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Translator: Silavin & Qing
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
It only took about one hour to appoint the several dozen Division Commanders.
After the Division Commanders had been appointed, Xiang Shan announced, “All Divisions are to gather their own troops. In half a day, you will all follow me and fight our way out of Wind and Cloud Pass!”
“Yes, sir!”
After that, all the Division Commanders instantly busied themselves with their duties. Xiang Shan and Liu Zhi Ping only announced Division Commander positions. Below the Division Commanders were Battalion Commanders, which they had to deal with on their own as the two Army Commanders wouldn’t interfere with this matter.
However, the higher-ups had already devised a plan to divide the 30,000 soldiers in the square and allocated which Battalion the troops from each Great Pass would belong to, so the Division Commanders only needed to gather the troops according to the provided lists.
While Yang Kai and the others were waiting for the troops to be organized, the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters weren’t idle.
As allocating personnel also required careful selection, all the members for each Battalion and Division needed to be coordinated in advance.
The square was constantly filled with shouts from each Division Commander as they delegated positions to the soldiers. Meanwhile, troops from different Great Passes were also moving quickly around the square, finding which Battalion they belonged to.
Yang Kai and Chai Feng looked at each other, and the latter said, “Brother Yang, I don’t think we’ll be allocated to the same Battalion, but I think we should ask about how we will be operating during battle.”
Since the two Special Operations Squads had about 50 people each, equivalent to half a Battalion’s strength, they naturally wouldn’t get allocated into the same Battalion.
Moreover, back at Blue Sky Pass, the Special Operations Squads didn’t follow the same arrangements as the others and only reported to the Army Commanders.
Yang Kai nodded lightly, “Brother Chai is right. Let’s go.”
The two then walked towards Xiang Shan.
When they arrived before him, they paid their respects, and Yang Kai asked, “Sir, what are both mine and Brother Chai’s Squads going to be doing during battle?”
After glancing at them, Xiang Shan said only five words, “Act according to the situation!”
Yang Kai acknowledged Xiang Shan’s words and replied, “Understood!”
By ‘act according to the situation,’ Xiang Shan meant that there wouldn’t be any restrictions for their two Squads, and they wouldn’t have to follow the ordinary chain of command. This was good news for the two Squads because, without any hindrance, they could better utilise their strengths.
Of course, there were also downsides to this arrangement. Because they were not collaborating with the other Squads, they were unlikely to receive many reinforcements and had to rely on themselves during battle.
Dawn and the Old Turtle were mentally prepared for that because it was the same as when they were back at Blue Sky Pass. The Special Operations Squads were always free to do their own thing during battle, which had both risks and rewards.
After getting Xiang Shan’s reply, Yang Kai and Chai Feng felt reassured and returned to their spots.
While watching the two leave, Liu Zhi Ping frowned slightly, “Senior Brother Xiang, Yang Kai is an important factor in this war. Wouldn’t it be better if we arranged for him to be in the Central Army?”
The centre position inside the Army was the most important position within the Great Army and was also the safest place. If they could arrange for Yang Kai to be a member of the Central Army, it would be easier for them to protect him.
Before they came here, Ding Yao had made the same suggestion as Liu Zhi Ping.
Xiang Shan, however, replied, “While we’re moving as an Army, the centre is indeed much safer, but once we engage in battle, nowhere is safe because it’s chaos on the battlefield, and we have no one to rely on but ourselves. Since he came here, he must have come here to kill the enemy. That brat has been through all sorts of incredible situations already and survived, so it won’t be easy for him to find himself in grave danger.”
If it had been another Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, maybe that person would have paid more attention to Yang Kai’s safety and might even arrange a safer position for him; however, Xiang Shan had always been straightforward and made a name for himself in the Blue Sky Theatre by killing many Black Ink Clan Masters with his own blade. For a person like him, how could he possibly give Yang Kai special attention? In his opinion, every soldier was the same, and soldiers who could kill the Black Ink Clan were good soldiers. No one should have special consideration.
Though Yang Kai’s safety was important to the bigger picture, Xiang Shan had previously done careful research on him and knew he was proficient in the Dao of Space, which was a very effective weapon to maintain one’s safety on the battlefield. If Yang Kai didn’t make any foolish decisions, he wouldn’t be in danger.
Seeing that Xiang Shan was so determined, Liu Zhi Ping didn’t say anything more.
Before half a day was up, the Eastern and Western Armies had been successfully formed, and each Division and Battalion was organized and ready, releasing murderous intent into the air.
Until this moment, the Black Ink Clan was still attacking, and they seemed to be pushing harder than before. The entire Wind and Cloud Pass seemed to be filled with the reverberating echoes of explosions from outside attacks. Though several shields and barriers were blocking the fallout, the rumbling could still penetrate the Inner Sanctum.
The Wind and Cloud Pass originally had 50,000 soldiers, and they relied on this great army, which exceeded the other Great Passes’ in number, to ward off the enemy. However, 15,000 out of the original 50,000 soldiers were chosen to join Great Evolution’s Eastern and Western Armies.
In other words, the number of Wind and Cloud Pass soldiers was now around 35,000.
Though relying on the great strength of the Great Pass could help those 35,000 soldiers defend Wind and Cloud Pass for a time, they were still in a disadvantageous spot on the battlefield with their diminished numbers. The current range of movement for Wind and Cloud Pass’ soldiers had been reduced to within a 10,000-kilometre radius of the outer walls. Such a region was the most effective range for the defensive Artifacts and Arrays of the great Pass, any further away and the amount of support that could be given would drop off significantly.
The Black Ink Clan Army was ecstatic about the Human’s sudden weakened force. After many years of battling each other, the Black Ink Clan had never gained such a large advantage. Though they weren’t sure why the Human Army’s strength had suddenly weakened, the Territory Lords responsible for organising this siege saw hope for victory.
