Martial Peak
chapter-5202

At this location, if the whereabouts of the Master and Disciple were discovered by the Black Ink Clan, then they would not be able to escape even though Ou Yang Lie was an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. That was because the Royal Lord at Great Evolution Pass could arrive at this spot in the blink of an eye and kill them.

Gong Lian was very unhappy. He felt as though his Honoured Master was being ridiculous and reckless; however, as the Disciple, he could not criticize the actions of his Honoured Master and could only act as carefully as possible.

As they were simply too close, Ou Yang Lie did not dare to glance around Great Evolution Pass at will despite their auras and figures being concealed. He was worried that his careless gaze might arouse the vigilance of a powerful Black Ink Clan Master. That was why he instructed his Disciple to investigate the situation around Great Evolution Pass from beginning to end.

Gong Lian’s innate abilities not only allowed him to have a very keen perception of any approaching danger but also minimised the presence of his existence whenever he wanted to investigate something. For that reason, even the Royal Lord would not notice him as long as he remained careful.

The recent days had been very exhausting for Gong Lian. He had always been lazy. Be that as it may, he was now required to monitor the situation at Great Evolution Pass at all times and report every movement to his Honoured Master. He didn’t even have the time to fall into a daze. It had to be said that the trance achieved during the Divine Wandering was his greatest hobby in life. Under those circumstances, he could empty his entire mind and receive an unparalleled sense of satisfaction.

“Stinking Brat!” Ou Yang Lie suddenly elbowed his Disciple because he had had not moved in a long time, “Are you in a daze again?”

Gong Lian shrank back and flatly denied, “No! I wasn’t! I was checking the movements of the Black Ink Clan at Great Evolution Pass! You shouldn’t always slander me like that, Honoured Master! You should trust in your Disciple!”

How could Ou Yang Lie not understand his own Disciple’s personality? Nevertheless, he did not say anything regarding that matter and simply inquired, “Have there been any changes?”

“There aren’t any huge changes, but there seem to be many additional Black Ink Clan Masters on the four walls of Great Evolution Pass. It’s like…”

“Like what?” Ou Yang Lie asked.

“Like they’re preparing for something?” Gong Lian replied with uncertainty.

The corners of Ou Yang Lie’s mouth twitched, “They have gathered nearly a million troops here. It’s obvious that they are guarding against an attack from our Army.”

“It’s not the same,” Gong Lian shook his head, “Although they stationed their troops here in the past, they’ve never mobilised such a great force before. Their current movements give me the sense that our Human Army is about to attack, and they’re making final preparations.”

Ou Yang Lie raised his brow, “The Black Ink Clan is making preparations for war? Could it be that Brother Mi has made a move?”

[But, that shouldn’t be… If Mi Jing Lun were to make a move, he would surely find a way to communicate with me. He wouldn’t attack without notifying me first. But, if it isn’t the North-South Army, then… could it be the East-West Army?]

He quickly probed further, “Which direction is the Black Ink Clan’s defence focused on at the moment? Is it the left? Or, the right?”

If it was the left, then the Black Ink Clan was defending against the East-West Army. If it was the right, then they were defending against the North-South Army.

Gong Lian replied, “From where I stand, it’s the left. There are more than a dozen Territory Lords standing on the walls and looking out into the distance.”

Ou Yang Lie scowled at those words, [The Black Ink Clan at Great Evolution Pass seems to be guarding against something from the direction of the East-West Army. But, if that’s the case, why didn’t the East-West Army contact me beforehand? Is the East-West Army planning to attack the Great Pass alone? Xiang Shan can’t be that reckless, right? Besides, even if Xiang Shan is unreliable, there’s still the Old Ancestor…]

While Ou Yang Lie was stewing in his doubts, Gong Lian suddenly frowned, “Honoured Master, I can sense something coming from over there.”

“What is it? Is it the Royal Lord?” Ou Yang Lie was startled.

