Martial Peak
chapter-5144

After leaving the Universe Cave Heaven, the members of Dawn looked around and saw that the entire battlefield was empty and silent. In fact, except for their Squad, no one else was around.

This situation was to be expected though. Although the traps had been triggered, there would always be some enemies that got away; however, the walls and offensive artifacts were not for show and the remaining Black Ink Clansmen were too few to meaningfully attack Blue Sky Pass. If they stayed on the battlefield, they would become nothing more than target practice; thus, the only option for them was to escape.

Dawn was very fast in eliminating those that were sucked into the black hole with them. The other Squads were still in the midst of killing their enemies, so they were not out yet.

Yang Kai quickly took over the control of Dawning Light and sailed it in a certain direction. They soon came to a spot in the void, and after a brief survey, he waved his hand and manipulated Space Principles.

Ripples passed through the Void and a portal emerged before he drove Dawning Light through it.

This was a Universe Paradise where a 15-man Squad from the Western Army’s Fourth Division, Sky Battalion, was hunting the Black Ink Clansmen caught up in this place.

The Squad Leader was not as bold as Yang Kai, and it was impossible for the number of Black Ink Clansmen sucked into this place to be anywhere close to the 4,000 Dawn had faced; after all, the more Black Ink Clansmen that were sucked in, the more pressure they would be under. Thus, the number of Black Ink Clansmen sucked in was trivial, probably less than 1,000 in total.

The Black Ink Clansmen were scattered all over the Universe Paradise though, and the 15-man Squad were able to hunt with their Warship, so there was no risk.

After more than an hour of hunting, about half of their targets had been killed, and now this Squad was about to face a tough fight.

The size of a Universe Paradise was naturally no match for a Universe Cave Heaven. So, although only about 1,000 Black Ink Clansmen were sucked in, these enemies were still somewhat tricky to wipe out. They were scattered not far from each other and within an hour, more than 200 of them had gathered in one place, including 3 Feudal Lords.

Among the 15-man Squad, there were 2 Seventh-Order Masters while the rest were in the Fifth and Sixth-Order. With their Warship’s abilities, it was not impossible for them to take on these 200 Black Ink Clansmen, but there would certainly be some risk. After all, in order to ensure that the plan worked, each Squad Warship had suffered varying degrees of bombardment before the trap was sprung, and its Protective Array had been damaged already.

Thus, the Squad Leader of this Squad chose a more cautious approach to battle, which allowed these 200 Black Ink Clansmen to rally together and pursue them.

Nonetheless, in the direction the Squad was heading, there was a Grand Array set up by Blue Sky Pass, and with the power of the Grand Array, it would be much easier to eliminate these 200 Black Ink Clansmen.

In fact, each Universe Cave Heaven and Universe Paradise had several Grand Arrays arranged for this exact purpose.

Dawn was extremely powerful, and had numerous Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, so it didn’t need to rely on Spirit Arrays when it hunted down their targets.

However, not every Squad was as lucky as Dawn, and not every Warship was a match for Dawning Light.

As the Grand Array got closer and closer, and the pursuing Black Ink Clansmen were about to fall into the trap, a blinding light suddenly shone from up ahead.

The Squad Leader was shocked and thought that they were under attack, but when he stared forward, he saw another Warship.

It was a Warship that was very different from the usual Warships!

Instantly, the Squad Leader reacted and cursed, “Damn thieves, did they come here to compete for kills?”

The next instant, a violent energy wave burst from behind them, and the Black Ink Clansmen, who were chasing after them, screamed in agony.

“It’s Dawn!” Some members of the Squad reacted. Dawning Light was incredibly easy to identify, being much bigger and more powerful than standard Squad Warships. It was a Warship envied by many.

It must have cost an enormous amount of Military Merits to build.

“Squad Leader, what do we do?” Someone asked.

The corners of the Seventh-Order Squad Leader’s brow twitched as he growled through gritted teeth, “Turn us around! Attack!”

A short while later, the dust settled.

The two Squads were gathered in one place, and the two Warships were hovering side by side in mid-air, with a sea of bodies and blood below them.

The Squad Leader looked at Yang Kai helplessly as he protested, “Brother Yang, you’re too greedy. Never mind that you had snatched our prey on the battlefield, now you even came over here to rob us of our kills? Can’t you leave some soup for us?”

Yang Kai replied with annoyance, “Senior Brother, Dawn came to help you kill the enemy, but not only is Senior Brother unappreciative, you’re even complaining now?”

The Squad Leader was annoyed, but he did not know what to say in response. Although they could have killed their enemies without Dawn’s help, it would not have been easy, but after receiving their assistance, they did not even thank them and instead criticized Dawn.

The Squad Leader continued, “Brother Yang, why have you all come here? Have you finished killing the Black Ink Clansmen on your end?”

Yang Kai said with a smile, “We disposed of that trash long ago. As for why we came here… all the portals of the Universe Paradises and Universe Cave Heavens were found and opened by me, so I can enter them wherever I want.”

“I forgot about that,” the Squad Leader slapped his forehead. The entire plan Blue Sky Pass set up over the last century was only possible because of Yang Kai. Thus, he knew all the positions of all the hidden Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises.

