Yang Kai might have seen so many deaths that he was already accustomed to it, but his mood still became heavy.
There were not many Special Operations Squads. Each Great Pass only had a handful at most, and each of their Squad Leaders had a high chance of advancing to the Eighth Order.
Many of the current Eighth-Order Division Commanders once used to be Squad Leaders of such elite Squads.
Not to mention, the Snow Wolves Squad had 10 Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in total, so it was not just Yao Kang Cheng who had good chances of advancing to the Eighth-Order.
Now that they had been completely wiped out, the Human Race had lost a couple Eighth-Order seedlings.
But this was still not what weighed most heavily on Yang Kai’s mind. The thing he was most concerned about was the condition of the Royal Lord, and whether or not the Royal Lord had personally killed the Snow Wolves Squad.
Unfortunately, no one knew what had happened back then, so the only way to learn what happened was to wait for the real war to begin.
Yang Kai put away the remains of the Warship before his aura surged. He was like a bright lamp in this dark and dreary void filled with the Black Ink Strength. The next moment, he left a dazzling trail of light in his wake as he shot off, searching for a target to vent his anger.
Yang Kai encountered the returning Black Ink Clan forces in the vast void from time to time, and all the Black Ink Clansmen he ran into were mercilessly killed.
Five days later, Yang Kai, who was hunting the Black Ink Clan, suddenly noticed powerful energy fluctuations coming from a certain direction. Someone was fighting!
He immediately flew towards the source to check up on the situation; whereupon he saw a Human Warship circling around a Low-Rank Black Ink Nest, attacking it until it was riddled with holes.
A Feudal Lord stood atop this Black Ink Nest, angrily roaring while casting a series of Secret Techniques, though he was unable to do anything to the Warship.
When the two races encountered each other in the void, the Humans, who possessed Warships, always had a huge advantage. Whereas the Feudal Lords, who were unwilling to abandon their Black Ink Nests, essentially became a target.
What’s more, at this point, it was basically impossible for the Feudal Lords to abandon their Black Ink Nests. A Feudal Lord could use his or her Black Ink Nest to empower themselves and fight back against the Human Squads, but if they abandoned it, they would lose all their chances of making it out alive.
The Human Squad was just an ordinary Squad with a dozen or so members, led by two Seventh-Order Masters.
By the time Yang Kai arrived, the Black Ink Nest was already on the verge of collapsing. A few High-Rank and Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen courageously shot straight towards the Warship under the orders of the Feudal Lord, but none of them was able to even get close before being blown to pieces by various attacks fired by the Warship’s arrays.
By the looks of it, this group of Black Ink Clansmen would not be able to hold on for much longer. The Black Ink Nest would be destroyed in at most an hour, and by then, only one or two Feudal Lords would remain alive.
Victory was set in stone for the Humans!
Yang Kai didn’t mind adding a flower to the bouquet before him and also attacked with his spear as his fierce aura locked onto the owner of Black Ink Nest from afar.
The Feudal Lord’s heart jumped into his throat and he immediately turned his gaze towards Yang Kai, but all he saw was a rapidly approaching spear tip.
The Feudal Lord was also a decisive person, so upon realizing that things were not looking good for him, he madly mobilized the power of his Black Ink Nest. His aura suddenly exploded as he sent a palm strike towards Yang Kai.
A shockwave spread outwards as Yang Kai and the Feudal Lord flew past each other, continuing on for several tens of thousands of kilometres before they stopped and stabilized themselves. The next moment, Yang Kai’s skin split apart as blood spurted from a fresh wound that had been inflicted on him.
The Feudal Lord’s desperate counterattack had ultimately managed to injure Yang Kai.
The number of Black Ink Nests Yang Kai had destroyed in the past few days since the war started was hard to count, and the number of Feudal Lords that had perished at his hands was even higher.
Furthermore, Yang Kai would always go all out every time he attacked, trying to eliminate the enemy in the shortest time possible so that he could quickly rush to the next location.
It was impossible to remain unscathed in such a high-intensity battle.
Currently, the number of wounds on Yang Kai’s body was almost the same as the number of Black Ink Clansmen he killed. If it wasn’t for his powerful Dragon Vein, these wounds alone would have rendered him immobile.
The strongest aspect of a powerful Dragon Vein was its tenacity and recovery ability. So, Yang Kai did not take these small wounds seriously.
On the other hand, at this moment, the huge Black Ink Nest behind Yang Kai had been split in half, and the Master of the Black Ink Nest, the Feudal Lord who had clashed with him, was missing half of his body.
The Feudal Lord was not dead yet, but he was quickly reduced to blood mist under the constant barrage of the Human Race Warship.
By the time Yang Kai returned to the battlefield, the fight was already over.
The Squad Leader must have seen Yang Kai before as he quickly stepped forward and greeted, “Brother Yang!”
He was secretly in awe. Yang Kai’s entire body was currently surrounded by a thick murderous intent, one so dense that it was almost tangible, which was proof of just how many Black Ink Clansmen he had killed over these last few days.
Yang Kai’s body was covered in blood and wounds, the glorious trophies of his battles along the way.
Yang Kai nodded slightly before curiously asking, “Where did you come from?”
He had not seen the two Seventh-Order members of this Squad among the 500 Seventh-Order Masters assigned to him previously. Although he didn’t know all 500 of them personally, he still had some impression of their faces.
The Seventh-Order Master, who had greeted him, replied, “A number of us were deployed from Great Evolution Pass under orders from the Army Commander to intercept the fleeing Black Ink Clansmen.”
Yang Kai immediately understood. Xiang Shan’s arrangement was thorough and reasonable.
500 Seventh-Order Humans had been sent to ambush the Black Ink Clan’s outer defence line, but once the Black Ink Clan received the news about the impending attack, the Feudal Lords on the periphery would definitely be recalled to the Royal City.
On the other hand, Great Evolution Pass was right ahead of the returning Feudal Lords. So, Great Evolution Pass had deployed a few Squads to intercept these returning Feudal Lords.
Yang Kai also realized that he must have killed his way around the entire perimeter of the Royal City, otherwise he wouldn’t have encountered someone from Great Evolution Pass.
Yang Kai did not waste any more time on small-talk. He raised his Azure Dragon Spear and cautioned, “Be careful, if you encounter a strong enemy, try to team up with the other Squads. There should be some of our people nearby.”
Yang Kai instantly teleported away after having cautioned the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
The Seventh-Order Master incessantly sighed, looking in the direction he disappeared, “Even though we are both in the Seventh-Order, I can never match him!”
All of them had witnessed Yang Kai’s might with their own eyes. The same enemy, against whom their Squad had been battling for a long time, was taken out by Yang Kai in just one attack.
There was a massive gap between them.
The others in the Squad consoled their Leader with a smile, “We don’t have that kind of power, so we can’t move alone, but there is no need to belittle ourselves. War is not fought by one man alone.”
The Seventh-Order Squad Leader nodded in agreement, “That’s right, this is a war, a life and death struggle between two races. We just have to do what we are capable of doing.”
Next, he pointed in a certain direction and shouted, “Let’s head in that direction!”
Everyone loudly responded as the Warship set sail.
Elsewhere, Yang Kai silently calculated the speed and route of the Black Ink Clan’s forces before he proceeded around the Royal City once more while slowly approaching it, moving in a large spiral path.
Everyone was drawing closer to the Royal City; the Human Race was like this, and so was the Black Ink Clan. At some point, they were bound to run into each other.
A great war could break out in the inner ring of the Black Ink Clan’s defence line at any moment.
The Humans had killed innumerable Black Ink Clansmen, while suffering almost negligible casualties.
The Black Ink Clan had spent a great deal of time and effort to construct a massive defence line. Originally, they thought that they could use it to block the Human Race’s advance, but now, this defence line was nothing more than a flower vase. It could even be considered a burden.
All the Low-Rank Black Ink Nests had been moved to the outermost ring in order to expand this defence line, which meant thousands of Black Ink Nests and at least twice as many Feudal Lords had been sent out. Individually, the forces of these Black Ink Nests weren’t worth considering, but taken as a whole, over 5,000 Feudal Lords and dozens of times more soldiers was a formidable force.
Such manpower was indispensable to the current Black Ink Clan.
If such a force were to be cut off and eliminated before the real battle even began, the Black Ink Clan’s overall strength would suffer greatly. Furthermore, the loss of so many Feudal Lords would result in a big gap in the command hierarchy between the highest and lowest levels of the Army.
After several days of continuous ambushes and raids, the Black Ink Clan had lost over 2,000 Feudal Lords and at least 10 times as many High and Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen.
If these 2,000 Feudal Lords and tens of thousands of Black Ink Clansmen were gathered in one place, the Human Race Army would have to pay a huge price to eliminate all of them.
But so far, the Human Army had lost less than 30 soldiers.
The reason for this was because these Feudal Lords were scattered quite far away from each other. As long as the Human forces found an opportunity, they were quickly eliminated one by one.
The war had yet not started, but the Humans had already established a great advantage, so how could they not win?
While the Human Squads were triumphantly advancing, the Black Ink Clan was fleeing in a great panic, fleeing in the Royal City’s direction. In the end, only a very few managed to escape from the Human Race’s pursuit and interception.
Only the Black Ink Clansmen in the direction opposite of Great Evolution Pass’ arrival stood a chance of escaping back to the Royal City.
Of course, if they were down on their luck, they might run into Yang Kai, who was circling around the Royal City.
After 10 days, Yang Kai was flying across the void with his spear, blankly looking around.
It had been over a day since he had last seen any Black Ink Clansmen, and it was not as if they had all been killed.
The Black Ink Clansmen stationed at the outer defence line were a month’s journey from the Royal City if they were bringing their Black Ink Nests along with them. Great Evolution Pass was only discovered 15 days after it crossed the periphery of the defence line, so the Black Ink Clan should have started heading back to the Royal City after receiving that message.
Only 10 days had passed since Great Evolution Pass was discovered. In other words, the returning Black Ink Clansmen who were still alive should still be some 20 days away from the Royal City.
Some of them might have been faster, and some might have been slower, some would have been farther from the Royal City and some would have been closer, but all in all, there would not be that much gap between them.
But Yang Kai failed to find any. There was nothing but empty void around him.
About 30% of the Black Ink Clansmen in the outer defence line had been eliminated, so the remaining 70% must be scattered in various directions. It might seem that there were still quite a lot of them alive, but it wasn’t that easy to find them.
After a quick calculation, Yang Kai realized that Great Evolution Pass was now just a few days away from the Royal City.
The huge battle was imminent!
Yang Kai stared into the void for a while before putting away the Azure Dragon Spear and disappearing soon after.
The final battle would be fought at the Royal City in a few days. Considering this, the best course of action was to conserve his strength, so he returned to Great Evolution Pass!
Yang Kai reappeared aboard a Purifying Black Ink Battleship anchored in Great Evolution Pass.
Before he could regain his senses, a hubbub of noises entered his ear.
“Don’t block the way, keep moving, keep moving.”
“Eh, so soft… what is it?”
“Which little bastard is touching this Great Aunt? Surnamed Cao, was it you!? I knew it! You always had dirty intentions towards me! You always pretended to be dignified, but today you’ve finally revealed your true colours!”
“Junior Sister, what are you saying? I never had any dirty intentions towards you!”
“What do you mean? Are you saying this Great Aunt is ugly?”
“No, no, absolutely not…”
“What do you mean then? Explain yourself!”
…
“Senior Brother, you’re stepping on my foot.”
“This Old Master is injured, my guts are flowing out, which blind fool even knocked into this Old Master’s wound, Aiya… it hurts like Hell.”
…
“Keep moving, keep moving, don’t stop!”
…
Yang Kai was completely dumbfounded.
Looking around, he soon noticed that the Universe Array was completely overcrowded with people continuing to teleport back from the outside. It was so cramped that people were literally stepping on each others’ toes.
Although the Purifying Black Ink Battleship was not small, the location of the Universe Array was not too big. Normally, it could only accommodate a few dozen people, but now hundreds of people were attempting to return through it, causing it to become quite crowded.
No one had expected this either.
Yang Kai thought to himself, [I guess the higher-ups have sent out orders to return to the Great Pass to prepare for the upcoming battle; otherwise, something like this wouldn’t be happening.]
Be that as it may, it was not that big of a deal. It might be a bit chaotic, but the cultivators were all quickly returning from outside so this couldn’t be helped.
If all of them were to remain here, it would only become more crowded.
Yang Kai went along with the flow and soon arrived at the Space Array setup. He stepped into the Array with the others, and activated his strength. The next moment, he appeared on the deck of the Purifying Black Ink Battleship.
Just as before, no one stayed on the Purifying Black Ink Battleship’s deck.
After a short while, Yang Kai finally arrived at an open space and made a quick scan with his Divine Sense, but he failed to locate Dawning Light.
There was also a Universe Array on Dawning Light, so as long as it was within range of the Universe Transference Law, he could sense it.
But since he was unable to locate Dawning Light, the only possibility was that it had been taken into someone’s Small Universe.
[I guess Shen Ao and the others are back already.]
Yang Kai swiftly made his way to Dawn’s courtyard, and as he had expected, he could sense the aura of Dawn’s members from inside, but all of them seemed to be conditioning themselves, preparing for the upcoming battle.
Yang Kai didn’t disturb them and simply returned to his room where he sat down cross-legged and stuffed some pills into his mouth to recover his stamina and energy.
Tens of thousands of soldiers had gathered inside Great Evolution Pass, getting ready for the attack.
In the void, the massive Great Evolution Pass headed straight towards the Royal City without hiding itself.
Since their presence had already been exposed, there was no need to hide anymore.
This was also a way to let the Black Ink Clan know that the Human Race was determined to win this War. The mobilization of Great Evolution Pass represented that the tens of thousands of Human soldiers would not stop for anything. Anyone who dared to stand in their way was destined to die a tragic death.
…
At the same time, in the Royal City…
The Royal Lord was sitting inside his huge Royal Palace, his face pale and gloomy.
Obviously, his injuries were very serious and he had yet to recover.
Several hundred years ago, he had fought with the female Human Old Ancestor repeatedly over 100 years, during which time both sides suffered great losses. He suffered serious injuries in those successive battles, and the same was true for the Old Ancestor. In the end, both had taken a huge hit, and they were no longer able to display their peak in battle anymore.
But he had no idea that the Old Ancestor was just putting on an act. Each time they fought back then, she had fully recovered and was only feigning weakness to get him to lower his guard.
In the final battle of that war, the Old Ancestor suddenly brought out her peak combat strength and thrashed him to the point where he could barely escape. Had several Territory Lords not led a massive number of troops over from the Royal City to rescue him, the Old Ancestor would have killed him that day.
The Territory Lords and the Black Ink Clan Army who had come to rescue him all sacrificed their lives, but the Royal Lord managed to survive.
Even now, the Royal Lord could not understand how the Old Ancestor had managed to recover from her injuries so rapidly. Logically speaking, it was impossible for her to recover so quickly from injuries like those.
