After much persuasion, Yang Kai finally managed to get rid of Wei Jun Yang.
He knew that what Wei Jun Yang said was true, but the military affairs of an Army were too cumbersome, and he did not want to interfere in it either. The Profound Nether Army had been functioning fine without him, so there was no reason for him to be the one in charge of it now.
Strictly speaking, asking him to be the Army Commander was like asking a donkey to dance. Deep down, he would rather be like Ou Yang Lie, a fierce general who charges into battle.
Shouldering the hopes and lives of millions of soldiers was a heavy responsibility.
As he walked outside the palace, Yang Kai saw a large group of people waiting in the distance, all of them covered in blood and radiating intense murderous intent. By the looks of it, they had just withdrawn from the battlefield. After seeing who these people were, Yang Kai immediately understood why they were waiting here.
Seeing him arrive, the leader, Zhu Jian, quickly approached him and cupped his fists, “Sir.”
The other Divine Spirits also bowed, wearing complicated expressions.
They had been waiting in Profound Nether Territory these past few days, but when the war broke out, they had no choice but to join the battle as well and had contributed a lot to the effort. In any case, there were several dozen Divine Spirits here, so they were a force to be reckoned with in any place.
The deaths of five Territory Lords in succession on the auxiliary front had also been noticed by all of them. Originally, none of them had a clear idea about the situation, but after learning that it was connected to Yang Kai, all of them were relieved.
The scene of the unruly Tao Wu being killed in one blow a few months ago was still vivid in their minds.
“What’s the matter?” Yang Kai looked at them, not having expected these Divine Spirits to be waiting here.
Zhu Jian explained, “Sir, you told us to kill two Territory Lords within three months to make up for our mistakes. We fought numerous bloody battles, and fortunately, we did not fail in our mission. We are here to report our success.”
Saying so, Zhu Jian took out two corpses from his Space Ring.
These were the corpses of two Territory Lords, mangled beyond recognition. Clearly, they had experienced a brutal battle before their deaths.
In fact, these Divine Spirits had arrived in Profound Nether Territory long ago, but Yang Kai had already left by the time they came, so they had no choice but to wait here for his return.
Yang Kai did a quick check before slightly nodding, “Good work. Don’t make the same mistake again.”
Yang Kai brought these Divine Spirits out from the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, but they had not been very obedient because he was not around. After making a show of force by killing Tao Wu, and with their Bloodline Oath as a constraint, Yang Kai was sure that these Divine Spirits would not dare act rashly in the future.
In any case, these Divine Spirits were indispensable to the Human Race. Yang Kai could kill one to set up his prestige, but he didn’t want their relationship to become too strained so he refrained from further killing.
Hearing this, Zhu Jian and the others breathed a sigh of relief.
“Does Sir have any other instructions?” Zhu Jian cautiously asked.
“Go back to the Supreme Headquarters and listen to their deployment orders,” Yang Kai simply waved them away.
Since he was overseeing Profound Nether Territory, the Black Ink Clan probably wouldn’t dare act up here. On the other hand, the situation was quite tense in other Great Territories, so these Divine Spirits would be of great use there.
The Divine Spirits felt like they had been granted amnesty as they quickly bid farewell and left.
Divine Spirits had been arrogant since ancient times, not taking any other being seriously. This was especially so with the Divine Spirits from the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary as they rarely had the opportunity to interact with the outside world. This was why they had been disregarding the Supreme Headquarters’ orders before Yang Kai’s return.
They could ignore the other Human Masters, but they couldn’t ignore Yang Kai as he had proven he was willing to kill in a heartbeat. Tao Wu was a good example for this.
Moreover, Yang Kai was not a Human anymore, but a member of the Dragon Clan. All Divine Spirits revered the Dragons and Phoenixes as their leaders. Their pitiful pride was nothing in front of a Pureblood Dragon.
Yu Ru Meng’s Squad also returned soon after. Although the 10 of them were dishevelled, none of them were seriously injured.
Few Human Squads had survived so many battles without losing a single member. Even when Yang Kai was leading Dawn, he had lost Ning Qi Zhi and Qi Tai Chu in battle.
One of the reasons why Yu Ru Meng’s Squad was able to achieve this feat was because their individual strength was extraordinary. Not only were all of them in the Seventh Order, there were also Dragon Clan and Phoenix Clan members among them. Even if they were to encounter a Territory Lord, they would still be able to put up a fight.
Everyone in the Squad was a Seventh-Order Master or equivalent. In all the battlefields, this was the only Squad to have such a luxurious lineup. Generally, there would only be one or two Seventh-Order Masters in a Squad, but the higher-ups of the Profound Nether Army knew that they were Yang Kai’s Wives or close associates, so they made an exception and allowed them to do as they pleased. Otherwise, how could a single Squad have such a grand lineup?
Secondly, their Warship was transformed from Bi Xi’s Soul Clone, so its defence was much stronger than ordinary. It could even be said that if one wanted to kill them, they would have to first destroy Bi Xi’s Clone.
But how could Bi Xi’s Soul Clone be so easy to kill?
The Black Ink Clan would have to send two Territory Lords to deal with such a Squad, which would clearly be a waste of manpower, so up until now, Yu Ru Meng’s Squad had been able to rampage about freely.
Everyone had suffered varying degrees of injuries and all of them required rest and recovery, especially Yang Kai. The pain of his Soul being torn apart was simply unbearable.
After speaking to Yu Ru Meng briefly, Yang Kai immediately went into retreat.
Both the Humans and Black Ink Clan had suffered great losses in Profound Nether Territory recently, but the Black Ink Clan’s casualties were far more substantial than the Human’s. Not only did they lose five Territory Lords, but they even lost the battle for one of the auxiliary fronts they had been contesting for several decades. This sent Six Arms, who had been overseeing this place, flying into a rage as a cold and grim look permanently covered his face.
From the information he had received, the loss of the Territory Lords and the auxiliary base was likely related to the Army Commander of the Profound Nether Army’s unexpected return.
Only, Six Arms was unable to determine the authenticity of this news. There were indeed many Feudal Lords who claimed that they had seen Yang Kai, but how was that possible?
The Black Ink Clansmen in Acacia Territory had sent word that Yang Kai was now just a turtle hiding in its shell.
Deep down, Six Arms was actually willing to believe that Yang Kai had returned. A single Human Master like Yang Kai was enough to give the Black Ink Clan a serious headache, but if there was another who had abilities on par with his, able to slay multiple Territory Lords at once, how was the Black Ink Clan supposed to survive?
But if that was the case, what was Mo Na Ye doing? Acacia Territory had been thoroughly sealed off, so how could Yang Kai have escaped?
Unable to understand, Six Arms sent out scouts to the Human Race’s side to investigate, while at the same time, he waited for news from Acacia Territory.
Half a month later, Acacia Territory sent a message.
Six Arms checked it at once.
The five Territory Gates in Acacia Territory had been completely cordoned off and not a single Human had breached their defences. All the Hunters who tried to enter Acacia Territory to gather information had been either captured or killed by the Black Ink Clan Army.
Be that as it may, according to the Black Ink Clan’s investigation, the Universe Cave Heaven in Acacia Territory where the Human Race cultivators were originally hiding was now empty…
Reading this report, Six Arms’ face sank as he cursed, [That idiot Mo Na Ye has caused us a lot of harm.]
He was almost certain that Yang Kai had already left Acacia Territory, and the previous loss in Profound Nether Territory was definitely because of him.
The Feudal Lords who managed to escape that slaughter were indeed not mistaken!
Cursing inwardly, Six Arms continued reading the report.
In the message, Mo Na Ye also swore that Yang Kai was still trapped in Acacia Territory, but he had no idea where he was hiding. He planned on having the Black Ink Clan Army sweep the entire Great Territory and swore that he would find Yang Kai sooner or later.
[Find him my ass!]
Six Arms couldn’t be bothered to read any further. Yang Kai was already back in Profound Nether Territory, so who the Hell was Mo Na Ye going to look for?
If it weren’t for the unforeseen incident in Profound Nether Territory, Six Arms would have firmly believed Mo Na Ye’s report; after all, how could such a large group of Humans escape when all the Territory Gates were sealed?
But all hopes and speculations were false in the face of facts.
Yang Kai had long since disappeared without a trace. It was laughable that that idiot Mo Na Ye was still wasting his time in Acacia Territory.
However, what shocked Six Arms even more was that the Black Ink Clan in Acacia Territory had also suffered incredible losses. To his shock and dismay, Yang Kai had managed to kill seven Territory Lords with the help of a mere three Squads!
Six Arms was horrified.
Three at the No-Return Pass, a total of eight in Profound Nether Territory, and seven in Acacia Territory…
In total, the number of Territory Lords who had died due to Yang Kai directly or indirectly had reached 18!
This was all the information he could gather, but there were still some things he had yet to grasp.
[What is this Human?] Holding the jade slip from Acacia Territory in his hand, Six Arms felt that Yang Kai was definitely the Black Ink Clan’s greatest, and most dangerous enemy!
What was laughable was that although Yang Kai had killed so many Territory Lords, the Black Ink Clan did not actually have much information on him. All the Black Ink Clan knew that he used some kind of strange method to attack Souls, and finished off his opponent in one blow after his initial sneak attack. He could not use this Soul attack method too frequently in a short period, but apart from this, the Black Ink Clan knew nothing else.
[I guess… I’ve to collect some information about this person.]
Six Arms began making plans.
After the most recent battle, Profound Nether Territory once again welcomed a rare period of peace. The Human Race and Black Ink Clan Armies stood on opposite sides of the void, glaring at each other. Although there were some small skirmishes, both the Human Race and Black Ink Clan were restraining themselves, as if they were afraid that another war would embroil the entire territory.
For the Humans, this period of peace was extremely precious. Many of the soldiers had suffered injuries in the last battle and needed to recuperate, but how could the Black Ink Clan fare any better?
Not only did the Black Ink Clan need to recuperate, they also needed to call in more troops. Below the Territory Lord level, their individual strength was inferior to the Human Race’s so they could only rely on numbers to win.
Two years passed by in a flash.
From a certain palace, Yang Kai finally emerged from his retreat.
This time, it took him quite a long time to heal, mainly because he had used the Soul Rending Thorns too frequently. While he had still not recovered from the injuries his Soul had sustained in Acacia Territory, he had used more Soul Rending Thorns as soon as he returned to Profound Nether Territory. The damage had simply become too much at that point.
Fortunately, Yang Kai’s Soul had stabilized after recuperating for such a long period thanks to the Soul Warming Lotus. Furthermore, he could feel that his Soul cultivation had progressed a little further.
In the past, he discovered that every time his Soul recovered after using a Soul Rending Thorn, his Spiritual Energy would become slightly more refined. This was also in line with the principle of ‘there is no construction without destruction.’
Perhaps one day, he would be able use Soul Rending Thorns four, or even five times in a row without much stress. At that time, it would be even easier for him to kill his opponents.
Walking out of the palace, Yang Kai immediately sent a message to Wei Jun Yang and the others.
A short while later, all the Eighth-Order Masters were gathered in the Main Conference Hall.
Ou Yang Lie looked at Yang Kai in excitement and asked, “Are we going to fight?”
He was quite a belligerent fellow. Even though he had not yet recovered from his injuries, he had been crying for war all the time. Unfortunately for him, Yang Kai was in a retreat, so the Profound Nether Army could not make a rash move. Now that Yang Kai had finally come out of his seclusion, how could Ou Yang Lie restrain himself?
Yang Kai nodded slightly, “We can’t just keep resting forever. It’s been two years since the last major battle, and although everyone has yet to fully recover, I don’t think the Black Ink Clan is in any better shape. No one will have the upper hand right now.”
Ou Yang Lie immediately became excited, “This Old Master requests to serve as the vanguard!”
Wei Jun Yang, on the other hand, was a little hesitant, “Sir, Profound Nether Territory has been in a constant state of war for decades, and it’s rare for us to have peace for even a few days. If we start another war now, I’m afraid the soldiers won’t be able to hold on.”
If a Black Ink Clansmen got seriously injured, they could get back on their feet after slumbering in a Black Ink Nest for a while. On the other hand, if Humans got injured, although they were not bogged down by so many nuisances, it was not that easy to heal either.
For example, Ou Yang Lie had still not recovered from his injuries even after two years of rest.
Ou Yang Lie shot a glance at him, “What’s there to be afraid of? Yang Boy is right, we might not be in top shape, but the Black Ink Clan isn’t faring any better. As such, no one will have the advantage. What’s more, things are different now. We have more Evil Purging Divine Spears than before.”
The Artifact Refiners in the Profound Nether Army had been constantly refining Evil Purging Divine Spears over these past two years, and although they had not refined many of them, it was enough for a single large-scale battle. With the Evil Purging Divine Spears, the Human Masters would surely have it easier.
Wei Jun Yang shook his head, stating, “It’s not that I’m afraid, it’s just…” He looked at Yang Kai, “Sir, what is your idea?”
He wasn’t convinced that in their current position the Humans should be the ones to initiate a war, but he still decided to listen to Yang Kai’s plan.
Yang Kai explained, “The Black Ink Clan has a stronger and bigger Army, while our Human Race Army is weaker and fewer in number. In all these years, it has always been the Black Ink Clan on the offence, while we Humans are forced to passively hold our ground, which is understandable. I want to launch an attack, but not because I want to end the battle in Profound Nether Territory in one fell swoop. We Humans don’t currently have that kind of strength.”
Kong Cheng De pondered for a moment before asking, “Sir, you mean…”
Yang Kai added, “I want the Profound Nether Army’s main force to launch a campaign to divert the attention of the Black Ink Clan Army.” He raised his hand and pointed towards a certain spot on the Void Chart, “I will head here and assist the Eighth-Order Division Commanders in taking down the Territory Lords here, allowing us to occupy this front.”
Ou Yang Lie happily smiled, “Just like last time?”
Yang Kai nodded his agreement.
Yang Kai’s last ambush had brought about stellar results. Not only did he kill five Territory Lords, but the Black Ink Clan Army at one of the auxiliary fronts was utterly routed and had suffered massive casualties.
