squad was the most popular Squad in Blue Sky Pass because fighting alongside them provided an extra layer of safety and security.
At this moment, the Old Turtle Squad had displayed their full defensive capabilities. For this reason, the entire Warship had completely sacrificed its mobility and offensive abilities. In other words, the Old Turtle Squad was now nothing more than an immobile target!
Nonetheless, it was more than enough. The defensive state of the Old Turtle Squad was Yang Kai’s greatest reliance when it came to protecting Xiang Shan. Furthermore, the protection of the Old Turtle Squad was far stronger than the combined strength of Dawn and the Water Snakes.
From the beginning, Yang Kai and the others had planned for the Old Turtle Squad to only be responsible for defending, but Chai Fang refused. It was a rare opportunity to rack up some kills, so who would be willing to watch from the back? That was why they had been rotating to guard this place.
But now that the situation had developed to this point, Dawn and the Water Snakes could no longer guarantee Xiang Shan’s safety, so they had no choice but to rely on the turtle shell of the Old Turtle Squad.
They would let the Black Ink Clan take a bite at it, but even the best teeth would crack on this turtle shell.
On another side, seeing that the Old Turtle Squad put up their defences, Dawn and the Water Snakes’ Warships no longer had any worries and started a bloodbath. First, they exterminated the Black Ink Clan forces surrounding the asteroid, and then they rushed towards the void, leaving a bloody trail behind them.
In terms of defence, the Old Turtle Squad was second to none; even the other four elite Squads couldn’t come close. But in terms of killing, the Old Turtle Squad was undoubtedly the slowest.
Now that they had switched between defence and offence, Dawn and the Water Snakes did not have to worry about guarding Xiang Shan, so their killing speed increased dramatically.
Most of the 80,000 Black Ink Clan soldiers were cannon fodder, and more than half had already fallen in the battle. Now that Dawn and the Water Snakes had joined the battle, the Black Ink Clan was losing troops even more quickly.
In the distance, a gloomy expression appeared on the faces of Wu Jiang and Hong Hu.
Even though they knew that this ragtag bunch could do nothing to the Special Operations Squads of the Human Race, how quickly the situation developed still took them by surprise. The performance of these five Special Operations Squads was simply too amazing.
The two Territory Lords also secretly rejoiced. Fortunately, there were only five Special Operations Squads in Blue Sky Pass. If every Human Squad was so difficult to deal with, there would be no room for the ordinary Black Ink Clansmen to survive.
Although they hadn’t achieved their goal, the two Territory Lords were able to determine something from the current situation.
There really weren’t any Eighth-Order Masters lying in ambush here, or else they would not have sat still when things got serious. After all, there had been several times when the Humans’ situation had gotten quite dangerous. They might have resolved it in time, but that was mostly due to luck.
Although the two Territory Lords had made their own conclusion, they still patiently waited for news from the front lines. Only when they got confirmation would they act.
[It should be about time.]
As expected, after another half a day, just when the Black Ink Clan Army they had gathered was about to be completely wiped out, a Feudal Lord rushed to them and reported, “The Eighth-Order Humans stationed at the enemy forward base have all appeared, none of them is missing!”
Wu Jiang raised his brow, “Good!”
After decades of confrontation, it wasn’t as if the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters and Territory Lords hadn’t fought each other before. They might not have fought many times, but they were already well aware of each other’s ins and outs. The Eighth-Order Humans were divided into two groups. One group was stationed at their new forward base, occupying about 80% of their numbers, while the other group was still nowhere to be seen. The Black Ink Clan speculated that these remaining Eighth-Order Masters should be guarding Blue Sky Pass.
After all, the Humans attached great importance to Blue Sky Pass, so it was impossible for there to be no Masters guarding it.
Blue Sky Pass was situated too far from here, so as long as they could determine the location of the Eighth-Order Masters they knew to be stationed at the forward base, they could determine if there was any ambush here or not.
Now that it had been verified that the Eighth-Order Masters of the forward base were all fighting on the front lines, they no longer had any concerns.
Hong Hu was obviously more on the cautious side though and asked, “What about their Old Ancestor?”
The Feudal Lord reported, “I don’t know, but there’s no news from the Royal City. I guess that the Royal Lord and the Old Ancestor are still locked in a confrontation.”
Several decades ago, when the Humans began their crusade, the Old Ancestor left Blue Sky Pass and entered the heart of the Black Ink Clan territory. He didn’t do anything, he just stared down the Royal Lord, preventing him from doing anything rash.
The Black Ink Clan also had no idea where the Old Ancestor was hiding; the Royal Lord surely knew, but he never informed his subordinates. It was likely that he also knew that if the Territory Lords were to rashly participate in the battle of this level, they would only be courting death.
The attitude of the Old Ancestor was very clear. So long as the Royal Lord did not make a move, he would not be making a move. Everything was left to their subordinates. The Old Ancestor’s actions had undoubtedly provided a huge buffer for the forward base to strengthen their hold; otherwise, if the Royal Lord had taken action, the forward base wouldn’t have been able to survive.
“Let’s begin, I can’t wait any longer!” Wu Jiang impatiently urged.
The Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had already appeared at the forward base, and their Old Ancestor was held back by the Royal Lord. In light of this, there was only Xiang Shan and five Human Squads here, so there was nothing to hesitate about. In this situation, if the two Territory Lords couldn’t take care of Xiang Shan, they should simply commit suicide.
Although Hong Hu felt somewhat uneasy, he knew that there was no reason for them not to make a move now. After a moment of silence, he agreed with a nod, “Then let’s move.”
Wu Jiang’s figure flickered as he rushed towards the asteroid.
Hong Hu followed closely behind, intentionally or unintentionally distancing himself from Wu Jiang. It wasn’t that he was scheming anything, it was just his nature.
He knew that the reason why Wu Jiang was so anxious was because he had suffered a great loss at Xiang Shan’s hands three millennia ago. Wu Jiang nearly died at Xiang Shan’s hands in a battle 3,000 years prior, and although he ultimately managed to survive, it had taken him a long time to recover. Since then, Wu Jiang had been constantly thinking about taking Xiang Shan’s life to wash himself of this shame.
However, Xiang Shan’s Order fell and he disappeared from the Territory Lords’ sight after a few years.
Xiang Shan naturally participated whenever the two races fought, but when a battle of such a large scale was joined, the Territory Lords’ responsibility was to keep an eye on the Eighth-Order Masters. Who would be in the mood to search for a lone Seventh-Order Human on such a large battlefield?
