Martial Peak
chapter-4932

The woman’s vulnerability did not escape the notice of the many fleeing Black Ink Clansmen. Although they had originally been filled with the terror of death, they seemed to see a glimmer of hope at this moment.

Four Black Ink Feudal Lords had survived up until this point. They exchanged glances and immediately understood each other’s intentions without the need for discussion.

Many Black Ink Clansmen and Black Ink Disciples had died at the hands of a single Human. Their casualties were extremely heavy. If they allowed the enemy to escape on top of that, then it could only be said that they were far too incompetent.

More importantly, they would not have a reasonable explanation for their higher-ups. It would be difficult for them to escape punishment if their superiors were to hold them accountable for this incident; hence, their sole option was to take down this woman with all their might. Killing her here was the only way for them to wash away their shame.

With that goal in mind, the fleeing Black Ink Clansmen and Black Ink Disciples gathered together again. They split into several groups under the leadership of the remaining few Black Ink Feudal Lords and moved in different directions to surround the battered Sword Dragon.

All of them had a deep understanding of the Sword Dragon’s might. Out of the original hundreds of people on their side, more than half had been killed by the repeated assault of the enemy. How could they not realise the tyrannical might of the enemy at this point?

For that reason, the Black Ink Clansmen blocking the way immediately scattered in all directions when the Sword Dragon came charging in their direction. At the same time, the others fiercely unleashed various attacks at the Sword Dragon’s body from a distance.

After this manoeuvre was repeated a few more times, the results were as expected. The Sword Dragon not only failed to kill many Black Ink Clansmen, but the condition of its battered body deteriorated even further instead. Conversely, the encirclement stood strong whenever the Sword Dragon stopped moving. They were giving the woman no chance of escape whatsoever.

Despite everything, the woman’s pale face remained utterly indifferent when she looked at the Black Ink Clansmen and the Black Ink Disciples surrounding her. It was almost as though she was not the one in crisis.

Cracking sounds rang out again and the sword waves that made up the Sword Dragon twisted and changed their form once more. Under the stunned gazes of the Black Ink Clansmen and the Black Ink Disciples, a brand-new and perfect Sword Dragon was born!

It was just that the swords waves forming the Sword Dragon had suffered extensive damage earlier, so the current Sword Dragon was barely half the size of the previous Sword Dragon. Be that as it may, it was still over 500 metres long.

Yang Kai felt his admiration and respect for this woman deepening greatly. Prior to this incident, he had never even imagined that a Divine Manifestation could be manipulated in such a way. It went to show just how powerful she was. Her control over her Divine Manifestation had reached the point where she could wield it like an extension of her own body, which also meant her attainments in the Sword Dao were extraordinary.

The Sword Dragon charged forward once more. The current Dragon Form was a little smaller than before, but it remained enormous compared to the Black Ink Clansmen and Black Ink Disciples. Moreover, it was much more agile than before.

Be that as it may, the Black Ink Clan continued with their established tactics to drag out the battle. They refused to have a direct confrontation with her and simply fought with the intention of wearing her down.

For a time, the woman was also extremely troubled by these tactics. She could not kill many of her enemies even though she charged forward repeatedly. On the contrary, the body of the Sword Dragon became battered again.

The repeated confrontations and stubborn resistance allowed the woman to stop the pursuit of hundreds of Black Ink Clansmen with her strength alone.

At this point, the 500-metre Sword Dragon had transformed once more and shrunk to just 100 metres in length. She would soon lose her ability to maintain the Sword Dragon Form if the situation persisted. In her weakened state, only a tragic fate awaited her once she lost the protection of her Divine Manifestation. Nevertheless, she had achieved her purpose of delaying the enemy. Regardless of her survival, the people on the warship would be able to escape safely.

