<<Previous Chapter Index Next Chapter>>
Translator: Silavin & Sara
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
Even Mi Jing Lun could not help but feel respect for his opponent’s bold choice to give up on three Great Territory Battlefields.
[This has to be that Pseudo-Royal Lord Mo Na Ye’s doing. No one else in the Black Ink Clan could make such a prompt and resolute decision except for him.]
The Human Race and the Black Ink Clan had been fighting on these three Great Territory Battlefields for several millennia now, sacrificing countless lives. Making a snap decision to give up on three of them would not only negate all the sacrifices made, but it could also have a great impact on the future.
Mi Jing Lun was willing to admit that he would not be able to make this decision on behalf of the Human Race. It was not as if he was any less bold than Mo Na Ye, but because the two parties were in different positions. Throughout these years, the Human Race had been fighting tooth and nail to ensure they did not surrender even a single step of territory to the enemy. The more Great Territories the Black Ink Clan claimed, the worse the situation got for the Humans.
Therefore, no matter how dire the situation was, the Human Race Armies could never give up on any Great Territory Battlefield.
Many years ago, Mi Jing Lun started keeping an eye on Mo Na Ye after being tipped off by Yang Kai. Even though Mi Jing Lun and Mo Na Ye never physically crossed paths throughout their millennia of war, the former had a fairly solid understanding of the latter’s wits.
Thus, the moment he received the reports regarding the three Great Territory Battlefields, Mo Na Ye immediately popped up in his mind.
One could say that the Human Race Armies had made a clean sweep of these three Great Territory Battlefields. Wherever they went, the Black Ink Clan fell defenselessly, and if this situation continued, it would take less than a few months for the Human Race to completely claim these three Great Territory Battlefields for good. The Black Ink Clan would not be able to survive there.
Nevertheless, Mi Jing Lun was not pleased by this at all.
The Black Ink Clan had voluntarily given up on three Great Territory Battlefields and did not assign any of their Masters to stand guard in those areas. Instead, they sent a large army of expendable soldiers to keep the Human Race occupied. This meant that the Black Ink Clan could assign even more Masters to the other Great Territory Battlefields!
[Why did the Black Ink Clan, or rather Mo Na Ye, make such a decision? Even if sacrifices needed to be made for the greater good, Mo Na Ye must’ve known what would happen when he made this decision.]
[Do they not have enough Masters?] Over the years, the Black Ink Clan had added numerous Territory Lords to their ranks, and many more Innate Territory Lords had snuck out of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction just recently, so it was unlikely for them to lack Masters.
All of a sudden, a thought occurred to Mi Jing Lun. After taking into account the various reports he had received in the past, he immediately came to a conclusion and swiftly yelled to the group of aides beside him, “Quick! Send word to all the Armies to be wary of Pseudo-Royal Lords!”
He had underestimated the Black Ink Clan’s fervour and determination!
Now that the Universe Furnace had surfaced, the Black Ink Clan would undoubtedly fight the Human Race for the great opportunities available. Regardless of what happened, they would surely create a few Pseudo-Royal Lords to shift the odds in their favour.
Furthermore, a hefty number of Innate Territory Lords had snuck out of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, which meant that the Black Ink Clan had more than enough Innate Territory Lords to create Pseudo-Royal Lords.
Mi Jing Lun was not completely caught off-guard by this as he knew all along that the Black Ink Clan would soon begin creating more Pseudo-Royal Lords, but he had not expected them to move so quickly. Fortunately, the Human Race had developed countermeasures for this exact scenario. Although the Pseudo-Royal Lords were powerful, they could not wield all of their strength and were thus considerably weaker than true Royal Lords.
Over the past years, the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had been practising numerous Battle Formations specifically to face these Pseudo-Royal Lords.
As a worthy strategist and the Supreme Commander who oversaw all the military operations of the Human Race, Mi Jing Lun had already done his best to consider all the possibilities he could possibly imagine.
However, from the looks of things now, there would be far more Pseudo-Royal Lords than he expected!
Why would the Black Ink Clan have insufficient Masters, forcing them to abandon several battlefields? It took the sacrifice of over a dozen Innate Territory Lords to create just one Pseudo-Royal Lord, so if many of the former were lost to create the latter, then it made sense why the Black Ink Clans had insufficient numbers.
Furthermore, in recent years, the reports from various battlefields confirmed that many of the Innate Territory Lords that were usually seen on the front lines seemed to have disappeared while a few unfamiliar ones had shown up in their place.
[The Innate Territory Lords who disappeared must’ve gone to the No-Return Pass and taken part in the plan to create Pseudo-Royal Lords. As for the unfamiliar ones, they were most likely the Innate Territory Lords who snuck out of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.]
Mi Jing Lun did not think the Territory Lords from the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction were involved in the plan to create Pseudo-Royal Lords at the moment as they were heavily injured. It would take them at least a century or two before they could be fully restored.
However, even if Mi Jing Lun only took into account the original number of Innate Territory Lords that the Black Ink Clan had, it would still be a terrifying amount if all of them were involved in the plan to create Pseudo-Royal Lords!
As soon as Mi Jing Lun gave the order, streaks of light flashed in from the distance as messengers brought in new reports from the Great Territory Battlefields.
Mi Jing Lun swiftly scanned through them, and soon, all the colour drained from his face.
What he was most worried about had indeed occurred!
The Pseudo-Royal Lords that appeared were far higher in number than what he predicted.
Four Pseudo-Royal Lords had shown up in Profound Nether Territory alone. The battle took a sudden turn as the four Pseudo-Royal Lords burst forth on the battlefield in four different critical locations. They managed to break past their defences which resulted in heavy casualties. Thankfully, the Eighth-Order Masters had swiftly assumed their Battle Formations and were able to stabilize the situation, even if barely.