If it weren’t for the news of Xiang Shan’s advancement, no one would have thought that the former Western Army Commander, who had made the Territory Lords all tremble in fear, would still be alive.
The hatred that had been brewing for three millennia, once it started boiling, instantly filled Wu Jiang’s mind. His momentum shot through the sky as he charged straight towards the asteroid from millions of kilometres away.
In the midst of this chaotic battle, Yang Kai suddenly felt a sense of crisis completely enveloping him. He promptly looked up and saw an enormous Black Ink Cloud shooting over from the distance. The aura of the Territory Lord inside the Black Ink Cloud was like a bright light in the night, making it extremely obvious.
“A Territory Lord is attacking!” Dongfang Wen Bing suddenly roared, realizing what was happening.
The main reason Wu Jiang was charging so aggressively and had no intention of hiding was probably because he wanted to sow chaos.
“Formation!” Zhu Yu Ming shouted. This time, he didn’t dare to recklessly charge forward. The gap between a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master and a Territory Lord was too great. Without a Formation’s support, no one here could defend against the might of the Territory Lord.
In an instant, the Open Heaven Realm Masters of the four Squads released their auras and connected with one another, instantly assuming a Formation!
Because there were many Secret Arts and Techniques in the Open Heaven Realm with no common origin, it was difficult to create a Formation without extensive practice and deep knowledge gained over a long period of time. Be that as it may, a hastily created Formation was still better than fighting alone.
Fortunately, there were also simple Formations that could largely ignore the effects of one’s origin and cultivation.
Almost every Open Heaven Realm Master on the Black Ink Battlefield was required to practice this kind of formation.
Ten Facets Formation!
The biggest feature of this Formation was that it was quite easy to set up and had a high degree of tolerance for error. To activate this Formation, one needed at least three members, while at most there could be ten. In other words, as long as there were three people, they could arrange this Formation, and so could four, five, six, up to ten.
Depending on the number of people participating, the Formation formed had different names.
Three people linked together to form the Three Fortunes Formation, four people formed a Four Symbols Formation, five people formed a Five Elements Formation… and finally, ten people formed a Ten Facets Formation.
Although it didn’t have the power of a profound Formation that was specially cultivated from youth using matching Secret Arts and Techniques, it was extremely suitable for a place like the Black Ink Battlefield. Many times, in the great battle, Warships would be destroyed and the Open Heaven Realm Masters who were stranded outside would find themselves without protection. In times like these, all it took was three of these Open Heaven Realm Masters to rally together and they could make a Formation, greatly increasing their chances of survival.
Before now, Yang Kai and the others didn’t have any intention of forming a Formation because none of their opponents were individually very strong, despite being vast in number. Their efficiency in fighting alone was much higher when in forming a Formation which concentrated their strength.
However, now that a Territory Lord was attacking, the difference in strength was too great and only by making a Formation could they protect themselves.
Dawn had six Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, so they quickly formed a Six Paths Formation, while the Wild Boar Squad, Breeze Squad, and Water Snake Squad, which had even more Seventh-Order Masters, formed Seven Stars Formation, Eight Desolations Formation, and even the Ten Facets Formation.
Territory Lord Wu Jiang arrived in an imposing manner. The first thing he encountered was the Ten Facets Formation formed by the ten Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters of the Water Snake Squad. The destructive energy radiating from the billowing Black Ink Clouds was enough to destroy all obstacles in its way.
“Scram!” Wu Jiang was completely focused on killing Xiang Shan and was in no mood to pay attention to others. He wanted to break through the blockade of the Human Squads right away, and as such, in the face of the incoming Water Snake Squad, he promptly channelled his power into his palm and ruthlessly smacked it down.
The moment the Water Snake Squad came in contact with Wu Jiang’s attack, the ten Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters of the Water Snake Squad jolted and their faces went pale as an overwhelming power swept over them. Two or three of the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters with the weakest foundation even spat out mouthfuls of blood and could see stars circling before their eyes.
Fortunately, everyone had taken a Purifying Black Ink Pill in advance; otherwise, they would have been easily invaded by Black Ink Strength as their Small Universes were in turmoil right now. Once they had been corrupted by Black Ink Strength, they would have been in big trouble.
But with this exchange, the Water Snake Squad immediately realized the huge gap between them and their opponent.
Not every Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master got to fight Territory Lords multiple times in a short span of 100 years like Yang Kai, who even had the unique experience of killing Territory Lords. In their long lengthy career of fighting on the Black Ink Battlefield, their opponents had basically been the Feudal Lords under the Territory Lords. Very few people had the chance and experience of fighting against the Territory Lords.
Their lack of experience had caused them to suffer quite a bit.
Fortunately, there were more than one Squad.
Right behind them were the Wild Boars, who were best at charging in and running amuck, and the agile Breeze Squad. More than a dozen Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters of the two Squads assumed two Battle Formations. When the Water Snake Squad was repelled, the others attacked Wu Jiang from the left and right with the leaders of both Squads taking point. All the Seventh-Order Masters gathered their entire strength and unleashed their strongest Divine Abilities. Immediately after, their fearsome energy left dazzling trails as they slashed towards Wu Jiang from either side like a giant pair of scissors.
Wu Jiang was enraged. The Black Ink Clouds started billowing as the might of the Territory Lord was fully displayed. The moment his Divine Ability erupted, the two Squads flanking from both sides momentarily paused before they were pushed away.
The next moment, Wu Jiang’s cold snort came from within the Black Ink Cloud, “Know your place!”
The moment he finished speaking, Dawn Squad flew straight towards the Black Ink Cloud with Yang Kai leading the way under the cover of the other two Squads. In the Six Paths Formation, Yang Kai held the Core position, and his aura was closely linked with Feng Ying’s and the others’. Owing to the Battle Formation, part of the strength of the rest of his Squad members was added to his.
The next moment, Yang Kai felt his strength break through its limits. He already had the Azure Dragon Spear in his hand, which he thrust straight towards the Black Ink Cloud.
Immediately after, a crisp sound of metal clashing rang out, accompanied by a muffled grunt. But before Yang Kai could make another attack, a large hand reached out from the Black Ink Cloud, smashing straight down at him.
Yang Kai’s pupils contracted as he urged Space Principles, teleporting the entire Six Paths Formation back by a great distance, causing the giant hand to hit nothing.
Right then, the Water Snake Squad, which was the first to be repelled, had recovered and made another charge. The Wild Boar Squad and Breeze Squad also attacked from the left and right. Noticing this, Yang Kai led Feng Ying and the others to press the attack. The long spear in his hand left shadows covering the entire sky, enveloping the Black Ink Cloud.
The universe trembled and the Void collapsed.