The auxiliary fronts in Profound Nether Territory were not just limited to one area. There were several of them, and they were now Yang Kai’s targets.
Kong Cheng De and Wei Jun Yang glanced at each other before the former smiled wryly and explained, “Sir, you’ve been in a retreat for the past two years, so I’m afraid you don’t know about the situation in Profound Nether Territory. It’s my fault for forgetting to report it to you.”
“What’s wrong?” Yang Kai looked at him in confusion.
Kong Cheng De answered, “The Black Ink Clan suffered such immense losses the last time you struck that they have completely given up on all the auxiliary fronts. All the Black Ink Clan Armies have retreated and they’ve even moved their Black Ink Nests away.”
Yang Kai was at a total loss.
He had been planning on attacking the other auxiliary fronts one after another, but it never occurred to him that the Black Ink Clan would withdraw completely after just a single defeat.
[What the Hell?]
“Six Arms is quite decisive!” Yang Kai lightly nodded his acknowledgement.
This really came as a surprise to him. If Yang Kai really targeted the other auxiliary fronts, the Black Ink Clan would not be able to defend themselves and would be forced to retreat sooner or later, but it seemed Six Arms understood this and simply decided to cut their losses and retreat preemptively. This was a frustrating development for Yang Kai.
Nonetheless, this was also quite beneficial for the Human Race. Since the Black Ink Clan was no longer attacking the auxiliary fronts, the Profound Nether Army could concentrate all of its forces to guard the main battlefield and did not have to divert manpower elsewhere.
Kong Cheng De pondered for a moment before asking, “Sir, were you planning to kill more Territory Lords?”
Yang Kai nodded his agreement, “The Territory Lords are much higher in number than our Eighth-Order Masters. Although we’ve killed a number of them here, that hasn’t really closed the gap in high-level combat strength between our two races. In fact, this gap may never be closed, but where there is a will, there is a way. We can only reduce the pressure on our Human Race by killing more Territory Lords. I want all those Territory Lords to tremble in fear in the future!”
The Eighth-Order Masters looked at each other, sighing at the hot-bloodedness of this young man. Although these old Eighth-Order Masters weren’t afraid of dying in battle against the Black Ink Clan, they were still lacking in vigour compared to Yang Kai.
Perhaps this was also the reason why the Supreme Headquarters had appointed Yang Kai as the Army Commander of the Profound Nether Army. Yang Kai’s fearsome strength was a critical factor, but the other reason was that the Supreme Headquarters wanted to bring some changes to the war situation. The other Army Commanders were all old and serious people, but that also meant that they acted more conservatively and cautiously.
Kong Cheng De stated, “Sir, if that’s what you want, there is no need to hesitate then. The Army will press forward and draw the Black Ink Clan into a battle. The Eighth-Order Division Commanders will be tasked with keeping the Territory Lords occupied, so you just need to find an opportunity to kill them.”
Someone worriedly stated, “The Profound Nether Army prioritized defence mainly because there was a gap in strength, so we’ve been relying on various tricks and traps to defend against the enemy. If we were to rashly launch an attack without any support, we might land ourselves in trouble.”
The Human Race had also been primarily focused on defence on the Black Ink Battlefield because the Human Race had the Great Passes. The same was true for the Profound Nether Army. Although there weren’t any impregnable Passes they could use here, being able to decide the battlefield allowed them to set up numerous defensive emplacements that bolstered their combat strength.
These arrangements could greatly make up for the difference in combat strength between the Humans and Black Ink Clan.
Kong Cheng De interjected, “That’s not a big problem! While launching an offensive does have its fair share of drawbacks, we can compensate for them with the Evil Purging Divine Spears. If we disregard consumption, the Black Ink Clan may not be able to gain any advantage for a short time. Of course, the more drawn out the battle, the harder it will become for our side.”
Yang Kai asked, “Senior Brother Kong, by your estimation, how long can the Profound Nether Army persist if we utilize every Evil Purging Divine Spear we have?”
Kong Cheng De pondered for a moment before replying, “Half a day!”
After two years of continuous refining, they would only be able to hold strong for half a day at most, which was understandable as it was quite difficult to refine the Evil Purging Divine Spears en masse, but using them was extremely simple. It all depended on the right timing.
Yang Kai understood and ordered, “In that case, our troops must withdraw within half a day after the start of the battle, or else we will suffer excessive casualties.”
Yang Kai then focused his attention on the Void Chart, remaining silent.
The Eighth-Order Masters patiently waited for Yang Kai to finish contemplating, whereas Ou Yang Lie kept signalling Yang Kai with his eyes. His face filled with encouragement, as if he wanted this little brat to let him do as he pleased.
After a long time, Yang Kai suddenly looked up and shouted, “Relay my orders, unless a war breaks out at the frontline, all forces are to return to the main camp. We will attack in three days with each Division acting as an independent unit, forcing the Black Ink Clan’s Army to come out and fight. We will engage the Black Ink Clan Army for 12 hours and then retreat. Every Eighth-Order Division Commander will find an opportunity to join the battle and draw out the Territory Lords. You don’t need to kill them, your task is simply to fully occupy their attention!”
“Yes, Sir!” The Eighth-Order Masters received their orders. Some were excited, some were worried, and some wore a stoic look.
After the military order was given, the Profound Nether Army’s main force could be said to have completely mobilized. Something like this had never happened in the last few decades. It was quite a risky move, and if the Black Ink Clan came to learn of it in advance, it would have disastrous consequences.
All the Black Ink Clan needed to do was divide their forces and cut off the Profound Nether Army’s retreat to inflict heavy damage.
It wasn’t that Yang Kai didn’t understand this point, but how could he kill Territory Lords without taking some risks? He needed to defeat the Black Ink Clan in Profound Nether Territory in the shortest time possible to imbue a sense of terror of him into them.
These weren’t just empty words, this was his real objective.
Yang Kai then turned to Kong Cheng De and stated, “Senior Brother Kong, I’ll leave the rear to you to coordinate the overall situation.”
Kong Cheng De nodded in response, “Rest assured, Sir, this Kong will do his best.”
“Prepare yourselves!” Yang Kai waved everyone away.
The Eighth-Order Masters quickly dispersed.
Ou Yang Lie, on the other hand, followed Yang Kai out of the hall. Yang Kai turned around and asked, “Senior Ou Yang, do you need something?”
Ou Yang Lie glanced around before pulling Yang Kai to a remote corner by his arm.
Yang Kai didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. If someone who didn’t know what was going on saw them acting sneaky, who knows what they would think?
“Sir Ou Yang, if you have something to say, just say it.” Yang Kai was planning to return to his temporary palace to warn Yu Ru Meng and the others on some matters, so he didn’t have the time to chat with him.
Ou Yang Lie beamed with a broad smile, “Junior Brother, we’ve known each other for many years, how did your Senior Brother treat you?”
Whenever he needed something, he would address Yang Kai as Junior Brother, if not, he would call him Yang Boy.
Yang Kai thought for a moment before replying, “I saved Senior Brother’s life!”
Ou Yang Lie’s expression froze. Yang Kai had not said a single lie. Back then, Ou Yang Lie was separated from the Human Race Army and got stranded beyond the No-Return Pass with a group of remnant soldiers. It was Yang Kai who had led him and the other Humans to the Barren Territory from the No-Return Pass.
In truth, Yang Kai had saved his life.
Ou Yang Lie agreed, nodding, “That’s right, in other words, we have a life-and-death-friendship.”
[How did he come to that conclusion?]
Yang Kai couldn’t be bothered to refute him.
Ou Yang Lie happily smiled, “Since that’s the case, Junior Brother must take good care of your Senior Brother.”
Yang Kai couldn’t help but shoot a glance at him, “I didn’t expect Senior Brother to be so afraid of death!”
Ou Yang Lie was stunned for a moment before cursing, “What nonsense! This Old Master has fought on the battlefield for so many centuries, but when have I ever feared death?”
“Then what does Senior Brother mean?”
Ou Yang Lie cursed, “Chen Yuan that bastard, ever since he had returned from the auxiliary front, he’s been bragging that he beheaded an Innate Territory Lord with a single stroke of his sword! Others may not have any idea about that bastard’s strength, but I’m well aware. In a one-on-one fight, this Old Master can beat him with just one hand to the point that not even his Disciples would recognize him. He was only able to kill a Territory Lord thanks to you, Junior Brother.”
At this point, Ou Yang Lie put on a meaningful grin and continued, “Junior Brother, you can’t let your fertile water into another’s land. Speaking of which, we’re also one family, and we both have served in the Great Evolution Army. When you were injured, Gong Lian and I even took care of you. You want to kill Territory Lords, right? Then, this Senior Brother will find a Territory Lord and try my best to keep him occupied. Then, you can sneak over and give him a blow to the head. Do… you understand?”
Yang Kai didn’t know whether to laugh or cry and quickly nodded, “I understand, I understand.”
Ou Yang Lie was overjoyed, “So, we have a deal?”
Yang Kai earnestly stated, “Senior Brother, I can only promise to do my best. Senior Brother also knows that the situation on the battlefield is constantly changing, and I can’t attack too many times either…”
Without waiting for him to finish, Ou Yang Lie cut him off, “I understand, your Senior Brother understands. Then, I’ll leave everything to you!”
After smacking Yang Kai’s shoulder a few times, he turned around and flew away.
Yang Kai stared at his back, thinking, [What do you understand?]
A heavy and murderous aura pervaded the Universe Fragment where the front line’s main camp was located. Although no direct order had been issued yet, the soldiers could feel the oppressive pressure of the calm before a storm.
Having fought the Black Ink Clan for years, most of the soldiers had developed a keen perception of an impending war, and there were clear signs everywhere that a battle was about to break out.
The Human Race Army on the Universe Fragment at the main front all began preparing for the war.
Inside a certain palace, Yang Kai watched as Yu Ru Meng’s Squad took off, heading towards the gathering point of their Division.
He did not give them too much advice as there was nothing for him to worry about. All of the women in this Squad were Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters and they had a customized Warship built around Bi Xi’s Soul Clone. In terms of safety, they were far better off than other soldiers.
Since a foreign enemy had invaded the 3,000 Worlds, every Human capable of contributing their strength had to do so. So, even if Yu Ru Meng and the others were his family, they couldn’t shrink from this.
Especially now when Yang Kai was the Army Commander of the Profound Nether Army, he could not show any kind of favouritism. Quite the contrary, he had to set an example.
Watching Yu Ru Meng and the others gradually disappear into the distance, Yang Kai’s figure also flickered as he disappeared from the spot. The entire main Army was just a distraction, while his actions were the key to this operation. Yang Kai hoped that he could return with a full harvest this time.
The Human Race troops began to gather in the void, with each Division acting as a unit and Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters patrolling back and forth. The Army looked quite imposing.
Soon, the void was filled with densely packed Warships, forming a massive fleet.
Ou Yang Lie was standing on the deck of a huge Purifying Black Ink Battleship, staring into the void. His expression was cold and his fighting spirit was soaring. After receiving the go from the central command, Ou Yang Lie pointed ahead and shouted, “Set off!”
There was a specially made battle drum on the Purifying Black Ink Battleship. As Ou Yang Lie’s only Disciple, Gong Lian was holding the drum sticks and personally struck it.
Even in the vast void, when Gong Lian started beating the drum, sonorous inspiring beats resounded out one after another, lifting the Army’s morale.
The vanguard set off!
Ou Yang Lie loved fighting, so almost every time the Profound Nether Army took action, he would be at the head of the charge.
Right behind the vanguard forces were the various Divisions, which began to move out one after another, fanning out to the left and right while Kong Chen De remained behind at the command centre, coordinating the entire battle.
The original boisterous Universe Fragment was now completely empty, leaving only a few non-combatants or cultivators who were still too injured to participate seeing the Army off.
The Black Ink Clan quickly noticed the Human Race Army’s movements.
Nothing could be done about this though as the size of the Profound Nether Army’s main force this time was 400,000 strong, and if the Small Stone Race members were included, the size of the Army would easily reach the million mark. If the Black Ink Clan did not notice the movement of such a massive Army, they would simply be blind.
The Black Ink Clan scouts who were monitoring the situation were all taken aback and quickly reported back to the main camp.
Unlike the Human Race frontline camp that was located on a Universe Fragment, the Black Ink Clan main camp consisted of several Universe Worlds, one of which was originally located here, while the others had been moved over by the Black Ink Clan’s Masters.
Black Ink Nests were indispensable for the Black Ink Clan, and so were these Universe Worlds. All these Universe Worlds had many Black Ink Nests planted on them, some of them even Mid-Rank, which towered over the others.
Currently, Black Ink Clansmen were healing in and around these Black Ink Nests.
Reports from the frontline scouts came one after another, and soon were in Six Arms’ hands. When he learned that the Human Race’s main Army was advancing, Six Arms was shocked.
This had never happened before. Ever since he had taken command of the Black Ink Clan’s war in Profound Nether Territory, the Human Race had been on the defence. Of course, there were some occasional attacks, but nothing even close to this level.
[What is the Human Race planning?]
Six Arms was unable to understand, which made him a little depressed.
In fact, Six Arms had been feeling quite frustrated because of Yang Kai for the past two years.
Even if he shrugged off the fact that eight Territory Lords had died in Profound Nether Territory because of him, the thing that was giving Six Arms the biggest headache was the fact that the Black Ink Clan’s actions were being completely restrained because of Yang Kai’s presence.
In the past, the Black Ink Clan held the initiative, able to fight and retreat whenever and wherever they pleased while the Human Race was helpless against them.
The Territory Lords also outnumbered the Eighth-Order Masters, which was a source of great confidence for the Black Ink Clan.
But now?
So what if there were more Territory Lords than Eighth-Order Humans? Six Arms didn’t dare act rashly, afraid that Yang Kai would suddenly appear from somewhere and butcher them. Even he did not have the confidence to resist Yang Kai’s insidious means. If he accidentally fell into Yang Kai’s hands, he would be severely injured in the best-case scenario, and at worst, he would die.
Because of this, Six Arms cursed Mo Na Ye an uncountable number of times these past two years. Had Mo Na Ye not sent out false information, leading him to think that Yang Kai was still trapped in Acacia Territory, how could he have lost five Territory Lords two years ago?