Unfortunately, the Old Ancestor did really recover.
In that battle, he fled back to the Royal City where he barely held on to his life by relying on the power of his Black Ink Nest to resist the Old Ancestor who doggedly chased after him.
Nevertheless, his Army had suffered crippling casualties.
It was also because of that battle that the Black Ink Clan in Great Evolution Theatre lost all ability to compete with the Humans.
Fortunately, the Humans had also withdrawn soon after the battle ended to retake Great Evolution Pass and restore it.
While it might have been humiliating, the Royal Lord breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the Human Race Army retreat that day.
At last, he could recuperate in peace.
But to his dismay, things did not pan out as he had expected. The Old Ancestor suddenly returned alone a few days after he entered the Black Ink Nest to recuperate. Shocked, he hurriedly leapt out of the Black Ink Nest, unable to care about anything else but the enemy at his doorstep.
This was just the beginning of his suffering though.
For the next 200 years, the Old Ancestor would return every now and then, either releasing her Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm aura from afar to threaten the Royal City, or she would just directly attack and raise chaos. Many Black Ink Clansmen died at her hands, but there was nothing the Royal Lord could do other than remain near the Royal City where he could take advantage of his Black Ink Nest to repel the Old Ancestor.
Two centuries… It had been a full two centuries, but the Royal Lord’s injuries had not improved at all. The Royal Lord’s eyes burned with rage just recalling her figure.
He had never encountered such a difficult opponent.
Left with no choice, he could only order the Feudal Lords to take their Black Ink Nests and construct a Black Ink Strength barrier around the Royal City.
The Human Race would return someday, the Royal Lord was certain of this, and so were the Territory Lords; thus, they had to take precautions.
The Black Ink Strength defence line could restrict the movements of the Human cultivators, whereas the Black Ink Clansmen would be like fish in water. If a war really broke out one day, this defence line might be able to tip the scales in their favour.
Because of this, the Black Ink Clan had expended an enormous amount of resources, consuming almost everything they had amassed over the previous 30,000 years.
But it was well worth it. The Black Ink Strength defence line covered a vast area around the Royal City, which would require even the strongest Masters several days to cross, providing a safe zone for the Black Ink Clan.
Any Human who dared to cross this defence line would definitely meet a terrible end.
When they received the news that the Human Race had attacked, the Territory Lords and even the Royal Lord weren’t too surprised, but to their shock and horror, another piece of news soon reached their ears.
The Black Ink Clansman who had discovered the movements of the Human Race reported that the Humans were not attacking in a fleet like in the past, but had instead brought the entire Great Evolution Pass with them.
Instinctively, none of the Black Ink Clan higher-ups were willing to believe it.
But when Hong Di Territory Lord personally went out to investigate and saw that massive weapon of war advancing towards the Royal City, no matter how unwilling he was, he had no choice but to believe it.
He had presided over Great Evolution Pass for 30,000 years, so he was incomparably familiar with it, knowing every nook and cranny like the back of his hand.
[Great Evolution Pass… is really coming.]
When they received this piece of news, all the Territory Lords were beside themselves with shock.
Great Evolution Pass could actually move!? How could such a massive object be moved? More importantly, the Black Ink Clan had occupied Great Evolution Pass for 30,000 years but never discovered that it could be controlled.
They knew that Great Evolution Pass was a giant Mobile Palace Artifact, but apart from that, they knew nothing else.
A massive Great Pass like that was attacking, with all its powerful offensive and defensive arrays. It was hard to say how effective the Black Ink Strength defence line that the Black Ink Clan had shed sweat and blood to set up would be against this unprecedented move by the Humans.
Now, even in an environment filled with Black Ink Strength, if the Human soldiers felt like they couldn’t hold on any longer, they could simply return to Great Evolution Pass to rest and recuperate.
All of the Territory Lords stared at Hong Di with a look of blame on their faces.
Hong Di felt indignant about this misplaced anger.
He might have been in charge of Great Evolution Pass for 30,000 years, but at the end of the day, it was still an artifact refined by the Human Race. How could it be that easily controlled without some kind of special technique?
That wasn’t the most important point though. The crucial issue was how Great Evolution Pass managed to sneak past the Black Ink Strength defence line without anyone noticing. There might be some areas in the defence line with weaker surveillance than others, but certainly no gaps big enough to miss the enormous Great Evolution Pass sailing by. They should have received news of the invasion a month ago when Great Evolution Pass intruded past the defence line.
But in reality, they only learned of it half a month after Great Evolution Pass had crossed the defence perimeter.
That’s the most unusual point!
In any case, there was no point in pursuing who was responsible for which failure right now. The Black Ink Clan had already lost an estimated 20% to 30% of the Lords and their subordinates stationed at the outer defence line, as well as at least 1,000 Black Ink Nests. They had suffered extremely heavy losses.
The entire Great Pass was invading, so clearly, the Humans were planning to wage a final battle with them. If they couldn’t stop the Humans this time, the Black Ink Clan in Great Evolution Theatre would be annihilated.
At present, all the Territory Lords were gathered at the Royal Palace. When they arrived, the air in the palace was already so heavy that the Territory Lords did not dare to speak, but soon after, the Royal Lord gave them even worse news than they had imagined.
This was not just happening in Great Evolution Theatre. From the information he had received, all the Human Race’s Great Passes were moving towards the Royal Cities in their corresponding Theatre.
This was not just a battle for dominance of a single Theatre, but a total war between the two Races!
This was truly unprecedented.
Such a large-scale deployment could not have been organized in just one or two years.
The Human Race had clearly been planning this for a very long time!
Now that they were mounting an all-out assault, it was perfectly clear that they were planning to have a decisive battle with the Black Ink Clan. After this war ended, only one race would survive.
The Territory Lords were all shocked. In their minds, the Humans had always been passive and focused entirely on defence. The Black Ink Clan could attack whenever and wherever they wanted, and they could retreat as they pleased. This status quo had not changed for countless millennia.
It was true that the Black Ink Clan would suffer massive casualties every time a war broke out, but the true Masters would almost all survive. The ones who died were the weak and insignificant soldiers. For the Black Ink Clan, even if these weak clansmen perished in droves, so long as they had the Black Ink Nests and ample resources, they could replenish their ranks without limit.
But it was different for the Humans who always had far fewer soldiers. Every single death for them was a significant loss.
As such, the Territory Lords had always believed that someday, they would be able to wipe out all the Humans and take down the Great Passes one by one before ultimately invading and conquering the 3,000 Worlds.
The Black Ink Clan had been coveting the flourishing 3,000 Worlds since forever, where they could enslave countless Black Ink Disciples and feast upon the innumerable complete Universe Worlds. It was the world that the Black Ink Clan most yearned for.
But now, the Human Race had actually launched an attack in every Theatre with the clear intent to wipe them from existence.
After a heavy and depressing silence, Hong Di couldn’t bear it any longer and stated, cupping his fist, “Sir Royal Lord, the Humans are approaching with unstoppable momentum. Great Evolution Pass is also exceptionally sturdy. If it hits the Royal City, the Royal City would definitely be destroyed.”
When the Great Evolution East-West Army invaded the Royal City last time, they had outfitted dozens of Universe Worlds with thousands of Spirit Arrays to use them as giant weapons, causing the Black Ink Clan to suffer greatly. The Black Ink Clan had to split their forces in every battle to defend against the Universe Worlds which were hurled at them, resulting in the deaths of many of their clansmen.
The situation was already bad when it was just Universe Worlds, but now, what was charging at them was actually the Great Pass itself!
Of course, Great Evolution Pass was inferior to the Universe Worlds in terms of pure size. Even the smallest Universe World was countless times bigger than Great Evolution Pass.
But size was not the standard by which to measure a threat.
When the Universe Worlds were used to attack, the Territory Lords could blast them to pieces through joint attacks without much difficulty, so they weren’t a big threat to the Royal City as long as proper precautions were taken.
In contrast, Great Evolution Pass was the sturdiest Human artifact known to exist. Furthermore, it was surrounded by countless barriers, so no one could guarantee that they would be able to destroy it.
If Great Evolution Pass crashed into the Royal City, it would be akin to smashing an egg with a rock. The Royal City would not be able to resist.
Not to mention, there were still tens of thousands of Human soldiers inside Great Evolution Pass. They were not some inanimate statues. They would surely defend and counterattack when the Black Ink Clan tried to attack Great Evolution Pass.
“Great Evolution Pass is only a few days away from the Royal City, if we don’t think of a way to defend ourselves before it arrives, I’m afraid all will be lost,” a Territory Lord muttered.
“How should we fight back?” One of the Territory Lords asked.
“The Pass is barreling right towards us, and the Royal City cannot stop it. In that case, we have only one choice, and that is to dodge it. If the Human Race wants to destroy the Royal City using Great Evolution Pass, we must do everything possible to stop them.”
In truth, the destruction of the Royal City was not that big of a deal for the Black Ink Clan. The place where the Royal Lord resided was the Royal City, so if the Royal City was destroyed, they could simply move to another location and rebuild.
However, the Royal Lord’s Black Ink Nest was in the Royal City, and the Black Ink Nest didn’t have any real defensive capabilities. If the Royal City was destroyed, the Black Ink Nest would be destroyed along with it, and if that happened, the injured Royal Lord would not be able to borrow its power to resist the Old Ancestor.
In his current state, without his Black Ink Nest, the Royal Lord was not the Human Old Ancestor’s match. His defeat or worse, death, would greatly affect the morale of the Black Ink Clan Army.
In the face of the oncoming Great Evolution Pass, many Territory Lords felt that the best way to deal with it was to avoid it.
Hong Di indifferently replied, “How can we avoid it? Great Evolution Pass is a Mobile Palace Artifact. Even if we could move the Royal City, our speed would undoubtedly be slower than Great Evolution Pass. Even if we managed to dodge their attack once or twice, we will have to face them sooner or later.”
He had previously gone to investigate the situation of Great Evolution Pass and knew that the Royal City could not avoid it.
“Are we just going to sit here and wait for the Humans to attack then?” Angrily asked the Territory Lord who had spoken up earlier.
Hong Di shook his head, “Great Evolution Pass has travelled quite a long distance to reach here, so the Humans should only have enough strength to launch a single attack if we fight back. As long as we make a united effort and block that one strike, we can protect the Royal City. What follows will be a war between the two Races. Although the Humans are strong, we still hold the advantage in numbers. Whether it’s apex Masters or weaker soldiers, our Black Ink Clan has always had this advantage, so why should we fear them?”
This might have been the case, but all the Territory Lords knew that the Human Race’s combat strength couldn’t be judged purely based on numbers; otherwise, the Black Ink Clan wouldn’t have been so badly beaten that they were now afraid to even leave the Royal City.
“We’ll have to pay a great price to stop the advancing Great Evolution Pass.”
After travelling such a huge distance, the massive Pass had gained an incredible amount of momentum. The Black Ink Clan would have to put their lives on the line if they wanted to halt it. Not to mention Feudal Lords, even the Territory Lords might fall if they were not careful.
“Even if we have to pay a great price, we must stop it,” Hong Di proclaimed as a stern and ruthless look took over his face.
Back then, he was forced to leave behind his Black Ink Nest and all of the Seventh-Order Black Ink Disciples, all so that surviving Black Ink Clansmen could safely leave Great Evolution Pass. This had left a huge stain on his reputation and many Territory Lords even looked down on him over the years, feeling that he had lost the face of the Black Ink Clan.
Not a moment went by without Hong Di not wanting to fight it out with the Humans again to prove his strength and that his choice that day had been forced.
Now that the Humans were invading, it was a crisis for the Black Ink Clan, but it was also an opportunity for Hong Di! As long as he could inflict heavy losses on the Humans in this battle, he could wash away his previous humiliation.
If he could kill an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, that would be even better.
Che Kong also agreed, nodding, “Avoiding the enemy is not the strategy to win a war. We have spent so much time and effort to set up such a massive defence line, but now we want to escape with the Royal City? Our Black Ink Clan cannot afford to lose face like this. Centuries ago, the Human Race used schemes and deception to severely injure the Royal Lord, causing our Black Ink Clan to suffer heavy casualties. Their victory in that battle has blinded the Humans and made them arrogant, making them look down on us as weak and unworthy of fear. But things are different now. Since they dare to act so presumptuously, let us make sure that they all perish here.”
Turning around, he cupped his fist towards the Royal Lord sitting on his throne and bowed, “Sir Royal Lord, your subordinate requests you lead all the Territory Lords to defend the Royal City to the death and stop Great Evolution Pass!”
The Royal Lord remained completely silent. Originally, he had two wings filled with the Black Ink Strength on his back, but now only one remained. The other one had been ripped off by Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao in the final battle 200 years ago and he had yet to recover it even now.
Since the Royal Lord had not spoken, the Territory Lords could only wait.
After a good long while, the Royal Lord finally nodded, “We will use the Royal City as the battlefield. We will kill the Old Ancestor and annihilate the Human Race Army!”
The Territory Lords’ spirits rose as they shouted in unison, “Kill the Old Ancestor, annihilate the Human Race’s Army!”
Their morale was instantly boosted.
Who knew where their confidence was coming from.
A moment later, Territory Lords filed out of the palace, preparing to resist the advancing Great Evolution Pass. In a flash, the Black Ink Clan Armies in the Royal City were mobilized, forming a defensive perimeter outside the Royal City.
All the Territory Lords knew that the future of both races depended on this battle. If the Humans won, there would no longer be a place for the Black Ink Clan to survive in Great Evolution Theatre, and vice versa, the Humans would perish!
No one dared to lower their guard as they prepared to place all their cards on the table.
For a moment, the Royal City was shrouded in a thick murderous intent.
Far away, Great Evolution Pass flew forward at maximum speed.
News kept coming from the frontline, allowing the Human Race’s higher-ups to keep track of the Black Ink Clan’s deployment.
Inside the Main Conference Hall, a slight furrow could be seen on the faces of Xiang Shan and the others. The Black Ink Clan’s actions were truly suspicious. All of them believed that when Great Evolution Pass charged at the Royal City, the Black Ink Clan would move the Royal City, avoiding a head-on clash, but by the looks of it, the Black Ink Clan wanted to put up a stubborn resistance.
But could they?
And even if they somehow managed to resist the initial strike, would the Black Ink Clan be able to deal with the upcoming battle? The Royal Lord was heavily injured, and even if he could use his Black Ink Nest to resist the Old Ancestor for a time, how long could he last?
Once the Royal Lord was defeated, the Black Ink Clan would not be able to resist.
Where was the Black Ink Clan’s confidence coming from?
Everyone was confused by the Black Ink Clan’s deployment, but there was no time to think too much about it. Great Evolution Pass’ attack was already in motion. If the Black Ink Clan tried to resist, then they would have to face them head-on.
…..
Three days later, Yang Kai left his room…
His injuries had completely healed after a few days of recovery, illustrating just how potent a Dragon Vein could be when it came to healing injuries.
