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Translator: Silavin & Qing
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
It wasn’t the first time Yang Kai had heard of ‘Hunters’. They were Human Masters who didn’t join the main Army on the frontlines for all sorts of reasons and would instead form small groups or even act alone to sneak into the Great Territories that the Black Ink Clan had taken over. Then, they would seek opportunities to do damage.
Most of them were proud of their great strength or had some unruliness in their personalities, which was why they didn’t like the strict regulations of the Army.
Hunters generally acted in very small numbers, so they lived dangerous lives where the threat of being wiped out was quite high; however, while the risks were high, the rewards were too.
The favourite activity for Hunters was destroying Black Ink Nests. If they could bring back proof of them destroying a Black Ink Nest to any of the Great Territory Battlefields, they would receive a massive amount of Military Merits. Once they had Military Merits, they could use them to exchange for cultivation resources or other benefits.
At this moment, there were quite a lot of Hunters roaming around outside, and as time passed, even more cultivators joined them.
Everyone had their own way of living, so if they dove into the Great Territories controlled by the Black Ink Clan and caused chaos, it could still be considered contributing to the war effort. Therefore, not only didn’t the Supreme Headquarters restrict such people, but they even richly rewarded the Hunters whenever they succeeded.
Strictly speaking, Yang Kai’s actions before coming here were the standard behaviour of a Hunter. Of course, what he accomplished was far beyond what any team of Hunters could dream to achieve.
He alone had caused chaos at the No-Return Pass and then retreated safely. That was a feat no other Human could replicate.
The Hunters’ actions were indeed dangerous as they were moving around the Black Ink Clan’s territory, after all. Once their whereabouts were exposed, they would be targeted by many Black Ink Clansmen and would have difficulty escaping.
However, narrow escapes were not that frequent. Hunters weren’t foolish enough to sacrifice their lives for nothing, so as long as they acted prudently, they would be able to steer clear of trouble. After that, it was simply a matter of luck whether they survived or not. Moreover, as Wei Jun Yang just mentioned, most of the powerful Black Ink Clansmen were busy battling Human Race Masters on the frontlines, so there weren’t many just sitting behind and guarding their territory.
The Black Ink Clan had taken over many Great Territories, but there were only so many Innate Territory Lords. This meant that they couldn’t guard every territory they had, making it possible for the Hunters to sneak in and hit Low-Rank Black Ink Nests before making their escape, never having to face any true Masters.
With fewer people, the Hunters could more easily find places to hide after they achieved their objectives, which was why the Black Ink Clan found it so hard to deal with them.
Such situations enraged the Black Ink Clan, which caused them to hate Hunters to the core.
Besieging the cultivators trapped in Acacia Territory was a good chance for them to attract many Hunters over. The Black Ink Clan was planning to use this opportunity to wipe out the hidden dangers in their territories so that they could focus more of their attention on battling the main Human force.
After listening to Wei Jun Yang’s explanation, Yang Kai failed to stifle his laughter as he asked, “Senior Brother Wei, have you known this since the beginning?”
Wei Jun Yang smiled, “Junior Brother, please forgive us. This was all Senior Brother Xiang’s plan and the final test given to you by the Supreme Headquarters.”
Feeling speechless, Yang Kai asked, “What would happen if I didn’t realize all this?”
Wei Jun Yang smiled apologetically, “Senior Brother Xiang hasn’t gone far, and the news of appointing Junior Brother as Army Commander hasn’t been announced to the Army yet.”
In other words, if Yang Kai wasn’t able to see the bigger picture and accurately assess the situation, Xiang Shan might have returned to take back the Army Commander Token.
When Yang Kai heard that, he rolled his eyes, [Fortunately the news of my appointment has yet to be announced to the entire Army. Although I’m young, I would like to keep some face. These old farts simply won’t act their age!]