That being said, things were not looking good in Profound Nether Territory and it seemed unlikely that the Human Race could seize control of the entrance there.
Numerous Pseudo-Royal Lords had also appeared across the various Great Territory Battlefields where intense fights were taking place. Even the heavily wounded Innate Territory Lords with weak auras that snuck out of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction had joined the battlefields.
These Innate Territory Lords were greatly weakened and could not stand against the Eighth-Order Masters, but they were still Innate Territory Lords, and those lower than the Eighth-Order could not hold their own against them. Thus, their presence was an added burden to the Human Race Armies.
There was only one thing that Mi Jing Lun was thankful for. Even though the Black Ink Clan had more Pseudo-Royal Lords than expected, it was not to the point where the Human Race’s situation became hopeless.
Judging from the reports, he also surmised that the heavily injured Innate Territory Lords from the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction really could not take part in the creation of Pseudo-Royal Lords.
This was the only silver lining! Otherwise, the Human Race would have suffered a devastating loss today.
The Black Ink Clan had sacrificed a great number of seasoned Innate Territory Lords to create a group of Pseudo-Royal Lords. Even though they were fewer in number now, when it came to raw power, theirs had greatly increased. Thus, the Black Ink Clan quickly gained the upper hand throughout the various Great Territory Battlefields as they managed to catch the Humans off-guard.
However, the Humans were not on the losing end on every single Great Territory Battlefield.
In Azure Sun Territory, pure Yin and Yang Energy melded together in the void to create the image of a giant Yin-Yang Fish that covered a vast expanse. The dead bodies of several Innate Territory Lords were caught within the Yin-Yang Fish as the auras of four figures clashed, spreading massive waves of destruction all around them.
One of the silhouettes was a tall and slender woman. Her long hair fluttered behind her as murderous intent radiated from her form. Even though she was up against three opponents, she was still able to hold on with the help of her Divine Ability.
She was one of the few Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters that the Human Race possessed. It was Luo Ting He of Yin-Yang Cave Heaven, who once stood guard over the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress!
She and Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao came from the same Sect; thus, the Secret Arts and Secret Techniques that they cultivated were quite similar. The Yin-Yang Fish was one of Luo Ting He’s strongest Divine Abilities. This was not just seen in its ability to slaughter enemies, but more importantly, in its ability to restrain opponents.
Back when Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao faced off against the Royal Lord of Great Evolution Theatre, she used the same Divine Ability countless times.
At this moment, Luo Ting He did her best to keep her Divine Ability above the entrance to the Universe Furnace as she fought against the three Pseudo-Royal Lords.
It had not been long since she became a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. At most, it could only be rounded up to 2,000 years. Forget reaching the peak of her cultivation, it was barely long enough for her to consolidate her realm.
However, she was still a genuine Ninth-Order Master. It would be easy enough for her to deal with a single Pseudo-Royal Lord, and she would not lose her ground against two either, but three was pushing the limit, so she had to rely on the power of her Divine Ability to fight back.
The auras of Yin and Yang converged inside the Yin-Yang Fish to form invisible millstones. The three Pseudo-Royal Lords tried their hardest to break away, but they could not get out. The grinding from that mysterious aura made them incredibly irascible.
No one dared to get near the four Masters as they engaged in battle after a few Innate Territory Lords had accidentally gotten caught up and wound up dead.
However, it was not three, but rather five Pseudo-Royal Lords in total who came to Azure Sun Territory!
This battlefield had always been a crucial one in the battle between the Humans and the Black Ink Clan, so the latter would naturally send a sizable number of their Pseudo-Royal Lords over. They had considered the possibility of a Ninth-Order Master being on the battlefield, but they never thought that a Ninth-Order Master would be powerful enough to pin down three Pseudo-Royal Lords alone.
The other two Pseudo-Royal Lords were not having it easier either.
Each of them was up against five Eighth-Order Masters who formed a Five Elements Formation. This enabled the Human Masters to fight evenly against a Pseudo-Royal Lord as neither party was able to overpower the other.
The Humans were the ones who came up with the Battle Formations first. When the Territory Lords went up against Yang Kai, they were able to form Four Symbols Formations, but they could rarely form the Five Elements Formation. However, the same could not be said of the Humans. As long as the Eighth-Order Masters were familiar with each other, they could easily form a Five Elements Formation.
In fact, the Humans’ highest record was a Seven Stars Formation formed by seven Eighth-Order Masters! Such a Battle Formation would even enable the Human Race to face off against a true Royal Lord, though there was no guarantee as to who would win the fight.
However, even the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters would have a hard time forming Battle Formations that required even more numbers such as Eight Desolations or Nine Palaces. This was because everyone possessed powerful cultivation, and the higher the cultivation, the harder it was to form a Battle Formation.
This was the reason why Yang Kai was astounded by the way Zhang Ruo Xi managed to control her Small Stone Race Army to form the incredibly complex Second-Order and even Third-Order Nine Palaces Formation.
All five of the Pseudo-Royal Lords were pinned down. Azure Sun Territory had always been an essential area for the Human Masters; therefore, there were many of them here, and the Humans had the upper hand across the entire battlefield. It would not be difficult for them to gain control over the entrance to the Universe Furnace here.
However, the situation remained troublesome for them as Blood Crow had reported that the entrance to the Universe Furnace would only remain open for three days. Once three days were up, it would disappear once more. Therefore, the Humans would have to enter within three days if they wanted to seize the opportunities awaiting them inside the Universe Furnace, or otherwise, it would be too late.
Yo