“How far away was the East-West Army from Great Evolution Pass when you departed?”
“More than a month’s journey, but less than two months.”
Yang Kai had used over 20 days to complete a journey that would have taken an ordinary person nearly two months to complete. Even if he borrowed the power of the Universe Array on the Purifying Black Ink Battleship, that was an astounding speed. Nevertheless, considering he was a Master of the Dao of Space, this result was within the acceptable range.
Mi Jing Lun quickly made some calculations before saying out loud, “In other words, if the East-West Army charges straight for Great Evolution Pass, then they are currently less than 20 days away from contact. But, I believe the East-West Army has changed direction already. They are planning to attack the Black Ink Clan’s domain after all. It should be almost time. In approximately half a month, the East-West Army will launch an attack on the Black Ink Clan territory. At that time, their whereabouts will be exposed. But, before that, they will release the thousands of puppets as bait to distract the Black Ink Clan garrisoned at Great Evolution Pass!”
“Once it becomes known that the East-West Army appeared in the Black Ink Clan’s territory though, the Black Ink Clan at Great Evolution Pass will surely take action.” Mi Jing Lun seemed to be talking to himself, but he also seemed to be explaining the situation to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters around him, “What the North-South Army needs to do right now is find a suitable position to set an ambush. When the Black Ink Clan at Great Evolution Pass show themselves, we will greet them with a painful assault!”
With a snap of his fan, he made up his mind. He raised his head and looked at Yang Kai, “Do you have any other orders aside from delivering this message?”
Yang Kai shook his head, “The Army Commander only asked me to inform the North-South Army of the change in plans. He did not give me any other orders.”
“Good. In that case, please cooperate with the North-South Army for the time being.”
“Yes!” Yang Kai cupped his fist.
“Did you bring the communication device with you?”
Yang Kai nodded and took out a communication bead, “The Army Commander gave this to me before I left.”
Mi Jing Lun nodded, “There’s no need to trouble another when one alone is enough for a task. Since you are proficient in the Dao of Space, I would like to ask you for a favour.”
“Please give me your orders, Sir.”
“Head towards Great Evolution Pass and use this communication device to search for Army Commander Ou Yang Lie and inform him about the situation here. He has been monitoring the movements around Great Evolution Pass for some time. Ask him whether the Royal Lord has arrived at Great Evolution Pass and whether the Black Ink Clan are showing signs of building up their defences. After getting the answers, deliver the information back here as quickly as possible. Also, ask him to remain in place to monitor the movements of the Black Ink Clan. If the Royal Lord leaves Great Evolution Pass, he should inform us as soon as possible.”
“Understood.”
“Proceed with caution. The Black Ink Clan at Great Evolution Pass have dispatched many of their troops as scouts to try to locate the North-South Army. Do your best not to be discovered.”
Yang Kai nodded again.
“Go!” Mi Jing Lun gestured for Yang Kai to leave.
Yang Kai left with his orders.
After Yang Kai left, Mi Jing Lun addressed the Division Commanders, “What we need to do now is find a suitable position. This position cannot be located too far from Great Evolution Pass. If we are too far away, we will not have enough time to stop the Black Ink Clan once they dispatch their troops. But, we cannot be too close either. If we are too close, we run the risk of being discovered by them. Our best choice is a place located approximately a three-to-five-day journey away. Do you have any good suggestions?”
One of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters replied, “We are not familiar with the topography near Great Evolution Pass. In order to choose a suitable location, we will need to investigate carefully. Furthermore, it’s not easy to conceal our fleet. Why don’t we have our troops stow away all the Warships? That will make it easier for us to remain hidden. Moreover, it won’t be too late to summon them when the battle commences.”
Mi Jing Lun nodded lightly, “That works; however, the Purifying Black Ink Battleship has to remain, lest Brother Ou Yang have no means to contact us.”
Following a brief discussion, numerous orders were relayed throughout the fleet and it didn’t take long for almost all the Warships to be put away, leaving only the Purifying Black Ink Battleship behind.
Without the constraints of the Warships, it was easier and more effective for the soldiers of the North-South Army to rely on their various Secret Techniques and artifacts to conceal their presence.
Afterwards, numerous Squads were subsequently dispatched to search for a suitable ambush location.
On the other hand, Yang Kai left the Purifying Black Ink Battleship and sped towards Great Evolution Pass.
If he could manipulate Space Principles, this trip would not have taken him much time to complete; however, Mi Jing Lun had asked him to remain hidden as much as possible. The Black Ink Clan at Great Evolution Pass had dispatched many troops to search for the North-South Army’s location, so if he travelled by Instantaneous Movement and accidentally appeared too close to the Black Ink Clan’s scouting parties, he would surely be exposed. Therefore, Yang Kai could only travel with great haste using normal means.
Before he left, he had asked about the direction and location of Great Evolution Pass, learning he was currently about 10 days away. Hence, there was no rush time-wise.
…..
Five Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters sped through the void towards Great Evolution Pass from the direction of Wind and Cloud Pass. These five Eighth-Order Masters were the ones who departed from the East-West Army previously. Each of them carried a Space Ring filled to the brim with puppets.
After Yang Kai’s departure, the East-West Army acted according to Mi Jing Lun’s prediction. Be that as it may, these five Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had acted differently and hurried towards Great Evolution Pass instead.
They were only half a month away from Great Evolution Pass at the moment, and up until recently, they had not encountered a single Black Ink Clansman. But, they had constantly run into various Black Ink Clansmen over the past few days. Most of these Black Ink Clan teams were led by a single Feudal Lord, so they were naturally no match for the five Division Commanders. Needless to say, the Eighth-Order Masters slaughtered all the Black Ink Clansmen they came across without any mercy.
Nevertheless, their frequent encounters with the Black Ink Clan indicated that their presence had been noticed.
All of a sudden, the leading Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master came to an abrupt halt and sent out a Divine Sense transmission, “It’s about time. Let’s begin.”
The four others nodded in agreement.
They each took out a Space Ring, and with a surge of their Divine Senses, large batches of puppets began to appear. Each of these puppets radiated with the aura of a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master or higher, up to the Seventh-Order.
One puppet alone might not be very noticeable, but they became a mighty force when so many of them were gathered together in one spot. As the number of puppets increased, the aura they released became more and more imposing. Soon, the entire void became distorted by their mere presence.
A total of 70,000 puppets were quickly summoned by the five Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. These puppets were neatly dressed, and their energy sources had been installed and charged in advance.
The Divine Senses of the five Eighth-Order Masters surged once more to relay an extremely simple instruction to the Puppet Army gathered in front of them!
In the next moment, the Puppet Army silently embarked directly in the direction of Great Evolution Pass.
Issuing an order to some 70,000 puppets at once meant that each Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was responsible for more than 10,000 puppets. Even if their cultivations were deep and profound, they could not prevent their complexions from turning pale. That was also why five Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had been dispatched together. If their numbers were reduced in any way, they would not have been able to control so many of these puppets at once.
After releasing the Puppet Army of tens of thousands, the task of these five Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters could be considered complete. They watched the Puppet Army drifting away into the distance, and after resting for a short while, they turned around and sped towards the depths of the void. It was necessary for them to join up with the rest of the Army as their strength would ultimately be required to contribute during the attack on the Black Ink Clan’s territory.
The Puppet Army marched forward.
In less than an hour, a Black Ink Clan search party soon detected the aura of this Army from a distance. There was no helping it. The aura radiating from the Puppet Army simply stood out too much, like a bright moon in the middle of the night. It was difficult for the Black Ink Clansmen in the vicinity to not notice their presence.
This scouting party was led by a Feudal Lord, who had received the orders to investigate the possible locations of the Human Race Army. Over the last couple of days, his search had been fruitless; hence, he never expected to make such a big discovery today.
He originally wanted to investigate more carefully, but he was frightened by the overwhelming aura and did not dare to approach too closely. Even just sensing them from so far away made his face turn pale.
At a glance, he could tell that there were several tens of thousands in the Human Race Army marching towards Great Evolution Pass without any intention of concealing themselves. Therefore, he did not dare to delay and hurriedly relayed the news to the rear. At the same time, he continuously retreated into the distance while monitoring the movements of the Humans from afar.
A few days later, the information was finally delivered to Great Evolution Pass thanks to the efforts of several Black Ink Clan squads.
Inside the spacious Grand Hall, a group of Territory Lords were locked in a heated discussion.
Meanwhile, the gigantic Royal Lord with a pair of pitch-black wings on his back simply sat there with his head resting on his hand and his eyes closed. He looked as though he had not moved at all since arriving.
All of a sudden, a Feudal Lord rushed into the Grand Hall and whispered something to Hong Di before he quickly left again.
The Territory Lords fell silent and turned to look at Hong Di.
Hong Di stepped forward and bowed deeply, “Royal Lord, we have discovered the movements of the Human Race Army.”
The Royal Lord opened his eyes slightly, “Speak!”
“I received a report just now, stating that the Human Race Army has been detected in the direction of Wind and Cloud Pass a few days ago. The number of enemies is estimated to be between 60,000 and 70,000. Moreover, they are marching directly towards Great Evolution Pass. A Feudal Lord has been monitoring their movements from a distance, but he has found no signs to indicate that they planned to change their course.”
“Impudence! Does the Human Race believe that they can retake this Great Pass with a trivial force of 60,000 to 70,000!? They clearly do not know their place!”
“That’s just coming from Wind and Cloud Pass. What about Azure Void Pass? There might be another Army no less than these numbers coming from the other direction. If they joined together, their numbers would reach over 100,000.”
“So what if they have 100,000? With Great Evolution Pass acting as a shield and nearly a million of our Black Ink Clan’s soldiers, forget a mere 100,000, they would never succeed even if they had double those numbers.”
“That’s right. It’s one thing if they didn’t attack us, but since they dared to come, then we’ll make sure they never return.”
“Royal Lord, please allow us to meet the Humans in battle!”
The Territory Lords clamoured noisily. Since they occupied the geographical advantage and their military strength far exceeded that of the Humans, they naturally had the qualifications to dismiss the approaching threat.
However, as long as the Royal Lord said nothing, they did not dare to act rashly no matter how much noise they made.
The Royal Lord remained silent for a time before finally opening his mouth to ask, “Did you learn the location of the Ninth-Order Master?”
Hong Di replied, “The Feudal Lord did not mention anything about this matter. But, the Ninth-Order Master will surely come from the direction of Wind and Cloud Pass.”
The Royal Lord responded flatly and added lightly, “Prepare yourselves. It looks like the Human Race will attack soon.”
“Yes!” The Territory Lords answered loudly and rolled up their sleeves in anticipation.
News from the front line continuously arrived at Great Evolution Pass.
The Human Race Army was less than an eight-day journey away from Great Evolution Pass. Furthermore, they showed no signs of stopping, slowing down, or changing direction.
The Human Race Army was less than a five-day journey away from Great Evolution Pass…
The Human Race Army was less than a three-day journey away from Great Evolution Pass…
The Human Race Army was only one day away from Great Evolution Pass!
Somewhere outside Great Evolution Pass, Ou Yang Lie and his Disciple secretly concealed themselves in one of the scattered asteroids. Their current location was much closer to Great Evolution Pass compared to their previous hiding spot. It could even be said that they were so close that they were being reckless.
At this location, if the whereabouts of the Master and Disciple were discovered by the Black Ink Clan, then they would not be able to escape even though Ou Yang Lie was an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. That was because the Royal Lord at Great Evolution Pass could arrive at this spot in the blink of an eye and kill them.
Gong Lian was very unhappy. He felt as though his Honoured Master was being ridiculous and reckless; however, as the Disciple, he could not criticize the actions of his Honoured Master and could only act as carefully as possible.
As they were simply too close, Ou Yang Lie did not dare to glance around Great Evolution Pass at will despite their auras and figures being concealed. He was worried that his careless gaze might arouse the vigilance of a powerful Black Ink Clan Master. That was why he instructed his Disciple to investigate the situation around Great Evolution Pass from beginning to end.
Gong Lian’s innate abilities not only allowed him to have a very keen perception of any approaching danger but also minimised the presence of his existence whenever he wanted to investigate something. For that reason, even the Royal Lord would not notice him as long as he remained careful.
The recent days had been very exhausting for Gong Lian. He had always been lazy. Be that as it may, he was now required to monitor the situation at Great Evolution Pass at all times and report every movement to his Honoured Master. He didn’t even have the time to fall into a daze. It had to be said that the trance achieved during the Divine Wandering was his greatest hobby in life. Under those circumstances, he could empty his entire mind and receive an unparalleled sense of satisfaction.
“Stinking Brat!” Ou Yang Lie suddenly elbowed his Disciple because he had had not moved in a long time, “Are you in a daze again?”
Gong Lian shrank back and flatly denied, “No! I wasn’t! I was checking the movements of the Black Ink Clan at Great Evolution Pass! You shouldn’t always slander me like that, Honoured Master! You should trust in your Disciple!”
How could Ou Yang Lie not understand his own Disciple’s personality? Nevertheless, he did not say anything regarding that matter and simply inquired, “Have there been any changes?”
“There aren’t any huge changes, but there seem to be many additional Black Ink Clan Masters on the four walls of Great Evolution Pass. It’s like…”
“Like what?” Ou Yang Lie asked.
“Like they’re preparing for something?” Gong Lian replied with uncertainty.
The corners of Ou Yang Lie’s mouth twitched, “They have gathered nearly a million troops here. It’s obvious that they are guarding against an attack from our Army.”
“It’s not the same,” Gong Lian shook his head, “Although they stationed their troops here in the past, they’ve never mobilised such a great force before. Their current movements give me the sense that our Human Army is about to attack, and they’re making final preparations.”
Ou Yang Lie raised his brow, “The Black Ink Clan is making preparations for war? Could it be that Brother Mi has made a move?”
[But, that shouldn’t be… If Mi Jing Lun were to make a move, he would surely find a way to communicate with me. He wouldn’t attack without notifying me first. But, if it isn’t the North-South Army, then… could it be the East-West Army?]
He quickly probed further, “Which direction is the Black Ink Clan’s defence focused on at the moment? Is it the left? Or, the right?”
