Martial Peak
chapter-5240

Certainly, the Territory Lords were furious at the Humans’ despicable moves.

They couldn’t help but wonder if they had made the wrong decision by hunkering down in the Royal City and defending it at all costs.

The Black Ink Clan, who could do nothing but defend, were like beasts without fangs as they posed no threat to the Humans. Even though the Humans had set up a base right at their doorstep, they were unable to do anything.

If they were able to launch an attack, they wouldn’t allow the haughty Humans to come and go as they pleased; however, such an idea only remained in some of the Territory Lords’ heads as they wouldn’t dare to say it out loud. After all, it was the Royal Lord’s order that they should do their best to defend the Royal City before he fell into a state of deep sleep.

Regardless, the Territory Lords were relieved that the Humans didn’t manage to disturb the Royal Lord this time.

Although there were even more Universe Worlds this time than previously that came at the right side of the Royal City, they were all intercepted and shattered as the Black Ink Clansmen did their best to block them regardless of their losses.

Hence, no damage was caused to the Royal City.

Nevertheless, the price they had to pay was that there were even more casualties than the previous time.

This was unavoidable. Compared to disturbing the Royal Lord, the Territory Lords would rather let more of their subordinates die.

However, after the same thing happened twice, the Black Ink Clan finally figured out the Humans’ plan.

With the help of those Universe Worlds, the Humans could cause damage to the Black Ink Clan without suffering any losses on their side. After these two attacks in recent years, the Black Ink Clan had lost about 100,000 soldiers.

If the same thing kept on happening, there would come a day when all 1 million Black Ink Clan soldiers would be gone. By then, how were they going to ward off the Humans? Could the Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples do it all on their own?

Although they were powerful, the Humans had Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters of roughly the same number.

As this dragged on, the Black Ink Clan would be in an increasingly disadvantageous position.

Now, they could only pin their hopes on the Royal Lord, who was recuperating. As long as he could recover before the Human Old Ancestor did, they would be able to turn things around. It would be wonderful if those at Great Evolution Pass could come over and lend them a hand. By then, they could pincer the Humans and make sure the latter had nowhere to run.

After the third time the Humans made use of the Universe Worlds to attack the Royal City, they would do the same thing every few years.

However, generally speaking, the intervals were getting longer.

The third attack was five years apart from the second time, but the fourth attack was seven years after the third. As for the fifth, it was ten years after the fourth.

This situation was totally understandable.

Although there were countless Universe Worlds in the void, only a small number of them were suited to cover in arrays and attack the Royal City. After all, the size of the Universe Worlds mattered.

If they were too big, it would require too many resources to arrange the arrays, but if they were too small, they wouldn’t pose a threat to the Black Ink Clan.

An appropriate size was what the Humans were looking for in Universe Worlds.

While it took time to look for suitable Universe Worlds, it was equally time-consuming to extract enough materials to carry out such a resource-intensive plan. Since all the Universe Worlds nearby were already fully mined out, the Humans had to venture further afield.

That was why the intervals were getting longer.

Nevertheless, the leaders of the East-West Army were set on repeatedly using this tactic. Over the last 20 years since they established a forward base at the Black Ink Clan’s doorstep, they had launched four major attacks on the Royal City.

The East-West Army had never suffered from any losses as they had never directly engaged the Black Ink Clan. Following Xiang Shan’s order, their Warships would set sail and creep closer to the Royal City before rapidly retreating.

They would always gain a massive victory every time by using this tactic.

They had spent countless resources by attacking the Royal City with Universe Worlds five times, but for their troubles, they had managed to kill about 300,000 Black Ink Clansmen, including a significant number of Feudal Lords and Seventh-Order Black Ink Disciples.

None of the Territory Lords and the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple were killed; however, they were exhausted from having to deal with the Universe Worlds that were meant to harass them.

Despite the losses, from the looks of it, there were still about 1 million Black Ink Clansmen around the Royal City, as though there hadn’t been a decrease in their number at all.

Nonetheless, their collective power had clearly been weakened.

Initially, the Black Ink Clan soldiers that had gathered together outside the Royal City were the best subordinates of the Territory Lords. After they were killed, they were replaced by the significantly weaker Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen. Such Black Ink Clansmen were basically of no use on the battlefield, though they could make the Army look intimidating to the enemy.

20 to 30 years had passed in the outside world, so as the four seasons alternated, some 100 years had passed in the Small Universe.

The mountain village remained the same, and although it had grown slightly larger, it was still considered a small village in a remote place.

Just like their ancestors, the hunters in the village earned a living by hunting. Before the old hunters passed away, they would give their bows to the next generation. Such inheritance was passed down over the generations.

In a certain yard, a family of three were having a good time together.

100 years had passed, so the hunter and his wife were old and frail now.

Both of them were about 150 years old. They enjoyed a pretty long life considering the fact that they were ordinary mortals who had never cultivated before.

In comparison to her youth, the stout woman had become debilitated. Perhaps she had worried too much about many things when she was young, so she was no longer as stocky as she used to be. Although she was still tall, she was extremely skinny. Her skin was dull, and her eyes were turbid.