The Seventh-Order Masters from the four Special Operations Squads joined together in Battle Formation to fend off the Territory Lord, halting Wu Jiang’s aggressive charge.
The Squad Leaders were not surprised by this result.
After all, they were not ordinary Squads, but the elite Special Operations Squads of Blue Sky Pass. Each Squad had at least six Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, so with four such Squads cooperating, they had enough to gather more than 30 Seventh-Order Masters!
Such a force could easily stop an ordinary Territory Lord even without assuming any Battle Formation, let alone now when they had formed four.
Under the combined power of these Battle Formations, the strength each Squad could display surpassed that of the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. Although they still had not crossed the line of the Eighth-Order, they could be considered quasi-Eighth-Order Masters in terms of raw strength.
In other words, the power displayed by these four Special Operations Squad Formations was almost equivalent to four quasi-Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters attacking Wu Jiang.
If such strength couldn’t stop Wu Jiang, then they wouldn’t deserve to be called Special Operations Squads.
Be that as it may, Yang Kai and the others’ actions were accompanied by a great deal of risk, and the slightest mistake could lead to a tragic end. As such, all the members of the four Squads were on edge and didn’t dare to relax.
The four Warships could no longer take part in this battle. All the Seventh-Order Masters had gone out to meet the enemy, leaving only the Fifth and Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters behind. If they rashly interfered in a battle of this level, they would only be adding chaos to the battlefield and might even disrupt the rhythm of their Seventh-Order leaders.
What’s more, the Warships weren’t as agile, so if they really joined the battlefield, and if the Territory Lord was not able to do anything to Yang Kai and the others, he would surely target them in frustration.
As such, the four Warships immediately retreated from the battlefield. Fortunately, they had plenty of other things to do. Many of the Black Ink Clan troops had managed to slip through the net and were now desperately attacking the asteroid in an attempt to break the turtle shell of the Old Turtle Squad.
The Old Turtle’s defences were able to fend off their attacks for a time, but it wouldn’t last forever. The arrival of the four Warships had provided timely assistance. When the power of Secret Techniques and offensive Arrays poured out from the Warships, the Black Ink Clan’s cannon fodders were instantly wiped out.
On the other side, Wu Jiang furiously roared as he unleashed his Territory Lord strength to its utmost limit. Nonetheless, he was unable to break through the four Squads’ defences no matter how furious he was, which made him even angrier as he felt he had lost all face.
He had come to find trouble with Xiang Shan, so how could he be in the mood to waste time with these four Squads? But by the looks of it, if he failed to break through the four Squads’ blockade, he could forget about reaching Xiang Shan.
[Humans… are truly hateful. Their individual strength isn’t anything special, but together, they can still unleash much greater power. Fortunately, I didn’t come alone, there is still Hong Hu! As long as I keep these four Squads preoccupied here, Hong Hu will easily succeed.]
Although he felt somewhat regretful that he couldn’t personally deal with Xiang Shan, as things had come to this, he was left with no other choice.
In this fierce battle, Wu Jiang was facing the four Special Operations Squads’ Battle Formation all alone, but not only was he not at a disadvantage, he even appeared to have the upper hand, a testament to his great strength.
In fact, in Blue Sky Theatre, Wu Jiang’s strength was among the top five among all the Territory Lords. Even ordinary Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters might not be able to gain the upper hand in a one-on-one fight against him. His powerful strength had made him arrogant, which was why he had never forgotten the defeat he had tasted at Xiang Shan’s hands three millennia ago, and he had marked Xiang Shan as his lifelong enemy.
But what annoyed him the most was that Hong Hu had shown no signs of attacking even after so long.
[That cowardly trash!] Wu Jiang cursed in his heart. He knew that Hong Hu had always been skittish. Since he hadn’t taken action until now, he was obviously hiding in the shadows and observing.
[If I knew he would act like this, I would have let him fight these Humans instead!] Wu Jiang secretly regretted rushing out in the heat of the moment and not taking these Human Squads seriously, which ultimately put him in this awkward position.
After waiting for a while, Wu Jiang couldn’t bear it any longer and angrily roared, “Hong Hu, what are you waiting for!?”
Yang Kai and the others, who were attacking Wu Jiang, all went pale when they heard this. Their worst fears had come true; there was not just one Territory Lord here, but two!
[Where is he?] In the midst of the fierce battle, Yang Kai spread his Divine Sense to investigate, but it was to no avail. If a Territory Lord wanted to hide himself, it would indeed be difficult for Yang Kai to find him in this chaos.
Fortunately, he did not need to investigate for long. After Wu Jiang’s roar, a faint sigh came from somewhere and a figure soon appeared.
It was none other than Hong Hu Territory Lord, who had been hiding in the shadows.
Hong Hu felt a headache coming on! Among all the Territory Lords, he hated working with Wu Jiang the most because his companion’s recklessness would often lead him into trouble. Unfortunately, he didn’t have a choice this time, because he and Wu Jiang were the only ones nearby, so he had no choice but to move with him.
Originally, he had wanted to observe for a while longer, preferably until Wu Jiang had defeated the four Squads. He would check for other variables before deciding whether to show himself or not, but after Wu Jiang’s shout, no matter how he tried to hide, it would be meaningless. He had no other choice but to show himself.
He might have been feeling a little frustrated, but it didn’t affect the overall situation.
[Of the five elite Human Squads, one is responsible for guarding Xiang Shan while the other four are keeping Wu Jiang occupied. Even now, there are no Eighth-Order Masters in sight. I guess there really isn’t an ambush here.]
[Not to mention, the Eighth-Orders Humans of the forward base had already appeared there.]
Nonetheless, he was still curious as to why Xiang Shan would choose to advance in such a place. An old veteran who had lived for countless years could not have lost his sense of vigilance.
The place where Hong Hu appeared was not far away from the Breeze Warship. The sudden appearance of a Territory Lord startled the Humans aboard the swift Warship, and the members in charge of controlling it hurriedly activated the various Spirit Arrays to open some distance.
Be that as it may, it was too late already. Hong Hu took out a round hammer and swung it down on the Breeze Squad’s Warship.
The shadow of a giant hammer almost covered the entire Warship, and immediately after, it struck, instantly breaking through its various defences and smashing the hull to pieces. The attack’s massive force sent the Warship flying out tens of thousands of kilometres. It was unclear how many people aboard lost their lives!
Although the defences of the Breeze Squad’s Warship were stronger than those of an ordinary Warship, it was still the worst among the five Special Operations Squads. Their prime focus was speed, so it was naturally difficult for them to block a blow from a Territory Lord.
