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Translator: Silavin & June
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
To prevent Yang Kai from wheeling around and finishing the job, Mo Na Ye personally escorted these four injured Territory Lords back to the No-Return Pass. One of them was severely injured and even though he could barely manage to maintain the Battle Formation with the other three, they were still at risk of being targeted and defeated. For safety reasons, it was best for them to not expose themselves outside anymore.
Mo Na Ye’s compassion moved the four Territory Lords to tears of gratitude.
Only when they arrived at the No-Return Pass did they feel safe. Mo Na Ye then went to see the Royal Lord to share his suspicions.
When the Royal Lord heard that Yang Kai might have already seen through the trap set up at the No-Return Pass, his face grew dark and his anger was almost palpable. They had sacrificed a dozen Innate Territory Lords and a High-Rank Black Ink Nest to create Meng Que, a Pseudo-Royal Lord, all to lure Yang Kai to the No-Return Pass and eliminate him.
But if Yang Kai did not show up, all their plans would be in vain and Meng Que would be useless.
“Sir, the more time passes, the more detrimental it will become to the Black Ink Clan. There are no longer many supply squads that can return to the No-Return Pass. Besides, the Territory Lords are already exhausted from maintaining the Battle Formation for such a long time, and they may not be able to hold on much longer.” Mo Na Ye reported carefully while observing the Royal Lord’s reaction.
“Why!? Why can’t we deal with one Eighth-Order Human!?” The Royal Lord exclaimed in anger.
Mo Na Ye was speechless upon hearing this. If they had a way to deal with Yang Kai, the Black Ink Clan wouldn’t be in such a difficult spot in the first place. This Human was not someone they could defeat with brute strength alone.
After some contemplation, Mo Na Ye said, “Sir Royal Lord, please be prepared. This time, our Black Ink Clan may really have to make sacrifices to quell the situation.”
The Royal Lord turned to him and glared, “Are you suggesting that we agree to his ridiculous demands?”
Mo Na Ye shook his head and replied, “It’s impossible to agree to his demands for 50%. Those resources were painstakingly extracted by our Black Ink Clan, while he did nothing but threaten us with despicable means. He is out of his mind if he thinks he can take half of all our hard-earned resources; however, if we give him too little, he may not agree either…”
The Royal Lord waved his hand impatiently, “It’s up to you to decide. Don’t bother me with this matter anymore.”
Just hearing Yang Kai’s name gave the Royal Lord a headache. How could a Human like him exist? He would rather fight Fu Guang, a real Divine Dragon, than hear Yang Kai’s name ringing in his ears again!
Then, Mo Na Ye nodded respectfully before withdrawing in embarrassment.
As a subordinate, he should not burden the Royal Lord, but instead, he felt the humiliation of being incapable of resolving the issue at hand.
However, there was no other solution to the current problem. Yang Kai had been causing trouble for the past 10 years, plundering 90% of their resources while holding the Territory Lords of the No-Return Pass in check. Even Mo Na Ye himself had been running around in circles all these years, with nothing to show for his efforts.
If this chaos continued, the Territory Lords would likely collapse from exhaustion, and once that happened, the losses that followed would far exceed a few measly resources.
After some contemplating, Mo Na Ye decided to contact Yang Kai using his communication bead to discuss the matter. However, before he could do so, he summoned his miniature Black Ink Nest and inspected a new message that was just sent to him. Letting out a sigh after seeing this message, he hurriedly rushed towards the depths of the void.
Another four Territory Lords who had formed a Battle Formation were ambushed and injured by Yang Kai, losing all their resources in the process.
When Mo Na Ye arrived at the scene, he realized that the situation was much worse than he had expected. The injuries to these four Territory Lords were not too serious as they had been on guard and immediately formed the Four Symbols Formation to protect themselves after the ambush.
However, after a more careful inspection, Mo Na Ye was startled to find that two of the Territory Lords had identical injuries, just a finger’s length left of their heart. This position was not a fatal wound for a Black Ink Clan Master, but it still made Mo Na Ye frown.
Was this intentional, or just a coincidence?
If it was unintentional, everything would be fine, but if Yang Kai had done this deliberately, it was a worrying issue.
If this was Yang Kai’s doing, it was undoubtedly a message that said he could kill one or both of these Territory Lords but chose to hold back to not escalate the situation further.
This was his way of showing both his sincerity and his determination.
Mo Na Ye couldn’t help a wry grin from appearing on his face. This guy came to the Black Ink Clan trying to take the lion’s share, plundering the Black Ink Clan’s resources, and yet he was still showing ‘sincerity’.
What was he trying to do, earn profit by being friendly? But the wealth he would be earning belonged to the Black Ink Clan.
“Sir Mo Na Ye,” a Territory Lord walked over and handed him an item with caution, “We found this after Yang Kai disappeared. It should be something he left behind on purpose.”
Mo Na Ye turned to look and recognized it as a Universe Chart from the Human Race, but why would Yang Kai leave such a thing here?
Mo Na Ye was puzzled, so he took the Universe Chart and immersed his Divine Sense to investigate it. After a moment, he let out a long sigh.
Yang Kai deliberately left this Universe Chart here for no other reason than to further threaten them.
When Mo Na Ye inspected the Universe Chart, he easily identified many locations that were highlighted. When he projected this onto the real Black Ink Battlefield, it was not difficult to see that all of the marked positions were staging points for the Black Ink Clan’s mining operations.
