When Ancestor Xiaoxiao had chatted with Yang Kai, she'd mentioned that Xiang Shan had already drawn up the Great Evolution Army's long-term strategic objectives back when they marched out of Tempest Pass.
The plan was to cripple the Ink Clan forces in Great Evolution first, then move to reclaim the territory itself. Only then would humanity have the time and breathing room to rest, recuperate, and fortify Great Evolution. Otherwise, even if they captured Great Evolution Pass, without time to establish their defenses, what would they do when the Ink Clan's main army came knocking?
Over a century of relentless effort, the fall of one Eighth Grade Commander after another, the sacrifice of countless Seventh Grade Open Heaven cultivators along with Sixth and Fifth Grade warriors—all of it had finally yielded today's results.
Xiang Shan's strategic objective from all those years ago had been achieved. The next step would be the reconquest of Great Evolution!
And that was, after all, the ultimate purpose for which the Great Evolution Army had been formed.
The human forces withdrew to the World Fortress to rest and recuperate.
The Ink Clan, however, could do no such thing. The Royal Lord in particular—now that he knew the human Ancestor who'd been fighting him for over a century had been holding back the entire time—could never again find peace slumbering in the Ink Nest to heal his wounds.
He had no way of knowing the human Ancestor's current condition. What if the old fox came charging in without warning while he was unconscious, tearing the place apart?
To guard against such a possibility, he had no choice but to remain awake and alert at all times, ready for anything.
In that state, proper recovery was out of the question. He could only lean on the Ink Nest's power to recuperate at a snail's pace—but this kind of healing couldn't compare to the efficiency of his previous slumber.
If sleeping in the Ink Nest could have healed his wounds within a century, then in his current state, even a thousand years wouldn't be enough.
The human Ancestor had truly given him a predicament.
Within the World Fortress, the Eastern and Western Armies returned—but this time, there would be little time for rest.
The high command issued their orders: after arriving, the armies would remain in the World Fortress for no more than ten days before marching on Great Evolution Pass. There, they would join forces with the Northern and Southern Armies, who had been locked in a drawn-out struggle against another Ink Clan host outside the Pass, and prepare for the final battle to reclaim Great Evolution.
The soldiers had been waiting for this day for over a century.
From the moment they'd joined the Great Evolution Army, every one of them had assumed this campaign would mean a few brutal clashes at Great Evolution Pass before a final decisive engagement. Who could have predicted that the Eastern and Western Armies would make straight for the Ink Clan's Royal City upon arrival, ending up entangled with the Ink Clan there for a hundred and fifty years?
In light of the current results, the high command's decision had been the right one.
With the Eastern and Western Armies having shattered the Ink Clan's forces at the Royal City, retaking Great Evolution would undoubtedly be far easier.
The march to Great Evolution would take at least a month. Ten days of rest was already generous, given that the soldiers had just emerged from a massive battle and were severely depleted. They genuinely needed the recovery time.
Otherwise, according to the Eastern and Western Armies' senior officers, they should have pivoted toward Great Evolution the moment the withdrawal from the Royal City began.
During the rest period, the army was also being restructured.
Since departing from Tempest Pass, the Eastern and Western Armies had fielded thirty thousand troops, including sixty Eighth Grade Open Heaven cultivators—an absolutely formidable force. After a hundred and fifty years of warfare, fewer than twenty thousand remained. The remaining ten thousand had fallen one by one outside the Ink Clan's Royal City, their bodies lost without a trace.
Even among the Eighth Grade Open Heaven cultivators, more than ten had perished.
This was despite the Eastern and Western Armies' consistent emphasis on defensive tactics in every battle. Had they gone all-out on the offensive, the casualties would have been far worse.
But while humanity always took losses in each major engagement, the Ink Clan's casualties were always dozens of times greater—or more.
Nearly every squad had suffered personnel losses. Some squads had been wiped out entirely. Under the circumstances, reorganizing the army's structure was absolutely necessary; otherwise, there'd be no way to guarantee each squad's combat effectiveness.
Two previous rounds of restructuring had already taken place.
Neither of those had involved Dawn's Light. Dawn's Light's strength was far beyond that of an ordinary squad—especially with Yang Kai's power, which could kill even a Lord in a single move. In the chaos of battle, if one were to rank the squads by fewest casualties, Dawn's Light would sit firmly at the top.
Even the Old Turtle Squad, with their defense-oriented approach, couldn't match that record. The Old Turtle Squad had needed to absorb several replacement members during the second restructuring.
Dawn's Light had maintained a flawless record with zero casualties—until this final battle.
This battle had been the last one, and both its danger and its intensity were on a different level from anything before. Even with Yang Kai charging at the forefront, cutting down enemies by the droves, he couldn't protect everyone in the swirling melee.
Ning Qizhi was gravely wounded.
Qi Taichu fell!
He was the first member of Dawn's Light to die in combat against the Ink Clan since the squad's founding—and a Seventh Grade Open Heaven cultivator at that.
Qi Taichu had been a founding member of Dawn's Light. Yang Kai had rescued him from deep within Ink Clan territory all those years ago and selected him when establishing the squad. Through countless battles fought side by side, through shared life-and-death experiences, he had become inseparable from every member of Dawn's Light.
His death struck Yang Kai with grief, and it robbed every squad member of the joy of victory. Several of the female members wept openly, tears streaming down their faces.
Qi Taichu had been a veteran Seventh Grade cultivator, gentle in temperament, generous with his guidance when mentoring junior members, and always looking out for every squad member during the chaos of battle.