Chapter 5142, Snatching Translator: Silavin & VictorN Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys Large-scale army combat was not new to Yang Kai. He was once involved in a Blue Sky Pass battle 100 years ago, and more recently at Yin-Yang Pass. The key point was to work with one’s own Squad, as well as other Squads, and try not to be surrounded by too many enemies. Fight and kill as many of the Black Ink Clansmen while constantly remaining on the move and not charging out recklessly on your own. In terms of numbers alone, the Humans were always at a disadvantage, but they could win by relying on their flexibility, and their carefully designed Warships. The foundation of the Human Race’s ability to survive so long was that they knew how to advance and retreat when needed. This was the first attack by the main force of the Black Ink Clan Army, and the two sides engaged in a fierce melee in the 100,000-kilometre zone around Blue Sky Pass for half a month before respectively withdrawing. The Black Ink Clan lost a lot of troops and retreated beyond the 100,000-kilometre mark to regroup, while the Humans returned to the Pass to rest and recover. The Territory Lords did not fight this time and only watched from afar. Likewise, the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters did not participate. Each of these top Masters had their own opponents, and if they rushed rashly into the battlefield, they would only give the enemy the opportunity to find an opening for a breakthrough. The two sides had fought for countless years and neither was stupid, which was why the previous ambush that killed four Territory Lords was a rare achievement for Blue Sky Pass. Throughout the void, two powerful Wills were engaged in a heated confrontation. One from Blue Sky Pass and one hiding somewhere behind the Black Ink Clan Army. These two Wills were from the Old Ancestor and the Royal Lord. The Royal Lord had naturally come to the battle. If he did not come, the Old Ancestor could act unconstrained and kill the Territory Lords at will. Thus, each time the Black Ink Clan Army surrounded the Pass, the Royal Lord would sit at the back of the army and act to constrain the Human Old Ancestor. These two were also old enemies who had fought each other numerous times, so they knew each other’s methods very well. However, generally speaking, these two would not fight directly. Their respective presence only served as a deterrent. They only utilized their Wills to confront one another while making their intent clear, ‘If you dare to come out to the battlefield, there will be bloodshed!’ It was very rare that the two would actually engage in a bitter battle. At their cultivation realm, it was almost impossible that one could kill the other, so a battle would only result in both of them being severely injured. The higher one’s cultivation, the more difficult it was for them to heal from injuries. Thus, they would rather sit back and face each other from afar. The first major attack on Blue Sky Pass did not have the desired effect; however, the Black Ink Clan was not discouraged. They had learned of the resilience of the Human Race countless times. If it was really so easy to break through the Human defences, they would suspect that there would be some form of trap waiting for them. After recuperating for a while, the battle resumed. However, it was not as intense as the first battle. Only small groups of troops fought in minor skirmishes. After that, it was basically a small fight once every five days, then a big battle once a month. This gave the Humans plenty of time to restore their strength. The Squads who were not involved in the battles could rest and recuperate while holding their positions. Yang Kai led Dawn out several times, participated in many battles with the Black Ink Clan, and killed numerous enemies. Two years later, the Black Ink Strength and the Black Ink Clouds outside of Blue Sky Pass began to diminish significantly. After all, no amount of Black Ink Strength and Black Ink Clouds could survive the clash of a large group of Open Heaven Realm Masters and powerful Black Ink Clansmen. As usual, it would not take long for the Black Ink Clan to send another large number of cannon fodder and reinforcements to repeat their previous actions. However, there would generally be a big clash before that happened. Blue Sky Pass had been waiting for this battle. Zhong Liang, the overall commander of the operation, summoned all the leaders to the Main Conference Hall. All the Division Commanders, Battalion Commanders, and even Squad Leaders were gathered on his orders. With everyone’s attention on him, Zhong Liang swept his gaze around as he spoke solemnly, “In three to five days, or at the latest, half a month, the Black Ink Clan will definitely launch a strong attack. We have waited for this battle at Blue Sky Pass for two years. This is the situation we painstakingly prepared for and we must finish it in one decisive blow. Over the years, you must have heard many discussions that happened within the Inner Sanctum. Everything we’ve been arranging has been for this moment. If we win this battle, Blue Sky Pass will have 1,000 years of peace. It is incumbent on everyone to fight as hard as they can. Those who do not give their all, I will personally cut down!” In this battle, the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters would handle the Territory Lords, while the Battalion Commanders and Squad Leaders would each provide support while clearing out the weaker opponents. Zhong Liang straightened his back and declared, “I expect everyone to follow my orders and not try to show off. Don’t think that because you’ve killed one or two Territory Lords, they have suddenly become easy to kill.” A group of people looked towards Yang Kai. Yang Kai awkwardly coughed, “Why are you looking at me?” He was standing among a group of Squad Leaders and wondered why Zhong Liang specifically mentioned this and targeted him. A Squad Leader next to him chuckled lightly, “Who else in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, besides you, has killed a Territory Lord?” Yang Kai muttered, “I didn’t intend to. There were circumstances, mixed with some opportunities that I just happened to grasp.” Zhong Liang glared at him from above, “What did you say? Louder. My hearing is impaired. I