Martial Peak
chapter-5204

Inside the Main Conference Hall of Great Evolution Pass, the Royal Lord remained seated on the throne of bones as usual. In addition, there were more than a dozen Territory Lords lined up on both sides below him.

More than 30 Territory Lords had currently gathered at Great Evolution Pass. In order to confront the Human Race Army of 70,000 that came from the direction of Wind and Cloud Pass, nearly two-thirds of the Territory Lords had been deployed to defend the walls under Hong Di’s leadership. Meanwhile, the other third of the Territory Lords stayed in the Main Hall and quietly waited for news.

The current arrangement was due to the presence of a large Human Race Army hiding nearby, in the direction of Azure Void Pass. Nobody knew when this particular Human Race Army would appear, so the Black Ink Clan had to conserve a certain amount of strength for their defences.

They originally thought that the Human Army would march on them from both sides and attack Great Evolution Pass in a pincer manoeuvre, but contrary to their expectations, only one side experienced a fierce battle while the other remained completely silent. There was no news from the Human Race Army stationed closer to Azure Void Pass, let alone any information on where they were hidden.

If the Royal Lord made a move personally, he might have been able to discover the hiding spot of the Human Race Army; however, his opponent was destined to be the Human Old Ancestor, so he had to conserve his energy before that battle.

While the Territory Lords were silently discussing matters regarding the Human Race Army’s movements amongst themselves, Hong Di barged into the Hall in a hurry. The discussion among the Territory Lords came to an abrupt halt, and they swiftly glanced towards Hong Di.

Hong Di bowed deeply, “Royal Lord, the Human Race Army was fake. All 70,000 of the soldiers were mere puppets dressed up to look real. Moreover, they are extremely weak. Almost the entire Army has been annihilated by now.”

While speaking, he tossed the captured puppet in his hand to the ground.

The Territory Lords looked down in shock. [The entire Human Race Army of 70,000 was fake? They were just puppets?]

Meanwhile, the Royal Lord sitting on the throne opened his eyes slightly with a confused expression. He might be a Royal Lord with overwhelming power, but he was not a spy hiding among the Human Race, so it was naturally impossible for him to figure out what the Humans were trying to do with the little information he had on hand.

More importantly, if the Human Race Army was made up of mere puppets in disguise, where was the real Human Army?

Throughout the years, the Black Ink Clan had deeply suffered from the treachery of the Human Race on countless occasions. Seeing how the Humans were willing to go to such lengths to refine so many puppets just to draw their attention, there was clearly some sort of conspiracy going on.

The Royal Lord vaguely felt a sense of unease coursing through him.

At that moment, a Feudal Lord ran into the Conference Hall from the outside, shouting and stumbling around in a panic, “Sir Hong Di, this subordinate has received an urgent report!”

Hong Di turned to look in that direction and discovered that it was the Feudal Lord in charge of overseeing the Black Ink Nest and gathering information from the entire Theatre. Seeing how panicked the other party looked, it was evident that something major had occurred.

Hong Di turned back to the Royal Lord with a look of inquiry in his eye, and after receiving permission from the Royal Lord, he asked solemnly, “What is it?”

The Feudal Lord bowed and reported the situation, “A moment ago, I received news from the Zhe Chong Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest. In his territory, they discovered a large number of people suspected to be a Human Army composed of some 30,000 people in total.”

“What!?” Zhe Chong turned pale in shock and jumped up in horror. He had fled across the void for more than a year without any rest and finally escaped to Great Evolution Pass. Afterwards, he received an order from the Royal Lord and returned to his territory, hastily gathered an Army of some 30,000, and brought them to Great Evolution Pass to help defend it.

It was precisely because his territory was relatively close to Great Evolution Pass that he arrived fairly quickly. In fact, the Royal Lord had gathered all the Territory Lords whose territories were located on the periphery of Great Evolution Pass. That was the only way the Black Ink Clan Army could have gathered so many troops at Great Evolution Pass so quickly.

Of course, it wasn’t as though the Territory Lords in the deeper areas remained idle with nothing better to do. Every one of them had gathered a force of between 20,000 to 30,000 and set out towards Great Evolution Pass. Their task was to temporarily take over the territories that were currently without a Territory Lord and remain there on standby.

