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Translator: Silavin & Tia
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
Two months later, Dawning Light and the Bi Xi Battleship finally arrived at Acacia Territory. When the two Warships passed through the Territory Gate, everyone on board, from the members of Dawn to Yu Ru Meng and the others, silently circulated their World Force in preparation for a large battle. However, there were actually no Black Ink Clansmen defending the Territory Gate.
Yang Kai stood on the deck of Dawning Light, his gaze flashing slightly as he observed his surroundings. Thanks to his Demon Eye of Annihilation, he could vaguely detect traces of Black Ink Strength surging on a Universe Fragment in the distance. The Black Ink Clan scouts were most likely monitoring them from afar.
The situation was not too bad. Seeing as the Territory Gate was only being monitored and not defended, it would seem that the Black Ink Clan was not ready to spring their trap yet.
If the Black Ink Clan had deployed a large Army to garrison the Territory Gate, it would be an indication that they were prepared to annihilate the Humans in Acacia Territory once and for all. If that were the case, Yang Kai and the others would already be too late. Therefore, the current situation was undoubtedly what Yang Kai had hoped for.
Yang Kai ignored the Black Ink Clansmen monitoring them, not wanting to startle the enemy. Taking out his Universe Chart, he checked his direction and then guided the two Warships into the depths of the void.
On the distant Universe Fragment, a team of Black Ink Clansmen quietly lay in ambush. The leading Black Ink Clan Feudal Lord was carefully observing the situation at the Territory Gate as it was just as Yang Kai had guessed. These Black Ink Clansmen were only monitoring the movements here while calculating the number of Hunters that entered Acacia Territory.
The sudden appearance of Dawning Light and the Bi Xi Battleship startled the Feudal Lord slightly and he quickly took out a jade slip and poured his Divine Sense into it to check its contents. A short while later, his eyes flashed and he shouted, “Send a message to Sir Mo Na Ye and inform him that those two Warships have appeared!”
Mo Na Ye was one of the Innate Territory Lords overseeing Acacia Territory. Furthermore, he could be regarded as the Commander of this area. His strength was powerful enough that he was not inferior to the Territory Lord Commanders on the primary battlefields.
The Feudal Lord had previously received an order from above to pay close attention to the whereabouts of these two Warships. Although he did not know the reason these two Warships were receiving so much attention, he could only obey the orders he was given. The jade slip he took out earlier contained a detailed description of the two Warships, but he never imagined that these two Warships would actually enter Acacia Territory, just as the higher-ups had predicted.
Located on the Universe Fragment was a Low-Rank Black Ink Nest that had not hatched completely. The Black Ink Nest was only several metres tall and could not produce more Black Ink Clansmen. However, it was not only convenient to carry around but also provided them with a means of long-distance communication.
As soon as the words left the Feudal Lord’s mouth, a High-Rank Black Ink Clansman immediately plunged into the Black Ink Nest to report their discovery to their superiors.
Elsewhere, five figures of different shapes and sizes lay dormant at an extremely hidden and secluded spot. These five figures had concealed their aura to the point where they almost seemed dead. If one was not powerful enough, they might not discover their presence even if they passed by them.
There was no saying how long these five figures had been lying in ambush here, but they didn’t even move a muscle. Judging by their posture, they seemed prepared to lay dormant forever.
At this moment, a large figure in the middle abruptly opened his eyes. He took out a communication bead and immersed his mind into it before checking the contents. His eyes flashed a moment later, and he muttered, “Everyone, Yang Kai… has arrived!”
The remaining four figures opened their eyes at the same time, and their dormant auras quickly began to recover. Although they did not reveal their full strength, their auras clearly indicated that they were Territory Lords.
One of the Territory Lords flicked his forked tongue, hissing softly like a snake as he chuckled, “Did he really come?”
These five Territory Lords were originally tasked with wiping out the Human Hunters that were lured over by the imprisoned cultivators in Acacia Territory. Otherwise, five Black Ink Clan Territory Lords couldn’t remain in Acacia Territory when the battle on the front lines was raging so intensely.
