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Translator: Silavin & Raikov
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
When she saw Yang Kai come out of seclusion, Feng Ying immediately gathered up Dawn Squad’s members for a post-battle meeting.
35 people gathered together to discuss some of the problems they encountered during their last mission. Unlike the other Squads who had fought together for a long time and built up a tacit trust and understanding with each other, Dawn was considered brand new and a lot of work still had to be done for them to learn to coordinate with each other. Summing up their experiences after the fight would be greatly beneficial to them.
There was a lot of enthusiasm shared by the Squad and everyone eagerly spoke up. The flaws that would normally be overlooked were quickly exposed before everyone so that they could all take note of them. Then, the next time a similar problem arose, they would have a solution to deal with it.
And, when those problems stopped appearing, it would mean Dawn Squad’s coordination has gone up a level.
The post-battle meeting did not last long, only around half an hour.
Yang Kai then went to Cha Hu’s command post again. Since they were here, he naturally had to make Dawn useful. It wasn’t as if they could stay in the forward base forever to look at the scenery.
Not that there was any scenery to look at in this dead void.
After receiving permission, Yang Kai stepped into the tent and asked, “Division Commander Cha, Dawn has fully recovered after its last mission. Are there any tasks to be done?”
Cha Hu glanced at him, “You’ve all recuperated so quickly?”
Yang Kai smiled, “We did not suffer any losses last time.”
“Don’t push yourselves too hard.”
“Rest assured, Division Commander Cha. As Dawn’s Squad Leader, this Junior knows the extent of our abilities.”
Only then did Cha Hu nod, “In that case, I won’t stop you. There is work to be done, but why don’t you have a look and see what interests you?”
Yang Kai was surprised, “We can pick for ourselves?”
Cha Hu smiled, “We have three different types of missions here. The first one is to look for mineable resources; which, relatively speaking, is the safest kind of mission. There’s only a low possibility of encountering the Black Ink Clan, and there’s no need to fight them under normal circumstances.”
Seeing Yang Kai’s indifferent response, Cha Hu continued, “Secondly, we can assign you to defence duty. Your team only needs to patrol a certain area and protect those who are mining resources. If you encounter any Black Ink Clansmen, kill them all!”
Yang Kai nodded. The first type of mission was definitely unsuitable for Dawn Squad. Dawn possessed vastly superior strength and ability to other Squads, so it was impossible for them to go and mine resources. However, the second type of mission was somewhat more to his taste, though still a little bit lacking.
He asked, “What is the third type of mission?”
Cha Hu nodded, “The third type of mission is free hunting. The entire resource harvesting area will be your Dawn Squad’s patrol area. Wherever you find Black Ink Clansmen will be wherever you go. If there are no Black Ink Clansmen around you, you can actively seek them out. If another Squad calls for help and you are close, then you must go to their aid as soon as possible.”
Yang Kai answered decisively, “Then, we will take on a free hunting assignment.”
Compared to the second type of mission, there was certainly more freedom for them if they chose free hunting. They would not be limited to a certain region. However, it would also increase the chances of them meeting Black Ink Clansmen by a large margin, which was exactly the type of task that Yang Kai and Dawn were hoping to get.
Cha Hu seemed to have long expected this answer, so he took out something resembling a crystal orb and handed it to Yang Kai, “Bring this with you.”
“What is this?” Yang Kai asked in puzzlement.
“It is a specially refined communication artifact. Every Squad has one. Even in the midst of danger, this artifact can be relied on to send out messages, and one can also receive messages from other Squads requesting help using it, as well as identify their position and distance.”
Yang Kai raised his brow, “This is a good thing.”
“There are no restrictions on free hunting, but it can be dangerous as there are still Territory Lords active around the area. Even though we have Eighth-Order Division Commanders on our side to keep them in check, there is no guarantee that you will not run into one when you are alone. If you do encounter a Territory Lord, remember to put your own safety first and not act recklessly,” Cha Hu reminded him.
“This Junior will take note.”
“Go,” Cha Hu waved his hand.
Yang Kai took his leave.
A short while later, after returning to camp, Yang Kai told Dawn about the free hunting task he just accepted, and also handed the crystal orb-like artifact to Feng Ying before turning to everyone, “If there are no objections, let us depart.”
There was no objection from the crowd.
A moment later, Dawning Light lifted off from the forward base and sped off into the void.
After entering the open void, Feng Ying suddenly changed her hand seals. Then, a very faint energy wave rippled through the entirety of Dawning Light.
In that instant, it seemed to Yang Kai that there was some sort of change in Dawning Light, but when he looked carefully, he could not tell what had changed. Confused, he used his Divine Sense to figure out what happened, and only then did he gain a clear understanding.
An inexplicable energy was wrapped around Dawning Light’s hull, caused by a type of Illusion Array.
“What is this?” Yang Kai asked in surprise. He had no idea that there was actually an Illusion Array installed on Dawning Light.
Dawning Light was customized by Feng Ying, so even though the modifications cost a lot of Yang Kai’s Military Merits, he really did not know much about its capabilities.