Every member of Dawn was already gathered in the courtyard. When Yang Kai walked out of his room, he swept a glance over everyone. He did not give any speech or anything, he just slightly nodded and ordered in a heavy voice, “Let’s go!”
There was no need for any additional words. Everyone knew that this battle would be far more dangerous than any they had fought before. Most of these 50 members of Dawn might perish in this war, but no one had any intention of cowering.
The Human Race had waited for this day for countless millennia. Even if they had to sacrifice all their lives to obtain victory, so what?
One after another, Squads left their residences and headed towards the walls.
Yang Kai led Dawn to a certain section of the wall at the bow of Great Evolution Pass. Looking around, he found the place completely jam-packed. Whether it was above or below, there were people everywhere.
Every Array and artifact on the city walls was manned by someone, ready to activate them at a moment’s notice.
Even though there were so many people present, not a sound could be heard.
Everyone was eagerly waiting for the moment the clash with the Black Ink Clan would begin.
When Yang Kai looked towards the horizon, he could already see the outline of the Royal City. Nonetheless, they were still quite a distance away and the Black Ink Strength was extremely rich here, so he couldn’t see it clearly.
Suddenly, a figure flew to Yang Kai’s side. Yang Kai promptly turned around and greeted, cupping his fist, “Martial Uncle Xu!”
Xu Ling Gong lightly nodded in response before exhorting, “The battlefield is always changing, be careful out there.”
“I understand,” acknowledged Yang Kai.
“This battle is not going to be easy. The Black Ink Clan will have more Territory-Lord-level Masters available to fight than we have Eighth-Order Division Commanders to contain them. We need to tighten our defences, so 20 Eighth-Order Masters will remain inside Great Evolution Pass, which will further widen the gap in numbers. We might have the Evil Purging Divine Spears now, but no one can say for sure how effective they will be in combat. If you encounter a Territory Lord or Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple on the battlefield, don’t try to fight them head-on, try to draw them to me.”
“Yes!”
Yang Kai silently calculated in his heart. Great Evolution Pass had a total of 74 Eight-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, so if 20 remained in Great Evolution Pass to strengthen its defenses, that would leave only 50 or so who could fight.
Although he had no idea how many Territory Lords the Black Ink Clan had, they should have at least 70 to 80.
Not to mention, they still had many Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples.
The Humans were indeed at a disadvantage in terms of high-level combat power. As for how they planned to overturn this disadvantage, it would depend on how effective the Evil Purging Divine Spears turned out to be.
If they managed to eliminate a bunch of Territory Lords or Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples with the Evil Purging Divine Spears at the outset of the battle, the pressure on the Human Race would be greatly reduced.
More importantly, if the Humans wanted to win, they did not just need to reduce the pressure they were facing, but gain a decisive advantage.
At the end of the day, the fact remained that the Human soldiers were fewer in number than the Black Ink Clansmen. Things would become chaotic during the battle, so even if Great Evolution Pass was within reach, one might not be able to reach it in a moment of crisis.
Things would turn much smoother if Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters could obtain a victory at the outset of the battle.
As for Xu Ling Gong’s suggestion of luring any Territory Lords or Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples to him, Yang Kai had no plan to heed it.
Xu Ling Gong had only just broken through to the Eighth-Order two centuries ago, so even though his cultivation had stabilized, his foundation was nowhere near as strong as the veteran Eighth-Order Masters. He might not fall into a disadvantage against a single Territory Lord, but if he was up against two, then he would most definitely be overpowered.
Yang Kai, on the other hand, might appear to be just a Seventh-Order Master, but he had obtained an enormous amount of benefits at the No-Return Pass and could now transform into an Ancient Dragon, so fighting a Territory Lord was not a problem for him.
The current Yang Kai could be said to be a Pseudo Eighth-Order Master!
Xu Ling Gong quickly left. Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had their own assignments. They would immediately engage the Territory Lords once the battle began, so it was impossible for them to move together with a Squad.
Not far away, Xiao Cai was standing next to Miao Fei Ping. She hesitated for a moment before finally urging, “Senior Brother Miao, you have to be careful. If you can’t defeat the enemy, remember to return to Dawning Light.”
Miao Fei Ping’s cultivation speed was extremely fast. As the Human Race had ample resources now and quite a few years had gone by since he left Yang Kai’s Small Universe, he had already advanced to the Seventh Order a few years ago.
This would be the first time he would be fighting against the Black Ink Clan after advancing to the Seventh Order.
Miao Fei Ping glanced at her and assured her with a smile, “Don’t worry, I’ll be careful. But you also need to be careful.”
Xiao Cai nodded, “I’ll be staying inside Dawning Light and only activating the Spirit Arrays, so it won’t be too dangerous.”
On the battlefield, the ones in the most danger were the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, who would have to leave their Warships to engage the enemy. On the other hand, the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters like Xiao Cai wouldn’t be in much danger as long as their Warship was not destroyed.
Of course, if the Warship was destroyed, the Fifth and Sixth-Order Masters would likely face total annihilation.
Since ancient times, there had been countless incidents where entire Squads were wiped out.
“We’re just half a day away!” Yang Kai suddenly shouted.
Yang Kai was able to see farther and more clearly than others thanks to his Demon Eye of Annihilation; as such, he was able to spy on the situation of the Royal City.
The Black Ink Clan had deployed their Army outside the Royal City and were prepared to meet them head-on!
There was more than just one line of defence outside the Royal City. In fact, there were a total of five lines of defence. Moreover, every single line of defence contained a large number of Black Ink Clansmen.
That was especially true for the outermost line of defence, where at least a million Black Ink Clansmen were stationed. They were densely packed and crowded together with so many of them assembled they seemed to fill the void. Hence, they gave off an imposing pressure when seen from afar.
The Black Ink Clan Army had suffered terrible losses during the war 200 years ago. Nevertheless, 200 years had passed since then. The Black Ink Clan had recovered some of their foundation during this period, so there were now more than a million among them who could fight.
In fact, the Black Ink Clansmen stationed at the outermost line of defence were not even included among these numbers. That was because they were miscellaneous Serfs who could not even compare to the Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen. Their role was just to sacrifice themselves to whittle down the strength of the Human Race Army.
Only the Black Ink Clan could so easily choose to abandon such a large number of clansmen because they could afford the losses. Besides, the Great Evolution Army was aggressively marching forward, so if the Royal City could not be defended, then these miscellaneous Serfs were bound to die anyway. They might as well be useful before they die.
The higher-ups among the Black Ink Clan had no mercy for these Serfs; after all, they were even willing to sacrifice their own lives to defend the Royal City, much less these weaklings.
Due to their inferior strength and low sentience, these Black Ink Serfs had absolute loyalty towards the powerful Black Ink Clansmen and were not afraid of death.
The distance between both parties grew closer and closer.
Four hours later, the Great Evolution Army was only a few million kilometres away from the Black Ink Clan’s first line of defence. The Human Race soldiers standing on the city walls could clearly see the enormous formation formed by the millions of Black Ink Clansmen. Thus, they couldn’t help feeling slightly intimidated.
Nevertheless, they approached closer and closer.
At a certain moment, a furious roar rang out from the depths of the Great Evolution Army, “Kill!”
In the direction of the Royal City, the Human Race soldiers who were raring for battle immediately activated and poured their World Force into the Spirit Arrays and artifacts under their command. The void trembled and hummed incessantly. In the next moment, countless blasts of light burst out from Great Evolution Pass and rained down on their enemies ahead.
At the same time that the Humans made their move, the millions of Black Ink Clan Serfs charged towards the Great Evolution Army without fear of death.
They were weak. The strongest among them were comparable to Dao Source Realm Humans, but most of them were even weaker than that. Even so, they charged forward fearlessly and ferociously despite facing the formidable offensive of the Human Race.
The bombardment from the various Spirit Arrays and artifacts rained down upon the miscellaneous soldiers of the Black Ink Clan, and it didn’t take much effort for a large number of them to evaporate into nothing.
Black Ink Strength grew more concentrated in the aftermath.
Be that as it may, the attacks from the Human Race Army continued to pour down like a fierce torrential rain. The speed of the entire Great Evolution Pass did not reduce in the slightest even though the streams of lights blasting out from its walls swept across the void and wantonly slaughtered the Black Ink Clan.
It was a one-sided massacre.
The Black Ink Serfs who weren’t even considered real soldiers couldn’t even come within 100,000 kilometres of Great Evolution Pass. They were all blown to bits halfway through their forward charge.
However, none of the Human cultivators cheered for joy. They knew that this was just the beginning and the real battle had yet to commence.
Every time Great Evolution Pass advanced another 100,000 kilometres, the number of Black Ink Serfs would reduce sharply by about 100,000 as well. The first line of defence had essentially been broken, but more Black Ink Serfs followed close behind, and judging from their demeanour, they seemed determined not to back down no matter what.
Their efforts eventually paid off. During the last 100,000 kilometres, the Black Ink Serfs finally breached the 100,000 kilometres defence perimeter of Great Evolution Pass and some of the Black Ink Clansmen were even able to launch Secret Techniques at the Great Evolution Army.
Fortunately, the Defensive Arrays of Great Evolution Pass were active and such weak attacks couldn’t even cause ripples to spread across the outer layer of the Pass, resulting in no damage at all.
The violent energy gradually subsided, and the continuous offensive became increasingly sporadic. Eventually, there was no further movement. The entire process took no longer than an hour. The Black Ink Clan’s first line of defence formed by over a million Serfs had been completely annihilated!
If the two armies were to face each other in the open, the Human cultivators would not have had such an easy victory even though their enemies were just sacrificial pieces. It was just that these miscellaneous soldiers were intent on dying from the beginning. They wanted to sacrifice themselves in exchange for whittling away at the momentum of Great Evolution Pass. That was why most of them were annihilated within an hour.
A large patch of Black Ink Strength that was dense to the point of becoming solid was in Great Evolution Pass’s wake.
Waiting ahead of them now was the Black Ink Clan’s second line of defence. There were only 300,000 Black Ink Clansmen stationed in this line of defence, but even so, the Human cultivators did not take their enemies lightly. That was because the second line of defence was mainly formed by Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen.
The Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen were equivalent to Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters. If there were only one or two of them, or even several hundreds of them, Great Evolution Pass could simply plow through them without caring, but an Army of 300,000 was not something Great Evolution Pass could afford to underestimate. If these Black Ink Clansmen were to launch a coordinated attack, they would heavy damage to the defences of Great Evolution Pass.
As usual, the Spirit Arrays and the artifacts in Great Evolution Pass began to buzz as they closed to within 1 million kilometres and countless streams of light blasted forward.
Naturally, the Black Ink Clan was not willing to sit around and wait for their deaths. The 300,000 Low-Rank Clansmen did their best to dodge these attacks from Great Evolution Pass and close the distance between them.
A distance of 1 million kilometres was too far for these Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen to effectively attack as their Secret Techniques would not carry any real power across such a vast distance. Only by approaching could they become a threat to Great Evolution Pass.
Countless corpses were strewn across the void as every stream of light that shot out from Great Evolution Pass would reap many of the Black Ink Clansmen’s lives. Regardless of the Human’s efforts though, it was still difficult to stop the offensive of the Black Ink Clansmen.
The surviving Black Ink Clansmen flew forward, stepping over the corpses of their brethren and steadfastly forging a path forward at the cost of countless sacrifices.
After losing nearly 30% of their number, the surviving Black Ink Clansmen finally advanced to a suitable distance. With a ferocious roar, numerous Secret Techniques blasted out from among the Black Ink Clansmen and shot towards Great Evolution Pass.
A transparent light barrier suddenly emerged outside Great Evolution Pass. The incoming Secret Techniques slammed into the light barrier and caused noticeable ripples to spread across its surface like countless rocks being thrown into a lake.
As both sides rapidly approached each other, they attacked with increasing ferocity.
It was just that the Human cultivators had Great Evolution Pass as a shield while the Black Ink Clan were completely exposed. The Human cultivators could kill the Black Ink Clan, but the Black Ink Clan could not kill a single Human cultivator. At the very least, that was the case as long as the defences of Great Evolution Pass were not breached. It was obvious which side held the upper hand.
Clouds of black blood exploded in the void as most of the Black Ink Clansmen died tragically.
Yang Kai stood on the city wall with a solemn expression.
Although less than 2 hours had passed since the battle began, the Human Race had slaughtered more than a million Black Ink Clansmen. Nevertheless, that did not affect the foundation of the Black Ink Clan. The Black Ink Clansmen being killed right now were merely those who had been abandoned.
Seeing as the weaker Black Ink Clansmen were so fearless, it could be conceived that they had prepared themselves to fight the Human Race to the death. This was going to be a tough battle!
Be that as it may, Yang Kai did not make a move. Even though he could easily attack from this distance, his strength as an individual would not make much of a difference under these circumstances. There were many other Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters on the battlefield after all. Besides, he had to ensure that his strength remained at its peak for when it was really needed.
The Humans quickly broke through the second line of defence.
Unlike how the first line of defence had been completely annihilated though, only slightly more than half of the Black Ink Clansmen in the second line of defence had been eliminated while quite a few had survived unscathed. Their strength was much greater than those Serfs after all, so it stood to reason that their rate of survival on this kind of fast-moving battlefield would be much higher.
These surviving Black Ink Clansmen did not scatter and retreat either and instead pursued Great Evolution Pass from behind. Surrounding Great Evolution Pass from all sides, they did their best to move about while attacking madly.
Naturally, Great Evolution Pass retaliated in all directions via the Spirit Arrays and artifacts that were deployed on its walls. For a time, there were traces of battle all around the advancing Great Evolution Pass.
The Black Ink Clan steadily continued to plummet in numbers; however, the third line of defence loomed before the Humans, and it was different from the second.
From a million kilometres away, the Black Ink Clansmen who formed the third line of defence began taking action. Numerous pitch-black attacks rained down on Great Evolution Pass, causing countless ripples to appear on the defensive light barrier.
The third line of defence was mainly formed by High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen. Their numbers were not high, only 100,000 or so; however, there were also many Feudal Lords among their ranks. This was part of the Black Ink Clan Army’s main forces!
Their approach was also completely different from the Black Ink Clan’s first two lines of defence. They did not show signs of rushing forward seeking death. Whilst they attacked Great Evolution Pass, they also did their best to avoid and dodge the attacks from Great Evolution Pass.
The Human cultivators could no longer slaughter their enemies indiscriminately like before.
That was not all. When Great Evolution Pass penetrated the third line of defence, the 100,000 Black Ink Clansmen, most of whom were still alive given the vast engagement distance, scattered to both sides. They retreated and maintained a relative distance from Great Evolution Pass while simultaneously launching attacks. Like a large net, they swept about, seemingly trying to engulf Great Evolution Pass within their midst.
Yang Kai could clearly sense that Great Evolution Pass’s speed had decreased. It was not too obvious, but he could also detect that the glow of the defensive light barrier was gradually growing dimmer.
