On the floating island that housed the front-line camp, an oppressive killing aura permeated the air. Though no direct orders had been issued, every soldier in every division felt the suffocating weight of an approaching storm.
This was the scent of a great battle about to erupt.
Having warred against the Ink Clan for so many years, many human warriors possessed an almost preternatural sensitivity to the onset of conflict. More often than not, they could sense the arrival of battle on their own.
At the front-line floating island, the great human army was sharpening its weapons and feeding its warhorses.
Within the palace, Yang Kai watched Yu Ru Meng's squad depart toward the gathering point of their home division.
There were no lengthy instructions, nothing he needed to worry about. The women were all Seventh Order Open Heaven cultivators now, and with their battleships modified from Bixi avatar components, their safety was far greater than that of other human soldiers.
With the enemy invading, every human had to contribute their part. Yu Ru Meng and the others, even as his family, could not stand idly by.
Especially now that he served as the commander of the Xuan Ming Army, he had to set the example by his own actions.
Watching the figures of Yu Ru Meng and the others gradually recede into the distance, Yang Kai's form flickered and he vanished on the spot. The army's advance was merely the opening move — his own strike was equally crucial. He hoped this time they would return laden with spoils.
In the void, human forces began to assemble, organized by division. Seventh Order Open Heaven cultivators patrolled back and forth, their military bearing magnificent and imposing.
Before long, the void was filled with densely packed warships, converging into fleet after massive fleet.
On an enormous Ink-Expelling Ship, Ouyang Lie stood on the deck, gazing out into the void with a cold, resolute expression and fervent battle intent. As word arrived from the central command, he pointed ahead and bellowed, "Attack!"
On the Ink-Expelling Ship stood war drums he had specially commissioned to be forged. As Ouyang Lie's only disciple, Gong Lian personally wielded the drumsticks, beating them himself.
Even in the void, each thunderous beat of the drum sent out a series of exhilarating, heart-stirring vibrations that lifted the spirits of the entire army.
The vanguard launched their assault!
Ouyang Lie was a man who craved battle. On the Xuan Ming Army's side, nearly every major deployment saw him leading the charge as vanguard.
Following behind the vanguard's several divisions, one division after another marched out. The left and right flanks surged forward, while at the central command, Kong Chengde held the line, coordinating all directions.
The once clamorous front-line floating island was emptied in the blink of an eye. Only those unfamiliar with warfare or lacking in cultivation strength remained behind, watching the great army depart with the most sincere blessings in their hearts.
Once the human army mobilized, the Ink Clan quickly took notice.
There was no avoiding it. This time, the Xuan Ming Army's front-line main force of nearly four hundred thousand had deployed in its entirety — and if one counted the Stone Clan, that amounted to a full million. With a march of such staggering scale, anyone on the Ink Clan's side who wasn't blind would detect it.
Ink Clan scouts operating outside transmitted their reports back to the rear in shock.
The Ink Clan camp, unlike the human front line which occupied a single floating island, boasted several World Cores. One of these had originally been there, while the others had been relocated by powerful Ink Clan experts using their abilities.
The Ink Clan required Ink Nests, making these World Cores indispensable. On every one of them now stood Ink Nests of varying sizes, and among them, several Domain Lord-level Ink Nests towered above the rest with their imposing grandeur.
Within these Ink Nests, injured Ink Clan experts were recovering.
The intelligence from the front-line scouts passed up through layer after layer until it reached Six Arms' hands. Upon learning that the entire human front-line army had deployed and was marching toward them, Six Arms was visibly startled.
This had never happened before. In the Xuan Ming Domain, ever since he had assumed command, the humans had essentially remained in a defensive posture — occasionally launching minor raids with small forces, but a full-scale offensive of this magnitude was a first.
What were the humans planning?
Six Arms couldn't see through their intentions, and the uncertainty gnawed at him.
In truth, these past two years, Six Arms had been perpetually irritable, and at the root of it all was that fellow called Yang Kai.
Because of him, eleven Domain Lords in the Xuan Ming Domain had already perished. That alone would be bad enough, but the real problem was that as long as this man was around, the Ink Clan's powerful figures in the Xuan Ming Domain didn't dare act rashly.
In the past, the Ink Clan had held absolute initiative — they could attack at will, retreat at will, and the humans could do nothing about it.
Domain Lords outnumbered Eighth Order cultivators, and that had been the Ink Clan's confidence.
But now?
What did it matter how many Domain Lords they had? Six Arms didn't dare lightly open hostilities, fearing that Yang Kai might suddenly spring from somewhere. This man's insidious methods were such that even Six Arms had no confidence in withstanding them — if he were caught off guard and the man struck successfully, the best outcome would be severe injury, and more likely, outright death.
For this reason, Six Arms had cursed Mo Na Ye within an inch of his life. If the fool hadn't fed him false intelligence, leading him to believe Yang Kai was truly trapped in the Xiangsi Domain, how could he have lost five Domain Lords two years ago?
But Mo Na Ye had replied with confident assurance, swearing that Yang Kai was absolutely inside the Xiangsi Domain and could not possibly have escaped.