What was Yang Kai up to in the Void Domain? With his speed, having shown himself in the Void Domain, he should have been able to reach No-Return Pass in no time.
After waiting another month, Monaye simply couldn't endure it any longer and had no choice but to dispatch a Domain Lord to the Void Domain to gather intelligence.
The report left him stunned — Yang Kai was no longer in the Void Domain! After striking once and wounding the Ink Colossus, he had departed without a trace.
When the report reached No-Return Pass, Monaye was dumbfounded for a long time. If Yang Kai wasn't in the Void Domain, where could he be? Had his earlier speculation been wrong — had Yang Kai never intended to come to No-Return Pass for revenge?
In the great hall, Monaye could feel the scrutinizing gaze upon him from the Bone Throne, carrying a faint trace of displeasure.
The displeasure was not because Monaye's speculation had been wrong, but because his speculation had led the Throne King to resolve to forge yet another Pseudo-Throne King.
The first Pseudo-Throne King had cost thirteen Domain Lords, the second had cost twelve more — that could be overlooked. But the key point was that the birth of each Pseudo-Throne King meant the loss of a Throne King-level Ink Nest.
This was what truly shook the foundations of the Ink Race.
The Ink Race had already produced a number of Domain Lords in succession. Even if all the Innate Domain Lords perished, the Throne King would not lack talented subordinates. Given enough time, those Domain Lords might even have the opportunity to give rise to new Throne Kings.
But the Ink Nests were irreplaceable. There were only so many that had been brought out of the Primordial Heaven Great Seal back then — use one and one fewer remained.
Monaye knew he had to do something to make amends if he wished to erase the Throne King's displeasure toward him. His mind raced through every clue and piece of intelligence about Yang Kai as he murmured, "Your Majesty, if Yang Kai has already left the Void Domain, then perhaps his target was never No-Return Pass at all, but rather the Domain Lords in the various great domains — especially those six great domain battlefields currently at war!"
The Throne King regarded Monaye with a dark expression, his inner displeasure growing. A hundred years ago, Monaye had said no such thing — he had been adamant that Yang Kai would never risk tearing apart the two-race agreement to strike at other great domains, and therefore would certainly come to No-Return Pass for revenge.
And now, a century later, he was singing an entirely different tune.
"Your Majesty, please issue orders to warn all parties immediately and have the Domain Lords exercise extreme caution," Monaye urged. If Yang Kai truly struck recklessly at the Domain Lords campaigning in the field, the Ink Race would suffer devastating losses this time.
Just thinking about the consequences gave Monaye a headache.
This fellow was always so formidable, always making others wary. It reminded him once again of the incident in the Longing Domain all those years ago. Even now, he had never figured out how Yang Kai had led tens of thousands of human warriors out of there without a sound.
At that thought, Monaye suddenly froze, as if he had vaguely grasped some crucial link, yet a membrane still obscured his thinking, preventing him from seeing through.
While he stood below deep in rapid thought, the Throne King above had already begun issuing orders, telling the Domain Lords in all the great domains to exercise extra caution and guard against Yang Kai's strike.
Though a sliver of displeasure toward Monaye remained, this Pseudo-Throne King had already been born and was destined to become an indispensable right arm in the days to come. The Throne King could hardly be too harsh on him.
In truth, Monaye had performed quite well on many occasions. Otherwise, the Throne King would never have recalled him to No-Return Pass to serve under his command.
The orders were dispatched swiftly, relayed through Throne King-level Ink Nests to all the various locations.
But below, Monaye's eyes suddenly lit up. He looked up and said, "Your Majesty, back when Yang Kai caused havoc at No-Return Pass, I heard vaguely that he came from the direction of the Ink Battlefield?"
He had not personally experienced that event. When Yang Kai had wreaked havoc at No-Return Pass, Monaye had been handling affairs in another great domain and only heard about it afterward from other Domain Lords. But most of those Domain Lords were tight-lipped about that incident, unwilling to say much.
After all, it had been a humiliation for the Throne King — who would dare keep bringing it up?
Over the years, the Throne King had never mentioned the matter either, precisely to avoid recalling those unpleasant memories.
As soon as these words left his lips, every Domain Lord in the great hall clearly felt the atmosphere plummet. They all bowed their heads even lower.
Above, the Throne King's gaze grew noticeably colder. He replied flatly, "That's correct."
Monaye, seemingly oblivious, pressed further, "Before that, did he ever appear through the domain gate connecting to the Void Domain?"
"Are you interrogating me?" The Throne King's body leaned slightly forward, as if an enormous mountain were bearing down, bringing with it boundless oppressive force.
Monaye was jolted into awareness and hastily bowed. "I wouldn't dare! Please calm your anger, Your Majesty. I merely wish to clarify certain matters — these matters are very important!"
The Throne King stared intently into Monaye's eyes and saw no guilt — only earnestness and sincerity, which slightly diminished his anger. If Monaye thought that achieving the status of a Pseudo-Throne King gave him license to challenge the Throne King's authority, then the Throne King would have been happy to make the difference in their power crystal clear. But it seemed Monaye was genuinely investigating something.