The Great Pass’ shields might be extremely powerful, but no defence could withstand an unending barrage of attacks.
The Black Ink Clan survivors from the second line of defence merged with the third line of defence; thus, their overall strength increased sharply.
Meanwhile, Great Evolution Pass continued to forge a path forward. Everywhere the Great Pass went, the auras of countless Black Ink Clansmen vanished out of existence, their broken corpses left strewn across the battlefield.
It didn’t take long for Great Evolution Pass to arrive at the Black Ink Clan’s fourth line of defence. This particular line of defence was not very different from the third line of defence, but the proportion of Feudal Lords had increased significantly.
The approach of the fourth line of defence was identical to the third line of defence. They refused to confront Great Evolution Pass directly and instead kept their distance while maintaining a steady bombardment to shave away at the Human’s strength.
Then, they merged with the survivors of the Black Ink Clan from the second and third lines of defence to greatly increase the density of their attacks. Even so, they could not stop the advance of Great Evolution Pass.
The Royal City was getting closer and closer, and standing on the walls, the Human cultivators could now clearly see the majestic Royal City. They also saw the Black Ink Clan Army surrounding the Universe World where the Royal City was situated!
Needless to say, that was the Black Ink Clan’s final line of defence and the core of their Army. All the Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Black Ink Disciples were stationed there. As long as Great Evolution Pass could penetrate this line of defence, the Great Pass could brutally ram the Royal City.
With how tough and sturdy Great Evolution Pass was, the Royal City would be destroyed if the two were to collide.
[Can we break through the final line of defence?] The Human cultivators did not know. They could only do their best to slaughter their enemies.
On the other side, the Territory Lords gathered outside the Royal City.
Che Kong stared into the distance, watching the movements on the battlefield. Then, he suddenly snorted in derision, “Looks like we’ve overestimated the Humans. They are not a threat to the Royal City.”
Judging by the current situation, the Great Pass would not be able to withstand their joint forces even if it could advance towards them. It was bound to be stopped outside the Royal City.
As long as the Great Pass could be intercepted and the Royal City could be protected, the rest would depend on the close-quarters melee between the two Armies. Under those circumstances, the Black Ink Clan which held an overwhelming advantage in numbers might yet prevail.
Upon hearing what Che Kong said, Hong Di frowned slightly and chided, “Don’t be careless. The Humans are very cunning. Since they dared to come here in such a manner, they will surely have other tricks hiding up their sleeves.”
One of the Territory Lords snorted derisively, “Hong Di, have you grown fearful of the Humans after suffering defeat at their hands? Why are you lauding the strength of the Humans and undermining your own prestige before the battle even begins?”
Hong Di shook his head lightly, “I am not lauding the strength of the Human Race. It’s just that… Based on past battles, the Black Ink Clan has always suffered greatly every time we underestimated them.”
The Territory Lords scowled at those words, but after giving it another thought, they could not deny the truth behind that statement. They had never thought highly of the Human Race in the past, but where had that gotten them? Not only had the Humans retaken Great Evolution Pass, but the Royal City had also been thrashed by the Humans 200 years ago. At this point, they were so embarrassed that they couldn’t even hold their heads up high. If the Human Race Army had not taken the initiative to withdraw back then, the Black Ink Clan would have had a hard time surviving at all.
For a time, they couldn’t help reconsidering their contempt towards the Human Race.
If it was something that the Black Ink Clan could notice, then it stood to reason that the Humans would notice too. They might even have a clearer understanding of the situation compared to the Black Ink Clan; after all, they were the ones controlling Great Evolution Pass. The Humans were bound to have a better understanding of the situation.
After breaking through the third line of defence, Great Evolution Pass charged towards the Black Ink Clan’s fourth line of defence. Nevertheless, Great Evolution Pass had inevitably lost its initial indomitable momentum after being intercepted by millions of Black Ink Clansmen.
[It’s like trying to wade through a quagmire!] That was what all the soldiers in Great Evolution Pass felt at that moment.
Shen Ao leaned towards Yang Kai and whispered, “Squad Leader, it will be bad if things continue at this rate. The speed of Great Evolution Pass is dropping, and the Territory Lords have yet to take action. If they make a move now, we will be stopped before we can even reach the Royal City.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly at those words, but looking around, he replied, “I’m sure the higher-ups have a plan. Let’s just wait and see first.”
The Army was deployed to all four walls of Great Evolution Pass. Whether it was the Spirit Arrays or the artifacts, the arrangements were similar no matter where one stood. Moreover, Human cultivators were standing at attention beside the Spirit Arrays and artifacts.
Seeing as Great Evolution Pass had charged forward in a straight line, the ones exchanging blows with the Black Ink Clan’s four lines of defences were mainly the soldiers facing the Royal City. In other words, the deployment on the other three walls had not played much of a role in this battle so far. The most they had done was to counter some of the Black Ink Clansmen attacking from the sides or the rear.
At present, Great Evolution Pass had only exerted around 25% of its full strength!
Great Evolution Pass had spent countless resources preparing for this moment for the past 200 years; hence, the deployment of soldiers to the other three walls could not be mere decorations. They were bound to play a role in this battle.
Just as Yang Kai was pondering in silence, the interception from the Black Ink Clan’s fourth line of defence became much fiercer. Great Evolution Pass trembled constantly, and the shield enveloping Great Evolution Pass shuddered visibly.
Either because they noticed the decline of Great Evolution Pass’ momentum or because they received orders from the Territory Lords at the rear, the attacks of the Black Ink Clan Army intercepting Great Evolution Pass became significantly more ferocious.
“Switch!” A sharp shout suddenly came from the depths of Great Evolution Pass. It was none other than Xiang Shan.
In the next moment, a rumble came from within Great Evolution Pass. Dense energy spread out in all directions, and the entire Great Pass trembled as though experiencing an earthquake. There seemed to be some sort of Grand Array being activated! Immediately following that, Great Evolution Pass that had been charging straight towards the Royal City slowly began to rotate under the impetus of an inexplicable force.
In the beginning, the speed of rotation was not very fast. Great Evolution Pass was extremely enormous after all. Even with the help of a Grand Array, it was not an easy task to move the entire Great Pass. Nevertheless, the speed increased significantly with the passage of time.
Yang Kai’s eyes lit up. He immediately understood what the higher-ups were planning.
Needless to say, they could not rely solely on one wall of Great Evolution Pass during their assault on the Royal City. Only by rotating Great Evolution Pass in this manner could the deployments on the other three walls be used to their full potential.
A short while later, the wall that was originally facing the Royal City had turned to face the left. Meanwhile, the soldiers who had been standing at the ready on the adjacent wall came face-to-face with the Black Ink Clan blocking them.
After holding back for so long, the long-prepared soldiers quickly pushed their strength. The lines of Spirit Arrays lit up on top of the walls, resonating with each other over the distance. Artifacts came to life and numerous beams of light blasted out towards the Black Ink Clan Army with unstoppable power! Half the void was illuminated in an instant!
The Black Ink Clan in front suffered heavy casualties as a result.
Outside the Royal City, the expressions of the Territory Lords changed slightly at the sight. Meanwhile, Hong Di sighed softly. Although he had guessed that the Human Race would have another trick up their sleeves, he never expected it to be something like this.
Just as how the Territory Lords had not expected Great Evolution Pass to travel over such a great distance, they also never expected Great Evolution Pass to slaughter enemies by rotating itself in flight. If it was a small Human Warship, they might not have been so surprised by this turn of events; however, it was extremely unexpected for something as large as Great Evolution Pass to be so nimble.
In this way, the Human cultivators in Great Evolution Pass would be able to maintain their peak strength at all times even though the number of attacks during each wave against the Black Ink Clan would not change by much. Nevertheless, their combat strength more than doubled in an instant thanks to this strategy.
Great Evolution Pass continued to rotate. After the soldiers on the wall facing the Royal City fired off three rounds of attacks, the wall they were stationed upon was rotated out of the firing arc. Then, the soldiers on the wall that was now facing the Royal City began attacking. In this way, they formed a continuous and endless barrage.
The fourth line of defence that was supposed to whittle away at the strength of Great Evolution Pass immediately fell into jeopardy and it was only a matter of time before Great Evolution Pass broke through their defences.
Be that as it may, the Territory Lords remained motionless. They were stationed at the final line of defence, so the Royal City was located directly behind them. As long as the situation became dire, they did not dare to act rashly lest the soldiers under their command become disordered. If that were to happen, the Humans would easily be able to break through the defences.
Inside the void, following the rotation of Great Evolution Pass, the Spirit Arrays and artifacts on the walls continued to blaze brightly. Every wave of attacks was sent out with great enthusiasm and ferocity.
The Black Ink Clan defenders were losing their lives at a steady pace.
Out of the four lines of defence, the first line of defence was formed from a million Serfs that had been completely annihilated. The second line of defence mainly consisted of Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen and supplemented by some of the stronger Serfs. They too been soundly defeated.
On the other hand, the third and fourth lines of defences mainly consisted of High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen. The Feudal Lords were also stationed at these lines of defences, along with their respective private troops. These were the main strength of the Black Ink Clan Army. Unfortunately, they had suffered heavy casualties. At least half of the Black Ink Clan Army had been eradicated already, yet they could not stop the advance of Great Evolution Pass.
Despite such an overwhelming victory, the price the Humans paid was no more than the malfunction of several Spirit Arrays and artifacts that could not withstand the burden of such intense usage and the depletion of strength among the Human cultivators.
Naturally, there were Array Masters and Artifact Refiners beside the Spirit Arrays and artifacts ready to repair and replace them as soon as possible. Likewise, there were other cultivators on standby to replace the cultivators who had expended too much World Force. Therefore, Great Evolution Pass maintained the power of their ongoing assault at all times.
An hour later, the Black Ink Clan’s fourth line of defence collapsed.
Only the final line of defence remained, but that was also the most difficult one to breach because the Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples were stationed there, along with a million more Black Ink Clan soldiers!
Could Great Evolution Pass break through the final line of defence and destroy the Royal City? Nobody knew. All they knew was that they had to do their very best!
A million kilometres away, a powerful aura erupted just outside the Royal City. Immediately after that, a series of pitch-black attacks shot out from that direction. The Territory Lords had taken action! Knowing that they could not allow the Great Pass to approach any closer, they made the first move to intercept the enemy.
The Human Race seemed to have expected this attack, so when the Territory Lords took action, the rotating Great Evolution Pass abruptly vibrated. The shield protecting Great Evolution Pass had initially grown dimmer after having to withstand countless attacks over such a long time and was now so faint that it seemed about to shatter at any moment; but at that moment, the dim light barrier abruptly emitted a dazzling radiance and became unimaginably solid.
Yang Kai clearly felt the aura of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters coming from deep within Great Evolution Pass. Even the aura of the Old Ancestor was mixed in. The Eighth-Order Masters and the Old Ancestor had taken action!
At present, there were at least 30 Eighth-Order Division Commanders stationed at Great Evolution Core, controlling Great Evolution Pass. Together with the strength of the Old Ancestor, how powerful would the shields be?
The Heaven-destroying and Earth-shattering attacks were somewhat weakened after crossing the 1 million kilometres gap, but the force behind them remained extremely terrifying as they accurately slammed into the light barrier around Great Evolution Pass.
The thick light barrier bent inward and fluctuated under the barrage but remained intact. There were no signs of damage, and the light didn’t even dim.
Seeing this scene from afar, the Territory Lords grew solemn. Nevertheless, the movements of their hands did not stop. Endless varieties of Secret Techniques blasted towards Great Evolution Pass in quick succession.
For a time, the space between the rotating Great Evolution Pass and the Black Ink Clan’s last line of defence churned violently as wild explosions occurred everywhere.
However, the Human soldiers did not cheer with joy. Seeing as the Old Ancestor was working together with the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, it would be odd if the protective barrier they created with the help of the Great Pass’ Spirit Arrays could not defend against such attacks.
It could even be said that the attacks of these Territory Lords would not break through the defences of Great Evolution Pass even if they exhausted all their strength in the attempt.
The true obstacle lay ahead.
As soon as Great Evolution Pass advanced to within 200,000 kilometres of the final defence line, the million-strong Black Ink Clan Army would be able to attack freely. Each of these soldiers’ individual strength was incomparable to the Territory Lords, but they held an overwhelming advantage in numbers. After all, how many Territory Lords were there compared to the troops in the Black Ink Clan Army? With enough grains of sand, one could even build a mountain.
Looking from a distance, the Black Ink Clan Army stationed at the final line of defence outside the Royal City were eager for battle. Not to mention, the Black Ink Strength being channelled by so many Black Ink Clansmen made the void distort in that direction.
Several hundred thousand kilometres passed by in the blink of an eye and soon Great Evolution Pass was only 200,000 kilometres away from the Black Ink Clan’s final line of defence!
As expected, the Black Ink Clan Army attacked all at once. Countless energy fluctuations converged into a tidal wave that spread out in all directions. At the same time, the Black Ink Strength attacks covered the entire void and rained down upon Great Evolution Pass.
Many of the Human soldiers subconsciously clenched their jaws nervously. If the defences of Great Evolution Pass could not defend against this round of attacks, then more than half of the Human soldiers stationed on the walls would be killed or injured in an instant. As for Great Evolution Pass, it was an extremely powerful Mobile Palace Artifact in the first place, so it would probably be fine.
In the split moment between life and death, nobody made any strange movements. Everyone had absolute trust in the abilities of the Old Ancestor and the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.
At the same time that the Black Ink Clan attacked from just 200,000 kilometres away, the defensive shield covering Great Evolution Pass seemed to undergo some kind of profound change. A gorgeous brilliance suddenly flowed across the surface of the light barrier and the interior of Great Evolution Pass was shrouded in a kaleidoscope of colours for a moment.
The first wave of attacks arrived, fiercely bombarding the light barrier like countless raindrops falling from the sky. The attacks caused numerous ripples to spread out across the surface of the shield, and as more attacks arrived, the ripples became more and more prominent.
All of a sudden, the rotation speed of Great Evolution Pass increased sharply. It was clear that this method was meant to relieve some of the pressure on that section of the shield.
At the same time, the Spirit Arrays and artifacts on the wall of Great Evolution Pass that was facing the Royal City began to blast out attacks.
It was naturally impossible for the Humans to passively take a beating without retaliating in kind. While the defence of Great Evolution Pass was jointly supported by the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters and the Old Ancestor, the soldiers on the walls would be responsible for killing the enemy.
The best defence was offence. If they could annihilate all the Black Ink Clansmen in front of them, then defence would no longer be required.
Across the gap, attacks from both sides intertwined with each other in the void as both sides fervently bombarded each other. Many of the Secret Techniques collided with each other mid-flight, erupting into brilliant explosions before vanishing into nothing.