On the other hand, the hunter was slightly more energetic, but his hair was all grey.

They were seated on a chair together as they basked in the afternoon sun, its warm light allowing them to feel at ease.

Xiao Xiao squatted in front of them as she took their hands and listened to the hunter talk about trivial things, keeping a smile on her face.

The hunter talked about a lot of things, including his experiences around the continent when he was younger and the dangers he faced on the mountain since his return to the village; however, most of the time, he reminisced about what happened after he picked up Xiao Xiao. He recalled the time when Xiao Xiao finally regained consciousness and the first time she called him ‘Father’. He also remembered the first time he went hunting with her on the mountain.

It was as though he was trying to recount all his encounters in his life. As he did that, he was filled with a sense of fulfilment.

Xiao Xiao just listened to him in silence, the smile on her face never fading.

The stout woman was initially in a dazed state, but she suddenly shook a little and landed a slap on the hunter’s thigh and yelled, “It’s getting late! Tell Xiao Xiao to come back and have dinner now!”

Upon impact, the hunter grimaced in pain. Although his Wife was no longer as strong as when she was young, her slap was still powerful. For all his life, he had been hit by his wife countless times.

Xiao Xiao turned to look at her, “I’m here, Mother.”

Upon hearing that, the stout woman lowered her head. After becoming startled for a moment, she asked with a smile, “Why are you all grown up all of a sudden, Xiao Xiao?”

Xiao Xiao replied, “I’ve grown up because I’ve eaten a lot of delicious food, Mother.”

The stout woman nodded, “You’re right. I’m glad that you’re all grown up. It’s not like you wouldn’t grow up forever. I’m really pleased.”

10 years ago, the stout woman started becoming confused. Perhaps this was a common illness that most old people would suffer from.

Despite that, she was still concerned that Xiao Xiao just wouldn’t grow bigger, though it was something that had happened over 100 years ago.

Perhaps this was the thing she was most concerned about and afraid of, so she had never forgotten about it.

After the stout woman muttered under her breath for a bit, her turbid eyes brightened all of a sudden. With her mind clearing up, she looked down at the woman before her eyes and called out gently, “Xiao Xiao?”

She would always call her Xiao Xiao when the latter was still a young child.

“Mother,” Xiao Xiao stuck her face close to the stout woman’s hand. As she rubbed her delicate face against her Mother’s rough hand, she felt heartbroken.

“You’re a grown woman now, Xiao Xiao,” the stout woman said gently.

Xiao Xiao nodded in response.

“You have to take good care of yourself,” the stout woman advised.

“Don’t worry, Mother. I’ll take good care of myself,” Xiao Xiao repeatedly nodded.

“If you find someone you love, don’t hesitate to marry him. A woman will never be complete without a family of her own.”

“I’ll remember.”

“I know you’re an obedient child,” the stout woman appeared gratified, “I’m a little tired, so I’ll get some rest now.”

Xiao Xiao lifted her head, “I’ll sing you a song.”

“Alright,” the stout woman bowed her head with a smile.

It was then Xiao Xiao started humming a song. It was a lullaby her Mother would always sing to her at night when she was a child.

By the time she was done humming the lullaby, the stout woman had closed her eyes as her head rested on the hunter’s shoulder. Although she was sound asleep, she kept a faint smile on her face.

The hunter let out a breath and said in a small voice, “Your Mother has told you everything you need to know. You’re a grown woman now, so there’s no more advice I can give you. However, there’s one thing I want you to do. This village is too small, so go out and have a look. We have held you up for far too long, so it’s time you leave this place and explore the world.”

Xiao Xiao repeatedly shook her head, “Nothing could make me happier other than being your child.”

The hunter put on a happy smile, “Since you’ve said so, I have no more worries.”

A moment later, he went on to say gently, “Although your Mother is strong, she’s most afraid of being alone. I’ll keep her company. Go do your own things.”

Then, he extended his hand and hugged his life-long partner tightly. After snuggling up to her, he closed his eyes as well.

Xiao Xiao stared fixedly at them. Although her heart ached terribly, there was nothing she could do.

She was now in the Emperor Realm. Others might not be able to notice it, but as an Emperor Realm Master, she could see that vitality was rapidly leaving her parents.

Although she had given them a lot of foods and tonics that could lengthen their lives over the years, they were still just ordinary mortals. There would come a day when they reached the end of their lives, and no one could change that.

It was thanks to her efforts that they managed to live up to 150 years old. If not for the fact that she had given them countless precious herbs and elixirs, they would have passed away when they were just past 100 years old.

A moment later, Xiao Xiao heard footsteps approaching her from behind.

She turned around as her tears slid down her face. While sobbing, she said to the person, “Sir, my parents are gone!”

Yang Kai nodded and walked up to her, “They’ve passed away peacefully. They have no more worries in life.”

The next instant, Xiao Xiao crashed into his arms and started bawling her eyes out, “I no longer have parents!”

Patting her back, Yang Kai placated her by saying, “You had your parents, and that’s enough.”