Chapter 5573, Mantis Stalks The Cicada Translator: Silavin & Ashish Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys A heavy and murderous aura pervaded the Universe Fragment where the front line’s main camp was located. Although no direct order had been issued yet, the soldiers could feel the oppressive pressure of the calm before a storm. Having fought the Black Ink Clan for years, most of the soldiers had developed a keen perception of an impending war, and there were clear signs everywhere that a battle was about to break out. The Human Race Army on the Universe Fragment at the main front all began preparing for the war. Inside a certain palace, Yang Kai watched as Yu Ru Meng’s Squad took off, heading towards the gathering point of their Division. He did not give them too much advice as there was nothing for him to worry about. All of the women in this Squad were Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters and they had a customized Warship built around Bi Xi’s Soul Clone. In terms of safety, they were far better off than other soldiers. Since a foreign enemy had invaded the 3,000 Worlds, every Human capable of contributing their strength had to do so. So, even if Yu Ru Meng and the others were his family, they couldn’t shrink from this. Especially now when Yang Kai was the Army Commander of the Profound Nether Army, he could not show any kind of favouritism. Quite the contrary, he had to set an example. Watching Yu Ru Meng and the others gradually disappear into the distance, Yang Kai’s figure also flickered as he disappeared from the spot. The entire main Army was just a distraction, while his actions were the key to this operation. Yang Kai hoped that he could return with a full harvest this time. The Human Race troops began to gather in the void, with each Division acting as a unit and Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters patrolling back and forth. The Army looked quite imposing. Soon, the void was filled with densely packed Warships, forming a massive fleet. Ou Yang Lie was standing on the deck of a huge Purifying Black Ink Battleship, staring into the void. His expression was cold and his fighting spirit was soaring. After receiving the go from the central command, Ou Yang Lie pointed ahead and shouted, “Set off!” There was a specially made battle drum on the Purifying Black Ink Battleship. As Ou Yang Lie’s only Disciple, Gong Lian was holding the drum sticks and personally struck it. Even in the vast void, when Gong Lian started beating the drum, sonorous inspiring beats resounded out one after another, lifting the Army’s morale. The vanguard set off! Ou Yang Lie loved fighting, so almost every time the Profound Nether Army took action, he would be at the head of the charge. Right behind the vanguard forces were the various Divisions, which began to move out one after another, fanning out to the left and right while Kong Chen De remained behind at the command centre, coordinating the entire battle. The original boisterous Universe Fragment was now completely empty, leaving only a few non-combatants or cultivators who were still too injured to participate seeing the Army off. The Black Ink Clan quickly noticed the Human Race Army’s movements. The Black Ink Clan scouts who were monitoring the situation were all taken aback and quickly reported back to the main camp. Black Ink Nests were indispensable for the Black Ink Clan, and so were these Universe Worlds. All these Universe Worlds had many Black Ink Nests planted on them, some of them even Mid-Rank, which towered over the others. Currently, Black Ink Clansmen were healing in and around these Black Ink Nests. Reports from the frontline scouts came one after another, and soon were in Six Arms’ hands. When he learned that the Human Race’s main Army was advancing, Six Arms was shocked. This had never happened before. Ever since he had taken command of the Black Ink Clan’s war in Profound Nether Territory, the Human Race had been on the defence. Of course, there were some occasional attacks, but nothing even close to this level. [What is the Human Race planning?] Six Arms was unable to understand, which made him a little depressed. In fact, Six Arms had been feeling quite frustrated because of Yang Kai for the past two years. Even if he shrugged off the fact that eight Territory Lords had died in Profound Nether Territory because of him, the thing that was giving Six Arms the biggest headache was the fact that the Black Ink Clan’s actions were being completely restrained because of Yang Kai’s presence. In the past, the Black Ink Clan held the initiative, able to fight and retreat whenever and wherever they pleased while the Human Race was helpless against them. The Territory Lords also outnumbered the Eighth-Order Masters, which was a source of great confidence for the Black Ink Clan. But now? So what if there were more Territory Lords than Eighth-Order Humans? Six Arms didn’t dare act rashly, afraid that Yang Kai would suddenly appear from somewhere and butcher them. Even he did not have the confidence to resist Yang Kai’s insidious means. If he accidentally fell into Yang Kai’s hands, he would be severely injured in the best-case scenario, and at worst, he would die. Because of this, Six Arms cursed Mo Na Ye an uncountable number of times these past two years. Had Mo Na Ye not sent out false information, leading him to think that Yang Kai was still trapped in Acacia Territory, how could he have lost five Territory Lords two years ago? On the other hand, Mo Na Ye’s reply was only that Yang Kai was definitely in Acacia Territory and could not have escaped. But what was the end result? Millions of Black Ink Clansmen and nine Territory Lords searched through the entire Acacia Territory, but didn’t find any trace of Yang Kai. They were unable to figure out when or even how he had left Acacia Territory. If it weren’t for the Royal Lord’s orders, Mo Na Ye would still be wasting his time combing through Acacia Territory. Thinking of this, Six Arms couldn’t wait to skin Mo Na Ye alive. Information played a decisive factor on the battlefield, and one mistake could lead to the destruction of a million soldiers and the death of several Territory Lords. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞 Just as he was thinking this, Mo Na Ye rushed into the hall, shouting, “Sir Six Arms, the Human Race Army is advancing.” Obviously, he had also obtained some information. Six Arms glanced at him coldly and indifferently stated, “I know.” The loss in Acacia Territory had pushed Mo Na Ye’s hatred for Yang Kai to a whole new level. After confirming that Yang Kai had indeed left Acacia Territory, he immediately sent a message to the Royal Lord, requesting permission to transfer to Profound Nether Territory, vowing to kill Yang Kai to redeem himself. As such, Mo Na Ye led a few other Territory Lords and some Black Ink Clan troops to Profound Nether Territory a year ago as reinforcements. For the past year, Mo Na Ye had repeatedly requested to launch a war, but he had always been suppressed by Six Arms, making Mo Na Ye dissatisfied with him. However, Six Arms was the one in charge of Profound Nether Territory, so even if Mo Na Ye was dissatisfied, he could do nothing about it. Today, after learning that the Human Race Army had actually taken the initiative to attack, Mo Na Ye was extremely excited and felt that he finally had a chance to take revenge. Yang Kai was indeed strong, Mo Na Ye acknowledged that much. Seven Territory Lords in Acacia Territory had died because of Yang Kai’s actions, and because of this, Mo Na Ye regarded Yang Kai as the greatest enemy of the Black Ink Clan. As long as he could kill Yang Kai though, they would not need to fear any other Eighth-Order Masters in the future. Moreover, Mo Na Ye felt that he had found a way to deal with Yang Kai. “Since the Human Race Army is attacking, Yang Kai will definitely appear. This is a good opportunity to kill him,” Mo Na Ye excitedly stated. Six Arms coldly snorted, “That Human is quite strong, his movements elusive, and his methods bizarre. Do you think you can kill him?” Mo Na Ye shook his head in response, “I alone won’t be able to, I’ll need help.” Six Arms was surprised at this admission. He was dissatisfied with Mo Na Ye because Territory Lords under his command had suffered heavy casualties as a result of the misinformation, but judging by Mo Na Ye’s words, it seemed he was willing to cooperate to deal with Yang Kai, which was good news. On another note, Mo Na Ye was even more incensed than Six Arms. If he did not want to wash away his shame, he would have never have come to Profound Nether Territory where he would be forced to listen to Six Arms’ orders. He was more than capable of being in charge over one of the other Great Territory Battlefields. After a moment of silence, Six Arms lowered his tone and asked, “Do you have any ideas?” Mo Na Ye replied, “There is a way, but it will depend on whether or not Sir Six Arms is willing to sacrifice a pound of flesh.” “Let’s hear it,” Six Arms asked. The biggest problem in Profound Nether Territory was Yang Kai. If they could really deal with him, it would solve essentially all of their problems. Mo Na Ye explained, “I’m sure Sir Six Arms also knows that Yang Kai has some kind of strange method to target his opponent’s Soul. This method is so powerful that even Innate Territory Lords like us find it difficult to guard against. Since the Human Race Army is attacking us, Yang Kai will definitely be hiding and waiting for an opportunity to strike. As such, our Territory Lords will all be on edge, and if they are worried about something else during their fights, it will be difficult for them to display their full strength.” “Indeed!” Six Arms nodded his agreement. When he received the news of the Human Army’s advance just now, what he was most worried about was Yang Kai. He didn’t even bother sending anyone to investigate as he knew that they definitely wouldn’t be able to find Yang Kai’s whereabouts. Just as Mo Na Ye had said, this Human would definitely be hiding in the shadows and waiting for an opportunity to kill! With someone like him on the Human Race’s side, every Territory Lord would be worried. It could be said that Yang Kai alone was enough to suppress the combat strength all the Black Ink Clan’s top Masters in Profound Nether Territory. “However, his methods aren’t without cost. According to what I’ve gathered, he can only use that strange Soul attack three times in quick succession. Furthermore, it’s quite possible that doing so comes at a heavy cost, such as injuries to his own Soul. The Human Race has a saying; the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. Since he wants to secretly attack our Territory Lords, all we need to do is give him a chance to do so, and he will definitely take advantage of it! However, once he makes a move, he won’t be able to hide himself anymore. At that time, I will lead several Territory Lords to attack him. At that point, what does it matter how strong he is?” Six Arms’ eyes lit up when he heard this and glanced over at Mo Na Ye, “If Yang Kai is the mantis, then are you the oriole?” Mo Na Ye nodded, “Only then will we have a chance to kill him.” “Then who will be the cicada?” “That will have to depend on Sir Six Arms’ arrangements.” Six Arms pondered for a moment. He had no choice but to admit that Mo Na Ye was quite smart. This was indeed an excellent way to deal with Yang Kai, but if he really went with this plan, he should be mentally prepared to sacrifice a Territory Lord, because once Yang Kai struck, the Territory Lord who was targeted would most likely die. No wonder Mo Na Ye had said he would need to be willing to give up a pound of flesh to succeed. However, what was there to hesitate about? As long as they could kill Yang Kai, it did not matter if a Territory Lord was lost; after all, almost 20 Territory Lords had died because of Yang Kai already. If he could sacrifice a Territory Lord in exchange for eliminating Yang Kai, Six Arms would more than welcome it. Seemingly seeing through his thoughts, Mo Na Ye continued in a grave tone, “Sir Six Arms, one cicada won’t be enough to act as bait.”