Meanwhile, the ripples spreading across the shields covering Great Evolution Pass became more and more numerous. Be that as it may, the Human soldiers would not be in any danger as long as the light barrier remained intact.
On the contrary, the million-plus soldiers of the Black Ink Clan Army were densely packed together without any additional form of protection. The Human Race Army would be able to slaughter their enemies easily as long as any of their Secret Techniques landed among the Black Ink Clan Army. It was only a matter of how many they could kill with each attack.
The original one million kilometres between both parties shrank to just 100,000 in short order. Nevertheless, the momentum of Great Evolution Pass remained magnificent against the intense attacks coming from the Black Ink Clan Army.
Yang Kai suddenly looked up. The light barrier around Great Evolution Pass was fluctuating. It was sometimes dim and sometimes bright; thus, he knew that even the defence formed by the joint efforts of the Eighth-Order Division Commanders and the Old Ancestor would not last for very much longer.
The Black Ink Clan’s offensive was too fierce. More importantly, there were too many of them. If Great Evolution Pass intended to ram the Royal City, then there was no way to change the direction of their forward movement, making them an easy target.
*Kacha…*
A slight cracking sound suddenly rang out. Yang Kai immediately looked in the direction of the sound and saw that a fissure had formed at a certain spot of the light barrier after withstanding thousands of attacks from the Black Ink Clan. Fortunately, the crack was fleeting. It was evident that the Eighth-Order Masters and the Old Ancestor were still pouring their strength into the light barrier to repair the crack.
*Kacha…*
More cracks began to form in different locations, only to be repaired almost immediately, the cycle repeating over and over again.
As they got closer to the Black Ink Clan Army, the situation in Great Evolution Pass became more and more perilous and the seemingly solid defence seemed likely to shatter at any moment.
Xiang Shan’s furious roar suddenly cut through the universe, “Prepare to engage the enemy!”
After hearing the order, Yang Kai and the other Squad Leaders quickly summoned the Warships of their respective Squads. The Squad members swiftly boarded, and with a hum from the Spirit Arrays, a hole was opened in the light barrier!
The cracking sounds continued to ring out as more and more breaks appeared. The Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters and the Old Ancestor were clearly having a hard time maintaining the shield and keeping up with the speed at which the cracks were forming.
At a certain moment, one corner of the light barrier covering Great Evolution Pass reached its limit and shattered. A hole suddenly appeared in the originally impenetrable light barrier.
Before the hole could be repaired, a torrent of Secret Techniques slipped inside through the hole in the light barrier and slammed into Great Evolution Pass. Loud explosions rang out incessantly. When the Black Ink Strength erupted everywhere, a large number of houses collapsed and the entire Great Evolution Pass shook violently from the impact.
Several Squads who happened to be stationed at the spot suddenly found themselves in the middle of the storm of attacks. It was fortunate that those Squads had already summoned their respective Warships, so their Squad members were able to take shelter. The Warships provided some protection against the aftermath of the attacks, but even then, some of the Warships swayed unsteadily under the powerful impact.
When the Squad members came back to their senses, the Warships had been badly damaged. They were fortunate that there were no casualties among them; however, this was just the beginning. Following the first break that appeared in the defences of Great Evolution Pass, a second immediately opened. Then, a third hole…
For a time, the entire Great Evolution Pass seemed to transform into a broken house with a leaking roof that was dripping water everywhere. Even though the Eighth-Order Masters and the Old Ancestor at Great Evolution Pass’ Core were doing their best to speed up the repairs, it was difficult for them to recover from the declining situation.
The Secret Techniques from the Black Ink Clan constantly blasted into the depths of Great Evolution Pass, causing the entire structure to be in dire straits for some time.
At this moment, Yang Kai was personally overseeing the Defensive Spirit Array of Dawning Light. Although he drew upon his great strength to activate the power of the Defensive Spirit Array, Dawning Light wobbled unsteadily as Great Evolution Pass shuddered from the various impacts.
All of a sudden, an aura vanished somewhere in Great Evolution Pass. Everybody’s expressions darkened. The first casualty had finally appeared among the Humans since their assault on the Royal City began.
This was an inevitable occurrence. The Humans had gone all out in their assault on the Royal City, so how could the Black Ink Clan hold back their strength? Both the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan had a blood feud between them that would only end with the destruction of one party.
Due to the sudden advance of Great Evolution Pass, the distance between the Pass and the Black Ink Clan’s fifth line of defence rapidly closed until they were practically face to face. Although the Black Ink Clan Army had suffered heavy casualties, their overwhelming advantage in numbers remained. The foundation of their Army remained undamaged despite the great casualties they suffered.
Seeing that Great Evolution Pass was approaching but they were powerless to stop its advance, the Territory Lords roared furiously. Under their command, the hundreds of thousands of remaining Black Ink Clan Army soldiers split into three groups. One group would be in charge of defending against the enemy while the two would try to flank and encircle Great Evolution Pass.
In the blink of an eye, Great Evolution Pass charged forward like a wolf entering the lion’s den and attacked with great ferocity.
The Black Ink Clan’s fifth line of defence was located just 1 million kilometres away from the Royal City. It could be said that the Royal City would have to face the full power of Great Evolution Pass alone if the latter successfully broke through the final line of defence; therefore, the Black Ink Clan neither could nor dared to avoid the attack.
Faced with the aggressive assault of the Humans, the Black Ink Clan knew that they could not stop the advance of their enemy by remaining solely on the defensive. Hence, they could only use this method to try to wear down the strength of the Humans to achieve their goals, and their methods proved effective.
Surrounded by enemies on three sides, the defences of Great Evolution Pass became more and more unstable. The Eighth-Order Division Commanders and the Old Ancestor had given up on maintaining the defence around some areas and were simply trying their best to maintain the remaining parts instead.
The entire Great Evolution Pass was constantly being bombarded by the Secret Techniques of the Black Ink Clan, and most of the houses in Great Evolution Pass had been levelled. However, two places were completely unaffected by the chaos. These two areas were the Monument of Heroes and the cemetery!
Even at such a critical juncture, the Eighth-Order Masters and the Old Ancestor continued to divert part of their strength to protect these two places from harm. They wanted their ancestors who died on the Black Ink Battlefield to witness the victory of the Human Race over the Black Ink Clan. They also wanted to show their ancestors that all the sacrifices and efforts in the past had been worthwhile and that the younger generations had continued to inherit their legacy!
*Kacha…*
The loudest cracking sound so far filled the air. The shield around Great Evolution Pass trembled unsteadily, as though it could crumble to pieces at any time.
Xiang Shan’s furious shout resounded at that moment, “Attack!”
The Territory Lords outside the Royal City roared in return, “Stop them!”
The decisive moment had arrived. Great Evolution Pass was now just 1 million kilometres away from the Royal City, and the Black Ink Clan Army stopped retreating.
At this point, they had no place left to retreat. The Royal City was right behind them, so if they could not stop the advance of Great Evolution Pass here, then the Royal City would fall into danger. Therefore, they had to stop Great Evolution Pass at all costs.
A large number of Black Ink Clansmen charged towards Great Evolution Pass fearlessly. Bearing the brunt of the attacks coming from the Spirit Arrays and artifacts, they exploded into mist in the void; however, their sacrifices paved the way for their comrades behind them.
The rotation speed of Great Evolution Pass had reached the limit, and the Pass practically completed a rotation every 30 breaths. Meanwhile, all the soldiers on the walls were madly drawing out the power of their Small Universes to stimulate the power of the Spirit Arrays and artifacts under their command to the maximum extent.
The Warships did not remain idle either. Now that the decisive moment had come, the Warships joined the battle and launched countless attacks towards the enemy.
The power of the Secret Techniques from both sides collided with each other in the void, and the aura of numerous Black Ink Clansmen would vanish from existence with every passing moment. On the other hand, the interior of Great Evolution Pass had been seriously damaged by the barrage of Secret Techniques from the Black Ink Clan. All the buildings had been razed to the ground, and many Human soldiers lost their lives in battle.
*Kacha…*
The light barrier of Great Evolution Pass finally shattered completely, and the muffled grunts of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters echoed through the air. It was obvious that they had suffered some backlash when the Grand Array collapsed.
Consequently, the entire Great Evolution Pass was exposed to the attacks of the Black Ink Clan Army. The violent energy fluctuations in front caused space to become extremely chaotic, and Great Evolution Pass that had lost its defences was like a tiger without claws.
Even so, it was enough.
In the next moment, Great Evolution Pass successfully charged past the Black Ink Clan’s final line of defence. Countless attacks were fired from Great Evolution Pass and spread out in all directions. The Black Ink Clan blocking the way forward were either killed or severely injured!
Some of the Territory Lords coughed up blood incessantly while some of the Feudal Lord exploded and died. At the same time, several Warships inside Great Evolution Pass erupted into balls of flame. The desperate attacks that took place during the brief moment of contact left both sides reeling from the impact.
Now that the Black Ink Clan’s defences had been breached, the Royal City lay just ahead. Thus, the Eighth-Order Masters and Old Ancestor channelled all their strength into accelerating Great Evolution Pass.
The Black Ink Clan Army pursued and blasted Secret Techniques at Great Evolution Pass without pause. Nevertheless, they could no longer effectively prevent the advance of the Pass.
Even so, nobody among the Human Race was happy. In the clash that occurred during their breakthrough moment, the general direction of the Pass seemed to have undergone some subtle changes even though they managed to breach the Black Ink Clan’s final line of defence.
Great Evolution Pass was originally supposed to collide with the Royal City directly, but all the impacts caused their path to deviate slightly. Although they would still collide with the Universe World where the Royal City was located, nobody could guarantee the effects of the collision.
What worried them even more was that the Universe World where the Royal City was located seemed to be moving. Although the speed was slow, there was no denying that it was moving.
The Royal Lord was currently overseeing the situation inside the Royal City, and it should not be difficult for him to relocate the Royal City with his abilities.
Unfortunately, both parties were too close to each other now. At this point, it was already too late for Great Evolution Pass to change direction.
The 1 million kilometres distance was crossed in what seemed like a fleeting moment.
Under the anticipation of the Humans and the horror of the Black Ink Clan, the enormous Great Evolution Pass brutally slammed into the Universe World where the Royal City was located.
The Universe World shattered, causing the entire Royal City to suffer a severe shock. On the other hand, Great Evolution Pass continued unabated and flew off into the depths of the void.
Looking back, they saw that the Universe World had broken into several pieces! What’s more, the majestic Royal Lord Black Ink Nest wobbled unsteadily, as though it might collapse at any moment.
The figure of the Royal Lord suddenly appeared above the Black Ink Nest. He stabilised the shaking of the Black Ink Nest with his large hand, then he glanced towards Great Evolution Pass that was travelling into the distance and coldly snorted.
Upon seeing that scene, Yang Kai and the others couldn’t help feeling a slight twinge of regret. Great Evolution Pass had travelled across such a vast distance and endured so much just to make that one collision possible. If they had successfully destroyed the Royal Lord’s Black Ink Nest, then the rest of the battle would have been much easier.
Unfortunately, it was not so easy to destroy the Royal Lord’s Black Ink Nest. The Royal Lord had remained behind to protect the Royal City, so even if the Old Ancestor had tried to attack the Black Ink Nest just now, they might not have succeeded in their attempt. Not to mention, she could not act rashly since she had to guard against any unexpected movements from the Royal Lord.
As a result of their mutual restraint against the other, the Black Ink Nest was ultimately unharmed. Be that as it may, it was not as though the Humans had not gained anything from their attempt.
Numerous Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests were smashed to pieces when Great Evolution Pass collided with the Universe World. Following the collapse of the Universe World, many of the Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests that were originally secured around the asteroid fragment scattered and drifted away into the void.
There were as many as 80 Territory Lords in the Royal City, basically on par with the number of Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. Correspondingly, there were many Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests that had been secured around the vicinity of the Royal City.
The Territory Lords could borrow the power of their respective Black Ink Nests if they were in the vicinity. Now that several of the Black Ink Nests had been destroyed, it was equivalent to weakening the strength of those Territory Lords by extension. This result would be extremely beneficial for the upcoming battle.
The Black Ink Clan on the Universe World were in an uproar, and the Black Ink Clan Army soon gathered in the surroundings.
Meanwhile, the speed of Great Evolution Pass reduced drastically after colliding with the Universe World.
The Humans were here to annihilate the Black Ink Clan, so it was naturally impossible for them to leave after slamming into the Royal City once. On the contrary, the impending fight was the real battle that would determine the fate of both Races.
Great Evolution Pass kept going without stopping after colliding with the Universe World where the Royal City was located. At Great Evolution Pass’ Core, it took great effort for Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao and the Eighth-Order Division Commanders to jointly decelerate the massive Great Evolution Pass, eventually stopping it about 5 million kilometres away from the Royal City’s original position.
It was just the right distance, neither too far nor too near. Not only would this distance provide a path of retreat for the Human soldiers, but they would also have enough space to attack the Royal City without worrying about the fallout affecting the rear.
Tens of thousands of soldiers stood at the ready inside Great Evolution Pass, prepared to move out at any moment.
Meanwhile, the surviving Black Ink Clan Army around the Royal City was also re-organizing. It crossed the Royal City and came to the opposite side as they quickly deployed their defences about 1 million kilometres out.
In the end, time was too short though. Before the Black Ink Clan could finish their preparations, the Spirit Arrays and artifacts on the walls of Great Evolution Pass resumed firing towards them. The streams of lights still contained immense power, causing the enemy to scream in agony. Many of them also lost their lives with every blast.
The Warships set out from Great Evolution Pass at the same time, gathering together to form an enormous fleet, which then swiftly approached the Royal City under the leadership of the Purifying Black Ink Battleship.
As the army marched forward, a few dozen figures in Great Evolution Pass transformed into streams of light and sped towards the Royal City. These figures that emitted an impressive and overwhelming aura were none other than the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters who would participate in the battle.
Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao took the lead. Her figure flickered several times before she arrived above the Royal City. Slamming her slender jade hand downward, she gathered the World Force in the palm of her hand and a warcry burst from her lips, “Show yourself!”
Following her shout, the Royal Lord’s wretched figure emerged from within the Royal City. His complexion was pale and his aura was weak. Even the colour of the single pitch-black wing on his back seemed dull.
Despite being injured for so many years, he had not had a chance to recuperate from his wounds; thus, he bemoaned his poor luck and ill fate to have met such a crazy woman from the Human Race.
Now that his opponent had taken the initiative to come and knock on his door, he had no choice but to fight regardless of his reluctance. After all, there was nobody else among the Black Ink Clan here who could compete with the Old Ancestor except him. If he relied on the Territory Lords under his command, they would suffer massive casualties in a face-to-face meeting with the Old Ancestor without his protection.
It was not the first time the two top Masters had fought with each other. They had fought each other several times in the war 200 years ago, and even more times after that; therefore, they were familiar with each other’s habits and combat strength like the back of their hands.