At this moment, anybody could see that she was trying to break out of the encirclement and escape; however, the Black Ink Clan had paid a heavy price just to force her into a corner, so how could they allow her to escape? Many Black Ink Clansmen and Black Ink Disciples continued to die, but the encirclement remained tight. They were not giving her the slightest chance to flee.

Yang Kai was feeling extremely conflicted inside. Watching the woman fighting alone, he was tempted to reveal his identity and fight beside her. Be that as it may, the thought only passed through his mind for a fleeting moment before he rejected the idea.

Even with his help, she would have a hard time pushing back her enemies in this situation. He was only in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm after all. How could he win against so many Black Ink Clansmen and Black Ink Disciples? What’s more, it would be difficult for him to gain her trust in such a short time.

On the contrary, if he continued hiding, he might be able to find an opportunity to turn the situation around.

The 100-metre-long Sword Dragon had been reduced to tatters and the woman was clearly an arrow at the end of its flight, her ashen complexion seeming completely bloodless.

Upon seeing this situation, the attacks of the many Black Ink Clansmen and Black Ink Disciples became increasingly vicious.

All of a sudden, the Sword Dragon suddenly turned around and charged towards Yang Kai’s position, causing the Black Ink Clansmen and Black Ink Disciples around him to turn pale in fright. Nu Yan was the first to dodge to the side. It had to be said that he might not be particularly skilful in anything, but he was very good at avoiding danger in a timely manner.

Nobody expected the Sword Dragon to charge in this direction because Yang Kai and the others were on the rear side of the encirclement. All this while, the woman had never bothered to target this area. She had repeatedly charged towards the front lines in order to break free of the encirclement and return to the Human Race army, but her wish never came true.

Her sudden and opposite behaviour was certainly very unexpected. Yang Kai even suspected that her previous actions were simply to mislead the enemy. Her real target had always been the rear of the encirclement.

Many Black Ink Clansmen and Black Ink Disciples quickly retreated. On the other hand, the Black Ink Feudal Lord leading this side only hesitated for a moment before he rushed forward with a furious roar.

It was not as though he did not know how strong the woman was; however, it was obvious that she was a dry oil lamp after fighting for so long. How much more strength could she exert? What’s more, he had great confidence in his own strength. As long as he could delay her for a moment, his clansmen from the other side would surely come to his aid.

His self-confidence would be his undoing though.

The 100-metre-long tattered Sword Dragon spun like a top and collided with the Black Ink Feudal Lord. Without a sound, the Feudal Lord became a cloud of pitch-black blood mist and perished in an instant. Even the High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen and the Black Ink Disciples behind him suffered significant casualties.

Nu Yan had evaded in time, so he was completely unharmed.

In contrast, Yang Kai had failed to make a timely retreat because he had been worrying about the woman’s safety. He was wounded after being brushed by the Sword Dragon as it flew past. A gash deep enough to show bone appeared on his chest, and blood gushed out of the wound.

His golden blood was so striking that the woman couldn’t help but glance in his direction. When their gazes met, a look of obvious astonishment flashed through her eyes.

She had not noticed his presence due to the intense battle earlier, so it was not until this moment that she actually caught a glimpse of him and recognised him as the Black Ink Disciple who escaped from her a few days ago. At the time, she had wanted to kill him ruthlessly. It was a pity that she was forced to make a hasty retreat thanks to the signal from the Old Ancestor.

Nevertheless, she only glanced at Yang Kai briefly before she paid no more heed to him. Now was not the time for her to be worrying about such matters.

The final struggles of the Black Ink Clansmen and Black Ink Disciples caused the 100-metre-long Sword Dragon to finally collapse, leaving only a few scattered sword waves around the woman for protection. Her Divine Manifestation had been completely destroyed, but she broke through the encirclement because of that very reason!

Activating the remaining dregs of power in her Small Universe, she transformed into a stream of light and shot out at a high speed. The Black Ink Clan’s domain was located in the direction she was flying, opposite of where the Human Masters had escaped earlier.

