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Translator: Silavin & Tia
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
The Territory Lord’s vitality dissipated quickly. He widened his eyes, as if he couldn’t believe that he was dying at the hands of the Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple instead of the Human Race.
Just before his death, he saw several Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters charging towards the Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple through his blurry vision. Every one of them was incredibly powerful!
The Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters who had hidden themselves amid the chaotic army no longer had the intention to conceal themselves at this moment. They quickly drew upon their World Force and attacked the Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple.
Nobody knew when these five Eighth-Order Masters had entered the fray. It wasn’t just the Black Ink Clan that had failed to notice their presence, even the Human cultivators had not noticed them.
It could even be said that these five Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters would not have had the chance to shine if things had gone according to plan. Their original task was to remain at Great Evolution Pass and control its Core. While providing the necessary protection for the Pass, they were also supposed to guard against any Territory Lords who dared to attack the Pass directly.
Unfortunately, the original plans could not keep up with the changes on the battlefield. It was only natural for the Humans to adapt the necessary countermeasures following the appearance of a Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple among the Black Ink Clan’s forces.
These five Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were the candidates chosen by the Army Commanders to deal with the Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple.
Five Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters might not be enough to confront a Master like Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao; however, it had not been long since the Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple broke through to his current realm, so five veteran Eighth-Order Masters working together should be just enough to restrain him.
There was a huge battle between the Human Race Army and the Black Ink Clan Army; hence, violent energy fluctuations filled the void. It was not strange for them to be able to sneak out of Great Evolution Pass without anybody noticing.
In the next moment, the five Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters engaged the Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple in battle. The Eighth-Order Master who had been targeted by the Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple’s Sword Qi earlier also joined in the battle without regard for his injuries even though he was coughing up blood. He drew upon his World Force madly as he attacked his imposing opponent.
While the six Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were joining forces to restrain the Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple, the aura of several hidden Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters suddenly appeared in the vicinity of the Royal City. Every one of their auras shone brilliantly as they openly charged towards the Royal City without hiding. Every one of them gave off an imposing momentum and even on this chaotic battlefield, they were extremely eye-catching.
“Impudence!” Che Kong, who had remained behind in the Royal City to oversee the protection of the Black Ink Nests roared furiously. How could he not know what the Human Race was planning when he saw the Eighth-Order Masters charging towards the Royal City?
The Humans clearly intended to destroy the Black Ink Nests and weaken the combat power of the Territory Lords and the Royal Lord. The reason Che Kong remained behind was precisely to guard against such actions.
There was no need for him to issue any commands. Even without a word from Che Kong, several Territory Lords had already taken to the skies to intercept the incoming Eighth-Order Humans.
Numerous Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had been dispatched here, 10 in total. Counting the five who were dispatched to restrain the Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple earlier, a total of 15 Masters had been deployed at this point.
20 Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had initially remained to guard Great Evolution Pass. Now that 15 of them had been dispatched, only five remained behind.
No matter what happened, those five could not be sent out. If they were to leave, they would only be left with the meagre deployment on the walls and the current defensive force that remained in Great Evolution Pass. If the Black Ink Clan tried to attack Great Evolution Pass at that point, then the Humans would not be able to defend it with just those forces alone.
10 Territory Lords rose to meet the 10 incoming Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.
Although there were 20 Territory Lords who stayed behind to guard the Royal City, they did not dare to all move rashly under these circumstances. The consequences would be terrible if they fell for the Human Race’s trap to lure them away from their posts.
The Masters of both sides collided in the void and immediately split into ten different battlefields.
One of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters laughed loudly, “One isn’t enough! Bring me another!”
Despite speaking such arrogant words, rather than fighting, he stubbornly endured the attacks of his Territory Lord opponent and forced his way towards the Royal City. Even if he was horribly beaten, he did not retreat in the slightest.
He wasn’t the only one! There were six of them who echoed his sentiments! The other four Division Commanders were somewhat weaker, so they did not boast arrogantly and simply concentrated on the opponent in front of them.
The Territory Lords fighting those six Division Commanders were infuriated by their words.
Although the Territory Lords were generally weaker than the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, the gap between their strengths was not that big. In a one-on-one battle, an Eighth-Order Master would have no problem holding the advantage against a Territory Lord, but killing the latter would be quite difficult. In fact, if they were not careful, the Division Commanders would instead be injured by the Territory Lords.
That was also why those clansmen weaker than Territory Lords in the Black Ink Clan Army would often suffer countless casualties after a huge battle, but most of the Territory Lords would retreat with their lives. Their strength gave them enough power to protect themselves from deadly harm.
It was bad enough that the Eighth-Order Humans were aiming to destroy the Black Ink Nests, but on top of that, they not only ignored the retaliation of the Territory Lords but also openly taunted them. Their behaviour was simply outrageous.
In such a situation, it was only natural that the Territory Lords would not show mercy.
Out of the six Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters with such thoughts, one of them was beaten so soundly that he could barely continue forward. Thus, he could only turn around to concentrate on his opponent and give up on the idea of trying to restrain another Territory Lord.
The other five Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters continued charging towards the Royal City.
Che Kong was absolutely furious. The actions of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters clearly indicated that they were aiming to draw out and pin down the Territory Lords. It would seem that they were determined to destroy the Black Ink Nests.
If the protection around the Black Ink Nests weakened, then the risk of them being damaged or destroyed would increase significantly. Unfortunately, the Territory Lords did not have control of the situation.
Seeing the five Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters getting closer and closer to the Black Ink Nests, five more Territory Lords beside Che Kong prepared themselves to move out at any given moment.
All of a sudden, the sound of laughter rang out, “Old Liu, you’re getting old. You shouldn’t act like us youngsters. Be careful not to get your old bones broken by the enemy!”
