Martial Peak
chapter-5224

The Territory Lords outside the Royal City couldn’t help but widen their eyes and watch attentively.

At this moment, they were wary of anything that the Humans were doing.

As they looked intently, more and more ripples spread from the Void. As it happened, a phantom image started appearing.

The gigantic phantom looked like a Universe World; however, the phantom was somewhere between real and illusory, so they were unable to clearly identify it for now.

Soon though, the Territory Lords could see it with clarity. It was indeed a Universe World’s shadow. Moreover, the shadow was solidifying by the breath, as though it was turning physical.

One of the Territory Lords even recognised this Universe World, which would take a person about a day to arrive at from the Royal City.

It was purely a coincidence. When this Territory Lord came to the Royal Lord to attend to some matters more than 10 years ago, he happened to take a rest on that Universe World. He had observed the Universe World’s terrain, so he could still remember it; therefore, even though it was just its shadow, he could instantly recognise it.

The discovery shocked the Territory Lords.

They initially thought that it was just a phantom image, but now it seemed that the Humans were using some kind of special technique to move a Universe World over.

[What are the Humans trying to achieve?]

While they were both shocked and doubtful, the Void Yin-Yang Mirrors started to flip the Void. The Universe World that would take a person a day to reach from the Royal City now appeared in the void as it hovered in silence. Nevertheless, this Universe World was desolate and void of any vitality.

All of the Universe Worlds on the Black Ink Battlefield looked just like this. Their World Forces had been sucked dry by the Black Ink Clan, and without World Force, those Universe Worlds would wither and die.

After the Universe World stabilised, a Purifying Black Ink Battleship flew towards the Universe World under the protection of several Battalion Class Warships.

Following that, a large number of cultivators that came in groups of different sizes stepped out of the Purifying Black Ink Battleship and Battalion Class Warships and began dispersing around the Universe World.

The Universe World that was moved to this place by the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters using the Void Yin-Yang Mirrors looked like a gigantic sphere. Although it was quite massive, it wasn’t hard for Open Heaven Realm Masters to move around it.

A Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master could circumnavigate the Universe World in half a cup of tea’s time.

The cultivators that had left the warships were all Array Masters and Artifact Refiners, 2,000 in total. They soon scattered around the Universe World as they examined the terrain and looked for suitable spots.

Yang Kai and the others could clearly see what they were doing, so at this point, the leaders’ intention was obvious to them.

The Universe World that had been moved to this place would be turned into a forward base, just like the forward base in the Blue Sky Theatre.

They had been part of establishing the forward base in the Blue Sky Theatre and suppressing the Black Ink Clan over the years, and by now it was a robust fortress. Furthermore, the forward base was connected to Blue Sky Pass through a series of Universe Arrays. Regardless of what the Black Ink Clan did, they couldn’t remove the forward base anymore.

After all, the Territory Lords from the Blue Sky Theatre had suffered immense losses after the war back then and it wasn’t certain how long it would take them to recover.

Before they could nurture enough Territory Lords, the Black Ink Clan wouldn’t pose a threat to the forward base in the Blue Sky Theatre.

Now, the Eighth-Order Masters who were the leaders of the East-West Army had spent some effort moving a Universe World to this place and were planning to turn it into a forward base, which would serve the same purpose as the forward base in the Blue Sky Theatre.

However, the East-West Army’s current location was far more provocative. It was expected that the Black Ink Clan would be furious once they figured out what was happening.

The forward base in the Blue Sky Theatre was still far away from the Royal City; however, the East-West Army was camped out right at the Black Ink Clan’s doorstep.

It was a real question whether the Black Ink Clansmen could tolerate it.

While the Artifact Refiners and the Array Masters were busy building the new forward base, the leaders of the Army told all the soldiers to be prepared for any potential attacks from the enemies.

The leaders were apparently wary of what the Black Ink Clan might do.

Regardless of whether the Black Ink Clan would launch an attack or not, the Humans would be in an advantageous position. If the enemy didn’t make a move, the Humans would be able to complete their forward base. However, if the enemy rashly attacked, the East-West Army wouldn’t be afraid to confront them out in the void. The Human Race had come all the way here to fight against the Black Ink Clan; thus, they needed to kill their opponents and complete military objectives to make their sacrifices worthwhile.

On the other hand, the Black Ink Clan had no idea how to deal with such a situation.

A commotion broke out among the Territory Lords the moment they realised the Humans’ intentions.

Presently, there were 30 or so Territory Lords that had gathered together outside the Royal City. The number was slightly higher than the number of Territory Lords in Great Evolution Pass.

Initially, there were close to 90 Territory Lords in the Great Evolution Theatre, which was higher than average for any given Theatre.

That was because it had been peaceful in the Great Evolution Theatre for the past 30,000 years. The Black Ink Clan had ample time to cultivate in peace, so they naturally had more Territory Lords.

From time to time, these Territory Lords would bring their Armies to lend a hand to their fellow clansmen at Wind and Cloud Pass or Azure Void Pass. Although they would always be defeated, most Territory Lords could come back alive, at the very least. Mostly it would be the High and Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen they had brought to the battlefield that lost their lives.

Therefore, there had always been some 90 or so Territory Lords in Great Evolution Theatre over the years. The number might vary from time to time, but there wouldn’t be a drastic change.

However, the Humans had deployed soldiers from Wind and Cloud Pass and Azure Void Pass this time. They were so ferocious that the Black Ink Clansmen in the Azure Void Theatre and the Wind and Cloud Theatre were soon defeated. Even the reinforcements sent from Great Evolution Theatre had lost their lives.

