"Ink Clan forces have left the pass!" the Ten Thousand Demon Heavens Disciple suddenly called out.
"How many?" the Seventh-Order Open Heaven who had just returned asked nervously. Every time the Ink Clan had come out of the pass these past few years, it had never been good news — each time they clashed with the Northern and Southern Armies before being beaten back. So upon hearing that the Ink Clan had left the pass, this Seventh-Order was naturally anxious.
The Ten Thousand Demon Heavens Seventh-Order replied, "Not many. Just a few dozen."
The green-robed Seventh-Order beside him raised an eyebrow and said, "In that case, Lord Mi's deduction was correct — these must be Ink Clan envoys!"
Since they had been assigned to monitor the Ink Clan's movements in the Great Evolution region, Mi Jinglun had naturally informed them of the reason for their surveillance. Before this, they had been as puzzled as Li Xing — the human and Ink races bore an irreconcilable blood feud on the Ink Battlefield, and every encounter was a fight to the death. There had never been a precedent of either side sending envoys to the other.
All of them had thought this was unlikely to happen, but with the words coming from Mi Jinglun's mouth, none dared doubt it.
Now, this group of several dozen Ink Clan coming from the direction of Great Evolution clearly weren't looking for a fight. The only explanation was that they were envoys.
"Proceed as planned?" The Ten Thousand Demon Heavens Seventh-Order raised an eyebrow.
The green-robed Seventh-Order nodded. "Proceed as planned! The question is how many Lords they've brought. If there are too many, we won't be able to handle them."
The Ten Thousand Demon Heavens Seventh-Order grinned. "Don't worry. Lord Mi said that even if we attack, they won't dare fight back. What does it matter if a Domain Lord is right in front of us? After all, as far as they know, we still can't determine the situation at the Royal City."
The other two nodded in unison. They immediately activated their secret arts to conceal their forms and mask their aura while sending word back. Soon, several human warships quietly arrived and took up ambush positions together.
The several dozen Ink Clan departed from the Great Evolution direction and headed straight here. In less than half a day, they had arrived near the floating land fragment.
At this range, the cultivation levels of the Ink Clan group were plain to see.
Several Lords, with the rest being superior-rank Ink Clan — no Domain Lord among them.
It seemed Domain Lords were afraid of dying too — afraid that if they came over, human powerhouses might kill them without asking questions. So they had sent some Lords to test the waters.
With no Domain Lord present, the human soldiers lying in ambush felt at ease.
When the Ink Clan group was about to pass the floating land fragment, the formation arrays on the warships hummed to life, and the combined force of secret arts and Artifacts launched a devastating barrage directly at the Ink Clan.
The sudden eruption of energy fluctuations and the overwhelming sense of danger struck terror into this already uneasy group of Ink Clan, who scattered in panic.
But caught in the crossfire of the warships' power, the Ink Clan still couldn't escape their doom — a small fraction were killed instantly.
Before they could even recover their senses, one after another human warship revealed itself, and from those warships, figures of human Seventh-Orders leaped out, unleashing a relentless bombardment upon them.
The leading Ink Clan Lord dodged desperately while shouting, "Stop! We haven't come to cause trouble for humanity! We are here under Lord Hundu's orders to negotiate peace with the humans!"
His voice rang out like a great bell, echoing across the wilderness.
The human soldiers paid him no mind, dismissing his words entirely. Seeing that the situation was exactly as Lord Mi had predicted — the Ink Clan didn't dare fight back even when attacked, only knowing how to dodge — they pressed their attacks with even greater ruthlessness.
Poor as those several Lords were — they had survived multiple direct clashes with the Northern and Southern Armies without falling, stubbornly clinging to life, making them the elite of the Ink Clan — yet here they were, beaten into cowering like rats.
Blindly dodging only made the situation worse. By the time the Lords realized things had gone terribly wrong and tried to fight back, it was already too late.
From the start of the human ambush to the end, in less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the entire group of several dozen Ink Clan had been completely wiped out.
The leading Ink Clan was still shouting as he died: "We really came to negotiate peace!"
From beginning to end, the humans never paid him any attention, letting him die in utter frustration.
Even though they knew in their hearts that these Ink Clan had truly come to negotiate, no one felt any sympathy for them — because under these Ink Clan's command, the blood of human soldiers may well have been spilled, and their lives taken.
At the Great Evolution Pass, atop the city walls, the Domain Lords stood shoulder to shoulder, gazing out into the distance.
When they saw the group of several dozen Ink Clan perish in the void, the Domain Lords' expressions turned extremely grim.
Though they had known the dispatched Ink Clan wouldn't meet a good end, they never imagined the humans would be so utterly merciless.
Still, this outcome was within expectations. When two mortal enemies faced each other and one side suddenly proposed peace talks, how could the other side easily believe them? Naturally, it was better to strike first and ask questions later.
It was precisely with this consideration that the first attempt had no Domain Lords among the group — only some Lords and superior-rank Ink Clan were sent.
The situation was more difficult than they had imagined!
Hundu spoke in a deep voice: "Under such circumstances, do any of you have a good plan? At the very least, we need to establish contact with the humans before any peace talks become possible."