This sight completely shook up the Breeze Squad Leader, Wan Zhen Xin, and his eyes cracked wide open in dismay.
He did not care about the Warship one bit as it could be repaired with some Military Merits, but if any of the Warship’s crew was killed, that was a permanent loss.
Wan Zheng Xin’s heart bled at the very thought.
Be that as it may, he could do nothing regardless of how much he wanted to rescue them. The combined effort of four Special Operations Squads Battle Formations could barely stop Wu Jiang’s advance, so if even one retreated, the remaining three would be no match for the enemy. Once Wu Jiang broke through their blockade, the resulting casualties would be even worse.
There existed an order of priorities, and people had to make difficult choices when faced with a crisis. Wan Zheng Xin perfectly understood this point and his fury and worries turned into boundless rage. He mobilized his World Force madly, unleashing Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques at Wu Jiang recklessly.
At the same time, Yang Kai roared, “Feng Ying, Formation change!”
Under the Six Paths Formation, the six Seventh-Order members of Dawn had their auras and even thoughts linked, so as soon as Yang Kai yelled, Feng Ying understood what he was planning to do.
Without any hesitation, when Yang Kai teleported out, she promptly assumed the Core position. The other four simultaneously changed their positions as well. As such, the Six Paths Formation rapidly changed into a Five Elements Formation, where Yang Kai’s position was replaced by Feng Ying.
“Be careful!” Feng Ying’s voice rang in Yang Kai’s ears as he appeared next to Hong Hu out of nowhere. A Golden Crow cried out and a Great Sun rose from the spear’s tip as Yang Kai thrust his weapon out at Hong Hu.
Yang Kai could not ignore Hong Hu because, after sending Breeze Squad’s Warship flying, he would smash the hammer in his hand down on the Wild Boar Squad’s Warship next.
Although the defences of the Wild Boar Squad’s Warship were better than the Breeze Squad Warship’s, they were still limited. Against the strength Hong Hu had just displayed, the Wild Boar’s Warship would simply be unable to resist.
It was easy to imagine that if no one was there to intercept Hong Hu, the Wild Boar’s Warship would surely meet the same end as Breeze Squad’s, followed by Dawn, and then the Water Snakes.
Although Yang Kai couldn’t understand why Hong Hu didn’t directly disturb Xiang Shan’s breakthrough and instead attacked the Warships, he couldn’t just sit back and watch.
Due to various reasons, the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm members of the other Squads were unable to help, so Yang Kai had no choice but to step in. Furthermore, he had experience in fighting Territory Lords, and his strength was far greater than an ordinary Seventh-Order Master’s. He was also proficient in the Dao of Space, so even if he was not an opponent of the Territory Lord, he would not fall so quickly.
The other Seventh-Order Masters could not do this and only death awaited them if they tried. If an entire group came over, Wu Jiang would no longer be suppressed and would surely start a bloodbath.
Yang Kai’s sudden appearance took Hong Hu by surprise. In fact, he was just testing the waters when he attacked Breeze Squad’s Warship; after all, there had been no casualties on the Human Race’s side up until now. Things might not be looking good for the Humans at this moment; but in reality, everything was still in their control. If an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Master was lying in wait nearby, he or she may have decided to not provide help.
Attacking a Warship was the best way to test the waters. If an Eighth-Order Master was really hiding in the shadows, he or she would definitely try to stop him once casualties and deaths on the Human side became inevitable.
Much to his satisfaction, no Eighth-Order Masters stepped in, just a lone Seventh-Order Human.
Hong Hu didn’t take the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters seriously, even when the one attacking him displayed an extremely powerful Divine Ability.
Hong Hu casually swung the hammer in his hand, hitting the tip of the spear, and annihilating the Great Sun. The spear in Yang Kai’s hand almost flew out from the recoil and the violent force which was transmitted to him sent him tumbling far away in the blink of an eye.
After swatting away the annoying ant, Hong Hu gazed down at the asteroid. His gaze pierced through the thick protection surrounding the asteroid, whereupon he saw a familiar figure sitting cross-legged on the ground.
[Xiang Shan! It’s been ages since we last met, but unfortunately for you, this place will be your grave!]
Since he was certain that there was no ambush here, Hong Hu didn’t hesitate any longer. He raised his hammer high as the power of his Black Ink Strength surged around him to the point that it seemed solid. The next moment, he brought his hammer down hard under the furious gazes of Chai Fang and the others.
When the hammer fell, it was as if two Universe Worlds had collided. The surrounding million kilometres radius trembled as the violent blast of energy materialized into a shockwave that rapidly propagated. Even the Warships that were far away from the hammer’s point of impact instantly bobbed up and down like they were caught up in a storm.
*Kacha…*
With the hammer as the centre, an enormous crack appeared on the defensive barrier of the Old Turtle Squad’s Warship before it began spreading out like a spider web.
Hong Hu was a little surprised at this sight and commented, “It’s quite sturdy!”
Even with his fearsome Territory Lord strength, his full-powered blow was unable to break through this barrier. The defensive power of this strange Warship was surprisingly good.
Nonetheless, no matter how strong its defences were, it couldn’t withstand such fierce attacks for long. With just one strike, Hong Hu came to the conclusion that he only needed three strikes to completely break this barrier.
*Hong …*
With another blow, the cracks became wider. Even the Old Turtle Squad’s Warship flickered and cracking sounds came from its hull as it was unable to bear the attack.
“Hold fast! Channel all your power into the defences!” Chai Fang furiously roared as he ground his teeth. With him as the leader, the entire 50 members of the Old Turtle Squad pushed their strength madly.
Nonetheless, whether it was Chai Fang or his Squad members, they all knew that when the Territory Lord’s next attack landed, their shields would be broken. The gap in strength between the two sides was not something they could make up for with their efforts.
Hong Hu raised his hammer once more as a giant shadow appeared. Just when it was about to fall though, Hong Hu turned his head and looked back.
In the distant void, a Great Sun was slowly rising, followed by a Full Moon. Under the combined brilliance of this Sun and Moon, a strange power started surging.
This power was hard to describe and difficult to understand, seemingly containing various kinds of mysteries. Hong Hu had never felt this kind of power before, but a sense of unease gripped his heart once he did. This strange power actually posed a certain threat to him.
As the Sun and Moon intertwined with each other, this mysterious power became more and more sublime.
At first, it was still quite some distance away, but in the next instant, it was somehow right in front of him. Behind this swirl of light was the Seventh-Order Human he had sent flying not too long ago, wearing a stoic look on his face.