He didn’t bother with these things though because he understood that it was normal for these Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters to have some reservations. The Army Commander of the Profound Nether Army was an important and powerful position which could affect the direction of their future battles and the lives of the hundreds of thousands of soldiers in the Human Race Army, so of course they would act cautiously. Moreover, there was also no fault in the Supreme Headquarters giving out a final test.
In reality, the test was relatively simple, because anyone with half-decent intelligence could think of such things. Only a ruffian like Ou Yang Lie wouldn’t bother thinking things through like this.
Thinking so, Yang Kai snuck a glance at Ou Yang Lie, and as he had expected, the latter seemed to be lost in his thoughts, giving Yang Kai a sense of intellectual superiority.
Wei Jun Yang then turned serious, “Since Junior Brother Yang has seen through the Black Ink Clan’s intentions, it proves that we old folks have made the right choice. Still, the matter of Acacia Territory needs to be dealt with as soon as possible, so please propose a plan of action.”
Yang Kai nodded, “The other battlefields are in the midst of heavy fighting, so for now, only Profound Nether Territory can send out troops. Since the Supreme Headquarters has entrusted us with this task, we must complete it perfectly.”
This was his first mission after he was appointed the Profound Nether Army’s Army Commander, so it was of utmost importance for Yang Kai. Moreover, with a large number of Humans still trapped outside, even if Yang Kai was still all on his own, he would have tried to find a way to save them.
“Senior Brothers, do any of you have a plan in mind?” Yang Kai glanced around.
Kong Cheng De quickly said, “Since the Black Ink Clan intends to deal with the Hunters, there must be at least a few Territory Lords hiding in Acacia Territory. Although we don’t have solid intelligence from the Hunters, I suspect there to be between three and five Territory Lords lying in ambush.”
The Hunters weren’t weak, and though there weren’t any Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters among them, Seventh-Order Masters weren’t lacking.
Feudal Lords could defeat Seventh-Order Masters in greater numbers, but killing them was another matter. The Black Ink Clan’s only option was to have the Territory Lords move if they wanted this thing to be settled conclusively.
Three to five Territory Lords standing guard in Acacia Territory could be said to be an extremely secure arrangement. Of course, the number might be different, but this estimate shouldn’t be too far off.
The arrangement of Territory Lords wasn’t without consideration because the Black Ink Clan needed a lot of Territory Lords to oversee the main battlefield in order to ensure that they had maintained the upper hand when fighting against the Human Race Army.
In addition, Territory Lords who were heavily injured after battling the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters would be sent back to the No-Return Pass to sink into dormancy inside Black Ink Nests to heal more rapidly.
Therefore, although the number of Territory Lords on the whole exceeded the number of Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, and they had the upper hand when fighting against the Human Race Army, the Human Race’s situation hadn’t worsened to the point where they didn’t stand a chance against the enemy.
Now that Yang Kai had brought back a huge amount of Yellow and Blue Crystals and given out ten Great Sun and Moon Marks, the Humans’ situation would only become better.
Fei Yong Ze spoke up, “Let’s plan for the worst. If Acacia Territory has five Territory Lords standing guard, we would have to dispatch eight Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters if we want to rescue the trapped cultivators!”
Eight Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters… That wasn’t a small number, especially when all the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Profound Nether Territory were overseeing important sections of the frontlines and couldn’t be easily transferred. However, only by dispatching eight Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters could they be sure they could suppress five Innate Territory Lords. Sending eight was also a precaution against the enemy having deployed more than five Territory Lords.
Though the mission to rescue the cultivators trapped in Acacia Territory didn’t seem difficult, it wasn’t an easy mission to execute.
Moreover…
Yang Kai looked at the crowd of Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters around him and noticed that they each had varying degrees of injuries. The previous battle was only about 10 days ago, so these Eighth-Order Masters hadn’t even gotten a chance to heal yet, which meant they could not exert their full strength at the moment.
The Territory Lords in Profound Nether Territory didn’t fare much better, so they weren’t a pressing concern, but the Territory Lords in Acacia Territory would all be in peak condition.
