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Translator: Silavin & Tia
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
Zhe Chong had originally planned to use the Black Ink Nest at Great Evolution Pass to report his encounter to the Royal Lord; at the same time, he planned to mention his conjecture despite the lack of evidence.
Unfortunately, there were various pros and cons to be considered. If his conjecture was true, then the Black Ink Clan would have time to prepare themselves in advance; however, if he was wrong, then he would definitely be punished. There was also the fact that he had fled the battlefield during his encounter with the Human Race Army. He was bound to suffer horribly if he was simultaneously condemned and punished for both crimes.
Seeing that Hong Di had the same suspicions, Zhe Chong felt a sense of relief. It would save him the trouble of informing the Royal Lord himself.
Hong Di quickly said, “If you consider the timing, you probably encountered the ambush from the Human Race Army after the battle at Wind and Cloud Pass ended. It was also after the battle at Wind and Cloud Pass that the Royal Lord sent me a message, telling me not to enter retreat for the time being. I couldn’t understand why he issued such a strange order at the time, but it would seem that he already anticipated this turn of events!”
The Royal Lord had indeed anticipated this situation.
Hong Di was stationed at Great Evolution Pass, so the only information he could receive was the information circulating within the Great Evolution Theatre. It was also information that the Royal Lord could access, but unlike Hong Di, the Royal Lord had a High-Rank Black Ink Nest. The Royal Lord could communicate with the other Royal Lords with their High-Rank Black Ink Nests and obtain information from the other Theatres.
Hong Di was only aware that the Humans at Wind and Cloud Pass had significantly increased the number of their troops. They also seemed to have welcomed an additional Old Ancestor. However, he was not aware that the Humans at Azure Void Pass had seen a similar increase in troop strength. Although they did not have an Old Ancestor among them, they had mobilised hundreds of Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. The Black Ink Clan at Azure Void Pass had suffered a crushing defeat as a result.
The Human Race at the two Great Passes neighbouring Great Evolution Pass had shown strange movements at the same time, that was a clear indication that they were plotting something. It was only natural for the Royal Lord to have some guesses. Hence, he immediately sent a message to Hong Di, telling the latter not to enter retreat for the next few years. That was also why Zhe Chong could meet with Hong Di at this moment.
“This is an urgent matter. I must report this information to the Royal Lord immediately.” After saying that, Hong Di rushed out. It was evident that he wanted to borrow the power of the Black Ink Nest to report the information he just received.
Seeing that, Zhe Chong naturally had no reason to stop Hong Di, so he stood up and said, “I’ll go with you.”
There was no telling what the Royal Lord might ask; therefore, it would be easier for him to answer the questions if he were present.
A short while later, Hong Di stood inside the Black Ink Nest and communicated with its consciousness to report all the information he received so far. He originally thought that it would take some time before he received a response, but contrary to his expectations, the Royal Lord responded immediately.
Another short while passed before Hong Di withdrew his consciousness with a solemn expression.
Zhe Chong asked, “What did the Royal Lord say?”
He had wanted to report his experience to the Royal Lord himself, but who could have imagined that the Royal Lord had no intention to question him whatsoever? Zhe Chong did not know what the Royal Lord had said to Hong Di.
Hong Di quickly said, “Our Clan suffered a crushing defeat at Azure Void Pass after the Humans dispatched a large number of reinforcements there. As a result, nearly half the Territory Lords were killed or gravely injured. Although the Royal Lord is safe, he won’t be able to take action within a short period of time.”
Zhe Chong was shocked, “Are you saying that something similar happened at Azure Void Pass too!?”
Hong Di nodded heavily, “So, the Royal Lord speculates that the Humans might be coming to retake Great Evolution Pass! Zhe Chong, the Royal Lord commands you to return to your territory as soon as possible and gather an Army in order to reinforce the defences at Great Evolution Pass!”
“Are they really coming?” Zhe Chong felt a little faint. For more than 30,000 years, the Humans had been ignoring the loss of Great Evolution Pass; even so, the Black Ink Clan had always known that the Humans would never abandon Great Evolution Pass entirely. They would come back to retake the Pass one day, but the Black Ink Clan never expected the wait to last 30,000 years, “I understand. I will return to my territory immediately.”
