Chapter 5246 - 5246 – Gaining an Advantage then Running Away Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys As the two Armies clashed, both parties had to be menacing and bold. Certainly, neither the Humans nor the Black Ink Clan were less menacing or bold, especially when both parties were furious. What happened to Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao enraged the Humans while her actions infuriated the Black Ink Clan. As these raging Armies clashed, it was destined to be a brutal battle. Faced with the Humans’ onslaught, the Black Ink Clansmen at the front were instantly killed. On the other hand, the defences around the Human Warships at the front flickered. The Secret Techniques from both parties intertwined in the void and rained down on each other. For a battle of such scale, there was no need for specific targets, everyone simply attacked the enemy closest to them. Both Armies engaged in an intense struggle as soon as they came into contact. Such intense fighting was more than many Black Ink Clansmen could take, resulting in massive casualties on their side. Even the Human Warships couldn’t last forever under such wanton bombardment. After just 10 breaths of time, the 300 Warships which formed the vanguard of the East-West Army’s force had their shields turning dim. It was a sign that their defences were on the verge of failing. On such a battlefield, if the defensive barriers around a Warship were broken, the entire Squad inside would have to face the Black Ink Clan’s wrath without protection. When that happened, the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters might stand a chance to flee, but those below the Seventh-Order would be doomed. Fortunately, they had already made arrangements. Without the need for anyone to give orders, the moment the cultivators realised that their Warship was on the brink of breaking apart, they would retreat at full speed. As one Warship withdrew, another would come forward to fill the gap. There were several thousand Warships on the Humans’ side, so by cycling which ones were at the front of the assault, the East-West Army ensured they could deal the most damage while suffering the fewest losses as they crept closer to the Royal City. As Warships retreated, the same amount of Warships would replace them from behind. By using this method, there were rarely any casualties on the Humans’ side as the two Armies collided. During the second round of replacement, Dawning Light made it to the forefront. The members responsible for controlling the defensive arrays and artifacts madly pushed their World Force and infused it into the arrays and artifacts so that their Warship could last even a little longer. The ones in charge of the offensive arrays and artifacts quickly tried to restore their energy which they had exerted during the opening round of attacks. Meanwhile, with Yang Kai in the lead, the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters vented their powers on the Black Ink Clansmen in front of them. The Secret Techniques they cast successfully killed many enemies. Bai Yi’s skills in archery were especially intimidating in this kind of situation. Every arrow she shot could end a Feudal Lord’s life. As her petite figure stood at the bow of the ship, her eyes radiated an unusual glow. It was apparent that she had activated an Eye Secret Technique as she selected her targets. The Warship of the Old Turtles Squad was not far from Dawning Light. The Old Turtles were renowned for their defensive capabilities, so this kind of situation was where they could make the best use of their skills. The entire Warship radiated a glow which served as a barrier of defence like a thick tortoise shell, which could protect the soldiers beneath it. When Dawning Light replaced a withdrawing Warship, the Old Turtles Squad had already been at the front, and even after some time had passed, their defences showed no sign of weakening. It had to be said that even though the Old Turtles were slow, they were peerless when it came to their defence. Given such a characteristic, it would be hard for them to earn Military Merits in a search and destroy mission, but they could serve as the best shield for others around them in this kind of chaotic melee. The Warships that had moved forward along with Dawning Light earlier had all been replaced. In fact, Dawning Light’s shields were also on the brink of failing. Although the capabilities of Dawning Light were far greater than average Squad Class Warships, they were for all intents and purposes balanced. It was unlike the Warship of the Old Turtles Squad, which had outstanding defensive and offensive strength but greatly reduced speed and maneuverability. Dawning Light naturally reached its limit sooner than the Older Turtle’s Warship. Fortunately, both Armies were already tangled up together, so Dawning Light didn’t have to fully retreat. Like two torrents that collided, the universe seemed to have turned upside down as the void became destabilised. After the exchange of moves, with the Battalion Class Warships leading the way, the Humans tore apart the defences of the Black Ink Clan Army. The Warships from behind came forward and cast their attacks on the Black Ink Clansmen on both sides, further dividing up the enemy. Like a sharp blade, the Human Warships cut across the Black Ink Clan’s lines and continued to move forward for several hundred thousand kilometres until the enemy Army had been split apart. Upon arriving at this spot, the Battalion Class Warship in the lead suddenly changed directions and charged forward. The other Warships all followed it closely. The Battalion Class Warship was commanded by Xiang Shan. In order to carry out the plan on this day, this Battalion Class Warship was specially modified and its members were also carefully selected. Ordinary Squads were not comparable to it when it came to their offence and defence capabilities. Such a Battalion Class Warship could serve as the tip of the spear. Meanwhile, the other Battalion Class Warships, all commanded by the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, were located on the sides of the fleet. That way, with the protection of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, they could ensure that the fleet wouldn’t be broken up, allowing them to move together as a cohesive force. However, the price that the East-West Army had to pay was that