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Translator: Silavin & Jon
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
Everything was ruined in Great Evolution Pass.
When they launched an attack on the Royal City previously, the Great Pass was faced with a counterattack of unprecedented intensity. Even though the Old Ancestor was in charge of their defence, a lot of cracks still appeared in the shields after the heavy bombardment.
The attacks from the Black Ink Clan rained down on the entire Great Evolution Pass and shattered all the buildings.
Besides the most important places in Great Evolution Pass like the Grand Hall where the Space Array was located, only the Monument of Heroes and the cemetery remained intact.
Although the Humans had won the war, they had paid a huge price.
Two days after Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao sent a signal to gather all the soldiers together, the Humans, who had left to chase after the fleeing Black Ink Clansmen, gradually returned. After the war, all of them were in high spirits.
The courtyard that belonged to the Dawn was a mess, but Yang Kai didn’t bother to clean up and just sat down on the floor and started recuperating.
The damage to his Soul had a huge impact on his ability to think clearly so he still couldn’t make sense of what he had seen in the Black Ink Nest Space.
He felt that he had neglected something.
Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao had helped him resolve the Sword Qi that lingered in his flesh wound and he felt much better after two days of recuperation. As he had a powerful Dragon Vein, such a flesh wound didn’t bother him.
There came a moment when Yang Kai opened his eyes and looked in a particular direction as a group of familiar people came into his sight.
The Dawn Squad members had returned!
However, some people were missing. There were 50 members of Dawn before they set off. Excluding Yang Kai and Feng Ying, who had just ascended to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, there should have been 49 people now.
Nevertheless, only 31 people returned at this moment.
Among the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, only Shen Ao, Yu Zi You, Bai Yi, Blood Crow, and Miao Fei Ping survived. Ning Qi Zhi and Ren Bing Bai were nowhere to be seen. Those who had returned were soaked in blood with varying degrees of injuries.
Yang Kai’s pupils shrank at this sight. He knew it was impossible that all of the Dawn would come back unscathed because it was the final battle in the Great Evolution Theatre. Dawn had to engage a Territory Lord and pin him down, so it was inevitable that some of them would lose their lives. However, when he saw that so many familiar faces were missing, Yang Kai felt a sharp pain in his heart.
Ning Qi Zhi, who was one of the founding members of Dawn, had escaped from death’s door in the previous war, but he couldn’t come back alive this time.
Since the founding of Dawn, they had experienced countless battles, but other than the war in the Royal City two hundred years ago where Qi Tai Chu had lost his life, there had never been any other deaths.
However, some 30% of Dawn’s members were gone for good now.
The fact that the Dawn could always come back unscathed in the previous wars had something to do with Yang Kai. He was far more powerful than cultivators in the same Order, so with him around, the risk that Dawn faced on the battlefield would be minimised.
Before they were even hit with a crisis, it would be resolved by Yang Kai.
Nevertheless, he wasn’t by their side during this war, for he had a more important role to play. He was the one who damaged the High-Rank Black Ink Nest and destroyed the Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests. He was also the one who killed Che Kong and the Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple.
Without Yang Kai, a pillar of strength in Dawn Squad, their collective power had weakened, and on such a chaotic battlefield, they couldn’t ensure everyone’s safety.
With Shen Ao leading the way, over 30 people stood in front of Yang Kai and cupped their fists. Shen Ao said solemnly, “We’ve returned, Squad Leader. Fortunately, we did not fail our mission. We managed to kill one Territory Lord, 34 Feudal Lords, and about 5,000 mixed Black Ink Clansmen.”
Just like the Territory Lord who fought with the Old Turtles, the one held up by Dawn ended up getting crippled by Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao. Shen Ao and the others took advantage of that opening to kill him on the spot.
Then, as the Black Ink Clan routed and ran, Dawn pursued them and killed many. It wasn’t until they saw the Old Ancestor’s signal that they returned.
Yang Kai nodded gently, “Many thanks for your hard work. The Human Race has won this war, and peace has come to the Great Evolution Theatre. All of you should get some rest and recuperate.”
“Yes!” All of them responded and sat down in different places to treat their wounds.
None of them mentioned the deceased. It wasn’t that they had forgotten about them, but it was unnecessary to bring it up. All the soldiers on the Black Ink Battlefield were prepared to sacrifice their lives if need be. As they went through repeated wars, they knew that they might lose their lives at any moment.
Death wasn’t something to be afraid of for the Human soldiers, dying without making a difference was.
It was silent in the courtyard as over 30 people recuperated in silence. However, Yang Kai gently let out a sigh. While he had expected it to be a tragic war, it surprised him that so many had lost their lives.
Even a Special Operations Squad like Dawn suffered such immense losses, so what about the ordinary Squads? How many from the Great Evolution Army had survived this war?
The Great Evolution Army was founded over 300 years ago when two groups of soldiers departed from Wind and Cloud Pass and Azure Void Pass and headed to Great Evolution Pass.
At that time, all of them were equipped with the finest arms and armaments. There were 60,000 soldiers and 120 Eighth-Order Division Commanders in total.
200 years ago, they managed to re-take Great Evolution Pass, but they had suffered tremendous losses. Only some 70 Eighth-Order Masters and 30,000 to 40,000 soldiers remained.
How many of them were still alive now?
Previously on the battlefield, while the auras of the Territory Lords withered, Yang Kai could also detect the deaths of Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.
There were bound to be casualties in any war, especially when it was a war that would determine the future of the two Races. It was expected that a lot of people would lose their lives.