A short while later, Zhe Chong’s figure transformed into a small Black Ink Cloud that sped off into the void. He secretly rejoiced that he had returned quickly. According to his estimations, it would still take some time for the Human Race Army to arrive even if they were coming to attack Great Evolution Pass; therefore, he would have enough time to make preparations. In fact, all the Territory Lords in the Great Evolution Theatre would have ample time to prepare themselves for the difficulties ahead.
At the same time, inside Great Evolution Pass, Hong Di issued various orders to his subordinates. Numerous Black Ink Clan squads scattered across the void in two separate directions, tasked with searching for possible movements of the Humans from Wind and Cloud Pass and Azure Void Pass.
Unfortunately, this endeavour not only took time, but also required a touch of luck. If the Humans intended to retake Great Evolution Pass, they were bound to act with utmost secrecy. It would not be easy to discover their whereabouts.
Great Evolution Pass was not the only place to take action. All the Territory Lords in the Great Evolution Theatre had received orders from the Royal Lord. They had been tasked with gathering the Armies under their command in the shortest time possible. As such, all the Black Ink Clansmen in the Great Evolution Theatre took action almost immediately. The ominous feeling that a storm was approaching enveloped the entire Theatre.
Hong Di initially thought that it would be difficult to receive news about the Human Race Army, but contrary to his expectations, it only took the Black Ink Clan search teams that he previously dispatched six days to return with intelligence to report. They had mysteriously lost contact with one of the Black Ink Clans squads that set off in the direction of Azure Void Pass.
The loss was not great, just a single Feudal Lord along with some High-Rank and Low-Rank Clansmen. Nevertheless, this anomaly quickly caught Hong Di’s attention.
It was impossible for a search party he sent out to disappear for no reason. For the past 30,000 years, the Black Ink Clan had never encountered any enemies in the vicinity of Great Evolution Pass. The only possibility was that the Black Ink Clan squad had discovered the hiding place of the Human Race Army and were eliminated as a result. Therefore, he sent out more people to investigate the region where the first team had gone missing and simultaneously reported this information to the Royal Lord.
At a place located several days away from Great Evolution Pass in the direction of Azure Void Pass, a large fleet concealed the traces of their whereabouts and quietly remained hidden in the void with the help of various artifacts and arrays. The method of concealment they deployed was very clever and sophisticated, so as long as nobody came within 1,000 kilometres of the various artifacts and arrays, they would remain invisible.
However, there was nothing they could do if the Black Ink Clan came too close. Unlike with individual cultivators, it was not easy to conceal the whereabouts of such a large-scale fleet; after all, a lone cultivator could at least use some obscure Secret Techniques to conceal themselves, whereas a giant group of Warships could not be missed.
This fleet was none other than the Great Evolution Northern and Southern Armies that had departed from Azure Void Pass.
Just as Xiang Shan had expected, the Great Evolution Northern and Southern Armies had marched at a faster pace compared to the Great Evolution Eastern and Western Armies. They arrived in the vicinity of Great Evolution Pass half a month ago. Needless to say, they would never act rashly before they made contact with the Eastern and Western Armies. That was why they stopped at a location approximately three days away from Great Evolution Pass to wait for news from Xiang Shan.
This location was neither too close nor too far from the Great Evolution Pass. Under the premise that they could effectively conceal their whereabouts, this distance would also allow them to easily communicate with the Eastern and Western Armies.
Unfortunately, the Northern and Southern Armies had extremely terrible luck. Their large fleet was carefully hiding in the void when a Black Ink Clan squad suddenly barged into their defense perimeter. The void was so vast that 1,000 kilometres was truly not far; therefore, the two Army Commanders of the Great Evolution Northern and Southern Armies simply could not understand how the Black Ink Clan could randomly bump into them. They didn’t even know whether to consider those Black Ink Clansmen lucky or unlucky.
Needless to say, a mere squad of Black Ink Clansmen led by a lone Feudal Lord was nothing to the Northern and Southern Armies. They weren’t even capable of filling the gaps between the Army’s teeth.
