Martial Peak
chapter-5022

For Cha Hu, even if he could not kill this Territory Lord, he would still have to force him to retreat to his Black Ink Nest to recuperate for a hundred years at least.

Time passed as the battle raged on.

The Black Ink Clan Army had been routed.

The Black Ink Clansmen gathering in this area originally numbered some 20,000 strong, but now, their numbers had been reduced to less than half of that. Even though most of the ones who died were the Low-Rank and High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen, and the number of casualties among the Feudal Lords was not that large, the Humans’ victory was already inevitable.

What was even more unbearable to the Black Ink Clan was the fact that they had paid such a terrible price for such lacklustre results.

Not only did they fail to convert any new Black Ink Disciples, but they also failed to kill many of the Human cultivators.

The Warships were far too useful a tool on such a battlefield. All of the Fifth-Order and Sixth-Order Humans were hiding under the protection of their Warships, and the only ones who showed up to fight were the Seventh-Order Masters.

Without destroying those Warships, it was simply impossible for them to kill any of the Humans.

However, the Warships were too well protected; how could it be easy to destroy them?

After less than half a day of fighting, the Black Ink Clan had destroyed more than 30 Human Warships, but with the help of nearby Squads, the ones who lost their Warships were still able to continue fighting. Less than 100 Humans had fallen in total, and they had failed to kill even a single Seventh-Order Human.

This was also the reason why the Black Ink Clan hated and coveted Human Warships so much. If not for the Warships, then the Great Passes of the Humans would have long been conquered by the Black Ink Clan. How else could they have put up a fight with the Black Ink Clan for all these millennia?

It wasn’t that the Black Ink Clan did not wish to refine their own Warships. If the Black Ink Clan had their own Warships, then the Low-Rank and High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen would be able to exert far more strength than they could currently. The Black Ink Clan had been working tirelessly towards this goal for countless years; however, the Humans had always been extremely prudent on matters concerning the refinement of Warships. All of the Artifact Refiners who were involved in the creation of Warships were never allowed on the battlefield, and they were also carefully protected at all times. So, the Black Ink Clan was strong in will but weak in strength even if they did wish to convert a few Artifact Refining Grandmasters into Black Ink Disciples.

To this day, the Black Ink Clan still did not possess Warships of their own. They were able to refine some ordinary flight-type artifacts, but those were only useful for transportation and not for battle.

The Black Ink Clan’s Army was defeated, and the three Territory Lords were not in very good positions either.

Naturally, there was no need to mention Cha Hu’s opponent, who could barely hold out against the former’s assault. Xie Xiu Ping and Lu An’s opponents were able to go back and forth with them, but they were still powerless to turn the situation in their favour and had no choice but to watch as their Army was destroyed.

With Cha Hu leading him on, whether intentionally or not, several large wounds were added to the Black Ink Clan Territory Lord’s body, each one of them deep enough that it exposed bone. Black Ink blood was flowing out of those wounds, and his aura was no longer at its peak.

Seeing that it was only a matter of time until his Army was wiped out, this Territory Lord had no desire to remain any longer. He struck out a fierce blow while forcibly enduring an attack from Cha Hu, forcing him back and giving himself an opening to escape.

However, at that moment, a hostile aura suddenly locked onto him and a blazing light shot towards him like lightning from a certain spot in the void.

The Territory Lord could not help but feel his skin tightening, and as he turned his head in horror, his eyes caught sight of an attack resembling a pair of wings rapidly expanding in front of him.

On Dawning Light’s deck, Bai Yi’s eyes shone with a strange light as the Territory Lord’s figure was reflected in them. She slowly lowered her bow and panted heavily, her face looking as pale as a sheet of paper.

Clearly, she was the one responsible for the sudden attack.

Although she had not left the Warship like Yang Kai and the other Seventh-Order Masters and simply stood at Dawning Light’s bow, supporting them with her skilful archery, there were still at least a dozen Feudal Lords who had died by her hands after half a day of battle. And, with the support of her arrows, Yang Kai and the others were able to slaughter their own opponents without fear.

Bai Yi might have been one person, but her inclusion still increased Dawn’s overall strength by more than 10%.

Prolonged use of archery techniques was a huge drain on Bai Yi’s strength, especially her last attack which was clearly an extremely powerful Secret Technique that was far more exhausting than her previous strikes.

Even Xu Bo Liang was caught unprepared by this attack and was wounded by it, so there was simply no way that the heavily wounded Territory Lord would be able to resist when he was taken off-guard.

The unfurled wings sank into the Territory Lord’s chest in an instant. He howled, his voice containing unconcealable fury as his already weak aura dropped by another 20%.

It was at this moment that he finally understood why Zhu Feng valued this Human Black Ink Disciple so much. Indeed, this woman had abilities that were unlike others and were thus worth looking at in a different light.

Even though he could want nothing more than to slaughter this woman who ambushed him right here and now to vent his anger, the Territory Lord knew that escaping from was more important. So, after he had been hit, he did not slow down and rather sped up as he rapidly fled towards the rear.

Suddenly, a figure appeared in front of him, blocking his path.

From his perception, the Territory Lord discovered that the Human blocking his path was only in the Seventh Order!

He was furious. After being heavily injured by Xu Bo Liang’s sneak attack, he was unable to defeat Cha Hu, then he was ambushed by that Human girl from afar using her archery skills. He could do nothing about all of the previous setbacks, but now, another Seventh-Order Human came to block his way. Truly, did anyone and everyone have the guts to come and provoke him now?

The Territory Lord spread out his palm and rich Black Ink Strength gathered into a huge ink-black hand seal in an instant, which he brought down fiercely at the arrogant man.