the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had lost their freedom to move around. It wasn’t hard for the Black Ink Clan to resolve this problem, they just had to gather enough power and specifically target one point of the fleet to break up the formation. Therefore, the Humans had to bear some risk by using this tactic. With that said, in order to ensure the completeness of the fleet, they had no other choice. Only by acting this way could they limit the losses that they might suffer. The lives of the Black Ink Clansmen were valueless, but the Humans couldn’t afford to lose their men. Several decades ago, Yang Kai had taken part in the North-South Army’s fight against the Black Ink Clan. During that battle, he led two elite Squads of the North-South Army, using his Golden Crow Casts the Sun to cut a swath through the enemy ranks. As they dashed around the battlefield, they destroyed many Black Ink Clansmen to tip the balance in the Humans’ favour. What the East-West Army was doing on this day was basically the same. With that said, the scale of things was significantly larger than back then. At that time, Yang Kai led two Special Operations Squads on his own, but this time, all the soldiers of the East-West Army were taking action together, so it was tremendously more effective overall. The Territory Lords were dumbfounded. They initially thought that the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters would target them and head to another battlefield to engage in a life-or-death struggle; however, it now seemed that the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters didn’t have such an intention as they steadfastly guarded the periphery of the fleet. If the fleet of Warships sailed by the Humans was compared to a Grand Dragon, the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were like its scales. All the Human soldiers had formed into a horrifying force. After Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao stirred up chaos, the Black Ink Clan’s formation had already collapsed. Although they had tried to reorganise themselves, it was not effective. Following the exchange of moves with the Humans, their formation was broken up again. Wherever the Human Warships went, the Black Ink Clansmen were powerless to resist. Although the powerful Black Ink Masters had repeatedly made a move, their attacks were blocked by the Eighth-Order Division Commanders and the Warships themselves. There was nothing they could do to achieve a breakthrough. In just a while, the Grand Dragon formed from Human Warships had torn the battlefield apart. The body of the Grand Dragon had surrounded about two hundred thousand Black Ink Clansmen. A bombardment of attacks rained from the Warships and struck the Black Ink Clansmen who had been isolated. More and more of them continuously lost their lives. Suddenly, there came a moment when a blade light slashed across the void from the head of the fleet. Upon impact, the aura of a Territory Lord soon dissipated. The blade light came from Xiang Shan, who was leading the charge. When the blade light slashed out earlier, both Humans and the Black Ink Clan felt a crawling sensation on their scalps. On the deck of Dawning Light, Yang Kai was amazed. He had already heard that Xiang Shan was significantly more powerful than other Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. When Xiang Shan was still the Army Commander of Blue Sky Pass back then, the Territory Lords would have their expressions changed drastically upon hearing his name. It was said that 7 Territory Lords were killed by him in the past. Of course, that was just a rumour and Yang Kai had never seen Xiang Shan make a move like this before. It wasn’t until this day that he finally witnessed the man’s full strength. Xiang Shan could kill a Territory Lord with a single slash. Yang Kai didn’t think any other Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were capable of doing that. Although it clearly wasn’t easy for Xiang Shan to use such an attack, and the Territory Lord, who was surrounded by the fleet of Warships, must be flustered, it went to show that he was truly formidable. After the attack, the Battalion Class Warship changed directions and led the fleet to break through the siege and head back to the forward base. The other Warships had no choice but to follow. The arrangements they had made this time could only allow them to launch a lightning strike. If the battle dragged on, the Black Ink Clan would be able to reorganize and mount a proper counterattack. By then, the Human Army would be stuck in this quagmire. More importantly, the powerful Black Ink Clan Masters could deal with their strategy just by targeting a specific spot of the fleet. The enemy hadn’t thought of it because they were currently flustered, and the battlefield was in chaos, so it was hard for them to unite at the moment. However, as time passed, the Territory Lords would realise this easy method to hit back. In fact, the Territory Lords had already regained their senses. Following Che Kong’s order, the Territory Lords were ready to rally together and launch an attack on the Human Warships. On the other hand, the Black Ink Clansmen on the right side of the Royal City had already started intercepting the Universe Worlds, so their hands would soon be untied. When the Black Ink Clansmen came over from the right side, the Humans would have to deal with even more enemies. Therefore, Xiang Shan promptly decided that they had to retreat after gaining some advantage. Perhaps the Territory Lords were wary of Xiang Shan’s power, so it was easier than what the Humans had imagined when they broke through the siege. Nevertheless, the Black Ink Clan didn’t seem to have the intention of letting the Humans go so easily. As the Warships retreated, the Black Ink Clan relentlessly pursued them. However, the Humans knew that they would be vulnerable when withdrawing, and after dealing such a blow to the Black Ink Clan, the latter would surely be out for blood. The Black Ink Clan soldiers raced after the Humans and bombarded the Warships with a series of attacks. Faced with the Black Ink Clan’s assault, the Battalion Class Warships circle back from the periphery to guard the rear of the fleet, forming a protective screen against the enemy’s assault. It wasn’t until the Humans were 10 million kilometres away from the Royal City that the Black Ink Clan stopped pursuing them.