If it was the left, then the Black Ink Clan was defending against the East-West Army. If it was the right, then they were defending against the North-South Army.
Gong Lian replied, “From where I stand, it’s the left. There are more than a dozen Territory Lords standing on the walls and looking out into the distance.”
Ou Yang Lie scowled at those words, [The Black Ink Clan at Great Evolution Pass seems to be guarding against something from the direction of the East-West Army. But, if that’s the case, why didn’t the East-West Army contact me beforehand? Is the East-West Army planning to attack the Great Pass alone? Xiang Shan can’t be that reckless, right? Besides, even if Xiang Shan is unreliable, there’s still the Old Ancestor…]
While Ou Yang Lie was stewing in his doubts, Gong Lian suddenly frowned, “Honoured Master, I can sense something coming from over there.”
“What is it? Is it the Royal Lord?” Ou Yang Lie was startled.
Gong Lian shook his head, “It’s not the Royal Lord. There is no sense of danger coming from that presence, but the aura of what’s coming is very strong… Extremely strong!”
Ou Yang Lie could not understand what his Disciple was saying, but he also understood that his Disciple would not speak nonsense; therefore, he was resentful of the fact that he could not act recklessly while he was currently in this position. Otherwise, he could have extended his Divine Sense to perceive his surroundings.
Fortunately, there was no need for him to carefully probe his surroundings as not long after Gong Lian finished speaking, Ou Yang Lie detected the powerful presence his Disciple mentioned just now.
It was certainly extremely powerful. Even though there was a great distance between them, the aura transmitted clearly across the void. However, what puzzled him was that the aura was rather messy and complicated despite being very powerful. It was as though the presence was formed from the fusion of countless auras.
As soon as that thought crossed his mind, Ou Yang Lie’s expression changed drastically.
…..
The presence was completely unlike Ou Yang Lie and his Disciple, who acted carefully so that they remained undetected. More than a dozen Territory Lords stood side by side on the towering walls of Great Evolution Pass that faced Wind and Cloud Pass. Under their powerful perception, they could clearly perceive the overwhelming aura coming from the Human Race Army that was about half a day’s journey away from Great Evolution Pass. That aura was akin to an unsheathed blade that moved forward indomitably. It was extremely imposing and frightening.
Although the Territory Lords had previously spouted various grand statements back in the meeting hall, they couldn’t help grimacing slightly after sensing the approaching aura. Had the Humans gone crazy? It was beyond unreasonable for them to attack so directly without the slightest intention to conceal their intentions! They were looking down on the Black Ink Clan too much!
Seeing as the Human Army was about to arrive, the Black Ink Clan did not remain idle. As the Territory Lords conveyed their orders to their subordinates, countless Black Ink Clansmen sprang into action.
In the blink of an eye, the entire Great Evolution Pass felt as though a storm was coming. A chilling and murderous atmosphere enveloped the entire Great Pass as a result.
…
“Honoured Master, this is bad! It’s the Human Race Army!” Half a day later, Gong Lian suddenly let out a strange cry.
Ou Yang Lie looked grim but remained silent. The truth was that he had already speculated about this outcome. That overwhelming yet disordered aura was clearly the forward march of an Army. Besides, the only ones that could come from the direction of Wind and Cloud Pass was the Great Evolution Pass East-West Army.
[What is Xiang Shan trying to do? Is he courting death!?] Ou Yang Lie held the communication device in the palm of his hand and his Divine Sense surged, trying to communicate with the other party. However, he did not receive any response at all.
[Damn it!] He cursed at Xiang Shan in his heart, [What are the Old Ancestors thinking!? I can’t believe they allowed such a fool to serve as the Eastern Army’s Commander! The East-West Army is about to die under his leadership! How will the North-South Army deal with the fallout if the East-West Army is destroyed!? Should they ignore the situation? Or, do their best to rescue their comrades!? Besides, doesn’t the East-West Army know to investigate the situation at Great Evolution Pass before taking action!? How can they be so reckless!? They are looking down on the Black Ink Clan too much! Or, did they just assume that there are not many Black Ink Clansmen in Great Evolution Pass!?]
Ou Yang Lie had seen with his own eyes that there were nearly a million enemy troops in Great Evolution Pass. There was also a Royal Lord personally overseeing this area, so forget the East-West Army acting alone, even if they gathered the strength of the entire the Great Evolution Army, they would not be able to conquer Great Evolution Pass in a short time.
[What about the Old Ancestor!? Even if the East-West Army wanted to act so reckless, why didn’t the Old Ancestor overseeing the Army stop them!?]
There was too much off about this whole situation.
“Are you sure that it’s the East-West Army?” Although it was almost certain, it was necessary to verify the truth.
Gong Lian nodded, “I can see them now. There’s no doubt it’s a Human Army.”
Ou Yang Lie was heartbroken. A long while passed before he questioned, “How many people?”
At this moment, he could only hope that the East-West Army had not committed all its forces to this attack. If that was the case, then the losses would not be too great.
Gong Lian replied, “Tens of thousands.”
Ou Yang Lie couldn’t stop himself from cursing angrily.
[That childish buffoon is not qualified to participate in strategic planning!] Ou Yang Lie could already foresee the complete annihilation of the East-West Army.
“However… there’s way too many people. There are at least 60,000 auras,” Gong Lian replied.
Startled, Ou Yang Lie turned to look at his Disciple, “Open your eyes wider and look harder. How many are there?”
Gong Lian shook his head, “I can’t give you an exact number, Honoured Master, I might be discovered if I observe too closely, but I’m certain there is somewhere between 60,000 to 70,000 people.”
With Gong Lian speaking with such certainty, it could only mean that he had not seen wrongly.
Ou Yang Lie was immediately confused. [60,000 to 70,000 people? Where did the 60,000 to 70,000 people come from?]
The forces of the East-West Army and the North-South Army should only contain around 30,000 soldiers each. Even if they combined their forces together, they would only have about 60,000. Since the Army came from the direction of Wind and Cloud Pass, then it could only be the East-West Army. So how did their numbers double? Could it be that they combined forces with the North-South Army? But, Mi Jing Lun had not sent anybody to inform him about the situation.
“This is bad, Honoured Master! The East-West Army is heading directly towards Great Evolution Pass!”
“This is bad, Honoured Master! The East-West Army is about to enter the attack range of Great Evolution Pass, but they are showing no signs of stopping!”
“This is bad, Honoured Master! The Black Ink Clan has started attacking! The frontlines of the East-West Army have suffered heavy casualties!”
“This is bad, Honoured Master…”
Every time Gong Lian shouted, Ou Yang Lie’s heart twisted in response. Despite being a powerful Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, he could barely withstand the shock at this moment. He was tempted to block out his ears so that he could not listen to his Disciple’s words, but even if he did not listen, the losses of the East-West Army were unavoidable.
He even considered taking the risk to warn the East-West Army about the situation at Great Evolution Pass; however, he still carried a glimmer of hope that this was all part of the East-West Army’s strategy. They had the protection of an Old Ancestor after all, so there might be a different result if it came down to a fight. Unfortunately, it seemed that those were nothing more than his wishful thoughts.
“Honoured Master, something is strange,” Gong Lian suddenly observed.
“What?” Ou Yang Lie asked solemnly.
“There’s something strange about the Army. Although they are being attacked, none of them are fighting back. Tens of thousands of them have already fallen in such a short time, but there are no signs of them trying to resist. More importantly, there have been no traces indicating the deaths of Open Heaven Masters.”
After Gong Lian mentioned that, Ou Yang Lie suddenly realised the oddity of the situation.
[That’s right.] Traces were generally left behind following the death of any Open Heaven Realm Master. Leaving aside those below the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm, the phenomenon that followed the death of a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master was extremely noticeable. Be that as it may, he had yet to sense the phenomenon that should have occurred following the death of a single High-Rank Master.
Tens of thousands of people had died on the battlefield, yet none of them had been a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master. That did not make any sense. What’s more, the auras of the Open Heaven Realm Masters simply faded away continuously with every death that occurred, which did not make any sense either.
On the other hand, the Black Ink Clan’s attacks continued without pause. The various artifacts and Spirit Arrays that had been set up along the city walls in advance blasted out at full strength, turning into devastating destructive power that ploughed through the Human Race Army.
Ou Yang Lie could clearly perceive these movements; however, he could not sense any attacks coming from the Human side. It seemed as though only the aftermath of the artifacts and Spirit Arrays raged across the battlefield. There was no eruption of World Force at all.
[The East-West Army isn’t fighting back? Why aren’t they fighting back?]
Even just by watching from afar, both Ou Yang Lie and his Disciple could sense the abnormality of the Human Race Army; therefore, it was impossible that those powerful Black Ink Clansmen in Great Evolution Pass had failed to detect the oddity. The truth was that they had noticed this abnormality much earlier than Ou Yang Lie and his Disciple.
The Human Race Army of 60,000 to 70,000 people had arrived with such an imposing force. Although the Black Ink Clan seemed nonchalant about the matter on the surface, the truth was that they had responded to the attack with extreme prudence.
Therefore, the Black Ink Clan did not dispatch their troops to fight in the void. Their current strategy was similar to what the Human Race at Great Evolution Pass had done more than 30,000 years ago. They relied on the defences of the Great Pass and used various artifacts and arrays to hit the Human Race Army from afar.
That was why the Spirit Arrays and artifacts set up across the walls began to blast out with countless attacks under the orders of the Territory Lords as soon as the Human Race Army entered their attack range.
The quality of these Spirit Arrays and artifacts could not be compared to those at any other Great Pass. Although their numbers were large, their strength was vastly inferior. That couldn’t be helped though as both Artifact Refiners and Array Masters were very rare among the Black Ink Clan. Their only source of Artifact Refiners and Array Masters came from the Black Ink Disciples who were corrupted by Black Ink Strength.
Many Black Ink Clansmen had devoted themselves to cultivating the Dao of Artifact Refining and the Dao of Spirit Arrays over the years, but whether due to a difference in races or something else, the Dao of Artifact Refining and the Dao of Spirit Arrays of the Human Race could not be perfectly mastered by the Black Ink Clan. The Black Ink Clansmen could never attain significant achievements in these Daos; therefore, the quality of the refined artifacts and the prepared Spirit Arrays remained extremely low. It was only natural that their strength would not be too impressive either. Nevertheless, the preparations that spanned over 30,000 years resulted in a rather large number of Spirit Arrays and artifacts.
According to the estimation of the Territory Lords, they might be able to cause some casualties to the Human Race Army by borrowing the power of these Spirit Arrays and artifacts. Nonetheless, they expected the number of casualties to be low. The Humans were not fools after all. They would naturally know how to construct defences in preparation for their invasion.
In any case, the most important factor was to take down the Human’s arrogance by a notch.
Contrary to their expectations though, when the war broke out, the power of these Spirit Arrays and artifacts achieved an unexpected effect that shocked the entire Black Ink Clan.
Under the shroud of the countless rays of light, the Humans collapsed like flies and exploded upon death. The outcome both shocked and pleased the Territory Lords. Although they did not know why the Human Race was so weak and fragile, they were happy to see such an outcome.
Nevertheless, as the Human Race Army rapidly dwindled in number, the situation on the battlefield became increasingly strange.
Faced with the overwhelming attack from the Black Ink Clan, the Human Race Army showed no intention of fighting back or even defending themselves. It did not matter how many people died, they simply bowed their heads and rushed forward in silence. It was almost as though they did not know how to write the word ‘death’.
What bothered the Territory Lords the most was that there were no signs of the phenomena that should have come with the death of the Human Race. Besides that, where were the Human Warships? No matter which Theatre it was, the Human Race’s greatest reliance after the Great Passes themselves had always been their Warships that served both offensive and defensive roles.
Although more than 30,000 years had passed since the last time Great Evolution Theatre had experienced a real war, which Territory Lord among those that were present did not lead an Army to provide reinforcements at Azure Void Pass and Wind and Cloud Pass at least a dozen times over that period? Hence, they generally fought a battle against the Human Race every few hundred years.
They all had a deep understanding of the strength of the Warships used by the Human Race and would never forget such experiences. It was clearly unusual that there was not a single Warship accompanying this Human Army of several tens of thousands.
Less than an hour had passed since the Human Army entered the attack range of the Black Ink Clan, but after such a brief period, only several thousand enemies remained from the original tens of thousands.
Following an order from Hong Di, the endless humming of the Spirit Arrays and artifacts on the city wall slowly subsided. The various anomalies were far too obvious, so how could he fail to notice them? Even the other Territory Lords had noticed the oddness of the situation by now.
Under the watch of the Territory Lords, the remaining few thousand troops of the Human Race Army continued to march directly towards Great Evolution Pass and soon arrived within a few hundred kilometres of its walls.
At this distance, the Territory Lords could clearly see some clues about the oddity of the situation.
Hong Di frowned and reached out to grab at something in front of him. One of the ‘Human soldiers’ was captured by him and drawn over.
The other Territory Lords observed with solemn expressions.
The object in front of them contained no vitality at all. It was not a Human at all but rather some kind of puppet wearing a layer of clothes. Shockingly, this puppet was giving off the aura of a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master!
It was conceivable that the entire Human Army of several tens of thousands was made up of similar puppets. It was just that their numbers were too great, and their combined aura was too powerful when they were gathered together, so that from far enough away, even the Territory Lords failed to notice anything strange. As a result, the Black Ink Clan had mistakenly thought that the Human Race Army was preparing to storm Great Evolution Pass.
“What are the Humans trying to do?” One of the Territory Lords was absolutely baffled.
The other Territory Lords remained silent as none of them knew the intentions behind the actions of the Human Race.
Hong Di quickly took charge, “There must be a reason for this strange situation. It could not have been easy to refine tens of thousands of puppets. The Humans must be plotting something to go through all this effort. We need to report this matter to the Royal Lord immediately.”
Saying so, he turned around and left with the puppet in his grasp. It was evident that he was going to meet the Royal Lord.
Outside Great Evolution Pass where Ou Yang Lie was hiding with his Disciple, Gong Lian observed with a frown, “Honoured Master, the Human Army has been completely annihilated.”
