Chapter 5362, Breaking the Stalemate Translator: Silavin & Tia Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys The Human Race also suffered many casualties. In such a huge battle, it was inevitable for losses to occur on both sides. Warships would explode from time to time, but fortunately, the Humans had many years to prepare for this clash. The Squad Leader of every Squad had a spare Warship in their possession. Every time a Warship blew up, they would immediately summon their spare Warship and continue their bloody battle with the Black Ink Clan. In the past, the Human Race did not have such means because the refining of each Warship required extensive amounts of materials. The Human soldiers already lived a frugal life at that time, with even their cultivation resources being used sparingly, so where would they find the extra resources to refine spare Warships? However, the lack of resources stopped being an issue that plagued the Human Race once the Void Yin-Yang Mirrors entered circulation throughout the Great Passes. Coupled with their efforts in plundering the Black Ink Clan’s territory, it stood to reason that the Humans would have more resources to go around than before. That was also the reason why the overall strength of the Human soldiers had improved significantly over the recent 500 years. With a steady supply of resources, there was no need for them to be stingy in their cultivation. Every Squad at Great Evolution Pass had their own spare Warship, except for Special Operations Squads like Dawn. Special Operations Squads did not have spare Warships because their primary Warships were specially refined and customised by the Artifact Refining Great Grandmasters themselves. Moreover, the customisation of the Spirit Arrays and artifacts on their Warships had cost them countless Military Merits. In any case, if the situation was so dire that even the Warships of the elite Squads were destroyed, then the Human Race would not be far from defeat. At that point, it would no longer make much of a difference whether they had a spare Warship or not. The cawing of the Golden Crow reverberated across the battlefield again as a Great Sun leaped out to illuminate the surrounding darkness. Even the Black Ink Strength could not block out this brilliant light. When the Great Sun exploded, countless Black Ink Clansmen were vaporized. Yang Kai breathed heavily as he looked around with his spear raised. The Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters scattered across the battlefield were all locked in desperate battles while the Black Ink Clan Army had rallied and was now surrounding the Warships that were moving across the battlefield. The situation was extremely dangerous. Before the crusade began, everyone knew that this would be a tough battle and obtaining victory would not be an easy feat. Tens of thousands of soldiers from Great Evolution Pass were desperately fighting a bloody battle for the very future of the Human Race. All their efforts were to protect the safety and peace of their future; hence, they did not hesitate to risk their lives for their cause. It was just that the appearance of the Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple was simply too unexpected. If not for the intervention of the Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple, the situation might not have been so dire. Although the Royal Lord could borrow the power of his Black Ink Nest to hold off the Old Ancestor, if the Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple had not joined forces with the Royal Lord, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao would have had more than enough power to fully restrain the Royal Lord and several Territory Lords at the same time. If the Old Ancestor had helped to restrain several Territory Lords, the Eighth-Order Division Commanders could have broken the current stalemate. Unfortunately, that plan was no longer feasible. The joint assault of the Royal Lord and the Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple left her powerless to do anything else. Yang Kai gritted his teeth and glanced in the direction of the Royal City. He was no match for a Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple, but a Territory Lord was feasible in his current state. Unfortunately, even if he fought at his hardest, he could at most occupy a single Territory Lord at best, which would be meaningless in the grand scheme of things. Rather than wasting his effort, he might as well utilise his strength to the fullest and hunt down more Feudal Lords. However, if he could destroy the Black Ink Nests in the Royal City and prevent the Territory Lords from borrowing their power, then the current deadlock would also be broken. Once the Black Ink Nests of the Territory Lords were destroyed, they would not be able to rely on any other external aids. The situation of the Eighth-Order Division Commanders should improve significantly as a result. It could also be said that… if the Royal Lord’s Black Ink Nest was destroyed, then the Old Ancestor might even have the opportunity to slay the Royal Lord. However, entering the Royal City to destroy the Black Ink Nests would not be an easy feat. Even though Yang Kai was standing on the chaotic battlefield, he could clearly sense the aura of several Territory Lords stationed at