No one knew whether other Ink Servants were still hidden nearby. Formations, by their very nature, required the participants to trust each other completely in order to function smoothly.
Why couldn't the Ink Clan grasp the essence of formations? Why was it so difficult for them to construct high-tier formations?
It was because their powerhouses lacked the unity of the humans.
Yet now, with suspicion spreading among the various human factions, the power of every formation had diminished significantly, and their operations had grown sluggish.
The humans were already outnumbered. What had allowed them to hold out this long was largely their warships and the might of their formations. Now, with the formations weakened, the human defensive line had begun to teeter on the brink of collapse.
Worse still, the two formations where the Ink Servants had been embedded had already crumbled. The Ink Clan's powerhouses surged in, and Eighth-Grade cultivators had begun to fall, making the situation ever more dire.
This was not because the humans lacked unity — had they been divided, they could never have held on until today. But under these circumstances, the human powerhouses could not help but consider the risks.
The appearance of three Eighth-Grade Ink Servants had thrown the humans' favorable position into chaos.
The most critical factor was Xiang Shan. The humans' only hope of victory lay in Xiang Shan breaking through to the Ninth Grade as quickly as possible. Once he became a Ninth-Grade Open Heaven cultivator, there would be a real chance to turn the tide.
But now, Xiang Shan had been forced to abandon his advancement voluntarily, and that last shred of hope was extinguished.
A shadow fell over everyone's hearts. Would hundreds of Eighth-Grade cultivators all die here today? If so, the future of the human race looked grim indeed.
The outcome of this battle could very well determine the course of the war going forward.
"Impressive — you're still not dead!" A furious roar suddenly rang out across the battlefield.
Before the Seven Star Formation, Manaye stared at Yang Kai in disbelief. He had schemed and waited, biding his time, then struck with his trump card at the perfect moment. He had been certain Yang Kai would die — yet somehow the man had survived by the skin of his teeth.
Manaye realized he had underestimated Yang Kai once again. He never expected that in that split second, Yang Kai would have been able to reconstitute the collapsed Eight Trigrams Formation into a Seven Star Formation, blocking his killing blow.
Though the outcome was not ideal, Yang Kai was seriously wounded — that much was certain. The backlash from the Eight Trigrams Formation, Lin Wu's sneak attack, and the accumulated exhaustion from prolonged high-intensity combat had left Yang Kai's aura as faint as a candle flame in a storm, ready to gutter out at any moment.
Even the Seven Star Formation itself was operating sluggishly, teetering on the verge of collapse.
Manaye's expression turned grim as he launched another assault. He understood the danger of delay — with Yang Kai in such a wretched state, he would not let this opportunity slip. Now was the time to finish Yang Kai off. The power of ink surged as Manaye roared, "How many more strikes can you withstand?"
Three? Five? In Yang Kai's current condition, Manaye was confident he could take his life within ten breaths. Once Yang Kai was dead, this entire operation would be complete.
Xiang Shan had already failed his breakthrough. The human defensive line was on the verge of collapse. After killing Yang Kai, Manaye could freely slaughter the remaining human powerhouses.
This battle today — he, Manaye, had won!
Under the onslaught, the Seven Star Formation led by Yang Kai could only parry, with no power to fight back. Moreover, the formation was growing more sluggish by the moment. Every participant gritted their teeth and held on, but they could see no hope whatsoever.
After just two exchanges, the formation had already reached its limit.
In the very instant the Seven Star Formation was about to shatter, a sharp killing intent suddenly swept in from the distance, closing rapidly. Before the figure arrived, a clear, feminine shout rang out: "Manaye, your opponent is me!"
The words had barely faded when a striking figure charged into the battlefield, a long sword raised horizontally to intercept Manaye's frenzied attack.
"You..." Manaye stared at the woman before him in disbelief, unable to comprehend how she could possibly be here.
How could she possibly be here!
Yang Xue!
He had taken some notice of this female Ninth-Grade cultivator before. She had been fighting the Chaos Spirit King and seemed to be at a disadvantage, so Manaye hadn't paid her much mind.
Unable to shake the Chaos Spirit King, she had no way to intervene in the battle.
Yet here she now stood, blocking his path!
Where was the Chaos Spirit King?
In his single-minded focus on killing Yang Kai, consumed by anticipation and elation, Manaye had not been paying attention to the battlefield where Yang Xue fought the Chaos Spirit King. He never expected such a turn of events.
Had the Chaos Spirit King been driven back? Impossible! This woman had no such ability. Xiao You had nearly suffered at the Chaos Spirit King's hands earlier. Xiao You was a newly advanced Royal Lord, and this woman was a newly advanced Ninth-Grade — they were evenly matched, neither stronger than the other.
So how had this woman broken free of the Chaos Spirit King to come to their aid?
Very quickly, Manaye discovered where the Chaos Spirit King had gone. In his perception, the creature was inexplicably hurtling away in a certain direction at great speed, without looking back...
"What did you do?" Manaye was burning with curiosity. The Chaos Spirit King was an existence of tremendous power, though it lacked in intelligence. What on earth had this woman done to make it retreat of its own volition?