Yang Kai asked, “Senior Brother, how many Black Ink Clansmen are there in this space? Let’s cooperate to kill them.”

The Squad Leader waved his hand and replied, “There are not many left, just a couple of stray dogs. I don’t need Brother Yang’s help. I saw a few Squads that drew in a significant number of enemies though. Perhaps they are in a bitter fight for their lives. They are the ones who need a team like Dawn to back them up.”

Yang Kai looked at him with a smile and nodded, “If that’s the case, then I’ll leave you to it.”

“Good hunting!” The Squad Leader hastily cupped his fist.

After seeing Dawn leave, the Squad Leader sighed, “We’re both in the Seventh Order, but the difference is too great!”

He had witnessed Yang Kai cut down a Feudal Lord with only a few moves. It was impossible for him to do the same, so he could not help but feel inferior. He was determined that after this battle, he would enter retreat and intensely cultivate. He knew that he could not reach Yang Kai’s level of strength, but he should at least try not to fall too far behind.

A member of his Squad asked, “Squad Leader, there should be a lot more Black Ink Clansmen out there, right? Dawn is so powerful, why didn’t you let them help us kill the enemy?”

Squad Leader glared at him and replied angrily, “If I did that, what would be the point of us being here? To pick up the crumbs they left behind?”

Relying on his mastery over the Dao of Space, Yang Kai was able to easily find the hidden portals on the battlefield; after all, he opened them all by himself and knew the century-old layout of Blue Sky Pass.

However, not one team welcomed them, and they would often politely ask him to leave after an initial battle.

Aboard Dawning Light, Miao Fei Ping was scratching his head as he asked, “Martial Uncle, why are we being treated like pariahs? No one welcomes us.”

Qi Tai Chu slapped him on the back of his head, “You brat! Do you have to ask such an obvious question?”

Yang Kai said with a grin, “Of course no one likes us robbing their Military Merits. The way the Inner Sanctum set up the traps ensures that all Squads are able to handle the enemies that they sucked in. It does not matter if we help them or not. This is different from the previous battles and is a good opportunity for each Squad to harvest Military Merits; thus, they naturally don’t want other Squads to intervene. They also don’t want people to think that they are not strong enough and be ridiculed for nothing.”

Miao Fei Ping suddenly realized and then asked, “So, do we continue?”

“Of course we do,” Yang Kai nodded, “We are not robbing Military Merits, we are just inspecting the battlefield. If they don’t need our help, we will withdraw and go elsewhere. If they need our help, they will ask for it. Fei Ping, you have to remember that in this Black Ink Battlefield, every battle-hardened soldier has their own pride. They can be ungrateful, but we can’t just stand by and not help.”

Miao Fei Ping nodded and replied, “Junior understands.”

As he was talking, Yang Kai suddenly looked in a direction where there seemed to be an abnormal Space Principle fluctuation.

He immediately pushed Dawning Light in that direction and soon arrived at a certain spot. He focused his eyes, only to see that the Void in front of him was like a mirror with a crack in it. From the crack, there was actually the aura of a World flowing out.

He reached out towards the crack and manipulated Space Principles, penetrating the World Barrier to explore the details inside.

Moments later, his expression changed, and he shouted, “Brother Shen, stay here! If any Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master appears, ask him to come here immediately to blockade this place. Everyone else, follow me inside!”

Shen Ao nodded and left Dawning Light to stand quietly in the void.

Feng Ying asked hastily, “What is it?”

Yang Kai opened the portal carefully using Space Principles, and said through gritted teeth, “There’s a big fish inside.”

Everyone in Dawn looked astonished. The big fish that Yang Kai mentioned must be a Territory Lord.

They never expected that there would be a Territory Lord inside!

Blue Sky Pass had been arranging these traps for 100 years with the Great Pass at the centre, splitting the battlefield into two distinct regions, the inner circle and outer circle. In the inner circle, there were Universe Paradises and Universe Cave Heavens which required one Squad each to take control over. Furthermore, the Control Jades were used to pull only a certain number of Black Ink Clansmen inside to be hunted.

At the inner circle, there shouldn’t have been any Territory Lords, so the safety of the Squads could be assured.

The outer circle of the battlefield was meant for Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters and Territory Lords. There were Universe Cave Heavens specially prepared for Territory Lords there as well, and the inside was arranged with very powerful Spirit Arrays that would be enough to threaten these enemy Masters.

No one had expected that a Territory Lord would slip into the inner circle. Yang Kai did not know which Squad was so unlucky as to encounter this Territory Lord, but it was obvious they were not in a good situation.

As they spoke, the portal was opened and Dawning Light entered like a streak of light. Yang Kai closed the portal again with a wave of his hand, but the cracks in the World Barrier could not be smoothed out no matter what. In fact, the cracks were continuing to increase in size, a sign that the Universe Paradise would not hold up for long.

As Dawning Light appeared in this Universe Paradise, it immediately became like a leaf in a violent storm under the violent surges of energy. The thick Black Ink Strength rushed around them and the Protective Barrier began to flash wildly.