As they spoke, they cast a timid glance at Yang Kai, only to find that he was paying them no mind at all.
What was there to pay attention to?
There being Ink Servants among the hunters was something any fool could guess, but there was no way to confirm exactly who they were. Now that the Purification Light had swept over them, they had nowhere to hide.
But once the Ink Force was dispersed by the Purification Light, the Ink Servants had regained their true selves and could no longer be called Ink Servants.
No matter what they had done before, it had not been of their own will. Yang Kai had no desire to hold them accountable.
Old Zhou and the others also breathed a sigh of relief.
Among a thousand people, roughly sixty had turned out to be Ink Servants—over half a percent. That was no small ratio. But this proportion was abnormal as well, likely due to deliberate arrangements by the Ink Clan.
The Ink Clan needed to use the trapped warriors of Xiangsi Domain as bait, so naturally they had deployed some Ink Servants to gather intelligence on the humans. That was why this half-percent ratio was on the high side—in the true hunting parties, the proportion of Ink Servants wouldn't be nearly this large.
Setting the matter of the Ink Servants aside, Yang Kai turned to look at Li Ziyu and spoke: "Are you the one in charge here?"
Li Ziyu stepped forward, cupped his fists, and said: "Li Ziyu of Danyang greets the Army Commander!"
Over the past half month, Li Ziyu had learned from Team Dawn about Yang Kai's appointment as commander of the Xuanming Army, and had gained some understanding of the outside world.
Hiding here for decades while the outside world underwent earth-shaking changes left him with much to sigh about.
Still, the fact that Yang Kai, as commander of the Xuanming Army, had personally braved danger to rescue those of them who was trapped was quite moving.
Li Ziyu actually didn't approve of the human leadership acting this way. It was too easy for things to go wrong. At the Eighth-Order Town Master level, losing one or two in battle wouldn't be a major issue, but at the level of an army commander, a death in combat would have enormous consequences for the entire army.
Not to mention that today's army commanders held even more prestigious positions than their counterparts from the Ink Battlefield era.
Nowadays, every army commander across the great domain battlefields commanded one or two million troops. On the Ink Battlefield? A single fortress had only tens of thousands.
But he also knew that once word of Xiangsi Domain had gotten out, no matter how many warriors were trapped, humanity could not simply stand by and do nothing.
If they truly did nothing, it would chill the hearts of the soldiers fighting on the front lines.
This was the Ink Clan's strategy of breaking hearts—humanity had to jump in even knowing it was a trap.
But from what he could see, this Xuanming Army commander had performed remarkably—leading three small teams to slay four Innate Domain Lords. That was no ordinary feat.
It was just that... being trapped here now was somewhat awkward.
"Danyang..." Yang Kai was slightly dazed. "Ning Qizhi—do you know him?"
Ning Qizhi was also from Danyang Blessed Land. He had followed Yang Kai through life and death, only to ultimately fall in battle on the Ink Battlefield.
Li Ziyu bowed and said: "By seniority, he would be considered my martial uncle."
"Danyang produces great heroes..." Yang Kai sighed with emotion.
Li Ziyu replied: "You flatter us, sir."
Yang Kai waved his hand, having lost interest in small talk, and looked at the tens of thousands of warriors. "These aren't warriors from Xiangsi Domain alone, are they?"
"There are also warriors from a neighboring great domain. Decades ago, while evacuating, they passed through Xiangsi Domain and were preparing to gather and head for their designated domain when the Ink Clan invaded. Left with no choice, we could only hide here—until today."
Yang Kai nodded slightly. Tens of thousands of warriors sounded like a lot, but their strength was uneven. There were few at the Open Heaven Realm, and their grades weren't high—only Li Ziyu and a handful of others at the Seventh Order. Such a force would fare poorly against the Ink Clan's armies. Hiding here was a last resort, but at least it allowed them to preserve their lives.
Fortunately, Xiangsi Domain had a Qiankun Grotto-heaven that had been discovered and controlled by the Xiangsi Gate in earlier years; otherwise, there would truly have been nowhere to hide.
Seeming to read Yang Kai's thoughts, Li Ziyu said: "Sir, if you intend to break out, our teams are willing to serve as the vanguard!"
The other Seventh-Order cultivators nodded as well, their expressions resolute.
Yang Kai glanced at them. "Vanguard? Go out there and get yourselves killed? There are four Domain Lords out there."
Never mind these Seventh-Order cultivators—even Yang Kai himself would certainly take a beating if he rashly showed his face. The only reason he had managed to kill those Domain Lords before was due to perfect timing and favorable terrain, with the Soul Sacrifice Thorn playing a crucial role. In a head-on fight, how could Yang Kai take on four at once?
Even two would be pushing it.
"But..."
Li Ziyu wanted to ask: if they didn't break out, were they supposed to keep hiding here forever?
Yang Kai raised a hand to cut him off. "Let's wait for now."
Li Ziyu didn't know what he was waiting for, but didn't dare press further and could only step back.
Yang Kai glanced at the shimmering, barely visible portal, his brow furrowed. Being trapped inside this grotto-heaven was truly suffocating. Moreover, if he genuinely wanted to break free, he couldn't afford to wait too long—the Domain Lords outside might call for reinforcements. He didn't know which of them was calling the shots here, but the fact that ten Domain Lords had been stationed in Xiangsi Domain spoke volumes about how cautious this one was.