That news would normally have been enough to send anybody into despair; however, at this point, Ou Yang Lie had calmed down considerably after noticing that something was strange about the situation. Although he did not understand what had happened, he could be certain that this was part of the East-West Army’s strategy.
Just as he made the decision to return to the Purifying Black Ink Battleship and contact Mi Jing Lun to ask about this matter, a subtle reaction came from the Communication Bead in his possession.
He quickly took out the Communication Bead and focused his mind on it. It was an unfamiliar Divine Sense claiming to be Yang Kai from the East-West Army of Great Evolution Pass. This person also claimed to have military information to report and asked him for his location.
Ou Yang Lie had been waiting for the East-West Army to contact him, so now that they finally made contact, he immediately told the other party about his location.
A short while later, a figure silently sped over from a distance. It was not until that figure was within a mere 1,000 kilometres of Ou Yang Lie that he noticed its presence. This was an amazing feat that also indicated just how extraordinary this person’s ability to conceal his aura was.
Ou Yang Lie continuously guided the other party towards his location.
After a short search, Yang Kai arrived at the universe fragment where Ou Yang Lie and his Gong Lian were hiding and couldn’t help feeling startled. [Army Commander Ou Yang sure is bold.]
From this position, Yang Kai could clearly see the situation at Great Evolution Pass as it was only about 30,000 kilometres away from Great Pass.
Yang Kai had not encountered any difficulties along his journey, but he did waste a lot of time in order to avoid the Black Ink Clan scouts that were patrolling the surrounding areas. That was why he only managed to contact Ou Yang Lie now.
Upon arriving at the universe fragment, he did not see Ou Yang Lie anywhere. Just as he was feeling confused, he felt a weak energy fluctuation coming from nearby and received another message from Ou Yang Lie on the Communication Bead at the same time. Yang Kai immediately understood and headed in that direction. It didn’t take long before he passed through a Spirit Array and came to a hidden spot.
There were two people in front of him. One of them was a burly red-headed old man, while the other was a young man who looked no older than himself. However, for some reason, Yang Kai couldn’t help thinking of the word ‘lazy’ when he looked at the young man. The young man’s entire body seemed to be radiating a lethargic and carefree aura.
“Junior Yang Kai greets Senior Ou Yang,” Yang Kai cupped his fist in greeting.
“Are you from the East-West Army?” Ou Yang Lie examined Yang Kai carefully.
“Yes!” Yang Kai replied. [Why does it feel as though Army Commander Ou Yang is barely holding back his anger?]
“What military information does Xiang Shan have for me? Why hasn’t the East-West Army met up with the North-South Army?” Ou Yang Lie questioned grimly.
Yang Kai explained, “The East-West Army will not be rendezvousing with the North-South Army for the time being. There have been some changes to the original plans.”
Ou Yang Lie forced himself to calm down and patiently asked, “Explain the situation!”
Therefore, Yang Kai reiterated his previous conversation with Mi Jing Lun. Ou Yang Lie originally listened with a gloomy look on his face, but his expression was changing constantly as time passed. When he finally understood the whole plan, his displeased expression finally relaxed.
“I knew it. I was wondering how Xiang Shan could be so stupid. So that’s how it is.” He rubbed his chin, “In other words, the ‘Army’ of 70,000 that the Black Ink Clan annihilated just now were merely puppets.”
Yang Kai was taken aback, “This Junior felt some movements coming from Great Evolution Pass just now. Was that the annihilation of the puppets?”
Ou Yang Lie nodded, “En. Those 70,000 or so puppets have almost been wiped out completely.” Pausing for a moment, he abruptly continued, “Now that we have attracted the attention of the Black Ink Clan, the East-West Army must have made their move, right?”
“This Junior does not know, but since Army Commander Xiang Shan has a plan in place, I’m sure he will have arranged the timing perfectly. In addition, when this Junior separated from Senior Mi earlier, Senior Mi instructed me to ask whether the Black Ink Clan at Great Evolution Pass was showing signs of mobilizing.”
Ou Yang Lie nodded, “The Black Ink Clan gathered nearly a million troops in Great Evolution Pass recently. Even the Royal Lord rushed over to oversee this place in person.” After saying that, he couldn’t help snorting softly, “Xiang Shan, that old fox! He lured the Royal Lord here but led the Army to attack the Black Ink Clan territory instead. I wonder just how mad the Royal Lord will be when he learns about it.”
Yang Kai said nothing. At this point, combined with the information he learned recently, he was beginning to form a clear understanding of the plan designed by Xiang Shan; thus, he was filled with a sense of admiration.
If Mi Jing Lun’s inference was correct, then this series of plans was all a result of encountering the Black Ink Clan’s 300,000 reinforcements. It might be that Xiang Shan thought up this new strategy when he first discovered the Black Ink Clan’s reinforcement Army, and all his actions afterwards were in preparation to carry it out.
This plan might have been made up on the spot, but the preparations taken during the march of the Army were enough to make it foolproof. It was truly a blessing for the Great Evolution Army to have such a far-sighted Army Commander.
It was just as Ou Yang Lie mentioned earlier. Xiang Shan had lured the Royal Lord to Great Evolution Pass but led his Army to attack the Black Ink Clan’s territory instead. The Black Ink Clansmen left behind to oversee their domain were surely in for an unpleasant surprise.
Mi Jing Lun was amazing too. He had managed to deduce the East-West Army’s plan with only a few clues.
Compared with these old foxes who had lived on the Black Ink Battlefield and fought the Black Ink Clan for countless years, Yang Kai felt like a blank slate of naivety.
Nevertheless, as just one of the soldiers of the Human Race Army, Yang Kai did not need to consider too much. With his current cultivation and status, all he needed to consider was how to lead Dawn so that he could kill more enemies on the battlefield.
As for the big picture and the deployment of troops, he could leave such matters to the people above him. It might be that he would only be eligible to participate in various high-level decisions once he advanced to the Eighth Order.
Inside the Main Conference Hall of Great Evolution Pass, the Royal Lord remained seated on the throne of bones as usual. In addition, there were more than a dozen Territory Lords lined up on both sides below him.
More than 30 Territory Lords had currently gathered at Great Evolution Pass. In order to confront the Human Race Army of 70,000 that came from the direction of Wind and Cloud Pass, nearly two-thirds of the Territory Lords had been deployed to defend the walls under Hong Di’s leadership. Meanwhile, the other third of the Territory Lords stayed in the Main Hall and quietly waited for news.
The current arrangement was due to the presence of a large Human Race Army hiding nearby, in the direction of Azure Void Pass. Nobody knew when this particular Human Race Army would appear, so the Black Ink Clan had to conserve a certain amount of strength for their defences.
They originally thought that the Human Army would march on them from both sides and attack Great Evolution Pass in a pincer manoeuvre, but contrary to their expectations, only one side experienced a fierce battle while the other remained completely silent. There was no news from the Human Race Army stationed closer to Azure Void Pass, let alone any information on where they were hidden.
If the Royal Lord made a move personally, he might have been able to discover the hiding spot of the Human Race Army; however, his opponent was destined to be the Human Old Ancestor, so he had to conserve his energy before that battle.
While the Territory Lords were silently discussing matters regarding the Human Race Army’s movements amongst themselves, Hong Di barged into the Hall in a hurry. The discussion among the Territory Lords came to an abrupt halt, and they swiftly glanced towards Hong Di.
Hong Di bowed deeply, “Royal Lord, the Human Race Army was fake. All 70,000 of the soldiers were mere puppets dressed up to look real. Moreover, they are extremely weak. Almost the entire Army has been annihilated by now.”
While speaking, he tossed the captured puppet in his hand to the ground.
The Territory Lords looked down in shock. [The entire Human Race Army of 70,000 was fake? They were just puppets?]
Meanwhile, the Royal Lord sitting on the throne opened his eyes slightly with a confused expression. He might be a Royal Lord with overwhelming power, but he was not a spy hiding among the Human Race, so it was naturally impossible for him to figure out what the Humans were trying to do with the little information he had on hand.
More importantly, if the Human Race Army was made up of mere puppets in disguise, where was the real Human Army?
Throughout the years, the Black Ink Clan had deeply suffered from the treachery of the Human Race on countless occasions. Seeing how the Humans were willing to go to such lengths to refine so many puppets just to draw their attention, there was clearly some sort of conspiracy going on.
The Royal Lord vaguely felt a sense of unease coursing through him.
At that moment, a Feudal Lord ran into the Conference Hall from the outside, shouting and stumbling around in a panic, “Sir Hong Di, this subordinate has received an urgent report!”
Hong Di turned to look in that direction and discovered that it was the Feudal Lord in charge of overseeing the Black Ink Nest and gathering information from the entire Theatre. Seeing how panicked the other party looked, it was evident that something major had occurred.
Hong Di turned back to the Royal Lord with a look of inquiry in his eye, and after receiving permission from the Royal Lord, he asked solemnly, “What is it?”
The Feudal Lord bowed and reported the situation, “A moment ago, I received news from the Zhe Chong Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest. In his territory, they discovered a large number of people suspected to be a Human Army composed of some 30,000 people in total.”
“What!?” Zhe Chong turned pale in shock and jumped up in horror. He had fled across the void for more than a year without any rest and finally escaped to Great Evolution Pass. Afterwards, he received an order from the Royal Lord and returned to his territory, hastily gathered an Army of some 30,000, and brought them to Great Evolution Pass to help defend it.
It was precisely because his territory was relatively close to Great Evolution Pass that he arrived fairly quickly. In fact, the Royal Lord had gathered all the Territory Lords whose territories were located on the periphery of Great Evolution Pass. That was the only way the Black Ink Clan Army could have gathered so many troops at Great Evolution Pass so quickly.
Of course, it wasn’t as though the Territory Lords in the deeper areas remained idle with nothing better to do. Every one of them had gathered a force of between 20,000 to 30,000 and set out towards Great Evolution Pass. Their task was to temporarily take over the territories that were currently without a Territory Lord and remain there on standby.
Although Zhe Chong was not stationed in his own territory and a force of some 30,000 had been deployed to Great Evolution Pass, there was another Territory Lord from a different territory temporarily overseeing his domain, so Zhe Chong’s territory was not completely defenceless. Nevertheless, against a Human Race Army of 30,000, the ability of a single Black Ink Clan territory to resist was minimal at best.
The Black Ink Clan had an extensive understanding of the composition of the Human Race Armies. For an Army consisting of 30,000 soldiers, there would be at least a few dozen Eighth-Order Masters among their ranks, and although their overall numbers were few, each Human was an elite. In this aspect, the Human Race was very different from the Black Ink Clan, whose strength varied greatly from individual to individual. Moreover, the Humans also had Warships.
That was why Zhe Chong immediately became anxious when he heard that an Army of 30,000 had appeared in his territory. He abruptly recalled the Human Race Army he encountered on the way to Wind and Cloud Pass and couldn’t help wondering, [That Army also had a force of 30,000… Could there be such a coincidence?]
If it really was the Army he encountered the other day, then the Territory Lord overseeing his territory at this moment had probably already met a disastrous fate. Forget the several dozen Eighth-Order Masters, that Army even had a Ninth-Order Old Ancestor leading them!
“What about now? Where is the Human Race Army now?” Zhe Chong asked anxiously.
The Feudal Lord shook his head, “I don’t know. We lost contact with the Black Ink Nest in Sir Zhe Chong’s territory after we received the report regarding the sighting of the Human Race Army. Furthermore, according to the reports from the Royal Lord’s Black Ink Nest, the Mid-Grade Black Ink Nest at Sir Zhe Chong Territory can no longer be contacted. Even the traces of its existence have been erased.”
Zhe Chong immediately turned pale and slumped down in his chair.
A Black Ink Nest, owned by a Territory Lord, could no longer be contacted, and even the traces of its existence had been erased from the network. In this case, there was only one possibility: It had been destroyed!
The Feudal Lord who reported the situation earlier mentioned that he received the report not long ago; in other words, not much time had elapsed between the appearance of the Human Race Army and the destruction of the Territory Lord Black Ink Nest. Therefore, there was an extremely high possibility that it was the work of the Human Army under the command of the Old Ancestor. There could be no other reason for Zhe Chong’s Mid-Rank Ink Nest to be destroyed so quickly.
“The Humans’ plan was to lure the tiger from the mountain!” Hong Di snarled through gritted teeth, “They used those puppets to distract us and make us think that they were attacking the Great Pass when, in reality, their goal was not Great Evolution Pass but our territories!”
As soon as the words left his mouth, the other Territory Lords who initially just sympathised with Zhe Chong’s situation immediately panicked. They had initially rejoiced slightly when they heard that Zhe Chong’s Black Ink Nest had been destroyed, feeling thankful that the Human Army had not invaded their homes. Otherwise, the unlucky ones would have been them instead. Unfortunately, it would now seem that Zhe Chong’s Black Ink Nest was simply the first to be destroyed, while it would not be the last.
The Black Ink Nests were the foundation of the entire Black Ink Clan. If they were all destroyed, then it would be impossible for them to spawn new Clansmen. They would eventually lose their numerical advantage against the Human Race in the war if that happened, and defeat would become inevitable.
Although a Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest could be produced by the Royal Lord’s Black Ink Nest, the birth of each and every Territory Lord Black Ink Nest required an exorbitant price in exchange. If too many Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests were destroyed, the Territory Lords would need to wait a very long time before they could obtain new ones.
[If the Royal Lord’s Black Ink Nest was destroyed…] The Territory Lords couldn’t help shuddering in fear, not daring to let their thoughts continue down that road.
On the other hand, a sudden and thunderous rumble resounded throughout the conference Hall before Hong Di could even finish his sentence. The rumbling sound was accompanied by a black shadow shooting out at the same time.
The Territory Lords looked in that direction only to see that the Royal Lord, who had been sitting on the throne of bones, was now nowhere to be seen. The dark shadow that rushed past them earlier was none other than the Royal Lord himself.