In the end, Hong Hu’s third strike never happened. He had always been cautious, so when facing this unknown threat, his choice was always to take care of it first!
Black Ink Strength rapidly surged as a large Black Ink Cloud emerged, enveloping Hong Hu and allowing him to disappear from everyone’s sight.
The Sun and Moon Divine Wheel struck the Black Ink Clouds, and in that instant, Space-Time Strength spread out into the surroundings. For that moment, everyone had the illusion that time was frozen and space had solidified.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye, but it felt like hundreds of thousands of years had passed.
A sigh escaped Yang Kai’s lips as a desolate look appeared on his face.
The Sun Moon Divine Wheel was the strongest move in his arsenal, but even it failed to do anything to the Territory Lord. It simply lacked the strength to kill its target while the latter was on guard.
On the Old Turtle Squad’s Warship, Chai Fang and the others were staring in Hong Hu’s direction with widened eyes, but when the solid Black Ink Cloud dispersed, they didn’t see the scene they were expecting.
Much to their surprise, there was an enormous black shell inside the Black Ink Cloud, like a cocoon that had been enlarged countless times.
The cocoon was congealed from extremely dense Black Ink Strength. Suddenly, cracks began to appear on its surface one after another before it shattered into pieces, revealing Hong Hu’s figure.
He glanced at Yang Kai and exclaimed, “Such an extraordinary move!”
In fact, if he hadn’t promptly circulated his strength to condense the black cocoon, encasing himself and devoting his full attention to his defence, he would have been seriously injured by the last attack.
A mere Seventh-Order Human actually had the ability to injure him. If this was a moment ago, he would never have believed it possible, but having experienced it personally, he could not deny it.
Fortunately for him, he had responded in a timely and appropriate fashion. Although he had consumed a lot of energy, he was not injured.
[This Seventh-Order Human is probably another elite not inferior to Xiang Shan!] Hong Hu’s spirits were immediately lifted. Not only could he kill Xiang Shan today, but he could also destroy another promising seedling of the Human Race.
While he was in a great mood, Yang Kai’s heart sank into the abyss.
Even his strongest attack failed to do anything to Hong Hu; so right now, apart from defending the Old Turtle Squad with his life, he could do nothing else.
The reinforcements from the forward base were nowhere in sight, most likely intercepted by the Black Ink Clan.
Furthermore, in the absence of his powerful combat strength, things were not looking good for Feng Ying and the other Seventh-Order Masters. When Yang Kai was there, the four Squads in Battle Formations were able to put up a good fight against Wu Jiang. Even if they were at a disadvantage, they would not have been defeated in short order.
But as soon as he left, although the Masters from the four Squads were still in Formation, Dawn’s overall strength had decreased sharply, increasing Wu Jiang’s advantage. By the looks of it, the four Formations would be defeated by Wu Jiang in less than an hour, at which point they would suffer heavy casualties.
Yang Kai couldn’t see any hope. Although he still had a trump card he had yet to use, it was hard to say how effective it would be.
Nonetheless, he couldn’t back down even in this situation.
Raising his hand, Yang Kai summoned the Azure Dragon Spear as he threw a Spirit Pill into his mouth. Yang Kai pointed his weapon towards Hong Hu and mobilized his Space Principles, instantly disappearing from sight.
The next time he appeared, he was standing right before Hong Hu, the Azure Dragon Spear rapidly expanding in Hong Hu’s eyes.
“Impudence!” Hong Hu coldly snorted as he brought his hammer down to meet the Azure Dragon Spear.
Yang Kai staggered from the impact, but before he could even regain his footing, a mass of Black Ink Strength flew towards his face, enveloping his head and disturbing his five senses. It became impossible for him to see or hear anything, even his Divine Sense was greatly suppressed.
He instinctively blocked an incoming attack with his spear, but he was sent flying as a result of his hasty defence, his chest caved in and several of his ribs broke.
Hong Hu exclaimed in surprise. He hadn’t held back in his last attack. Under normal circumstances, a Seventh-Order Human would have not been able to block such a blow and would have lost his life on the spot, but much to his surprise, the Human before his eyes survived, albeit with heavy injuries.
[As expected of an elite seedling, such a person cannot be allowed to grow!]
Hong Hu became even more determined to kill Yang Kai. Nonetheless, he didn’t immediately chase after him, he wanted to finish off Xiang Shan first.
In comparison, he was more wary of Xiang Shan.
The hammer in his hand fell once more and the already cracked barrier finally couldn’t bear the brunt and shattered into pieces. Even the Old Turtle Squad’s Warship suffered great damage. Many of the members who had been linked to the Warship to provide it with power spurted a mouthful of blood as their auras weakened.
With the protective barrier broken, there was nothing stopping Hong Hu, who now coldly stared at Xiang Shan before he raised his hammer high and swung it down hard.
Chai Fang and the others helplessly stared at the oncoming attack in horror. At this moment, none of them had the strength to stop this blow. Not only would Xiang Shan die, but even the asteroid below would probably be blown to pieces.
This did not escape the eyes of the Masters near Wu Jiang. All of them wanted to help, but they were unable to interfere! Before, they were the ones who had been pestering Wu Jiang, but now Wu Jiang was the one who was tying them down.
Just as despair filled everyone’s face, a beam of light came shooting out from below.
This attack was extremely sudden and came without any warning. Hong Hu only noticed it when it was practically on top of him, causing him to jump in fright and hastily defend himself.
Even a Territory Lord like him was forced back by this blow.
Looking down, he noticed that Xiang Shan, who had been sitting cross-legged on the asteroid, happened to have opened his eyes at some point and was staring at him with a smile.
Hong Hu was terrified!
[This is a trap, this is definitely a trap!]
Although Hong Hu didn’t notice any traces of any Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, when he met Xiang Shan’s mocking gaze, he knew that his worries had come true!
The Human Race had once again set up a sinister trap here to lure him and Wu Jiang out. It was laughable that even with all his caution, he had failed to see through this.
Although he might not have an idea of what the Human Race’s goal was or where the trap was, Hong Hu was a decisive person. After realizing that things were not good, he immediately tried to escape.
But it was already too late.
Before Hong Hu could make any move, Xiang Shan was already flying towards him like a bolt of lightning. When Xiang Shan moved, it appeared as if he had summoned something, and while he was charging, his aura steadily rose. In just three breaths of time, his cultivation had risen from the Seventh Order to the Eighth.
As the two clashed in the void, their Black Ink Strength and World Force clashed to form a violent storm.
On the Old Turtle Squad’s broken Warship, Squad Leader Chai Fang and his Squad members were all dumbfounded. It never occurred to them that something like this would happen at this desperate moment and came as a pleasant surprise to them.
