The strike landed, and the Eighth-Order Open Heaven warrior who delivered it felt a rush of exhilaration. Before he could even savor the moment, Yang Kai's voice transmission reached his ears, and when he looked up, Yang Kai had already flashed far away.
At the same time, several powerful auras surged toward them from the distance, closing in at alarming speed.
The Eighth-Order warrior turned his head and caught sight of five Domain Lords—Monaye among them—their ink might radiating in overwhelming, awe-inspiring waves. Startled, he immediately bolted in the opposite direction from Yang Kai.
Monaye and the others clearly had no interest in this Eighth-Order cultivator. Yang Kai was their only target.
In the Xuanming Domain, far too many Domain Lords had fallen because of Yang Kai. As long as this man remained alive, how could any Domain Lord rest easy?
Moreover, Yang Kai had already deployed his killing move three times in succession, claiming the lives of three Domain Lords in the process. He no longer had the strength to invoke it again.
That made him a tiger with its teeth pulled. Monaye and the four other Domain Lords had nothing left to fear. This was a rare opportunity—if they couldn't kill Yang Kai now, who knew whether such a chance would ever come again.
Thus Monaye led the other four Domain Lords in a relentless pursuit.
During the chase, they crossed an enormous stretch of the battlefield. From behind them came the sound of the human army beating their war drums—the rhythm crisp and clear, the beat forceful and resolute—though no one could tell what military order was being relayed.
But the five Domain Lords paid no heed. Every pair of eyes reflected only Yang Kai's fleeing figure.
After pursuing for a while, Monaye's expression darkened. He realized with growing frustration that even though Yang Kai had become a toothless tiger, they still couldn't do anything to him.
The main problem was that the man was simply too fast. They couldn't catch up, and if they couldn't catch him, they couldn't kill him.
When a Domain Lord at the Innate Domain committed fully to fleeing, Eighth-Order Open Heaven warriors had no effective way to stop them. Likewise, when an Eighth-Order cultivator focused solely on escape, the Domain Lords were equally helpless.
This was precisely why, over the past several decades, so few Eighth-Order cultivators and Domain Lords had actually fallen on the battlefield. Unless the situation grew truly desperate, neither side would fight to the death.
The two human Eighth-Order warriors who had perished two years ago had died primarily because the Xuanming Domain was on the verge of being overrun—they had no choice but to fight to the last. Had they not held the line through their sacrifice, human casualties would have been far worse, and the Xuanming Domain might well have been lost entirely.
Now Monaye found himself trapped in this exact same awkward position. Five Domain Lords joining forces could indeed have a chance to cut Yang Kai down, but the crux of the matter was that the man refused to engage them at all—he just tucked his head and ran.
This left Monaye seething with nowhere to vent his frustration. The tactic targeting Yang Kai had been his own suggestion to Six Arms, and Six Arms had cooperated well enough, but three Domain Lords had died because of it. If they came away with nothing, Six Arms would certainly be furious.
Monaye didn't exactly fear Six Arms, but serving under the other's command meant he could be targeted in the future.
With no alternative, he raised his hand and produced a small object—a remarkably tiny Ink Nest, roughly the size of a palm. This Ink Nest hadn't been fully hatched and naturally lacked the ability to nurture Ink Clan warriors, but for the sole purpose of sending messages, that hardly mattered.
It was only a Lord-grade Ink Nest, used for communication—no need for anything too advanced.
Monaye surged his divine sense through the Ink Nest, transmitting his message.
Pursuit was going nowhere. He could only call for reinforcements.
Moments later, among the Domain Lords left behind to hold the main Ink Demon encampment, three of them shot into the sky and streaked into the void.
Behind him, Monaye's heart was heavy with frustration. Every plan he'd set in motion seemed to crumble, while up ahead, Yang Kai fled with perfect ease. Though using the Soul-Abandoning Thorn left his head splitting with pain, this was something he'd long grown accustomed to. The impact was minimal—at most, his combat strength was slightly diminished.
Since he couldn't use the Soul-Abandoning Thorn for the time being, he had no desire to tangle with the Domain Lords. The real reason he was fleeing was to lure these five Domain Lords away from the main force.
According to the original plan, the human army should have begun its withdrawal by now. The Demon-Breaking Divine Spears were limited in number—once they were expended, the human forces that had taken the offensive would be no match for the Ink Demon army. He had already heard the war drums signaling retreat.
With five fewer Domain Lords in play, the army's withdrawal would be considerably easier.
In truth, if he'd been willing, he could have simply invoked his Space Laws to shake off the pursuers behind him. Even if the five Domain Lords had locked onto him with their aura, so what?
Back in the day, even the Ink King's pursuit hadn't been able to touch him, let alone five Domain Lords.
Since he could escape at any time, Yang Kai was entirely at ease. He was perfectly content to let them choke on his dust.
After a short while, Yang Kai suddenly sensed something. He raised his head and peered ahead, vaguely detecting a powerful aura approaching him from the front.
A thought struck him—there were interceptors ahead.
He immediately changed direction.
But moments later, another Domain Lord appeared ahead, cutting off his path.
He shifted course again.
After an hour of this, Yang Kai suddenly halted in the void and turned his head to look back.
Monaye's heart surged with joy. Calling in the Domain Lords from the encampment had been worth it—under this kind of encirclement, Yang Kai had nowhere left to run.
Now let's see how you die.
From the distance, the Domain Lords' sharp auras locked onto Yang Kai like chains. Any rash movement on his part would invite a devastating barrage.
And as the distance closed, Monaye could already make out Yang Kai's silhouette.