Although he had remained as calm as a mountain since coming to Great Evolution Pass, he could no longer keep his composure after hearing that the Human Race Army had destroyed the territory belonging to one of his subordinate Territory Lords. He had evidently realised the dire consequences that would follow if his High-Rank Black Ink Nest was destroyed; therefore, he had to prevent that from happening at all costs. It was fortunate that he still had some time. Having only just stepped foot into the Black Ink Clan territory for the first time, the Human Race was surely not familiar with the topography, so it would not be easy for them to locate the Royal City in short order.
In the next moment, the Royal Lord’s order spread to the ears of the Territory Lords, “Half of the Army will remain here to guard Great Evolution Pass. The other half will set off for the Royal City at full speed!”
The Territory Lords who received the order hurriedly gathered together to discuss the situation. The Royal Lord had not mentioned any names in his command, so they had to come up with a plan to decide who would stay and protect Great Evolution Pass and who would head towards the Royal City.
Needless to say, everybody would prefer to remain at Great Evolution Pass for it was much safer here. If they set off for the Royal City now, there was no saying whether they would encounter the Human Army on the way. Who could resist against the strength of the Human Old Ancestor if that happened?
Nevertheless, they neither dared to disobey the command of the Royal Lord nor drag their feet in this matter. After a series of compromises and concessions, they soon came up with a plan.
Out of the 30 or so Territory Lords, half of them would remain at Great Evolution Pass under Hong Di’s leadership. Great Evolution Pass was originally Hong Di’s territory, so it stood to reason he should remain. That was an advantage that the other Territory Lords did not have. Meanwhile, the other half of the Territory Lords departed for the Royal City under Zhe Chong’s leadership.
It did not take long for the Black Ink Clan Army at Great Evolution Pass to start moving as the Territory Lords summoned their respective Armies.
In the vast void, the Royal Lord flew in the direction of the Royal City at a terrifying speed. He had to return to the Royal City immediately; otherwise, it would be too late if the Human Army arrived before him.
If his Black Ink Nest was destroyed, then all the Black Ink Nests in this entire Theatre would wither and die as well. The Black Ink Clan would be powerless to replenish their forces if that were to happen, and that would effectively guarantee their extinction in the not-so-distant future.
The Royal Lord never imagined that the Human Race would be so bold. When he predicted that the Humans were coming to retake Great Evolution Pass, he immediately gathered many Territory Lords and deployed various defences in preparation for the confrontation. Contrary to his expectations, the humans seemed to have no intention of attacking Great Evolution Pass whatsoever. They simply sent out an Army of puppets to distract him while their real Army marched directly into the Black Ink Clan territory.
[They made a fool of me!] The Royal Lord was filled with fury. Along the way, he suddenly raised his hand and dense Black Ink Strength condensed and twisted in the palm of his hand, gradually transforming into the shape of a miniature Black Ink Nest. This was not an actual Black Ink Nest, but he could borrow its power to communicate with his own High-Rank Black Ink Nest and then issue commands to the other Territory Lords through it.
The Human Race Army with a force of 30,000 soldiers had already appeared in the Black Ink Clan’s territory. There was bound to be an Old Ancestor and a few dozen Eighth-Order Masters among their ranks. With such strength, it was impossible to repel the Humans with the military strength of a single territory alone. The only way for the Black Ink Clan to stand a fighting chance was if they rallied together at one spot.
In this case, the Royal City was the battlefield chosen by the Royal Lord. That was because the Human Race would surely target the Royal City. Regardless of whether they knew about the secrets behind the Black Ink Nests or not, they were bound to aim for the destruction of his High-Rank Black Ink Nest as their biggest goal.
If he wanted to protect his Black Ink Nest, then he had to gather the strength of all the Territory Lords under his command. However, doing so would completely deprive the other territories of any troops even if the Royal City did not suffer any consequences. In other words, the Black Ink Clan would be abandoning a vast swath of their territory. There would be countless slaughtered Black Ink Clansmen and destroyed Black Ink Nests as a result of this decision.
Despite being completely heartbroken by the losses, the Royal Lord had no other choice. He had never imagined that the Human Race would be so cunning and difficult to handle without the constraints of a Great Pass.
A long time ago, this particular Royal Lord had discovered an interesting fact. That was the impact of the Great Passes on the Human Race.
It was undeniable that the Great Passes provided great help to the Human Race over countless years. By borrowing the power of these Great Passes, the Humans managed to guard their land and prevent the Black Ink Clan from moving forward despite their much smaller numbers.
No matter how strong the individual strength of each Human, it would have been difficult for them to hold the line without the Great Passes; however, these Great Passes that provided such significant assistance to the Human Race were also a form of restriction and constraint.
These Great Passes had effectively locked them up inside a prison because they did not dare to abandon their positions and move around freely. It could be said that their reliance on the Great Passes was extremely strong.
As a result, all the wars throughout history had always been initiated by the Black Ink Clan. Meanwhile, the Humans had always relied upon the strength of the Great Passes to defend against the attacks. This long-standing situation on the battlefield was with very few exceptions.
It was not until today, when the Human Race travelled great distances across the void in order to recover the Great Evolution Pass that was lost 30,000 years ago, that the Royal Lord finally understood what kind of threat the Human Race could pose towards the Black Ink Clan once they were freed from the constraints of the Great Passes.
The Human Army came from afar, acting as though they were charging straight towards Great Evolution Pass. Nobody could have imagined that it was just an army of puppets. On the contrary, the actual Human Army had already invaded the Black Ink Clan’s territory.
The Humans successfully deceived both the Royal Lord and the Territory Lords, causing their attention to be focused on Great Evolution Pass and lowering their guard in other areas. Despite standing in opposing positions, the Royal Lord could not help admiring the decisiveness of the Humans. Faced with such an opponent, a difficult battle was unavoidable.
At this moment, the Royal Lord could only hope that his message would be delivered in time and that the Black Ink Clan’s losses would not be too severe.
On the universe fragment, Yang Kai continued after reporting the current situation to Ou Yang Lie, “Senior Mi instructed this Junior to report back on the current situation as soon as possible. If you do not have any other orders for me, Senior Ou Yang, this Junior will return first.”
Ou Yang Lie nodded lightly.
Before Ou Yang Lie could speak though, Gong Lian, who had been silent ever since Yang Kai arrived, suddenly shouted with a drastic change of expression, “Quiet! Conceal your aura!”
Ou Yang Lie immediately withdrew his aura into his body and became as still as a piece of driftwood.
Although Yang Kai did not understand the sudden turn of events, his reaction was very fast and he quickly concealed his aura.
No more than 10 breaths of time after Gong Lian spoke, an extremely powerful aura rushed out from Great Evolution Pass and charged straight into the depths of the void. The figure rushing out from Great Evolution Pass moved at an astonishing speed, brushing past them and speeding off into the distance, crossing less than 10,000 kilometres away from their hiding spot.
Yang Kai looked down and did not move. If his perception was not wrong, the aura that just passed them by belonged to the Royal Lord.
This place was concealed by a Spirit Array and a barrier, so even without Gong Lian’s warning, the Royal Lord might not have discovered them if he was not paying attention. Be that as it may, concealing their auras was an additional layer of protection for them. There was no saying what flaws the Royal Lord might notice if he happened to glance in their direction by accident.
Yang Kai glanced at Gong Lian in surprise. He did not know this young man, but this person had given him a strong impression of being lazy and carefree during their first meeting. Nevertheless, Gong Lian was not weak; after all, he was in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm.
Just his ability to detect the Royal Lord’s movements in advance was shocking enough. What’s more, Yang Kai did not sense him activating any kind of Divine Sense or Secret Technique whatsoever.
[How did he detect the Royal Lord’s movements and warn us in time?]
The Royal Lord might have disappeared into the distance, but the three of them did not dare to act recklessly. They did not know whether the Royal Lord would suddenly turn around and return the way he came; therefore, they remained as still as possible. They didn’t even dare to reveal the slightest hint of disturbance from their Divine Senses, so they could only communicate with their eyes.
Ou Yang Lie shot a look at Yang Kai, most likely telling him that there was no need to rush to report to Mi Jing Lun.
Yang Kai nodded, indicating that he understood.
An incense stick passed just like that, and only when the Royal Lord showed no signs of returning did Ou Yang Lie finally sigh in relief and softly whisper, “It looks like the East-West Army has begun moving.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly.
Only the news that the East-West Army had taken action could have made the Royal Lord leave in such a hurry.
While speaking, Ou Yang Lie raised his head and looked towards Great Evolution Pass. The East-West Army had taken action, and the Royal Lord had left, so would the Black Ink Clan in Great Evolution Pass remain quiet?
As soon as that thought passed through his mind, he quickly said, “Move back a little.”
At the same time, he hurriedly removed the concealment that had been set up here and began to withdraw together with Yang Kai and Gong Lian. They retreated some 20,000 kilometres before they stopped. This position was basically the limit of where they could observe the movements of Great Evolution Pass without worrying about being discovered by the Black Ink Clan at Great Evolution Pass.
Only then did Ou Yang Lie turn to look at Yang Kai, “Go back and report everything you witnessed to Mi Jing Lun. This Old Master will stay here and continue to gather information.”
Yang Kai cupped his fist and responded, “Senior Mi also asked that you continue gathering information and monitoring when the Black Ink Clan would depart from Great Evolution Pass, Senior Ou Yang.”
Ou Yang Lie nodded, “This Old Master will be fine. Go now.”
Only then did Yang Kai turn around and rush off into the distance. His movements might alert those in Great Evolution Pass if he activated the Universe Transference Law at this position; therefore, he planned to withdraw further before doing so.
A short while later, Yang Kai formed a set of hand seals and activated the Universe Transference Law somewhere in the void. The Array lit up beneath his feet, and after waiting for a moment, a bright light erupted and enveloped him. He felt the world spinning around him, and by the time he came back to his senses, he was already standing in the Purifying Black Ink Battleship of the North-South Army.
Approximately ten breaths later, Yang Kai met up with Mi Jing Lun aboard the Purifying Black Ink Battleship and gave a report on the situation with Ou Yang Lie.
Mi Jing Lun and several other Eighth-Order Division Commanders nodded after listening to the report, with one of the Eighth-Order Masters observing, “It’s just as you predicted, Senior Brother Mi. The Black Ink Clan has been gathering its troops at Great Evolution Pass.”
Mi Jing Lun nodded, “The East-West Army has painstakingly arranged for this situation to occur. Even we could not have known in advance whether the Black Ink Clan would be fooled, but in any case, the Royal Lord has left Great Evolution Pass. The East-West Army must have done something for him to leave in such a rush. I’m afraid the nearly million-strong Black Ink Army guarding Great Evolution Pass will mobilize soon.”
With a snap of his fan, he continued, “Give the order. Each Squad and Battalion is to summon their Warships and travel at full speed. We need to arrive at the predetermined ambush location within three days.”
In order to hide better, the North-South Army had stored away all their Warships except the Purifying Black Ink Battleship. Then, they searched for a suitable place to launch an ambush; however, in this situation, there was no need to hide anything anymore.
The East-West Army had already made their move, so the rest was completely up to the North-South Army. If the North-South Army could successfully stop the Black Ink Clan Army coming from Great Evolution Pass, then the East-West Army would not be attacked from behind. On the other hand, if the North-South Army failed to stop the Black Ink Clan, then the East-West Army was bound to suffer heavy casualties.
The success of the entire plan hinged on the North-South Army getting the timing right, so they had to travel as quickly as possible.
The orders were conveyed throughout the Army, and the soldiers who had been in hiding all this time immediately summoned their respective Warships. In an instant, a huge fleet took shape and sailed out of their hiding place in a mighty procession.
It just so happened that there was a Black Ink Clan search party in the void nearby. They had received orders from Great Evolution Pass and had been scouting in this direction for traces of the possible presence of the Human Race Army. Unfortunately, their search had not been fruitful despite many days of effort. They never expected to detect a large number of energy fluctuations out of nowhere.
The Feudal Lord in the lead took a good look and immediately became dumbfounded. A mighty fleet had suddenly appeared in the void that had been empty just a moment ago.
“The Human Army!” One of the High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen in the team exclaimed in shock.
There was no need to say anything though, for as soon as the Feudal Lord laid his eyes on this fleet, he knew that it was the target that the Territory Lords had been searching for.
“Let’s go!” The Feudal Lord shouted and turned around to lead his subordinates away. He had to report this information as soon as possible, no matter what happened!
Just as they turned around to retreat though, one of the larger Warships suddenly released numerous flashes of lights and brilliant Divine Abilities rained down on them.
The terrifying power swept outward like the waves of a stormy sea, swallowing up the Black Ink Clan squad within its deathly embrace. When the dust settled, the entire Black Ink Clan team had practically been annihilated on the spot. Only the Feudal Lord survived.
Although he was alive, he was in a terrible condition and his aura was flickering weakly. He didn’t even dare to look back as dense black fog erupted from his body and he hurriedly fled the scene.
Aboard the Warship, an Eighth-Order Division Commander coldly snorted but showed no intention to pursue the other party. As far as the current situation was concerned, there was no need to conceal their presence any longer now that the North-South Army had decided to act. Even if a Feudal Lord escaped, how could he affect the situation in any way? Besides, after taking a direct hit from that Divine Ability, he would not survive for long even if he wasn’t dead yet.
Everywhere the North-South Army passed, the Black Ink Clan was annihilated on the spot. These Black Ink Clan scouts had been searching for traces of the North-South Army, but they never imagined that the moment they caught a glimpse of the Humans would also be the moment of their deaths.
Approximately an incense stick after Yang Kai arrived back, Gong Lian also returned to the Purifying Black Ink Battleship and rushed straight towards the conference hall.
“Where is your Honoured Master?” Mi Jing Lun glanced behind Gong Lian but did not see Ou Yang Lie.
Gong Lian replied, “Honoured Master says he wishes to monitor the movements of the Black Ink Clan Army and confirm the direction of their march so that we can find the best opportunity to strike.”
Mi Jing Lun’s eyes flashed, “Has the Black Ink Clan at Great Evolution Pass begun to move?”