She had no choice but to make this decision. Her path forward had been obstructed by her pursuers, so she could only make a desperate choice in an attempt to survive this crisis.

How could the remaining Black Ink Clansmen allow things to go as she wished when they saw that she was attempting to flee? The three surviving Feudal Lords quickly gave chase. Likewise, the rest of the Black Ink Clansmen and Black Ink Disciples followed closely behind.

For a time, a cat-and-mouse chase took place in the void.

Even though the woman was an arrow at the end of its flight, her speed was surprisingly fast. Wrapped in sword light, she seemed to transform into a sword wave that sliced through the void. The Black Ink Clansmen chasing after her could not keep up at all.

After leading her pursuers in circles for some time, she abruptly changed directions and fled towards the front lines.

Upon seeing this, Yang Kai breathed a sigh of relief. Fleeing deeper into the hinterland of the Black Ink Clan would surely lead to a tragic ending. Without the deterrence of a Ninth-Order Old Ancestor, no matter how strong she was, it was impossible for her to survive by relying on her strength alone. Only by fleeing back to the Human lines would she stand a chance to survive.

The distance between the two parties grew larger and larger, and if nothing unexpected happened, then the woman would be able to escape alive. That was also what Yang Kai hoped to see; however, at that moment, a powerful aura suddenly emerged from behind. Startled, he looked back only to see a pitch-black darkness rapidly approaching them.

This horrifying scene was rather familiar. When the Black Ink Royal Lord led a horde of Black Ink Clan Masters here in a rush, Yang Kai had witnessed a similar scene. Of course, the pitch-black darkness that was rapidly approaching this time was not nearly as large-scale as back then. Moreover, there was only one aura coming from within the darkness. It was… a Black Ink Territory Lord!

Yang Kai’s heart sank at the sight, and he clenched his fists tightly. A Black Ink Territory Lord was equivalent to an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master in terms of strength. [I can’t believe a Master of this calibre actually appeared at this time! She’s in danger!]

The woman fleeing in the front clearly sensed the danger looming behind her and her speed suddenly increased significantly. It was apparent that she was desperately trying to escape.

Unfortunately, the Territory Lord chasing her was in prime condition, so how could she possibly escape his incredible speed? The distance between them quickly closed and it didn’t take long before the pitch-black darkness retracted to reveal the gigantic figure hidden within. The figure raised his hand and slapped at the sword wave that was running away up ahead.

The void shuddered from the impact and Yang Kai clearly saw the sword wave freezing for a moment. Then, the impact forcefully separated the body of the woman who was fused with her sword. Blood mist sprayed from her mouth as a result.

Judging from the strength displayed by the woman earlier, at the peak of her strength, she would have been able to fight back to a certain extent even if she encountered a Territory Lord, but in her current exhausted state, how could she defend against such a blow? Just a single palm strike was enough to heavily injure her.

It was no longer possible for her to escape!

Still, this woman was very decisive. Knowing that it was impossible to escape, she immediately spun around and fused with her sword again. She transformed into an impressive sword wave that slashed out at the Territory Lord chasing her. The power behind that attack was enough to shake space itself. It was her final blow into which she poured all her remaining strength.

The Territory Lord stared indifferently at this attack and punched out with his fist. His enormous fist collided with the sword wave. Consequently, the sword wave shattered and scattered like fireflies dancing in the night.

His gigantic figure stood upright in the void. Stretching out his hand in front of him, he clenched his fist and captured a small figure in his grip.

The woman’s pure white robes were stained red with blood, her beautiful hair was completely dishevelled, and her weakened aura resembled a flickering flame in the wind that could be extinguished at any moment. Despite facing such a desperate situation, she did not simply sit around waiting for her death. Nevertheless, she could not break free from the Territory Lord’s grasp no matter how hard she struggled.

Yang Kai immediately became anxious. In this situation where the woman had been captured, it would only take the slightest pressure from the Black Ink Territory Lord to crush her to death.