Chapter 5516: Unwilling Alas, such was the situation that the Humans were in now. As things became more and more serious on the various battlefields, those at the Supreme Headquarters could not avoid planning for the possibility that the Humans might be defeated; thus, having the forward outpost right outside the Territory Gate was the best strategy. Among the dozen or so Great Territory battlefields, the fight between the Humans and the Black Ink Clan in Profound Nether Territory was not the most intense, but it was still fraught with tension. The one-million-strong Army’s defence line had been quite long at first, but as the Black Ink Clan Army continued to press forward over the recent years, the front shrunk as well. Right now, the region that was under the Humans’ control was less than 30% of what they once had. Once the Human Race Army retreated to a certain point, they would have no choice but to consider retreating from the Territory altogether, regardless of how reluctant the Humans in Profound Nether Territory were. It would not be easy to organise the evacuation of over a million soldiers. The Human Race had to prepare their exit strategy in advance, or else, if they showed any signs of disorder, the Black Ink Clan would surely pounce and inflict massive losses. Compared to the battles between the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan on the Black Ink Battlefield, the Black Ink Clan’s invasion now had led to battle between the two sides becoming far more frequent and fierce. Fights big and small broke out at every moment, and during each clash, both sides continued to suffer casualties. At the moment, somewhere less than half a day’s journey away from the Humans’ forward outpost, the Humans and the Black Ink Clan were engaged in a relentless battle around a large Universe Fragment. The Human Race had 300,000 soldiers stationed at this Universe Fragment, which was covered in countless arrays and artifacts to aid them against the Black Ink Clan’s attacks. This battle had carried on for three months already. Thanks to the arrays and artifacts installed on the Universe Fragment as well as a steady stream of reinforcements from the rear, the Human Race had managed to fend off the Black Ink Clan’s attacks over 100 times and killed countless Black Ink Clansmen. That being said, just like the Human Race had reinforcements, the Black Ink Clan did too, and their numbers were far greater. As of now, the Black Ink Clan occupied nearly all of the Great Territories in the 3,000 Worlds and had planted Black Ink Nests in all of their conquered land. As a result, the Black Ink Clan Army had an endless stream of new soldiers to throw into the war. Even though many Hunters moved through these Great Territories and destroyed numerous Black Ink Nests, this barely made a dent in the number of Black Ink Nests there were. No matter how many Low-Rank Black Ink Nests they destroyed, it was no use if the Humans did not destroy their source, which were the Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests. Each time the Human Race destroyed one Low-Rank Nest, the Black Ink Clan would immediately re-grow another, so it was merely an exercise in futility that wasted resources. For the Black Ink Clan who currently occupied basically all of the 3,000 Worlds, they did not lack resources, and furthermore, they were receiving more from the Black Ink Battlefield as well. The battle was particularly fierce just outside the Universe Fragment. Scores of Human Warships flew about as the light from Spirit Arrays and Secret Techniques shot out to push the Black Ink Clan Army back. Atop the Universe Fragment, an imposing middle-aged man dressed in a set of golden armour sat cross-legged as he stared out into the battlefield with a look of concern. The situation in Profound Nether Territory did not look good, but the Human Race could not afford to lose this battle in particular. If they did, then the Profound Nether Army would have no other place to retreat to. They would have to give up the entire Profound Nether Territory, and the Human Race would lose yet another one of their frontlines against the Black Ink Clan. This outcome was hard for the Human Race to stomach, and a defeat here would surely cause a precipitous drop in morale. However, the difference in strength between the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan was clear, so how were they supposed to hold onto Profound Nether Territory? The middle-aged man had no answer. He was not an expert in military strategy, what he excelled at was charging in and wreaking havoc! Yet, the situation was deeply worrying right now. Although he wanted to join the fight, his injuries were severe enough that he needed to rest and focus on healing right now, so he had to quell his itch to fight. All of a sudden, a figure fell from the sky and landed near him. The man stumbled and coughed, blood dripping from the corner of his lips. The middle-aged man turned to look, and the newcomer grinned, “Tending to your injuries, Old Wei?” [Isn’t that obvious? Why would I be sitting here if I wasn’t tending to my injuries?] Wei Jun Yang snorted to himself, but as they were old friends, there was no reason to stick to formalities. After thinking briefly, Wei Jung Yang said, “Brother Ou Yang, just focus on healing yourself. Don’t force yourself to keep up.” The person flashed a stubborn smile, “Don’t just pay attention to my injuries. That Territory Lord isn’t having a good time either! I was so close! I nearly bashed his head apart. Alas, what a shame!” However, he did sit down cross-legged and stuffed a pill into his mouth. If Yang Kai was here, he would have recognised the person that Wei Jun Yang addressed as Brother Ou Yang. It was Ou Yang Lie, the one he brought back from the Black Ink Battlefield a few decades ago. They were all well-acquainted with each other as their paths crossed numerous times at Great Evolution Pass. The two Eighth-Order Masters shared a preference for charging straight towards the enemy; thus, they got along well and had been friends for many years. There were quite a few Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Profound Nether Territory as the one-million-strong Human Army was made up of the remnants of the Armies from over a dozen Human Great Passes that fought on the Black Ink Battlefield. This included Great Battle Pass and Great Evolution Pass. Wei Jun Yang was the Army Commander of the Eastern Army at Great Battle Pass. Over the past 500 or so years, the Human Race Armies of the various Great Passes had gone through battles at the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, the No-Return Pass, and the Barren Territory. These three major wars greatly depleted the Human Race’s reserves. Thus, when the Human Race retreated to High Heaven Territory and the Star Boundary, the various Great Pass Armies were disbanded and reorganized into Armies named after the dozen or so Great Territory battlefields. The army here at Profound Nether Territory was the Profound Nether Army. If they failed to hold their ground in Profound