Martial Peak
chapter-5190

The Black Ink Clan Army continued marching forward and soon flew past the hiding spot of Dawn and the others to head deep into the field of universe fragments.

From Yang Kai’s point of view, the Black Ink Clan Army resembled a huge black snake plunging headlong into a death trap. The black snake’s head soon entered the centre area, quickly followed by its body.

Everything was going smoothly.

Just as the tail was about to enter the universe fragment area, one of the Feudal Lords marching at the head of the Army suddenly raised his hand. Dense Black Ink Strength surged, and a universe fragment blocking his way forward was shattered to pieces.

He had struck out casually and without much thought, simply because the universe fragment was blocking his way; however, the result of this blow was startling indeed. When the universe fragment shattered into pieces, several Human Warships suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Moreover, there were many silhouettes standing on the Warships.

The Feudal Lord was instantly stunned by the sight!

Likewise, the Humans on the Warships were speechless. They had been hiding in ambush, using the universe fragment as a cover to conceal their figures and auras. How did they get exposed without any warning?

When the universe fragment shattered to pieces, the Humans thought that the Black Ink Clan had discovered their whereabouts. It was not until their gazes met those of the Black Ink Clansmen that they realized this was nothing more than a coincidence. The Feudal Lord who attacked earlier would not have seemed so startled otherwise.

Regardless of whether it was intentional or coincidental, these Squads had already been exposed. Just as the Squad Leaders were wondering how they should deal with the situation in front of them, a loud whistle resounded across the void.

It was the signal to attack!

The Squad Leaders no longer hesitated. With the order given, the power of countless artifacts and Spirit Arrays aboard the Warships was activated in an instant. A thick ray of light containing horrifying destructive power suddenly blasted into the middle of the Black Ink Clan Army. Before the stunned Feudal Lord could react to the situation, he was devoured by the light and suffered serious injuries. The many Low-Rank and High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen beside him also suffered heavy casualties.

It was not just these few Squads. When the signal to attack sounded, all the Humans hiding in ambush behind the universe fragments attacked all at once.

Thanks to the overwhelming power of the Secret Techniques and artifacts, the colourful brilliance instantly rendered the dead and silent void into a bright world, one filled with death and destruction.

The sudden attack shocked and frightened the Black Ink Clan. The 300,000 Black Ink Clan Army had been marching forward leisurely; after all, this was the standard route taken whenever they attacked Wind and Cloud Pass. The dozen Territory Lords overseeing the Army had taken this route countless times and had never encountered any unexpected occurrences before, but today, a huge Human Army was actually lying in ambush for them!

[How could there be a Human Army lying in ambush here?] The Territory Lords were in shock.

Ever since Great Evolution Pass was occupied by the Black Ink Clan, the Humans at Wind and Cloud Pass had been heavily suppressed. It was impossible for the Human Race Army to leave Wind and Cloud Pass and travel millions of kilometres away, let alone come to such a place and lay an ambush. After all, this place was more than just a few million kilometres away from Wind and Cloud Pass!

Where did this Army of Humans come from? If they came from Wind and Cloud Pass, then what about their clansmen at Wind and Cloud Pass? However, if these Humans weren’t from Wind and Cloud Pass, where did they come from?

The Black Ink Clan had almost unimaginable advantages in conveying various messages to each other thanks to the Black Ink Nests. Nevertheless, it was impossible to bring a Black Ink Nest along when the Army was on the march. Transmitting messages to each other was extremely inconvenient in the void, so how could the Black Ink Clan Army know that the Black Ink Clan at Wind and Cloud Pass had almost been wiped out completely? That was why they had still been on their way to provide reinforcements to the Wind and Cloud Pass’ Black Ink Clan as originally planned.

In that brief moment when the Territory Lords fell into a daze, almost 10% of the 300,000 Black Ink Clan Army was either killed or critically wounded!

The large number of Humans shocked the Territory Lords. Although there was no way to accurately calculate the numbers, the dense number of Warships in front of them indicated that there were at least tens of thousands of Humans hiding in ambush here. The sight left them furious. Since when did the Humans become so bold and reckless as to act in this manner?

The Black Ink Clan who came from Great Evolution Theatre carried an arrogance that normal Black Ink Clansmen did not have. That was because Great Evolution Pass was the only Great Pass that the Humans had ever lost. It was also the only Great Pass that the Black Ink Clan ever occupied. Just that point alone was enough for the Black Ink Clansmen who came from the Great Evolution Theatre to be proud of themselves.

Over 30,000 years of subtle influence from their environment had given these Black Ink Clansmen the impression that the Humans were mediocre. They also believed that the clansmen in the other Theatres were useless for being unable to take over a single Great Pass.

That was why they did not panic even though they faced a sudden ambush and suffered heavy losses. They believed that the Human Race would fall apart as long as they counterattacked; after all, the difference in numbers could not be denied.

On the other hand, the Human Race troops who jumped out from behind the various universe fragments were stunned to discover that the Black Ink Clansmen did not even flinch after being attacked but rushed forward bravely and fearlessly!

The Black Ink Clansmen faced the powerful assault of the Warships head-on and charged towards them! It was absolutely haphazard, and countless casualties piled up along the way.

Behind the Black Ink Clan Army was a large, ornate ship. This ship was not a Mobile Palace Artifact but a simple flight-type artifact.

Artifact Refining among the Black Ink Clan relied entirely upon Black Ink Disciples. There were very few Artifact Refiners among the Black Ink Disciples to begin with, and those with decent skill were even rarer.