After swiftly annihilating the Black Ink Clan squad, the Great Evolution Northern and Southern Armies deliberately changed their location just to be safe, shifting the fleet’s hiding spot to a place several million kilometres away. Be that as it may, they just received another report from the patrols that another Black Ink Clan team had stumbled upon their location again.
The Southern Army’s Army Commander, Ou Yang Lie, the Northern Army’s Army Commander, Mi Jing Lun, and several other Eighth-Order Division Commanders gathered together aboard the main Purifying Black Ink Battleship.
It was clearly not a coincidence for them to be found by two Black Ink squads in succession. There were no such coincidences in the world.
“What do you think?” Ou Yang Lie was a red-haired old man. Just from his name alone, one could tell that he had a fiery personality. Moreover, there was a hint of impatience colouring his brow while he was speaking.
How could the others not know the reason for his impatience? The main reason was that the Great Evolution Northern and Southern Armies were already in position, but there was still no news from the Eastern and Western Armies. There was no way to tell where the Great Evolution Eastern and Western Armies were currently located.
Ou Yang Lie could not wait to attack Great Evolution Pass, so he was naturally impatient at this delay.
An Eighth-Order Division Commander spoke up, “According to the scouts who were previously dispatched, there seems to have been an increase in the number of Black Ink Clansmen in the vicinity recently. Moreover, they seem to be searching for something.”
Ou Yang Lie coldly snorted, “What else can they be searching for? Clearly, they’re looking for us. It looks like the news that our Human Race Army is planning to retake Great Evolution Pass has been exposed.”
The Great Evolution Northern Army’s Army Commander, Mi Jing Lun, had a scholarly appearance. He had a feathered helmet on his head and a feather fan in his hand. Although he was not young, he had the appearance of a fair-skinned youth. Anybody who saw him for the first time would never associate him with the post of Army Commander.
He smiled lightly, “It’s within our expectations. The movements at Wind and Cloud Pass and Azure Void Pass were not small after all. It’s only natural for the Black Ink Clan to guess our intentions.”
Ou Yang Lie raged, “I want to know where Xiang Shan led the Eastern and Western Armies. We’ve already been here for some time, so why are they nowhere to be seen!? Are they planning to give up on Great Evolution Pass!?”
Mi Jing Lun persuaded earnestly, “Please calm down, Brother Ou Yang. Judging by the number of days, the Great Evolution Eastern and Western Armies should have arrived in the vicinity of Great Evolution Pass by now. I’m sure somebody will come and contact us soon.”
He knew that Ou Yang Lie was upset that the Old Ancestor had appointed Xiang Shan as the Great Evolution Eastern Army’s Army Commander. Combined with the current situation, Ou Yang Lie couldn’t hide his contempt for Xiang Shan in his words.
“What we need to do right now is to wait. But, since the Black Ink Clan has taken precautions, it isn’t safe for our Northern and Southern Armies to remain here. This place is just three days away from Great Evolution Pass, which if the enemy is alerted is clearly too close. We should withdraw to a position further away.”
Ou Yang Lie said nothing, so a Division Commander inquired, “Senior Brother Mi, how far back do you think we should retreat?”
Mi Jing Lun pondered for a moment, “We should retreat another two day’s distance, so that we are five days away from Great Evolution Pass; otherwise, the Northern and Southern Armies may not be able to respond in time if the Royal Lord decides to take action.”
The other Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Division Commanders who were participating in the strategy meeting nodded in agreement. Then, Mi Jing Lun glanced at Ou Yang Lie.
Ou Yang Lie said, “We’ll do as you say. Although the Army can withdraw, we will still need to send somebody to approach Great Evolution Pass in order to better monitor the movements there.”
Mi Jing Lun nodded at those words, “Your words make sense, Brother Ou Yang. Do you have any candidates in mind?”
Ou Yang Lie stood up and said, “I’ll go myself.”
Mi Jing Lun heaved a sigh in his heart, knowing that he could not dissuade the other party. Ou Yang Lie had a rather irritable personality, and the more one tried to dissuade him, the more counterproductive it would be. In any case, it was not dangerous for him to go in person. He was an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master after all, so it would not be difficult for him to conceal his presence, unlike a large fleet that could not remain hidden no matter what they did.
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