Gong Lian nodded, “Before this Junior returned, the Black Ink Clan at Great Evolution Pass dispatched around 15 Territory Lords along with an Army of 400,000 to 500,000. They are marching towards the Black Ink Clan’s territory.”
An Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Division Commander observed, “15 Territory Lords along with an Army of 400,000 to 500,000… In other words, half of the Black Ink Clan forces at Great Evolution Pass.”
Mi Jing Lun smiled, “It looks like the Black Ink Clan has not forgotten us. Leaving behind half of their forces is clearly a precaution against our Army. They are afraid that we might take the opportunity to attack Great Evolution Pass.”
The Eighth-Order Division Commander who spoke earlier immediately broke into a smile, “The Black Ink Clan probably never imagined that we have no intentions of attacking Great Evolution Pass whatsoever.”
It was evident that the Human Race Army had travelled across a great distance to recover Great Evolution Pass; however, one of the Armies had charged straight into the Black Ink Clan’s territory to wreak havoc while the other Army was planning to intercept the Black Ink Clan Army marching out from Great Evolution Pass. They were completely ignoring the Great Pass itself.
In accordance with the order from the Royal Lord, half of the Black Ink Clan Army was dispatched from Great Evolution Pass to head towards the Royal City. At the same time, a figure quietly followed the Army from approximately 50,000 kilometres away. That person was none other than Ou Yang Lie.
Yang Kai and Gong Lian had returned to the Purifying Black Ink Battleship in quick succession to deliver information to the other side, so Ou Yang Lie was acting alone.
Now that he was on his own, his movements were even more covert than before. In any case, the Black Ink Clan were completely unaware that an Eighth-Order Master was monitoring their movements from so close, so he had no reason to worry about his presence being discovered whatsoever.
The East-West Army had already taken action in the Black Ink Clan territory. As for the North-South Army, Mi Jing Lun would surely lead it to intercept the Black Ink Clan’s reinforcement Army from Great Evolution Pass after receiving a detailed report. It was just that the North-South Army had only just arrived here not long ago. Given that they were not familiar with the terrain of this Theatre, choosing a suitable battlefield would be difficult.
By following the march of the Black Ink Clan’s reinforcement Army from Great Evolution Pass, Ou Yang Lie would be able to grasp their movements instantly. When the timing was right, he could then return directly to the North-South Army and guide the Army in the right direction himself.
On the other side, the East-West Army headed by Xiang Shan and Liu Zhi Ping was sailing rapidly through Black Ink Clan territory. The speed of the Warships had been adjusted to the highest, so the huge fleet streaked across the void like a river of lights.
The 30,000 troops of the East-West Army arrived at the first Black Ink Clan territory several days ago. This Black Ink Clan territory was guarded by a Territory Lord, tens of thousands of strong Black Ink Clansmen who were battle-worthy, and hundreds of thousands of miscellaneous Black Ink Clansmen who were not worth counting as combat forces. Be that as it may, these forces were as vulnerable as a piece of paper in front of the imposing East-West Army.
Xiang Shan had personally taken action, and within just a half cup of tea’s time, the Territory Lord was beheaded and the Black Ink Clan’s combat forces were annihilated. As for the miscellaneous Black Ink Clansmen, they were swiftly mopped up with very few escaping. Likewise, the Mid-Grade Black Ink Nest was also destroyed quickly.
The entire Black Ink Clan territory was turned into a dead zone, and the severed remains of the Black Ink Clan could be seen everywhere. Moreover, Black Ink Strength that spilled out into the void due to the deaths of so many Black Ink Clansmen condensed into huge Black Ink Clouds that covered the entire void.
The Human Race Army didn’t even stop to loot the battlefield. They immediately moved forward after razing this entire Black Ink Clan territory and continued their march deeper. This was the time to focus on speed.
According to the original plan, the Royal Lord should have been lured to Great Evolution Pass, so if the East-West Army could take the opportunity of the Royal Lord’s absence to obliterate the Royal City and destroy the High-Rank Black Ink Nest, then it would only be a matter of time before they ruthlessly wiped out the entire Black Ink Clan in this Theatre. That was why the East-West Army’s only goal was to destroy the Royal Lord Black Ink Nest.
During the attack on the previous Territory Lord’s territory, the Old Ancestor had personally entered the Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest and followed the information Yang Kai provided earlier to communicate with the consciousness of the Black Ink Nests in order to ascertain the location of the Royal Lord’s Black Ink Nest.
Yang Kai used this method to locate the positions of the Territory Lord Black Ink Nests when he was raising chaos in the rear of the Black Ink Clan in the Yin-Yang Theatre back then. He later reported this information to the Yin-Yang Pass Old Ancestor, so it was only natural that she knew about this method. Seeing as it was something that Yang Kai could accomplish, there was no reason she would fail. Furthermore, she had a much easier time than him in this task.
With the help of the Mid-Grade Black Ink Nest, the Old Ancestor quickly located the approximate location of the Royal Lord’s Black Ink Nest. Fortuitously, the direction in which the East-West Army was now marching happened to be this exact location.
The East-West Army encountered some Feudal Lord Fiefs along the way, but they did not delay their progress. In fact, they showed no intent to attack whatsoever. Nevertheless, Xiang Shan and the others soon discovered a problem. There were practically no Black Ink Clansmen worth mentioning in these territories.
According to the information provided by Yang Kai earlier, there would always be several Feudal Lords overseeing a mature Feudal Lord Fief. In addition, there should be no shortage of High-Rank and Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen, with even more Black Ink Serfs. In this way, a Feudal Lord could easily gather hundreds of subordinates whenever the Territory Lords summoned their Armies. Meanwhile, the Armies of the Feudal Lords would continuously merge together and grow stronger to become an Army under the command of the Territory Lords.
However, the territories the East-West Army crossed were not only devoid of Feudal Lords, but even High-Rank and Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen were nowhere to be seen. There were only weak Black Ink Clan Serfs who were born from the Black Ink Nest not too long ago and had no strength to traverse the void.
This situation was within the East-West Army’s expectations.
The rate at which the information spread throughout the Black Ink Clan was far too fast. The Black Ink Nests were basically nodes in a giant information network that the Black Ink Clan could use to deliver messages instantaneously amongst themselves. Whenever there was any news, the Black Ink Clan could swiftly relay the information throughout the entire Theatre by borrowing the power of this network of Black Ink Nests.
News of the East-West Army’s appearance in the Black Ink Clan and the destruction of a Territory Lord’s territory had already become widespread. The Black Ink Clan in the entire Great Evolution Theatre were surely aware of those incidents by now.
Xiang Shan and others originally wanted the Army to march forward as quickly as possible so that they could rush to the Royal City and destroy the Royal Lord’s Black Ink Nest, but judging by the current situation, the Black Ink Clan’s response had made this plan somewhat difficult to implement.
The Black Ink Clan in those Feudal Lord Fiefs along their way must have received the news and all rushed towards the Royal City. That was why only miscellaneous serfs with no real strength were left behind. It could be predicted that the East-West Army would be greeted by a mighty Black Ink Clan Army when they arrived at the Royal City.
Inside the Purifying Black Ink Battleship, Xiang Shan’s expression was the same as usual. The Black Ink Clan had responded faster than he predicted, but this situation was also within his expectations. Besides, it was also a situation that the East-West Army had deliberately created.
If they wanted to recover Great Evolution Pass, then they needed to deal a severe blow to the Black Ink Clan first. That was the only way to give the Great Evolution Army enough time to restore the various defences in Great Evolution Pass; otherwise, it would be a useless endeavour to simply occupy Great Evolution Pass.
The situation would be rather unfavourable for the East-West Army if the Black Ink Clan wanted to confront them at the Royal City; however, it should not be a huge issue as long as the Black Ink Clan from Great Evolution Pass did not come and add trouble from their rear.
A scout came to report that a Territory Lord’s territory was found ahead; however, after the scouts investigated the area, the situation in this domain was the same as the Feudal Lord Fiefs they encountered before. All the powerful Black Ink Clansmen were gone, and only the miscellaneous serfs without much strength were left behind.
After the scout withdrew, Xiang Shan finally spoke, “It looks like the Black Ink Clan is planning to confront us at the Royal City.”
Liu Zhi Ping nodded lightly, “Since that’s the case, it’s better if the Old Ancestor travels ahead. The Black Ink Clan Army is coming from various directions to gather in the direction of the Royal City, and the Royal Lord will also need some time to travel from Great Evolution Pass to the Royal City. If the Old Ancestor leaves now, she might stand a chance to destroy the Royal Lord Black Ink Nest before the enemy can muster a resistance.”
Although the East-West Army was marching rapidly, their speed could not compare to the speed of the Old Ancestor travelling on her own.
It was just as Liu Zhi Ping mentioned. The Black Ink Clan Army was gathering from various directions towards the Royal City, so it would take them some time to assemble. Moreover, the Royal Lord was currently absent from the Royal City, so the Old Ancestor would be unparalleled and unmatched if she rushed there right now.
The Old Ancestor sitting next to Liu Zhi Ping smiled at those words though and shook her head, “No. Although I have roughly determined the position of the High-Rank Black Ink Nest with the help of the previous Black Ink Nest, it is still unclear how far away or exactly where it is located. Even if I move alone, it will take some time for me to search for the target. Besides, the Royal Lord is on his way back to the Royal City. What if the East-West Army encounters him when I am absent?”
The East-West Army had 60 Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters and 30,000 troops. While they were not afraid of being completely wiped out by the Royal Lord, or even repelling him, the casualties they would suffer would be extremely severe if the Old Ancestor was absent. If nothing else, at least 10 Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were likely to lose their lives just to force the Royal Lord back.
The Great Evolution Army had a total of 60,000 people, but they would need their forces to guard Great Evolution Pass in the future, so minimizing their losses was pivotal to their long-term strategy.
Liu Zhi Ping immediately fell silent and said nothing more after listening to the Old Ancestor’s reasoning.
Xiang Shan said, “In that case, let’s proceed with the original plan. The East-West Army will ignore the Black Ink Clan and charge straight towards the Royal City. Since the Black Ink Clan wishes to confront us there, we should heed their wishes.”
In the battle between the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan, strategy was the biggest factor that determined the success or failure of the war. Nevertheless, being strong enough to defeat one’s enemies was the ultimate guarantee of victory.
The words had just left Xiang Shan’s mouth when the Old Ancestor sitting beside him abruptly turned to look in a certain direction. Her bright eyes seemed to penetrate across tens of thousands of kilometres of space. Immediately after that, she smiled and said, “I can’t believe he found us!”
Xiang Shan’s expression turned serious, “Is it the Royal Lord?”
The Old Ancestor nodded lightly, “En.”
“Is he simply passing by? Or, are his actions intentional?”
The Old Ancestor pondered in silence for a while before grinning, “He did not bother to conceal his aura. It would seem that his actions were intentional. Very smart of him!”
It was evident that the Royal Lord was worried that the Old Ancestor might charge directly towards the Royal City, and based on time and distance, he might not be able to stop her if that were to happen.
As such, from the moment he departed from Great Evolution Pass, while the Royal Lord had been heading directly in the direction of the Royal City, most of his attention had been fixated upon finding the Human Race Army. With the help of the Black Ink Nests scattered all over the Theatre, it was not difficult for him to roughly follow the movements of the Human Army, which was why he came to confront them directly.
If the Old Ancestor had not gone directly to the Royal City, then that would be the best-case scenario. He could intercept her along the way and gain more time for the Armies of the Black Ink Clan to gather. If she had gone directly to the Royal City, then it would be too late for him to rush back now, but since the Human Army would no longer have her protection, then they were no threat to him. He could massacre them and severely damage their forces to make up for the losses of the Royal City.
That was undoubtedly the most sensible approach, and by taking it, it could be inferred that this Royal Lord was no fool.
The Old Ancestor had clearly considered the same reasoning, which was why she had disagreed with Liu Zhi Ping’s previous proposal asking her to go on ahead of them. While speaking, she stood up, “Since he is looking for me, I will go and greet him.”
Xiang Shan quickly said: “Old Ancestor, please be careful!”
To which she snickered, “He’s the one who should be careful!”
Having guarded Yin-Yang Pass for tens of thousands of years, she had fought with a Royal Lord countless times. Under normal circumstances, both Supreme Masters would hold back in their attacks since neither of them stood a decent chance of killing the other. Naturally, there were occasions when they lost their tempers and fought ferociously, but in the end, both parties would at most be severely injured from the fight. They would then need to rest and recuperate until their next battle.
However, today was different. If the Human Race wanted to retake Great Evolution Pass as quickly as possible, then they would need to struggle desperately in this fight. It could be said that the Old Ancestor was planning to face the Royal Lord with the sole intention of bringing the battle to a draw where both sides were severely injured.
When Xiang Shan first made his plans, he had intended to lure the Royal Lord out of the Royal City so that the Royal Lord could not use the power of the Black Ink Nest to heal his wounds. It would now seem that the plan was not going to work. If the Royal Lord wanted to set the battlefield at the Royal City to obtain the geographical advantage there, then there was nothing the Great Evolution Army could do to stop him.
A few days away from Great Evolution Pass, the North-South Army was moving through the void, hurrying to the spot designated for the ambush.
An Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master had scouted the place beforehand and according to him, there was a high chance for the Black Ink Clan to pass through this spot if they were to send their Army. However, there were no guarantees when it came to such things. Their likelihood of success hinged on how lucky they were.
The North-South Army had originally hidden in the direction of Azure Void Pass, so they had to move at lightning speed. From the looks of it, their path took them to a place between Great Evolution Pass and the Black Ink Clan’s territory.
Several days passed by in a flash.
In the conference hall aboard a Purifying Black Ink Battleship, Mi Jing Lun and the few Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, who were in charge, were all silent. It was as if they were waiting for something. Meanwhile, Gong Lian was leaning against a pillar on the side with a blank look in his eyes. His mind was wandering as usual.
Yang Kai was on the other side with a Communication Bead in his hand. He kept pouring his Divine Sense into it, to try and get in touch with Ou Yang Lie.