For the Black Ink Clan, only the Territory Lords were qualified to possess a large ship artifact of their own. Tremendous amounts of energy and resources were required to refine such artifacts, so ordinary Feudal Lords were not qualified to possess them.

The person in charge of this large ship was a Territory Lord known as Zhe Chong. A Black Ink Clan Army of 300,000 was not a small one; therefore, he had been tasked with bringing up the rear. He was responsible for monitoring the Army to prevent any eccentric Black Ink Clansmen from messing around during the march. Fortunately, things had been peaceful throughout the journey.

Zhe Chong immediately noticed as soon as the Humans attacked. With a shift of his figure, he flew out of the cabin and came to the deck to observe the situation. What entered his field of vision was the Warships emerging from among the universe fragments, and the multi-coloured flashes of lights blasting out from those Warships. The sight made his heart sink to the bottom of his chest.

Unlike most of the Black Ink Clansmen here, Zhe Chong was a veteran Territory Lord who had been alive before Great Evolution Pass had fallen to them. He had personally participated in the war 30,000 ago, so he knew how tenacious and difficult the Human Race could be.

Two Royal Lords had joined hands back then. One of them had attacked and severely injured the Old Ancestor at Great Evolution Pass, but in the end, the veteran Royal Lord was dragged down and lost his life along with the Human Old Ancestor.

Ever since then, Zhe Chong knew that he should never underestimate the Human Race; otherwise, he would be the one to suffer instead. That was why he immediately had an ominous feeling when he saw such a large Human Army hiding in ambush here.

[There’s such a large Army of Humans here. Have our clansmen at Wind and Cloud Pass been defeated?]

He watched as countless Black Ink Clansmen died on the spot due to the sudden ambush and even more Black Ink Clansmen counter-attacking after being attacked. Then, he saw the troops on both sides engaging in fierce battles among the universe fragments.

All of a sudden, he widened his eyes with a look of horror on his face. That couldn’t be helped as the auras of 60 Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters burst out from the middle of the battlefield. Like bright lights shining in the dark, they were so blinding that he couldn’t ignore the sight even if he wanted to.

That was 60 Eighth-Order Humans! Any one of them would be able to fight him on equal footing. In fact, he would be no match for an Eighth-Order Master who was slightly stronger than average.

[It’s over! Our entire army of 300,000 will be obliterated right here!] The Humans definitely came here prepared; otherwise, it would have been impossible for them to have such an overwhelming lineup.

The Human Race Army might have been small in numbers, with only several tens of thousands in total; however, 60 Eighth-Order Masters were an unstoppable force. Not only would the Black Ink Clan Army of 300,000 be obliterated here, but even his fellow Territory Lords among the Army would suffer a tragic fate.

Just as he was hesitating over whether he should go over and help the others try to withdraw, an aura that was even more powerful than an Eighth-Order Master suddenly exploded out. Zhe Chong saw a stream of light flashing out from a certain corner of the battlefield and coming to a stop beside one of the Territory Lords. A breath later, the aura of that Territory Lord flared up before vanishing!

Then, the light dissipated to reveal a petite figure.

Zhe Chong immediately felt as though his soul had leapt out of his body!

[An Old Ancestor! There’s a Ninth-Order Old Ancestor here! Moreover, it’s a completely unfamiliar Old Ancestor! I’ve never seen her before! This isn’t the Old Ancestor from Wind and Cloud Pass!]

He had been providing reinforcements to the battlefield at Wind and Cloud Pass over the past 30,000 years, so he knew that the Old Ancestor from Wind and Cloud Pass was a man; however, the Old Ancestor in front of him was clearly a woman.

With the appearance of the Old Ancestor, it only took a breath for a powerful Territory Lord to be killed. That Territory Lord’s strength was not inferior compared to Zhe Chong’s. In other words, if Zhe Chong was the one facing that Old Ancestor instead, he would not have survived any longer.

At that moment, what Zhe Chong needed to consider was not whether he should step forward to help the others, but how he was going to escape alive from under the nose of a Human Old Ancestor.

He was stationed at the rear of the Army to monitor the troops, which placed him in a relatively lucky position. Even though 90% of the Black Ink Clan Army had entered the range of the Human encirclement, he remained outside and was temporarily untouched by the chaos of the battlefield.

After confirming that the woman was a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Old Ancestor, Zhe Chong quickly looked away and did not dare to take another glance. A Ninth-Order Master was generally extremely sensitive to the gaze of others, so he was afraid that he might be targeted if he stared for too long.

Activating a Secret Technique, Zhe Chong concealed his aura. He couldn’t even bother to care about his precious ship at this point. Instead, he leapt off the ship without a word and secretly rushed off in the direction of Great Evolution Pass. He did not dare to make large movements. In fact, he only hoped that one of his fellow Territory Lords could distract the Old Ancestor as much as possible so that he would have the opportunity to escape.

Zhe Chong was not the only Black Ink Clansman on the large ship. There were also many Feudal Lords and even more High and Low-Rank Clansmen.

Zhe Chong’s sudden escape surprised these Feudal Lords. Nevertheless, they quickly followed suit and activated their respective Secret Techniques to flee in all directions. Having sensed the overwhelming aura on the battlefield, they knew that staying behind would only lead to a disastrous ending for them; therefore, it was only natural for them to prioritise escape.

The actions of the Black Ink Clan Masters on the ship left the 20,000 or 30,000 Black Ink Clansmen outside the encirclement at a loss for what to do. They did not know whether they should rush forward and confront the enemy or flee like the higher-ups behind them. Be that as it may, it did not take long for the notion of escape to gain the upper hand. Their leaders had already fled, so what could they do even if they stayed behind? Hence, they quickly began running for their lives.