Cha Hu, who was giving chase closely behind the Territory Lord, paled and called out in alarm, “Yang Kai, dodge!”

He didn’t expect Yang Kai to run here from the battlefield below during this critical moment either and even blocked the Territory Lord from escaping.

Right now, the Territory Lord was like a feral animal, so even he had to be careful when facing him, much less a Seventh-Order Master like Yang Kai.

If Yang Kai were to be met with some sudden misfortune, then how was Cha Hu going to explain to the Army Commanders and Old Ancestor when he returned?

In a panic, a layer of blood mist burst out from Cha Hu’s body. It was clear that he was burning his Blood Essence to speed himself up, trying to stop the strike of the Territory Lord before it hit Yang Kai.

However, how could he move faster than the Territory Lord’s attack?

Faced with this blow, Yang Kai did not even try to dodge it and just formed a set of hand seals. With a serious expression, he shouted, “Division Commander Cha, allow me to assist!”

Following the formation of the hand seals, a Golden Crow cried and a Great Sun rose into the sky. Following closely behind the Great Sun, a Full Moon rose, bathing the world in its icy moonlight.

As he manipulated Space Principles the Sun and Moon began circling and Time Principles spread out.

A mysterious energy wove together as the Sun and Moon rapidly spun.

When Sun and Moon came together, they transformed into a kind of kaleidoscope that spiralled straight towards the oncoming Territory Lord.

At that moment, whether it was the Territory Lord or Cha Hu behind him, they could feel Time and Space being disrupted, and their minds could not help but freeze for an instant.

Even though it was only a brief moment, both the Territory Lord and Cha Hu still looked shocked.

The next moment, the Sun and Moon Divine Wheel smashed into the Territory Lord’s body. There was no violent burst of energy, but instead, the Territory Lord felt as if he had just experienced the passing of millions of years in an instant. His aura rapidly weakened and fine cracks had even begun forming on his skin. A strange glow could be seen vaguely beneath those cracks, obstructing the healing of his wounds and also causing his blood to flow out ceaselessly.

At the same time, the Territory Lord’s fierce attack made contact with Yang Kai’s body.

The sound of bones breaking could be heard in short succession as Yang Kai was sent tumbling out like an arrow released from a taut bow, unable to stop himself as blood constantly spilled from his mouth.

*Wa…*

The Territory Lord had also spat out a mouthful of ink-black blood as his aura weakened further.

Cha Hu had already appeared like a ghost above his head and pressed his palm down, shouting in a cold voice, “Die!”

The Territory Lord looked terrified. Not even bothering to suppress his wounds, he used everything he had to raise his hand and launched a counterattack.

The fierce power had already been released from Cha Hu’s hand though, and the Territory Lord’s head was blasted open with a loud bang. Rich Black Ink Strength spurted out of his neck mixed together with his ink-black blood. Cha Hu also grunted, his face paling slightly.

He had killed the Territory Lord, but that last desperate strike made before his opponent’s death still caused his vitality to tumble and his Small Universe to be disturbed.

A trace of Black Ink Strength invaded his Small Universe and expanded constantly, nourished by the rich World Force.

If it were in the past, then such a situation would be extremely troublesome for an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. They would have no choice but to sacrifice part of their Small Universe in order to protect themselves; otherwise, they would be at risk of turning into a Black Ink Disciple. However, such a thing was not something for them to be afraid of anymore now that they had Purifying Light. They could simply wait until the battle was over before scattering the Black Ink Strength.

To be honest, neither Cha Hu nor Xu Bo Liang, who had ambushed the Territory Lord earlier, had any intentions of taking the latter’s life when they fought him earlier. Otherwise, Xu Bo Liang would not have returned immediately to the forward base as soon as his sneak attack landed. It would have been completely possible for him to stay behind and join hands with Cha Hu to kill the enemy.

That was because the two of them knew that even if they joined forces, they may not have the chance to kill off this Territory Lord, and even if they did manage to succeed, the price they would have to pay would not be small.

Their best option was to simply deal a heavy blow to him.

However, at the critical moment, Bai Yi and Yang Kai’s actions made it possible to kill this Territory Lord. Whether it be Bai Yi’s arrow or Yang Kai’s Secret Technique, both of them were far more powerful than what Seventh-Order Humans could normally produce, knocking down the Territory Lord’s momentum again and again, further worsening his injuries.

The two Seventh Orders had created such a good opportunity for him that if Cha Hu did not succeed, it would have been a disservice to their efforts.

Even so, he was wounded by the desperate counterattack made before his opponent’s death, which showed just how dangerous fights between Masters at their level could be.

Turning his head, he glanced in Yang Kai’s direction, slightly worried at his condition.

This brat had taken a direct hit from a Territory Lord, but hopefully, nothing too serious had happened to him.

Feng Ying had already rushed over to Yang Kai’s side to support him at this moment and was stuffing healing Spirit Pills into his mouth. Cha Hu appeared in a flash next to the two of them and quickly said, “How is he?”

Feng Ying shook her head with a terrified expression, “Not good. He’s fallen unconscious.”

Cha Hu placed his hand on Yang Kai’s wrist and released his Divine Sense, checking his condition. He also could not help but frown as Yang Kai’s situation was not merely not good, it was simply terrible.

It was not known how many of his bones had been broken, and his five viscera and six organs were also damaged. Even his vitality was extremely weak like a candle in the wind, flickering with uncertainty.

Anyone with such injuries would not be far from death.

Fortunately, Yang Kai bore a World Spring in his body, so his Small Universe was impervious to external shocks. Otherwise, that attack earlier could really have caused some sort of damage to his foundation.