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Translator: Silavin & Jon
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
The Black Ink Clansmen wouldn’t dare to keep chasing after the Humans, for they were not certain if they had any hidden trump cards to play. If the Humans launched a sneak attack on the Black Ink Nest when the Black Ink Clansmen were not around, they would be doomed.
Therefore, despite his unwillingness, Che Kong still ordered them to stop their pursuit. As he watched the Human Warships leave, his face contorted with fury.
It was rare that a battle between the two Races of such a scale had ended so quickly.
The reason the Humans could achieve it was that they had to obey the leaders’ command no matter what.
Wherever Xiang Shan was, that was where the fleet of Warships would be heading; therefore, the moment his Battalion Class Warship started retreating, the other Warships followed suit without hesitation.
There hadn’t really been any grand strategies used in this battle, they simply relied on the excellent leadership of their Commanders, the collaboration between several tens of thousands of soldiers, and a bit of luck.
Only one hour had passed from the time the two Armies clashed to the time the Humans withdrew 10 million kilometres from the Royal City.
However, in just one hour, the Humans had managed to cause the same number of casualties to the Black Ink Clan as the total number of casualties for the past 20 years.
There were even more casualties if they included what the Old Ancestor had done to the Black Ink Clan earlier; after all, three Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples were killed by the Old Ancestor, and even more of them were injured.
Although the Black Ink Clan had suffered immense losses, it didn’t mean no Humans were killed.
Under Xiang Shan’s leadership, the fleet of Warships had acted like a Dragon that swam across the battlefield in an imposing manner. Nevertheless, the Black Ink Clan was not weak.
The defences of some of the Warships were shattered, and when that happened, the soldiers inside were instantly exposed to danger.
While more and more Black Ink Clansmen were killed on the battlefield, the sound of Small Universes collapsing was also heard.
Casualties were inevitable, especially when one was trying to break through a siege and retreat.
Although the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had brought up the rear on their Battalion Class Warships, they couldn’t possibly ensure everyone’s safety. There were times when they were powerless to save some of the soldiers’ lives.
The Black Ink Clan hadn’t achieved their goal of breaking the Humans with a pursuit from behind, but to the Humans, it was already a huge loss.
It was a price they had to pay though, and the leaders of the East-West Army had already expected such an outcome when they were coming up with this plan.
Regardless, this plan had to be carried out. No war would end with no casualties.
The differences were how many of them were killed, and whether their deaths were meaningful.
The leaders had already done their best to minimise the number of deaths.
From beginning to end, the Battle Formation remained intact, though the shields of many Warships had turned dim and numerous arrays were flashing and flickering.
It was a sign that the arrays were on the verge of breaking.
Yang Kai, who was soaked in black blood, was standing on the deck of Dawning Light. As he looked around, he couldn’t help but feel sorrowful.
The peace in the 3,000 Worlds was in stark contrast to the brutality on the Black Ink Battlefield. The trillions of people back in the 3,000 Worlds didn’t know that so many of the brightest cultivators from the Cave Heavens and Paradises were constantly fighting against the Black Ink Clan on such a battlefield, silently defending their homeland.
Those who were killed on the battlefield would only have their names carved on the Monument of Heroes back in the Great Passes so that their comrades would remember them; however, when their friends and relatives all passed away, only the names would remain. No one would really remember them then.
Just then, Yang Kai caught a whiff of a bodily fragrance as Feng Ying appeared beside him.
He turned to look at her and asked with concern, “Is everyone alright?”
Feng Ying replied, “No one is fatally wounded. Junior Brother Yu suffered some damage to his Small Universe, so it will take him a few years to properly recuperate. One of Junior Brother Ning’s arms was torn off, but he managed to catch it and it’s now reconnected. He’ll be fine after he fully recovers. The others have only suffered some flesh wounds.”
Yang Kai nodded gently.
The Junior Brother Yu that Feng Ying had mentioned was Yu Zi You, who, along with Ren Bing Bai, were the new Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters that had joined them when the Dawn was expanded before this campaign.
On the other hand, Junior Brother Ning, Ning Zhi Qi, who was from Red Sun Paradise, was a long-time member of Dawn who had been around since the founding of the Squad. He was also one of the Black Ink Disciples that Yang Kai had brought back from the Black Ink Clan’s territory back in the Blue Sky Theatre.
In this war, the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were more severely impacted than the Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters because they had to move around outside the Warships to directly deal with the enemies. As long as the defences of the Warships weren’t broken, those inside wouldn’t be in any danger.
However, even though the Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters had the Warships’ protection, once the Warships were damaged, they would be exposed to even greater danger. That was because they were weaker than the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters.
Dawn was a Special Operations Squad; however, in the battle that lasted just one hour on this day, 8 Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, including Yang Kai, were all injured. One of Ning Zhi Qi’s arms was even torn off. It went to show how truly perilous this clash had been.
With that said, it was because Dawn was located at the periphery of the fleet; hence, they faced a greater pressure than other Warships during the intense battle.
“I wonder how many people lost their lives,” Feng Ying sighed all of a sudden.
Yang Kai fell silent, for the dead couldn’t be resurrected. All the survivors could do was pay tribute to their sacrifice and move on.
Strictly speaking, the Humans had gained a massive victory today. That was because the number of Black Ink Clansmen was several dozen times greater, but the difference in casualties between both sides was of an even higher ratio.
