<<Previous Chapter Index Next Chapter>>
Translator: Silavin & Raikov
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
Dizzy and bleary-eyed, Yang Kai was seeing stars but still gave off an aggressive air for he knew that if he were to show even the slightest sign of weakness, then the Remnant Army would surely be wiped out today.
He had no choice but to use a fourth Soul Rending Thorn, which was really his limit.
Even with the Soul Warming Lotus, he could not use another Soul Rending Thorn.
Fortunately, the Territory Lords were so frightened they could not see through the strong front that he put up. The might of this Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master had seeped deep into their hearts. In the opening moments of the battle, he was able to cut down three Territory Lords alone, then two more with an astonishingly powerful attack, and just now he had slaughtered another with one blow. Not a single one of them was able to see how he was doing this.
The Territory Lords were hesitant, but the Remnant Army was not. With this display of intimidation from Yang Kai, the struggling Remnant Army finally found the opportunity they were looking for and broke through the Black Ink Clan Army, forcing them back. The lights shooting out from the Purifying Black Ink Battleship and the surviving Warships never ceased as they charged ahead.
Within that short period, all of the Human soldiers gave it their all.
When a Warship exploded, the unprotected soldiers would give their lives to kill the nearby enemies. Even if they had to die, they would do so honourably.
However, the gap in real fighting strength between the two forces could not be closed so easily.
Without mentioning the Black Ink Clan Army of over 1 million soldiers, just the remaining Territory Lords overseeing the pass still numbered nearly 20.
Yang Kai was able to cut down three of the first ten Territory Lords who came at them with the help of the Soul Rending Thorns, and another two with his Sun and Moon Divine Wheel, which left five more from the first wave. However, before the Remnant Army could catch its breath, the Royal Lord had personally made a move, while another six Territory Lords rushed over as reinforcements.
One had to know that these were all Innate Territory Lords who were nearly as powerful as Che Kong.
Excluding the Territory Lord that Yang Kai killed just now, there were still a full 10 Territory Lords engaging the Remnant Army, whereas the Remnant Army only had four Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.
Even with Ou Yang Lie and the others taking on two enemies at once, they were stretched to the breaking point.
The decline of the Remnant Army’s momentum was evident in the eyes of the Black Ink Clan, while the deterrent effect from Yang Kai’s move earlier also quickly faded.
The more the Remnant Army advanced, the more difficult their situation became. There were constantly Black Ink Clansmen rushing over to surround them from all directions, while the Territory Lords did not rush in lest they were caught off guard by Yang Kai and killed. Instead, they hid behind their Armies and relied on their subordinates to wear down the Humans, occasionally sending out Secret Techniques to blow apart vulnerable Human Warships.
Yang Kai’s eyes were bloodshot with rage. He would want nothing more than to cut down all of the Territory Lords before him with his spear, but his head was throbbing, as if it was going to tear open. It was impossible to do anything against the remaining Territory Lords hiding at the back.
Yang Kai also did not dare to leave the battleship recklessly, for if he did, the Territory Lords would surely come to attack, and the Purifying Black Ink Battleship might not be able to withstand it.
The Remnant Army’s pace became slower and slower, as if they had fallen into a quagmire. Finally, less than 100,000 kilometres away from the No-Return Pass, the Remnant Army was completely surrounded by the Black Ink Clan.
When they looked at the Territory Gate that seemed so close, everyone felt despair in their hearts.
They just had to pass through that portal and they would be able to return to the 3,000 Worlds. Even though they had no idea what the situation there was like, it was still their homeland; however, this short distance seemed like an entire Universe away at this moment.
Nobody was disheartened by this reality, for when they decided to attack the No-Return Pass, they all anticipated that this would happen, including Yang Kai.
It was just that even including him, the soldiers subconsciously held onto a faint glimmer of hope and expectation.
More than anything else, they didn’t want to live hiding like rats on the Black Ink Battlefield, constantly being hunted down by the Black Ink Clan.