After giving it another thought though, Chai Fang came to realize that the reason Xiang Shan was able to advance to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm at just the right moment could not be a coincidence; rather, it had to be intentional.
In other words, Senior Xiang Shan had always been able to break through at any moment, but he had been holding his advancement back for some purpose.
Naturally, it was impossible for an ordinary Seventh-Order Master to break through to the Eighth-Order like this, but it was different for Xiang Shan. He was originally an Eighth-Order Master, and the reason his Order had dropped was only because he had cut off too much of his Small Universe in the past. He had the base of an Eighth-Order Master from the start, and after painstakingly cultivating for three millennia, he had already regained and strengthened his incomplete foundation. After three millennia, as far as he was concerned, it was just a matter of course to return to Eight-Order so long as the opportunity appeared.
Chai Fang even suspected that Xiang Shan had advanced to the Eighth Order already, but for some reason, had been acting like he was in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. As for what this reason was, he was temporarily unable to guess.
“Squad Leader, is that… a Purifying Black Ink Battleship?” A pale-faced Squad member suddenly asked.
The Old Turtle Squad’s defensive barrier had been destroyed by Hong Hu’s three hammer strikes, and the entire Squad had suffered varying degrees of injuries while even their Warship had been damaged. Nonetheless, when compared to having been killed by Hong Hu, this result was still acceptable.
After hearing this Squad member’s question, Chai Fang turned his gaze towards the asteroid and indeed, he saw a Warship there. This Warship was far more magnificent than an ordinary Squad Rank Warships or even a Battalion Rank Warship.
In the entire Blue Sky Pass, a Warship of this scale could only be a Purifying Black Ink Battleship.
[Why is a Purifying Black Ink Battleship here?]
He vaguely remembered that when Xiang Shan moved just now, he seemed to have summoned something and tossed it out. Apparently, what he had summoned was this Purifying Black Ink Battleship.
Although the Warship was large, a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master could still easily store it in his or her Small Universe.
In a flash, Chai Fang understood the various arrangements of the higher-ups and was shocked at the revelation!
At a certain moment before Xiang Shan summoned the Purifying Black Ink Battleship, seven or eight Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, led by Ding Yao, had gathered together in Blue Sky Pass. Their hands were rapidly forming different seals one after another, but strangely, no matter what seals these Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters made, nothing happened.
Furthermore, it had already been two days since they had begun doing this.
Even an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master would find it quite tiring to repeat such a boring task for a long time.
Lu An couldn’t help but grumble, “Has Senior Brother Xiang not made his move yet?”
An Eighth-Order Master asked with a smile, “Brother Lu, are you getting frustrated from all the waiting?”
Lu An corrected, “I’m just worried that those brats won’t be able to hold on. I don’t know how many Territory Lords Senior Brother Xiang managed to lure out, but if the number is too large, it might lead to casualties.”
The Eighth-Order Master stated, “Senior Brother Xiang is a meticulous person. Since he hasn’t made a move yet, it means that the situation is still under control. We should keep waiting until Senior Brother Xiang has made his move, in any case…”
Before the Eighth-Order Master could finish his sentence, the light of the Universe Array appeared beneath his feet after he finished a set of hand seals.
Ding Yao raised his brow and shouted, “It’s time!”
Everyone held their breaths and focused as the speed at which they formed hand seals sharply increased. In an instant, the light Universe Arrays appeared beneath their respective feet.
After a few breaths, the light faded as the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters gathered here vanished.
The next moment, all the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters stepped out of the Purifying Black Ink Battleship on an asteroid billion of kilometers away, with Ding Yao in the lead.
After looking around, Ding Yao immediately understood the situation and shouted, “Act according to the plan!”
As soon as he relayed the order, five Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters flew towards Xiang Shan while the remaining three rushed towards Wu Jiang.
At this moment, Hong Hu’s face was filled with indignation. Ever since he had received the message from the Territory Lords on the front lines, asking him and Wu Jiang to come here to kill Xiang Shan, he had suspected that this was a scheme set up by the Humans.
What kind of character was Xiang Shan? If he really wanted to advance to the Eighth Order, how could he not have anyone guarding him? Why would he choose this damned place to advance?
After multiple probes, and a sacrifice of close to 100,000 Black Ink Clansmen, as well as a careful investigation of the surrounding region, when they found nothing suspicious, nor any ambush, Hong Hu’s fear of Xiang Shan breaking through forced him to take action.
But just as he was about to deal with Xiang Shan, something unexpected happened.
Xiang Shan actually returned to the Eighth Order in an extremely short time, making it impossible for Hong Hu to easily kill him.
This sudden turn of events made Hong Hu realize that this was definitely a trap! The only thing he failed to understand was what Xiang Shan could do to him even if he had returned to the Eighth Order.
Had it been three millennia ago, when Xiang Shan was at his peak, Hong Hu would definitely not have been his opponent. If he had been down on his luck, he might have even been killed by Xiang Shan.
However, things were different now. Xiang Shan had just returned to the Eighth Order, and after exchanging a few blows with him, Hong Hu discovered that the former’s current strength was only on par with his, perhaps even slightly inferior.
In his current state, he couldn’t kill Xiang Shan, nor could Xiang Shan kill him, so what was the purpose of this trap?
Just as he was feeling puzzled, powerful auras suddenly emerged from the nearby asteroid out of nowhere.
Naturally, they were the auras of Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters! Eight of them!
The moment he noticed these auras, Hong Hu noticed five figures rushing in his direction from the asteroid from the corner of his eye.
Hong Hu was filled with grief and unwillingness. No matter how he racked his brain, he couldn’t figure out where these Eighth-Order Masters popped out from and why he failed to notice them until now.
He couldn’t figure it out, but he knew that if he didn’t escape now, he would never be able to. Xiang Shan alone might not be able to do anything to him, but if five more Eighth-Order Humans were added to the mix, it would be another matter. He was no match for those kinds of odds.
But how could Xiang Shan allow him to escape? Immediately, all kinds of Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques were shot out, but they were not intended to injure the enemy, but rather just to obstruct Hong Hu’s escape. This was why Xiang Shan had specially summoned a net-like artifact. This artifact instantly fell over Hong Hu’s head and transformed into an invisible binding force, preventing him from escaping.
Although Hong Hu had quickly destroyed this artifact, the five Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had already arrived.
“Ding Yao!” Hong Hu was shocked at the sight of the person leading the team.