In the battle against the Black Ink Clan outside of Wind and Cloud Pass, the East-West Army managed to kill close to 300,000 Black Ink Clan soldiers and 11 Territory Lords. Those were all Territory Lords from the Great Evolution Theatre.

The same thing happened outside Azure Void Pass. All of the reinforcements who had been fighting there from Great Evolution Theatre were defeated.

As a result, some 20 Territory Lords from Great Evolution Theatre had lost their lives. It could be said that they had suffered tremendous losses.

Hence, there were a total of only about 70 Territory Lords in the Great Evolution Theatre right now, and they were divided into two groups. One of the groups was in Great Evolution Pass while the other was in the Royal City. The numbers were basically equally divided.

The Humans’ intentions were obvious, so the Territory Lords could naturally see it.

At that moment, more than 30 Territory Lords were locked in an argument, with two opposing points of view.

One of the groups thought that the Human soldiers must be exhausted from the long journey, so now was the time to attack. At the very least, they wouldn’t allow the Humans to provoke them by building a forward base just outside the Royal City. These aggressive Territory Lords were the majority.

This couldn’t be helped, as the Great Evolution Theatre had been completely ruled over by the Black Ink Clan for the past 30,000 years. Over the years, they had always regarded the entire Theatre as their territory. Certainly, they couldn’t put up with these Humans who came out of nowhere and made a scene in their home.

Compared to these aggressive Territory Lords, the other group was more conservative.

Through the Black Ink Nests, they had learned about the outcome of the war at Great Evolution Pass. After that war, 6 Territory Lords, over 20 Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples, and 300,000 soldiers had lost their lives. The number of casualties was terrifying.

In the Great Evolution Theatre, the Black Ink Clan had never suffered such immense losses over the past 30,000 years.

And all this was also when they were facing far fewer Human soldiers.

From what they had gathered, only 30,000 Humans had fought in that battle in total. Although they had a lot of Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, and their Warships certainly played a big role, the outcome showed that the Humans were truly powerful.

30,000 Humans could already kill so many Black Ink Clansmen outside of Great Evolution Pass, so the same number of Humans outside the Royal City wouldn’t be weak either.

If they got into a fight, the Humans would definitely suffer, but the Black Ink Clan wouldn’t be in a better state; they might even come out worse than before. Whatever the outcome, it was inevitable for some of the Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples to lose their lives if they fought.

Since the stronger Black Ink Clansmen all innately feared death, they were worried that they would be the ones getting killed.

The conservative Territory Lords knew that by not making a move now, it was like giving the Humans a chance to sharpen their blades, and once those blades were sharp enough, it would pose a huge threat to the Black Ink Clan.

With that said, they had their own considerations.

The battle between the Royal Lord and the Old Ancestor hadn’t ended.

Everything would be fine if the Royal Lord won the battle; however, if the Royal Lord was defeated, and they didn’t manage to defeat the enemy at their doorstep, the Royal City would be destroyed.

Therefore, they wanted to play it safe for now so that they would remain a threat to the Humans.

Furthermore, it had been some time since the Royal Lord and the Old Ancestor first clashed, so they figured it would not be long before the battle came to an end. Perhaps the Royal Lord would return to the Royal City soon, and when that happened, he would decide whether they should launch an attack or hold their lines. Hence, they wouldn’t have to worry about anything else, nor would it be a waste of time by not making a move.

As they couldn’t see eye to eye, the Territory Lords continued to argue. None of them could convince the other side.

As a result, they were not able to launch an attack on the Humans and could only watch as the enemy made their arrangements on the newly moved Universe World.

Certainly, the aggressive Territory Lords were infuriated, thinking that they had missed an opportunity; however, without the cooperation from the conservative Territory Lords, they wouldn’t be able to launch an attack on the Humans.

On a barren mountain in the Universe World, Xiang Shan looked into the void with his hands behind his back. His gaze seemed able to ignore the restraint of distance and clearly see what the Black Ink Clansmen were doing in the Royal City.

“What a shame,” Xiang Shan said impassively.

Liu Zhi Ping, who was standing beside him, turned to look at him, “Senior Brother Xiang, do you think the Black Ink Clan won’t attack us?”

Xiang Shan replied, “A long time has passed already. They would have attacked us already if they wanted to. Since they don’t seem to have the intention of launching an attack, they won’t be coming anytime soon. It seems that none of the Territory Lords is authoritative enough to make a decision.”

Liu Zhi Ping replied with a smile, “The Royal Lord is the most powerful being among the Black Ink Clan. The Territory Lords working for the Royal Lord have their own territories and subordinates, so while they wouldn’t dare to disobey the Royal Lord, they are all on equal footing amongst themselves. It’s unlike the strict military structure we have.”

Xiang Shan nodded gently.

Liu Zhi Ping went on to say, “Regardless, we can seize the chance to get some rest and establish the forward base. Once we gain a foothold here and recover, we can come up with a way to lure the enemies out of the Royal City.”

“You have a point, Junior Sister. I share the same sentiment.”

All of a sudden, Liu Zhi Ping turned to look at him with a pair of bright eyes, “Do you already have a solution?”

Instead of replying to her question, Xiang Shan asked, “Why do you think so?”

Shaking her head, Liu Zhi Ping replied, “I just feel that you’re quite confident. It’s apparent that you’ve given it some consideration; otherwise, you wouldn’t have told some people to look for a suitable Universe World not long after we arrived at this place. Since you already expected the current situation, you certainly have a follow-up plan.”