Now it seemed the Human Ancestor had suppressed her previous injuries, presumably intending to destroy the Ink Nest while the King Lord was healing. She probably hadn't expected his counterattack to come so quickly, which had left her in a most awkward position.
However, though the Ink Clan King Lord held a slight advantage, he had no way to expand upon it.
The reason was simple. The battlefield between these two supreme beings lay directly above the Royal City. The Human Ancestor could unleash her power without any restraint or concern, with absolutely nothing to hold her back. But the King Lord could not do the same—he had to protect his Royal-level Ink Nest. To that end, not only did he have to match his opponent move for move, he also had to block every shockwave from her attacks.
The Ink Nest itself possessed very little defensive capability. If it were caught in the aftershocks of the battle between these two, it could very well be destroyed in an instant.
With such a constraint, it was naturally exceedingly difficult for the King Lord to expand his advantage.
But soon he devised a countermeasure. A covert order went out, and three Domain Lords led seven Eighth-rank Ink Slaves back from the right flank of the Royal City's defenses to guard the Ink Nest.
Three Domain Lords plus seven Eighth-rank Ink Slaves—ten powerful fighters in total, more than enough to intercept the shockwaves from the battle and ensure the Ink Nest's safety.
The reason for this redeployment was that the King Lord had realized the right flank didn't require so many Ink Clan forces to hold. After all, only six pocket worlds had launched the attack this time, so pulling ten fighters away wouldn't significantly impact the interception.
Meanwhile, numerous Lords swarmed into the Ink Nest, arriving at the edge of the Ink Pool, where they threw in the vast quantities of supplies stored in their spatial rings.
These supplies, regardless of quality, were rapidly devoured and assimilated by the Ink Pool upon entering, transforming into pure Power of Ink.
With this, the King Lord could draw upon the Ink Nest to bolster his own strength, so long as he remained within the Royal City's vicinity. Fueled by the endless stream of power flowing from the Ink Nest, the Ink Clan King Lord fought with ever-increasing vigor, completely shedding his initial state of being caught off guard. He soon steadied his footing.
The Xiaoxiao Ancestor attempted several times to break through his blockade and strike directly at the Ink Nest, but each time he intercepted her with precision.
Such a development, witnessed by the human warriors, left them secretly anxious.
No one had expected the Ancestor to be pushed onto the defensive in her battle against the King Lord. Nevertheless, the army's course remained unchanged, pressing straight toward the Royal City.
On the Dawnbreaker battleship, Yang Kai watched the battle unfold with a slight furrow of his brow.
This wasn't quite what he had expected.
What puzzled him most was that the power the Ancestor channeled occasionally showed the slightest hint of hesitation. Though the distance was great, the Ancestor's power was so immense that he could still perceive it.
This kind of hesitation was all too familiar to him—a clear sign of existing injuries.
But the Ancestor had already fully recovered. In the brief time since the battle began, she hadn't suffered any visible disadvantage, so how could she be injured again?
Unless she was doing it deliberately—feigning weakness to bait her enemy.
What calculations the Ancestor had in mind, Yang Kai had no desire to speculate. But if she was intentionally showing weakness, it meant everything was still under control. So while she appeared to be at a disadvantage on the surface, she certainly had her own plans.
From the moment the Ancestor appeared and her giant blade descended, to the King Lord intervening to block it, to the two fighting inextricably—less than half the time it took to drink a cup of tea had passed.
Above the Royal City, the Ancestor's offensive continued. And with the Ink Nest replenished by vast quantities of supplies, it could continuously fuel the King Lord's power. As a result, the King Lord fought with ever-greater momentum.
The Xiaoxiao Ancestor seemed to realize she couldn't let this continue. To destroy the Ink Nest, she had to get past the Ink Clan King Lord, but empowered by the Ink Nest, he was not someone she could simply ignore.
So after a brief exchange, the Xiaoxiao Ancestor suddenly retreated at full speed!
The Ink Clan King Lord moved with astonishing speed, shadowing her step for step, clearly determined to cut off her retreat.
The Ink Clan army on the right side of the Royal City was instantly thrown into chaos.
The figures of those two supreme beings had suddenly plunged into their defensive position.
Before, merely the shockwaves from their battle had pressed down on the weaker Ink Clan members like a mountain. Now that the battlefield had shifted directly above them, how could they possibly endure?
The King Lord was furious. He had clearly seen through the Human Ancestor's intention—she meant to use the Ink Clan army as a shield to make him hold back.
But how could the King Lord comply with her wishes? Even as he pursued her, his attacks remained as ferocious as ever, without any regard for the lives of his subordinates below.
To him, the Human Ancestor was the primary threat. If he could slay her today, it wouldn't matter if every last soldier under his command perished.
Violent collisions of energy surged and crashed, throwing the three hundred thousand Ink Clan troops on the right side of the Royal City into utter pandemonium. In an instant, casualties were beyond counting. The shockwaves from the battle swept through them—even a Lord caught in a bout of bad luck would be killed, to say nothing of the higher and lower Ink Clan members.
The Domain Lords were even more furious than the King Lord. Every Ink Clan member who died was a soldier under their command. If their armies were gone, what use would the remaining commanders be?
Some Domain Lords rushed to rally the troops, leading the army out of the area to minimize further casualties.
Others, bringing numerous Eighth-rank Ink Slaves with them, charged toward the Xiaoxiao Ancestor.
A battle between an Ancestor and a King Lord was far too grand in scope for ordinary beings to intervene. However, Domain Lords and Eighth-rank Ink Slaves had the ability to do so.