the Royal City. The Black Ink Nests were critical to the Black Ink Clan, so how could they not assign a few Territory Lords to protect them? According to the previous estimates of the higher-ups among the Human Race, before the war began the Black Ink Clan had 70 to 80 Territory Lords on their side, more or less equal to the number of Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Division Commanders. In addition, they also had some 20 Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Black Ink Disciples under their command. Be that as it may, there were not that many Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Black Ink Disciples on the battlefield. At least 20 Territory Lords must have remained in the Royal City to guard the Black Ink Nests. That was an extremely powerful force. Judging from the current situation, guarding the Black Ink Nests had been a fail-safe plan. The reason why so many Territory Lords had stayed behind was to guard against the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters of Great Evolution Pass. Just as how the Human Race had analyzed the strength of the Black Ink Clan, the Black Ink Clan had also made a judgement on the number of Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters the Humans had. If not all of the Human Race Masters had taken action, then how could the Black Ink Clan dare to go all out? In the end, both sides had left a large number of top Masters to protect their important locations in order to prevent the other party from causing trouble. Although Yang Kai was tempted to cause a ruckus at the Royal City, he did not dare to act rashly with so many Territory Lords standing guard. Just as he was mulling over these ideas, Xiang Shan’s voice suddenly entered his ears, “Target the Royal City’s Black Ink Nests!” Yang Kai’s eyes immediately lit up at those words. Xiang Shan was asking him to destroy the Black Ink Nests in the Royal City! [Looks like I was not the only one with this idea.] It would seem that Xiang Shan had the same thought regarding the method to break this stalemate, or rather, with his abilities, Xiang Shan probably came up with this plan a long time ago but had been waiting for the right moment to carry it out. He probably issued the order to Yang Kai now because he had finally figured out the appropriate countermeasures. The Eighth-Order Army Commander, who had fallen to the Seventh-Order before clawing his way back up after thousands of years, immediately displayed an unparalleled strategic talent as soon as he returned. It could be said that the Great Evolution East-West Army only managed to defeat the Black Ink Clan 200 years ago thanks to Xiang Shan’s leadership. He had established a huge advantage for the Human Race in the Great Evolution Theatre, and that advantage had continued to this day. That battle also laid the foundation for the Great Evolution Army’s current crusade. For that reason, Yang Kai held great respect and admiration for Xiang Shan. Although Yang Kai could not lead an army into battle, he excelled at carrying out individual assaults on his enemies. All the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were being watched closely at the moment, so none of them could extract themselves and head to the Royal City. That made a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like Yang Kai the best choice for this task. Not to mention, he was different from ordinary Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. Yang Kai was confident that he would succeed at the task as long as he could seize the opportunity. The Black Ink Nests had almost no defensive strength at all, so as long as he could find a way to get close, Yang Kai could easily destroy several of them without much effort. Under Xiang Shan’s order, Yang Kai did not hesitate to head straight for the Royal City while not daring to make too much of a commotion, lest he catch the attention of the Black Ink Clan Army. At the same time, at a distance 5 million kilometres away from the Royal City, Great Evolution Pass continued to rotate slowly under the urging of the 20 Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters stationed there. Meanwhile, the Spirit Arrays and artifacts on the walls of the city constantly shot towards the Royal City, forcing the Black Ink Clan to assign some of their troops to defend it. Great Evolution Pass had travelled a great distance for this war, so naturally it could do more than simply launch a single ramming attack. Its role was not just to provide a powerful shield for the Human Race, its offensive and defensive abilities were absolutely lethal weapons on the battlefield. In fact, the very existence of Great Evolution Pass restrained a large part of the Black Ink Clan’s power. Yang Kai flew around various battlefields, approaching the Royal City without a trace. He did not know what Xiang Shan was planning; however, the latter clearly had an arrangement in place since he had issued such a command. All Yang Kai could do now was trust in Xiang Shan and act when the opportunity arose. At that moment, a furious roar sliced through the entire battlefield, “Go! Kill all the Eighth-Order Humans!” That was the voice of the Royal Lord. It wasn’t just the Human Race that was trying to break the stalemate. The Black Ink Clan was also trying to achieve the same. For