Outside the Ink Race's royal city, there wasn't just one line of defense — there were a full five.
Each line of defense gathered enormous numbers of the Ink Race, especially the outermost one, where no fewer than a million Ink Race soldiers stood.
They were packed tight, a sea of bodies piled up across the void — one glance and the sheer pressure was overwhelming.
The great battle some two hundred years ago had devastated the Ink Race's armies, but with two centuries having passed, they had recovered some of their strength.
The Ink Race's current fighting forces numbered at least a million. Those stationed at the outermost line of defense didn't even count toward that figure, because they were nothing but cannon fodder — they didn't even qualify as lower-rank Ink Race.
Their mission was simple: die, and wear down human strength in the process.
Only the Ink Race could so casually discard such a massive population. They could afford the losses. Moreover, Da Yan was coming with overwhelming force — if the royal city couldn't hold, these cannon fodder had no chance of survival anyway. Better to let them serve some purpose before death.
The upper echelons of the Ink Race felt no pity for them, and the cannon fodder themselves were willing to sacrifice their lives for the city's defense.
Weak in strength, low in intelligence, they obeyed the more powerful Ink Race without question and felt little fear in the face of death.
The distance between the two sides closed rapidly.
Two hours later, Da Yan had already swept to within a million li of the Ink Race's first line of defense.
The human warriors standing on the walls could now clearly see the massive formation of a million Ink Race soldiers assembled ahead. Every one of them felt their hearts tighten.
Closer. Closer still.
At a certain moment, a thunderous shout erupted from deep within Da Yan.
"Kill!"
Facing the direction of the royal city, the warriors — who had long been sharpening their blades in anticipation — immediately channeled their power into the formations and artifacts they were stationed at.
The void trembled, humming ceaselessly. The next instant, from within Da Yan Pass, streams of light shot forth in torrents, covering the sky and earth as they hurtled forward.
At the same time the humans struck, the million Ink Race cannon fodder charged toward Da Yan with reckless abandon.
Their strength was negligible — at best comparable to a human's Dao Source Realm, with most falling far short — yet against humanity's powerful onslaught they showed not a shred of fear, roaring as they surged forward.
The power of Da Yan's formations and artifacts fell among the Ink Race cannon fodder, effortlessly annihilating entire swathes with each strike.
The ink energy grew ever denser.
Humanity's attacks came in an unrelenting torrent, like a raging storm. Da Yan's speed never diminished as stream after stream of light pierced through the void from within, harvesting Ink Race lives at will.
A one-sided massacre.
These Ink Race cannon fodder could not even approach within a hundred thousand li of Da Yan, being obliterated long before they got close.
No cheers arose from the human side. Everyone knew this was merely the appetizer — the real battle had yet to begin.
Nine hundred thousand. Eight hundred thousand. Seven hundred thousand...
For every million li Da Yan advanced, the Ink Race numbers dropped by a hundred thousand. The first line of defense had long been scattered, yet the surviving cannon fodder still pursued Da Yan relentlessly, as if determined to tear a piece of flesh from the enemy even in death.
Their efforts finally bore fruit. When only a hundred thousand Ink Race remained, they finally breached within a hundred thousand li of Da Yan.
Some Ink Race even activated secret techniques and launched attacks against Da Yan.
But with Da Yan's protective formations active, these attacks merely raised faint ripples on the fortress's outer shell, not damaging Da Yan in the slightest.
The violent energy gradually subsided. The once-unrelenting barrage became sporadic, then ceased entirely.
In barely an hour, the Ink Race's first line of defense — one million cannon fodder — had been completely annihilated!
In a genuine head-on clash, even a million cannon fodder would not have been so easy for human warriors to destroy. But these cannon fodder had resolved themselves to die from the very start, willing to trade their own annihilation for attrition against Da Yan. And so, within a single hour, not one remained.
Behind Da Yan, the ink energy lay so dense it had become almost tangible.
Directly ahead stood the Ink Race's second line of defense.
The second line numbered only around three hundred thousand, yet no human dismissed them.
Because this line was built primarily of lower-rank Ink Race.
Lower-rank Ink Race were equivalent to human Low-grade Open Heaven Realm cultivators. One or two, or even a few dozen or a hundred — Da Yan Pass could easily ignore them. But three hundred thousand assembled together was a force to be reckoned with.
If these Ink Race launched a coordinated assault, it would place considerable strain on Da Yan's defenses.
Once again, at a million li's distance, Da Yan's formations and artifacts hummed to life, sending streams of light hurtling forward.
The Ink Race naturally refused to sit and await destruction. The entire line scattered abruptly — three hundred thousand Ink Race simultaneously dodging Da Yan's attacks while charging toward the fortress.
A million li was simply too far for these lower-rank Ink Race. Their secret techniques could not reach that distance.
Only by closing the gap could they pose a threat to Da Yan.
Corpses littered the void. Every beam of light from Da Yan claimed numerous Ink Race lives, yet it could not halt the Ink Race's relentless advance.