Chapter 4972 – Deception Translator: Silavin & June Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys Before the Sword Dragon could reach them, the two Feudal Lords had already noticed it, so one of the massive Feudal Lords came forward, attempting to intercept it. He moved swiftly, but all of a sudden, a figure mysteriously appeared in front of his eyes and obstructed his path. While the Feudal Lord was slightly taken aback, Yang Kai had already taken action, using Space Principles to lock the surrounding space. As soon as the Feudal Lord’s huge figure froze, the Sword Dragon opened its terrifying maw and devoured him, killing him soon after. Elsewhere, the defence lines of the three Eastern, Southern, and Northern Armies shrank as they retreated towards Blue Sky Pass under the onslaught of the Black Ink Clan Army. This couldn’t be helped. Originally, the three Armies were still holding their ground and even had some small advantages over the Black Ink Clan. However, Zhong Liang had to put down his dignity and ask for assistance from the other three Armies to bring Yang Kai, who snuck out of Blue Sky Pass, back. The three Army Commanders, Ding Yao, Liang Yu Long, and Shen Tu Mao, knew the importance of Yang Kai, so without hesitation, they sent a portion of their Armies to assist. Thus, the three Armies could now only switch to a defensive stance, or their lines would collapse. After the division of the Armies, the defending Open Heaven Masters became immensely agitated. The majority were unaware of what had occurred, they simply knew there were fewer allies on their side and they had to pull back in order to withstand the Black Ink Clan’s vicious assault. But this kind of deployment couldn’t last for long as the defence lines were at risk of being breached. Once that happened, the Black Ink Clan Army would be able to directly assault Blue Sky Pass. Though it would still be hard to conquer the great pass, casualties would be unavoidable, and if that happened, the foundation of the entire Human Race’s position would be in danger. The three Army Commander’s expressions darkened. Inside, they were cursing Yang Kai for being so reckless and willful. This battlefield was not a place where one could simply act as they wished. If they managed to bring him back to the Inner Sanctum afterwards, they would strictly monitor him to ensure he never snuck out to the battlefield again. Approximately 30% of the three Armies immediately retreated back to Blue Sky Pass and gathered in the central square. Then, they quickly raced to the Western Army’s defence line. Some 7,000 Open Heaven Realm Masters drew their artifacts and began their attack on the Black Ink Clan. In an instant, the Black Ink Clan was overwhelmed. On the Western front, the Black Ink Clan was initially on par with the Western Army; however, the sudden influx of reinforcements was like an entire additional Human Army had appeared. How could the Blank Ink Clan deal with this? One after another, Feudal Lords were killed and even some Territory Lords began to falter. The Western Black Ink Army descended into chaos, and the Humans took advantage of the situation to slaughter as many as they could. They would definitely not pass up this chance to deal damage to the enemy. On the Western defence line, having at some point disengaged from the Territory Lord he was previously battling, Zhong Liang stood, peering out at the situation. He had already received a message from Feng Ying, who was on the battlefield. Despite the fact that the battlefield was chaotic and deadly, taking some time to deliver a message was not at all a problem. Yang Kai had been located, but as he refused to return, Feng Ying could not force him back; moreover, the location they were at was already at the forefront of the battlefield where they could come face-to-face with Black Ink Clan Masters at any time. Any negligence could result in disastrous consequences. She proceeded to send out a message asking whether they should continue to kill or convince Yang Kai to return. After all, all the Territory Lords in the Western region were being dealt with by the Eighth-Order Masters. As long as no Territory Lord took action against them, Feng Ying and Yang Kai would be able to defend themselves. But there were also all the what-if situations. What if both of them accidentally fell into the trap and got surrounded by the enemy? Two fists couldn’t block four strikes. Yang Kai’s existence was just too vital to be jeopardised. So, after some thought, Zhong Liang responded, urging Feng Ying to convince Yang Kai to return to Blue Sky Pass no matter what. Even if it required her to break his arms and legs to bring him back, it had to be done. Feng Ying replied less than an incense stick later, stating that persuasion failed. Yang Kai insisted on remaining on the battlefield to contribute and indicated that if Feng Ying forced him, he would immediately escape from her sight, which Yang Kai had proven he was capable of by using Space Principles right in front of her. Feng Ying continued to report that although she was definitely stronger than him, if he really had the intention of escaping, she couldn’t stop him. “That little bastard!” Zhong Liang cursed, [This brat is too stubborn! Does he not know how important he is!?] He couldn’t be persuaded to return, so all they could do was force the battle to end as quickly as possible so Yang Kai would have no choice but to withdraw. Zhong Liang immediately sent orders to the Division Commanders to fight harder and either kill the Territory Lords or force them to retreat. It was only by doing this that the battle would end and Yang Kai would be forced to return, even if he didn’t want to. The current force on the Western side was nearly equal to two full Armies, which proved too much for the Black Ink Clan. With every breath, large numbers of Black Ink Clansmen were slaughtered, and the sounds of Masters dying emerged one after the other on the battlefield. After half a day, the Western Black Ink Army had been forced back almost 100,000 kilometres. The Human Masters were constantly pressuring them and continuing to slaughter them mercilessly. Suddenly, Zhong Liang’s female adjutant approached, cupped her fist, and said, “Sir.” “Speak!” Zhong Liang had been studying the flow of the battle and estimated it would only take another half a day to clear the Western Army’s front. By that time, he could call it a day and withdraw the army. “The other three Armies have urged us to act quickly and return their manpower as they are on the verge of being defeated.” Zhong Liang turned his head in shock and asked, “So quickly?” 