Previously, when Yang Kai came from beyond Great Evolution Pass and returned to the Purifying Black Ink Battleship, Ou Yang Lie had to stay back to keep an eye on the Black Ink Clan’s movements at Great Evolution Pass. If the Black Ink Clan were to send forth their troops, then the North-South Army and the Black Ink Clan from Great Evolution Pass would inevitably cross paths. The distance between them would decrease as time went on and he would surely be able to get in touch with Ou Yang Lie once more.
“Still no news?” One of the Eighth-Order Division Commanders turned to Yang Kai all of a sudden.
Yang Kai shook his head, “Not yet.”
The Eighth-Order Division Commander frowned, “Judging by how long it’s been, it should be anytime now. We should’ve been able to get in touch with Brother Ou Yang half a day ago.”
It was evident that something must have happened that caused half a day’s delay; however, just as soon as the Division Commander finished his sentence, Yang Kai became excited, “There’s an update.”
Yang Kai immediately began probing into the Communication Bead with his Divine Sense.
Everyone had their eyes on him.
Once Yang Kai got the gist of the message, he informed everyone else, “Senior Ou Yang said that the Black Ink Clan who came out of Great Evolution Pass seemed to have their guards up against the North-South Army. So, they circled around and took a less direct route.”
Mi Jing Lun had a look of realization, “No wonder Brother Ou Yang took so long to get in touch with us.”
Great Evolution Pass’s Black Ink Clan Army did not know much at the moment, only that there were two Human Armies nearby.
The first Army came from the direction of Wind and Cloud Pass. This Army had evaded their detection and then sent tens of thousands of puppets as a distraction while they launched a sneak attack on their territory.
The Black Ink Clan also knew that there was a second group which came over from Azure Void Pass. Numerous Black Ink Clan scouts had mysteriously disappeared, and this proved that a group of Humans were hiding in the vicinity of Great Evolution Pass in the direction of Azure Void Pass. Unfortunately, this Human Army seemed to be continually changing their location and the Black Ink Clan could not gather any information on them.
The Royal Lord had given the command, so 15 or so Territory Lords from Great Evolution Pass had no choice but to lead their Army out and rush towards the Royal City; however, knowing that an unknown number of Human soldiers were hiding nearby, the Territory Lords had a simple discussion and decided to take the longer way around to avoid them.
Naturally, they chose a route in the direction of Wind and Cloud Pass. They were certain this was a safe option, since the Human Army that came from that direction had already launched an attack within their Black Ink Clan territory and exposed their location.
If they had a choice, they would choose to ensure their safety by giving a wide berth and making a huge detour to avoid the hidden Human Army.
However, time was of the essence and they were afraid of causing too great a delay, so they could only take a slightly circuitous path, which would delay them by a day or so.
This was why Ou Lang Lie only managed to get in touch with the North-South Army now.
Under everyone’s watchful gazes, Yang Kai kept using his Divine Sense to stay connected to Ou Yang Lie, allowing both parties to confirm their respective locations.
Still, it was both Yang Kai’s and Ou Yang Lie’s first time in the Great Evolution Theatre and they were unfamiliar with their surroundings. Neither one of them had an accurate Universe Chart of this place, so it was rather troublesome for them to talk about their positions.
Yang Kai could not ascertain where Ou Yang Lie was exactly, and similarly, Ou Yang Lie had no way of confirming where the North-South Army was.
The only thing they both knew was that their distance was within a day’s worth of travel, as this was the Communication Bead’s maximum range.
Amid their exchange, the North-South Army arrived at the designated ambush point.
Initially, based on the deductions by the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master who scouted the place, it was highly likely that the Black Ink Clan would pass through this place if they were to send their Army out from Great Evolution Pass. As long as the North-South Army set up here in advance, they would be able to deal a heavy blow to the Black Ink Clan.
As it was, the North-South Army had arrived, but there was no sign of the Black Ink Clan.
Furthermore, based on the update from Ou Yang Lie, it was unlikely that the Black Ink Clan Army would be passing through this region.
Uncertainty was to be expected on the battlefield, as it was impossible for people to know everything and have a contingency for all possibilities at all times. Things could change at any given moment, and the only way to ensure victory was to be highly adaptable.
Yang Kai carried on communicating with Ou Yang Lie, but he was still unable to pinpoint the latter’s location. Both of them described what the area around them looked like, but it did not ring any bells for either one of them.
Ou Yang Lie had a fiery temper, and since it was impossible to communicate effectively, he decided to cut things short, “Just wait!”
That was the last Yang Kai heard from him, even though he kept trying to reconnect with Ou Yang Lie.
After relaying this to the Eighth-Order Division Commanders, they all wore helpless, exasperated expressions.
However, soon enough, Ou Yang Lie’s burly figure came striding in while grumbling, “It’s so troublesome without a Universe Chart.”
It would have been a lot easier for them to communicate if both of them had a Universe Chart as it would have allowed them to confirm their locations and the distance from each other.
Nevertheless, Great Evolution Pass had been lost for 30,000 years, and the Humans who were stationed here in the past had been annihilated. Thus, the Universe Chart of that time was no longer usable.
If they wanted a Universe Chart now, they needed to make one themselves.
Meanwhile, Ou Yang Lie managed to get back quickly thanks to the Purifying Black Ink Battleship’s Universe Array.
“Brother Ou Yang, where are the Black Ink Clan reinforcements now?” Mi Jing Lun quickly asked.
“I don’t know, but I left behind a bit of my aura before I left. Let me check where it is and I’ll know where the Black Ink Clan Army is,” Ou Yang Lie replied.
Saying so, his hands started rapidly forming seals.
A few breaths later, a burst of red light shot out from his fingertip and pointed in the direction of the aura he had left behind.
Mi Jing Lun took note of the location and nodded, “We are about a day’s travel away from there. Taking into account the difference between our travel direction and the Black Ink Clan Army’s, the North-South Army should adjust our position so that we can encounter them within a day or two.”
Ou Yang Lie nodded, “Good.”
The two of them talked for a bit and soon decided on where they should reposition the North-South Army.
The order went down and the fleet, which had only just arrived at the ambush location, set off again without even having time to do anything.
All the Eighth-Order Division Commanders cupped their fists, “We should go and prepare.”
If everything went smoothly, then in a day or two, the North-South Army would engage in a huge battle with the Black Ink Clan from Great Evolution Pass. Naturally, it was best to start preparing as soon as possible.
Mi Jing Lun nodded.
“I’ll be off too, Honoured Master,” Gong Lian bowed.
Ou Yang Lie waved him off casually in response.
Mi Jing Lun finally addressed Yang Kai, “Martial Nephew, what’s your plan now? Are you going to join us here or head off to find the East-West Army?”
“Since there’s going to be a battle here, it’s best if I remain to help,” Yang Kai said.
He could have left now if there were no battle, but since the fight was imminent, it would not be right for him to leave just like that. Furthermore, taking part in the upcoming battle was a good way for him to gather more information about the situation here. That way, he would be able to inform Xiang Shan and the others about what was happening here when he reunited with the East-West Army.
“Good,” Mi Jing Lun said, “Since you’re staying, you can choose a Squad or a Battalion to join.”
“This Junior would like to act alone. Would that be alright?” Yang Kai asked.
He was unfamiliar with the people here in the North-South Army, and it may not be a good thing for him to join a Squad so abruptly; hence, he preferred acting alone without having any ties to anyone.
Mi Jing Lun eyed him with a smile, “Since you’re so confident, Martial Nephew, I won’t stop you, but do be careful on the battlefield.”
“Understood!” Yang Kai cupped his fist and bowed before leaving.
Once he left, Ou Yang Lie piped up, “That Brat sure is confident to want to act alone, and you even gave him your permission. That’s not at all like you.”
Mi Jing Lun chuckled, “I don’t know if you’ve heard much about him, Brother Ou Yang. If any other Seventh-Order Junior made the same request, I would’ve rejected them immediately; but if it’s him, it’s fine for me to make an exception just this once.”
Ou Yang Lie nodded, “I’ve heard quite a lot about him, so you can’t take advantage of me being ignorant and uninformed, Brother Mi. Now that we’re on the subject, it’s quite unbelievable that a Seventh-Order brat had the guts to disguise himself as a Black Ink Disciple to infiltrate the Black Ink Clan. He even managed to destroy the Warship that the Black Ink Clan was building and come back alive. It’s practically a miracle.”
“That’s right. Although the Old Ancestor went out to receive him in person, before that, he managed to kill a Territory Lord while he was in the Blue Sky Theatre, which is quite the feat even if the Territory Lord was badly wounded at the time,” Mi Jing Lun said.
“New talents rise up with every generation. We’re getting old now!” Ou Yang Lie lamented.
Mi Jing Lun smiled at him, “It’s rare for you to pay such a high compliment to someone of the younger generation, Brother Ou Yang. What’s the matter? Are you regretting the fact that you didn’t encounter him sooner to take him as your Disciple?”
“Hah!” Ou Yang Lie snorted loudly, “Why would I regret that? I have a Disciple now! Even though my Disciple isn’t the same as him, he’s not worse off in any way! In fact, my Disciple has more potential than him.”
Mi Jing Lun sighed, “Things never go the way you want them to in life! Yang Kai is a peerless talent, but it’s a pity he will not enter the Ninth Order. If he could make it to the Ninth Order, he would make a huge difference for the entire Human Race.”
“Nothing’s perfect in life,” Ou Yang Lie remarked, “Speaking of which, we’re partly to blame for his current situation since it’s the unfortunate result of the Cave Heavens and Paradises interfering with him.”
If it had not been for those Cave Heavens and Paradises working together to suppress Yang Kai, he would have directly advanced to the Seventh Order and would have stood a chance to become a Ninth-Order Old Ancestor.
Mi Jing Lun shook his head, “They were doing it to prevent uncertainty in the future, and there’s historical precedent for their actions. All along, the Cave Heavens and Paradises have maintained the same attitude towards all those who had the possibility of directly advancing to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. Based on their perspective, they didn’t do anything wrong at the time, but looking back now, they’ve made a monumental mistake.”
There was no point in discussing mistakes made in the past. Yang Kai had directly advanced to the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm. Although there was hope that he could become an Eighth-Order Master because he had consumed a Mid-Rank World Fruit, he was not going to be able to become a Ninth-Order Master.
That was unless he could find the Innate Open Heaven Pill which was produced in the Universe Furnace; however, there was no sign of the Universe Furnace and no one knew when it would next appear. Even if it did, Yang Kai might not have the chance to obtain one of its Innate Open Heaven Pills.
There were tons of people in all the Cave Heavens and Paradises who were stuck in the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm and could not rise any further. Who among them was not in even more urgent need of those Open Heaven Pills than Yang Kai?
As the two were speaking, an alarming fluctuation came out from the faraway depths of the void.
Mi Jing Lun and Ou Yang Lie exchanged glances before instantly heading to the deck and stared in the direction where the fluctuation was coming from.
Yang Kai was also there staring into the distance; however, although everyone could sense the fluctuations, they could also tell that the source was incredibly far away.
“The Old Ancestor and the Royal Lord are exchanging blows,” Ou Yang Lie quickly said.
Mi Jing Lun nodded lightly.
An Eighth-Order Master and a Territory Lord would not have been able to create such powerful fluctuations when they clashed. Across the entire Theatre, only a battle between the Old Ancestor and the Royal Lord could cause such a huge disturbance.
This was the first fight between Yin-Yang Pass’ Old Ancestor and the Royal Lord of Great Evolution Theatre. No one could predict the outcome.
That being said, based on the information they had received, they were certain that Yin-Yang Pass’ Old Ancestor would not be the one suffering. Even just by the number of years of cultivation alone, the Royal Lord could not compare with her.
The current Royal Lord was the one who rose to that position 30,000 years ago. The veteran Royal Lord who had been alive for much longer had died along with the Great Evolution Pass Old Ancestor.
Both were the strongest among their respective sides and had immense power. The two silhouettes continued clashing in the depths of the void, and just the fallout from their fight was enough to destroy the barren Universe Worlds around them. Everything within 100,000 kilometres of their clash was thrown into chaos and turmoil.
…..
At this very moment, the Royal Lord was suffering in silence.
When the Royal Lord found out that the Human Race Army had invaded his domain, he left Great Evolution Pass in a fluster. Along the way, he searched for signs of the Humans and he finally managed to intercept the Old Ancestor.
Everything would be fine in his Royal City as long as he stopped the Old Ancestor; however, before he even had the time to relax, the following turn of events caught him off guard.
Initially, he assumed that since it was his first time exchanging blows with this Human Old Ancestor, both parties would focus on feeling each other out since they were both the most formidable on their respective sides, and neither could afford to take any big risks.
The best option was to test the waters and get a sense of what their respective strengths were before breaking off the fight and leaving it for another day once they were more prepared.
That was what the Royal Lord thought, and he assumed the Human Old Ancestor had the same idea.
Except, the Old Ancestor thought very differently.
Although she was a woman, her actions bordered on madness. As soon as they started fighting, she threw all caution to the wind and attacked as if she was prepared to fight to the bitter end, even if it meant sacrificing her life in the process. Waves of ferocious Divine Abilities and merciless Secret Techniques followed, dumbfounding the Royal Lord!
It had to be said that although this Royal Lord had risen to his position 30,000 years ago, he had only ever fought an Old Ancestor once in that entire time.
It was just after he had become a Royal Lord and joined forces with the original Royal Lord of Great Evolution Theatre to kill the Old Ancestor here. Ever since then, the Black Ink Clan claimed Great Evolution Pass and no other battle occurred.
For the past 30,000 years, he stayed within his Theatre. Now and then, he would send his Territory Lords out to help in battles at Wind and Cloud Pass and Azure Void Pass, but he himself had never left.
Thus, it could be said that he barely had any experience when it came to fighting with an Old Ancestor.
Moreover, this particular Old Ancestor was attacking ruthlessly and relentlessly. The Royal Lord had been suppressed from the moment the fight began, and the momentum was now decidedly against him.
Even the Old Ancestor was a little shocked by this too; however, she soon realized why this was the case, [This Royal Lord lacks combat experience!]
This was an unexpected surprise for her.
