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Translator: Silavin & Sara
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
The Black Ink Clan had set up their base in front of a Territory Gate that led to a nearby Great Territory, which made things convenient in the event that they had to make a hasty retreat. Now that the Pseudo-Royal Lords had been scared off by Yang Kai and had run away, the rest of the Black Ink Clan Army followed suit.
That being said, the Black Ink Clan Army had massive numbers and it was impossible for all of them to retreat at once; thus, even though the two camps had been half a day’s worth of travel apart, the Red Flame Army would still be able to score significant kills if they rushed over now.
The Red Flame Army were not at all afraid of a Black Ink Clan Army without any Pseudo-Royal Lords among them. They knew for certain that it was going to be a one-sided slaughter!
Zuo Qiu Yang Hua and the other injured Eighth-Order Masters of the Eastern Army looked on with delight as they watched the Red Flame Army fly off into the distance. It had been 10 long years and the Red Flame Army was finally able to claim E-5 Territory; however, the most important aspect to celebrate now was the fact that Yang Kai’s appearance led to the Black Ink Clan suffering significant losses among their top Masters.
The Black Ink Clan would deeply feel this loss for quite some time.
Many years ago, the Humans figured out what the Black Ink Clan were up to and changed their strategy as well. Reclaiming Great Territories was no longer their goal; instead, they aimed to kill the Black Ink Clan’s strongest Masters as that was the only way for them to weaken the Black Ink Clan.
Everything that the Red Flame Army accomplished now was thanks to a single man. Zuo Qiu Yang Hua and the others were exhilarated at the thought that the Red Flame Army might finally be able to count a Ninth-Order Master among them, and one as powerful as Yang Kai to boot.
“Sir, did the Supreme Headquarters send you over to aid us?” Zuo Qiu Yang Hua asked as he withdrew his gaze from the impending battle.
“Indeed,” Yang Kai nodded, “Senior Brother Mi said that the battle was becoming perilous in E-5 Territory, so he asked me to make the trip.”
After seeing the looks of joy on everyone’s faces, Yang Kai could more or less figure out what they were thinking so he chuckled and added, “But, I won’t be staying with the Red Flame Army.”
The Eighth-Order Masters’ delight turned to shock as one of them asked, “What do you mean, Sir?”
It seemed as if things were not quite what they expected…
“We have 12 Armies, but there aren’t enough Ninth-Order Masters to assume command of all of them,” Yang Kai explained, “That’s why I’ll be moving around the six without a Ninth-Order Master to support them. Anyone who runs into any difficulty can ask me for help and I’ll head over at once. As you know, I’m proficient in the use of Space Principles and can travel at great speeds. This is an advantage of mine that the other Ninth-Order Masters can’t match.”
Having heard what Yang Kai said, the Eighth-Order Masters fell deep in thought.
Although they yearned for Yang Kai to stay and assume command of the Red Flame Army, doing so would be too unfair to the other five Armies without a Ninth-Order Master as they too were under a lot of pressure.
An immeasurable number of Humans had sacrificed their lives throughout the many years of war against the Black Ink Clan, and every Human hated the Black Ink Clan to the core. The Humans could not waste any amount of strength they had that could be used to overpower the Black Ink Clan.
Therefore, though they were a little disappointed after hearing what Yang Kai said, they could still accept it as they were leaders of an Army and wise enough to know what was best.
Zuo Qiu Yang Hua nodded and said, “You’re right, Sir. Having you take the trouble to move around more is the only way to minimize our losses.”
Yang Kai smiled and assured, “You don’t need to worry. It’s been so many years so I’m sure the next generation of Ninth-Order Masters will come along soon enough. In the future, there’ll be more than enough Ninth-Order Masters to go around.”
His words lifted everyone’s spirits. Just as Yang Kai said, the prolonged war against the Black Ink Clan had given the Human Race Masters enough time to grow and rise up. Right now, every Army had a group of talented Masters who were at the peak of their cultivation and had the chance to become Ninth-Order Masters.
Perhaps some pleasant surprises would happen with these talented youths. When the time came, the Humans would see a sudden jump in the number of Ninth-Order Masters. There would surely be enough of them to lead more than 20 Armies, let alone the 12 they had now. The Humans would no longer be troubled by a lack of Ninth-Order Masters.
Zuo Qiu Yang Hua then frowned, “The Black Ink Clan should also be having Territory Lords becoming Royal Lords soon. There are now a lot of Acquired Territory Lords too, all of whom have the ability to become Royal Lords. It’s easier for the Black Ink Clan to ascend to a new realm as well. Who knows what kind of heritage they have now after so many years? It’s a shame that the Territory Lords who have a chance to become Royal Lords have all been kept within the No-Return Pass to grow with the help of the High-Rank Black Ink Nests there. The Humans have no way of gathering any intelligence on them.”
Upon hearing this, Yang Kai raised his brow, “What a coincidence, I was just planning on making a trip over there to take a look.”
“You’re heading to the No-Return Pass, Sir?” Zuo Qiu Yang Hua asked, startled.
“That’s right,” Yang Kai affirmed, “I’m heading over to bring something back.”
He was perfectly calm and relaxed, but the Eighth-Order Masters froze in shock as they exchanged glances. Deep down inside, they were all in awe of just how bold Yang Kai was.
None of the other Ninth-Order Masters would ever think of doing something like that, but on second thought, even when Yang Kai was still an Eighth-Order Master, he had already gone to the No-Return Pass to cause trouble for the Black Ink Clan. Now that he was a Ninth-Order Master, it would only be easier for him and it was unlikely for him to get into any real danger.
In any case, they were not in a position to worry about a Ninth-Order Master’s safety.
“Be careful, Sir,” Zuo Qiu Yang Hua said seriously.