On the other hand, Mo Na Ye’s reply was only that Yang Kai was definitely in Acacia Territory and could not have escaped.
But what was the end result?
Millions of Black Ink Clansmen and nine Territory Lords searched through the entire Acacia Territory, but didn’t find any trace of Yang Kai. They were unable to figure out when or even how he had left Acacia Territory.
If it weren’t for the Royal Lord’s orders, Mo Na Ye would still be wasting his time combing through Acacia Territory.
Thinking of this, Six Arms couldn’t wait to skin Mo Na Ye alive. Information played a decisive factor on the battlefield, and one mistake could lead to the destruction of a million soldiers and the death of several Territory Lords.
Just as he was thinking this, Mo Na Ye rushed into the hall, shouting, “Sir Six Arms, the Human Race Army is advancing.”
Obviously, he had also obtained some information.
Six Arms glanced at him coldly and indifferently stated, “I know.”
The loss in Acacia Territory had pushed Mo Na Ye’s hatred for Yang Kai to a whole new level. After confirming that Yang Kai had indeed left Acacia Territory, he immediately sent a message to the Royal Lord, requesting permission to transfer to Profound Nether Territory, vowing to kill Yang Kai to redeem himself.
The Territory Lords in Profound Nether Territory had suffered a massive loss and needed to be replenished anyways, so the Royal Lord naturally agreed.
As such, Mo Na Ye led a few other Territory Lords and some Black Ink Clan troops to Profound Nether Territory a year ago as reinforcements.
For the past year, Mo Na Ye had repeatedly requested to launch a war, but he had always been suppressed by Six Arms, making Mo Na Ye dissatisfied with him.
However, Six Arms was the one in charge of Profound Nether Territory, so even if Mo Na Ye was dissatisfied, he could do nothing about it.
Today, after learning that the Human Race Army had actually taken the initiative to attack, Mo Na Ye was extremely excited and felt that he finally had a chance to take revenge.
Yang Kai was indeed strong, Mo Na Ye acknowledged that much. Seven Territory Lords in Acacia Territory had died because of Yang Kai’s actions, and because of this, Mo Na Ye regarded Yang Kai as the greatest enemy of the Black Ink Clan. As long as he could kill Yang Kai though, they would not need to fear any other Eighth-Order Masters in the future.
Moreover, Mo Na Ye felt that he had found a way to deal with Yang Kai.
“Since the Human Race Army is attacking, Yang Kai will definitely appear. This is a good opportunity to kill him,” Mo Na Ye excitedly stated.
Six Arms coldly snorted, “That Human is quite strong, his movements elusive, and his methods bizarre. Do you think you can kill him?”
Mo Na Ye shook his head in response, “I alone won’t be able to, I’ll need help.”
Six Arms was surprised at this admission. He was dissatisfied with Mo Na Ye because Territory Lords under his command had suffered heavy casualties as a result of the misinformation, but judging by Mo Na Ye’s words, it seemed he was willing to cooperate to deal with Yang Kai, which was good news.
On another note, Mo Na Ye was even more incensed than Six Arms. If he did not want to wash away his shame, he would have never have come to Profound Nether Territory where he would be forced to listen to Six Arms’ orders. He was more than capable of being in charge over one of the other Great Territory Battlefields.
After a moment of silence, Six Arms lowered his tone and asked, “Do you have any ideas?”
Mo Na Ye replied, “There is a way, but it will depend on whether or not Sir Six Arms is willing to sacrifice a pound of flesh.”
“Let’s hear it,” Six Arms asked. The biggest problem in Profound Nether Territory was Yang Kai. If they could really deal with him, it would solve essentially all of their problems.
Mo Na Ye explained, “I’m sure Sir Six Arms also knows that Yang Kai has some kind of strange method to target his opponent’s Soul. This method is so powerful that even Innate Territory Lords like us find it difficult to guard against. Since the Human Race Army is attacking us, Yang Kai will definitely be hiding and waiting for an opportunity to strike. As such, our Territory Lords will all be on edge, and if they are worried about something else during their fights, it will be difficult for them to display their full strength.”
“Indeed!” Six Arms nodded his agreement. When he received the news of the Human Army’s advance just now, what he was most worried about was Yang Kai. He didn’t even bother sending anyone to investigate as he knew that they definitely wouldn’t be able to find Yang Kai’s whereabouts. Just as Mo Na Ye had said, this Human would definitely be hiding in the shadows and waiting for an opportunity to kill!
With someone like him on the Human Race’s side, every Territory Lord would be worried. It could be said that Yang Kai alone was enough to suppress the combat strength all the Black Ink Clan’s top Masters in Profound Nether Territory.
“However, his methods aren’t without cost. According to what I’ve gathered, he can only use that strange Soul attack three times in quick succession. Furthermore, it’s quite possible that doing so comes at a heavy cost, such as injuries to his own Soul. The Human Race has a saying; the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. Since he wants to secretly attack our Territory Lords, all we need to do is give him a chance to do so, and he will definitely take advantage of it! However, once he makes a move, he won’t be able to hide himself anymore. At that time, I will lead several Territory Lords to attack him. At that point, what does it matter how strong he is?”
Six Arms’ eyes lit up when he heard this and glanced over at Mo Na Ye, “If Yang Kai is the mantis, then are you the oriole?”
Mo Na Ye nodded, “Only then will we have a chance to kill him.”
“Then who will be the cicada?”
“That will have to depend on Sir Six Arms’ arrangements.”
Six Arms pondered for a moment. He had no choice but to admit that Mo Na Ye was quite smart. This was indeed an excellent way to deal with Yang Kai, but if he really went with this plan, he should be mentally prepared to sacrifice a Territory Lord, because once Yang Kai struck, the Territory Lord who was targeted would most likely die.
No wonder Mo Na Ye had said he would need to be willing to give up a pound of flesh to succeed.
However, what was there to hesitate about? As long as they could kill Yang Kai, it did not matter if a Territory Lord was lost; after all, almost 20 Territory Lords had died because of Yang Kai already.
If he could sacrifice a Territory Lord in exchange for eliminating Yang Kai, Six Arms would more than welcome it.
Seemingly seeing through his thoughts, Mo Na Ye continued in a grave tone, “Sir Six Arms, one cicada won’t be enough to act as bait.”
Six Arms asked, “How many do you want?”
Mo Na Ye replied, “Since Yang Kai can attack three times, at least three. It would be best if there were five.”
Six Arms couldn’t help but furrow his brow, hesitantly asking, “You want that many?”
Mo Na Ye explained, slowly shaking his head, “Sir, from what I can tell, Yang Kai is an extremely cautious person, despite his actions seeming so bold and bombastic. If he doesn’t have absolute confidence in succeeding, he won’t act rashly. What’s more, he is now the Army Commander of the Profound Nether Army, so he will be more cautious than ever. Even a fool will get suspicious if there is just one vulnerable target. Yang Kai won’t take such obvious bait. We need to dispel his suspicions. Of course, we can’t use too many as too much vulnerability will also be suspicious.”
Six Arms pondered for a moment. Although he had some resentment towards Mo Na Ye, he had to admit that what the latter said made sense.
Seeing him hesitate, Mo Na Ye added, “Sir, this Yang Kai is already so strong when he is just an Eighth-Order Master. Has Sir thought about what would happen if he were to break through to the Ninth Order someday?”
Six Arms had not considered this before, but after giving it a thought, he couldn’t help but shiver.
[That’s right, Yang Kai is already so powerful in the Eighth Order, what would happen if he broke through to the Ninth Order? At that time, even Royal Lords would not be his opponent!]
Without any more hesitation, Six Arms declared, “Go get ready. I have arrangements to make on my side.”
Although he didn’t obtain the answer he wanted, Mo Na Ye knew that Six Arms was tempted, and since he was tempted, he would definitely act according to his plan. Without further ado, Mo Na Ye nodded and left.
A short while later, the Black Ink Clan Army also began to mobilize under a series of Six Arms’ orders, preparing to deal with the assault of the Human Race. The Black Ink Clansmen who were healing in the Black Ink Nests also emerged one after another.
The battle was about to begin.
The scouts of both sides constantly shuttled back and forth, passing information they had obtained from the frontline back to their respective command centres. Half a day later, the two Armies drew closer to each other; they looked like two swarms of locusts.
Seventh-Order cultivators were shuttling around the fleets, passing orders for the Squads to check their armaments and prepare for battle.
This was the first time the Profound Nether Army had launched such a large-scale attack on their own initiative and it was quite a significant move. As a result, the morale and fighting spirit of the soldiers had risen to a whole new level.
Soon, when the distance between the two Armies had reached a critical point, the beats of war drums started reverberating across the battlefield from the vanguard one after another.
Under the leadership of Ou Yang Lie and the other Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, the Human Race Army began their attack.
The battle broke out in an instant, and the moment the two Armies clashed, the entire Profound Nether Territory appeared to shudder. The brilliance of Secret Techniques and artifacts filled the entire void, brightly illuminating the previously dark Profound Nether Territory.
Warships shuttled here and there, coordinating with each other as they bombarded the approaching Black Ink Clan troops.
Every time a war broke out, the Human Race would always hold the advantage in the opening moments as they killed countless enemies at long range. This was not because the Human Race Army was stronger per se, but rather because the Black Ink Clan always sent out weak cannon fodder first as a means of exhausting the Humans.
The Black Ink Clan could spawn as much cannon fodder as they wanted, so no matter how many of them died, so long as they had Black Ink Nests and ample resources, the ranks could be refilled.
It was completely different for the Human Race. The current Human Armies might not hold a candle to the elites who fought back on the Black Ink Battlefield, but they were still plenty stronger on average than the Black Ink Clan cannon fodder. Not to mention the Humans still had their Warships to bolster their strength.
Most of the Black Ink Clan cannon fodder charging at the forefront had been killed in less than an hour, while the main force of the Black Ink Clan Army took action soon after. The main Black Ink Clan Army mainly consisted of Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen, equivalent to Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Human Masters.
The Black Ink Clan’s casualties continued to rise, but the Human Race’s momentum had been blunted quite dramatically; after all, the Human Race was at a huge disadvantage in terms of numbers.
Six Arms in the rear failed to understand the Human Race’s plan, nor could he understand where the Human Race was getting its confidence from. Even if they could kill some useless cannon fodder, they still wouldn’t be able to resist the main Army of the Black Ink Clan.
It might look like the Black Ink Clan had taken quite huge losses, but their casualties were still within a tolerable range. On the other hand, if the Humans tired themselves out too quickly and got themselves surrounded by the Black Ink Clan Army, their losses would be devastating.
Since he couldn’t figure it out though, Six Arms did not brood too much over it. Right now, his entire focus was on finding Yang Kai’s whereabouts.
Unsurprisingly, Yang Kai was nowhere to be seen. He must be hiding somewhere and waiting for an opportunity to strike.
Intentionally or unintentionally, Six Arms’ gaze swept across a few particular locations on the battlefield. Those were the locations where he had set the bait. If Yang Kai really made a move, he would definitely target those Territory Lords.
Mo Na Ye was nowhere to be seen either, and would not make an appearance unless Yang Kai did.
Six Arms furrowed his brow and looked behind him towards where the main camp of the Black Ink Clan was situated. There were many Black Ink Nests there, which could be considered the foundation of Profound Nether Territory’s Black Ink Clan. Could Yang Kai be planning to invade their main camp?
Six Arms was a little suspicious, but it did not matter even if Yang Kai really went to the main camp as 10 Territory Lords were still standing guard there. Yang Kai would not be able to raise any waves, even if he tried to sneak in.
The Territory Lords were far greater in number than the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, which was why Six Arms had made such arrangements.
The battle had been raging intensely from the very start. It was like the Human Race Army had lost their minds as they were going all out right from the start, as if they wanted to vent all the resentment they had accumulated over the years in this one battle.
Nonetheless, the Human Race’s offence was stopped soon after when the Black Ink Clan main Army launched a counterattack and quickly put them into a disadvantageous position.
[Yang Kai has still not been sighted. It seems he’s quite patient.]
Just as Six Arms was thinking so, a sun-like brilliance suddenly flashed somewhere on the battlefield!
This sun-like flash appeared to be some kind of a signal as small white suns erupted all over the battlefield, one after another, illuminating the entire void.
Even though the suns had erupted quite a distance away from him, the pure rays of white light blaring one after another made Six Arms feel extremely uncomfortable.
Six Arms had seen this light before and knew that it was the power of some artifact. The Human Race also used these artifacts in the war two years ago.
Six Arms had no idea about this artifact’s name, but Black Ink Clan survivors of that battle had reported that it had an extremely suppressive effect on Black Ink Strength. The rays originating from what seemed to be spears could actually vaporize Black Ink Strength.
Back then, much to the Black Ink Clan’s dismay, a Territory Lord hit by this artifact was instantly injured and had he not quickly escaped, he would have been killed by an Eighth-Order Human Master.
When these flashes of light reappeared, a despondent look appeared on Six Arms’ face.
They had been fighting the Profound Nether Army for several decades now, but the Human Race had not used this artifact before. It was used for the first time two years ago, but at that time, the Humans did not possess many of these artifacts, so the Black Ink Clan did not suffer too many casualties from them.
However, the current situation was different. That pure white brilliance was erupting all across the battlefield one after another, and it covered a vast expanse of space every time.
[How could the Human Race have so many such artifacts? Why didn’t they use them before?]
Although he was unable to understand, Six Arms knew it was this Human Race trump card that gave them the confidence to launch an attack. He reached this conclusion because the Human Race Army, which was at a disadvantage just a moment ago, instantly became as fierce as a Tiger and mighty as a Dragon after the appearance of these brilliances, overwhelming the Black Ink Clan Army to the point that they were unable to mount any counterattack.
Some Territory Lords were injured, and numerous Feudal Lords died at the hand of this artifact.
Six Arms would not even bat an eye at the deaths of Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen, regardless of how many of them died, but the deaths of Feudal Lords were different. The birth of each Feudal Lord was not easy, and the Black Ink Clan was counting on these Feudal Lords to become Territory Lords and then Royal Lords in the future. Their annihilation would set the Black Ink Clan towards a bleak future.