Back at Yin-Yang Pass, she would get into minor scuffles with the Royal Lord there every century or so, and a serious battle happened every millennium. It was no secret what each other’s Divine Abilities, Secret Techniques, battle strategies, and personalities were.
As the saying went, those who truly understood a person the best were not their friends, but their enemies.
In the Yin-Yang Theatre, as soon as the Old Ancestor made a move, the Royal Lord there could immediately tell what she was up to and formulate a counter on the spot. That was why the two clashed frequently over the years without ever deciding on a victor.
That was not the case here. The Old Ancestor had a wealth of experience fighting against a Royal Lord, and even though it was a different opponent, the experience still counted for something. This was not the same for the Royal Lord here. He had probably forgotten all about the fight 30,000 years ago, and such a long period of peace was enough for him to lose his will to better himself, which was why he found himself in such a state when he got into a fight with a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master all of a sudden.
The Old Ancestor’s line of thinking was rather simple. Since she brought Yang Kai here, she did not need to hold back out of caution. All she had to do was focus on attacking as hard as she could and wounding the Royal Lord as much as possible, even if she was injured in the process.
It did not matter if she got wounded because she could borrow Yang Kai’s Small Universe to rapidly heal and restore herself. Although the Royal Lord could also use his Black Ink Nest to recover from his injuries, the rate at which he would heal would never be as quick as her.
She would be gaining on him with every single round of recovery. Perhaps that would not be immediately noticeable, but given enough time and battles, the Royal Lord would at some point not be able to handle it anymore.
When the time came, she might even have the chance to kill this Royal Lord!
Therefore, she fought him now without holding back at all, as if she wanted to perish together with him.
Her opponent’s obvious decline in combat effectiveness over time only strengthened her resolve to commit to her initial plan.
Meanwhile, the East-West Army paid no mind to the clash between the two powerhouses. As the Old Ancestor headed out to take the Royal Lord head-on, the East-West Army changed course and continued forward.
Even though the East-West Army’s 60 Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters would undoubtedly be of great help to the Old Ancestor if they joined the fight, no one could guarantee that they would all come out alive if they got involved.
The East-West Army had an even more important task on hand, and that was to wipe out the Black Ink Clan Army and take back Great Evolution Pass. That was their ultimate goal.
Passing through Black Ink Clan territory, they saw that only the weakest Black Ink Clansmen remained in the outskirts, which they could not be bothered to deal with. They made a beeline in the direction of the Royal City instead.
Right now, they still did not know where the Royal City was exactly or how far away it was, but as long as they continued in this direction, they were bound to reach the Royal City at some point. Upon arrival, they would lay siege to the city!
The further the East-West Army went, the more dangerous it was for them as the likelihood of receiving help from the North-South Army decreased with the increasing distance between the two Armies; however, as long as the North-South Army managed to stop the Black Ink Clan coming from Great Evolution Pass, the East-West Army would not need to worry about being attacked from behind.
Since arriving at this Theatre, the 30,000-man-strong East-West Army had only engaged in a single significant battle. They had been marching in haste all this while after that, but even so, the Army’s fighting spirit had not diminished at all. On the contrary, it was even stronger than before.
It was safe to predict that when the Army reached the Royal City, they were sure to strike fear into the hearts of the Black Ink Clan.
…
The North-South Army led by Ou Yang Lie and Mi Jing Lun soon reached a new location after a day of hastened travelling.
Mi Jing Lun was the one who deduced that they would encounter the Black Ink Clan Army at this spot; however, looking out into the void around them, all was quiet and there was no sign of the Black Ink Clan Army.
Even then, Mi Jing Lun was not particularly disappointed even though there were no signs of the enemy since they had to take into account the difference in the two Armies’ travelling speed as well as the possibility of changes in the opposing Armies’ routes.
Several scouts were sent out for reconnaissance in the surrounding area.
Soon, they received word that there was a sighting of the Black Ink Clan Army coming from Great Evolution Pass. They were passing through a location that was less than an hour away from the North-South Army’s current position.
Mi Jing Lun exhaled slowly before commanding the Army to attack.
Under the circumstances, an ambush was impossible as there was no time for them to find suitable spots to set up and hide.
The North-South Army’s only choice now was to charge straight into battle with the Black Ink Clan and take them head-on.
Fortunately, they knew about the Black Ink Clan’s movements while the other party knew nothing about them, so they had the advantage.
The mighty fleet sailed through the void, and one hour later, the Black Ink Clan Army came into sight.
By now, the Black Ink Clan had naturally discovered the Humans as well.
One of the Feudal Lords immediately rushed to Zhe Chong and reported frantically, “Sir Territory Lord, we’ve spotted Human Warships!”
Zhe Chong had been uneasy the past few days, like something bad was about to happen, and that was the reason why he chose to take a longer route when leading the Army out of Great Evolution Pass. He was doing everything he could to avoid the Human Army that had not revealed itself just yet.
All had been calm and peaceful for several days, and his only worry had been the Human Race Army that had been attacking the Black Ink Clan territory.
He did not know when or even if his Army and the Human Army would meet, but if they did, the Black Ink Clan might not be able to stand against them; after all, he had personally witnessed just how mighty that Human Army was. Furthermore, there was still the Human Old Ancestor with them.
Thus, he could not stop himself from jumping in fright when his subordinate reported the news to him.
[We’re running into a Human Race Army in a place like this. Is it the one led by the Old Ancestor?]
“Where are they? How far away from here?” Zhe Chong asked in alarm.
The Feudal Lord pointed with his finger, “They’re in that direction. We’ll probably run into them in less than an hour.”
Zhe Chong looked out in that direction, and sure enough, he spotted a massive fleet approaching.
It was a sea of Human Warships, at least 2,000 to 3,000 of them, just like the one he saw over a year ago.
Based on the direction the Human Army was heading, it could be seen that it was not charging into the Black Ink Clan’s territory. The Humans were positioning themselves in advance so that they could meet the Black Ink Clan Army make contact an hour later and block their way forward.
[Why are we running into them here?]
Zhe Chong could not figure it out and he was not about to dwell on it now. His fear of the Old Ancestor made him lose his composure as he bellowed in terror, “Enemy attack!”
The other dozen or so Territory Lords gasped in fright when they heard him.
They turned to check for themselves, and sure enough, they saw the Human fleet in the distance. All at once, the Territory Lords started to panic.
None of the Territory Lords had expected to run into the Human Race Army here, but from the looks of it, the Humans were fully prepared for this. It was the Black Ink Clan who had been too careless and only noticed their enemy when they were right in front of them.
On the battlefield, there were terrible consequences to not being the one who held the initiative.
All the Territory Lords turned to Zhe Chong, and one of them asked frantically, “Do we engage them?”
The two Armies were only an hour’s distance apart, so they needed to decide right away whether they were going to fight or flee. The Territory Lords considered Zhe Chong their leader, so naturally, the decision depended on his opinion.
Zhe Chong’s brow twitched, “There could be an Old Ancestor among them!”
In other words, if they were to fight, the Black Ink Clan would suffer massive casualties. Even the Territory Lords might be losing their lives here.
The Territory Lord who asked earlier frowned, “Didn’t we sense the fluctuations from the fight between an Old Ancestor and the Royal Lord just now? Since their Old Ancestor is fighting with Sir Royal Lord, why would their Old Ancestor be here?”
Zhe Chong froze upon hearing that. [That’s right. We did feel the fluctuations from a battle between two of the most powerful Masters coming from a great distance away just now. It was clearly caused by the Human Old Ancestor and our Royal Lord. Since they’re fighting over there, there won’t be an Old Ancestor here then. The Humans couldn’t have sent two Old Ancestors over, right?]
Zhe Chong realised that he had jumped to conclusions just now. When he saw that the enormous fleet of the North-South Army was so similar to the one he had seen over a year ago, he subconsciously assumed that the Old Ancestor would be with them too, causing his fear to override his judgement.
Regardless, even if the enemy did not have an Old Ancestor among them, it was probably still too late for them to flee now.
Zhe Chong was a decisive individual and immediately came to a decision, “Relay my orders, prepare for battle!”
A fleet of 2,000 to 3,000 Warships meant there were some 30,000 Humans. Although this was not even a tenth of the Black Ink Clan Army’s numbers, the Territory Lords knew that numbers alone would never be able to determine who was the stronger of the two. Furthermore, a group of 30,000 Humans implied that there were dozens of Eighth-Order Masters among them.
Meanwhile, there were only 16 Territory Lords on their side.
If they chose to flee instead, it would be giving the Humans a chance to chase after and attack them from behind. Thus, meeting the enemy in battle was the best option. It would minimise the number of casualties and they might even be able to deal a heavy blow to the Humans.
Orders were passed down and the hundreds of thousands of Black Ink Clansmen formed rank in the void. They fused Black Ink Strength together to form a massive Black Ink Cloud that covered a vast swath of the void, hiding them from view.
This was the sight that greeted the Human Army when they arrived an hour later.
All they could see was an enormous Black Ink Cloud that had gathered within the void. There was some movement within the cloud, but there was no sign of the Black Ink Clan.
Mi Jing Lun and Ou Yang Lie stood on the deck of the Purifying Black Ink Battleship with deep, profound looks on their faces. It had to be said that the Black Ink Clan had made a clever move with their defensive action. They formed a Black Ink Cloud to mask their Army, which meant that the Humans had no way of determining what the Black Ink Clan was up to or what they were planning. If the Humans charged forward hastily, they would be wounded and suffer heavy casualties.
Yet if the Humans chose not to strike, they would be doing exactly what the Black Ink Clan wanted. The Black Ink Clan could use this opportunity to arrange their formations and decide on a battle strategy, and the longer the delay, the less of an advantage the Human Army would have.
Confronted with this situation, the Humans had no other choice. The only thing they could do was rely on the power of their Warships to disperse the Black Ink Cloud and force the Black Ink Clan Army to show themselves.
This was likely what the Black Ink Clan hoped for too as this would mean that they could expend a lot of the Human Army’s strength, even though it also meant that they would suffer a lot of casualties on their end.
Mi Jing Lun and Ou Yang Lie exchanged looks before nodding at each other.
The very next moment, an order went out from the Purifying Black Ink Battleship.
The Warships began moving forward again, separating into different lines in the void before coming to a stop at around 1 million kilometres away from the Black Ink Cloud.
Following that, all of the Warships started powering their Arrays. Lights flashed, and a raging surge of energy waves began to fluctuate.
Next, the points of light transformed into a myriad of attacks of different forms, all of which shot straight into the Black Ink Cloud.
The Warships had separated into five smaller fleets at this moment, with each one consisting of 400 to 500 vessels. The small fleets took turns attacking one after the other, allowing for a continuous barrage to be maintained.
Each attack was akin to hundreds of Seventh-Order Masters launching a full-force attack together. The onslaught of attacks kept striking the Black Ink Cloud and causing it to disappear. Blinding lights flashed within the Black Ink Cloud. It was a terrifying sight even from a distance.
There were signs of life auras withering constantly, but at a distance of a million kilometres and combined with the chaos of the energy fluctuations, even the Eighth-Order Masters could not sense everything clearly.
Even so, the withering life auras were clearly a sign of death among the ranks of the Black Ink Clan hidden inside the Black Ink Cloud.
The Humans’ attack went on for a half day!
Throughout the whole time, the Warships did not let up on the bombardment. The artifacts and the Spirit Arrays mounted on the Warships kept shooting straight into the Black Ink Cloud.
However, the Humans were surprised at the lack of a response from the Black Ink Clan Army. They seemed to be lying in wait for the right moment to strike, or perhaps they had even fled the battlefield.
Nevertheless, even though they had the Black Ink Cloud to hide them, the Black Ink Clan could not flee the battlefield with so many Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters around.
Thus, the Black Ink Clan Army was certainly still hidden inside the Black Ink Cloud.
They were waiting!
The optimum window for them to strike back would be when the Humans’ strength was depleted from their attacks.
It had to be said that the Territory Lords who led this Army were all remarkably patient. Anyone with a fiery temper would have led the Army out of the Black Ink Cloud to start attacking the Humans by now.
Still, this was the exact opposite of what the Humans wanted.
Half a day later, the enormous Black Ink Cloud that had loomed over the void was beginning to thin out. Even though the Black Ink Clan kept channelling their Black Ink Strength to strengthen the Black Ink Cloud, they could not withstand the constant attacks from the Warships.
They would have long since revealed themselves if it had not been for the large amounts of Black Ink Strength that escaped from the dead bodies of the Black Ink Clansmen, which helped thicken the Black Ink Cloud.
They were at their limit after holding out for half a day though.
The thinning Black Ink Cloud could no longer hide all of the Black Ink Clan Army, and the powerful Eighth-Order Masters were beginning to break through the Black Ink Cloud and survey the state of the enemy inside.
They were dissatisfied with what they found.
A half day’s worth of ceaseless attacks did cause some casualties on the side of the Black Ink Clan, but it was far less than what they expected.
Less than 50,000 had died out of the Black Ink Clan Army which was almost 500,000 strong. It was only a 10% casualty rate.
These were not results to be pleased about as they had expected to clear out at least 30% of the Black Ink Clan.
The Human Warships continued their attacks, but by now, the Black Ink Cloud was thin and wispy, meaning they could launch targeted attacks which made the number of casualties rise seriously.
Evidently, the Black Ink Clan realised this problem too. The Territory Lords gave out an order and 400,000 of the Black Ink Clan Army swiftly retreated out of the Black Ink Cloud before rushing off into the distance.
The Black Ink Clan was trying to escape!
The Human Army was not about to ignore that, so Ou Yang Lie immediately gave the order to pursue.
However, the attempt to flee was merely a feint. As soon as the Human Army entered the wispy Black Ink Cloud, the Black Ink Clan Army suddenly turned around and launched its attack.
The Great Evolution Theatre had been at peace for 30,000 years, but on this day, an explosive battle took place between two Armies just a few days’ travel away from Great Evolution Pass.
Although the East-West Army had already attacked some of the Territory Lords’ territories, that was not the same as this fight.
Ou Yang Lie and the others were a little startled by the Black Ink Clan’s strategy, but that was all.