One of the older Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters seemed to be having trouble advancing. Although he wanted to slip past the defences of his opponent and attack the Royal City, he evidently could not handle taking on a second Territory Lord.
In such a short time, he had been struck numerous times by his Territory Lord opponent, and although his injuries were nothing serious, it would be risky if things were to continue at this rate. Not to mention, the situation would only worsen if anything were to happen to him.
The Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master called Old Liu seemed to have realised that he had bitten off more than he could chew. After considering the situation at hand, he stopped pushing himself so hard and laughed self-deprecatingly, “You’re right. These old bones can’t take such a beating. It must be nice to be young and strong like you little ones! Good, I’ll leave it to you!”
Out of the ‘little ones’ he mentioned, who among them were not at least a few thousand years old? It was just that he was even older than them.
After saying that, Old Liu immediately retreated to focus on his opponent and instantly reversed his declining momentum as a result.
Six Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had charged into the Royal City, but two were forced to drop out along the way; therefore, only four were left.
The remaining four were evidently the elite among the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. Even though their opponents were attacking them ferociously, they easily continued to lead the battle towards the Royal City.
If the Black Ink Clan were to ignore these Eighth-Order Masters, then the Black Ink Nests would be in danger once the fallout of their battle swept across the Royal City. For that reason, no matter what, the Black Ink Clan could not sit around and do nothing.
There were many Black Ink Nests in the vicinity of the Royal City, so when Che Kong saw that Old Liu had voluntarily retreated, he couldn’t help feeling slightly relieved.
The Black Ink Clan had no trouble dealing with the four incoming Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. Che Kong glanced to the left and right before four Territory Lords soared up and joined their companions to engage the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.
Likewise, the four Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were not careless. Seeing that another four Territory Lords were joining the battle, they knew that they had reached their goal. Not only did they stop trying to approach the Royal City, but they also gradually moved the battle away from it.
In reality, they could no longer control the situation as it was a two-against-one battle. If the Territory Lords wanted to lure their battle out of the Royal City to prevent the fallout from damaging the Black Ink Nest, then they could only follow along.
On a battlefield not far away from the Royal City, Yang Kai suppressed his strength as he fought with the Black Ink Clan while keeping watch on the movements of the Royal City.
10 Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had taken action to lure 14 Territory Lords away from the Royal City. Although the results were not ideal, they had barely managed to achieve their goal.
It had to be said that these Territory Lords could borrow the power of their Black Ink Nests too, so if they were not so wary of the Evil Purging Divine Spears, they might not be in such miserable conditions. Under the premise that the Territory Lords could borrow the power of their Black Ink Nests, in a two-against-one battle, they could threaten the life of any Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
There were now six Territory Lords remaining. Among them was the exceptionally powerful Che Kong.
What was Xiang Shan planning?
There were not many people left among the Human Race who could be dispatched. Were they planning to abandon the protection of Great Evolution Pass and send out the remaining five Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters?
Just as Yang Kai was mulling over these matters, Che Kong was also pondering over the same question.
The Black Ink Clan had a record of the number and identity of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters after they fought each other so many times.
All but one of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters active on the battlefield were known to the Black Ink Clan. The unfamiliar face had most likely advanced to become an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master in the recent 200 years; however, that particular Eighth-Order Master was out on the battlefield. Not to mention, he was heavily wounded, so there was no need to worry about him.
There were five other known Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters who had yet to reveal themselves. Che Kong shifted his gaze to look at Great Evolution Pass. The defences around Great Evolution Pass seemed sturdy, and the entire Great Pass was slowly rotating on the spot. That clearly indicated that there were still Eighth-Order Humans overseeing Great Evolution Pass and controlling the enormous artifact.
Were all five of the known Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Great Evolution Pass? Even if not all of them were there, at least three had to have remained behind; otherwise, the defences of Great Evolution Pass would not be so sturdy.
As soon as that thought crossed his mind, Che Kong calmed down.
It didn’t matter whether those five Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had remained in Great Evolution Pass. Even if all five Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had been dispatched, the Black Ink Clan had six Territory Lords remaining. After sending out five Territory Lords to restrain their enemies, he would be the only one left in the Royal City. Be that as it may, he alone was enough to ensure the safety of the Royal City.
[The Human Race has run out of tricks!]
Just as that thought crossed Che Kong’s mind, a sudden commotion came from a certain corner of the chaotic battlefield. Countless streams of lights shot out in all directions as three Warships emerged from that direction and charged towards the Royal City.
There was a large number of Black Ink Clansmen pursuing them from the rear; however, the pursuers were intercepted by other Warships. Flashes of light blazed across the sky as the soldiers on both sides fought ferociously.
The three Warships were clearly different from ordinary Warships. They were larger and sturdier. Moreover, the Spirit Arrays and artifacts on these Warships were much more powerful than usual. In particular, the Warship in the lead carried a huge shield that resembled a tortoise shell on its back. Countless attacks from the Black Ink Clan smashed into the shield and created bright sparks, but those attacks caused almost no damage at all.
The three Special Operations Squads had arrived!
Yang Kai’s eyes lit up at the sight. He had neither contacted these elite Squads nor asked them to come and provide support; therefore, their timely arrival clearly indicated that they were part of Xiang Shan’s plan.
If an ordinary Squad were to face a Territory Lord, they would have a hard time fighting back or even escaping; however, each Special Operations Squad could hold off a Territory Lord for some time.
It was obvious that Che Kong knew about these elite Squads among the Human Race.
A month ago, the Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple had eliminated one of them that had infiltrated their defence line.
Therefore, Che Kong immediately understood the intentions of the Human Race when he saw the three distinctive Warships. They were planning to continue their efforts to tie down the Territory Lords.
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Many thanks for the chapter, as always.