Fortunately, the Black Ink Clan Army quickly stabilized the situation and maintained their formation after a short period of panic and loss. Now though, they didn’t try to kill their opponents and instead focused on defending themselves.
For a time, the situation on the battlefield reached a stalemate.
The Black Ink Clan had the absolute advantage in terms of numbers, but thanks to the Evil Purging Divine Spears, the Human Race would not be at a disadvantage for a short time.
Be that as it may, the Evil Purging Divine Spears would eventually be exhausted, and once that happened, if the Humans had not yet retreated, what awaited them then would be a merciless slaughter.
Somewhere on the battlefield, Ou Yang Lie was bathed in blood as he engaged in a life-and-death battle.
Since the start of the battle, he had been caught in a one versus two situation. It had been a difficult fight, but fortunately, he had been through this very situation multiple times, so even though he had fallen into a disadvantageous position, his life was not in immediate danger.
On top of that, Ou Yang Lie was also keenly aware that his two opponents were not using their full strength as they were obviously on guard against something.
Regarding this, Ou Yang Lie was well aware that these people were worried about Yang Kai sneak attacking them. Although this situation would make it difficult for Yang Kai to launch a sneak attack here, it did make Ou Yang Lie’s situation a little more bearable.
Pitifully, he had just asked Yang Kai to give him a helping hand in killing a Territory Lord so he could brag about it, but by the looks of things, it was highly unlikely to happen this time. Since two Territory Lords were targeting him, it would not be the best choice for Yang Kai to attack here.
In the void, Mo Na Ye and four other Territory Lords were hiding inside a Black Ink Cloud, concealing their auras as they observed the battlefield.
Black Ink Clouds were everywhere on the battlefield, and the Human Race would not venture inside to investigate them if they could avoid doing so, so it was the best place to hide without worrying about being exposed.
Through the Black Ink Cloud, Mo Na Ye’s sharp eyes were scanning the surroundings. He was certain that Yang Kai was hiding somewhere, waiting for an opportunity to attack.
[Perhaps… Yang Kai was also hiding in a Black Ink Cloud?]
Mo Na Ye looked towards the various Black Ink Clouds, having no clue. Suddenly, he muttered, “You Gong, if you dare to escape again, I will not forgive you.”
Beside him, You Gong’s face flushed red as he muttered, “Don’t worry, I also want to kill that Yang Kai. If he dares to show his face, he will definitely die!”
Mo Na Ye glanced at him coldly and snorted, stating, “That’s for the best.”
Last time, in Acacia Territory, You Gong was scared witless by Yang Kai, which Mo Na Ye still felt indignant about. If it weren’t for You Gong’s cowardice back then, they would not be in this trouble today.
Five Territory Lords had set up an ambush for Yang Kai this time. Mo Na Ye was confident that so long as Yang Kai dared to show himself, he could hold him down.
While they were talking, a burst of Spiritual Energy fluctuation suddenly surged somewhere on the battlefield before disappearing in a flash.
All kinds of energy fluctuations were surging across the chaotic battlefield, so if one was not deliberately paying attention, it would be difficult to detect these specific fluctuations. But since Mo Na Ye had been constantly monitoring the surroundings, how could he miss this sign?
A bright gleam flashed across his eyes, [Yang Kai made his move!]
These Spiritual Energy fluctuations were extremely familiar. In Acacia Territory, every time Yang Kai launched a sneak attack, such fluctuations would appear.
Mo Na Ye immediately looked towards the source of the Spiritual Energy fluctuations and instantly spotted Yang Kai rushing out from a Black Ink Cloud!
[As expected, he was hiding inside a Black Ink Cloud,] Mo Na Ye had been keeping an eye on the various Black Ink Clouds, but he had no idea when Yang Kai had snuck inside of this particular one. Helpless, he could not help but secretly sigh at Yang Kai’s elusiveness.
The other four Territory Lords also caught sight of Yang Kai and were about to rush out, but Mo Na Ye raised his hand and stopped them, “Wait!”
The Territory Lords were puzzled. They were hiding to ambush Yang Kai, but now that Yang Kai had appeared on the battlefield, they could not understand what they were waiting for.
Mo Na Ye had no intention of speaking further, but he still patiently explained, “He can use that attack three times!”
He did not elaborate after that, but the Territory Lords instantly understood. Mo Na Ye… was quite insidious. He was waiting for Yang Kai to exhaust his trump card on the other Territory Lords. Once Yang Kai had used up his unique method, he would be no different than an ordinary Eighth-Order Master. At that time, what did this team of five Territory Lords have to fear?
However, one of the Territory Lords hesitatingly asked, “If we don’t act now, how would we explain it to Sir Six Arms?”
If a Territory Lord died because of their delay, Six Arms would definitely blame them.
Mo Na Ye indifferently stated, “Killing Yang Kai is the best explanation.”
The Territory Lords looked at each other in dismay as a chill gripped their hearts. Apparently, Mo Na Ye had gone somewhat insane after the defeat in Acacia Territory. He was now even willing to sacrifice a few Territory Lords just to kill Yang Kai.
Doing so might be cruel and unacceptable, but it could still significantly increase their own safety. After all, they were reluctant to face Yang Kai when he still could use his ultimate move; thus, no one had any objections.
By the time they looked in that direction once more, the battle had already ended on that part of the battlefield as they sensed the fall of a Territory Lord.
The Territory Lord’s opponent was none other than Chen Yuan, who knew right away that Yang Kai was making his move the moment he sensed the unique Spiritual Energy fluctuations.
Having experienced the same thing two years ago, why would Chen Yuan hesitate? He immediately unleashed his strongest Divine Ability, splitting his sword into 3,000 beams of light that rained down on the Territory Lord.
Two years ago, when Yang Kai had launched a sneak attack, Chen Yuan had beheaded a Territory Lord in one attack. It could be said that everything had gone very smoothly.
But this time, the Territory Lords were obviously on guard so Chen Yuan failed to kill the opposite party in one move, only managing to severely injure him. Fortunately, Yang Kai timely attacked with his spear, piercing it straight through the Territory Lord’s heart.
Chen Yuan swung his sword once more, beheading the Territory Lord!
The Territory Lord seemed to have cursed something or someone before his death, his eyes filled with indignation, but Chen Yuan could not be bothered with the cries of the defeated. He raised his head to look around, but Yang Kai was nowhere in sight. He had already gone back into hiding who knows where.
Chen Yuan lifted up his sword, turned around, and flew towards another battlefield where another Eighth-Order Master and Territory Lords were locked in a heated battle to provide assistance! The Eighth-Order Master was besieged by two Territory Lords, so, even if he used an Evil Purging Divine Spear, he would still be in danger.
What he did not know was that the Territory Lord had cursed Mo Na Ye before his death. According to what he had heard from Six Arms, Mo Na Ye would immediately come to assist him once Yang Kai appeared.
He also knew that he was a bait arranged by Six Arms to lure Yang Kai out, so he had always been on guard and had been defending his Soul zealously. This was the reason why the Soul Rending Thorn failed to completely incapacitate him and Chen Yuan failed to kill him in one attack. If Mo Na Ye had timely come to his aid, he might not have lost his life, but Mo Na Ye did not show up, so how could he not curse the latter?
The death of a Territory Lord affected the entire battlefield.
From the get go, the Territory Lords had always been on guard against Yang Kai’s sneak attack. They had not been using their full strength against the Eighth-Open Heaven Realm Masters, worried that Yang Kai would suddenly appear out of thin air and attack them, but even after all of their preparations, a Territory Lord had still died.
All the Territory Lords started to feel insecure after the first of them fell, especially the Territory Lords who had been arranged to act as bait by Six Arms. They could not wait to turn tail and flee.
Mo Na Ye, who was hiding in the Black Ink Cloud, was also feeling nervous now.
Mo Na Ye believed that as long as Yang Kai’s whereabouts were exposed, he would be unable to hide once more. It was for this reason he had decided to wait until Yang Kai had exhausted all his special Soul attacks before taking him down.
Mo Na Ye’s plan was quite good, but he had never expected that Yang Kai would be able to vanish without leaving any trace after swiftly taking down his target.
It was as if he had simply disappeared into thin air.
The problem was that Yang Kai had finished his assault too quickly. In less than three breaths after making an entrance, he had chewed up and spat out the bait with the assistance of another Eighth-Order Master. Mo Na Ye was simply powerless to track him.
Mo Na Ye’s expression suddenly became extremely unsightly as he came to realize that he had still been too naïve. The situation had developed completely differently from his calculations. How was he supposed to track Yang Kai if the latter could just up and vanish?
Right then, another burst of Spiritual Energy fluctuations flared up. Mo Na Ye immediately looked towards its source, where he saw Yang Kai reappear in a distant location.
Mo Na Ye could not sit still anymore and fiercely shouted, “Let’s go!”
Having said so, he flew straight towards that location. You Gong and the other Territory Lords were momentarily taken aback, but quickly chased after him.
At this moment, Yang Kai was wantonly attacking a Territory Lord with another Eighth-Open Heaven Realm Master. His Azure Dragon Spear moved back and forth, leaving gaping wounds on the Territory Lord’s body.
It was a simple matter to defend against the Soul Rending Thorns. Once the Territory Lords decided to heavily shield their Souls, the Soul Rending Thorn’s might was greatly reduced, but so what?
In a life-and-death battle between Masters, even a momentary flaw could lead to a disastrous end. No Eighth-Order Master was to be trifled with, so once they saw an opportunity, they would seize upon it with all their might.
The moment a Territory Lord was struck by a Soul Rending Thorn, whether they were on guard or not, they would be momentarily distracted, which was a huge flaw.
Yang Kai promptly followed up with a deadly attack!
In this world, how could a Territory Lord resist the combined might of him and another Eighth-Order Master?
Killing the second Territory Lord took a bit longer, about 10 breaths from start to finish, but the moment this Territory Lord fell, Yang Kai felt a few fierce aura lock onto him from a distance.
Looking up, he saw five Territory Lords rushing over, three of whom… looked a little familiar.
[Didn’t I encounter them in Acacia Territory? He’s… You Gong if I recall correctly.]
[Five Territory Lords, they really think highly of me.]
Yang Kai sneered in his heart as he realized that these five Territory Lords were specifically targeting him; otherwise, they had no reason to rush straight towards him.
Obviously, the Eighth-Order Master had also noticed them and promptly proposed with a stern look on his face, “Sir, please leave first, I’ll block them!”
Yang Kai snapped, “Block them my ass. You go help the others!”
Anyone who stood in the way of these five Territory Lords would be killed right then and there. Even Yang Kai himself did not dare to confront them head-on.
Hearing this, the Eighth-Order Master didn’t hesitate and headed straight towards a nearby battlefield, like Chen Yuan. Yang Kai didn’t escape using Space Principles like before, but rather glanced provocatively at the five Territory Lords charging towards him before shooting off in another direction.
In that direction was another bait arranged by Six Arms.
Since it was bait specially prepared for him, it naturally attracted Yang Kai’s attention. Just like the two Territory Lords who had been killed before, this Territory Lord was also fighting an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master one-on-one in a remote part of the battlefield. Only by doing so could he be considered bait.
Heeding Mo Na Ye’s advice, Six Arms had arranged a total of five such bait on the entire battlefield.
Whereas other battles between Eighth-Order Masters and Territory Lords were group battles, like with Ou Yang Lie, one against two, or two against three. In short, the Human Race was at a disadvantage almost everywhere.
Fortunately, the Territory Lords were preserving their strength to defend against sneak attacks; furthermore, the Human Race Masters had Evil Purging Divine Spears to defend themselves, so things were not that bad for the moment.
Otherwise, the Humans would have suffered heavy losses as they were the ones to initiate the attack and had no additional Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters for backup.
All the Territory Lords on the entire battlefield were wary of Yang Kai’s movements, and the death of two of their comrades in such a short time had struck terror into their hearts.
When the nearest bait noticed Yang Kai charging straight at him with murderous intent, the Territory Lord immediately discarded any notion of continuing his battle and focused his entire strength on fleeing.
Although the Human Race Eighth-Order Masters tried their best to stop him, he was unable to. Innate Territory Lords were powerful to begin with, so if they were determined to flee, even Eighth-Order Masters were powerless to stop them.
Witnessing the Territory Lord transforming into a streak of black light, trying to flee, Yang Kai sped up and surged his Space Principles, solidifying the nearby space. At the same time, he launched a Soul Rending Thorn.
The Black Ink Cloud that was about to leave the battlefield momentarily froze before suddenly scattering, reverting back to the Territory Lord’s figure. However, the Territory Lord was howling in pain at this moment, his face distorted in pain. His cry was so sharp that even the Eighth-Order Master who was fighting him felt his heart clench.
In fact, Yang Kai’s use of Soul Rending Thorns to assassinate the enemy was no secret among the higher-ups of the Profound Nether Army; after all, Ou Yang Lie knew about the Soul Rending Thorn and was not one to hold his tongue when asked.
They also knew that every time Yang Kai used a Soul Rending Thorn, he would need to sacrifice a piece of his own Soul; however, very few people had personally experienced such heart-wrenching pain so they could not understand just what sort of agony this technique produced.
Although the Eighth-Order Master had never tasted such pain, he could imagine how much it would hurt from the reaction of the Territory Lord after he was hit by the Soul Rending Thorn.
The Soul Rending Thorn was a sacrificial technique, and once used, both the user and its target would suffer intense pain.
The Territory Lord was in so much agony that he would rather die, but even though Yang Kai’s face had gone completely pale from the pain, he did not utter a single cry. The Eighth-Order Master was awe-inspired after seeing Yang Kai’s endurance and perseverance.
Yang Kai had paid such a huge price, so if he were to let the enemy escape now, that would truly be a joke.
This Eighth-Order Master’s face immediately darkened as he promptly summoned his Divine Manifestation, preparing to go all out!
Unlike Yang Kai’s Golden Crow Casts the Sun, and Feng Ying’s Myriad Sword Dragons Venerable, this Eighth-Order Master’s Divine Ability Manifestation was even more majestic and brilliant. Impressively, it conjured up a dazzling golden humanoid phantom that was exuding a fearsome and overwhelming aura, giving the impression as if an ancient god had descended.