the Human Race, destroying the Black Ink Nests in the Royal City was the key to breaking the stalemate. On the other hand, killing the Eighth-Order Division Commanders was the Black Ink Clan’s key to victory. The Black Ink Clan might not have had such capital in the past, but they did now. They had a Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple! At the start of the battle, this Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple had remained hidden, disguising himself as an Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple during his battle with Cha Pu. He has been looking for an opportunity to attack the Old Ancestor. It was a pity that Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao had received a warning in advance, so she was fully prepared. The terrifying sword slash he unleashed at her had not gotten the desired effect. On the contrary, he exposed his whereabouts and was dragged into Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao’s battle, unable to extricate himself. He was now working with the Royal Lord. Although they had managed to suppress Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao, dragging out the battle in this manner was not going to accomplish anything. Compared to fighting with Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao, it would be more efficient if he hunted down the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters instead. With his Ninth-Order strength, none of the Eighth-Order Humans engaged in battle with the Territory Lords would be able to defend themselves against him. When the Royal Lord let out that ferocious roar, he also struck out at Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao with all his strength so that the Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple could escape. The reason for his shout was also to distract and disturb her focus. Contrary to the Royal Lord’s expectations, she did not even attempt to stop the Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple from leaving, instead increasing the intensity of her attacks on him. The Royal Lord’s felt his heart clench slightly, vaguely sensing that something was wrong. Logically speaking, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao should have been desperate to prevent the Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple from leaving; however, she had done the exact opposite… Her seemingly illogical choice made the Royal Lord feel uneasy. Having suffered terrible losses due to her schemes in the past, anything that felt out of place made him wary. Nevertheless, the Royal Lord did not have the time to ponder on the matter as her attacks were so fierce that he had to concentrate on defending himself. How could he dare to be distracted at a time like this? The Royal Lord wasn’t the only one who was taken aback. Even the Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple was stunned. Be that as it may, his opponent’s choice happened to be exactly what he wanted, so he quickly stopped thinking about the issue and spun around to attack the nearest Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. The Eighth-Order Division Commander was already drenched in blood. His current situation was similar to Xu Ling Gong’s. They were both fighting two-against-one battles, but as a veteran, his heritage was much stronger than Xu Ling Gong’s. That was why he was in better condition despite also fighting two opponents at once. After activating the Evil Purging Divine Spear, this Division Commander had forcefully withstood the attacks from both enemy Territory Lords and took the opportunity to kill one of them. Unfortunately, he was now severely injured and stuck in a protracted battle with the other Territory Lord. A sharp aura locked onto him without warning. Before the Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple even arrived, a sword slash was unleashed from afar. The terrifying power behind the sword slash even tore space apart in its path. The Sword Qi not only enveloped the Eighth-Order Division Commander, but also affected the Territory Lord who was fighting him. The Territory Lord’s expression changed drastically, and he soundly cursed the Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple in his heart. Nevertheless, his movements were quick. All the Black Ink Strength in his body surged, and he quickly retreated to avoid being affected by the Sword Qi. In the next moment, this Territory Lord’s figure stiffened in shock. That was because many powerful auras suddenly emerged from the surroundings and encircled him from all directions. [Eighth-Order Humans! Why are there so many Eighth-Order Humans here!?] The thought had only just passed through his mind when countless fists slammed into his body from all sides. He was beaten to the point where he coughed up blood continuously. Even though he was severely wounded in an instant, his life was not in danger; however, the Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple’s Sword Qi fell upon him at that moment! “No!” He howled, desperately using all his might to defend himself against the sword wave. Be that as it may, how could his severely injured body achieve such a feat? When the Sword Qi enveloped him, his enormous figure was instantly cut to pieces as the horrifying Sword Qi sliced off all his vitality.