It was as if the Black Ink Clan only had to fight a little harder, and they would be able to take down this Human Great Pass and make it into the second Great Evolution Pass.
The Black Ink Clan had yet to gain any further ground in this vast Black Ink Battlefield since the successful conquest of their first Human Great Pass 30,000 years ago because the Humans’ persistence and tenacity rendered them unable to do so.
If they could secure Wind and Cloud Pass, it would definitely be a big blow to the Human’s morale, and the Black Ink Clan soldiers at Wind and Cloud Theatre would become heroes.
Therefore, the Black Ink Clan had almost deployed all of their forces to the battlefield, wanting to successfully conquer Wind and Cloud Pass in one fell swoop and kill off every Human here!
A Royal Lord hid inside a large Black Ink Cloud, silently watching everything.
It had been 20 years since his Army began attacking Wind and Cloud Pass, and he had fought with the Old Ancestor keeping watch over the Great Pass three times. Every time they battled, it would cause a huge commotion, yet it would always end in a tie, with both of them suffering some minor injuries.
But those injuries wouldn’t affect the overall situation on the battlefield, nor would they have any effect on his strength.
He noticed the changes on the Humans’ side and knew it was a strange phenomenon. Though he had no idea what the Humans were up to and why they would intentionally weaken their own forces, he had an instinctive feeling that Wind and Cloud Pass was plotting something.
At first, he wanted to find a chance to sneak a look at the Inner Sanctum’s situation, but the Wind and Cloud Pass had all sorts of barriers protecting it, and despite his strength as a Royal Lord, he couldn’t see through them.
After hesitating for almost half a day, the Royal Lord decided that no matter what the Humans were scheming, it was a great chance for his Army to defeat their enemy. Moreover, he had gotten a message from the front lines, saying that 200,000 Black Ink Clan soldiers from Great Evolution Theatre would be coming to reinforce them soon.
Once this 200,000-strong army arrived, no matter what the Humans had in mind, his side would have an absolute advantage over them, so the Humans could forget their plans.
All he needed to do now was to create more pressure on the Humans and not let them have any time to rest. After the 200,000 reinforcements arrived, they could easily conquer this eye-sore of a Great Pass.
Just as he was thinking about that, a figure suddenly flew out from within Wind and Cloud Pass and charged straight at the Black Ink Cloud where he was hiding.
The Royal Lord was slightly shocked, but soon roared, “Old Dog, you court death!”
He never expected the Old Ancestor of Wind and Cloud Pass would take the initiative to attack him in this situation. Both races had been at war for countless years, and with the Wind and Could Pass’ special situation, it wasn’t easy for the Old Ancestor to actively launch an attack. Therefore, he had always been the one to initiate the battles with the Old Ancestor.
It was very rare that this Old Ancestor would come to him to pick a fight.
In all three times they had battled in recent years, the Royal Lord had always been the first to make a move, with the Human Old Ancestor having to accept his challenge for a battle. However, he never anticipated that the old man would actually attack him first.
Feeling like he was being disdained, the Royal Lord came forward in a rage. When the two figures clashed, chaos erupted all around them.
The vigorous battle had only just begun, but the Royal Lord suddenly sensed something and turned around to look somewhere not far away. What he saw was a child charging at him from the void.
That child looked so young that it was as if he could kill her with a snort. The Royal Lord was stunned, [Is this… a Human child?]
He had been battling the Humans for so many years, yet he had never seen what a Human child looked like. All the Humans in the Black Ink Battlefield were at least Fifth-Order Open Heaven Masters, so how could there be children here?
But at that moment, the seemingly harmless little girl gave the Royal Lord a huge sense of danger.
The Royal Lord didn’t know where that sense of danger came from, as the little girl didn’t seem to have a strong aura coming from her; however, just as he was in the midst of his confusion, he saw the little girl smiling mischievously before quickly forming a set of hand seals. Then, the shape of a Yin-Yang Fish appeared and enveloped a huge portion of the void around her.
At the same time, the little girl’s expression suddenly transformed as she rapidly grew into a lovely young woman.
That young woman was exuding the terrifying air of an Old Ancestor!
The Royal Lord was so frightened his face drained of all colour, [Another Old Ancestor? Why do the Humans have two Old Ancestors?]
For so many years, Wind and Cloud Pass only had one Old Ancestor, so it should have been impossible for a second to appear so suddenly.
Was she a newly advanced Old Ancestor? Or did another Great Pass send her over as reinforcements?
In just a short amount of time, the Royal Lord drew some conclusions. The young woman in front of him was not a recently advanced Old Ancestor. She was Yin-Yang Pass’ Old Ancestor, who had been sent here as reinforcements.
Because the Black Ink Nests were so efficient in spreading intelligence, the Royal Lords had naturally been communicating with each other. He had once communicated with the Royal Lord of the Yin-Yang Theatre and knew that the Old Ancestor from Yin-Yang Pass cultivated a strange Secret Art that allowed her to sometimes transform herself into a young woman or a child.
Noting the special and obvious transformation of his opponent, the Royal Lord was sure that the Old Ancestor from Yin-Yang Pass had arrived here at Wind and Cloud Pass.
That realisation shocked the Royal Lord!
Why would the Old Ancestor of Yin-Yang Pass come all the way here? Had the Humans given up on Yin-Yang Pass? This was the first time the Royal Lord faced such a situation. Every Old Ancestor was responsible for overseeing their own Great Pass and would not easily leave.
It didn’t matter if he couldn’t figure out the reason though, because the appearance of the Old Ancestor from Yin-Yang Pass was the biggest crisis he had faced in his entire lifetime.
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Many thanks for the chapter, as always.