Martial Peak

Chapter 5443: Bad News

“Besides you all, is there anyone else?” Huang Xiong asked next. He had guessed that Primordial Pass might be gone when he saw Lin Qi and the others in such condition, because if that wasn’t the case, a dozen Squads couldn’t be moving about in the void randomly instead of protecting the Great Pass, but when he heard Lin Qi’s confirmation, he still felt forlorn.

None of them knew how many of the 106 Human Great Passes had been destroyed.

Lin Qi solemnly shook his head.

He didn’t know if there were any other survivors in the neighbouring regions, as the situation at Primordial Pass was similar to that of Azure Void Pass. Both were chased after by the Black Ink Clan while retreating to the No-Return Pass, and in the end, Primordial Pass had no other choice but to split off and act as a diversion, resulting in its tragic fall. 

Everyone knew that those who stayed behind would not have pleasant ends, but with the Black Ink Clan hot on their tails, sacrificing a few to save the many was the only viable option.

On the day Primordial Pass fell, the Old Ancestor and several Eighth-Order Division Commanders died in battle, while Lin Qi and some others were ordered to scatter and try to escape. Since that day, they had been running and hiding.

At first, there were quite a lot of them, a couple thousand in fact, but after enduring repeated attacks from the Black Ink Clan just a dozen or so Squads remained, less than 200 soldiers in total.

They might have been wiped out today if they hadn’t coincidentally met Yang Kai. With three Innate Territory Lords working together and being supported by nearly 1,000 Black Ink Clan soldiers, just 200 Humans wouldn’t stand a chance.

“Do you know anything about the situation at the No-Return Pass?” Yang Kai asked while having a sinking feeling in his heart.

Lin Qi’s expression darkened, “The No-Return Pass was breached.”

“What!?” Huang Xiong yelled in shock.

[The No-Return Pass fell as well? The Dragon and Phoenix Clans were standing guard there, blocking the only passageway from the Black Ink Battlefield to the 3,000 Worlds. If the No-Return Pass has been breached, what is the current situation in the 3,000 Worlds!?]

Huang Xiong couldn’t bear to think further!

Meanwhile, Yang Kai sighed as he had vaguely guessed this was the case.

To be honest, he had already assumed such a result when he saw Lin Qi and the others here. If the No-Return Pass was still standing, how could Lin Qi and the others be wandering the void aimlessly? Even if Primordial Pass had fallen, they could have retreated to the No-Return Pass to battle against the Black Ink Clan alongside the other Great Passes. The only reason they had to not do so, was that the No-Return Pass had already been occupied

With two Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods working together, as well some 100 Royal Lords and a massive Black Ink Clan Army, even if the No-Return Pass had the Dragon and Phoenix Clans standing guard and all the surviving Humans from the Great Passes had joined them, the situation would still be bleak.

Along the way here, Huang Xiong still held out hope that the No-Return Pass could block the Black Ink Clan’s advance, but now that he heard that the No-Return Pass had also been defeated, he fell into a daze.

It wasn’t because he lacked mental fortitude, but when he thought about the Black Ink Clan invading the 3,000 Worlds, the scenes he imagined in his mind were simply too terrifying.

At that instant, Huang Xiong didn’t know where he and the other soldiers in their group should go. Though they didn’t fear death, they could not just die for no reason by idiotically charging an enemy they had no hope of defeating. If they did, it would simply be a pointless sacrifice.

Yang Kai, who had already assumed such an outcome, composed himself more quickly before looking at Lin Qi and asking, “Did you see for yourself that the No-Return Pass has been breached?”

Shaking his head, Lin Qi explained, “Although I didn’t see it for myself, we sometimes send scouts to observe the No-Return Pass from afar. Currently, that place is engulfed in Black Ink Strength, and many dead Universe Worlds and Universe Fragments have been brought over by the Black Ink Clan on which they have planted an enormous number of Black Ink Nests. There were originally some signs of battle occurring there, but that was many years ago and now, there is only silence. If the No-Return Pass was still standing, it could not possibly be so quiet.”

