"Ran away?" Zhong Liang was rendered speechless. The Western Army had mobilized and rushed all this way, only for the Ink Clan army to have vanished without a trace. What a farce! If they returned empty-handed, Ding Yao and those old fools would never let them hear the end of it!
Just then, he suddenly turned his head, gazing toward a certain direction in the void. He was not the only one — all the other Eighth-Order zone commanders sensed something as well, their eyes scanning the surroundings.
Yang Kai also appeared to have noticed something, but his foundation was not as deep as the Eighth-Order commanders', so his perception was less precise.
Feng Ying frowned in confusion. "What is it?"
Zhong Liang clapped his hands in delight. "They haven't run — they've actually come knocking on our door. Now this is interesting."
One of the Eighth-Order commanders gave a slight nod. "They've split into three forces. Are they trying to surround this place?"
Another raised an eyebrow. "Judging from the Ink Clan's disposition, they already know we've set an ambush here? If they know there's an ambush, why are they still so brazenly overconfident?"
The first commander spoke again. "Perhaps they know there's an ambush but don't know our troop deployment. They figure that with two hundred thousand troops, they have enough to swallow us whole?"
"That's the only explanation — otherwise there's no reason they'd walk right into a trap."
Yang Kai's expression shifted, and he spoke up. "Uncle-Master Zhong, not long ago when I clashed with the Ink Clan, I vaguely sensed a Domain Lord observing from nearby. That Domain Lord didn't reveal himself and vanished quickly. This Disciple was puzzled at the time, but thinking about it now, that Domain Lord probably came here to scout for intelligence and discovered something."
Zhong Liang nodded. "This place is ten days' travel from Azure Flare Pass — quite far. The Ink Clan could never have anticipated that we'd send so many people. They likely figured that even if there was an ambush, the numbers wouldn't be significant, which is why they're being so arrogant."
He chuckled. "In any case, the situation favors us now. If the Ink Clan wants to die that badly, how could the soldiers of the Western Army dare not oblige! All zone commanders, take charge of your respective divisions. Order all guards and squads to hold their positions and await my command — we strike on my signal!"
The Eighth-Order commanders thundered their acknowledgment and dispersed to make their preparations.
While the discussion had been unfolding, the Ink Clan army — split into three forces — had already closed in on the floating island, completing their encirclement at tremendous speed. The Western Army soldiers stationed on the island naturally took notice, and every one of them was stunned. They had come out here to ambush the Ink Clan army, so how had the situation flipped so that they were the ones being surrounded?
Still, they felt little fear. The entire Western Army had deployed for this operation — a full eight to nine thousand troops, with over a dozen Eighth-Order zone commanders among them. Two hundred thousand Ink Clan soldiers were certainly a massive number, but the vast majority were nothing more than Upper-class and Lower-class Ink Clan. For these battle-hardened soldiers, there was truly nothing to fear.
Realizing that a great battle was imminent, every one of them rubbed their hands in anticipation, hearts surging with excitement. Those two hundred thousand Ink Clan soldiers represented an enormous bounty of battle merits.
"Is this the place?" On the deck of a massive tower ship, an Ink Clan Domain Lord stood at the bow, gazing down at the floating island below.
Shadowless stood beside him and nodded upon hearing the question. "This is the place."
The Domain Lord studied the area carefully and gave a slight nod. "Indeed, I can see traces of human restriction formations. They must all be hiding inside, too afraid to show themselves."
Shadowless furrowed his brow slightly. "When I came before, there were no restriction formations deployed here. How did they appear now?"
The Domain Lord who had spoken earlier let out a derisive snort. "That's how the humans are — always relying on external tools. This isn't Azure Flare Pass. A hastily arranged formation can't possibly be very powerful. With our two hundred thousand troops here, we can break it with a snap of our fingers! Send the signal. This battle should be concluded quickly — we can't afford to delay the assault on Azure Flare Pass."
Shadowless nodded and was just about to relay the message to the Domain Lords commanding the other two forces when the floating island below suddenly shimmered with a cascade of light.
The restriction formation blanketing the entire island split open in a massive breach on their side. In the next instant, a colossal Guard-class warship burst out through the gap with savage force. Atop that warship, a figure stood with hands clasped behind his back, gaze cold and piercing — so sharp that it actually made Shadowless's eyes sting.
That figure was all too familiar. Who else could it be but Zhong Liang?
Shadowless was greatly startled. The humans had dared to take the offensive? But his surprise quickly turned to shock, because behind that enormous Guard-class warship, one after another — smaller, far more agile Squad-class warships surged forth like stars circling the moon.
One. Two. Three.
Too many to count! In the blink of an eye, Squad-class and Guard-class warships filled the sky as far as the eye could see, and the imposing auras of one Eighth-Order Open Heaven cultivator after another erupted outward with thunderous force.
Shadowless's face drained of color. "This… have the humans gone mad?!"
The human ambush force on this floating island far exceeded all estimates. Having clashed with the humans numerous times, Shadowless instantly judged from the scale and number of these warships that the human ambush on this floating island likely consisted of an entire army.
Azure Flare Pass had only four armies in total — and one of them had been deployed here? Were they not worried about being pinned down, unable to reinforce Azure Flare Pass?
But there was no time left for deep deliberation, because Zhong Liang had already launched himself into the air, transforming into a streak of brilliant light that shot straight toward him. Before the figure even arrived, a devastating divine ability had already been unleashed.