Although Zhe Chong was not stationed in his own territory and a force of some 30,000 had been deployed to Great Evolution Pass, there was another Territory Lord from a different territory temporarily overseeing his domain, so Zhe Chong’s territory was not completely defenceless. Nevertheless, against a Human Race Army of 30,000, the ability of a single Black Ink Clan territory to resist was minimal at best.

The Black Ink Clan had an extensive understanding of the composition of the Human Race Armies. For an Army consisting of 30,000 soldiers, there would be at least a few dozen Eighth-Order Masters among their ranks, and although their overall numbers were few, each Human was an elite. In this aspect, the Human Race was very different from the Black Ink Clan, whose strength varied greatly from individual to individual. Moreover, the Humans also had Warships.

That was why Zhe Chong immediately became anxious when he heard that an Army of 30,000 had appeared in his territory. He abruptly recalled the Human Race Army he encountered on the way to Wind and Cloud Pass and couldn’t help wondering, [That Army also had a force of 30,000… Could there be such a coincidence?]

If it really was the Army he encountered the other day, then the Territory Lord overseeing his territory at this moment had probably already met a disastrous fate. Forget the several dozen Eighth-Order Masters, that Army even had a Ninth-Order Old Ancestor leading them!

“What about now? Where is the Human Race Army now?” Zhe Chong asked anxiously.

The Feudal Lord shook his head, “I don’t know. We lost contact with the Black Ink Nest in Sir Zhe Chong’s territory after we received the report regarding the sighting of the Human Race Army. Furthermore, according to the reports from the Royal Lord’s Black Ink Nest, the Mid-Grade Black Ink Nest at Sir Zhe Chong Territory can no longer be contacted. Even the traces of its existence have been erased.”

Zhe Chong immediately turned pale and slumped down in his chair.

A Black Ink Nest, owned by a Territory Lord, could no longer be contacted, and even the traces of its existence had been erased from the network. In this case, there was only one possibility: It had been destroyed!

The Feudal Lord who reported the situation earlier mentioned that he received the report not long ago; in other words, not much time had elapsed between the appearance of the Human Race Army and the destruction of the Territory Lord Black Ink Nest. Therefore, there was an extremely high possibility that it was the work of the Human Army under the command of the Old Ancestor. There could be no other reason for Zhe Chong’s Mid-Rank Ink Nest to be destroyed so quickly.

“The Humans’ plan was to lure the tiger from the mountain!” Hong Di snarled through gritted teeth, “They used those puppets to distract us and make us think that they were attacking the Great Pass when, in reality, their goal was not Great Evolution Pass but our territories!”

As soon as the words left his mouth, the other Territory Lords who initially just sympathised with Zhe Chong’s situation immediately panicked. They had initially rejoiced slightly when they heard that Zhe Chong’s Black Ink Nest had been destroyed, feeling thankful that the Human Army had not invaded their homes. Otherwise, the unlucky ones would have been them instead. Unfortunately, it would now seem that Zhe Chong’s Black Ink Nest was simply the first to be destroyed, while it would not be the last.

The Black Ink Nests were the foundation of the entire Black Ink Clan. If they were all destroyed, then it would be impossible for them to spawn new Clansmen. They would eventually lose their numerical advantage against the Human Race in the war if that happened, and defeat would become inevitable.

Although a Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest could be produced by the Royal Lord’s Black Ink Nest, the birth of each and every Territory Lord Black Ink Nest required an exorbitant price in exchange. If too many Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests were destroyed, the Territory Lords would need to wait a very long time before they could obtain new ones.

[If the Royal Lord’s Black Ink Nest was destroyed…] The Territory Lords couldn’t help shuddering in fear, not daring to let their thoughts continue down that road.

On the other hand, a sudden and thunderous rumble resounded throughout the conference Hall before Hong Di could even finish his sentence. The rumbling sound was accompanied by a black shadow shooting out at the same time.

The Territory Lords looked in that direction only to see that the Royal Lord, who had been sitting on the throne of bones, was now nowhere to be seen. The dark shadow that rushed past them earlier was none other than the Royal Lord himself.