The humanoid phantom stood behind the Eighth-Order Master, holding a long sword just like him, but the sword was bigger and thicker.
The next moment, the Eighth-Order Master raised his sword and swung it hard as the phantom behind him mirrored his actions. Immediately after, the Void was cut apart and Black Ink Strength started dissipating. Right then, a slit spread across the Territory Lord before his body separated into two.
The Eighth-Order Master was filled with joy after successfully killing the Territory Lord, but before he could rejoice, Yang Kai’s voice rang in his ear. When he looked up, Yang Kai was already quite a distance away.
At the same time, he also sensed several fearsome auras rapidly heading in his direction.
When the Eighth-Order Master looked towards the auras, he saw five powerful Territory Lords, including Mo Na Ye, heading straight towards him. This scared the Hell out of him and he quickly turned tail and fled in the opposite direction from Yang Kai.
Apparently, Mo Na Ye and the others were not interested in this Eighth-Order Master as their target was only Yang Kai.
Quite a lot of Territory Lords in Profound Nether Territory had lost their lives because of Yang Kai, so unless he was killed, not a single Territory Lord could feel at ease.
Furthermore, Yang Kai had already used his ace three times in a row, killing three Territory Lords. Yang Kai did not have the strength to use it again.
The current Yang Kai was like a Tiger without his fangs, so how could Mo Na Ye and the other Territory Lords be afraid of anything? This was a rare opportunity. If they failed to kill Yang Kai this time, who knows when they could find another opportunity like this.
As such, Mo Na Ye, leading the other four Territory Lords, chased after Yang Kai doggedly.
During the chase, they crossed the vast battlefield. At some point, Mo Na Ye and the others heard the beating of war drums from the Human Race. The rhythm was quite distinct and powerful, but they had no idea what kind of order they were issuing.
In any case, the five Territory Lords couldn’t care less about it as all of their focus was on Yang Kai.
Mo Na Ye’s face distorted with frustration after chasing Yang Kai for a while as he realized that even if Yang Kai had become a toothless tiger, they were still powerless to do anything to him because he was simply too fast. They could not catch him, and thus, could not kill him no matter how badly they wanted to.
Just like how Eighth-Order Humans could not do anything if an Innate Territory was determined to escape, Territory Lords were powerless to do anything if an Eighth-Order Master tried to escape with everything they had.
This was also the reason why not many Eighth-Order Masters and Territory Lords had fallen over the last few decades. When things went south, no one just sat around waiting to die.
Two Eighth-Order Masters had fallen in the battle two years ago mainly because Profound Nether Territory was about to fall and they had no choice but to fight to the death. Had they not been willing to sacrifice their lives, the Humans would have suffered even greater casualties, and they might have even lost Profound Nether Territory to the Black Ink Clan.
Mo Na Ye had fallen into an awkward situation. With the five Territory Lords working together, they indeed had a real chance of killing Yang Kai, but that was only if the other party stopped fleeing and faced them in battle.
This left Mo Na Ye with a stomach full of grievances but nowhere to vent them. He was the one to propose this strategy to Six Arms, and Six Arms had done his part to cooperate; however, if he failed to gain anything despite the fact that they had sacrificed three Territory Lords, Six Arms would definitely lose his temper.
Left with no choice, Mo Na Ye summoned a Black Ink Nest into his hand. It was an extremely small Black Ink Nest, roughly the size of his palm. It was an incompletely hatched Black Ink Nest, and naturally incapable of breeding Black Ink Clansmen. Be that as it may, it could still be used for communication.
This was only a Low-Rank Black Ink Nest, for it was just used for communication so its rank did not really matter.
Mo Na Ye’s Divine Sense surged as he sent a message using the tiny Black Ink Nest in his hand.
Unable to catch Yang Kai, Mo Na Ye had no choice but to request reinforcements.
A short while later, three of the Territory Lords remaining on the primary Universe World where the Black Ink Clan’s main camp was located rose into the sky and flew off into the void.
Frustration piled up in the pursuing Mo Na Ye’s heart as he continued to make new arrangements while the fleeing Yang Kai was completely relaxed. Although the repeated use of the Soul Rending Thorns ended up giving him a splitting headache, he was already used to it by this point so it did not affect him much. At most, his combat effectiveness had suffered a little.
As he was unable to use more Soul Rending Thorns for the time being, he could not bother to engage the Territory Lords. The main reason he was fleeing now was that he wanted to lure these five Territory Lords away from the battlefield.
According to the original plan, the Human Race Army should be withdrawing right about now. The Humans did not have that many Evil Purging Divine Spears, and their Army’s strength was no match for the Black Ink Clan in a straight up fight.
Yang Kai had already heard the beating of war drums, signalling the retreat, and he knew that leading five Territory Lords away would make it easier for the Army to withdraw.
In fact, he could easily escape from his pursuers using Space Principles if he wanted to. Even if the Territory Lords’ auras had locked onto him, so what?
When even Royal Lords failed to capture him in the past, what could mere Territory Lords do?
Since he could escape at any moment, Yang Kai naturally had nothing to fear, and that was why he was letting them follow him.
After a while, Yang Kai sensed something and looked up, vaguely sensing a powerful aura rapidly approaching him.
Yang Kai raised his brow as he muttered to himself, [Someone is blocking the way ahead.]
He thus promptly changed direction.
But a moment later, another Territory Lord rapidly approached him from the front, blocking his way.
Yang Kai changed direction once more.
After about an hour of this situation repeating itself, Yang Kai stopped in the void and looked around.
Mo Na Ye was gleeful as his request for help had not gone in vain. Having been chased and intercepted like this, Yang Kai now had nowhere to run.
[Let’s see how you will escape from this!]
For the distance, Territory Lords’ powerful auras had locked onto Yang Kai like chains. If he made any rash move, he would be showered with attacks from all sides.
As the gap between them was shortened, Mo Na Ye could faintly see Yang Kai’s figure.
While both sides were looking from across the distance, their eyes suddenly met. Mo Na Ye’s eyes were burning with fury, but a look of joy was also present in the depths of their eyes, whereas Yang Kai had a completely calm and stoic look on his face.
Yang Kai’s lips moved up and down, but Mo Na Ye did not hear what he said, but from his lip movements, he could only vaguely tell that Yang Kai was calling him an idiot…
Immediately after, he saw Yang Kai lift his hands as they started radiating yellow and blue light.
Mo Na Ye immediately had a bad feeling and shouted, “Kill him!”
Immediately after giving the order to attack, Mo Na Ye’s aura surged as fearsome Black Ink Strength started to gather, transforming into a pure and powerful Secret Technique that shot straight towards Yang Kai.
The other Territory Lords beside him also simultaneously attacked Yang Kai.
In a flash, the world was flipped upside down.
Nonetheless, Mo Na Ye’s heart started pounding in anxiety because the moment they attacked, the yellow and blue light suddenly converged and transformed into a burst of pure white light. Under the brilliance of this white light, the Territory Lords’ senses that had locked onto Yang Kai were all cut off. Following which, they lost track of Yang Kai’s aura.
When the dust settled, eight Territory Lords converged together, staring at the place where Yang Kai once stood. Yang Kai’s traces were still there, along with faint fluctuations of Space Principles lingering in the void.
Everyone looked at each other while Mo Na Ye’s face filled with such grief that it was as if he had just lost both his parents.
…..
After making a few detours, by the time Yang Kai returned to the frontline camp, the Human Race Army had already retreated. As it was an organized large-scale retreat, even if the Black Ink Clan relentlessly pursued them, they did not gain any advantage.
On the other hand, since the Human spared no expense and used countless Evil Purging Divine Spears, the Black Ink Clan had suffered massive casualties.
When the Eighth-Order Masters saw Yang Kai appear, they hurriedly came forward and greeted him one by one, cupping their fists.
Yang Kai’s gaze alternated between the Eighth-Order Masters. Discovering that despite all of them being injured, not a single one was missing, he lightly nodded, “Everyone who is injured, go and recuperate, we won’t be engaging in any battle for the time being. Also, order the Artifact Refiners in the Army to focus on refining more Evil Purging Divine Spears.”
“Yes, Sir!” Everyone loudly responded.
Yang Kai waved off everyone, “Go, I’m going to heal my injuries.”
Saying so, he headed straight towards his palace, leaving behind a group of Eighth-Order Masters who still had something to say.
This battle could be considered to be the most satisfying battle they had ever fought over the decades they had defended Profound Nether Territory. It was also the first time the Human Race had launched such a large-scale attack.
All the battles they had fought in the past had lasted from half a month to even half a year, but today, from the moment they engaged with the Black Ink Clan to the moment the Army retreated, only half a day had passed, that’s all. It could even be said that this battle was as fast as lightning, yet the results were simply amazing.
Just the number of Territory Lords alone killed in this battle had reached three, while the Black Ink Clan casualties below the Territory Lord level reached the million mark. Although most of the Black Ink Clansmen killed were cannon fodder, there were also many Feudal Lords among the dead.
Although the Profound Nether Army had also suffered some casualties, compared to their gains, it was completely negligible.
All of this was thanks to the Evil Purging Divine Spears.
The Human Race Army had taken a great risk by attacking the Black Ink Clan without any reinforcements. In the past, the Humans had always relied on various pre-arranged defensive emplacements to resist the Black Ink Clan’s attacks, but such a strategy could only prolong the war, not win it. It was not that the Eighth-Order Masters did not want to go on offence, it was just that they did not have the capital to do so.
However, the Evil Purging Divine Spears made up for this shortcoming.
Using the Evil Purging Divine Spears without any regard to the expense had greatly restrained the Black Ink Clan Army. However, in just one clash, the Profound Nether Army had consumed all the Evil Purging Divine Spears they had amassed over the past two years.
And this was when the battle had lasted just half a day.
Without the Evil Purging Divine Spears’ suppression, the Human Race’s casualties would have definitely been tremendous if they had not retreated in time.
Of all the gains though, the death of three Territory Lords was undoubtedly the biggest. No matter how many Black Ink Clansmen were killed, if none of the Territory Lords died, everything would have been useless. The Territory Lords were the top forces of the Black Ink Clan. If the Humans managed to kill all the Territory Lords in Profound Nether Territory someday, no matter how many Black Ink Clansmen were left thereafter, they wouldn’t amount to anything.
“Sir Army Commander is young and promising. Every Soul Rending Thorn momentarily stuns a Territory Lord, leaving them at the mercy of us Humans. Just one swing is enough to behead a Territory Lord, like chopping off a melon,” Chen Yuan’s blood started boiling as he recalled the scene of the last battle.
He had killed a Territory Lord with Yang Kai’s help two years ago, and got the opportunity to kill another one during this battle.
“En, Soul Rending Thorns are the best method to attack the Territory Lords. When the Territory Lord who was fighting me was hit by one, his strength plummeted by about 70%. He tried to escape, but Sir Army Commander arrived in the nick of time and stopped him.”
“Sir Army Commander is really brave and unflappable. He even managed to escape safely from the pursuit of five Territory Lords. That’s truly admirable.”
The group of Eighth-Order Masters were chattering like children who had seen something for the first time in their life, singing praises in admiration.
It wasn’t that they wanted to brag, but the dire situation in Profound Nether Territory had suddenly improved after Yang Kai’s arrival, a fact they all had to acknowledge.
“The Soul Rending Thorn is so powerful. I wonder if we can cultivate it too?” Someone pondered.
If this method could be disseminated to everyone, it would be a huge boon to the Human Race as from then on, they could all easily kill Territory Lords.
“From what I’ve heard, this technique requires the use of a special artifact, and the price of using it is too high; both the user and its target will have to endure the pain of their Souls being torn apart. So, it can’t be used by just anyone.”
“Where’s Brother Ou Yang? He’s the most familiar with the Army Commander and he knows about the Soul Rending Thorn the best.” Chen Yuan looked around and soon spotted Ou Yang Lie standing in the corner. He then politely asked Ou Yang Lie, “Brother Ou Yang, you’re here…”
“Go away, I don’t know anything, don’t ask me!” Ou Yang Lie turned around and stormed off.
Chen Yuan scratched his head. He had no idea how he had offended Ou Yang Lie.
After that intense battle, Profound Nether Territory once again fell into a period of calm and quiet. Be that as it may, both the Black Ink Clan and the Human Race knew that this calm was only temporary and the next storm was already brewing.
While the Human Race Army was diligently recovering, the Black Ink Clan’s morale was crumbling.
They still failed to stop the killer even after sacrificing three Territory Lords. This sent Six Arms into a rage while Mo Na Ye was also extremely unresigned.
His original plan was to kill Yang Kai with the combined assault of five Territory Lords, but apparently, this strategy was completely useless. Yang Kai’s ability to escape was top-notch, and he simply refused to face them head-on, giving Mo Na Ye no chance to use this strategy.
Yang Kai was a true thorn in their side. Ever since they had left the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, the Territory Lords had never encountered such a difficult and terrifying enemy.
The Black Ink Clan had no way to deal with the current predicament.
The only thing they could rejoice about was that there was only one Yang Kai among Humans! If there were a few more Human Masters like him, the Black Ink Clan would be in a very dangerous spot.
Although Xiang Shan was strong, the Territory Lords were not too afraid of him as they could see the limits of his strength. On the other hand, Yang Kai was simply unfathomable.
Two years later, Yang Kai emerged from retreat and gathered the Eighth-Order Masters to discuss dispatching troops. Though, there was nothing much to discuss. Having gained such a huge harvest in the last battle, all they needed to do was repeat the same strategy.
Obviously, the Black Ink Clan had no way to counter this strategy; after all, they had no choice but to defend themselves if the Human Race Army attacked them. So long as the Black Ink Clan defended themselves, Yang Kai would have a chance to kill.
It might be a simple strategy, but as long as it worked, it did not matter.
After some orders and arrangements, the Eighth-Order Masters left.
Ou Yang Lie, on the other hand, looked at Yang Kai with a bitter expression before leaving, like a wife who had been wronged, leaving the latter quite puzzled.