Yang Kai nodded lightly. If there were still Humans at the No-Return Pass, they would no doubt be engaging in constant battle with the Black Ink Clan. Since there weren’t any disturbances coming from there, it meant that the situation at the No-Return Pass had settled.

The Black Ink Clan had conquered the No-Return Pass!

This was the worst news they could have received.

Now that the Black Ink Clan had conquered the No-Return Pass, they would definitely invade the 3,000 Worlds as that had been their goal for millions of years. Every Great Territory in the 3,000 Worlds was flourishing and had rich World Force with abundant resources.

The Black Ink Clan only had to conquer those Great Territories to be able to have a near-unlimited supply of materials that they could use at will. Also, there were countless Human cultivators there that could be turned into Black Ink Disciples.

If that were to happen, the Black Ink Clan could eventually gain enough strength to return to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction to free Mo!

After a brief pause, Yang Kai suggested, “The most important thing now is to investigate the situation at the No-Return Pass. Even though it has been occupied by the Black Ink Clan, we still need to know what kind of garrison is stationed there.”

Their original plan had centred around the idea that the No-Return Pass was still in the hands of the Dragon and Phoenix Clans. In that plan, Yang Kai would lead Huang Xiong and the others to find a chance to pass the Black Ink Clan Army before rejoining the Human Race Army.

But now that the No-Return Pass was occupied by enemy forces, they could only try to return to the 3,000 Worlds.

If they wanted to return to the 3,000 Worlds, the No-Return Pass was a place they couldn’t avoid; therefore, they had to first learn about the forces of the Black Ink Clan stationed at the No-Return Pass.

Without needing to say anything, everyone understood that if the No-Return Pass had more than three Royal Lords, it would be impossible for them to return to the 3,000 Worlds.

If there were only two, perhaps they could still find a way.

Since Yang Kai had retrieved the corpse of Azure Void Pass’ Old Ancestor, he could use it in this situation.

Although the Old Ancestor had passed, his corpse could still be used to fight with the Black Ink Clan in some limited capacity, which was also his dying wish.

“Other than that, there might be more remnant soldiers like Brother Lin, so we have to think of a way to gather them together.”

They would only get a single chance to pass through the No-Return Pass and return to the 3,000 Worlds, so any survivors that they left behind on the Black Ink Battlefield would undoubtedly die at the hands of the Black Ink Clan sooner or later.

Moreover, the more allies they could gather, the better their chances of making it through were.

Lin Qi immediately nodded, “There must be quite a few. Over the years, we have come across some traces of large-scale battles and even felt the fluctuations from such fights. However, the void is too vast, so we don’t know where the others are hiding.”

At that moment, Huang Xiong finally came back to his senses and spoke up, “No matter where they are hiding, they must now be thinking about returning to the 3,000 Worlds, so there is a high possibility that they are monitoring the No-Return Pass, looking for an opportunity. As long as we can cause a commotion at the No-Return Pass, it wouldn’t be difficult to contact them.”

Yang Kai agreed, “Division Commander Huang’s idea has merit.”

Whether it was returning to the 3,000 Worlds or contacting the other remnant soldiers, the No-Return Pass was the key. With a rough plan set, everyone rested for a bit before heading towards the No-Return Pass.

During the time Lin Qi and the others had been hiding around the Black Ink Battlefield, they had suffered huge losses, and their resources were almost used up. The situation was so dire that their Warships were all on the brink of failing as they lacked the supplies to even repair them.

Now that they had met up with Yang Kai, they naturally needed to address this issue. Under Yang Kai’s direction, many Artifact Refiners and Array Masters worked together to repair those Warships. Then, they all received pills from Huang Xiong and began to recuperate.

Another month passed, and the Purifying Black Ink Battleship was passing by a shattered Universe World. With just a glance, Yang Kai could see the ruins of a vast city on that Universe World, all its structures and buildings destroyed beyond repair.

Although hundreds of years had passed, there were still signs of the intense battle which was fought here.

