Martial Peak
chapter-5232

Inside the house, the stout woman was seated on a chair as she embraced Xiao Xiao with a bright smile. She was so ecstatic that it was as though she had retrieved something irreplaceable she had lost.

Xiao Xiao felt that her Mother was strange on this day, but she was too young to understand the myriad of things in the world; therefore, she couldn’t specify what was odd.

Presently, there was a lunch box in front of her. It was given to her by the wealthy woman on the mountain. The food inside the lunch box wasn’t expensive, just some osmanthus cakes she had apparently made.

Villagers like them had never seen such delicate cakes before, let alone eaten them.

Half of the osmanthus cakes inside the lunch box were gone, most of them having disappeared into Xiao Xiao’s stomach.

“Have another piece, Mother,” Xiao Xiao picked up an osmanthus cake and held it out for the stout woman.

With a smile, the stout woman replied, “I’m not having anymore. It’s too sweet. Go on and eat it.”

“Alright,” Xiao Xiao replied and munched on the osmanthus cake.

It was so delicious that she had the urge to swallow her own tongue as well.

The hunter was getting ready for the hunting session the next day by sharpening his arrowheads. When he saw the heart-warming scene in the house, he wore a sincere smile.

…..

The North-South Army’s forward base was located on an asteroid that would take a person two days to reach from Great Evolution Pass.

One year ago, the North-South Army clashed with the Black Ink Clan from Great Evolution Pass. Although they had killed a lot of their enemies, they had suffered some losses as well.

The defeated Black Ink Clansmen fled back to Great Evolution Pass and received help from their companions. Since then, they had not left Great Evolution Pass.

One year had passed, and the North-South Army was now locked in a staring contest with the Black Ink Clan stationed at Great Evolution Pass. They were like two beasts that bared their fangs at each other from a distance, but neither could kill the other party, so they didn’t attack.

After suffering a setback previously, the Black Ink Clansmen wouldn’t dare to make a rash move again. They were worried that there would be no turning back once they launched an attack.

On the other hand, the North-South Army didn’t have a way to deal with the Black Ink Clansmen who refused to leave Great Evolution Pass.

It wasn’t until the Humans became the attackers that they realised just how difficult dealing with a Great Pass was. Great Evolution Pass provided the best defence for the Black Ink Clansmen, so if the North-South Army rashly launched an attack, many of their soldiers would lose their lives. Given the collective power of the North-South Army now, it would be hard for them to retrieve Great Evolution Pass in short order, and once they launched an attack and failed, they would lose their advantageous position.

The Army Commander of the Southern Army, Ou Yang Lie, was an irascible person, so the deadlock they were faced with was giving him a headache. Therefore, he urged Mi Jing Lun on a daily basis to come up with a way to lure the Black Ink Clan out of Great Evolution Pass so that they could meet them in battle.

Of course, Mi Jing Lun didn’t have a solution to this problem or he would have used it already. As long as the Black Ink Clan refused to leave Great Evolution Pass, there was little he could do.

“Please calm down, Brother Ou Yang. We’re faced with a stalemate here. Since the Black Ink Clan won’t leave the Pass, it’s hard for us to launch an attack. We have no other choice but to maintain the status quo.” Mi Jing Lun appeased Ou Yang Lie, who had repeatedly looked for him to discuss the plan to deal with the enemy.

Undoubtedly, Ou Yang Lie could understand what the other man was talking about. He was an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master as well as an Army Commander after all, so even if he was a hotheaded person, he wouldn’t have attained such achievements without being able to understand the bigger strategic picture.

Despite that, he could never change his irritable temperament.

“How long will the confrontation last? For eternity?” Ou Yang Lie said furiously. He thought that the Black Ink Clansmen were too timid. Despite their vast Army, they didn’t have the courage to launch an attack and only knew how to hide. It was expected that he was annoyed.

Mi Jing Lun comforted, “We certainly can’t let the confrontation go on for eternity, but the breakthrough we need can’t be achieved here by us. For now, we’ll have to depend on the East-West Army.”

Ou Yang Lie darted his gaze around and gave it a thought. He then said, “Brother Mi, you mean…”

Mi Jing Lun nodded, “If the East-West Army can deal a heavy blow to the Black Ink Clan at the Royal City, the Royal Lord will surely become flustered. When that happens, the Black Ink Clan occupying Great Evolution Pass won’t be able to keep hiding. They certainly have to head to the Royal City upon receiving the Royal Lord’s order, and we’ll be able to take action.”

Upon hearing that, Ou Yang Lie nodded repeatedly, “You have a point. Brother Mi, when do you think the breakthrough will be achieved?”

Mi Jing Lun replied, “That will depend on how long those from the Royal City can persevere; however, I don’t think it’ll happen in a short time. The number of soldiers in the East-West Army is roughly the same as ours. Although they have the Old Ancestor with them, the Black Ink Clan over there have a Royal Lord. It won’t be easy to achieve a breakthrough. Now, what we should do is find a way to contact the East-West Army. It would be best if we could communicate instantly so that it would be easier for us to carry out any following plans.”

Ou Yang Lie shook his head, “That will be difficult. This place is too far away from the Royal City. It’s not hard to contact them, but the exchange of information will be sluggish. We can’t make it instantaneous.”

Mi Jing Lun nodded, “It would be best if we could let Martial Nephew Yang build several Universe Arrays between Great Evolution Pass and the Royal City; however, I’m afraid he’s busy right now as he has to help with the Old Ancestor’s healing. Otherwise, given Xiang Shan’s far-sightedness, he would have told Yang Kai to do so already. Still, sluggish or not, being able to share information is essential.”