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚 He had borrowed troops from the three armies, and knew that such an action would have consequences; after all, the four sides of Blue Sky Pass were only holding fast rather than advancing before now. Withdrawing 30% of the Eastern, Southern, and Northern Armies would undoubtedly put a heavy strain on them. While the Western Army had an overwhelming advantage, the other three armies would have to pay a steep price. However, Zhong Liang didn’t expect the situation to become so bad so quickly. He believed it would be a simple matter for the three other armies to maintain their lines for a couple of days at least. Contrary to his expectations, only half a day had gone by before this scenario played out. The adjutant then replied, “The Black Ink Clan have seemingly gone mad. They are ignoring the costs and assaulting the three armies without regard for their casualties.” Zhong Liang’s brow furrowed. The Black Ink Clan was acting unusual, but he couldn’t figure out why, so he didn’t think too hard before he ordered, “Send them this message, tell them to hold for half a day more no matter what; after that, I will go there in person to assist them!” The adjutant nodded and quickly carried out her orders. On the Northern, Southern, and Eastern defence lines, Ding Yao, Liang Yu Long and Shen Tu Mo received Zhong Liang’s reply. The first thing they did was curse Zhong Liang for not supervising Yang Kai properly and allowing this mess to happen in the first place, but immediately after, they reorganized their lines to assume a complete defensive posture, ceasing all attempts to counterattack the enemy. The Army Commanders even set out personally to battle against the Territory Lords in order to buy more time for the Western Army. The fact that the three Army Commanders battled in person was inspiring to the Human Masters, and the Black Ink Clan Army’s reckless assault also resulted in many casualties on their side. It was not long before the Black Ink Army began losing momentum after suffering so many losses, but they still refused to withdraw for some reason. On the Western Army’s defence line, the Black Ink Clan army had retreated repeatedly, now having been pushed back almost 200,000 kilometres. The void along the way was littered with Black Ink Clan corpses, showing the heavy losses they had taken in this battle. The Black Ink Clan Army, which had been almost suicidally attacking the Eastern Army’s defences, suddenly came to a halt for some reason, and after a brief rally, turned around and flew off. The Eastern Army Commander, Ding Yao standing in the void, gawked in shock at the scene. He had no idea why the Black Ink Clan Army withdrew all of a sudden. An adjutant standing nearby cheered, “Army Commander, the Black Ink Clan is retreating!” Ding Yao snorted, “I can see that, I’m not blind!” The adjutant awkwardly cleared his throat and said nothing further. An injured Division Commander nearby frowned and muttered, “But, why? Army Commander, do we pursue them?” The adjutant hurriedly warned, “Sirs, this might be a trap. The Black Ink Clan may be trying to lure us out.” The Division Commander did not argue his point, as he had similar concerns. The Black Ink Clan had never done anything like this before. They appeared to have evacuated their soldiers, but in reality, they might be digging a pit and waiting for the Humans to jump into it. If it was really a trap, they couldn’t go after them, or they would be caught. Just as the adjutant’s words fell, he received a communication and hurried to inspect it. A moment later, he raised his head with a perplexed expression, “Army Commander, the Black Ink Clan on the Southern and Northern Fronts have also withdrawn.” Ding Yao turned his head hurriedly and asked for confirmation, “The Black Ink Clan to the North and South also retreated?” The adjutant nodded firmly, “Word was passed from both sides. They are also asking us what the situation is here.” Ding Yao was now dumbfounded. The Black Ink Clan withdrew its troops from the Eastern, Southern, and Northern Fronts. What exactly were they up to? Whatever the Black Ink Clan’s intentions were, such a large-scale three-sided retreat did not appear to be part of some elaborate trap. There were simply too many risks with this type of grand plan. Defeating an entire army, as the expression goes, is as difficult as collapsing a mountain. Such a large re-organization of the Black Ink Clan’s deployment would leave them scattered and out of position, rendering any kind of trap they wanted to set useless, at least for a while. So, after a brief hesitation, Ding Yao shouted, “All units, pursue the enemy!” The adjutant was startled and hurriedly discouraged, “Army Commander, we should be wary of tra- Ah!” Ding Yao kicked him in the butt and snapped, “Trap my ass! What kind of trap could there be in this situation? Inform the Northern and Southern Armies about my decision, and ask Liang Yu Long and Shen Tu Mo to make their decision quickly!” He was the Army Commander of the Eastern Army, so he could not command them to do anything, but Ding Yao believed that Liang Yu Long and Shen Tu Mo would make the correct decision; after all, they had been fighting alongside them for thousands of years. They understood one another perfectly. Right after he gave the order, Ding Yao rushed out first, followed by numerous Human Masters from the Eastern Army. In an instant, the Human Army began pursuing the retreating enemy.