The Human Race Army launched another attack. Although they had suffered some casualties in the last battle, the Recruitment Hall in High Heaven Territory had seen a massive increase in those signing up to fight, so the Supreme Headquarters had dispatched reinforcements over the past two years. Yang Kai had also pulled 100,000 more soldiers from the Auxiliary Army, so the Profound Nether Army was even more powerful than last time.
When the Black Ink Clan received word that the Humans were on the march again, a solemn look appeared on the faces of every Territory Lord.
They had lost three Territory Lords in the last Human attack, so who knew how many would die during this one?
Even though the Territory Lords were not confident in taking down Yang Kai, they had come up with various countermeasures to deal with his various methods.
After all, the Territory Lords still held a numerical advantage over the Eighth-Order Masters. Not to mention, several more Territory Lords had come from the No-Return Pass to assist.
A day later, the battle broke out between the two races as they clashed in the void, shaking the universe.
The Human Race Army held nothing back this time and immediately summoned their Evil Purging Divine Spears. After two years of constant accumulation, the Profound Nether Army had the capital to squander Evil Purging Divine Spears for a short time.
One after another, glowing white suns flared up in the void. Even though the Black Ink Clan had the absolute advantage in terms of numbers, they were the ones being suppressed in this battle. Countless Black Ink Clansmen fell under this dazzling light, causing many formations to collapse.
Everyone in the Profound Nether Army knew the battle plan. All Warships were to advance and retreat in an orderly manner. As such, none of the Warships recklessly pursued the enemy and instead focused on maintaining their positions regardless of how great their advantage was.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai was hiding in the shadows amidst this fierce battle, searching for a target like a predator hunting for prey.
The Black Ink Clan was smarter this time though, with no Territory Lords acting alone unlike last time. Obviously, they knew that once they were alone, they would become victims of Yang Kai’s hunt.
All the Territory Lords were acting in groups of threes or even fours. Everyone in the team was covering each other’s back, making it much harder for Yang Kai to sneak attack anyone.
After searching for a long time, Yang Kai finally decided to act.
He was targeting a group of three Territory Lords. Two Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters happened to be fighting them, and these two Eighth-Order Masters had already used five Evil Purging Divine Spears, but all they had managed to do was weaken their opponent’s strength slightly. They had been unable to gain any kind of advantage.
Fortunately, the Territory Lords were also not using their full strength. All the Territory Lords had diverted some of their strength to defend against the sneak attack that was surely lurking behind them, just like in the previous battle.
As such, even though the two Eighth-Order Masters were hard-pressed, they were still able to hold their ground.
When Spiritual Energy fluctuations suddenly appeared nearby, the two Eighth-Order Masters, who were already prepared, immediately used their strongest methods to attack their opponents without a moment of hesitation.
The three Territory Lords had always been on guard, but frustration and indignance could not help appearing on their faces at that instant, unable to figure out why they were so unlucky. There were so many Territory Lords on the battlefield, but Yang Kai just had to target them.
But before they could react, their heads started ringing as they felt excruciating pain as if their Souls were being torn apart. Obviously, they had been hit by Soul Rending Thorns.
Fortunately, the three Territory Lords had their guards up, so while the damage to their Souls might be unbearable, they still retained enough clarity to instinctually retreat. Be that as it may, the already prepared Eighth-Order Masters had timely attacked one of the Territory Lords together, stopping him in place.
At the same time, Yang Kai appeared and swept his Azure Dragon Spear towards the other two Territory Lords.
He had fired three Soul Rending Thorns almost instantly, so the pain in his Soul was even worse than before. He was in so much agony that he felt as if his entire head was about to explode.
As such, Yang Kai was unable to bring out his full strength.
The result was that the two Territory Lords managed to get past him by working together before escaping in the blink of an eye. By the time Yang Kai wanted to stop them, it was already too late.
He could not help but admire the decisiveness of these Territory Lords.
Without any regret, he decisively turned around and charged towards the last Territory Lord who had been stopped.
It was three against one, and the Territory Lord’s Soul was badly injured, so the result was already decided.
The Territory Lord was killed by one of the Eighth-Order Masters in a few breaths.
At the same time, the drums signalling retreat echoed out as the Human Race Army started slowly withdrawing.
Meanwhile, Mo Na Ye was already rushing towards Yang Kai with four other Territory Lords. Although Mo Na Ye and the other Territory Lords had returned empty-handed last time, they were still responsible for keeping an eye on Yang Kai. They did not participate in the battle as their mission was only to kill Yang Kai. Once Yang Kai appeared, they rushed straight towards him. It did not matter whether they could succeed or not, they had to ensure that Yang Kai could not just run rampant.
Yang Kai had also sensed their auras, which was why he didn’t try to pursue the two injured Territory Lords despite having the ability to stop at least one of them.
The Black Ink Clan chased after the retreating Human Race Army, with the soldiers of both races attacking each across the void, leaving blood and corpses littered everywhere. The Black Ink Clan only retreated reluctantly when the Profound Nether Army reached the defence perimeter of their frontline camp.
In the distance, fire was almost spewing out of the eyes of every Territory Lord. They could not wait to charge the Human Army, but owing to the home advantage the other side had, the Black Ink Clan had no choice but to retreat.
The result of this battle was unsatisfactory, as although they had killed many Black Ink Clansmen, they only managed to kill one Territory Lord. The Territory Lords’ strategy for dealing with Yang Kai’s sneak attack might not completely guarantee their safety, but it could still greatly reduce their casualties.
Although Yang Kai had injured three Territory Lords using his Soul Rending Thorns just like last time, he only managed to kill one.
Compared to losing three Territory Lords like last time, the loss of one Territory Lord was within acceptable range for the Black Ink Clan.
The Human Race thus entered another round of recuperation.
After another two years, the Human Race Army attacked for the third time.
…..
After tasting success during their first attack, the Profound Nether Army would attack the Black Ink Clan almost every two years, and basically, the Black Ink Clan would lose Territory Lords every time. Sometimes it was just one, and sometimes two. Only twice did all the Territory Lords targeted by Yang Kai manage to escape alive with heavy injuries.
Luck was quite a big factor those two times as Mo Na Ye and the four Territory Lords, who were responsible for keeping Yang Kai in check, happened to be nearby and had quickly arrived. Seeing that things were not looking good for him, Yang Kai did not stubbornly try to finish his targets.
In any case, there was over a 50% chance that the Territory Lords hit by Yang Kai’s Soul Rending Thorns would not escape death even with Mo Na Ye and his team keeping a vigilant eye out for Yang Kai.
In just a short span of 30 years, the Human Army had attacked over a dozen times and killed some 20 Territory Lords.
Counting the Territory Lords who had died at Yang Kai’s hands previously, the Black Ink Clan had lost almost 30 Innate Territory Lords in Profound Nether Territory alone.
This was an enormous figure.
The entire Profound Nether Territory had basically become the burial ground of the Territory Lords.
The Territory Lords who were slumbering at the No-Return Pass to recuperate were now terrified of being sent to Profound Nether Territory as Yang Kai’s name struck fear into the hearts of all of them.
It wasn’t that the Black Ink Clan had no way to turn things around.
The Human Race’s attacks followed a very set pattern; they would basically attack once every two years. The Black Ink Clan speculated that this was because the Humans needed time to recuperate and reorganize, and also, Yang Kai needed time to heal after using that strange attack.
The Territory Lords were not afraid of the Human Army, they were only afraid of one person, Yang Kai; therefore, after going through the same thing a few times, the Black Ink Clan Army relentlessly pursued the Profound Nether Army when they retreated, trying to take advantage of Yang Kai’s injuries to deal a heavy blow to the enemy.
However, the Universe Fragment where the Human’s frontline camp was located had already become impregnable after decades of preparation. Thanks to various arrangements, the Human Race Army was not completely helpless in facing this assault.
This was especially true now that the Human Race also had Evil Purging Divine Spears in their arsenal. An Eighth-Order Master could kill an Innate Territory Lord with the help of Evil Purging Divine Spears if they got lucky.
The Black Ink Clan’s desire to take down the frontline camp of the Profound Nether Army was no different from a fool’s dream.
The Territory Lords grew even angrier and more frustrated.
Too many Territory Lords had died because of Yang Kai, but they had not been able to do anything about it. They could not catch him, much less kill him. It was as if the entire Profound Nether Territory had become his slaughterhouse. Every time he appeared, Territory Lords would fall prey to his spear, the only difference was whether it would be one or two.
The Black Ink Clan did have many Innate Territory Lords, many more than the number of Eighth-Order Masters, but they still could not bear this kind of loss. If this situation continued, it would not be long before they would lose Profound Nether Territory to the Human Race.
Inside a majestic meeting hall at the Black Ink Clan’s main camp…
Territory Lords were convened, wearing solemn looks on their faces.
The Black Ink Clan in Profound Nether Territory had been having a difficult time these last three decades. Compared to the other Great Territory Battlefields, the Black Ink Clan casualties in Profound Nether Territory were simply astronomical, so much so that Profound Nether Territory received about 30% of all reinforcements sent to the various Great Territories.
It had to be brought to notice that the Black Ink Clan currently occupied the vast majority of the 3,000 Worlds and had abundant resources to use in their innumerable Black Ink Nests to constantly spawn more Black Ink Clansmen. A terrifying number of Black Ink Clansmen were born everyday, and all the members born would be sent to various battlefields like Profound Nether Territory.
Currently, the Black Ink Clan and the Human Race were fighting in over a dozen Great Territory Battlefields. Under normal circumstances, the Black Ink Clan reinforcements would be evenly distributed among these Great Territories, but nothing was normal in Profound Nether Territory. Things here were quite tense and the Black Ink Clan had suffered enormous losses, so naturally, more troops were sent here.
It would have been alright if things were just limited to this, but the crux of the problem was that the Black Ink Clan had lost nearly 30 Territory Lords here, which was by far the greatest loss the Black Ink Clan had suffered in the entire war for the 3,000 Worlds.
And all of this was because of one person!
The Royal Lord at the No-Return Pass had repeatedly summoned and reprimanded Six Arms, leaving the latter disgraced and aggrieved, but what could he do? He also wanted nothing more than to kill Yang Kai, but Yang Kai was cunning and treacherous, as well as terrifyingly strong, so how was he supposed to accomplish this?
Once, even Six Arms almost got himself killed at Yang Kai’s hands as he had used himself as bait to lure the latter out.
As expected, Yang Kai took the bait and attacked him, making a lightning-fast attack that was so overwhelming that even Six Arms couldn’t defend himself. Had Mo Na Ye and the others not saved him in a nick of time, Six Arms would have died then and there.
Having personally stared death in the face, Six Arms was extremely fearful of Yang Kai.
Now, the two-year countdown was rapidly reaching its end.
The Human Race would definitely launch another attack within a month, and when they did, another Territory Lord or two would be killed.
At this moment, all the Territory Lords had been convened in the hall to discuss how to deal with Yang Kai’s sneak attacks; however, when Six Arms presented this question to them, the hall immediately sunk into silence.
This exact same meeting had been convened many times over the past three decades. Every time the Human Race Army attacked, Six Arms would gather all the Territory Lords to discuss possible countermeasures, but each meeting would end up with nothing accomplished.
Watching every Territory Lord remain silent, Six Arms flew into rage, “Are we really going to let him continue to run rampant? He’s just one Eighth-Order Human, yet none of you can think of any way to deal with him!?”
The Territory Lords remained silent. If there really was a way, Profound Nether Territory’s situation would not have been so gloomy all these years.
The Territory Lords had racked their brains and tried all kinds of methods to deal with Yang Kai, but they were simply unable to stop him. No matter what kind of tactics they applied, all of them proved useless.
One of the Territory Lords thoughtfully suggested, “I’m afraid only if Sir Royal Lord took action would it be possible to take down Yang Kai. We Territory Lords are not weak, but if he is determined to escape, we are all powerless to stop him.”
Many Territory Lords, especially Mo Na Ye, nodded in agreement.
All these years, he had been targeting Yang Kai with four other Territory Lords. They had managed to stop him from killing others multiple times, but so what? He had still fled right under their noses.
Space Secret Techniques were truly unmatched when it came to escaping.
“The Royal Lord is guarding the No-Return Pass, a matter of the utmost importance; how can he take action so easily?” One Territory Lord shook his head.
Almost all the High-Rank Black Ink Nests were planted at the No-Return Pass, making it the foundation of the current Black Ink Clan. If the Human Race Masters attacked the No-Return Pass when the Royal Lord was away and destroyed those Black Ink Nests, the Black Ink Clan would become a tree without roots, a river without a source.
The Black Ink Clan only had one Royal Lord left, leaving them in quite an awkward situation, but the Territory Lords were also a little relieved at this situation. If at that time the last Royal Lord had not stayed behind to guard the No-Return Pass, he too would have died in the Barren Territory.
The Barren Territory War was especially tragic, as almost all of the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Humans had sacrificed their lives to kill all but two Black Ink Clan Royal Lords.
Every time the Territory Lords thought back to that battle, shivers would shoot up their spines. Even they were shaken by the ruthlessness the Human Race had displayed that day.
Six Arms stated, coldly snorting, “It’s impossible for the Royal Lord to act, so it is up to us to come up with another strategy.”
Though he dismissed this idea decisively, Six Arms could not help feeling some regret about it. It would not be a problem for the Royal Lord to take down Yang Kai as no matter how great the latter was at escaping, so long as the Royal Lord attacked the Profound Nether Army, Yang Kai would have no choice but to come to their aid.
The Territory Lords remained silent.
Six Arms blew his top again, “Is there really nothing we can do!? Yang Kai is already so strong despite only being in the Eighth-Order! If he breaks through to the Ninth-Order some day, what will happen then!?”
Six Arms’ roar echoed throughout the hall, causing the Territory Lords to look at each other, but they still remained silent.
Mo Na Ye suddenly stated, “If Sir Six Arms is worried about him advancing to the Ninth-Order, you need not be.”
Six Arms looked at him gloomily and asked, “What do you mean?”
Mo Na Ye explained, “According to the information I obtained from some Black Ink Disciples, it is impossible for Yang Kai to advance to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm. The Human Race’s method of cultivation is very different from our Black Ink Clan’s. Every Human has their own innate limits, with their future achievements determined the moment they break through to the Open Heaven Realm.”