It was one of the Royal Cities, at the centre of which were the remains of a destroyed High-Rank Black Ink Nest.

Yang Kai retrieved his Universe Chart and compared it to their surroundings and determined that this was the Theatre where Nine Star Pass stood guard. 

This Royal City had already been destroyed before the Human Army departed on their second crusade. Now, there was no vitality left in the Royal City.

Since they had reached this place, it meant they weren’t much further from the No-Return Pass.

At first, they were hoping to encounter other groups of remnant soldiers like Lin Qi and the others, but along the way, not only hadn’t they met a single Human, they didn’t even encounter any Black Ink Clansmen. 

However, it made sense because now that the Black Ink Clan had successfully conquered the No-Return Pass, all their efforts would be focused on invading the 3,000 Worlds. How could they spare any significant manpower to deal with the remnant forces of the Human Armies on the Black Ink Battlefield?

Even if there were Black Ink Clansmen staying here, there wouldn’t be many of them.

After giving it a thought, Yang Kai vaguely felt that the Black Ink Clan might not have left too many troops at the No-Return Pass. The Human Army had retreated to the 3,000 Worlds, so it was meaningless for the Black Ink Clan to garrison a large force at the No-Return Pass. 

If that were true, their chances of passing through the No-Return Pass would go up significantly.

A few months later, the Purifying Black Ink Battleship arrived at the place where Nine Star Pass once stood. Of course, the Great Pass was no longer here, so all that was left was an empty void.

However, now that they had reached this place, they had to be even more cautious. Despite the fact that the Black Ink Clan wouldn’t leave too many soldiers at the No-Return Pass, that was only relative to the forces they sent to attack the 3,000 Worlds. It would not be surprising if there was still a sizable Army tasked with hunting down the remaining Human soldiers on the Black Ink Battlefield as well as guarding the No-Return Pass.

Just like they had anticipated, as they moved forward, they gradually encountered a few groups of Black Ink Clansmen ranging in size from just a few dozen, to several thousand. These groups seemed to be searching the void for something.

Yang Kai had arranged many arrays on the Purifying Black Ink Battleship, which enabled it to move about unnoticed. As long as the Black Ink Clan didn’t pay much attention while searching, they wouldn’t be able to detect them.

The Black Ink Clan’s actions undoubtedly signalled that other Human soldiers were hiding around here. If not, there would be no need for the Black Ink Clan to be searching this region.

At this moment, the most troublesome issue was how to contact these other Human groups.

They continued for a few more months and were now getting close to the No-Return Pass.

A small asteroid drifted through the void, moving not too fast nor too slow as it gradually moved in the direction of the No-Return Pass.

Then, at some point, the asteroid stopped moving as if it were blocked by something.

The Purifying Black Ink Battleship was naturally nestled inside the asteroid, using it as an extra layer of cover to fool the enemy. As for how this asteroid could be steered, that was thanks to Yang Kai arranging some hidden Arrays on it which could be powered by the Purifying Black Ink Battleship.

At this moment, Yang Kai was prepared to move out when Huang Xiong earnestly reminded him, “Be extra careful. There must be Royal Lords guarding the No-Return Pass.”

Yang Kai nodded, “You may rest assured, Division Commander Huang, I may have to trouble you to look after this place for some time. I’ll return as soon as I can.”

Finishing his words, he then dashed out of the Purifying Black Ink Battleship. After scanning his surroundings, Yang Kai shot straight towards the No-Return Pass. 

This place was about a month away from the No-Return Pass by Warship, so if they continued ahead, the Purifying Black Ink Battleship might not be able to remain undetected. In a situation where they didn’t know anything about their enemy, Yang Kai didn’t dare to let the Purifying Black Ink Battleship get too close to the No-Return Pass, lest they accidentally expose themselves.

Therefore, he and Huang Xiong had a quick discussion and decided that Yang Kai would head to the No-Return Pass alone. That way, he wouldn’t have anything holding him back and could fight or run according to the situation while probing for information.