Gong Lian shook his head, “It’s not the Royal Lord. There is no sense of danger coming from that presence, but the aura of what’s coming is very strong… Extremely strong!”

Ou Yang Lie could not understand what his Disciple was saying, but he also understood that his Disciple would not speak nonsense; therefore, he was resentful of the fact that he could not act recklessly while he was currently in this position. Otherwise, he could have extended his Divine Sense to perceive his surroundings.

Fortunately, there was no need for him to carefully probe his surroundings as not long after Gong Lian finished speaking, Ou Yang Lie detected the powerful presence his Disciple mentioned just now.

It was certainly extremely powerful. Even though there was a great distance between them, the aura transmitted clearly across the void. However, what puzzled him was that the aura was rather messy and complicated despite being very powerful. It was as though the presence was formed from the fusion of countless auras.

As soon as that thought crossed his mind, Ou Yang Lie’s expression changed drastically.

…..

The presence was completely unlike Ou Yang Lie and his Disciple, who acted carefully so that they remained undetected. More than a dozen Territory Lords stood side by side on the towering walls of Great Evolution Pass that faced Wind and Cloud Pass. Under their powerful perception, they could clearly perceive the overwhelming aura coming from the Human Race Army that was about half a day’s journey away from Great Evolution Pass. That aura was akin to an unsheathed blade that moved forward indomitably. It was extremely imposing and frightening.

Although the Territory Lords had previously spouted various grand statements back in the meeting hall, they couldn’t help grimacing slightly after sensing the approaching aura. Had the Humans gone crazy? It was beyond unreasonable for them to attack so directly without the slightest intention to conceal their intentions! They were looking down on the Black Ink Clan too much!

Seeing as the Human Army was about to arrive, the Black Ink Clan did not remain idle. As the Territory Lords conveyed their orders to their subordinates, countless Black Ink Clansmen sprang into action.

In the blink of an eye, the entire Great Evolution Pass felt as though a storm was coming. A chilling and murderous atmosphere enveloped the entire Great Pass as a result.

…

“Honoured Master, this is bad! It’s the Human Race Army!” Half a day later, Gong Lian suddenly let out a strange cry.

Ou Yang Lie looked grim but remained silent. The truth was that he had already speculated about this outcome. That overwhelming yet disordered aura was clearly the forward march of an Army. Besides, the only ones that could come from the direction of Wind and Cloud Pass was the Great Evolution Pass East-West Army.

[What is Xiang Shan trying to do? Is he courting death!?] Ou Yang Lie held the communication device in the palm of his hand and his Divine Sense surged, trying to communicate with the other party. However, he did not receive any response at all.

[Damn it!] He cursed at Xiang Shan in his heart, [What are the Old Ancestors thinking!? I can’t believe they allowed such a fool to serve as the Eastern Army’s Commander! The East-West Army is about to die under his leadership! How will the North-South Army deal with the fallout if the East-West Army is destroyed!? Should they ignore the situation? Or, do their best to rescue their comrades!? Besides, doesn’t the East-West Army know to investigate the situation at Great Evolution Pass before taking action!? How can they be so reckless!? They are looking down on the Black Ink Clan too much! Or, did they just assume that there are not many Black Ink Clansmen in Great Evolution Pass!?]

Ou Yang Lie had seen with his own eyes that there were nearly a million enemy troops in Great Evolution Pass. There was also a Royal Lord personally overseeing this area, so forget the East-West Army acting alone, even if they gathered the strength of the entire the Great Evolution Army, they would not be able to conquer Great Evolution Pass in a short time.

[What about the Old Ancestor!? Even if the East-West Army wanted to act so reckless, why didn’t the Old Ancestor overseeing the Army stop them!?]

There was too much off about this whole situation.

“Are you sure that it’s the East-West Army?” Although it was almost certain, it was necessary to verify the truth.

Gong Lian nodded, “I can see them now. There’s no doubt it’s a Human Army.”