After pondering for a moment, Six Arms agreed with a nod, “I’ve heard a bit about this. So, is the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Yang Kai’s limit?”
Mo Na Ye nodded, “That’s right. According to the Black Ink Disciples, Yang Kai broke through to Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm. Originally, his limit was the Seventh-Order, but after consuming something called a World Fruit, he managed to increase that limit to the Eighth-Order. However, this is already his limit. It’s impossible for him to break through to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm.”
It had been many years since the Black Ink Clan invaded the 3,000 Worlds. So, the number of Black Ink Disciples that corrupted was naturally not small, especially among the Hunters who would accidentally run into large Black Ink Armies or Territory Lords. The Black Ink Clan liked to turn Human cultivators into Black Ink Disciples to make Humans serve them, so there was now an abundance of Black Ink Disciples out there.
This was how they had gathered some of their current intelligence on the Human Race.
Yang Kai was now a great threat to the Black Ink Clan in Profound Nether Territory, so obviously Mo Na Ye tried to find out more about him. Yang Kai’s reputation had also spread far and wide in the Human Race. As such, his initial breakthrough to the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm and subsequent consumption of a World Fruit was not a big secret.
It was not surprising that Mo Na Ye had been able to learn about this.
Many Territory Lords looked gratified after hearing Mo Na Ye’s revelation.
As a matter of fact, Six Arms was not the only one who was worried about Yang Kai advancing to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm one day. The other Territory Lords were also worried about this. Yang Kai was already this strong when he was just in the Eighth-Order, so if he really broke through to the Ninth-Order, even a Royal Lord would find it hard to survive a conflict with him. If that really happened, how was the Black Ink Clan supposed to survive?
These Territory Lords were all afraid of being killed by Yang Kai.
One of the Territory Lords stated solemnly, “Nothing is absolute. I heard that the Human Race has a way to break these innate shackles. As long as they can find Open Heaven Pills produced by the Universe Furnace, they can break their limits.”
Mo Na Ye nodded in agreement, “En, that is indeed true, but that so-called Universe Furnace is an Innate Supreme Treasure of the Universe. It is ethereal and cannot be found even if one seeks it out. No one knows when or if it will appear. Moreover, even if this Universe Furnace did appear, why would we allow the Human Race to get their hands on it? The Open Heaven Pills produced by the Universe Furnace might be useless to us, but we can’t let the Humans have them either.”
All the Territory Lords nodded.
If that Universe Furnace really appeared, it would definitely set off a bloody storm. The Black Ink Clan would never allow the Humans to get their hands on it, no matter what price they had to pay.
Six Arms tapped the armrest as he stated, “Let’s not talk about this for now, everyone should think of a way to contain Yang Kai. We’re approaching the two year deadline so the Humans will surely invade again. You don’t want another Territory Lord or two to die, right?”
As soon as he brought this up, the Territory Lords immediately turned pale.
Although there were quite a few Territory Lords present, who knew if they would be the unlucky one this time?
Nonetheless, if they were really asked to find a way to suppress Yang Kai, they simply had no idea…
Just as the Territory Lords were at a loss, a Feudal Lord suddenly rushed in and reported with a bewildered look on his face, “Sirs, there is something going on on the Human Race’s side.”
The Territory Lords turned pale as one of them hurriedly asked, “Is the Human Race attacking?”
“Why is the Human race moving so early? There should still be some time left.”
“Those bastards! I say we ignore Yang Kai entirely! If they can kill a Territory Lord, why can’t we respond by killing their Eighth-Order Masters?”
…
The Territory Lords started shouting all at once, setting off Six Arms once again. Speaking of which, he felt quite aggrieved. In all the other Great Territory Battlefields, the Black Ink Clan basically held the initiative and were able to attack and retreat as they pleased. But Profound Nether Territory’s situation was the exact opposite. When had the Black Ink Clan ever been worried about the Human Race attacking them?
Saying it out loud would be a disgrace.
Looking at the Territory Lords under him all but panicking, Six Arms suddenly felt tired. He looked at the Feudal Lord who had come to report and asked, “Is the Human Race really attacking?”
The Feudal Lord replied, “The Human Race Army is showing no signs of mobilization, but a Human is approaching us. According to the scouts’ report… this person is suspected to be Yang Kai.”
The Territory Lords were all shocked.
Mo Na Ye anxiously asked, “Alone?”
The Feudal Lord nodded, “There is only one person.”
[What the Hell are Humans up to now? What is Yang Kai’s planning?] For the moment, Mo Na Ye was unable to grasp the situation. No matter how strong Yang Kai was, it was foolish for him to come here alone. What’s more, Yang Kai had proven himself to be both cunning and insidious, so he wouldn’t do something as stupid as this without purpose.
Of course, Six Arms also understood this and frowned for a moment before ordering, “Double the scouts monitoring the situation. Immediately report if anything happens.”
“Yes!”
The Feudal Lord accepted the order and left.
Not long after, the scouts indeed sent a series of reports, further confirming the situation.
The Human Race Army was not attacking, but there were signs of large-scale mobilization. This was not surprising though as the Human Race would basically attack once every two years, so the Black Ink Clan was already used to this.
A lone Human was indeed approaching the Black Ink Clan, and that person was none other than Yang Kai, who the Territory Lords feared.
Furthermore, he seemed to be intentionally exposing his whereabouts. He didn’t try to conceal himself at all along the way, and his speed wasn’t fast either. Some Black Ink Clan scouts were even closely monitoring him, but he made no move to kill them.
This made the Territory Lords even more confused.
[What the Hell is he planning?]
[Is he just trying to taunt us?]
This Human was simply too arrogant!
In the void, Yang Kai was flying towards the Black Ink Clan’s main camp at a leisurely pace.
There were many Black Ink Clan scouts hiding along the way, but these scouts were only at the level of Feudal Lords at best so they were unable to hide themselves from his senses.
Yang Kai was indeed unafraid of revealing himself as he was not here to kill anyone, rather he was here to discuss some business with the Territory Lords.
The Human Race Army had attacked the Black Ink Clan over a dozen times during the past three decades, killing some 30 Territory Lords, which was more than enough already. It was the right time for him to initiate his plan as the sooner it was implemented, the better.
Looking towards the depths of the void, he could vaguely see the Black Ink Clan’s main camp that was spread across a few Universe Worlds. He could not wait to slaughter all of them, and why would he not? But not only would this take a lot of time, even if he did manage to kill all the Black Ink Clan troops in Profound Nether Territory, what would that really accomplish?
Perhaps it would ease some of the Human Race’s current troubles, but it would not solve the root of their problem. Ultimately, it would all be in vain.
As long as Mo was still alive and kicking, it would be able to continuously breed more Black Ink Clansmen and even create more Black Ink Giant Spiritual Gods.
If Yang Kai wanted to solve the problem once and for all, he would have to go to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction and kill Mo!
Of course, that was impossible to do with just an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Cultivation. Only by reaching the Ninth Order would this even become a remote possibility.
There was only so much one man could do alone. The Human Race’s future depended on the efforts of the entire younger generation.
More and more Black Ink Clan scouts started to gather around Yang Kai, and even Black Ink Clan patrol teams were beginning to move around him, but because of his reputation, none of them dared to get too close.
Nonetheless, Yang Kai kept moving forward.
Chaos and confusion had already broken out in the Black Ink Clan main camp. Yang Kai’s act of venturing into the Black Ink Clan’s perimeter alone was extremely bewildering. Some Territory Lords believed it to be another one of the Human Race’s schemes and that Yang Kai was just bait to attract their attention. They believed that the Human Race Masters were lying in ambush somewhere, waiting for an opportunity to deliver a fatal blow.
Some Territory Lords were clamouring that it was a rare opportunity, saying that the most important thing right now was to use all of the Black Ink Clan’s strength to kill Yang Kai. His death would definitely cripple the morale of the entire Profound Nether Territory’s Human Race Army, leaving them vulnerable and giving the Black Ink Clan an overwhelming advantage.
Listening to their constant bickering and shouting, Six Arms finally couldn’t help but roar, “Shut up!”
The chaotic voices finally fell silent.
Six Arms glanced around with a gloomy expression as his face turned dark and disgraced. The fact that one Eighth-Open Human had sent so many Territory Lords of Profound Nether Territory into utter panic had left him speechless.
Although he knew that it was because many Territory Lords had died at this Human’s hands, his subordinates’ behaviour here had still disappointed him.
After glancing around for a moment, Six Arms’ gaze finally landed on Mo Na Ye as he asked, “What do you think the Human Race’s plan is?”
Although Six Arms and Mo Na Ye had not been on good terms these past few decades, Six Arms had to admit that Mo Na Ye was not only strong, but his mind was also sharp.
Mo Na Ye replied, “The Human Race may not have any plan.”
Mo Na Ye’s reply left the Territory Lords speechless, [What nonsense!? What do you mean by no plan?]
Six Arms’ face turned black. He had lowered himself to ask for Mo Na Ye’s opinion, but he had not expected the other party to give such an answer.
Fortunately, Mo Na Ye quickly continued, “The Human Race Army is showing signs of mobilization, but they haven’t dispatched any troops yet. The scouts also haven’t discovered any trace of other Eighth-Open Heaven Realm Masters moving, which means that Yang Kai really came alone. He didn’t conceal his tracks either, so I think he didn’t come here to start a war. Perhaps… he wants to discuss something with us?”
“Discuss what?” Six Arms raised his brow.
Mo Na Ye shook his head, “I don’t know either. Yang Kai is both strong and bold, but most importantly… His ability to escape is unmatched. He probably thinks that even if he comes here alone, we wouldn’t be able to do anything to him.”
Mo Na Ye felt a little ashamed when he said this last sentence, but it was the truth. He had pursued Yang Kai countless times with four other Territory Lords over the years, but they had never once managed to even hit him.
“So what do you think he’s here to discuss with us?”
Mo Na Ye replied, “It’s just my guess, whether it’s true or not, Sir Six Arms will have to determine.”
Six Arms nodded slightly. To be honest, he also felt this was the case as there was no other explanation for Yang Kai’s strange actions today.
[There is an irreconcilable feud between the Black Ink Clan and the Human Race. Rivers of blood flow every time a war breaks out, so what could Yang Kai want to discuss?]
After a moment of silence, Six Arms stated, “Since that’s the case, let’s go and meet him.”
He then selected 9 other Territory Lords and ordered, “Follow me, as for the rest of you… conceal yourselves and wait for my orders!”
If possible, he did not want to miss an opportunity to kill Yang Kai. If he could kill Yang Kai somehow, they would be able to suppress the entire Profound Nether Territory within a couple of years.
The Territory Lords understood this and immediately obeyed.
In the void, Yang Kai continued to move forward at a leisurely pace. He had already gotten quite close to the Black Ink Clan main camp when suddenly, he looked up and saw 10 figures with powerful auras flying out of a Universe World in front of him. Their leader was none other than Six Arms.
Not only that, Yang Kai also keenly noticed many more Territory Lords hiding in the nearby Black Ink Clouds.
He had already anticipated this, so he just continued moving forward with a smile on his lips, fearlessly.
On the other side, Six Arms couldn’t help feeling a sense of admiration, watching Yang Kai flying towards them in a totally undisturbed manner. [This Human…truly doesn’t know any fear.] No one else would have dared to act like this, for walking into the enemy’s encirclement alone was akin to suicide.
The distance between them was rapidly shortening, and at some point, Yang Kai came to a halt and smiled at Six Arms.
Six Arms almost couldn’t help but give the order to attack.
Yang Kai’s current position was quite tempting to the Black Ink Clan as he was surrounded by Territory Lords from all directions and was locked onto by all of them. The Territory Lords were ready to attack at a moment’s notice, so as soon as Six Arms gave the order, they would rain down Hell on Yang Kai.
[Even if he is proficient in the Dao of Space, he might not be able to escape unscathed, right?]
[Should we attack or not?]
At this moment, Six Arms’ heart rate began to accelerate.
But before he could make a decision, Yang Kai chuckled, “Six Arms, since I dared to come alone, I naturally have the confidence to escape too. I might be surrounded by many Territory Lords, but you won’t be able to kill me. At best, you would only be able to seriously injure me.”
Six Arms’ face turned dark and gloomy, but he did not retort back. The other Territory Lords’ faces also turned ugly as they felt that Yang Kai was being too arrogant.
Had it been any other Eighth-Order Human, the Territory Lords would scoff at these words, but since Yang Kai said them, they had no choice but to take his words seriously. They knew that this Human was no fool. If he didn’t have absolute confidence, why would he dare come here all alone and let himself be surrounded?
Yang Kai continued without any sense of urgency, “So long as I’m alive, you’ll always have to watch your backs. I’ll keep killing one or two of you every time we fight. I wonder how many Territory Lords the Black Ink Clan can sacrifice?”
Listening to this, a Territory Lord beside Six Arms angrily shouted, “Yang Kai, don’t act so arrogantly! Since you’ve come here alone, you can forget about leaving here alive!”
Yang Kai looked at him, sizing him up before indifferently stating, “I remember you. You managed to escape from my hands 10 years ago. Have you recovered yet?”
The Territory Lord immediately choked and couldn’t speak as he subconsciously touched his waist where there was still a deep wound that had yet to heal.
Even to this date, he would tremble in fear whenever he recalled the scene of him escaping from Yang Kai’s spear a decade ago. He was lucky that time as Mo Na Ye and the others had hurriedly come to his rescue, forcing Yang Kai to retreat.
Yang Kai’s tone suddenly turned cold, “The next time war breaks out, you will die first.”
The Territory Lord’s expression changed drastically as terror filled his eyes. He couldn’t help but step back in fear, but the next moment, when he felt everyone’s gaze on him, he felt so ashamed that he wanted nothing more than to crawl into a hole and never come out.
Although he was ashamed, he did not speak again. He was not confident that he would manage to escape if he was really targeted by Yang Kai on the battlefield
Profound Nether Territory… was too dangerous right now. He wanted to go back to the No-Return Pass to recuperate.
“Enough!” Six Arms coldly snorted as his expression turned ugly.