Unfortunately for the Black Ink Clan, the Hunters were simply too troublesome to ignore. Over the years, at least 30% of the resources that the Black Ink Clan transported to the front lines had been intercepted by these Hunters and countless Black Ink Clansmen had fallen at their hands.
The actions of the Hunters enraged the Territory Lords and in retaliation, they began to patrol the various Great Territories in search of the whereabouts of these Hunters. Although their efforts were somewhat successful, the effects were minimal.
The Hunters were extremely cunning and shrewd. If there was the slightest hint of danger, they would not show themselves. On the contrary, they would strike like a thunderbolt and flee at the speed of lightning if their victory was certain.
A large number of Human cultivators had recently been discovered in Acacia Territory. It was a splendid opportunity for the Black Ink Clan; hence, they deliberately spread the news far and wide in hopes of luring many Hunters into rescuing these Human cultivators.
With five Territory Lords and a vast army hidden around Acacia Territory, the Black Ink Clan certainly regarded the Hunters very highly.
According to their original plan, once enough Hunters had entered Acacia Territory, the hidden Black Ink Clan Army would move to secure the various Territory Gates. Then, the Territory Lords would emerge to attack. That was their strategy to block off the enemy’s retreat and wipe them out.
However, they received a critical piece of news from Profound Nether Territory a month ago stating that the Army Commander of the Profound Nether Army, Yang Kai, had personally led two Warships out of Profound Nether Territory. His destination was unknown, but there was a high possibility that he was heading to Acacia Territory to rescue the trapped Humans.
They had never heard of Yang Kai’s name before, but his status as the Army Commander of the Profound Nether Army was enough to garner the attention of the Black Ink Clan Territory Lords. The Army Commanders of the Human Race were among the strongest Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. Fighting any of the Army Commanders was extremely difficult, so if the Territory Lords could kill such a Master, then the morale of the Human Race Army would suffer a heavy blow.
That in itself was enough to be tempting, but Yang Kai’s identity as the Army Commander of the Profound Nether Army was not worrying enough to make special plans. It was his other identity that left the Territory Lords unable to remain calm. He was the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master who previously caused a huge commotion at the No-Return Pass, destroyed seven High-Rank Black Ink Nests, and escaped alive from the pursuit of the Royal Lord!
It was said that not only were seven High-Rank Black Ink Nests destroyed at the No-Return Pass, but three Territory Lords had also been killed. In addition, the cultivation of more than a dozen Black Ink Clan Territory Lords had regressed to that of Feudal Lords as a result of that battle. They were currently recuperating inside the Black Ink Nests, but it was unknown how long it would take, or even if they could fully recover.
After that incident, the Royal Lord had flown into a rage and issued a command for all the Territory Lords to search for the whereabouts of this Human and kill him no matter the price they had to pay!
Nobody could have expected that Human to appear in Profound Nether Territory, much less become the Army Commander of the Profound Nether Army. Furthermore, he was now taking another huge risk by leading just two Warships to Acacia Territory. Not only was this an opportunity for the Black Ink Clan, it was a rare and precious opportunity!
The snake-tongued Territory Lord asked rather excitedly, “Are you certain it’s Yang Kai?”
Mo Na Ye nodded, “It’s almost certain. Although Yang Kai himself was not observed on the Warships, the appearance of those two Warships matches the information from Profound Nether Territory.”
Be it Dawning Light or the Bi Xi Battleship, both were different from ordinary Squad-Class Warships. Their special characteristics were extremely distinguishable. These were the two Warships that Yang Kai had led out of Profound Nether Territory. Since they were currently in Acacia Territory, it was only natural that Yang Kai was too.
“Not bad, not bad. I can’t believe we managed to catch a big one!” The snake-tongued Black Ink Clan Territory Lord looked eager for blood.
Originally, the Black Ink Clan only planned to target the Hunters; however, if they could eliminate Yang Kai along with their original targets, then they would have contributed greatly to the war.