Although he had remained as calm as a mountain since coming to Great Evolution Pass, he could no longer keep his composure after hearing that the Human Race Army had destroyed the territory belonging to one of his subordinate Territory Lords. He had evidently realised the dire consequences that would follow if his High-Rank Black Ink Nest was destroyed; therefore, he had to prevent that from happening at all costs. It was fortunate that he still had some time. Having only just stepped foot into the Black Ink Clan territory for the first time, the Human Race was surely not familiar with the topography, so it would not be easy for them to locate the Royal City in short order.

In the next moment, the Royal Lord’s order spread to the ears of the Territory Lords, “Half of the Army will remain here to guard Great Evolution Pass. The other half will set off for the Royal City at full speed!”

The Territory Lords who received the order hurriedly gathered together to discuss the situation. The Royal Lord had not mentioned any names in his command, so they had to come up with a plan to decide who would stay and protect Great Evolution Pass and who would head towards the Royal City.

Needless to say, everybody would prefer to remain at Great Evolution Pass for it was much safer here. If they set off for the Royal City now, there was no saying whether they would encounter the Human Army on the way. Who could resist against the strength of the Human Old Ancestor if that happened?

Nevertheless, they neither dared to disobey the command of the Royal Lord nor drag their feet in this matter. After a series of compromises and concessions, they soon came up with a plan.

Out of the 30 or so Territory Lords, half of them would remain at Great Evolution Pass under Hong Di’s leadership. Great Evolution Pass was originally Hong Di’s territory, so it stood to reason he should remain. That was an advantage that the other Territory Lords did not have. Meanwhile, the other half of the Territory Lords departed for the Royal City under Zhe Chong’s leadership.

It did not take long for the Black Ink Clan Army at Great Evolution Pass to start moving as the Territory Lords summoned their respective Armies.

In the vast void, the Royal Lord flew in the direction of the Royal City at a terrifying speed. He had to return to the Royal City immediately; otherwise, it would be too late if the Human Army arrived before him.

If his Black Ink Nest was destroyed, then all the Black Ink Nests in this entire Theatre would wither and die as well. The Black Ink Clan would be powerless to replenish their forces if that were to happen, and that would effectively guarantee their extinction in the not-so-distant future.

The Royal Lord never imagined that the Human Race would be so bold. When he predicted that the Humans were coming to retake Great Evolution Pass, he immediately gathered many Territory Lords and deployed various defences in preparation for the confrontation. Contrary to his expectations, the humans seemed to have no intention of attacking Great Evolution Pass whatsoever. They simply sent out an Army of puppets to distract him while their real Army marched directly into the Black Ink Clan territory.

[They made a fool of me!] The Royal Lord was filled with fury. Along the way, he suddenly raised his hand and dense Black Ink Strength condensed and twisted in the palm of his hand, gradually transforming into the shape of a miniature Black Ink Nest. This was not an actual Black Ink Nest, but he could borrow its power to communicate with his own High-Rank Black Ink Nest and then issue commands to the other Territory Lords through it.

The Human Race Army with a force of 30,000 soldiers had already appeared in the Black Ink Clan’s territory. There was bound to be an Old Ancestor and a few dozen Eighth-Order Masters among their ranks. With such strength, it was impossible to repel the Humans with the military strength of a single territory alone. The only way for the Black Ink Clan to stand a fighting chance was if they rallied together at one spot.

In this case, the Royal City was the battlefield chosen by the Royal Lord. That was because the Human Race would surely target the Royal City. Regardless of whether they knew about the secrets behind the Black Ink Nests or not, they were bound to aim for the destruction of his High-Rank Black Ink Nest as their biggest goal.

If he wanted to protect his Black Ink Nest, then he had to gather the strength of all the Territory Lords under his command. However, doing so would completely deprive the other territories of any troops even if the Royal City did not suffer any consequences. In other words, the Black Ink Clan would be abandoning a vast swath of their territory. There would be countless slaughtered Black Ink Clansmen and destroyed Black Ink Nests as a result of this decision.

Despite being completely heartbroken by the losses, the Royal Lord had no other choice. He had never imagined that the Human Race would be so cunning and difficult to handle without the constraints of a Great Pass.