Yang Kai had come alone, but not only did he not act cautiously, he was even more imposing than ever. Worse, with just a few words, he managed to frighten a Territory Lord under him so badly that he actually stumbled backwards in panic, enraging Six Arms completely.
[How could the Human Race produce such a monster?!]
He stared deeply at Yang Kai and asked, “Your Excellency, you didn’t come here to fight with us, right?”
A calm and peaceful smile appeared on Yang Kai’s lips, “Of course not. I came here mainly to negotiate peace with all of you.”
“Negotiate peace?” Six Arms and the Territory Lords were stunned.
Everyone had guessed that Yang Kai had come here alone for some purpose, but no one had expected him to say something like this.
[Peace? What peace!?]
The Human Race and the Black Ink Clan had been locked in a bloody war for millions of years. The Black Ink Clan could not help but think that Yang Kai had lost his mind. It’s impossible for them to co-exist peacefully. The war between the two races would only come to an end once one side was completely annihilated, yet Yang Kai actually said he came here to discuss peace.
The Territory Lords almost thought they might have heard wrong. They looked at each other, subconsciously thinking that this was another one of the Human Race’s schemes.
Yang Kai, on the other hand, earnestly continued, “That’s right, I’m here to negotiate a ceasefire. Of course, not a complete ceasefire, just one between the Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Human Masters.”
Yang Kai then let out a heavy sigh before continuing with a look of frustration, “My Human Race is suffering. We have lost countless people over these years. We even lost the 3,000 Worlds. Now, we are confined to just a dozen or so Great Territory Battlefields, struggling to resist your Black Ink Clan’s onslaught. Not to mention other Great Territory Battlefields, Profound Nether Territory alone has suffered heavy casualties over these few decades of fighting. Every war would result in a river of blood flowing across the void and corpses piling up like mountains. Soldiers sacrifice their limbs, and even their lives to block you all. My Human Race is really suffering deeply.”
Hearing his sorrowful overtures, Six Arms’ face turned red with rage while all the other Territory Lords wore warped expressions.
[What nonsense is this bastard spewing!? It might be the case for other Great Territory Battlefields, but could the Human Race be suffering more than the Black Ink Clan in Profound Nether Territory?]
Indeed, the Human Race suffered casualties in every battle, but compared to the losses the Black Ink Clan endured, the Human Race’s casualties were insignificant. The Black Ink Clan’s casualties here were so high that 30% of all Black Ink Clansmen spawned for battle were sent to Profound Nether Territory just to maintain their lines.
No less than a million Black Ink Clan soldiers would die every time a war broke out here.
Not only that, ever since Yang Kai arrived at Profound Nether Territory, some 30 Territory Lords had been slaughtered by him either directly or indirectly.
[Why is this guy speaking such drivel, and in such a serious manner!?]
[The shamelessness!]
This was a new impression the Territory Lords had of Yang Kai.
Usually, the strong cared a great deal for face, even the Territory Lords did, let alone the Humans. So, with Yang Kai waxing so forlornly like this, the Territory Lords couldn’t help but feel like their horizons had been broadened.
Six Arms’ expression became unsightly as he asked, “The Human Race and Black Ink Clan have an irresolvable enmity, it’s impossible for us to coexist in this Universe, so why are you proposing an armistice?”
He had a feeling that Yang Kai was up to something, so although Six Arms felt that the two races couldn’t agree, he still wanted to ask.
Yang Kai stopped lamenting and replied as a smile appeared on his lips, “I just said it’s not a real ceasefire, only one limited to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters and Territory Lords.”
Six Arms thoughtfully murmured, “You mean…”
“It’s very simple. From now on, your Territory Lords won’t participate in the battle regardless of its scale, and the same goes for the Eighth-Order Masters of my Human Race.”
The moment he stated this, the Territory Lords broke into an uproar. Even the Territory Lords who were concealing their auras and hiding in the nearby Black Ink Clouds were shocked and accidentally exposed themselves.
“Really?” One of the Territory Lords excitedly asked.
Six Arms could not help but glare at that Territory Lord, who immediately shut up as shame filled his face.
Nonetheless, Six Arms did not blame him. To be honest, even he was tempted by Yang Kai’s proposal.
Be that as it may, he warned himself that this was definitely one of the Human Race’s schemes and he should not easily believe it. They had all experienced just how cunning and underhanded Humans were.
Six Arms stared deeply into Yang Kai’s eyes, as if he wanted to see into the depths of his soul, and suspiciously asked, “What does Your Excellency mean?”
Yang Kai replied, “I mean exactly what I said.”
Six Arms didn’t say anything more. He couldn’t understand what was going on, so he turned to Mo Na Ye to seek his opinion. Mo Na Ye too furrowed his brow, appearing to be deep in thought.
Yang Kai added, “There is no need to be suspicious. I have sincerely come here to negotiate an armistice with you, and I feel that it’s also a good proposition for the Black Ink Clan. The Black Ink Clan has lost almost 30 Territory Lords at my hands in Profound Nether Territory over these years, yes? If you agree to this ceasefire, I will withdraw from the frontlines too. Of course, the premise is that you and the other Territory Lords also uphold the conditions of the ceasefire.”
An ugly look immediately appeared on the face of the Territory Lords.
The death of 30 odd Territory Lords in Profound Nether Territory was a matter of great humiliation for them. By mentioning this, Yang Kai was simply rubbing salt into their wounds, which was truly infuriating.
Nonetheless, it was the truth, and they could not refute it.
Seeing the Territory Lords remain silent, Yang Kai’s smile slowly faded as his tone became dark and cold, “What’s wrong? I’ve shown you sincerity by coming alone to discuss this matter and giving you an enormous concession. Are you still not satisfied? Perhaps I need to kill a few more of you before you agree?”
Saying so, he took out his Azure Dragon Spear and arrogantly declared, “Good, since that’s the case, we all know what will happen next. Every two years henceforth, when war breaks out, I’ll kill one or two Territory Lords until all of you are gone. Let’s see how you dare to disagree then!”
The moment he summoned his Azure Dragon Spear, all the Territory Lords immediately became tense and their aura instantly broke out as they began circulating their Black Ink Strength. The calm and peaceful situation immediately became highly agitated.
Six Arms jumped back in fright, no longer having any thoughts of killing Yang Kai as he quickly raised his hand and stated, “Your Excellency, please don’t be rash!”
Yang Kai pointed his spear at him and asked him in a grim voice, without any trace of politeness, “Agree or disagree, it’s a one-word answer!”
Six Arms was completely infuriated. He was one of the top Innate Territory Lords, and also the Commander of the Black Ink Clan in Profound Nether Territory. Never had he been pointed at and shamed by an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
If Yang Kai’s proposal had not been so tempting, he would have already given the order to attack.
He solemnly looked at Yang Kai and stated, “Your Excellency’s proposal is truly intriguing, but this ceasefire is really unimaginable, I find it hard to believe you would request it.”
“Why is that?”
Six Arms enquired, “According to Your Excellency’s proposal, the Human Race’s Eighth-Order Masters and our Territory Lords won’t be able to join the battle in the future, which on the surface appears extremely beneficial to my Black Ink Clan. So my question is, what does the Human Race get out of this?”
This was the sticking point he simply couldn’t figure out. The Black Ink Clan in Profound Nether Territory was currently at an extreme disadvantage. They would lose one or two Territory Lords every time a war broke out every two years. Now, every time war was about to break out, the Territory Lords would become restless, terrified they would be targeted by Yang Kai.
However, if they could agree with the Human Race to not send their Eighth-Order Masters into battle after today, it would be wholly beneficial to the Black Ink Clan. Six Arms could not figure out why the Humans would make such a proposal, much less uphold it.
Why would the Humans do something which would not bring them any benefit? Six Arms wasn’t naïve enough to believe that Yang Kai was considering the Black Ink Clan’s interests. The two sides were sworn enemies, so it made no sense.
Yang Kai asked, frowning, “What does my Human Race’s gains from this have to do with you? Why ask so many questions?”
Six Arms solemnly stated, “If Your Excellency can’t give us a satisfactory answer, we can only think that this is some type of sinister plot and we will have to move to capture Your Excellency here today.”
“Do you think you can?” Yang Kai sneered as he swept his gaze around arrogantly.
Six Arms shouted, “Since you’re here to discuss an armistice, show us real proof of your sincerity. Do you really think we Territory Lords are afraid of you?”
Yang Kai pursed his lips in annoyance, obviously not wanting to explain himself, but in the end, he still answered, “Fine, I suppose there’s no harm in telling you. The reason I want to discuss an armistice with you is because I want to let my Human Race’s soldiers rest. Although the Eighth-Order Masters of my Human Race have not suffered any casualties over the past few decades, we have lost far too many below the Eighth-Order, and most of them died because they were caught up in the fights between the Eighth-Order Masters and the Territory Lords. You might not care about the deaths of your weaker Clansmen, but it is very different for my Human Race. Every Human who dies was a loyal patriot of my Human Race. It would not have been an issue had they lost their lives while fighting the Black Ink Clan, even when Masters on our level clash, it is more often those around us who suffer the consequences, dying pointless deaths. As the Territory Lords outnumber the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, the Eighth-Order Masters must go all out and have no ability to care about anything else around them. Even if other Human soldiers get swept up in their battlefields, they can do nothing about it, which is not just heart-breaking, but a costly loss. However, if there is a treaty which prevents the Eighth-Order Masters and Territory Lords from joining the battle, then such situations won’t happen again. It is for this reason I am here today to negotiate a ceasefire with you. Are you satisfied with this answer?”
The group of Territory Lords glanced at each other, somewhat believing Yang Kai’s words.
The important thing was that Yang Kai was telling the truth. Low-rank soldiers of both races were caught up in the clash between the Eighth-Order Masters and Territory Lords every time they fought, and many of them died as a result.
The Territory Lords did not care about the deaths of Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen, but the deaths of so many Human soldiers obviously troubled the Eighth-Order Masters. Be that as it may, they could not hold back in the current environment.
On top of that, the Territory Lords outnumbered the Eighth-Order Masters, so the Territory Lords would often be able to slaughter their way into the midst of the Human Race Army. At that time, even the Eighth-Order Masters, who were already short-handed, would be forced to rush to block them. This put the Human Race into an even more passive situation.
Six Arms tightly furrowed his brow and glanced at Mo Na Ye, who looked back and lightly nodded.
Although Yang Kai’s answer was still a little suspicious, it was indeed a valid reason.
Six Arms asked, “Can you represent the entire Human Race?”
Yang Kai scoffed, “You wish! Of course, I can’t represent the entire Human Race, but I am the Army Commander of the Profound Nether Army, so I can represent all Human forces in Profound Nether Territory!”
Six Arms probed, “In other words, the scope of this treaty is limited to the Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Masters in Profound Nether Territory?”
“That’s right.”
“The Human Race is quite devious, how can we trust you?”
“I can swear, but would you believe me?” Yang Kai looked at Six Arms with a serious expression, “Trust is built based on mutual understanding between two sides. No matter what I say, you won’t believe me anyway, but the fact that I came alone is enough to show my sincerity. You will know whether I’m telling the truth or not after seeing how the Human Race acts in the future. From today on, the Eighth-Order Masters of my Human Race will not take the initiative to take part in the war in Profound Nether Territory. I hope that you Territory Lords can also abide by the agreement. Of course, you can also not abide by it, but I will kill anyone who dares to do so. Don’t think that you’ll be safe if you go into hiding. Even if you scurry back to the No-Return Pass, I can still go there, kill you, then escape!”
The Territory Lords’ expressions immediately became ugly as this was a naked threat.
“I’ve said what I came to say, farewell!” Yang Kai put away the Azure Dragon Spear, turned around, and left, without caring whether the Territory Lords agreed or not.
The group of Territory Lords stared at Six Arms, seeking an answer from him. Six Arms, on the other hand, appeared to be struggling as to what to do.
Only when Yang Kai had truly left did the Territory Lords break the encirclement, while Six Arms heaved a long sigh of relief as a sense of exhaustion hit him. Just now, he was almost unable to hold himself back from giving the order to attack Yang Kai. If he gave the order, this so-called peace treaty would have naturally been broken, and the Profound Nether Army would have undoubtedly retaliated.
The reason why he didn’t give the order was because he wasn’t confident he could take Yang Kai down here as the latter was just too calm.
Six Arms was not the only Territory Lord who let out a sigh of relief. It had to be said that many Territory Lords were tempted to accept Yang Kai’s so-called peace treaty. If they could reach an agreement with the Human Race that the Eighth-Order Masters and Territory Lords would not partake in the battle here any longer, then they would have nothing to worry about in the future.
Over the past few decades, every time the Human Race Army attacked, it would cause the Territory Lords extreme anxiety. No one knew which Territory Lord would become Yang Kai’s target. Only when Yang Kai really made his move could they finally put their pounding hearts to rest.
When Six Arms saw the expressions on the Territory Lords’ faces, he became a little depressed. These Territory Lords of Profound Nether Territory had been thoroughly traumatized by Yang Kai and likely would never recover. He then turned to Mo Na Ye and asked, “What do you think?”
Mo Na Ye confirmed, frowning, “Does Sir Six Arms mean the peace treaty or…”
“Naturally, the peace treaty.”
“It’s a good deal!” Mo Na Ye replied, “Although I doubt we understand all its implications and I don’t think the Human Race will be so kind, if they abide by the agreement, it will be a good thing for us Territory Lords.”
Six Arms nodded slightly in agreement, “I think so too, I’m just afraid that the Humans have some hidden agenda that we’re still unaware of.”
Mo Na Ye added with a smile, “The Territory Lords are the most important targets in Profound Nether Territory, and since Yang Kai is willing to give up the opportunity to kill us to negotiate, it’s not surprising that he has some ulterior motive. It also feels that the reason he gave is lacking.”
“For the consideration of the Human Race soldiers, huh?” Six Arms understood.
Mo Na Ye agreed with a nod, “En, although many of the Human Race’s soldiers have died at the hands of the Territory Lords over the years, giving up on killing Territory Lords for the sake of those weaker Human soldiers is very foolish. Perhaps… there is some greater motivation we haven’t guessed yet.”