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Translator: Silavin & Tia
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
A long time ago, this particular Royal Lord had discovered an interesting fact. That was the impact of the Great Passes on the Human Race.
It was undeniable that the Great Passes provided great help to the Human Race over countless years. By borrowing the power of these Great Passes, the Humans managed to guard their land and prevent the Black Ink Clan from moving forward despite their much smaller numbers.
No matter how strong the individual strength of each Human, it would have been difficult for them to hold the line without the Great Passes; however, these Great Passes that provided such significant assistance to the Human Race were also a form of restriction and constraint.
These Great Passes had effectively locked them up inside a prison because they did not dare to abandon their positions and move around freely. It could be said that their reliance on the Great Passes was extremely strong.
As a result, all the wars throughout history had always been initiated by the Black Ink Clan. Meanwhile, the Humans had always relied upon the strength of the Great Passes to defend against the attacks. This long-standing situation on the battlefield was with very few exceptions.
It was not until today, when the Human Race travelled great distances across the void in order to recover the Great Evolution Pass that was lost 30,000 years ago, that the Royal Lord finally understood what kind of threat the Human Race could pose towards the Black Ink Clan once they were freed from the constraints of the Great Passes.
The Human Army came from afar, acting as though they were charging straight towards Great Evolution Pass. Nobody could have imagined that it was just an army of puppets. On the contrary, the actual Human Army had already invaded the Black Ink Clan’s territory.
The Humans successfully deceived both the Royal Lord and the Territory Lords, causing their attention to be focused on Great Evolution Pass and lowering their guard in other areas. Despite standing in opposing positions, the Royal Lord could not help admiring the decisiveness of the Humans. Faced with such an opponent, a difficult battle was unavoidable.
At this moment, the Royal Lord could only hope that his message would be delivered in time and that the Black Ink Clan’s losses would not be too severe.
On the universe fragment, Yang Kai continued after reporting the current situation to Ou Yang Lie, “Senior Mi instructed this Junior to report back on the current situation as soon as possible. If you do not have any other orders for me, Senior Ou Yang, this Junior will return first.”
Ou Yang Lie nodded lightly.
Before Ou Yang Lie could speak though, Gong Lian, who had been silent ever since Yang Kai arrived, suddenly shouted with a drastic change of expression, “Quiet! Conceal your aura!”
Ou Yang Lie immediately withdrew his aura into his body and became as still as a piece of driftwood.
Although Yang Kai did not understand the sudden turn of events, his reaction was very fast and he quickly concealed his aura.
No more than 10 breaths of time after Gong Lian spoke, an extremely powerful aura rushed out from Great Evolution Pass and charged straight into the depths of the void. The figure rushing out from Great Evolution Pass moved at an astonishing speed, brushing past them and speeding off into the distance, crossing less than 10,000 kilometres away from their hiding spot.
Yang Kai looked down and did not move. If his perception was not wrong, the aura that just passed them by belonged to the Royal Lord.
This place was concealed by a Spirit Array and a barrier, so even without Gong Lian’s warning, the Royal Lord might not have discovered them if he was not paying attention. Be that as it may, concealing their auras was an additional layer of protection for them. There was no saying what flaws the Royal Lord might notice if he happened to glance in their direction by accident.
Yang Kai glanced at Gong Lian in surprise. He did not know this young man, but this person had given him a strong impression of being lazy and carefree during their first meeting. Nevertheless, Gong Lian was not weak; after all, he was in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm.
Just his ability to detect the Royal Lord’s movements in advance was shocking enough. What’s more, Yang Kai did not sense him activating any kind of Divine Sense or Secret Technique whatsoever.
[How did he detect the Royal Lord’s movements and warn us in time?]
The Royal Lord might have disappeared into the distance, but the three of them did not dare to act recklessly. They did not know whether the Royal Lord would suddenly turn around and return the way he came; therefore, they remained as still as possible. They didn’t even dare to reveal the slightest hint of disturbance from their Divine Senses, so they could only communicate with their eyes.
Ou Yang Lie shot a look at Yang Kai, most likely telling him that there was no need to rush to report to Mi Jing Lun.
Yang Kai nodded, indicating that he understood.
An incense stick passed just like that, and only when the Royal Lord showed no signs of returning did Ou Yang Lie finally sigh in relief and softly whisper, “It looks like the East-West Army has begun moving.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly.
Only the news that the East-West Army had taken action could have made the Royal Lord leave in such a hurry.
While speaking, Ou Yang Lie raised his head and looked towards Great Evolution Pass. The East-West Army had taken action, and the Royal Lord had left, so would the Black Ink Clan in Great Evolution Pass remain quiet?
As soon as that thought passed through his mind, he quickly said, “Move back a little.”
At the same time, he hurriedly removed the concealment that had been set up here and began to withdraw together with Yang Kai and Gong Lian. They retreated some 20,000 kilometres before they stopped. This position was basically the limit of where they could observe the movements of Great Evolution Pass without worrying about being discovered by the Black Ink Clan at Great Evolution Pass.
Only then did Ou Yang Lie turn to look at Yang Kai, “Go back and report everything you witnessed to Mi Jing Lun. This Old Master will stay here and continue to gather information.”
Yang Kai cupped his fist and responded, “Senior Mi also asked that you continue gathering information and monitoring when the Black Ink Clan would depart from Great Evolution Pass, Senior Ou Yang.”
Ou Yang Lie nodded, “This Old Master will be fine. Go now.”
Only then did Yang Kai turn around and rush off into the distance. His movements might alert those in Great Evolution Pass if he activated the Universe Transference Law at this position; therefore, he planned to withdraw further before doing so.