They would rather die in battle than waste away their lives in this forsaken place.
“Kill!”
When their hope of returning home was shattered, the Humans suddenly became calm, as if they had completely let go of something.
Shouts rang out across the void as killing intent rose like a tide. The Remnant Army which was encircled by the Black Ink Clan Army and could barely move suddenly burst out with astonishing power. The lights from many Secret Techniques and artifacts shot in all directions.
In that instant, it was not known how many arrays and artifacts dulled and were destroyed due to the sheer overload of World Force pumped into them.
The Seventh-Order Masters emerged from the Warships that protected them and summoned their artifacts for battle.
The Four Symbols Formation with the Purifying Black Ink Battleship at its Core rapidly fractured as more and more Warships were being blown apart.
The Remnant Army’s sudden outburst was difficult for even the Black Ink Clan Army to withstand, and in just a short dozen breaths of time, it was not known how many of them fell. Even a Territory Lord was severely injured under Ou Yang Lie’s life-forsaking battle style and was forced to retreat.
This was the last struggle of the Remnant Army.
Yang Kai had also let go of his shackles. Since he was destined to die here, then he might as well kill freely before he did.
However, before he could leave the Purifying Black Ink Battleship, he heard the bellow of an ox from the void!
There was a disturbance among the Black Ink Clan Army surrounding the Remnant Army. Countless auras vanished all at once, and Yang Kai turned his head only to see an enormous Black Bovine charging through the Black Ink Clan’s lines, Monster Qi turbulently erupting from his figure. Under its hooves, countless Black Ink Clansmen were reduced to minced meat.
As it lowered its head and charged over, nothing could obstruct its path. Even a Territory Lord was sent flying after being rammed, blood spraying out as he tumbled through the void.
“Boys, keep up!” The Ox Monster spoke as it dashed past the Remnant Army, breaking open the path ahead.
Everyone felt their spirits soar, and the soldiers in charge of piloting the Warships quickly spurred them off to follow the Ox Monster’s lead.
On orders from the Territory Lords, the Black Ink Clan soldiers all came forth to stop the Ox Monster when they saw it approaching, releasing one Secret Technique after another, flaying open its skin and flesh.
However, no blood spilled out.
It had died long ago, and only through the profound methods of the Azure Void Old Ancestor was it able to fight on even after death, so why would it have to fear being injured now?
When a Territory Lord saw this, he tried to block it but was sent flying by the Ox Monster’s broken horns. When the other Territory Lords saw this, they no longer dared to act rashly.
Yang Kai had also just realized how strong this Ox Monster actually was. Even though he had seen it twice in the past, it was just grazing leisurely in the green hills and blue rivers like an ordinary bull.
But now, it seemed that this Ox Monster was as strong as a peak Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, perhaps even stronger!
100,000 kilometres was crossed in the blink of an eye and very soon, the Remnant Army was right in front of the Territory Gate.
Right behind them was the pursuing Black Ink Clan Army. In a flash, the Ox Monster arrived behind the Remnant Army and shook its head, “Go! Niu Niu will stop them!”
Its huge body became a shield, protecting the Remnant Army like a great mountain. Countless attacks landed on its body in that instant, causing it to shake from the impact.
Yang Kai’s eyes reddened as he somehow maintained the Four Symbols Formation and led the Remnant Army towards the portal.
The Territory Gate at the No-Return Pass originally wasn’t very large. Last time Yang Kai saw it, it was even smaller than a normal Territory Gate; the Black Ink Clan had torn apart the portal by some unknown means since occupying this place so it could facilitate the invasion of their Army.
The Purifying Black Ink Battleship was not small, but it was still tiny compared to the current Territory Gate.
However, just as the Purifying Black Ink Battleship was about to pass through, the exalted roar of a Dragon suddenly rang out from within the No-Return Pass.
Startled, Yang Kai looked down and his pupils shrank.