With that said, all the sacrifices were worth it. Their deaths could be traded for peace in the future. The reason the Humans had been toiling away over the millennia was to ensure that future generations wouldn’t have to trod down the same path.
The survivors could cheer for their victory while the dead would be remembered forever.
Yang Kai emptied his mind and focused on his recovery. It wasn’t until Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao summoned him that he opened his eyes.
The Main Conference Hall had been impacted during the war, and it was nothing but ruins now, so a temporary one had been put up on the same spot.
When Yang Kai arrived, the four Army Commanders had gathered together in the hall, with the Old Ancestor present as well.
Among the four Army Commanders, Xiang Shan and Mi Jing Lun didn’t seem to be injured at all. On the other hand, Liu Zhi Ping’s face was pale and her aura was unstable. It was apparent that she was wounded.
Ou Yang Lie was the most severely wounded among them. He must have gotten into a fierce battle with the Territory Lords as his head had clearly been smashed in. Yang Kai could even see several cuts on his forehead and some cracks on his skull.
It could be said that he was just a step away from being killed.
As Yang Kai looked at his injury, he was secretly astounded, thinking that this Army Commander was really too reckless.
Noticing his stare, Ou Yang Lie glared at him and snorted, “I killed two Territory Lords, so some degree of injury is inevitable.”
Yang Kai didn’t know what to say as he saluted all of them.
Mi Jing Lun cut to the chase, asking, “Did you enter the Royal Lord’s Black Ink Nest?”
Yang Kai nodded, “I was curious, so I decided to find out what the Black Ink Clan’s reaction in the other Theatres was. I was surprised to discover something else.”
Xiang Shan ordered, “Tell us what you saw in detail.”
Yang Kai quickly narrated his experience in the Black Ink Nest Space.
Upon hearing his story, all of them exchanged solemn glances.
Liu Zhi Ping frowned, “You said there were over 120 Soul Avatars that had gathered together in that Black Ink Nest Space?”
“Yes.”
Each Royal Lord Black Ink Nest corresponded to a Soul Avatar. In other words, there were at least over 120 High-Rank Black Ink Nests spread across the entire Black Ink Battlefield.
“Do you think they’re trying to ambush the Old Ancestors?”
Yang Kai frowned, “That was the first thought that came to my mind, but after giving it some consideration, I realised that shouldn’t be the case. If they wanted to ambush the Old Ancestors, they should have hidden themselves on the battlefield instead of staying in their Black Ink Nests.”
He had told Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao the same thing before, but he still couldn’t figure out why things had been that way.
“The Humans from all the different Theatres began the crusade at the same time. When we clashed with the Black Ink Clan in the Great Evolution Theatre, wars had also broken out in the other Theatres. Regardless of which Theatres the 20 Royal Lords you saw were hiding in, they shouldn’t have just loitered about in their Black Ink Nests even if they didn’t hide themselves on the battlefield. What are they trying to achieve?” Mi Jing Lun scowled. Even though he was quick-witted, he was unable to see through this strange incident.
He didn’t ask if Yang Kai was mistaken, for the latter couldn’t be so negligent when it came to such an important matter.
Moreover, Yang Kai’s Soul cultivation was basically on par with an Eighth-Order Master’s. If he could have made such a basic error in observation inside the Black Ink Nest Space, his cultivation over the years would have been in vain.
Therefore, they didn’t doubt Yang Kai’s statement. What they were unable to figure out was the intention of those over 20 Royal Lords and their whereabouts.
Furthermore, were there only 20 additional Royal Lords? That was the number of Royal Lords that Yang Kai could detect, but was that really all? Could there be even more Royal Lords hiding in the dark?
Xiang Shan was unable to make sense of the situation as well.
Just then, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao spoke up, “Regardless, we’ve shared this piece of information with the other Great Passes, so the Ninth-Order Masters will keep their guard up. Even if those Royal Lords really want to launch a sneak attack, they might not achieve their goal.”
All of them nodded in agreement.
Suddenly, Xiang Shan turned to Yang Kai, “What else did you see in the Black Ink Nest Space?”
Yang Kai shook his head, “There was nothing else that was worth my attention. The Soul Avatars of those Royal Lords were silent, so they were different from the rest of the Soul Avatars that belonged to the Feudal Lords…”
As he spoke, he furrowed his brows all of a sudden. While trying to recall what he had seen, he sported an awkward expression, “Now that you’ve mentioned it, I realise that the Royal Lords’ reaction was also odd.”
“What do you mean by that?” Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao asked.
“The Souls of those over 100 or so Feudal Lords corresponded to the various Theatres they were in, and the numbers matched. The Territory Lords would have all needed to fight, so only Feudal Lords could be stationed in the Black Ink Nests. It was apparent that they were flustered while communicating with one another.”
That was understandable, for the crusade came as a surprise to the Black Ink Clan, and the Humans had even sailed their Great Passes to the Royal Cities. Furthermore, they had developed lethal weapons such as the Evil Purging Divine Spears. The Black Ink Clan had suffered immense losses in different Theatres after being caught off guard, so it was expected that they were flustered. At that time, many Feudal Lords were trying to seek help from other Theatres; however, the Humans had gone all out for the crusade, and wars broke out in all the Theatres. It was pointless for the Black Ink Clan to ask for help.
“Compared to those anxious Feudal Lords, those Royal Lords were unusually calm. It almost felt as though they were just watching a show.”
After two days of recuperation, the damage to Yang Kai’s Soul had healed to a certain degree, which allowed him to think more clearly. As he went through the details he didn’t pay attention to at that time, he found some clues.
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Many thanks for the chapter, as always.