Nether Territory, then the Profound Nether Army would be broken up and re-distributed to the other Armies. Right now, Wei Jung Yang and Ou Yang Lie were both Commanders in the Profound Nether Army. As long as no Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master showed up, the veteran Eighth-Order Army Commanders would remain in charge. They were not the only Army Commanders here though as there were several other Eighth-Order Masters who held such a rank. After quietly tending to their injuries for a while, Ou Yang Lie abruptly said, “It’s hard to fight against these Innate Territory Lords.” Compared to the Territory Lords they were used to facing on the Black Ink Battlefield, these Innate Territory Lords that came out of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction were far stronger. Back on the Black Ink Battlefield, Ou Yang Lie could kill average Territory Lords if he pushed himself to his limits, though he would suffer serious injuries in the process. However, when facing off against Innate Territory Lords whose powers were on par with his, even his most fervent attacks did not achieve similar results. Earlier on the battlefield, he was clashing with an Innate Territory Lord for quite some time, but in the end, both of them were heavily injured and had to withdraw to tend to their injuries. Ou Yang Lie and Wei Jung Yang both ranked among the strongest Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, so if this was the case for them, then it was not hard to imagine the pressure the ordinary Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters faced. On the Black Ink Battlefield, Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were generally stronger than Territory Lords, but now, the positions had been flipped. “That’s to be expected,” Wei Jung Yang nodded coolly, “It’s said that the Innate Territory Lords are born straight from the Black Ink Nests and possess a trace of Mo’s Source. They are born with immense strength, but have to sacrifice their future for it.” Innate Territory Lords could not become Royal Lords because all their potential was exhausted from the moment they were created, but due to this, they possessed great strength from the moment they came to be and could stand toe to toe against the Human Race’s most powerful Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. “I know that. I just don’t like it!” Ou Yang Lie grumbled. Humans had to work hard and spend countless years to become Eighth-Order Masters. Along the way, they had to brave numerous risks and perils; however, the Black Ink Clan did not have the same problem. A High-Rank Black Ink Nest could give birth to numerous Innate Territory Lords, all they needed was sufficient resources. Although Ou Yang Lie considered the Black Ink Clan his mortal enemy, he had to admit that their method of creating new Masters was an unsolvable conundrum. After a moment of silence, Ou Yang Lie asked, “What did those at the Supreme Headquarters say?” Wei Jun Yang sighed, “They said that if the Profound Nether Army can’t hold out against the enemy, we need to start making preparations to evacuate.” “Retreating again!” Ou Yang Lie’s expression hardened as he snarled, “We’ve gone from the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction to the No-Return Pass, from the No-Return Pass to the Barren Territory, and then from the Barren Territory to here. Why are we retreating further still? Will there be any space for the Human Race to survive in if we keep retreating like this? What are Big Head Mi and Big Head Xiang doing!? Aren’t they supposed to be the best strategists!? Can’t they think of a way to ease the situation here!? Sooner or later, I’m going to tear their heads off and kick them around like a ball!” Wei Jun Yang shook his head, “It’s not a failing on the Army’s part if we can’t stand against the Black Ink Clan. You know the situation that we’re in right now. It’s not necessarily a bad thing if the Profound Nether Army evacuates. The battles in the other Great Territories are just as intense and worrying. If the Profound Nether Army breaks up into smaller units to support the other Great Territories, we might be able to stabilize the situation. My guess is the Supreme Headquarters is considering giving up on Profound Nether Territory because the other Great Territories can benefit from it.” Ou Yang Lie snorted, “Is that the so-called making sacrifices for the greater good? Don’t listen to that nonsense. If they can give up on Profound Nether Territory today, they can give up on Heavenly Wolf Territory tomorrow, and what about the day after tomorrow? Are they going to give up on Twin Poles Territory too? Why don’t we just give up on all the Great Territories? Everyone can just hide inside High Heaven Territory and gather all of the Human Race’s strength together. I’m sure the Black Ink Clan won’t be able to force their way in then.” Wei Jung Yang eyed him and said, “You and I both know that what you just said might very well happen!” 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺 Ou Yang Lie’s expression twitched as he knew that it was a possibility… but still, he was unwilling! After centuries of retreating and evacuating, even their spirits had left as well! He did not want to retreat anymore! “What about our reinforcements? The Profound Nether Army has a million people, but there are only 300,000 here. Where is the rest of the Army?” Ou Yang Lie asked. Although he was one of the Profound Nether Army Commanders, he was a man of action and not someone who could be left in charge of strategy and logistics. When the battle started, all he cared about was fighting the enemy. He did not care about plans or the bigger picture. The way he saw it, why make complicated strategies when you can just kill off all the enemies and be done with it? Thus, Ou Yang Lie did not know much about what was happening with the overall Profound Nether Army. Wei Jun Yang sighed once more, “Although there were a million of us in the Profound Nether Army at the start, over the years of battle, many have died. We now have just over 700,000 left. Some of them need to stand guard at the forward outpost at the Territory Gate, and some need to fend off the Black Ink Clan at the various bases, so we… won’t be getting any reinforcements.” Ou Yang Lie opened his mouth to speak, but in the end, all he could do was curse at the situation. “However, I’ve sent a message to the Supreme Headquarters and requested that they deploy the Divine Spirits to aid us. Judging by how many days it has been, they should be arriving soon.” “Divine Spirits…” Ou Yang Lie raised his brow. There were many Divine Spirits who fought alongside the Human Race now. Apart from the Dragon and Phoenix Clans, which had stood guard at the No-Return Pass, there was also a large group of Divine Spirits who came from the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land. What’s more, just over a decade ago, some 100 Divine Spirits suddenly appeared outside the Star Boundary, which gave the Human Race Masters who were on guard there a huge fright.