Above the square where the Dragon Pool was opened back then was a dense Black Ink Cloud, and within it, the form of an Ancient Dragon could faintly be seen.
“Ji Lao San!” Yang Kai was extremely shocked, for he never expected to see Ji Lao San here.
And, from the looks of things, Ji Lao San had been captured by the Black Ink Clan, but they did not kill him. Instead, they confined him here and enveloped him in a Black Ink Cloud.
Yang Kai had no idea what sort of wicked plans the Black Ink Clan had for him, but from what he saw, it seemed like they were trying to corrupt Ji Lao San. However, they didn’t seem to be having much luck.
Divine Spirits had some level of immunity towards Black Ink Strength thanks to their powerful Bloodlines.
According to the information that Yang Kai received from Cang, supplemented by his own speculations, the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer were inextricably linked to the Primordial Light, and the Primordial Light was capable of completely nullifying the existence of Mo.
Purifying Light, which was created by fusing the powers bestowed by the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer, could completely purify and dispel Black Ink Strength.
These two were the original ancestors of the Divine Spirits, and so the Divine Spirits had naturally inherited some of that power. As the leaders of the Divine Spirits, the immunity possessed by the Dragon Clan from their Dragon Veins was particularly evident towards Black Ink Strength. This was something that Yang Kai could feel even without the World Tree clone, but with the World Tree clone to protect his Small Universe, Yang Kai had never felt bothered by Black Ink Strength.
Ji Lao San was not particularly strong among the Dragon Clan. During his previous Dragon Pool cultivation, he had advanced from being a Grand Dragon to an Ancient Dragon, but his Dragon Form was still only 55,000 metres long, noticeably smaller than Yang Kai’s 70,000 metres.
However, he was still an Ancient Dragon. In terms of Order, he was equivalent to an Eighth-Order Human Master.
Yang Kai had no idea how Ji Lao San ended up being captured alive by the Black Ink Clan, but he had apparently sensed something unusual occurring in the No-Return Pass and let out a roar.
However, Yang Kai was powerless to help at this moment. If it were any other time, he may have been able to save Ji Lao San, but the Black Ink Clan Army was currently in pursuit of them while the Territory Gate was right in front of their eyes. Yang Kai couldn’t abandon the Remnant Army, so he could only turn around and pretend to have seen nothing.
In the next instant, the Remnant Army rushed through the portal.
With a twist of its rump, the Black Bovine put itself directly in front of the portal with its body, its loud moo shaking the Heavens.
No matter how the Black Ink Clan lay their attacks on it, it refused to budge.
On the other side, the Void spun as the Remnant Army suddenly appeared in an empty Great Territory. After being disoriented for a moment, everyone was on alert again.
Though they had made it past the No-Return Pass, nobody dared to relax.
That was because they knew that the crisis was far from over. Breaking through the No-Return Pass was just the beginning.
Over the past few days, Yang Kai and the others had been guessing what the situation beyond the No-Return Pass would be and trying to figure out how they should deal with whatever they were going to encounter.
Now that the Black Ink Clan had taken over the No-Return Pass, it was inevitable that they would assemble their troops and try to establish a forward position beyond the Territory Gate, so if they really managed to rush through, then the worst-case scenario they could encounter would be plunging headlong into an endless horde of Black Ink Clansmen. If that were to happen, then there would be no possible way for the Remnant Army to survive. Right now, everyone could only carry the idea of killing one to break even and killing two to gain a profit, intent on fighting the Black Ink Clan to death.
Yang Kai may be able to escape, but there was no hope for the rest.
However, according to Ou Yang Lie, that situation was unlikely.
It wasn’t that their predecessors from the Cave Heaven and Paradises never contemplated what would happen if the No-Return Pass was to be breached by the Black Ink Clan, so countermeasures had naturally been put in place long ago.
i do love trying to predict the deus ex machinas in this novel. what crazy thing will happen to save them from this seemingly hopeless situation?!
I must admit “saved by zombie cow” was not in the horoscopes
Yo