The Humans had travelled from afar with the determination to annihilate the Black Ink Clan, so both top Masters didn’t bother probing at each other when they engaged in this battle. They immediately unleashed various lethal moves as soon as they clashed. The dense World Force and Black Ink Strength collided together, instantly causing the world around them to pale.
Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao clearly wanted to drag the battlefield elsewhere, lest they harm the Human Race Army; however, how could the Royal Lord willingly cooperate? If they fought near the Royal City, he could borrow the power of his Black Ink Nest to bolster his strength. In contrast, he could only rely on his own strength if he was dragged far from the Royal City. What’s more, he couldn’t fight Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao on equal terms in his current condition.
After some back and forth, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao finally managed to drag the battlefield about 2 million kilometres out, but she was powerless to go any further. After all, there was nothing she could do when the Royal Lord refused to move away from the Royal City.
Nevertheless, 2 million kilometres was enough. With this distance, the fallout of their battle would not be deadly to the Human Race Army, though it would still affect them greatly. Of course, if the Human Race Army was affected, the Black Ink Clan Army would not escape unharmed. Neither side would benefit from this situation.
Immediately after Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao’s departure, the 50 Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters who would be fighting in this war rushed towards the battlefield and charged straight at the Black Ink Clan Army.
If these Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters fought inside the ranks of the Black Ink Clan Army, the latter would surely suffer enormous damage. The Black Ink Clan was unwilling to see such an outcome of course, so over 60 Territory Lords and 20 Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples were dispatched as soon as they saw that the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were approaching.
In terms of numbers, they far exceeded the Eighth-Order Human Masters! This couldn’t be helped though, as no matter which realm, the Black Ink Clan would always exceed the Human Race in terms of numbers.
Although the number of Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters and Territory Lords was nearly equal after the battle to reclaim Great Evolution Pass 200 years ago, the situation was different now that they had used Great Evolution Pass to launch an offensive. 20 Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were needed to remain in Great Evolution Pass at all times to provide the necessary protection for it and also to maintain a place of refuge for the Human soldiers.
During the battle, the Human soldiers would always need some time to rest and recover. Retreating to Great Evolution Pass was their best option; therefore, these 20 Eighth-Order Division Commanders could not leave their posts easily. The only ones who could actively participate in the battle were the 50 or so remaining Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.
In the blink of an eye, the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters met the Territory Lords and Black Ink Disciples in the void. Following a brief moment of chaos, they split off into several groups and scattered in all directions. While they were scattering in all directions, these larger groups were further dispersed into smaller groups. The fight was intense thanks to the various Secret Techniques that were unleashed in every direction.
Many of the Eighth-Order Human Masters had to fight against two opponents. Fortunately, the Humans boasted deeper heritages, so even if they had to fight in a two-against-one battle, they were only slightly disadvantaged. Nevertheless, the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters who had one-on-one battles with the Territory Lords had a much easier time. They held the upper hand in the battle and were steadily forcing their opponents to retreat.
Needless to say, there was no need to worry about Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao. Even though the Royal Lord was borrowing the strength of his Black Ink Nest, he could barely stop her violent onslaught. At this moment, he only had enough strength to parry her attacks but not enough to counterattack.
The fact that the battle between the strongest Masters of both the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan was the first to break out was also something that the Human Race had deliberately planned. For the Human Race Army to attack, the Black Ink Clan Army had to be restrained; otherwise, the Humans could not stop the powerful offensive of the Territory Lords.
Chaos reigned and the entire universe shook from the impact of battle. Nevertheless, the Great Evolution Army marched forward with steady purpose. Relying on the support of Great Evolution Pass behind them, the enormous fleet closed to within 1 million kilometres of the enemy lines.
The Spirit Arrays and the artifacts on the Warships hummed and glowed brightly. Then, an overwhelming wave of attacks rained down upon the Black Ink Clan Army. Naturally, the Black Ink Clan soldiers would not sit around and wait for their deaths. They surged their Black Ink Strength and retaliated vigorously.
The Secret Techniques from both sides collided with each other and vanished from existence; however, many of the Black Ink Clan’s attacks were somewhat weak due to the distance. It was the complete opposite for the Humans. By relying on the Spirit Arrays and artifacts, their attacks had far greater range and lethality on average compared to the Black Ink Clan.
As a result, the Black Ink Clan suffered heavy casualties before the two armies even officially met. This situation infuriated the Commander of the Black Ink Clan Army. With an order from him, the Army of hundreds of thousands immediately charged towards the Human fleet.
The distance between both parties rapidly narrowed. At the same time, the power of their respective Secret Techniques and artifacts burst forth without stopping. The Black Ink Clan Army suffered serious casualties while the protective shields around the Warships flickered wildly.
Just as both armies were about to clash in battle, the Human Race Army split to both sides and circled around the flanks of the Black Ink Clan Army.
In terms of numbers, the Humans had always been at an absolute disadvantage. That was why, since ancient times, the Human Race Army had always focused on mobility and hit-and-run tactics whenever they waged war on a mass scale. They avoided a direct confrontation with the Black Ink Clan to maximize their advantages and minimize the enemy’s. Every single soldier in Great Evolution Pass had experienced hundreds of battles and participated in countless life-and-death struggles. They were quite familiar with the tactics to use against the Black Ink Clan.
When the Human Race Army split, the Black Ink Clan Army followed suit and gave chase. When the Human Race Army divided their forces again, so did the Black Ink Clan Army. It was not as though they did not know that the Humans were trying to divide their forces up into more manageable numbers, it was just that the situation forced them to mirror the enemy’s choices.
In just a cup of tea’s time, the Human’s huge fleet had been divided into countless small teams that wandered around the chaotic battlefield. Each small team basically consisted of two or three Squads supporting and providing reinforcements to each other. The Spirit Arrays and the artifacts on the Warships never stopped firing and every violent blast that was fired towards the enemy would reap some Black Ink Clansmen’s lives.
Dawn was not required to cooperate with other Squads. That was because Dawn was capable of fighting alone even in this situation. There was a total of 50 members of Dawn, including 8 Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, giving them a powerful line-up. Even if they encountered a Territory Lord, they would stand a fighting chance against the enemy. Not to mention, they also had a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like Yang Kai, who was invincible among those in the same Realm.
At this moment, with Yang Kai leading the way, Dawn’s eight Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters took up positions around Dawning Light and were slaughtering their enemies. There was nobody who could defeat them. Dawn was like a sharp blade, indiscriminately slicing through the Black Ink Clan Army. All those who dared to stand before them were killed on the spot.
As usual, Yang Kai sliced his way through the battlefield. The Azure Dragon Spear was all-conquering, cutting through enemies like dry weeds and rotten wood. There was only one issue that was giving him a slight headache. The battle between Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao and the Royal Lord could not be considered near, but it was not far either. The fallout from their clash heavily affected both the Human Race Army and the Black Ink Clan Army.
When he was inside Dawning Light, the impact had not been too obvious thanks to the protection given by its defensive arrays. Now that he was fighting outside Dawning Light though, he was struck by considerable shockwaves every time the two exchanged blows.
If the fallout had such an effect on him, what more need be said for the other Seventh-Order Masters? It was fortunate that the Black Ink Clan also suffered from the same detriments, so nobody gained any advantage from the situation.
The energy was extremely disordered across the chaotic battlefield. Although the Black Ink Clan died in droves, the Humans were also beginning to suffer casualties. Even with the mutual support from two or three Squads, there were bound to be times when accidents occurred.
There were simply too many Black Ink Clansmen. Moreover, the opponents were the core forces of the Black Ink Clan Army. As the elites among the Black Ink Clan, they were incomparable to the cannon fodder and miscellaneous soldiers who could be cut down without much effort.
What’s more, as the confrontation dragged on, the Black Ink Clansmen who were originally stationed at the lines of defences on the other side of the Royal City arrived to provide reinforcements. As a result, the number of Black Ink Clansmen on the battlefield seemed to increase no matter how many were killed.
In the middle of the fierce battle, Yang Kai abruptly turned to look in a certain direction. In the next moment, his figure shifted slightly and vanished from the spot. The members of Dawn were not surprised by his sudden disappearance. Shen Ao quickly took over Yang Kai’s leading position, his power in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm surging wildly. He took command of Dawning Light and continued forging a bloody path across the battlefield.
On the other side, Yang Kai’s figure suddenly appeared somewhere in the battlefield. As soon as his figure emerged, the Golden Crow’s cry sounded. A Great Sun leapt out, then the Azure Dragon Spear pierced towards a burly figure in front of him with the Great Sun at its tip.
Despite the sudden ambush, the figure did not seem surprised. He coldly snorted and ferociously slammed his fist out. The Great Sun was forcibly extinguished, and Yang Kai was thrown backwards. The vitality in his chest tumbled about turbulently.
Likewise, the Black Ink Clansman who counterattacked staggered two steps backwards before he could stabilise his figure, his expression filling with astonishment. He never expected a Seventh-Order Human to be capable of meeting his attack head-on. Not only was the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master unhurt, but the attack even managed to push him back.
This Black Ink Clansman was a Territory Lord, one who was not being restrained by an Eighth-Order Division Commander!
Now that both the Human Race Army and the Black Ink Clan Army were fighting each other, most of the higher-ups on both sides were being mutually restrained.
The battle between Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao and the Royal Lord was not something others could interfere with. Meanwhile, the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters occupied the attention of many of the Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples. However, the Territory Lords still outnumbered the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, which was why the Human Army had anticipated that some of them would remain among the Black Ink Clan Army even after the battle began.
Similar situations had cropped up in the past. Seeing as the Black Ink Clan had an advantage in numbers, it was only natural that they would figure out a way to use this advantage to the maximum.
During a confrontation between the Human Race Army and the Black Ink Clan Army, the presence of a Territory Lord was too much of a threat to the Human soldiers. Naturally, the Human Race Army had adopted corresponding measures against such situations.
Before Yang Kai arrived, the Territory Lord had been bombarding a Warship with indiscriminate attacks. Although the Warship had the protection of two Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, they could not stop the Territory Lord’s rampage and the Warship seemed on the verge of collapse. Not only was the body of the Warship damaged, but the defensive light barrier had also grown extremely dim.
If nobody had come to help, it would not have taken much longer for the Warship to collapse. Even the two Seventh-Order Masters might not escape alive if that were to happen. As for the Squad members below the Seventh Order, they were bound to die a miserable death. Therefore, Yang Kai’s arrival was very timely.
Having escaped their predicament, the two Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters on the Warship nodded lightly at Yang Kai to express their thanks. Then, they immediately joined up with a nearby passing Squad and sped off into the distance.
The Territory Lord tried to prevent their escape, but Yang Kai charged forward to intercept him; hence, he was forced to give up on his original target and raised his palm to strike Yang Kai. At the same time, he was slightly surprised. Why did the Human Squad leave without regard for the survival of this Seventh-Order Master? How much confidence do they have in this man? Did they believe that he alone could kill a Territory Lord?
Although the Territory Lord was reluctant to admit the truth, this Human had indeed shown might that was unusual for a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. A Seventh-Order Master of this calibre was most likely an elite among elites. Killing this person here would be more worthwhile than killing a hundred ordinary Human cultivators.
Following that thought, murderous intent immediately appeared in the Territory Lord’s eyes. His attacks flew out like a torrent as the Black Ink Strength in his body surged violently.
Yang Kai was instantly at a disadvantage. In a battle between a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master and a Feudal Lord, he was perfectly capable of overwhelming his opponent and killing the enemy without help from others. Unfortunately, Yang Kai’s strength was still lacking when his opponent was a Territory Lord. There was an evident gap in strength due to the difference in their cultivation. Nevertheless, it was not easy to kill Yang Kai even if he was weaker than his opponent.
While defending against the barrage of attacks, Yang Kai tried to lead his powerful opponent in a certain direction nearby. There were sounds of a battle between an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master and a Territory Lord coming from that direction.
Seeming to notice what Yang Kai was planning, the Territory Lord sneered coldly and increased the ferocity of his attacks.
An unexpected violent energy fluctuation suddenly came from afar, slamming through the void. Both Yang Kai and the Territory Lord were shaken and affected by the energy fluctuation. That was clearly the fallout caused by the battle between Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao and the Royal Lord.
From the moment those two began fighting, the shockwaves of their battle would occasionally propagate outward and sweep across both armies. The aftermath did not discriminate between friend or foe, so as long as one was standing on the battlefield, they would be negatively affected.
Comparatively, the Human Race Army was faring slightly better than the Black Ink Clan. That couldn’t be helped though as the Humans had the protection of their Warships, while the Black Ink Clan did not. Whenever the shockwaves struck, the defences of the Warship were enough to negate most of the impact. Aside from the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters fighting outside the Warships, the soldiers inside were not greatly affected.
The same could not be said for the Black Ink Clan. It did not matter whether the other party was a Feudal Lord, a Territory Lord, a High-Rank Black Ink Clansman, or a Low-Rank Black Ink Clansman, they would often be knocked off balance whenever the violent energy fluctuations struck. It might be nothing more than a momentary effect, but even a brief moment could prove fatal for them.
That was indeed the reality. Many Black Ink Clansmen would lose their lives every time the fallout of the great battle swept across the battlefield. Unfortunately for Yang Kai, it was now his turn to suffer the consequences.
When the shockwave hit, both Yang Kai and the Territory Lord stumbled in response; however, the Territory Lord’s cultivation was ultimately much higher so he recovered quicker and ferociously threw his palm towards Yang Kai’s head.
At the juncture of life and death, Yang Kai forcefully shifted his head to the side. The Territory Lord’s palm slammed straight into his shoulder, resulting in a violent explosion of Black Ink Strength. The explosion left his shoulder torn and bloody.
Yang Kai grunted in pain while, at the same time, he thrust the Azure Dragon Spear towards the Territory Lord’s heart. His actions forced the Territory Lord, who wanted to go for the kill, to make a quick retreat.
Without waiting for the Territory Lord to regain his balance, Yang Kai actually threw himself forward and unleashed a flurry of thrusts with the Azure Dragon Spear, creating a wall of spear shadows that engulfed his opponent.
The Territory Lord was extremely taken aback. It could be said that he had not held back in the slightest during his previous attack. Even if a Seventh-Order Human somehow survived after taking a direct hit from him, they should have lost all combat ability and become helpless. But contrary to his expectations, this Human cultivator was very different. Not only did he survive, he even became increasingly aggressive.
[Are Humans supposed to be… this sturdy?]
Unbeknownst to the Territory Lord, Yang Kai was now a 70,000-metre-long Ancient Dragon. In terms of physical resilience, even most of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters could not compare to him. The palm strike had indeed wounded Yang Kai, but it had not affected his combat capability.
After a round of fierce attacks, the Territory Lord was so dishevelled that he seemed slightly worse for wear, which made him angry out of shame. Just as he was about to deal a lethal blow, a sharp aura locked upon him and a terrifying sword light came slashing down on him immediately after that. Shocked, the Territory Lord hastily dodged aside.
