Dawn's Daybreak warship was positioned on the flank of the vast fleet, essentially near the outer perimeter.
Such a location meant that once fighting broke out, they would be in a more precarious situation compared to warships deeper in the formation, as they would encounter the Ink Clan's attacks first.
This arrangement was entirely intentional by the higher-ups. Dawn was a special elite squad with formidable personnel, and the Daybreak warship's performance was far beyond that of an ordinary squadron-level vessel. Naturally, they were placed where they could more readily engage the Ink Clan.
When the Old Ancestor appeared, the crew aboard the Daybreak stood frozen in shock, speechless for a long time.
Just then, the teleportation array on the Daybreak flickered. Feng Ying turned to look and saw a familiar figure stepping through the array.
"Captain!" Feng Ying called out joyfully, and the crew all greeted Yang Kai together.
These years Yang Kai had been helping the Old Ancestor recover from her injuries and hadn't appeared for a long time. Though Feng Ying had been leading the Daybreak crew in his absence, something always felt missing.
Now that Yang Kai had finally shown his face, that feeling of something lacking was put to rest.
No matter where one went, wherever people gathered, there was always a central pillar.
For the members of Dawn, Yang Kai was that pillar.
Yang Kai gave a slight nod, walked to the front of the deck, gazed into the distance, and couldn't help clicking his tongue.
The Ink Clan was in for a world of hurt this time. The Old Ancestor had come forward with such overwhelming force the moment she appeared — clearly, she was in a foul mood and looking to vent.
Though her strength had recovered and her memories had been unsealed, a century of life experiences had still left an indelible impression on the Old Ancestor's heart.
As Xiaoxiao, having lost the parents who raised her, her mood naturally wouldn't be too pleasant.
"What's gotten into the Old Ancestor? Did she lose a family member?" Feng Ying voiced the question on everyone's mind.
"It's a long story." Yang Kai wasn't sure how to explain — after all, it concerned the Old Ancestor, and he couldn't just speak of it casually.
"How are the Old Ancestor's injuries?" Qi Taichu asked immediately after — this was what the human side truly needed to concern themselves with.
Everyone knew the Old Ancestor had been recovering from her injuries. In private, people had speculated about how long her recovery would take.
Though there was no definitive answer, several decades to a century was the commonly accepted conclusion. Among the army were soldiers transferred from Yin-Yang Pass who knew more about the secrets of the Old Ancestor's recovery than most.
The estimate of several decades to a century had come precisely from them.
Thus, nearly everyone believed it would be at least another fifty years before the Old Ancestor would take action again.
No one had expected that in less than thirty years, the Old Ancestor would emerge, and upon doing so, launch a brazen assault on the Ink Clan's royal city.
"Her injuries are fully healed," Yang Kai replied.
Feng Ying's eyes lit up. "So this time, we're getting serious?"
Over the past twenty-odd years, tens of thousands of soldiers from the East-West Army had launched several large-scale deployments toward the Ink Clan's royal city, but each time it was more thunder than rain. While it was a cleverly executed strategy that had certainly caused the Ink Clan much suffering, the human soldiers still craved a true, full-scale battle on the open field — one that would show the Ink Clan the full strength of humanity!
They had been waiting nearly thirty years for this battle.
From the moment the East-West Army had first set foot into the Ink Clan's territory in the Dayan theater, they had been waiting for this day to come.
Yang Kai nodded. "Now that the Old Ancestor has made her move, there's no way the East-West Army is leaving empty-handed!"
The group exchanged glances, all of them fired up.
It wasn't just Dawn who felt this way — the soldiers aboard every human warship shared the same excitement.
In fact, the moment the Old Ancestor had appeared and attacked the royal city, virtually every human knew that this time the army wasn't conducting a feint — they were going to face the Ink Clan head-on with blade and spear.
Tens of thousands of warriors rubbed their fists, raring to go!
In the void, the massive blade coalesced and swung down in a single, instantaneous motion.
Before the attack even arrived, its incomparable force had already engulfed the royal city. The Ink Clan armies stationed on both flanks of the city were thrown into utter terror. Blasted by the radiating waves of power, many of the weaker lower-ranking Ink Clan couldn't withstand it at all — dark blood erupted from their bodies as though they were being flayed by a thousand blades, and in the blink of an eye, they were covered in wounds and dead.
The higher-ranking Ink Clan fared somewhat better, but even they struggled to hold their ground.
Only the lords and domain masters could withstand that terrifying pressure and the piercing force.
The massive blade aimed straight for the colossal Ink Nest towering at the center of the royal city.
This was the foundation of the Ink Clan in the Dayan theater. Destroy the Ink Nest, and their message transmission would be severed, their ability to spawn reinforcements cut off. If the Ink Nest could be destroyed, the battle would be half won — all that would remain was to slowly attrit the surviving Ink Clan, and the entire Dayan theater could be cleared in one fell swoop.
When that happened, the entire theater might fall under human control. Such an accomplishment — since the Ink Battlefield's existence began, no human stronghold had ever achieved it. If the Dayan Army could pull it off, it would set an unprecedented precedent for humanity.
Under the watchful eyes of countless warriors from both races, the massive blade slammed down.