Ou Yang Lie was heartbroken. A long while passed before he questioned, “How many people?”

At this moment, he could only hope that the East-West Army had not committed all its forces to this attack. If that was the case, then the losses would not be too great.

Gong Lian replied, “Tens of thousands.”

Ou Yang Lie couldn’t stop himself from cursing angrily.

[That childish buffoon is not qualified to participate in strategic planning!] Ou Yang Lie could already foresee the complete annihilation of the East-West Army.

“However… there’s way too many people. There are at least 60,000 auras,” Gong Lian replied.

Startled, Ou Yang Lie turned to look at his Disciple, “Open your eyes wider and look harder. How many are there?”

Gong Lian shook his head, “I can’t give you an exact number, Honoured Master, I might be discovered if I observe too closely, but I’m certain there is somewhere between 60,000 to 70,000 people.”

With Gong Lian speaking with such certainty, it could only mean that he had not seen wrongly.

Ou Yang Lie was immediately confused. [60,000 to 70,000 people? Where did the 60,000 to 70,000 people come from?]

The forces of the East-West Army and the North-South Army should only contain around 30,000 soldiers each. Even if they combined their forces together, they would only have about 60,000. Since the Army came from the direction of Wind and Cloud Pass, then it could only be the East-West Army. So how did their numbers double? Could it be that they combined forces with the North-South Army? But, Mi Jing Lun had not sent anybody to inform him about the situation.

“This is bad, Honoured Master! The East-West Army is heading directly towards Great Evolution Pass!”

“This is bad, Honoured Master! The East-West Army is about to enter the attack range of Great Evolution Pass, but they are showing no signs of stopping!”

“This is bad, Honoured Master! The Black Ink Clan has started attacking! The frontlines of the East-West Army have suffered heavy casualties!”

“This is bad, Honoured Master…”

Every time Gong Lian shouted, Ou Yang Lie’s heart twisted in response. Despite being a powerful Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, he could barely withstand the shock at this moment. He was tempted to block out his ears so that he could not listen to his Disciple’s words, but even if he did not listen, the losses of the East-West Army were unavoidable.

He even considered taking the risk to warn the East-West Army about the situation at Great Evolution Pass; however, he still carried a glimmer of hope that this was all part of the East-West Army’s strategy. They had the protection of an Old Ancestor after all, so there might be a different result if it came down to a fight. Unfortunately, it seemed that those were nothing more than his wishful thoughts.

“Honoured Master, something is strange,” Gong Lian suddenly observed.

“What?” Ou Yang Lie asked solemnly.

“There’s something strange about the Army. Although they are being attacked, none of them are fighting back. Tens of thousands of them have already fallen in such a short time, but there are no signs of them trying to resist. More importantly, there have been no traces indicating the deaths of Open Heaven Masters.”

After Gong Lian mentioned that, Ou Yang Lie suddenly realised the oddity of the situation.

[That’s right.] Traces were generally left behind following the death of any Open Heaven Realm Master. Leaving aside those below the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm, the phenomenon that followed the death of a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master was extremely noticeable. Be that as it may, he had yet to sense the phenomenon that should have occurred following the death of a single High-Rank Master.

Tens of thousands of people had died on the battlefield, yet none of them had been a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master. That did not make any sense. What’s more, the auras of the Open Heaven Realm Masters simply faded away continuously with every death that occurred, which did not make any sense either.

On the other hand, the Black Ink Clan’s attacks continued without pause. The various artifacts and Spirit Arrays that had been set up along the city walls in advance blasted out at full strength, turning into devastating destructive power that ploughed through the Human Race Army.

Ou Yang Lie could clearly perceive these movements; however, he could not sense any attacks coming from the Human side. It seemed as though only the aftermath of the artifacts and Spirit Arrays raged across the battlefield. There was no eruption of World Force at all.

[The East-West Army isn’t fighting back? Why aren’t they fighting back?]