“Go!” Xu Ling Gong rushed over, holding a blade in both hands. His aura was very imposing. When he unleashed an attack at the Territory Lord, he simultaneously shouted at Yang Kai.
“Martial Uncle Xu, will you be alright?” The corners of Yang Kai’s mouth twitched, and he looked at Xu Ling Gong in concern.
That couldn’t be helped. Xu Ling Gong already had a Territory Lord as his opponent, so dragging another Territory Lord into his battle clearly meant that he would have to face two opponents on his own.
It had not been long since he advanced to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, so while fighting a single Territory Lord would not be an issue, fighting two-against-one would be… dangerous!
Yang Kai had not meant to ask Xu Ling Gong for help. He had originally planned to lure the Territory Lord to a veteran Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master to restrain the Territory Lord.
That veteran Eighth-Order Master only had one Territory Lord as his opponent, so with his profound heritage accumulated over the millennia, fighting in a two-against-one battle would temporarily not be difficult for him. Unfortunately, that was not necessarily the case when it came to Xu Ling Gong.
Nevertheless, Xu Ling Gong simply happened to be in the vicinity. He had probably noticed Yang Kai’s situation and dragged his opponent over to help Yang Kai on his own initiative.
Upon hearing Yang Kai’s question, Xu Ling Gong widened his eyes and roared furiously, “Enough nonsense! Hurry up and get lost! I’m going to kill these two today!”
While speaking, his attacks became fiercer and fiercer. Even his complexion became flushed. More importantly, the two Territory Lords were pushed back by his ferocious assault.
Yang Kai glanced at the situation and knew that his words had aroused Xu Ling Gong’s competitive spirit. There was nothing else he could say, so he could only encourage Xu Ling Gong, “In that case, don’t overexert yourself.”
After saying that, he sped off into the distance. He did not stay behind to help Xu Ling Gong as even if he stayed behind and joined forces with him, he might not be able to kill either of these Territory Lords in a short time.
Yang Kai’s greatest advantage was that he was invincible among those in the same realm! Therefore, what he needed to do right now was kill as many enemies below the Territory Lord level as possible! The more he killed, the less pressure the Human Race Army would face!
Three breaths of time after Yang Kai left, Xu Ling Gong grunted in pain and his courageous and invincible aura vanished without a trace. In an instant, he was soundly beaten back by the two Territory Lords. His heritage was too lacking in the end, so fighting two-against-one was simply too difficult for the current him!
Although he was no match for his enemies, Xu Ling Gong would have no issue protecting himself for the time being; however, it was hard to say how he would fare if the battle dragged on.
The fierce battle continued as Yang Kai navigated through the battlefield, searching for the figures of the hidden Territory Lords. Including the one from before, he found a total of three. He attacked them and lured them towards the nearby Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters and left them to be restrained by the Division Commanders.
There were bound to be more than three Territory Lords overseeing the Black Ink Clan Army, but Yang Kai only managed to find so many. As for the rest, they would surely be restrained by others as long as they made a move so he did not have to worry about them.
The Royal Lord and the Old Ancestor had their own battlefield. The Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters and the Territory Lords also had their own battlefields. The same was true for the Human Race Army and the Black Ink Clan Army! Although their battles entangled with each other, they did not interfere with one another.
Yang Kai swept across the battlefield like lightning and everywhere he went, the Black Ink Clan suffered heavy casualties under his Azure Dragon Spear. After confirming that there were no other unoccupied Territory Lords, he returned to Dawning Light. It was time to take action! Everything he did just now was simply part of the preparations for this moment.
That was especially true now that the Territory Lords were borrowing the power of their respective Black Ink Nests in the Royal City to kill the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters faster.
As a result, the original stalemate was broken. The Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were now at a disadvantage, and the newly-advanced Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters like Xu Ling Gong were even more at risk. If the Human Race Army did not take action now, the Eighth-Order Masters might end up losing their lives on the battlefield.
Just as that thought crossed his mind, a sharp whistle came from a certain corner of the battlefield. The seemingly never-ending whistle rang out loud and clear. Even the chaotic energy fluctuations could not prevent the whistle from being transmitted across the battlefield. It was clearly some kind of signal.
When the whistle sounded, the atmosphere among the Human Race Army underwent a subtle change. Everybody seemed to become more spirited as they summoned the secret weapon that had been hidden for many years!
Somewhere on the battlefield, Xu Ling Gong was completely dishevelled. There was no sign of his energetic boasting and bluster from before. Faced with the violent bombardment from two Territory Lords, he had no choice but to flee and dodge their attacks. Nevertheless, there were times when he failed to dodge, resulting in his entire body being drenched in blood.
When the whistle sounded, he cheered loudly, “It’s finally time!”
He had endured for so long. Despite facing the risk of death on multiple occasions, he had not brought out the secret weapon. He was worried that he might reveal their trump card in advance and cause the other Black Ink Clansmen to become vigilant. It was one thing if the secret weapon was not used; however, if the secret weapon were to be utilised, then he had to ensure that everyone could wield the secret weapon at the same time so that the maximum effect could be exerted.
At this moment, the agreed-upon signal had finally resounded across the battlefield.
Xu Ling Gong broke out into a ferocious grin. Ignoring the pincer attack coming from the two Territory Lords, he abruptly summoned two long spears into his hands.
A violent assault was followed by two grunts of pain. Meanwhile, Xu Ling Gong coughed up fresh blood. Although several of his bones had been broken, he threw his head back with wild laughter, “Die!”
World Force flared as the two Evil Purging Divine Spears shuddered slightly and transformed into two streams of light that pierced towards the two Territory Lords who were basically at arm’s length.
Xu Ling Gong did not hesitate to use his body as bait to draw the two Territory Lords in close, catching them off guard when they were immersed in the joy of winning. The two streams of lights struck them squarely in the chest, pushing them back quite a distance.
In the next moment, a brilliant light exploded out. The light was extremely dazzling, without the slightest impurities. Like two little Suns, they enveloped the two Territory Lords, causing their expressions to immediately change drastically. They didn’t even have time to think about killing Xu Ling Gong before they were filled with a sense of terror.
That couldn’t be helped as, all of a sudden, they could feel the invasion of some kind of foreign power into their bodies. Moreover, that power seemed to be the nemesis of their Black Ink Strength. Wherever the energy flowed inside their bodies, the Black Ink Strength that had accumulated there for thousands of years melted away. Even the Black Ink Strength that was everywhere in the void fizzled and evaporated without a trace when the light touched it.
On the battlefield, the area shrouded by the light became a large empty vacuum. All the Black Ink Strength in that area was completely purified in an instant. Moreover, the light did not just appear at the two spots around Xu Ling Gong, but at countless places across the battlefield. These lights illuminated the entire battlefield like the endless Stars in the sky!
The sudden turn of events caused the Black Ink Clansmen suffering from the effects to panic. In all the years that they fought the Humans, they had never seen such an occurrence or experienced such strange power before. It was a power that was opposite to their Black Ink Strength, one that could restrain and even eliminate it!
While the Black Ink Clan was in a state of panic and terror, the Humans did not remain idle. The power of the Evil Purging Divine Spears erupted, causing the energy within the Black Ink Clansmen to become disordered. At the same time, the Human Race Masters charged towards their enemies.
The original stalemate across the battlefield was instantly broken. One after another, the aura of the Feudal Lords began to vanish. Those who were eligible to utilise the Evil Purging Divine Spears on the battlefield were the Seventh and Eighth-Order Masters; thus, their opponents were mainly Feudal Lords and Territory Lords.
As soon as the loud whistle rang out, the Seventh-Order Masters unleashed their attacks upon the Feudal Lords. Purifying Light was indeed the nemesis of Black Ink Strength. When the balls of light that resembled Great Suns burst forth, the Black Ink Strength surrounding them was fully dispelled. Furthermore, the energy within the Black Ink Clansmen either dissipated or became disrupted.
The secret weapon that had been hidden for so many years finally blazed brightly at this moment and achieved brilliant results.
Somewhere on the battlefield, Xu Ling Gong disregarded the wounds on his body even though he was coughing up blood violently. After pulling out the two Evil Purging Divine Spears, he raised his blade and charged towards the nearest Territory Lord. The sword light on his blade gleamed with absolute murderous intent.
The nearest Territory Lord who had been affected by the Purifying Light sealed within the Evil Purging Divine Spear was completely distracted at the moment. Most of his strength had been diverted to mitigate the threat of the Purifying Light; hence, the most he could do was hastily punch at Xu Ling Gong when the sword light came slashing down on him.
The World Force of an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master and the Black Ink Strength of a Territory Lord collided and intertwined with each other on this small battlefield. During the brief confrontation, Xu Ling Gong’s chest caved inward and what came out of his mouth was no longer just blood but also bits and pieces of his organs.
After he passed by his enemy though, the body of the Territory Lord behind him split into two halves. Pitch-black blood sprayed everywhere like a fountain. At the moment of death, both halves of the Territory Lord’s face were filled with complete disbelief. He seemed surprised that he had died, killed in one move by a seemingly weak Eighth-Order Master.
Xu Ling Gong, who had just advanced into the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm 200 years ago, had slain a Territory Lord in his first two-against-one battle!
He burst into maniacal laughter, feeling as though he had never been happier in his life. There was no denying that he had killed many Black Ink Clansmen in the past, including several Feudal Lords; however, how could killing those Feudal Lords compare to the satisfaction of killing a Territory Lord?
He was under a lot of pressure! His youngest Disciple was married to Yang Kai. In the past, Xu Ling Gong could rely on his higher cultivation and take advantage of his status as an Elder to discipline this son-in-law of his. Unfortunately, that advantage disappeared when Yang Kai advanced to the Seventh Order.
Even Xu Ling Gong had to admit that he was lacking when compared to Yang Kai’s overwhelming strength against peers of the same realm. Not to mention, there were quite a few Territory Lords who had died at Yang Kai’s hands over the years.
On the contrary, he had not killed a single Territory Lord even though he was the Elder. How could he hold his head high in front of Yang Kai? How could he seek justice on behalf of his beloved Disciple if Yang Kai were to bully her?
Fortunately, things were different now. He had killed a Territory Lord! And this was just the beginning. He was going to kill even more Territory Lords in the future! His gaze shifted and landed on the other Territory Lord. Then, he rushed at the enemy with his blade flashing brilliantly.
The remaining Territory Lord had been stunned by the sudden death of his companion. At the same time, he was also distracted by his efforts to resist the Purifying Light that was eroding his body. When he saw Xu Ling Gong rushing at him like a vengeful ghost, a sense of fear flooded his heart. He did not dare to fight Xu Ling Gong any longer; thus, he quickly turned around and fled for his life.
“Where are you trying to run!?” Xu Ling Gong roared furiously. Raising his blade, he tried to pursue his enemy, but he only managed to take a few steps before he coughed up blood as though he was trying to purge all the organs from his body. At the same time, the imposing aura around him weakened rapidly.
When he brought out the Evil Purging Divine Spears, he had used his body as bait and forcefully withstood the pincer attack from both his opponents. Therefore, he was heavily injured. Killing one of the Territory Lords in one blow was his limit. He no longer had the strength to pursue the second.
If his opponent had stood his ground and fought, the Territory Lord would most likely have succeeded at killing Xu Ling Gong on the spot despite the effects of the Purifying Light.
It was just that the Territory Lord had been thoroughly frightened by the Purifying Light that invaded his body. Not to mention, he did not know whether this Eighth-Order Human was truly exhausted or simply feigning weakness. His priority was to escape alive, so he did not even dare to pause for a single moment.
In the end, Xu Ling Gong could only watch helplessly as the Territory Lord slipped into the midst of the Black Ink Clan Army and used the numerous Black Ink Clansmen to conceal his whereabouts.
“Waste!” He cursed furiously. [I’m already in such dire straits. How can you flee in fright instead of trying to kill me!? How can such a shameless Black Ink Clansman be a worthy opponent for the Humans who willingly lay down their lives to achieve victory in this battle!?]
It wasn’t just Xu Ling Gong who managed to kill a Territory Lord. Across the battlefield, more than a dozen Territory Lords lost their lives in that brief moment of confusion. Several Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples also lost their lives in that encounter.
The Black Ink Clan lost nearly 20 of their top Masters in a matter of breaths! How many combat forces comparable to an Eighth-Order Master in strength did the Black Ink Clan gather? It was not an exaggeration to say that 30% of the Black Ink Clan’s combat forces were eliminated just moments after the Evil Purging Divine Spear made its debut. Most of the remaining Territory Lords had also been heavily wounded by the Evil Purging Divine Spear. The rich Purifying Light had invaded their bodies, causing them unbearable pain.
In the direction of the ruined Royal City, the Black Ink Nests suddenly began to rumble loudly. The rumbling sounds were followed by extremely thick Black Ink Strength that gushed out from them.
After becoming affected by the corrosion of the Purifying Light, the Territory Lords no longer had regard for anything else. They drew upon the power of their respective Black Ink Nests in desperation and used their power to repel the Human Masters and resist the corrosion of the Purifying Light.
Although doing so allowed them to reduce some of their declining momentum, it was not enough to block the violent offensive of the Eighth-Order Masters. Many of the Territory Lords remained in jeopardy, seemingly at risk of losing their lives at any moment.
What horrified the Territory Lords even more was that the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters fighting them would summon more Evil Purging Divine Spears from time to time. Hence, they were so terrified that they could not concentrate on fighting their enemies.
The Black Ink Clan could not understand where the Humans obtained such deadly artifacts! Logically speaking, it should be very difficult to refine artifacts that were so lethal to Territory Lords. There should not be many of these artifacts; otherwise, the Humans would have brought them out a long time ago. Be that as it may, the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were not the only ones who could summon these artifacts. Even the Seventh-Order Humans had a seemingly large supply of these accursed spears.
The Great Suns that were formed from the pure white light could be seen everywhere on the battlefield. Almost every time one of the Great Suns manifested, another Territory Lord would fall. In the time it took to boil a cup of tea, the Black Ink Clan Army which originally held an obvious advantage suffered crippling casualties.
Unlike the Black Ink Clan’s terror-stricken panic, the Human Race Army’s momentum surged to newfound heights.
Everybody knew that the maximum effectiveness of the Evil Purging Divine Spear had been brought out at this moment. After keeping the secret for so many years, their trump card specially created to fight the Black Ink Clan had finally proven its worth in battle.
However, the Black Ink Clan’s vigilance and wariness were now raised to the limit. The next time the Evil Purging Divine Spears were utilised in battle would no longer have such an unprecedented effect. Moreover, the Evil Purging Divine Spears were not invincible even though Purifying Light was the nemesis of Black Ink Strength. The Purifying Light sealed within the Evil Purging Divine Spears was limited after all. Once the Black Ink Clansmen used their Black Ink Strength to eliminate the Purifying Light, the Purifying Light would lose its effect.
