Martial Peak
chapter-5201

“How far away was the East-West Army from Great Evolution Pass when you departed?”

“More than a month’s journey, but less than two months.”

Yang Kai had used over 20 days to complete a journey that would have taken an ordinary person nearly two months to complete. Even if he borrowed the power of the Universe Array on the Purifying Black Ink Battleship, that was an astounding speed. Nevertheless, considering he was a Master of the Dao of Space, this result was within the acceptable range.

Mi Jing Lun quickly made some calculations before saying out loud, “In other words, if the East-West Army charges straight for Great Evolution Pass, then they are currently less than 20 days away from contact. But, I believe the East-West Army has changed direction already. They are planning to attack the Black Ink Clan’s domain after all. It should be almost time. In approximately half a month, the East-West Army will launch an attack on the Black Ink Clan territory. At that time, their whereabouts will be exposed. But, before that, they will release the thousands of puppets as bait to distract the Black Ink Clan garrisoned at Great Evolution Pass!”

“Once it becomes known that the East-West Army appeared in the Black Ink Clan’s territory though, the Black Ink Clan at Great Evolution Pass will surely take action.” Mi Jing Lun seemed to be talking to himself, but he also seemed to be explaining the situation to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters around him, “What the North-South Army needs to do right now is find a suitable position to set an ambush. When the Black Ink Clan at Great Evolution Pass show themselves, we will greet them with a painful assault!”

With a snap of his fan, he made up his mind. He raised his head and looked at Yang Kai, “Do you have any other orders aside from delivering this message?”

Yang Kai shook his head, “The Army Commander only asked me to inform the North-South Army of the change in plans. He did not give me any other orders.”

“Good. In that case, please cooperate with the North-South Army for the time being.”

“Yes!” Yang Kai cupped his fist.

“Did you bring the communication device with you?”

Yang Kai nodded and took out a communication bead, “The Army Commander gave this to me before I left.”

Mi Jing Lun nodded, “There’s no need to trouble another when one alone is enough for a task. Since you are proficient in the Dao of Space, I would like to ask you for a favour.”

“Please give me your orders, Sir.”

“Head towards Great Evolution Pass and use this communication device to search for Army Commander Ou Yang Lie and inform him about the situation here. He has been monitoring the movements around Great Evolution Pass for some time. Ask him whether the Royal Lord has arrived at Great Evolution Pass and whether the Black Ink Clan are showing signs of building up their defences. After getting the answers, deliver the information back here as quickly as possible. Also, ask him to remain in place to monitor the movements of the Black Ink Clan. If the Royal Lord leaves Great Evolution Pass, he should inform us as soon as possible.”

“Understood.”

“Proceed with caution. The Black Ink Clan at Great Evolution Pass have dispatched many of their troops as scouts to try to locate the North-South Army. Do your best not to be discovered.”

Yang Kai nodded again.

“Go!” Mi Jing Lun gestured for Yang Kai to leave.

Yang Kai left with his orders.

After Yang Kai left, Mi Jing Lun addressed the Division Commanders, “What we need to do now is find a suitable position. This position cannot be located too far from Great Evolution Pass. If we are too far away, we will not have enough time to stop the Black Ink Clan once they dispatch their troops. But, we cannot be too close either. If we are too close, we run the risk of being discovered by them. Our best choice is a place located approximately a three-to-five-day journey away. Do you have any good suggestions?”

One of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters replied, “We are not familiar with the topography near Great Evolution Pass. In order to choose a suitable location, we will need to investigate carefully. Furthermore, it’s not easy to conceal our fleet. Why don’t we have our troops stow away all the Warships? That will make it easier for us to remain hidden. Moreover, it won’t be too late to summon them when the battle commences.”

Mi Jing Lun nodded lightly, “That works; however, the Purifying Black Ink Battleship has to remain, lest Brother Ou Yang have no means to contact us.”

Following a brief discussion, numerous orders were relayed throughout the fleet and it didn’t take long for almost all the Warships to be put away, leaving only the Purifying Black Ink Battleship behind.

Without the constraints of the Warships, it was easier and more effective for the soldiers of the North-South Army to rely on their various Secret Techniques and artifacts to conceal their presence.

Afterwards, numerous Squads were subsequently dispatched to search for a suitable ambush location.

On the other hand, Yang Kai left the Purifying Black Ink Battleship and sped towards Great Evolution Pass.

If he could manipulate Space Principles, this trip would not have taken him much time to complete; however, Mi Jing Lun had asked him to remain hidden as much as possible. The Black Ink Clan at Great Evolution Pass had dispatched many troops to search for the North-South Army’s location, so if he travelled by Instantaneous Movement and accidentally appeared too close to the Black Ink Clan’s scouting parties, he would surely be exposed. Therefore, Yang Kai could only travel with great haste using normal means.

Before he left, he had asked about the direction and location of Great Evolution Pass, learning he was currently about 10 days away. Hence, there was no rush time-wise.

…..

Five Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters sped through the void towards Great Evolution Pass from the direction of Wind and Cloud Pass. These five Eighth-Order Masters were the ones who departed from the East-West Army previously. Each of them carried a Space Ring filled to the brim with puppets.

After Yang Kai’s departure, the East-West Army acted according to Mi Jing Lun’s prediction. Be that as it may, these five Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had acted differently and hurried towards Great Evolution Pass instead.

They were only half a month away from Great Evolution Pass at the moment, and up until recently, they had not encountered a single Black Ink Clansman. But, they had constantly run into various Black Ink Clansmen over the past few days. Most of these Black Ink Clan teams were led by a single Feudal Lord, so they were naturally no match for the five Division Commanders. Needless to say, the Eighth-Order Masters slaughtered all the Black Ink Clansmen they came across without any mercy.