Wei Jun Yang was clear about this too, so he proposed, “Perhaps we can ask the Divine Spirits for help?”
In its current condition, it would be difficult for the Profound Nether Army to carry out this rescue mission on its own; therefore, they could only ask others for help.
Hearing this though, Yang Kai shook his head, “The Divine Spirits might not be able to help us.”
Ou Yang Lie frowned, “How can you say that before trying?”
Yang Kai answered, “If the Divine Spirits could help us, Senior Brother Xiang would have told us beforehand, but since he didn’t, that could only mean that the Divine Spirits are also all battling the enemy on the various battlefields. What’s more… a few days ago, the Supreme Headquarters even dispatched the batch of Divine Spirits Tao Wu belonged to, which means that the other battlefields need extra help as well.”
If it weren’t their last resort, the Supreme Headquarters wouldn’t have sent the Divine Spirits from the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.
Hence, even if the Profound Nether Army asked for help, the Supreme Headquarters might not be able to mobilise any manpower for them.
In contrast with the trapped cultivators in the Acacia Territory, the Great Territory Battlefields were more important at the moment. If the Supreme Headquarters had to make a choice, they would rather ensure the safety of the front lines rather than save those trapped cultivators.
“Makes sense,” Wei Jun Yang nodded.
At first, he thought it wouldn’t be much of a difficult task to save those trapped cultivators in Acacia Territory, but now that he thought more deeply about the situation, this matter was indeed a difficult task to complete.
Instantly, they were dumbfounded and didn’t know what to do!
It seemed like the Supreme Headquarters had given Profound Nether Territory a tough mission. Could this also be a test for Yang Kai after being appointed as an Army Commander?
After everyone fell silent, Yang Kai stood up and announced with a determined expression, “I’ll head over myself!”
The crowd of Eighth-Order Masters was shocked, and Fei Yong Ze was taken aback, “Junior Brother, are you really going to Acacia Territory by yourself?”
Yang Kai nodded, “We have no other options besides this.”
Profound Nether Territory couldn’t dispatch eight Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters at once, and they couldn’t ask the Divine Spirits for help, so after careful consideration, Yang Kai decided that acting alone was the best course of action.
Kong Cheng De quickly objected, “Junior Brother, you can’t. You’re now the Army Commander of the Profound Nether Army, so how could you risk your safety? Moreover, what will happen to Profound Nether Territory after you leave?”
This statement just made Yang Kai burst out laughing, “Senior Brother Kong, your words are exaggerated. This Junior Brother has just been appointed to the Profound Nether Army’s Army Commander position, but before now, when have I not been roaming around the dangerous territories? Since I was able to safely cross those territories back then, why can’t I do the same now?”
No matter how dangerous Acacia Territory was, could it be any more dangerous than the No-Return Pass?
Yang Kai had safely returned from the very heart of the Black Ink Clan’s headquarters, so a trivial Acacia Territory was nothing to him.
“Moreover… Before I was appointed, Senior Brothers and Sister have kept Profound Nether Territory well organised, so there’s no way that you all won’t be able to do the same without me. The Black Ink Clan here has just suffered a heavy defeat and lost three Territory Lords, so there won’t be any huge battles in Profound Nether Territory for at least a few years.”
Without giving them a chance to talk, Yang Kai concluded, “It’s settled then. I will personally take a trip to Acacia Territory, and once I leave, I must ask Senior Brothers and Sister to guard Profound Nether Territory. This is also the first order I issue after being appointed as Army Commander.”
Since he had put it that way, what could the other Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters possibly say?
But after careful consideration, it did seem like Yang Kai personally moving was the best option they had.
No longer trying to stop Yang Kai, Wei Jun Yang Said, “How many troops do you intend to bring, Junior Brother?”
Yang Kai answered, “I don’t need too many. How about this… I’ll bring the original members of Dawn. That should be enough.”
Hello!
Many thanks for the chapter, as always.
Yo