It wasn’t just the snake-tongued Territory Lord who looked excited, the other Territory Lords also had the same reaction.
Yang Kai’s name was well-known throughout the Black Ink Clan. The lower-ranked Clansmen might not know of him, but almost all the Feudal Lords and above had heard his name before. This person was the Black Ink Clan’s greatest enemy!
“We must not act carelessly. Yang Kai attacked the No-Return Pass twice and killed three Territory Lords. In Profound Nether Territory, he only attacked once but killed another three Territory Lords. Although we are Innate Territory Lords, even we would not get away lightly if we encountered him alone.”
Mo Na Ye’s words made the Territory Lords’ expressions sombre. An Innate Territory Lord was very difficult to kill, but be that as it may, the information they received indicated that as many as six Innate Territory Lords had died at Yang Kai’s hands alone.
One of the Territory Lords with fleshy wings on his back quickly said, “It’s not like we’ve never fought Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters before. Even the strongest Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters are nothing special. This Yang Kai is also just an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. It does not make sense for him to be so powerful.”
That was one of the questions that had been puzzling the Black Ink Clan for a long time. It would take more than an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master to kill a Territory Lord so easily. Such a feat was only possible for a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master!
Mo Na Ye spoke in a solemn voice, “The Human Race has many unpredictable means in their arsenal. In a life-or-death battle, one’s strength cannot be determined through generalised standards. Judging from the information we have on Yang Kai, his true strength might not be as great as shown so far, so he must have used some strange method to kill those Territory Lords in one blow. At the No-Return Pass, the Royal Lord speculated that Yang Kai’s Secret Technique might have something to do with his Divine Sense. That speculation has been confirmed by Profound Nether Territory. It seems that there is a flash of Spiritual Energy every time Yang Kai makes a killing move.” Turning to look around him, he continued, “Everyone, just imagine this scene. What would happen if your Soul was struck by an unexpected and heavy blow and you were then immediately attacked by a Master of equal strength?
The snake-tongued Territory Lord hissed, “We’ll be gravely injured even if we survive the attack!”
Mo Na Ye nodded, “It only takes a moment for Yang Kai to kill, so I believe his method is highly related to this unique Secret Technique of his. Therefore, the most important factor when dealing with him is to protect your Soul and prevent him from finding an opportunity to ambush you.”
The Black Ink Clan was not stupid, so how could they not have learned anything after suffering such heavy losses? Not to mention, Yang Kai had activated the Soul Rendering Thorn in front of the Royal Lord at the No-Return Pass, so there were bound to be traces of his attack that could be noticed.
“In addition, the Royal Lord has observed that Yang Kai also suffered some kind of backlash to his Soul after activating his Secret Technique. He is probably using some kind of sacrificial technique that harms both his enemy and himself. In other words, he can only wield this Secret Technique a limited number of times!”
The eyes of the fleshy-winged Territory Lord gleamed, “Are you certain?”
Mo Na Ye nodded again, “Profound Nether Territory has confirmed this fact. After Yang Kai attacked and consecutively killed three Territory Lords, he did not target the Territory Lords. In other words, using that Secret Technique thrice is his limit. The burden is too great on his Soul for him to unleash it a fourth time.”
One of the Territory Lords with a humanoid appearance, who had remained silent all this time, joined the conversation, “In that case, we will be able to restrain him if four of us act together!”
There were five Territory Lords here, so if four of them were to work together, then one of them would be free to move about. However, if all five of them were to act together, it would be equivalent to being completely restrained by Yang Kai instead.
Mo Na Ye slowly shook his head, “There’s no need to be so cautious. A team of two should be more than enough. Even if Yang Kai were to attack, he could only deal with one enemy at a time. The other one should be fully capable of restraining him. As long as he is restrained, it will be easy for us to take him down together.”
The other Territory Lords nodded in agreement.
Four Territory Lords acting together was certainly making a mountain out of a molehill. It was more than enough for two Territory Lords to cooperate to pin Yang Kai down.
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Many thanks for the chapter, as always.