Feng Ying explained, “Dawning Light is a specially refined Warship, and it’s distinctively different from the other Squad-level ships. So, once it enters the eyes of the Black Ink Clan, it might draw their attention. I had this Illusion Array set up when I first began modifying Dawning Light as a kind of camouflage. So, any Black Ink Clansman weaker than Feudal Lords would not be able to see through its disguise within 500 kilometres, and we can also take others by surprise. Otherwise, the enemy might run away if they spot Dawning Light from a distance, which would be troublesome.”
Yang Kai finally understood, “Martial Aunt has really thought of everything.”
Dawning Light and Dawn were not well known now, but it was conceivable that once they achieved enough success on the battlefield, the Black Ink Clan would learn about Dawn and Dawning Light. When that time came, the enemy would be able to recognize Dawning Light’s unique appearance from afar, and if they knew they were outmatched, they could still make a quick escape.
With the Illusion Array, Dawning Light would look just like any ordinary Squad’s Warship from afar, making it easier to catch their prey.
And that was in fact the case. Just a day after leaving the forward base, Dawning Light suddenly encountered a group of Black Ink Clansmen coming in from the side.
These Black Ink Clansmen were using the rubble nearby as cover. When they appeared, even Dawning Light was caught unprepared.
The many Black Ink Clansmen came together to form a tide that flooded in like a tsunami. Dense Black Ink Clouds made it impossible to tell how many enemies there were or how strong they were.
An ordinary Squad would have fled first to gain a better view of the situation before deciding how to act. However, the ones that these Black Ink Clansmen were confronting was Dawn.
Dawn was so eager at the sight of incoming enemies that the member in charge of steering the Warship was already charging towards them before Yang Kai and Feng Ying gave the order.
This uncharacteristic move clearly surprised the Black Ink Clansmen, stopping the incoming tide.
In just an instant, the distance between them had been closed.
As the offensive arrays buzzed, the Illusion Array was automatically broken, revealing Dawning Light’s fierce appearance to the Black Ink Clan.
The many Black Ink Clansmen were taken aback by the sudden change.
The offensive arrays on Dawning Light were already releasing their might at them, sending powerful attack after powerful attack right into the densest pockets of enemies.
In an instant, a large number of the Black Ink Clansmen were killed.
The ones that survived fled backwards when they saw what happened. This Human Warship that they were ambushing was different from what they expected. Even though it was just one salvo, the might displayed was truly terrifying. It was definitely not something that they could withstand.
Most of those who died were just Low-Rank and High-Rank clansmen. These were essentially the cannon fodder in every battle, and they were generally incapable of killing any Human Masters on their own. However, they were perfect to drain the stamina of the Humans.
When these cannon fodder died, they would also leave dense Black Ink Strength behind, which, when built up enough, would transform into thick Black Ink Clouds.
While the Human Race always shied away from the Black Ink Clouds, the Black Ink Clansmen were just like fish in water inside of them. With the help of the Black Ink Clouds, Black Ink Clansmen could often turn the tide of battle in their favour.
No matter how many Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen they lost, the Black Ink Clan would not feel any grief. As long as the Black Ink Nests remained and they had sufficient resources, then they could breed as many Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen as they wanted.
So, whether they were attacking Human territories or fighting for the resource harvesting areas, large numbers of Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen could be found in every Black Ink Clan Squad. It seemed dying was the only thing they excelled at.
Dawning Light’s single round of fire had wiped out almost all of the Black Ink Clan Squad’s Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen. Those who survived were undoubtedly the stronger Masters, including the Feudal Lords.
The survivors moved back into the Black Ink Clouds, but they did not flee immediately. Rather, they waited to see whether they could find an opening to strike back.
It was at that moment that a figure crashed into the Black Ink Clouds like a raging storm, causing screams of misery wherever he passed. One by one, the Black Ink Clansmen were cut down like chopped vegetables, exploding into clouds of black blood.
The Black Ink Cloud rapidly grew even denser.
The heart of one of the Feudal Lords hiding inside of the Black Ink Cloud was pounding as he could sense that a Human had indeed charged into the Black Ink Cloud. According to Human strength classifications, this person should be in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, which corresponded to his own strength as a Feudal Lord, but the killing power this Human displayed frightened him greatly.
The auras of his companions faded one by one at an incredible speed. Even though those were not Feudal Lords, it was still terrifying how they were cut down so quickly.
He lurked in the Black Ink Cloud, remaining motionless but feeling anxious.
In the past, the Black Ink Clouds had always been an absolute Forbidden Zone for Humans and none of them would ever dare charge into them to fight.
However, during their last attack on the Human’s Great Pass, the Black Ink Clan discovered that the Black Ink Clouds which used to be their greatest source of protection had completely lost their deterrent effect.
Many of the Humans looked like they had hot chicken blood shot into their veins, rabidly chasing them into the Black Ink Cloud, happily accepting the corruption of Black Ink Strength as long as they could slaughter their enemies.
And, there was another great concern to the Black Ink Clan after the last war. It seemed that after a certain point in time, the Black Ink Clan had not been able to convert any more Black Ink Disciples. Many Black Ink Clansmen had personally seen many Humans being invaded by Black Ink Strength, which would have been enough to convert them in the past, but the results were less than satisfactory.
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Many thanks for the chapter, as always.
Many thanks for the chapter, as always.