However, it didn't take long for the humans to realize that this fallen Eighth-Order might not be one of the Division Commanders, because there were still many Eighth-Order Open Heavens and Eighth-Order Ink Servants fighting on the battlefield at this moment.
Perhaps the one who had fallen was not a Division Commander of the North and South Armies, but an Eighth-Order among the enemy!
There was no way to confirm it. On the chaotic battlefield, the efficiency of information transmission was extremely slow, and under such circumstances, no one would go out of their way to relay such news.
All the human army could do was trust their Eighth-Order cultivators, trust that they could gain the upper hand in the high-level combat, and thereby influence the overall trajectory of the battle.
The next moment, another tremor of an Eighth-Order Open Heavens falling echoed out, immediately followed by the withering vitality of an Ink Clan Domain Lord.
The fall of high-level combatants meant that the great battle had reached its most ferocious stage.
Yang Kai's Divine Ability manifestation was still wreaking havoc, sweeping through the battlefield. Through his own power alone, he was doing everything possible to cleave through the massive Ink Clan army, making it easier for the human warriors to cut them down.
Nearly every moment, countless secret arts rained upon him like a storm. The subtle sensation of dancing between life and death sharpened his focus to an unprecedented degree, allowing not the slightest lapse in concentration.
It felt as though an eternity had passed.
The Ink Clan army, locked in fierce combat with the humans, suddenly showed signs of unusual movement.
Yang Kai, weaving through the battlefield, keenly detected this change. It was the telltale sign of the Ink Clan's morale crumbling.
Sure enough, before long, the Ink Clan army began to regroup in a particular direction.
And that direction was unmistakably toward the Dayan Pass.
The ferocity and ruthlessness of the humans had overwhelmed the numerous Ink Clan Domain Lords. Though this great battle had seen the Ink Clan display far more strength than the humans had anticipated, from the very moment the fighting erupted, the Ink Clan had been unable to seize any advantage.
After fighting for so long, the Ink Clan army had suffered devastating losses, and the Domain Lords and Eighth-Order Ink Servants had similarly taken considerable casualties. Though the humans had losses too, if the battle continued, the Ink Clan's situation would only grow worse—there was even the possibility of total annihilation.
And so the Ink Clan Domain Lords could hold on no longer.
From their current position, their only option was to retreat toward the Dayan Pass, several days' travel away, to regroup with the Domain Lords garrisoned there. Only by leveraging the power of the Dayan Pass could they withstand the humans' relentless assault.
Retreating to Dayan was the Ink Clan's sole choice now. As for the King Lord's orders—they could no longer afford to worry about those. If they lost their lives, how could they ever carry out the King Lord's commands? Survive now, and there would be future opportunities to serve the King Lord.
On the central army's Ink-Repelling Ship, Mi Jinglun had been standing at the rail the entire time, closely monitoring the shifting tides of the battle. When the Ink Clan army began making moves to withdraw, this Army Commander finally released the breath he had been holding.
Had the Ink Clan fought to the death without retreating, given how both sides were performing, the North and South Armies would surely have claimed victory—but the price paid would have been staggering. They very well might have been reduced to shambles.
This was only the first clash between the North and South Armies and the Ink Clan. If they were crippled at this stage, what future campaigns could they possibly carry out?
Reclaiming the Dayan Pass was their ultimate objective.
Now that the Ink Clan was showing intent to retreat, the situation had swung heavily in the North and South Armies' favor.
The Armies could give chase and press the advantage, inflicting maximum damage at minimum cost.
Thus, the moment the Ink Clan showed signs of withdrawal, a stream of orders were transmitted from the central army's Ink-Repelling Ship.
All the human warriors still locked in combat with the Ink Clan sprang into action, consciously or unconsciously creating opportunities for the Ink Clan to regroup and retreat.
After roughly an hour, the Ink Clan army had gathered in sufficient numbers. Under the leadership of numerous Domain Lords, they fled toward the Dayan Pass.
But they were not simply fleeing. They fought as they retreated.
When the human army pressed too hard, they would launch fierce counterattacks. Once they had blunted the human offensive, they would resume their advance toward the Dayan Pass.
Though the column was massive, under the strict orders of the Domain Lords, they carried out this fighting retreat with remarkable discipline.
Mi Jinglun couldn't help but grit his teeth—they had run into a worthy opponent this time!
He didn't know which Domain Lord was commanding the Ink Clan, but judging from the Ink Clan army's response from the very first moment the two forces clashed, this Domain Lord possessed exceptional talent and judgment in matters of warfare.
Perhaps... it was a matter of having been defeated so many times that they had learned how to fight humans through sheer experience on the battlefield. Every Domain Lord who had lived long enough had, without exception, experienced countless defeats at the hands of human armies.
In that case, though the human pursuit achieved results, they were not as significant as Mi Jinglun had hoped. He had originally planned to completely annihilate this Ink Clan army during the chase, but it was clear now that this objective would not be met. All he could do was weaken this Ink Clan army as much as possible.
The two armies drew further apart, and on the former chaotic battlefield, thick ink clouds coalesced, filling and shrouding the vast expanse of empty space.
Within those ink clouds lay the severed limbs and shredded flesh of both Ink Clan and human warriors who had perished in battle, along with the wreckage of human warships that had been blown apart.