There were hundreds of these marked positions, which meant that Yang Kai had already found most of the locations where the Black Ink Clan was gathering resources. If he wanted to, he could just go to those places directly, wipe out the Black Ink Clan soldiers, and take all the resources for himself!
If that happened, the Black Ink Clan’s source of resources would be greatly reduced. It should be noted that there were no elites guarding those places. Faced with a killing star like Yang Kai, the low-rank clansmen could not resist at all.
[How did he manage to do all this and still raid so many of our convoys?]
Mo Na Ye couldn’t figure it out at all. Yang Kai had been plundering resource squads everywhere for the past 10 years, yet he somehow found the time to investigate these mining outposts where resources were being exploited as well. It had to be noted that each of these locations was no less than a few million kilometres away from each other, which would take a significant time to travel between.
Mo Na Ye could only sigh and think that Space Secret Techniques were truly unparalleled when it came to mobility. The distances that seemed far away to others were nothing to Yang Kai. This was what allowed him to gather so much information in a mere 10 years.
The markings on this Universe Chart were like the wounds on the two Territory Lords, both a threat and a sincere gesture…
Mo Na Ye understood everything and became crestfallen.
Even if he had achieved the status of Pseudo-Royal Lord, he was still defeated by Yang Kai in this confrontation. Both he and the Black Ink Clan were defeated. Yang Kai alone had disrupted the Black Ink Clan’s entire operation on the Black Ink Battlefield despite them going all out to stop him. In fact, for the past 10 years, they hadn’t so much as wounded Yang Kai, and now, after all that, they still had to compromise!
“Let all the Territory Lords return to the No-Return Pass,” Mo Na Ye said, feeling dejected.
The four Territory Lords were surprised as one of them asked, “Sir, what about Yang Kai?”
“I’ll talk it out with him.”
The Territory Lords exchanged glances upon hearing this and understood what Mo Na Ye meant. Although they were relieved that they no longer had to be on edge every day, each Territory Lord’s heart was still shrouded in thick humiliation.
Soon after, the Territory Lords departed.
Mo Na Ye stood in the void, took out the communication bead, and played with it in his hand as if he was pondering something.
A moment later, he suddenly turned his head and saw a figure standing nearby while looking at him with a smile and cupping his fist in greeting, “Sir Mo Na Ye!”
Mo Na Ye’s face twitched. [This bastard is truly daring! He’s actually been hiding nearby all this time and even dared to appear in front of me like this!]
He couldn’t help but have the immediate urge to attack, but this thought was like a wave in the storm that quickly dissipated.
There was no way Mo Na Ye could kill Yang Kai here, and if he tried, it would only worsen his position.
“Sir Yang, your skills are truly impressive!” Mo Na Ye saluted him, unsure whether he was being sarcastic or sincere.
Yang Kai shrugged it off while smiling, “From the looks of it, you have made a decision, yes?”
Mo Na Ye lowered his brow and muttered, “The matter of resources has been fully entrusted to me by Sir Royal Lord.”
“Very good,” Yang Kai smiled and declared, “My proposal from last time is still valid.”
Mo Na Ye immediately shook his head vigorously like a rattle-drum, “Sir Yang…” He paused, then continued, “We’ve known each other for many years now, and as you Humans say, you don’t truly know someone until you’ve fought them. Although we’re on different sides, I admire you greatly and calling you Sir seems a bit formal. How about I call you Brother Yang?”
“What should I call you then? Brother Mo? Those from the Black Ink Clan don’t have surnames, right?”
Mo Na Ye said solemnly, “Only the Royal Lord has the qualification to use Mo as a surname. For example, our current King is Mo Yu. Those beneath the Royal Lord may use their own names and surnames. Brother Yang can just call me by my name.”
(Note: The Mo in Mo Yu and the Mo in Mo Na Ye are different… I know, confusing. Just ignore it, it’s irrelevant.)
Yang Kai nodded lightly as he felt like he had heard a piece of news of some importance.
The Human Race had never figured out the name or surname of the Royal Lord and didn’t know how to address him. Fortunately, there was only one true Royal Lord in the Black Ink Clan right now, so they always addressed him as ‘the Royal Lord’. Unexpectedly, Yang Kai learned this bit of information from Mo Na Ye today, though it wasn’t of much use.
Mo Na Ye continued, “Brother Yang, 50% is impossible. All the resources are extracted by my Black Ink Clan and transported by us. You haven’t put in any effort yet you want to take away half? Aren’t you being a bit too greedy?”
Yang Kai grinned, the corners of his mouth almost reaching his ears, “There’s an old saying among us Humans, ‘A big mouth can swallow up the world!’”
Saying so, he even pointed at his face, as if to say ‘Look at how big my mouth is’!
Mo Na Ye rubbed his temple, looking a bit headache-ridden, “Brother Yang, I am sincerely discussing this matter with you today. Please don’t joke around.”
Yang Kai spat disdainfully and also adjusted his expression as he said, “In that case, I want to know how much the Black Ink Clan can offer.”
Mo Na Ye held up a finger, but then curved it and calmly said, “5%!”
Yang Kai couldn’t help but laugh, “Mo Na Ye, you would make an excellent salesman. If it’s only 5% why bother discussing the matter at all? I might as well rob your Black Ink Clan’s supply teams and take 90%. Wouldn’t that be simpler?”
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