In the great hall of the Dayan Pass, the King Lord still sat upon that bone throne, with over a dozen Domain Lords arranged on either side below.
The entire Dayan Pass had now gathered over thirty Domain Lords. To face the sixty to seventy thousand humans advancing from the direction of Fengyun Pass, half of the Domain Lords had been led by Hong Di to take up defensive positions, while the other half remained in this great hall, quietly awaiting news.
After all, near the direction of Qingxu Pass, there was still a hidden human army, and no one knew when that force might spring into action. The Ink Clan therefore had to reserve a certain amount of strength as a precaution.
They had assumed the human armies from both directions would launch their assault on Dayan simultaneously, but instead one side was fighting with explosive intensity while the other remained utterly silent.
The human army near Qingxu Pass had shown not the slightest sign of activity to date, and no one had any idea where they were concealed.
If the King Lord could take action, he might be able to locate that hidden army. However, the King Lord's opponent was destined to be the Human Patriarch, and before the great battle, the King Lord needed to conserve his energy and strength.
Just as the Domain Lords were silently exchanging their thoughts, speculating about the movements of the human army, Hong Di came rushing in.
The Domain Lords' exchange ceased instantly as all eyes turned toward Hong Di.
Hong Di bowed. "Your Majesty, that human army is fake. The sixty to seventy thousand are nothing but puppets draped in clothing — they crumble at the slightest blow. Nearly all of them have already been wiped out."
As he spoke, he tossed the puppet he had captured onto the ground.
The Domain Lords looked down, and every one of them was startled.
That army of sixty to seventy thousand humans was fake? Nothing but puppets?
The King Lord, seated above, also opened his eyes slightly, his expression one of confusion.
Though he was the King Lord, possessing extraordinary power, he was not a worm in the belly of the human race. Without sufficient intelligence, he had no way to determine what the humans were truly planning.
But if that army of sixty to seventy thousand was nothing but puppets, then where was the real human army?
Over countless ages, the Ink Clan had learned the depths of human cunning. Now that the humans had gone to such lengths to forge so many puppets to draw their attention, there was clearly a conspiracy at work.
A faint sense of unease crept over the Ink Clan's King Lord.
At that moment, a Territory Lord came bursting through the entrance in a state of wild urgency, stumbling as he called out, "Lord Hong Di! I have urgent intelligence to report!"
Hong Di turned to look and recognized this Territory Lord as the one stationed at the Ink Nest on his side, responsible for gathering information from across the entire theater of war.
Judging by his panicked expression, something dire had clearly occurred.
Hong Di glanced toward the King Lord, silently seeking his permission. Once it was granted, he asked, "What is it?"
The Territory Lord bowed. "Just moments ago, word came from the Ink Nest at the Zhe Chun Territory — a large number of human figures have been sighted. They appear to be a human army, roughly thirty thousand strong."
"What?!" Zhe Chun leapt to his feet, his face drained of color.
He had spent over a year fleeing through the void, running without rest, and had only just managed to return to the Dayan Pass. He had then received the King Lord's orders to return to his own territory, recruit thirty thousand subordinates, and bring them to the Dayan Pass to assist in its defense.
Because his territory was relatively close to Dayan, he had arrived quickly.
In truth, the territories of all the Domain Lords the King Lord had summoned this time were located in the outer regions, since only in this way could the Ink Clan's forces be deployed into the Dayan Pass as rapidly as possible.
The Domain Lords in the deeper regions were not without tasks of their own. Each had recruited around thirty thousand subordinates and was marching toward the Dayan Pass, settling into territories that temporarily lacked a Domain Lord's presence, standing by for orders.
So although Zhe Chun was not currently in his own territory and had mobilized thirty thousand troops, there was still another Domain Lord who had arrived from elsewhere to take up the post. It was not without the ability to fight back.
However, with just a single territory's strength to resist a human army of thirty thousand, the outlook was rather grim.
They had a thorough understanding of the composition of human forces. Thirty thousand soldiers meant several dozen Eighth-Order Open Heaven cultivators. The numbers were small, but every last one was elite — nothing like the Ink Clan's ranks, where strength varied wildly. Moreover, the humans had warships.
So the moment he heard that thirty thousand troops had appeared in his territory, Zhe Chun panicked.
He suddenly remembered that army of humans he had encountered on his way to Fengyun Pass — that had also been around thirty thousand strong...
It couldn't be that much of a coincidence, could it?
If it truly was that army, then the Domain Lord currently holding his territory was likely in grave danger. Setting aside the several dozen Eighth-Order cultivators, there was a Human Patriarch among them.
"What about now? Where is that human army?" Zhe Chun asked urgently.
The Territory Lord shook his head. "Unknown. After the message came through from the Ink Nest in the Zhe Chun Territory, all contact was lost. Furthermore, information fed back from the King Lord's own Ink Nest shows that the Zhe Chun Territory's Domain Lord Ink Nest can no longer be reached at all — even the trace of its very existence has been erased."