can’t hear clearly!” Yang Kai braced himself and said loudly, “Army Commander, I would like to ask, how can you be sure that the Territory Lords will act this time? For the past two years, they have been content to sit back and watch.” Zhong Liang growled, “It’s exactly because they haven’t done anything for the last two years that they are definitely going to fight this time. The Royal Lord sits as their absolute commander. Now that the Black Ink Clan losses are significant, it is even more important for these Territory Lords to enter the battlefield, even if it is just for appearances. Otherwise, why would they even be here? For sightseeing?” “Junior understands,” Yang Kai responded loudly. “Shut up if you understand!” Zhong Liang reached out and pointed at him, “If I find out later that you jumped out to try to block a Territory Lord, I’ll make sure you get the punishment you deserve!” Yang Kai nodded obediently and shouted, “Junior will obey your orders!” Zhong Liang was satisfied with Yang Kai’s response. He then raised a hand and rays of light shot out from it. One ray was sent to each Squad Leader and Battalion Commander. “Each of you familiarize yourselves with these and make your preparations, but remember that the situation on the battlefield can change rapidly. Do not force yourselves if you can’t do it. Even if you can’t use this this time, there will be a next time as long as you survive, understand?” “Yes!” Everyone answered loudly and immediately dispersed to their respective homes. Zhong Liang distributed two items to the Seventh-Order Leaders, a jade slip and a jade pendant. The jade slip was clearly marked with a location outside of Blue Sky Pass, while the jade pendant was a Control Jade. This was Blue Sky Pass’ special surprise for the Black Ink Clan Army. Zhong Liang was right when he said that if this operation was successful, Blue Sky Pass would not see a big war for the next 1,000 years. Thus, everyone took it very seriously. It took Yang Kai only two days to refine the Control Jade. Obviously, the other Squad Leaders and Battalion Commanders were not too far behind. Everything was ready for the Black Ink Clan Army to attack. The wait was torturous, but the situation was just as Zhong Liang had anticipated. 10 days later, the Black Ink Clan came out in force, and this time, the Territory Lords, who had been watching for more than two years now, finally joined the battle. They could not help it. In the two years of fighting, the Black Ink Clan Army suffered a lot of losses. The Royal Lord was still their commander and the Territory Lords could not continue to loiter in the rear. Even though they knew that they could not take down Blue Sky Pass with their current force, they still had to put in the effort to gain something from this. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶 Naturally, they held no expectation to take Blue Sky Pass in this battle, they only aimed to inflict more damage to the Humans, while the follow-up Black Ink Clan reinforcements were on the way. It would not take long for their fallen troops to be replenished. Afterwards, they could continue to chip away at the Human’s defences and wear down their strength. The fighting was fierce and intense. However, this time the battle was obviously different than before. Previously, the Squads of the Western Army did not have a fixed position on the battlefield and basically roamed around freely within a certain range. They would proceed to wherever there were more Black Ink Clansmen to kill. This time was different though. On close observation, one could see that a Squad was fixed in a certain area of the battlefield. They would not move out of their assigned region as they fought against the Black Ink Clan Army. Not only the Squads, but also the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters began to lure their opponents to specific areas. Yang Kai led Dawn to cut through the battlefield, using the Dao of Space to imprison the void and encircle a large area of space. In this area, there were at least 3,000 to 4,000 Black Ink Clansmen, with the bulk of them being High-Rank Clansmen together with a number of Feudal Lords. These 3,000 to 4,000 Black Ink Clansmen were much more experienced and stronger than the initial Black Ink Clan cannon fodder. This was natural; after all, the cannon fodder was all dead, and after more than two years of fighting, the number of Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen had decreased drastically. Yang Kai was not satisfied and pushed his Space Principles to the limit, encircling more and more Black Ink Clansmen. Dawn’s strength and domineering attitude finally caught the attention of the surrounding Black Ink Clansmen, who were going towards them. There were many similar Squads who operated like Dawn, but each had their own way of doing things. Each Squad had a large number of Black Ink Clansmen gathered around them. The situation was going well, but a few people had some comments. “Brother Yang, why are you snatching so many?” The Leader of a nearby Squad suddenly sent a message via Divine Sense, sounding annoyed. This could not be helped. There was a group of Black Ink Clan that was heading for his Squad, but they were trapped by Yang Kai’s Space Principles and immediately drawn towards Dawn. Yang Kai smiled back and said, “Dawn has more people, so we have to kill more. The Squad Leader was dumbfounded, “These are just small fry. Brother Yang, even if you want to eat the meat, at least share some soup!” Yang Kai ignored the request and did not even respond to his request. The Squad Leader yelled furiously, “You scoundrel! How can you be so selfish?” The lights on Dawning Light flashed wildly. Even though the team members used the Warship to dodge flexibly, there was no way to avoid all the attacks of thousands of Black Ink Clansmen. With so many Secret Techniques hitting Dawning Light’s shields, they faded at a speed visible to the naked eye. Miao Fei Ping reported nervously, “Martial Uncle, the Protective Array won’t last much longer.” There were too many Black Ink Clansmen around Dawning Light, including many attacking Feudal Lords. Although Dawning Light’s performance was excellent, it could not withstand the intense bombardment of so many enemies. Miao Fei Ping began to sweat as the Black Ink Clansmen closed in.