Despite the landslide victory, no one felt elated when they returned. That was because this was the first real clash between the East-West Army and the Black Ink Clan in the Great Evolution Theatre and there would surely be even more brutal battles in the future. It wouldn’t be too late to celebrate their victory when they finally destroyed all the Black Ink Clan in this place and re-took Great Evolution Pass.
By then, they would also celebrate the occasion on behalf of the deceased.
When they returned to the forward base, the injured started recuperating while the damaged Warships were repaired.
Yang Kai said a few words to the members of Dawn, then headed to the mountain valley on his own. After spreading out his Small Universe, he waited for the Old Ancestor’s return.
This place was a Restricted Area in the forward base, so other than the two Army Commanders, even the other Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters wouldn’t come here. That was because this was the place the Old Ancestor would come to recuperate for many years to come. No one could disturb her.
Violent energy fluctuations were still felt coming from the depths of the void, and it was apparent that the Old Ancestor and the Royal Lord were still fighting.
More than 10 days later, the fluctuations suddenly stopped.
Noticing this, Yang Kai just waited patiently.
As he had expected, a figure descended from the sky half a day later and touched upon his Small Universe.
A thought flashed through Yang Kai’s mind, and the next instant, the Old Ancestor entered his Small Universe and landed beside him.
The moment she landed on the ground, she almost lost her balance and fell.
Yang Kai promptly supported her weight, only to see that her face was horrifyingly pale, and her clothes were soaked in blood. Some of the blood was red, while some was black.
The red blood naturally belonged to the Old Ancestor, while the black blood was from the Royal Lord.
Needless to say, they were mutually wounded again this time. With that said, it was the outcome that the Old Ancestor had deliberately tried to achieve.
“Here again?” Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao looked up and saw the familiar log house in front of her.
100 years ago, she arrived here in this Small Universe when she turned into a three-year-old child. It was the hunter who picked her up from the log house.
Yang Kai grinned, “I was thinking that it might help with your recuperation when you recall the fond memories you had experienced here. That’s why I’ve chosen this place. If you think it’s not appropriate, we can go somewhere else.”
“It’s fine. I’ll stay here.” Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao waved her hand.
“Alright. I’ll help you inside. Please relax your legs.”
Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao couldn’t help but shoot him a glare. Yang Kai’s words seemed to suggest that she was a frail old person.
Although she was indeed in a terrible state, she was still a Ninth-Order Old Ancestor. Regardless of how horribly injured she was, she didn’t need him to carry her into the house.
As she secretly cursed at this smelly brat, she tripped over the threshold at the door.
After Yang Kai helped Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao take a seat on the bed, he hospitably walked to the side and poured her a cup of water.
The Old Ancestor took the cup and chugged down the water, then asked with a frown, “Don’t you have any tea leaves?”
Yang Kai shrugged, “I’m too lazy to prepare some tea. Please make do with it.”
The Old Ancestor certainly wouldn’t mind it. She tossed the cup back onto the table and let out a breath, “I was too negligent!”
Upon hearing that, Yang Kai furrowed his brows, “Did you suffer a setback?”
Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao shook her head, “Not really. It’s just that there’s something that surprised me.”
Yang Kai asked, “What do you mean?”
With a worried expression, the Old Ancestor replied, “The Royal Lord with wings on his back can make use of his Black Ink Nest to strengthen himself.”
The Humans were not aware of this.
Even Yang Kai, who had pretended to be a Black Ink Disciple and lived in the Black Ink Clan’s territory twice, was unaware of this.
Therefore, upon hearing what the Old Ancestor said, he was shocked, “The Royal Lord can make use of his Black Ink Nest not only to heal, but also to directly strengthen himself?”
The Old Ancestor nodded, “En. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have let him off.”
According to her plan, she would make sure that the Royal Lord would be half-dead this time even if she couldn’t kill him, and she would do the same next time. By repeatedly harassing the Royal Lord, she would eventually take his life one day.
However, the moment they exchanged moves, she realised that the Royal Lord could make use of his Black Ink Nest’s power to increase his own strength, and not by just a small amount either.
Yang Kai soon realised something, “Is that why you suddenly fell into a disadvantage not long after you clashed with the Royal Lord, even though you initially had the upper hand?”
When the Old Ancestor exchanged moves with the Royal Lord, Yang Kai was on the deck of Dawning Light, so he could see what was going on above the Royal City. Although he couldn’t clearly see the battle as he was too far away from the Royal City, he was aware that the Old Ancestor was at an advantage at the start of the battle.
Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao nodded. Honestly, she was astounded when she realised that the Royal Lord’s power had surged all of a sudden, for such information was not available to them in the past.
Although the Humans had been at war with the Black Ink Clan on the Black Ink Battlefield for countless years, they knew very little about their enemy because the Black Ink Strength was irresolvable previously.
It was Yang Kai who found out that the transmission of information was convenient between the Black Ink Nests.
“Is that why you pretended that you hadn’t fully recovered and held back some of your power?” Yang Kai asked.
Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao was slightly surprised, “You noticed?”
Didn’t that one Territory Lord Yang Kai killed alongisde the archer girl use the black ink nest to strengthen himself too? I thought this was an established fact already…
He did it at the expense of the vitality of the Nest. Not the dance as this.
Yo