Nevertheless, their frequent encounters with the Black Ink Clan indicated that their presence had been noticed.

All of a sudden, the leading Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master came to an abrupt halt and sent out a Divine Sense transmission, “It’s about time. Let’s begin.”

The four others nodded in agreement.

They each took out a Space Ring, and with a surge of their Divine Senses, large batches of puppets began to appear. Each of these puppets radiated with the aura of a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master or higher, up to the Seventh-Order.

One puppet alone might not be very noticeable, but they became a mighty force when so many of them were gathered together in one spot. As the number of puppets increased, the aura they released became more and more imposing. Soon, the entire void became distorted by their mere presence.

A total of 70,000 puppets were quickly summoned by the five Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. These puppets were neatly dressed, and their energy sources had been installed and charged in advance.

The Divine Senses of the five Eighth-Order Masters surged once more to relay an extremely simple instruction to the Puppet Army gathered in front of them!

In the next moment, the Puppet Army silently embarked directly in the direction of Great Evolution Pass.

Issuing an order to some 70,000 puppets at once meant that each Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was responsible for more than 10,000 puppets. Even if their cultivations were deep and profound, they could not prevent their complexions from turning pale. That was also why five Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had been dispatched together. If their numbers were reduced in any way, they would not have been able to control so many of these puppets at once.

After releasing the Puppet Army of tens of thousands, the task of these five Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters could be considered complete. They watched the Puppet Army drifting away into the distance, and after resting for a short while, they turned around and sped towards the depths of the void. It was necessary for them to join up with the rest of the Army as their strength would ultimately be required to contribute during the attack on the Black Ink Clan’s territory.

The Puppet Army marched forward.

In less than an hour, a Black Ink Clan search party soon detected the aura of this Army from a distance. There was no helping it. The aura radiating from the Puppet Army simply stood out too much, like a bright moon in the middle of the night. It was difficult for the Black Ink Clansmen in the vicinity to not notice their presence.

This scouting party was led by a Feudal Lord, who had received the orders to investigate the possible locations of the Human Race Army. Over the last couple of days, his search had been fruitless; hence, he never expected to make such a big discovery today.

He originally wanted to investigate more carefully, but he was frightened by the overwhelming aura and did not dare to approach too closely. Even just sensing them from so far away made his face turn pale.

At a glance, he could tell that there were several tens of thousands in the Human Race Army marching towards Great Evolution Pass without any intention of concealing themselves. Therefore, he did not dare to delay and hurriedly relayed the news to the rear. At the same time, he continuously retreated into the distance while monitoring the movements of the Humans from afar.

A few days later, the information was finally delivered to Great Evolution Pass thanks to the efforts of several Black Ink Clan squads.

Inside the spacious Grand Hall, a group of Territory Lords were locked in a heated discussion.

Meanwhile, the gigantic Royal Lord with a pair of pitch-black wings on his back simply sat there with his head resting on his hand and his eyes closed. He looked as though he had not moved at all since arriving.

All of a sudden, a Feudal Lord rushed into the Grand Hall and whispered something to Hong Di before he quickly left again.

The Territory Lords fell silent and turned to look at Hong Di.

Hong Di stepped forward and bowed deeply, “Royal Lord, we have discovered the movements of the Human Race Army.”

The Royal Lord opened his eyes slightly, “Speak!”

“I received a report just now, stating that the Human Race Army has been detected in the direction of Wind and Cloud Pass a few days ago. The number of enemies is estimated to be between 60,000 and 70,000. Moreover, they are marching directly towards Great Evolution Pass. A Feudal Lord has been monitoring their movements from a distance, but he has found no signs to indicate that they planned to change their course.”

“Impudence! Does the Human Race believe that they can retake this Great Pass with a trivial force of 60,000 to 70,000!? They clearly do not know their place!”

“That’s just coming from Wind and Cloud Pass. What about Azure Void Pass? There might be another Army no less than these numbers coming from the other direction. If they joined together, their numbers would reach over 100,000.”

“So what if they have 100,000? With Great Evolution Pass acting as a shield and nearly a million of our Black Ink Clan’s soldiers, forget a mere 100,000, they would never succeed even if they had double those numbers.”

“That’s right. It’s one thing if they didn’t attack us, but since they dared to come, then we’ll make sure they never return.”

“Royal Lord, please allow us to meet the Humans in battle!”

The Territory Lords clamoured noisily. Since they occupied the geographical advantage and their military strength far exceeded that of the Humans, they naturally had the qualifications to dismiss the approaching threat.

However, as long as the Royal Lord said nothing, they did not dare to act rashly no matter how much noise they made.

The Royal Lord remained silent for a time before finally opening his mouth to ask, “Did you learn the location of the Ninth-Order Master?”

Hong Di replied, “The Feudal Lord did not mention anything about this matter. But, the Ninth-Order Master will surely come from the direction of Wind and Cloud Pass.”

The Royal Lord responded flatly and added lightly, “Prepare yourselves. It looks like the Human Race will attack soon.”

“Yes!” The Territory Lords answered loudly and rolled up their sleeves in anticipation.

News from the front line continuously arrived at Great Evolution Pass.

The Human Race Army was less than an eight-day journey away from Great Evolution Pass. Furthermore, they showed no signs of stopping, slowing down, or changing direction.

The Human Race Army was less than a five-day journey away from Great Evolution Pass…

The Human Race Army was less than a three-day journey away from Great Evolution Pass…

The Human Race Army was only one day away from Great Evolution Pass!

Somewhere outside Great Evolution Pass, Ou Yang Lie and his Disciple secretly concealed themselves in one of the scattered asteroids. Their current location was much closer to Great Evolution Pass compared to their previous hiding spot. It could even be said that they were so close that they were being reckless.