Mi Jing Lun had already been on guard back when Ou Yang Lie gave the order to chase after the supposedly fleeing Army. Even though the Black Ink Clan had suffered some casualties, the fight had not truly begun and there was no way the Black Ink Clan would flee without a fight when they still had 400,000 soldiers. The Territory Lords who led the Army would surely know that they would be doomed the moment they fled.
He was proven right. The Black Ink Clan did not plan on fleeing. They merely wanted to lure the Human Warships into their Black Ink Cloud so that they could gain a geographical advantage.
Although the Black Ink Cloud was thin and sparse now, it was still a significant help to the Black Ink Clan and a hindrance to the Humans once they were inside.
Purifying Black Ink Pills were readily available for use on the battlefield now, and all the Humans had to do was consume one in advance and they would have a temporary window of time where they did not have to worry about the Black Ink Strength invading them. That being said, as time wore on, the medicinal efficacies would wear off, and things would be less rosy then.
Furthermore, repeated consumption of the Purifying Black Ink Pills in short order reduced their effectiveness.
Those at Blue Sky Pass had done a systematic test and figured out that a Sixth-Order Master could use two Purifying Black Ink Pills within the span of a month. Any more than that and the medicinal efficacies would be greatly diminished.
A Seventh-Order Master could use three pills.
There was a limit to the medicinal efficacies of each Purifying Black Ink Pill as well, making them only effective for six hours at most.
Thus, if the Humans fought against the Black Ink Clan within the Black Ink Cloud, they would need to end the fight as quickly as possible, for the longer it dragged on, the more disadvantaged they would be.
The Black Ink Clan had launched their attack at just the right time. They had perfectly positioned the battlefield within the area that still had the wispy Black Ink Cloud.
Despite that, they were still shocked by the Humans’ reactions. They thought that the Humans would be disadvantaged if the fight happened in such an environment, but how could they have anticipated that the Humans would not be affected at all? As the two Armies clashed head-on, the Seventh-Order Masters swiftly leaped out of the Warships without caring about being affected by the Black Ink Strength at all.
The Black Ink Clan was thunderstruck. They had preconceived notions that the Humans avoided Black Ink Strength like the plague, especially those with lower cultivation. Only some of the Eighth-Order Masters could withstand the encroachment of Black Ink Strength for an extended time in battle.
However, from the looks of it now, even the Seventh-Order Masters could move freely within the Black Ink Cloud without being affected at all.
What was going on?
While the Black Ink Clan was reeling from shock, the Human Squads began to unleash their full strength. The Seventh-Order Masters all stuck close to their Warships and coordinated with the other Squads in their Battalions to launch concentrated attacks. The face-to-face confrontation was quickly decimating the Black Ink Clan Army.
It was 30,000 against over 400,000, which was a huge disparity in numbers, yet to the Humans, being heavily outnumbered was not a problem at all. Throughout the ages, Humans had always battled against the Black Ink Clan under such circumstances, so they amassed a ton of experience.
Although the two Armies clashed fiercely, it was evident that both sides were still exercising caution and restraint. No one pressed forward recklessly as neither the Humans nor the Black Ink Clan had anywhere to fall back to for safety in the vast, unending void.
Pushing too aggressively would not benefit either party, especially if things started deteriorating for them. It could even lead to the destruction of the entire battlefield and a devastatingly high number of casualties.
Thus, if anyone had a distant overview of the battle, they would notice that the fight between the two Armies on the battlefield was fairly straightforward. The Human Race Army of 30,000 and the Black Ink Clan Army of over 400,000 were like two waves oscillating back and forth as both parties continued to engage, retreat, and then engage once more.
Every time the two Armies collided, both parties would attack with all their might. All manner of Secret Techniques burst forth in the thick of the skirmish, only to stop when both parties retreated to regroup.
The leaders of the Human Army did not expect to achieve a decisive victory in short order. They were using these small but frequent skirmishes to exhaust the Black Ink Clan Army’s strength and endurance and slowly gain the upper hand.
However, Mi Jing Lun and Ou Yang Lie never expected that the Black Ink Clan Army’s strategist also had the same thought.
The commanders on both sides were thinking along the same lines. Mi Jing Lun and Ou Yang Lie even felt a glimmer of ‘kinship’ with the Territory Lord who was commanding the opposing Army.
Naturally, it was Zhe Chong who was in charge of commanding the Black Ink Clan Army in this battle.
Among the Territory Lords, Zhe Chong was competent and more importantly, cautious by nature. If it had not been for his prudence, he would not have made the snap decision to escape when he was ambushed by the Human Race Army back at Wind and Cloud Pass. But he did, and therefore, he survived.
Although he was a Territory Lord of the Great Evolution Theatre, over the past 30,000 years, he still gathered considerable combat experience as a result of leading Armies to aid in the battles at Wind and Cloud Pass or Azure Void Pass dozens of times. Though in all fairness, his Army often suffered crushing defeats and few would come back alive.
Still, his wealth of experience going into battle against the Humans was the reason why he could come up with the appropriate strategy for this battle.
He was also the one who came up with the idea of forming the Black Ink Cloud to conceal their movements when they discovered that the North-South Army had come to launch a surprise attack.
If it had been any other Territory Lord at the helm when they saw the Human Race Army’s sudden arrival, they would have most likely rushed headfirst into battle without a second thought.
It had to be said that even though his strategies seemed rather cowardly, Zhe Chong did manage to make things a lot more difficult for the Humans.
Mi Jing Lun and Ou Yang Lie had hoped that they would encounter a reckless Black Ink Clan Army that believed they would win based solely on their overwhelming numbers.
They never thought they would run into an Army led by a shrewd mind.
This was something worthy of marvel, as after so many years of going to battle against the Black Ink Clan, it was their first time coming head to head with a Black Ink Clan commander like that.
The two Armies continued to engage in battle, and each time they clashed, life auras would wither, with the vast majority of the casualties being on the side of the Black Ink Clan.
The Humans would not be in much danger if their Warships were intact, but if their Warships were to be destroyed, then the whole Squad would be in great danger.
After clashing over ten times, things started becoming less orderly and more chaotic.
The Humans were not at fault for that.
Despite only numbering 30,000, the Human Army was disciplined and trained to listen to their superiors without question; thus, they carried out their commanders’ orders to the letter.
It was not the same with the Black Ink Clan.
There were over 400,000 Black Ink Clansmen, and while Zhe Chong was considered the commander, they were actually made up of the individual Armies that belonged to over a dozen different Territory Lords, each with a mind of his own.
Upon seeing that there were so many fatalities within Black Ink Clan after each clash while few if any occurred on the Humans’ side, many of the Territory Lords lost their cool and started pushing more aggressively.
The more reckless they were, the more casualties there were on the Black Ink Clan’s side.
It was humiliating, and that resulted in angering them further, so much so that they joined the battlefield in person.
The Eighth-Order Masters were not about to let the Territory Lords have their way on the battlefield. While the Territory Lords stayed out of the battle, the Eighth-Order Masters also hung back and observed, but now that the Territory Lords were making their move, the Eighth-Order Masters were not going to stand idly by either as they came forward to stop them.
Thus, after two hours of skirmishes, the battle suddenly intensified. The battlefield began to fill with the fluctuations from the fights between the Territory Lords and the Eighth-Order Masters.
Meanwhile, on the Purifying Black Ink Battleship, Ou Yang Lie declared, “I’m joining them. I’ll leave things here to you, Brother Mi.”
Mi Jing Lun simply nodded. Ou Yang Lie took one step and instantly appeared in front of a Territory Lord many thousands of kilometres away. He threw out his fist with great force and the Territory Lord who was caught unaware ended up flying backwards.
That being said, he was still a Territory Lord. Despite being a little dazed after the blow from Ou Yang Lie, he quickly regained his composure and started fighting back.
In the ferocious clash between the two, it was Ou Yang Lie who was unable to unleash his full powers, while the Territory Lords attacked without holding back at all.
It could not be helped as the two were fighting in an area that not only had a lot of Black Ink Clansmen but also a number of Humans. The Territory Lord attacked in a frenzy as he did not care about the deaths of his Clansmen, but Ou Yang Lie could not disregard the lives of the Humans in the same way.
Therefore, even though he gained the upper hand with his initial sneak attack on the Territory Lord, he still could not finish or defeat his opponent in short order.
Ou Yang Lie was not the only one confronted with this situation. Most of the other Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were faced with the same predicament. The Territory Lords’ despicable behaviour was forcing a lot of the Eighth-Order Division Commanders to hold themselves back.
The Purifying Black Ink Battleship hovered in the void at approximately 1 million kilometres from the battlefield.
It was not far by any means, and if a Territory Lord wanted to launch a surprise attack, he could get to the Battleship quite rapidly. Though, of course, it was not considered close either. It was a good spot for Mi Jing Lun to oversee the entire battle.
Of the two Commanders of the North-South Army, Ou Yang Lie was the one who adhered to the principle of talking with his fists, and thus, Mi Jing Lun was the one who commanded the Army in battle.
The Purifying Black Ink Battleship was not alone in the Void as several Battalion-Class Warships hovered around it, each one crewed by an Eighth-Order Division Commander and an entire Battalion!
All of this was to ensure that the Purifying Black Ink Battleship would stay safe even when they were so far away from home.
One could not claim that the Humans were acting too conservatively. On the contrary, the Purifying Black Ink Battleship was just far too important. Not only did the battleship have a great variety of strategic functions, but both the battleship and the Battalion-Class warships around it were carrying quite a number of specialists who followed the Army to this battle.
The East-West Army had over 1,000 Artifact Refiners with them, along with Alchemists and Array Masters in similar numbers.
It was the same with the North-South Army.
These Humans were at the very least in the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm, with a few even being in the Eighth-Order.
Even so, they spent all their time fully focused on their respective Daos such as Artifact Refining, Alchemy, and Spirit Arrays; thus, they lacked combat power and were not suited to step foot on the battlefield. The loss of any one of them would be a notable loss for the Human Race.
They could only remain in safety until the battle came to an end.
If they were to remain here, then there had to be people here to protect them as well; therefore, even though the North-South Army had 30,000 soldiers in total, in reality, 3,000 to 4,000 of them were not taking part in the battle against the Black Ink Clan.
Mi Jing Lun’s brows were tightly furrowed as he surveyed the battle from the deck of the Purifying Black Ink Battleship.
What was happening was unlike anything he had expected.
Initially, he assumed that it would not be hard for the North-South Army to come out victorious as a Black Ink Clan Army of 500,000 would only have slightly over a dozen Territory Lords commanding it. The North-South Army had nearly 60 Eighth-Order Masters, which was several times more than their opponents’ number of Territory Lords.
The advantage they had in high-level combat power was enough to make up for the huge difference in numbers between the two Armies.
That being said, it would be impossible to ruthlessly slaughter the entire Black Ink Clan Army as they would undoubtedly flee once things did not look good for them.
The situation at this battle was different from the ambush that the East-West Army had set up at Wind and Cloud Pass.
Yang Kai had filled Mi Jing Lun in on all the details of that battle, and Mi Jing Lun knew that the East-West Army’s successful vanquishment of all 300,000 of the Black Ink Clan Army in such a short amount of time was mainly due to the circumstances of the ambush, and also the fact that they had an Old Ancestor with them. All in all, the Black Ink Clan had no hope of even putting up a strong fight against the Humans back then.
However, the North-South Army failed to set up an ambush and did not have an Old Ancestor to assume command, so they could not compare themselves with the advantageous position the East-West Army had.
Still, the North-South Army should have been able to achieve victory relatively easily without having to suffer too many casualties on their end.
Unfortunately, the reality was quite different.
The Humans did not seem to have as much of an advantage on the battlefield as they anticipated.
Despite the high hopes that Mi Jing Lun placed on the Eighth-Order Masters to turn the battle in their favour, they did not seem to be giving the Humans that much of an edge in battle.
The reason for this boiled down to the existence of numerous Seventh-Order and Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples among the Black Ink Clan Army!
Even after experiencing so many years of everything from great battles to minor skirmishes with the Black Ink Clan, Mi Jing Lun had never encountered so many Black Ink Disciples at once, and all of them had such high Orders.
It was not surprising to find Black Ink Disciples, a rather unique form of being, on the Black Ink Battlefield. In the past, in every major battle, there would always be Black Ink Disciples taking part. Some unfortunate Humans ended up turning into Black Ink Disciples and becoming an enemy of the Human Race in every clash.
However, ever since Yang Kai came to the Black Ink Battlefield and brought the Purifying Light to the Great Passes, the number of Black Ink Disciples drastically decreased.
The Black Ink Disciples either died on the battlefield or were caught by Human Masters who used Purifying Light to restore their sense of self. Without fresh blood to bolster their numbers, the Black Ink Disciples naturally grew fewer and fewer.
This had become even more apparent in recent years as Mi Jing Lun had barely seen any sign of Black Ink Disciples on the battlefield.
Yet now, at the Great Evolution Theatre, he saw the Black Ink Disciples once more, including quite a number that had Seventh-Order and Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm cultivations.
Most were in the Seventh Order, numbering in the hundreds.
Although they did not have quite as many Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples, Mi Jing Lun had counted nearly 30 of them and he knew that there had to be more than that as there would be some he did not manage to spot in all the chaos.
No one would have ever thought that there were so many High-Rank Black Ink Disciples in the Great Evolution Theatre.
And this was only those that belonged to the Armies of the dozen or so Territory Lords present. The situation would certainly be a lot grimmer if all the forces in the Great Evolution Theatre were combined.
There was no other Theatre like this one.
While the other Theatres also encountered Black Ink Disciples on the battlefield, it was impossible for them to be confronted with such powerful ones and in such alarming numbers.
Nevertheless, after mulling in silence for a brief moment, Mi Jung Lun soon realized the reason for this.
The Great Evolution Theatre’s situation was unique due to the Great Pass having been lost over 30,000 years ago. No great battles had taken place throughout that time in this Theatre, which meant that the Black Ink Disciples could spend all their time on cultivation. They did not have to worry about going to battle and losing their life, and thus, they slowly managed to reach the Seventh-Order and Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm.