At such a position, the distance to the two great armies was already perilously close — any sudden movement could spark a massive battle.
Though separated by half a day's travel, Yang Kai could faintly make out the silhouettes of figures bustling outside the Royal City.
But the distance was simply too great to see clearly.
So he activated the World Destruction Demon Eye to observe more carefully.
With that, the view became crystal clear. The World Destruction Demon Eye was sometimes extraordinarily useful — not only could it see through illusions and pressure enemies, but it greatly enhanced one's visual acuity.
The dense mass of ink-black was indeed the Ink Clan's Royal City, and that towering, sky-piercing giant was none other than the King-rank Ink Nest, still in its unopened bud-like form.
Whenever the Ink Nest subtly expanded, rich streams of Ink Force surged forth, diffusing outward and saturating the entire Royal City.
The Ink Clan living here enjoyed cultivation conditions as favorable as human warriors occupying a blessed cave-heaven paradise.
But at this very moment, the Royal City was clearly bristling with tension. Yang Kai could see not only a flood of Ink Clan members within the city, but outside its walls, countless Ink Clan armies had also encamped.
These armies were clearly the subordinates brought by the Domain Lords who had rushed to the Royal City in recent days. They had now formed their formations outside the city, ready to repel the human assault.
Seeing this scene, Yang Kai sighed softly.
Though the Eastern and Western Armies had advanced like thunder, they were still a step too slow, giving the Ink Clan time to prepare. If they had arrived at the Royal City first and destroyed the King-rank Ink Nest, the campaign to retake Dayan would have been half won.
Once the King-rank Ink Nest was destroyed, every Ink Nest across the entire Dayan Theater would vanish. The Ink Clan here would become trees without roots, water without a source — no fresh blood to replenish their ranks. The Dayan Army wouldn't even need to engage them head-on; they merely had to patiently wait them out, and the entire theater would be pacified with ease.
But now, with the Ink Clan armies gathered inside the Royal City, it would be nearly impossible for the Dayan Eastern and Western Armies to destroy the King-rank Ink Nest.
"That's the Royal City?" Feng Ying stood beside Yang Kai and asked softly.
Yang Kai nodded. "That's right."
"What impossibly dense Ink Force," Qi Taichu murmured in awe.
Truth be told, though these people had fought the Ink Clan on the Ink Battlefield for thousands of years — some even for several millennia — this was their first time being this close to the Ink Clan's Royal City, the first time witnessing its majesty with their own eyes.
The Biluo Theater had been among the fastest in progressing against the Ink Clan — it was the first human theater to establish its own outpost camp.
But that outpost had been situated at a considerable distance from the Royal City. The Ink Clan forces across the entire Biluo Theater had merely been pushed back, forced to surrender half their territory.
This time, however, was different. This was the closest human warriors had ever come to the Ink Clan's Royal City — practically knocking on their front door.
The rich Ink Force emanating from the Royal City filled every human with a chill. The Ink Force they had encountered before was incomparable to what they now beheld.
The colossal King-rank Ink Nest delivered an overwhelming visual impact. Compared to the Domain Lord-rank Ink Nest they had previously destroyed, it was like comparing a grandson to a grandfather — there was simply no comparison.
Beyond the shock, however, there was excitement.
For the first time in all of human history, they had attacked all the way to the Ink Clan's doorstep. Though the journey had been largely uneventful, this was still a monumental breakthrough.
This breakthrough meant that the stalemate on the Ink Battlefield — one that had persisted since ancient times across countless years — had finally been rewritten today.
Now that they had arrived, a great battle was inevitable. But no one knew how or when it would erupt.
Judging from the high command's intention to have the armies hold their positions, it seemed they had no plans to launch an immediate assault on the Royal City.
This was understandable. The Eastern and Western Armies had traveled a great distance, while the Ink Clan armies stood arrayed and ready. If battle broke out now, the humans would be at a disadvantage.
So how would the high command break this deadlock?
Yang Kai's mind churned as he put himself in their shoes, wondering what he would do if he were the army commander.
After thinking it over, it seemed the only option was to rest and regroup first. If they could lure the Ink Clan out of the Royal City, that would be ideal.
At this point, the positions of the two races seemed to have reversed. It had always been the Ink Clan armies assaulting human strongholds while humans defended. Now it was the humans on the offensive, trying to breach the Royal City, while the Ink Clan was forced to defend.
But the Ink Clan's Royal City was likely not as fortified as the human strongholds. Human strongholds, strictly speaking, were all massive Palace-type Artifacts — safe havens painstakingly built by generations of predecessors, having withstood countless Ink Clan sieges.
The Royal City was different. No human had ever attacked it before. The Ink Clan had never even considered setting up defensive measures there.
This was the greatest difference between the Royal City and the human strongholds — and it was something that could be exploited.