A short while later, Yang Kai formed a set of hand seals and activated the Universe Transference Law somewhere in the void. The Array lit up beneath his feet, and after waiting for a moment, a bright light erupted and enveloped him. He felt the world spinning around him, and by the time he came back to his senses, he was already standing in the Purifying Black Ink Battleship of the North-South Army.
Approximately ten breaths later, Yang Kai met up with Mi Jing Lun aboard the Purifying Black Ink Battleship and gave a report on the situation with Ou Yang Lie.
Mi Jing Lun and several other Eighth-Order Division Commanders nodded after listening to the report, with one of the Eighth-Order Masters observing, “It’s just as you predicted, Senior Brother Mi. The Black Ink Clan has been gathering its troops at Great Evolution Pass.”
Mi Jing Lun nodded, “The East-West Army has painstakingly arranged for this situation to occur. Even we could not have known in advance whether the Black Ink Clan would be fooled, but in any case, the Royal Lord has left Great Evolution Pass. The East-West Army must have done something for him to leave in such a rush. I’m afraid the nearly million-strong Black Ink Army guarding Great Evolution Pass will mobilize soon.”
With a snap of his fan, he continued, “Give the order. Each Squad and Battalion is to summon their Warships and travel at full speed. We need to arrive at the predetermined ambush location within three days.”
In order to hide better, the North-South Army had stored away all their Warships except the Purifying Black Ink Battleship. Then, they searched for a suitable place to launch an ambush; however, in this situation, there was no need to hide anything anymore.
The East-West Army had already made their move, so the rest was completely up to the North-South Army. If the North-South Army could successfully stop the Black Ink Clan Army coming from Great Evolution Pass, then the East-West Army would not be attacked from behind. On the other hand, if the North-South Army failed to stop the Black Ink Clan, then the East-West Army was bound to suffer heavy casualties.
The success of the entire plan hinged on the North-South Army getting the timing right, so they had to travel as quickly as possible.
The orders were conveyed throughout the Army, and the soldiers who had been in hiding all this time immediately summoned their respective Warships. In an instant, a huge fleet took shape and sailed out of their hiding place in a mighty procession.
It just so happened that there was a Black Ink Clan search party in the void nearby. They had received orders from Great Evolution Pass and had been scouting in this direction for traces of the possible presence of the Human Race Army. Unfortunately, their search had not been fruitful despite many days of effort. They never expected to detect a large number of energy fluctuations out of nowhere.
The Feudal Lord in the lead took a good look and immediately became dumbfounded. A mighty fleet had suddenly appeared in the void that had been empty just a moment ago.
“The Human Army!” One of the High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen in the team exclaimed in shock.
There was no need to say anything though, for as soon as the Feudal Lord laid his eyes on this fleet, he knew that it was the target that the Territory Lords had been searching for.
“Let’s go!” The Feudal Lord shouted and turned around to lead his subordinates away. He had to report this information as soon as possible, no matter what happened!
Just as they turned around to retreat though, one of the larger Warships suddenly released numerous flashes of lights and brilliant Divine Abilities rained down on them.
The terrifying power swept outward like the waves of a stormy sea, swallowing up the Black Ink Clan squad within its deathly embrace. When the dust settled, the entire Black Ink Clan team had practically been annihilated on the spot. Only the Feudal Lord survived.
Although he was alive, he was in a terrible condition and his aura was flickering weakly. He didn’t even dare to look back as dense black fog erupted from his body and he hurriedly fled the scene.
Aboard the Warship, an Eighth-Order Division Commander coldly snorted but showed no intention to pursue the other party. As far as the current situation was concerned, there was no need to conceal their presence any longer now that the North-South Army had decided to act. Even if a Feudal Lord escaped, how could he affect the situation in any way? Besides, after taking a direct hit from that Divine Ability, he would not survive for long even if he wasn’t dead yet.
Everywhere the North-South Army passed, the Black Ink Clan was annihilated on the spot. These Black Ink Clan scouts had been searching for traces of the North-South Army, but they never imagined that the moment they caught a glimpse of the Humans would also be the moment of their deaths.
Approximately an incense stick after Yang Kai arrived back, Gong Lian also returned to the Purifying Black Ink Battleship and rushed straight towards the conference hall.
“Where is your Honoured Master?” Mi Jing Lun glanced behind Gong Lian but did not see Ou Yang Lie.
Gong Lian replied, “Honoured Master says he wishes to monitor the movements of the Black Ink Clan Army and confirm the direction of their march so that we can find the best opportunity to strike.”
Mi Jing Lun’s eyes flashed, “Has the Black Ink Clan at Great Evolution Pass begun to move?”
Gong Lian nodded, “Before this Junior returned, the Black Ink Clan at Great Evolution Pass dispatched around 15 Territory Lords along with an Army of 400,000 to 500,000. They are marching towards the Black Ink Clan’s territory.”
An Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Division Commander observed, “15 Territory Lords along with an Army of 400,000 to 500,000… In other words, half of the Black Ink Clan forces at Great Evolution Pass.”
Mi Jing Lun smiled, “It looks like the Black Ink Clan has not forgotten us. Leaving behind half of their forces is clearly a precaution against our Army. They are afraid that we might take the opportunity to attack Great Evolution Pass.”
The Eighth-Order Division Commander who spoke earlier immediately broke into a smile, “The Black Ink Clan probably never imagined that we have no intentions of attacking Great Evolution Pass whatsoever.”
It was evident that the Human Race Army had travelled across a great distance to recover Great Evolution Pass; however, one of the Armies had charged straight into the Black Ink Clan’s territory to wreak havoc while the other Army was planning to intercept the Black Ink Clan Army marching out from Great Evolution Pass. They were completely ignoring the Great Pass itself.
It was all a trick. I deceived you.