Naturally, he was well aware of the Army Commander of Blue Sky Pass’ Eastern Army. Not just Ding Yao, all Army Commanders were the strongest of the Eighth-Order Humans. Every Territory Lord knew them well.
[But… shouldn’t Ding Yao be guarding Blue Sky Pass? What’s he doing here? Also, the other Eighth-Order Masters here have never appeared at the forward base before. They should all be guarding Blue Sky Pass!]
While he was reeling from shock, the five Eighth-Order Masters stood in a pentagonal position around him under Ding Yao’s lead. Each of them stood tens of thousands of metres apart, but their auras were closely linked together, forming a Battle Formation.
Five Elements Formation!
Different from the Five Elements Formation formed by the five Seventh-Order Masters of Dawn, this one was powered by five Eighth-Order Masters.
The World Force of the connected Eighth-Order Masters instantly filled the entire void, turning it into a quagmire that could swallow all things.
Trapped in this Battle Formation, Hong Hu’s strength was instantly suppressed by 30%. He felt as if every inch of his body had grown heavier, as if a mountain was pressing down on him.
He wanted to escape, but no matter how he moved, Ding Yao and the others followed him like shadows, maintaining a distance of a few tens of thousands of meters between them and trapping him between them.
Hong Hu’s face was filled with despair!
By the time the Five Elements Formation was complete, Xiang Shan had already withdrawn as there was no need for him here.
He didn’t remain idle though and headed straight towards Wu Jiang.
Just a moment ago, the three Eighth-Order Masters led by Lu An had arrived at Wu Jiang and the four Special Operations Squads’ location.
In fact, when the auras of these Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters appeared, not only did Hong Hu and Wu Jiang sense them, but their appearance was also noticed by the Seventh-Order Masters of the four Squads.
Similar to Hong Hu, Wu Jiang immediately realized that things were not looking good for them and he tried to shake off these Squads to escape. He was no match for so many Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. As for whether Hong Hu could escape or not, he couldn’t care less about it at this point.
However, the four Special Operations Squads knew that their reinforcements had arrived, so how could they let the enemy escape so easily?
A single Squad couldn’t stop Wu Jiang, and even if all four of them joined forces, it would still be difficult, but at least they were able to delay him.
“Brats, move aside!” A shout came before three Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters with Lu An in the lead arrived and took over the fight with Wu Jiang.
The four Special Operations Squads all felt relieved and quickly retreated.
With three against one, Wu Jiang instantly fell into a disadvantageous position, but this was not the end of his misery as Xiang Shan also arrived shortly after.
Wu Jiang furiously roared and struggled for his life, causing Black Ink Clouds to billow around him, but against four enemies of equal strength, his defeat was only a matter of time.
When Yang Kai hurriedly returned from the distance, what he saw next left him dumbfounded.
Hong Hu’s hammer strike caused his vitality and World Force to be thrown into turmoil and sent him flying tens of thousands of kilometers away. Even with his powerful Dragon Vein, he was seriously injured.
After stabilizing himself, he immediately rushed back, but he had never expected to see the scene before him.
Led by Ding Yao, five Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had formed a strange Formation around Hong Hu, trapping him. No matter how Hong Hu struggled, he was unable to break free. Ding Yao and the others were sticking to him like maggots on rotting bones, constantly maintaining a certain distance from him.
On the other side, Wu Jiang was also being besieged by four Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. The battle here was far more intense than Hong Hu’s, causing space to split apart and the void to tremble.
Yang Kai even saw Xiang Shan in the mix, but at this moment, he was already an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
Less than 10 breaths had passed since Yang Kai was sent flying and his return, but the situation had changed drastically. Fortunately, this change was extremely beneficial to Yang Kai’s side, allowing him to finally let his racing heart rest.
Turning his head to look, he instantly teleported to the Old Turtle Squad’s Warship and stood next to Chai Fang.
The Old Turtle Squad’s Warship was in a very bad state. The entire Warship was in tatters with practically all of its Spirit Arrays having exploded. Even the great turtle shell artifact on top of the Warship was covered in deep cracks. After returning, the Warship would have to undergo an extensive repair before it could return to the battlefield.
Also, Chai Fang and the others’ auras were somewhat weak; obviously, they had suffered varying degrees of injuries.
“Is this the arrangement of the Seniors?” Yang Kai asked with a frown.
Although he didn’t know why things had suddenly changed so drastically, Yang Kai had some guesses judging by the current situation.
“That should be the case,” Chai Fang nodded and resentfully complained, “But they kept us in the dark.”
“How did they get here?” Yang Kai asked again.
Chai Fang silently pointed down.
Yang Kai gazed down and instantly understood, seeing the Purifying Black Ink Battleship left on the asteroid.
[They thought to use a Purifying Black Ink Battleship like this? The way the Eighth-Order Commanders think is truly unrestrained and creative.]
Although he didn’t know who came up with this idea, it was pretty obvious that this Purifying Black Ink Battleship had been stored in Xiang Shan’s Small Universe. At the critical moment, when they were finally summoned, Ding Yao and the others who had been back in Blue Sky Pass were able to use the Purifying Black Ink Battleship’s Universe Array to instantly arrive here to assist.
Although this place was far from Blue Sky Pass, Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were strong enough to withstand the pressures of transferring across such distance through the Void.
It would not have worked if Seventh-Order Masters tried to teleport here from Blue Sky Pass as they would have been crushed during the transit.
Of the two battlefields, one was five on one, while the other was four against one. Regardless of which one it was, the Humans had the absolute advantage. It was quite obvious that Hong Hu and Wu Jiang Territory Lord would not survive this encounter.
But when Yang Kai saw how Ding Yao and the others were moving, it didn’t seem like they were trying to kill Hong Hu. On the other hand, Lu An and the others attacking Wu Jiang were using all kinds of lethal moves, overwhelming Wu Jiang and reducing him to a sorry state.
Judging by the Battle Formation used by Ding Yao and the others and their behaviour, it seemed apparent they wanted to capture Hong Hu alive.
Seeing this, Yang Kai immediately recalled the Feudal Lord imprisoned in the basement of the forward base as Grandmaster Ma Fan’s image involuntarily flashed in his mind.
He immediately understood what was going on.
Capturing a Feudal Lord alive was not difficult as any Eighth-Order Master could do so; however, Yang Kai had never heard of a Territory Lord being captured alive. After all, only an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master could fight against a Territory Lord.
Just because there was no precedent didn’t mean the Human Race couldn’t do it, but Blue Sky Pass didn’t meet the conditions in the past to accomplish this. A Territory Lord’s Black Ink Strength was extremely rich and powerful, so even an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master would be at a risk of being corroded by it. Also, what would the point of capturing a Territory Lord alive be? It would be a waste of time and effort only to produce a prisoner that would have to constantly be guarded by powerful Masters.