Ou Yang Lie said, “In that case, we should send someone to the East-West Army.”

Mi Jing Lun put on a smile, “I’ve already done so. He should have arrived by now.”

Upon hearing that, Ou Yang Lie couldn’t help but roll his eyes. [This guy only told me about it after he’d done it. It makes me look ignorant. It’s taxing to work with such a scheming person.]

Mi Jing Lun looked at the depths of the void. There were two reasons why he had sent someone to the East-West Army. First of all, he really did need to exchange information with them. Secondly, he wanted to find out how the East-West Army was planning to attack the Royal City.

The Royal City was protected by a large number of Black Ink Clansmen, and the Royal Lord was around, so it wouldn’t be easy for the East-West Army to attack given their current strength. Mi Jing Lun had put himself in the shoes of the Army Commanders in the East-West Army and pondered on what he could do. He had come up with some possible solutions, but he didn’t think they would be very effective; therefore, he wanted to find out how Xiang Shan would act.

Meanwhile, the East-West Army was mobilizing at their forward base. The Warships, which were initially docked on the Universe World, rose into the sky and soared towards the void.

When the Eighth-Order Division Commander Cha Pu, who was standing on a mountain, saw that, he appeared surprised and asked the person beside him, “Are you going to attack the Royal City?”

Cha Pu was the Division Commander of Northern Army’s 4th Division. He was also the person Mi Jing Lun had sent to this place to contact the East-West Army. Just like Mi Jing Lun had expected, Cha Pu had arrived at this place three days ago. He came at a time when the East-West Army was about to carry out a grand plan, so he decided to stay and observe so that he could bring more details back to Mi Jing Lun.

The reason an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was asked to come to this place was that it was a long journey that was paved with danger. If a Seventh-Order Master was told to come here, he might not make it. Therefore, Mi Jing Lun could only send an Eighth-Order Division Commander.

It had been peaceful on the North-South Army’s side recently, so it would be fine even though Cha Pu wasn’t around.

Additionally, he was the one who came to Yang Kai’s rescue after the latter killed an Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple.

Presently, the person standing beside him was Xiang Shan’s adjutant, Li Xing.

Xiang Shan had ordered him to keep Cha Pu company and answer his questions.

Now, the soldiers of the East-West Army had been mobilised as though they were going to attack the Royal City. Anyone who wasn’t blind could see that.

This made Cha Pu feel worried. He had seen the defensive formation around the Royal City. Given the East-West Army’s current power, it would be unwise to directly attack the Royal City. Once the two parties clashed, the East-West Army would suffer immense losses.

Although he knew Xiang Shan wouldn’t do something so foolish, he couldn’t help but feel worried.

To the side, Li Xing replied, “Don’t worry about it, Martial Uncle Cha. Sir Xiang has said that you just have to keep watching.”

Cha Pu turned to look at him with a smile, “Oh? Did Senior Brother Xiang say that? It seems that the mobilisation of soldiers is just a pretence.”

Li Xing lowered his gaze, “I wouldn’t dare to reveal details about ongoing military operations.”

He knew everything about the Army as he was Xiang Shan’s adjutant, but without his permission, he wouldn’t break secrecy.

Cha Pu didn’t intend to make things difficult for him, so after a nod, he said, “Since you’ve said so, I’ll be looking forward to it then. Let’s see how Senior Brother Xiang is going to deal with the Black Ink Clan.”

They fell silent after that.

The mobilisation of the East-West Army was swift. Upon receiving the order, the soldiers from different Divisions, who had been resting and building up their strength for the past year boarded their Warships and soon formed into a fleet. There were over 2,000 Warships setting sail, giving off a menacing air.

Certainly, what they were doing couldn’t be hidden from the Black Ink Clan, so those from the Royal City instantly detected the anomaly.

Che Kong was standing on the deck of his great ship. With a solemn expression, he stared intently towards the front.

He had no idea why the Humans had suddenly assumed a Battle Formation, but regardless of the reason, it seemed that a fight was inevitable.

Before the Royal Lord fell asleep, he had ordered that they should defend the Royal City at all costs. They could ignore the Humans if the latter didn’t try to invade the Royal City; however, if there was movement, they had to do their best to stop the Humans.

Therefore, the moment Che Kong noticed the mobilisation of the Human Army, he passed down an order. Soon, a million Black Ink Clansmen were ready for the war.

However, Che Kong found something odd a moment later.

The Humans didn’t directly come at the Royal City. Instead, they were heading towards the left side of the Royal City and circling around it.

This made Che Kong feel puzzled.

[What are the Humans trying to achieve? Are they trying to launch an attack on the back of the Royal City by circling around it right in front of me? That’s ridiculous, do they think I’m blind?]

If the Humans had the audacity to do such a thing, Che Kong swore that he would destroy them for their insolence.

Cha Pu, who was watching from the forward base, was equally puzzled. He shared Che Kong’s sentiment. By circling around the Royal City without any cover, they couldn’t achieve anything other than wasting their time.

However, he didn’t ask any questions. The leaders of the East-West Army must have their reason for acting this way, so he just kept watching.

Mi Jing Lun wanted to find out how the East-West Army was going to achieve a breakthrough, so perhaps this battle would be the key.

It would only take a person half a day to reach the Royal City from the East-West Army’s forward base, so by circling around the Royal City, the East-West Army’s fleet arrived at its left side a bit more than half a day later.

They stopped moving forward at this point and with a Battalion-Class Warship leading the way, the fleet charged towards the Royal City in a domineering manner.