Yang Kai nodded and instructed them, “After reclaiming E-5 Territory, stay here for a while and re-organize yourselves. Wait for orders from the Supreme Headquarters to see what the next step is going to be.”
“Yes, Sir!” The group of Eighth-Order Masters promised. Even if Yang Kai had not said anything, they would not have attempted anything on their own accord either. The Supreme Headquarters was in charge of directing all of the Armies. Even though each Army seemed to be fighting independently, in reality, they were able to provide each other with some level of support thanks to centralized coordination. If any one Army moved too far ahead and broke off contact from the rest, they would be in a terrible situation if the Black Ink Clan seized that opportunity to target them.
Yang Kai did not stick around to say anything else. He got to his feet and dashed off into the void while Zuo Qiu Yang Hua and the others saw him off.
Over at the Territory Gate, the Black Ink Clan Army was hurriedly evacuating. The Pseudo-Royal Lords had been the first to flee and most of the Territory Lords sensed that things were not looking good for the Black Ink Clan and had fled as well. The Black Ink Clan Army was akin to a headless chicken as they were without a clear leader. Even though a fair number of Territory Lords had stayed back to keep things in order, it was hard for them to maintain any semblance of it as the Army was in a state of disarray.
Moreover, when they realised that the Red Flame Army was coming over to attack them, the situation became even more chaotic. Though the Humans would have to travel for half a day, the Territory Gate was only so big so there was a limit to how many could pass through at a time. Half a day was not nearly enough time for the Black Ink Clan Army to retreat as a whole. At least half of them would have to stay back to keep the Humans occupied in order to give the rest a chance to escape.
Thus, a few Territory Lords began organizing the troops and most of the expendable Black Ink Clansmen had been left behind to delay the enemy while the stronger Masters and those with more potential were allowed to leave first.
Just as soon as they finished making their arrangements though, a powerful aura began rapidly approaching them.
The aura was accompanied by a brilliant light that seemed to leave a dazzling trail against the darkness of the void.
“It’s Yang Kai!” A Territory Lord screamed in terror.
Every single Black Ink Clansman feared the killing star and just a while ago, he was able to sneak into their camp and capture two Pseudo-Royal Lords alive. It had not been long since then, but he was already coming at them again. He was simply relentless.
Upon noticing this, the Territory Lords who stayed back to keep the Army in order could not hold still. They could not bother about anyone else anymore as they started fleeing towards the Territory Gate in a bid to escape as soon as possible.
All at once, the already disorderly Black Ink Clan Army descended into utter chaos.
The sound of rushing water was heard as Yang Kai summoned the Space-Time River. The many Dao Strengths surged with the waves and crashed down on the Black Ink Clan Army.
None could stop it as entire swaths of Black Ink Clansmen were instantly swept up and sunk into the Space-Time River where they were immediately killed.
Yang Kai kept pushing forward as his Space-Time River continued to rampage along. The Black Ink Clansmen who were sucked into the river were instantly tossed out again, but they had all lost their vitality.
There was no Pseudo-Royal Lord around and the Black Ink Clan Army did not even have Innate Territory Lords leading them. It was impossible to imagine the damage and deaths that a single Ninth-Order Master could inflict on them now.
Although some of the Black Ink Clansmen tried to fight back, their efforts were meaningless. Their attacks did not even manage to reach Yang Kai. Some were absorbed by the Space-Time River while others were deflected by the twisted Space-Time around it.
In just a few moments, Yang Kai arrived at the Territory Gate and rushed headlong into it.
The moment he entered the Territory Gate, the once-stable portal started shaking violently. It was as if the Territory Gate was about to shatter as Void Cracks weaved across its surface.
Many of the fleeing Black Ink Clansmen could not stop in time and crashed into the shattered space only to be instantly slashed to pieces.
Many more rushed in but they fell dead the moment they touched the Territory Gate.
Some of the Territory Lords finally realised what was happening. Yang Kai had done something to the Territory Gate so they could no longer use it.
It would have been hard for anyone else to do such a thing. Territory Gates had existed since ancient times and had always been an extremely stable passageway between Great Territories; however, for someone like Yang Kai who was a Master of the Dao of Space, it was easy enough for him to turn the Territory Gate into a death trap. At this point, his mastery of the Dao of Space far exceeded what he had before he entered the Universe Furnace.
This allowed him to kill many enemies without even having to make a move personally!
The Territory Lords who chose to hang back were sorely regretting their decision now. If they had known this would happen, they would have fled with the Pseudo-Royal Lords.
However, at the time, they had been feeling lucky about their chances, and it took a lot of effort for them to gather the soldiers they had under their command, so they were reluctant to simply abandon them. None of them expected this cruel twist of fate.
They could no longer use the Territory Gate and the Red Flame Army was rapidly closing in. Those who had already gone through the Territory Gate had managed to escape, but the rest of the Black Ink Clan Army who remained behind did not have anywhere to run.
Though they were still massive in numbers, without any Pseudo-Royal Lords and only a few Territory Lords, they were not a match for the Red Flame Army that was hungry for slaughter. It was only a matter of time before they were all killed.
Thus, they began to drown in their own sorrow. The killing star had used a simple trick to guarantee the deaths of millions of the Black Ink Clansmen. They lamented his cruelty.
In the distance, the leaders of the Red Flame Army had seen this scene playing out in front of them. Initially, they were rushing over as fast as they could as they were afraid that the Black Ink Clan Army would have left through the Territory Gate before they could arrive; however, the Territory Gate had been turned into a deathly trap now and the Black Ink Clan Army had no way out. They were stuck here.
Since that was the case, the Humans no longer had to make a mad dash and instead began to form coherent formations as they proceeded steadily.
Hello!
Many thanks for the chapter, as always.