Three Superior Ink Clansmen, a dozen-odd Inferior Ink Clansmen—of those three Superior Ink Clansmen, the strongest among them was merely equivalent to a Fifth-Order Human Open Heaven.
Such a force was laughably inadequate before Yang Kai now.
The Dawn Squad members swiftly boarded the vessel, silent and spectral.
Yang Kai waved a hand, collecting the idle Dawn into his Small Universe, then issued a command: "Everyone below Upper-Order—enter my Small Universe."
As he spoke, he threw open the gateway to his Small Universe.
Now that they had seized the Ink Clansmen's transport ship, the next step was to head for the Ink Clansmen's defensive line and go after the Ink Nest.
Dawn had far too many people—fifty in all. If they all gathered on the ship, no matter how carefully they suppressed their auras, they would be detected easily. Leaving only the Seventh-Order fighters aboard was the best option. That way, if a fight truly broke out, the Seventh-Order Open Heaven cultivators could flee quickly.
The group received their orders and filed aboard in single file, led by Miao Feiping.
Soon, only seven people remained on the ship, Yang Kai at the forefront.
His spiritual sense swept across the vessel, and he quickly grasped the structure of this Ink Clansmen's flying Artifact. Ink Clansmen Artifact refinement was mostly carried out by Human Ink Servants, so there was nothing particularly unusual about it.
"Take the pills!" Yang Kai ordered again, and the others hurriedly produced Ink-Expelling Pills and swallowed them.
His own Small Universe was sealed by a World Tree sub-tree, so he had no fear of Ink Force erosion. But Shen Ao and the others did not have that luxury. While Seventh-Order Open Heaven cultivators were certainly formidable and could resist Ink Force erosion for a short time, it was anyone's guess how long they could hold out. Moreover, resisting Ink Force erosion placed an enormous drain on their own strength.
The Ink-Expelling Pills were the most effective preemptive measure against Ink Force contamination.
Each person took out their pill and swallowed it.
Yang Kai looked at Ren Bingbai and said, "Brother Ren, take the helm and set course."
Ren Bingbai acknowledged the order: "Yes!"
He turned and headed toward the ship's cabin.
Yang Kai considered for a moment, then flashed out of the ship and threw a light punch, punching a hole through the bow. He ripped off a few planks before returning aboard.
All the Ink Clansmen on the ship had been killed. They had no good way to disguise themselves now—they could only hope that the battered appearance of the vessel would attract some of the Ink Clansmen's attention and make it easier for them to operate.
Over on the other side, Ren Bingbai had already activated the ship's formation arrays. The vessel hummed faintly and shot toward the Ink Force-shrouded defensive line, plunging straight in.
Yang Kai spoke gravely: "Everyone suppress your aura and stay hidden. There should be Ink Clansmen coming to investigate before long. When they arrive, I'll immobilize them, and you all strike them down quickly."
Based on what he had observed earlier, whenever an intruder breached the defensive line, Ink Clansmen from the corresponding sector's Ink Nest would come to investigate. Of course, this wasn't absolute—there were exceptions—but it held true the vast majority of the time.
While everyone suppressed their auras, Yang Kai did the opposite. Rather than concealing his presence, he actively surged a massive amount of Ink Force.
In the past, he wouldn't have been able to do this. While his Small Universe had contained a fair amount of Ink Force, it had never been this dense.
But now, a Lord-level Ink Nest sat inside his Small Universe, constantly generating Ink Force to incubate low-rank Ink Clansmen for the Void Academy disciples to practice on.
Channeling Ink Force was effortless—he simply drew some from the Ink Nest.
In the blink of an eye, the entire deck of the ship was shrouded in dense Ink Force, masking their figures.
The vessel pressed forward rapidly. After only a short while, Bai Yi suddenly transmitted a voice: "Ink Clansmen incoming."
The Ink Nest had clearly detected something triggering the defensive line and dispatched a party to investigate.
The two sides drew closer at speed.
The Dawn Squad's Seventh-Order fighters were coiled and ready to strike.
Moments later, the investigating squad of Ink Clansmen spotted the ship heading toward the Ink Nest. A glance revealed the deck ahead churning with Ink Force.
The leading Superior Ink Clansman was greatly alarmed, unable to fathom what was happening among their own people—why was so much energy leaking out?
Then he noticed the bow, battered and broken, as though someone had attacked it.
They had encountered Humans out there? Without that, the scene before them made no sense.
In that brief moment of hesitation, the ship's speed suddenly surged, and in an instant it was right in front of them. The Ink Clansmen panicked, and before they could react, Space was sealed shut. A tremendous pulling force seized them, and the entire squad was yanked involuntarily onto the ship.
What greeted them was the killing intent of Dawn's Seventh-Order fighters.
Though the squad numbered over a dozen, there was no Lord commanding them. When six or seven of Dawn's Seventh-Order fighters struck simultaneously, resistance was futile. The Ink Clansmen were reduced to pulp in an instant—utterly annihilated.
Silently, the ship continued its advance, as though that squad of Ink Clansmen had never existed.
The disappearance of over a dozen life signatures might have been noticed by any Ink Clansmen in the vicinity, but these Ink Nests were spaced well apart. Dawn had moved swiftly and released no significant bursts of energy, so the whole affair was carried out without anyone the wiser.
Still, this was merely an appetizer. The true test lay ahead—seizing the Ink Nest itself. If they succeeded, Dawn could drive a nail straight into the Ink Clansmen's defensive line. If they failed…
All they could do was cause a massive disturbance, draw the Ink Clansmen's attention, and use that to warn the Old Tortoise Squad, the Xuanfeng Squad, and the Snow Wolf Squad—deep inside Ink Clansmen territory—to retreat.