This was especially obvious when many of the Territory Lords could borrow the strength of their Black Ink Nests around the Royal City. As long as they were willing to consume enough Black Ink Strength, it would not take long for them to completely remove the Purifying Light that had invaded their body. At that time, they would no longer be troubled by the Purifying Light. Their strength would also recover quickly. That was why the Human Masters wanted to capitalize on their current advantage to the fullest. These few breaths of time were extremely important.
For that reason, Xu Ling Gong continued to slaughter nearby enemies with great enthusiasm despite being seriously injured. If he dragged things out for too long, the advantageous situation brought about by the initial appearance of the Evil Purging Divine Spears would be lost. This was something the Humans knew, and the Black Ink Clan would also learn the truth after a short period of panic.
Therefore, the surviving Black Ink Clan Masters were desperately running and hiding from the attacks of the Human Race Masters while borrowing the power of their Black Ink Nest to remove the poison in their body without regard for loss. The moment they recovered would be the moment the Black Ink Clan struck back.
The experts of both the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan were vying for this slim window of opportunity; thus, their battle became even fiercer than before.
Yang Kai led the members of Dawn across the battlefield. They were practically invincible, ploughing through the enemy lines leaving naught but destruction in their wake. Everywhere they went, countless Black Ink Clansmen were either killed or critically injured.
In one corner of the battlefield, an Eighth-Order Division Commander was vigorously bombarding an Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple with attacks. The might of his Secret Techniques and artifacts blasted continuously, causing the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple to retreat frantically. The situation was very dangerous, and the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple seemed to be at risk of being killed at any moment.
However, the Eighth-Order Division Commander did not seem to be happy about holding the upper hand in this battle. On the contrary, he was scowling deeply. That couldn’t be helped as the opponent’s behaviour was giving him a subtle sense that something was wrong.
When he first set foot on the battlefield, he had wanted to engage one of the Territory Lords as his opponent. If possible, it would be best if he could restrain two Territory Lords at the same time. He was a veteran Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master after all. Having immersed himself in this Realm for so many years, he had the qualifications for such a feat.
Unfortunately, the situation on the battlefield was very fickle and there were many times when things did not go as planned. As soon as he stepped onto the battlefield, this Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple had taken the initiative to attack him. There was no reason for him to hold back when his opponent had come looking for him themselves; thus, he immediately fought against him.
He originally believed that the other party was a mere Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple; moreover, the other party seemed to be the type to have broken through his limitations to advance into the Eighth-Order with the help of Black Ink Strength. Even if he had cultivated for many years, there was bound to be a gap in his heritage compared to true Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. Defeating him or even killing him should not be difficult.
However, it was not until they began fighting each other that the Eighth-Order Division Commander noticed that something was wrong.
The strength of this Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple seemed lacking indeed. He was badly beaten and covered in wounds, but he would always avoid all lethal attacks without fail. Even the Evil Purging Divine Spear that was activated just now had been avoided completely!
It had to be said that the activation speed of the Evil Purging Divine Spear was very quick. In an ambush, there was practically no Territory Lord who could avoid this attack. So many Evil Purging Divine Spears had been activated just now, and the number of Territory Lords who managed to avoid the attack could be counted on one hand. Be that as it may, this Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple had somehow done just that.
Ever since they began fighting, there was only one word to describe the feeling that the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple gave this Eighth-Order Division Commander: Monster! He did not mean the type of Monster with Monster Qi. On the contrary, the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple’s various behaviours and responses to the crises gave off a feeling of incongruency.
In fact, the scene seemed rather familiar. He couldn’t help recalling a certain battle he had fought when he was much younger. In that battle, it was obvious that his strength was much greater than his opponent’s. Be that as it may, he did not slay his enemy immediately. He took his time and toyed with his enemy instead. By pretending to be weak, he eventually lured his enemy into a fatal opening and killed him in one fell swoop.
At this moment, the other party gave him the same, but opposite feeling. It felt exactly like how he had hidden his strength and put on an act in the past.
[Is this guy hiding his true strength?] The Division Commander could barely believe it.
In a comparison of real strength, a true Eighth-Order Master was generally stronger than a Territory Lord. On the other hand, Black Ink Disciples who borrowed the power of Black Ink Strength to surpass their innate limitations were even weaker than Territory Lords. In other words, an actual Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master should be significantly stronger than an Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple.
During a one-on-one battle, Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples would usually bring out everything they could as trying to hide their true strength would put them at risk of dying at any moment.
[I can’t believe this guy can afford to hide his true strength. Just how powerful is he? What are his intentions?]
The Eighth-Order Division Commander could not understand. Regardless of what intentions the other party might have though, his goal remained to slaughter the other party. Fighting an Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple for so long and failing to harm the other party even after utilising the Evil Purging Divine Spear was extremely humiliating.
Nevertheless, this veteran Division Commander did not let his guard down. Focusing his attention, his offence suddenly became significantly more violent. To slay his enemy as soon as possible, he even chose to burn a part of his Blood Essence.
The intensity of the assault suddenly increased by a significant margin. The Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple was caught off guard. Thus, his condition gradually worsened.
“Ha…” A sudden sigh sounded in the ears of the Eighth-Order Division Commander. Following that fleeting sound, a sword light flashed towards him.
He immediately felt all the hairs on his body standing on end. A terrible sense of crisis enveloped him, making him feel as if he was about to die; therefore, he hastily retreated without the slightest hesitation as his field of vision was filled with the glare coming from the sword light before him.
Ninth-Order!
His opponent was actually in the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm!
At that moment, the Division Commander finally understood the root of the strange feeling he had been having. His speculation was correct, his opponent had indeed hidden his true strength. However, he never imagined that the other party would be a Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple.
The Human Race had been fighting the Black Ink Clan for countless years, and over the millennia, many Human cultivators had fallen into the hands of the Black Ink Clan and been transformed into Black Ink Disciples. Therefore, there would always be Black Ink Disciples in every Theatre.
However, most Black Ink Disciples did not survive for very long. The Black Ink Clansmen would always order the Black Ink Disciples under their command to fight desperately so that they could escape safely whenever their lives were in danger on the battlefield. As a result, 90% of these Black Ink Disciples would not have enough time to grow before they lost their lives on the battlefield.
Before the appearance of Purifying Light, the Human Race had also been merciless in their treatment towards Black Ink Disciples. They believed that death was the best extrication for the Black Ink Disciples.
Under normal circumstances, even a single Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple would rarely be found.
However, Great Evolution Theatre was special. During the war 30,000 years ago, many soldiers from Great Evolution Pass had been transformed into Black Ink Disciples. Furthermore, this Theatre did not experience war for a long time. That was why many Black Ink Disciples had enough time to grow and develop into Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples.
Be that as it may, a Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple had never emerged from any of the Theatres before!
It had to be said that a Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple was an existence equivalent to an Old Ancestor, which was the highest combat force among the Human Race.
Unexpectedly, a Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple had appeared here.
The Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple had used a Secret Technique to conceal his cultivation; moreover, he had pulled off this trick without anybody being aware of his actions.
Despite exchanging blows for so long, the Eighth-Order Division Commander had only felt that his opponent was somewhat strange. He subconsciously felt that his opponent might have concealed their strength, but he never imagined that his opponent would turn out to be a Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple.
[It turns out that… a Black Ink Disciple can actually reach the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm.] This particular thought suddenly crossed his mind at this moment.
It was well known that Black Ink Disciples could borrow the power of Black Ink Strength to break free of the innate shackles of their Order and achieve heights that would never be reachable for them under normal circumstances. Nevertheless, that would only happen under ideal circumstances.
The Human Race had discovered that the process of advancement among the Black Ink Disciples that disregarded their actual limitations came with very high risks. Almost every Black Ink Disciple who surpassed their limitations had various physical deformities. More importantly, every advancement they experienced was many times more dangerous than a normal advancement experienced by the Human Race. The probability of death was extremely high.
That was why the ideal circumstances would remain as nothing more than ideal circumstances. It should have been near impossible for a Black Ink Disciple to advance to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm with the help of Black Ink Strength. For a Black Ink Disciple, that process was almost guaranteed death! Be that as it may, there were always exceptions. That was why there were so many miracles in this world.
A Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple had suddenly appeared on the battlefield. That was simply shocking. Not to mention, he had hidden his true strength while fighting with an Eighth-Order Division Commander. The fact that he had not killed his opponent after so long clearly indicated that he was harbouring evil intentions.
[He is aiming for the Old Ancestor!] The Eighth-Order Division Commander instantly figured out the other party’s aim. Just as he was about to open his mouth to shout out a warning, he abruptly discovered that his strength was draining rapidly and he could not make a single sound.
At the same time, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao’s voice reverberated throughout the universe from a certain corner of the battlefield, “I thought it was a second Royal Lord. Unexpectedly, it turned out to be a Black Ink Disciple. I wouldn’t have found you if you remained hidden, but now that you’ve taken the liberty to show yourself, you shouldn’t think of leaving again!”
After her words rang out, an enormous Yin-Yang Fish suddenly appeared and seemed to cover the entire void. The Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple, who had merged with a sword light that was slashing towards her, was caught off guard and crashed straight into the Yin-Yang Fish, his figure freezing in place for a moment.
Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao did not give him any time to recover. Her slender jade palm thrust down on him. Her might as a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was fully revealed as she extinguished the sword light and dragged him into her battle.
Meanwhile, the Royal Lord fervently drew upon his strength to attack. It was clear he intended to work together with the Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple to kill Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao.
At this moment, the vast battlefield came to an abrupt halt.
All the Human soldiers were shocked, as were most of the Black Ink Clansmen. Only the Territory Lords were unmoved by this sudden revelation. They took advantage of the situation to escape from the onslaught of the Eighth-Order Division Commanders and hurriedly directed their Black Ink Strength to eliminate the Purifying Light in their bodies.
There was a Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple under the command of the Royal Lord. It was evident that they were aware of the fact, but such an important secret was known only to the Territory Lords. Those below the Territory Lords were completely oblivious to this fact. These measures were taken to prevent the secret from being revealed; otherwise, they would not have been able to catch the Humans by surprise.
Aboard Dawning Light, Yang Kai finally had the answers to his previous doubts amidst his shock.
The Snow Wolves Squad had gone missing within the inner ring of Black Ink Clan’s defence line. It was pretty much confirmed that they had been completely wiped out in one blow; however, the Squad Leader Yao Kang Cheng of the Snow Wolves Squad had sent him a message at the very last moment. The message only contained the words ‘Royal Lord’.
Yang Kai had always assumed that the Royal Lord had taken action, but when he reported the news back to Great Evolution Pass, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao insisted that the Royal Lord had yet to recover from his wounds. The Royal Lord couldn’t leave the Royal City, much less attack the Snow Wolves Squad from that position.
Likewise, Yao Kang Cheng’s last message couldn’t be fake. They must have encountered an opponent far beyond their capabilities or their message would not have been sent in such a hurry.
The Old Ancestor’s judgement had conflicted with the message from the Snow Wolves Squad; therefore, Yang Kai had always been unable to figure out if there were any faults in the information they provided.
The answer was now in front of them. The Snow Wolves Squad had not encountered a Royal Lord, but a Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple!
A Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple and a Royal Lord were fairly similar in strength, so under such rushed circumstances, Yao Kang Cheng had probably mistakenly thought that their opponent was a Royal Lord and frantically sent a warning containing the words ‘Royal Lord’. After that, the entire Squad had either been eliminated or committed suicide to prevent the secret of Great Evolution Pass’ imminent attack from being exposed.
Their sacrifice had not been for nought though. Thanks to their brief message, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao had been forewarned.
From her statement earlier, it could be inferred that she had been guarding against any possible enemies during her battle with the Royal Lord. It was just that she had expected an additional Royal Lord, not a Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple.
If she had been unprepared, the sword light from earlier would most likely have injured her. Fortunately, she had been warned in advance and could safely resolve any issues that popped up even if the Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple had ambushed her out of nowhere.
The three top Masters immediately engaged in battle, and the fallout from their clash became even more ferocious.
Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao had held the absolute advantage during the previous one-on-one battle with the Royal Lord only able to defend himself but not fight back. Now that there was an additional Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple in the fray, the situation became disadvantageous for her instead. Her advantage no longer existed now that she was fighting against two opponents!
There was one fortuitous thing. After a brief exchange of blows, she quickly determined that it had not been long since the Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple succeeded in his advancement. Only 100 or 200 years at most. He could be considered a newly-advanced Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple, so his heritage was quite weak. Combined with the fact that Black Ink Disciples were already weaker than true Human Masters in the same Order, she managed to protect herself even though she had to face two opponents in the equivalent realm as herself. If her opponents had been Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters like herself, she would not have lasted for long.
Judging from the timing, the Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple had succeeded in his advancement after the Great Evolution Army withdrew from the Royal City; otherwise, it was impossible for him to stay out of the battle 200 years ago. He had most likely been in retreat to advance to the Ninth Order at the time.
After the Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple stepped forward, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao calmed down considerably. It was far more difficult to defend against an arrow in the dark than a spear in the light. Therefore, it was always better to have her enemy in the open than hidden in the shadows.
On the contrary, the Royal Lord was so furious that he nearly went mad with rage.
The fact that the Black Ink Disciple under his command had advanced to the Ninth Order was extremely confidential. It was also the reason he dared to confront the Humans directly in this battle. He had wanted to catch the Old Ancestor by surprise with the help of his Black Ink Disciple. As long as they could severely injure her, the Black Ink Clan would be victorious in this battle.
Who could have known that the Old Ancestor would somehow know in advance? His plans had come to nothing as a result. With the situation being what it was now, it would not be easy for him to eliminate the Old Ancestor.
The battle between these three caused space to shatter with every impact.
On the other hand, Yang Kai’s figure flickered and crossed more than half of the battlefield in an instant. Before he even arrived, he balanced a Great Sun on the tip of his Azure Dragon Spear and smashed his way through the densely-packed Black Ink Clan Army.
The Black Ink Clan retreated hastily wherever the Great Sun appeared, and countless corpses were left behind in Yang Kai’s wake.
Yang Kai grabbed hold of a dishevelled figure and shouted, “Let’s go!”
He did not return to the Dawning Light; instead, he headed straight in the direction where Great Evolution Pass was located.
“Watch out!” The Eighth-Order Division Commander yelled breathlessly in warning. A Black Ink Clansman had come from the front to intercept them, evidently targeting the heavily injured Eighth-Order Division Commander.
This person was none other than the Eighth-Order Division Commander who was heavily injured by the Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple. Division Commander Cha Pu!
Although the Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple had only just broken through, the power of his attacks was not something Cha Pu could defend against with his strength alone. There was a huge difference in strength between an Eighth-Order Master and a Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple after all.
That final sword slash had nearly chopped Cha Pu in half at the waist. At this moment, there was an enormous gash at his abdomen where one could clearly see wriggling organs. More importantly, there was dense Black Ink Strength and ghastly Sword Qi lingering around the wound.