Since the Ancestor had said as much, Xiang Shan naturally stepped forward without hesitation.
Three hundred thousand Ink Clan soldiers sounded like a lot, but in truth, it wasn't. One had to consider that back at Azure Cloud Pass, the Ink Clan had committed nearly a million troops in each assault — and that was without counting the reinforcements that continued to pour in. Had those been tallied, the number would have been even greater.
Moreover, among those three hundred thousand Ink Clan soldiers, there were only around ten Domain Lords. In contrast, the Da Yan Army boasted a full sixty Eighth-Order commanders. At that tier of combat power, they already held an overwhelming numerical advantage.
Not to mention that the Da Yan Army also had a Ninth-Order Old Ancestor personally overseeing the battle.
If a battle erupted, they need only eliminate those Domain Lords first, and the Ink Clan army would surely collapse on its own.
So for Xiang Shan, defeating three hundred thousand with thirty thousand wouldn't be difficult. What he needed to consider was how to minimize his own army's losses. Beyond that, he had deeper thoughts — perhaps he could leverage these reinforcements from Da Yan Pass to lay the groundwork for eventually retaking the fortress.
As the commander of the Da Yan Eastern Army, virtually the highest-ranking figure below the Ancestor, his vision couldn't be so shortsighted as to focus only on what lay immediately before him.
After a brief discussion with Liu Zhiping, the two of them had settled on a plan.
The two armies were bound to encounter each other in the void. The Ink Clan likely hadn't detected any trace of the human army yet, and they probably never expected that a human force would march toward them from the direction of Wind Cloud Pass. Over the past thirty-odd thousand years, the Ink Clan had sent reinforcements to the Wind Cloud theater countless times, and their march had always gone smoothly without a hitch. That long experience had bred complacency — they hadn't even bothered to send scouts ahead to probe the terrain.
So the initiative currently lay firmly in the hands of the Da Yan Army.
Xiang Shan had originally wanted to find a suitable location for an ambush, but there wasn't anything particularly fitting nearby. The void was vast and desolate, and many areas were completely devoid of matter — even if he wanted to set an ambush, there was nothing to use as cover.
Compounding this was the tight timeline and unfamiliarity with the local terrain. In the end, he could only select a stretch of shattered floating continents as his ambush point.
The location wasn't perfect. As long as the Ink Clan maintained even a modicum of vigilance, they wouldn't readily venture into it.
But this couldn't be helped. If the ambush was truly discovered, then it would have to be a head-on collision.
Once all arrangements were in place, command after command was relayed from the Ink-Expelling Ships, and the army's marching speed surged as it hurtled toward the belt of floating continents.
Only after everything on this end was settled did Xiang Shan turn to face the Ancestor. "I would ask that the Ancestor not exterminate them entirely. As for the Domain Lords — it would be best to let one escape."
The Ancestor looked surprised upon hearing this. "Wouldn't that alert the enemy?"
"That's exactly the idea," Xiang Shan replied. "To alert the enemy."
The Ancestor's delicate brows furrowed slightly. "What's the purpose?"
Xiang Shan answered, "Da Yan Pass has been occupied by the Ink Clan for thirty thousand years, but I suspect that the Ink Clan's Royal Lord wouldn't actually reside within Da Yan itself. A Royal-Level Ink Nest is his true foundation, so he most likely dwells in the Ink Clan's Royal City. As for Da Yan Pass, at most there would be a Domain Lord stationed there. Would the Ancestor prefer to face the Royal Lord near the Royal City, or near Da Yan Pass?"
The Ancestor smiled. "All things considered, I would naturally prefer near Da Yan Pass."
If it were near the Royal City, the Royal Lord would have the Royal-Level Ink Nest to rely on. Even if they managed to wound him, he could use the Nest's power to heal rapidly. Moreover, the Royal City lay deep in the Ink Clan's heartland — fighting the Royal Lord there meant the Ink Clan could dispatch reinforcements at any moment.
But if the battle took place near Da Yan Pass, it would be a different story. Without a Royal-Level Ink Nest, the Royal Lord's healing efficiency would be drastically reduced, which would work to the Ancestor's advantage.
Xiang Shan grinned. "Precisely. So if the Ink Clan learns that a human army is approaching and that it's poised to retake Da Yan, the Royal Lord will surely come personally to oversee the Pass's defense, to prevent the human army from attacking."
"Luring the tiger from the mountain!" The Ancestor's eyes lit up. She had to admit — Xiang Shan's scheme was quite brilliant. He was wresting the choice of battlefield into their own hands, creating every possible advantage for their side.
After a moment's thought, the Ancestor added, "The plan is clever, but if Da Yan Pass is only held by a Domain Lord, why not march quietly and seize the Pass in one stroke?"
This wasn't a challenge — it was a genuine question.
Though the Ancestor's cultivation far surpassed Xiang Shan's, it was clear from his arrangements that in the art of warfare, his talent far exceeded hers. A seemingly simple deployment had already laid the groundwork for the larger strategic picture.
This was something the Ancestor herself could never have managed. When she had first sensed the Ink Clan army approaching, all she had thought about was annihilating them to the last — the idea of deliberately letting a Domain Lord escape had never even crossed her mind.
But now that she had grasped the deeper layer, she naturally had to ask. And besides, she felt this was such a straightforward matter that Xiang Shan couldn't possibly have overlooked it.