Relatively speaking, defeating a Territory Lord in battle was easy, killing them was hard, and capturing them alive was all but impossible.
Nonetheless, the current situation was different. The Human Race already had a way to deal with the corruption of Black Ink Strength. On top of that, the research on the Evil Purging Divine Spear had made great strides with Grandmaster Ma Fan’s efforts. Obviously, experimenting on Feudal Lords was no longer able to satisfy Grandmaster Ma Fan’s needs; he needed a Territory Lord to perform more comprehensive experiments to improve the Evil Purging Divine Spear further.
Having been encircled by Ding Yao and the others, Hong Hu seemed to be the target of this operation. As for Wu Jiang, he could only be killed. Territory Lords were tenacious, so one was more than enough to experiment on; there was no need to bring two back.
The members of the Special Operations Squads returned one after another, even their respective Warships flew over. The Breeze Squad even brought back their heavily damaged Warships.
The Breeze Squad’s Warship had been sent flying by Hong Hu and suffered extensive damage not long ago. It was unclear how many were dead and how many were injured, so Breeze’s Squad Leader Wan Zheng Xin was extremely worried. However, at that time, he was still preoccupied with Wu Jiang and had no time to check up on his Squad members.
Until now.
After a quick count, the Breeze Squad had suffered fatalities while all the others had been injured, with more than ten having suffered serious wounds. Even the Warship was severely damaged and in a much worse state than the Old Turtle’s Warship.
Although three of his Squad members had fallen and a dozen or so were heavily injured, it was still an acceptable result. They were already extremely fortunate that they had only suffered such a small loss after taking the full powered sneak attack of a Territory Lord; any ordinary Squad would have been completely wiped out from such a blow.
No one tried to comfort him, as on the Black Ink Battlefield, who hadn’t experienced a few life and death battles? Those who had died had returned to dust, and those who had survived continued moving forward. Everyone had only two choices, either they sacrifice their life to the Black Ink Battlefield, or win this war that had lasted for countless millennia and return home in glory.
Everyone was silently adjusting their breathing as they observed the battle between the two groups of great experts.
Wu Jiang’s situation became worse and worse; his entire body was covered in wounds as black blood covered his body. He was unable to escape and was powerless to resist the siege of the four Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, so only death awaited him.
On the other side, the range where Hong Hu could move was further suppressed. Ding Yao and the others were originally tens of thousands of meters away from him, but now they were only a few thousand meters away. It was obvious that once the distance between them shrank to a certain extent, he would lose all ability to resist.
Hong Hu obviously knew this as well and had been desperately struggling, but it was clear he was on his last leg.
There weren’t many opportunities to witness a battle between Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters and Territory Lords without any other worries, so all the members of the various elite Squads were watching intently, hoping to gain some insights.
An hour later, a blade of light cut into Wu Jiang’s body as a roar of unwillingness escaped his lips and his eyes bulged in fury. A small crack soon appeared on his forehead as Xiang Shan’s figure brushed past him before his body split in twain.
An invisible wave of aura silently spread out into the depths of the void from the fall of a Territory Lord.
Lu An, Xiang Shan, and the other Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters all let out a sigh of relief. Fighting a Territory Lord who knew he was going to die was really exhausting. After Wu Jiang realized that he had no hope of escaping alive today, he had desperately lashed out in an attempt to drag at least one of them down with him, and it wasn’t like he didn’t have a chance to succeed. Any negligence on the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters’ part during the battle would give him that very chance.
Fortunately, the four Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were all extremely cautious and didn’t give Wu Jiang any chance to take one of them down with him. As such, the price they paid was marginal.
The moment Wu Jiang died, Mao Chi and Zhong Yan, who were fighting with the two Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, surnamed Zhang and Sun in the depths of the void far away from this place, felt something and exchanged a look of surprise.
They couldn’t understand how Wu Jiang had perished.
[Hong Hu and Wu Jiang should be together. Wu Jiang had fallen, so where is Hong Hu? Those two went to kill Xiang Shan, so did they fail? Did the Humans ambush them?]
Mao Chi and Zhong Yan had no idea what was happening on the other side, but their task was only to tie down these two Eighth-Order Division Commanders and prevent them from assisting Xiang Shan.
Now that Wu Jiang had fallen and Hong Hu’s situation remained unclear, there was no need for them to continue fighting with these two Eighth-Order Humans.
Without any need for discussion, the two Territory Lords made a feint before breaking away from the Eighth-Order Humans. They then promptly summoned Black Ink Clouds and quickly disappeared.
The two Eighth-Order Masters surnamed Zhang and Sun didn’t have any intention of giving chase. Although they had the upper hand in this battle, it was impossible for them to kill their opponents. Even without a full force deployment, it was easy to determine victory or defeat when both sides’ numbers were equal, but it was difficult to kill their foes.
The Eighth-Order Master surnamed Zhang turned his head in a certain direction and thoughtfully made a guess, “They should have succeeded.”
The Eighth-Order Master surnamed Sun nodded in agreement, “The shockwave from the death of a Territory Lord was very weak, almost undetectable, but it was definitely there.”
“Let’s head back.”
The two of them had originally been bait and had not intended to assist Xiang Shan from the start. They had simply come out from the forward base to draw the attention of the Territory Lords; otherwise, it would really be unreasonable for the forward base to show no response at all when Xiang Shan was breaking through.
Now that Xiang Shan’s side had succeeded and the Territory Lords fighting them had also escaped, there was no need for them to remain any longer. A battle should still be raging at the frontlines, so if they rushed back now, they might be able to end things there.
The two left dazzling streaks of light as they flew towards the forward base.
Elsewhere, in the Royal City, the dormant Royal Lord’s aura suddenly awakened as a majestic Will spread into the void for millions of kilometers in the blink of an eye with the Royal City as its center.
But the next moment, another majestic Will spread out from a certain place in the void. This invisible Will transformed into a tangible force as it ruthlessly clashed with the previous Will.
The violent burst of energy only lasted for a moment before everything returned to calm. Only a certain part of the void suddenly became fragmented and chaotic. It was the spot where the two Wills clashed.
“Sooner or later, I will exterminate your Human Race!” The Will of the Royal Lord in the Royal City flared with thick malicious intent.
The Old Ancestor remained in a lotus position in the void and indifferently responded, “Try it!”
The Royal Lord’s Will no longer responded and slowly fell dormant while the Old Ancestor also closed his eyes and his Will was withdrawn.