The Ink Race's great encampment backed onto a Domain Gate connected to a neighboring Domain, having long been prepared to evacuate at a moment's notice. Now that so many Pseudo-King Lords had been cowed by Yang Kai and fled first, the main army naturally followed suit.
However, the Ink Race army was vast, and a complete withdrawal within a short time was impossible. Therefore, even though half a day's journey separated them, the Crimson Fire Army would still be able to achieve impressive results when it charged in.
An Ink Race army without a single Pseudo-King Lord to lead it was not something the Crimson Fire Army would deign to fear. It was predictable that what followed would be nothing short of a one-sided slaughter!
Watching the direction in which the Crimson Fire Army departed, Zuoqiu Yanghua and several wounded Eighth-Order cultivators from the Eastern Army were visibly elated. Ten years — the Crimson Fire had finally taken the Wu-Fifth Domain. But that wasn't the key point. The key was that Yang Kai's appearance had inflicted devastating losses on the Ink Race's high-tier fighting power.
The deaths of eight Pseudo-King Lords would be enough to make the Ink Race agonize for a good long while.
Years ago, once they had seen through the Ink Race's intentions, the human side had altered its strategy. Rather than making the reconquest of Domains their primary objective, the greatest goal when clashing with the Ink Race was to kill and wound their elites. Only through this could humanity continuously erode the Ink Race's strength.
And all of this — everything the Crimson Fire Army had accomplished — was brought about by the strength of a single person. Thinking ahead, Zuoqiu Yanghua and the others felt their spirits soar. Their Crimson Fire would finally have a Ninth-Order of its own, and what's more, such a powerful one at that.
"My Lord, did the General Headquarters send you here to reinforce us?" Zuoqiu Yanghua withdrew his gaze and asked.
"That's right." Yang Kai nodded. "Senior Brother Mi said the fighting in the Wu-Fifth was at a stalemate and asked me to come have a look."
Meeting the eager, joyful gazes of those around him, Yang Kai had a pretty good idea of what they were thinking. He chuckled softly. "However, I won't be staying long-term with the Crimson Fire Army."
The delight on the faces of the several Eighth-Order cultivators gave way to astonishment. One of them asked, "What does my Lord mean by that?"
That doesn't seem quite what we had in mind…
Yang Kai explained, "Humanity's armies number twelve in total, but right now there simply aren't enough Ninth-Order cultivators to cover all of them. So I'll be acting independently. Among the six armies that lack a Ninth-Order, whichever one runs into trouble can request my support, and I'll arrive as quickly as possible. You all know that I've mastered the Laws of Space — I travel fast. That's my advantage. The other Ninth-Order can't do the same."
Hearing this, the several Eighth-Order cultivators fell into thoughtful silence.
They very much wanted Yang Kai to stay and command the Crimson Fire Army, but if he did, it would be rather unfair to the other five armies that had no Ninth-Order to lead them. Those five armies were currently shouldering no small amount of pressure.
After so many years of war against the Ink Race, with countless soldiers throwing their lives away one after another, every human harbored the deepest hatred and loathing toward the Ink Race. Every scrap of power that could suppress them was indispensable.
So while Yang Kai's words left them somewhat disappointed, it was not something they couldn't accept. They were all senior officers in the army — they possessed that much understanding.
Zuoqiu Yanghua nodded and said, "What my Lord says is correct. Only by having my Lord bear the burden of all this traveling can we reduce humanity's casualties."
Yang Kai smiled and replied, "Don't be discouraged. After all these years, a new generation of Ninth-Order should be on the verge of emerging. The number of Ninth-Order will only grow from here."
At the mention of this, everyone perked up. Just as Yang Kai had said, the protracted war against the Ink Race over so many years had given the warriors who needed it ample time to accumulate experience and consolidate their foundations. Now every army had a batch of promising candidates on the cusp of the Ninth-Order who had pushed themselves to their peak.
Perhaps one day, these promising candidates would suddenly turn into pleasant surprises. When that time came, humanity's number of Ninth-Order cultivators would surely experience explosive growth. Forget twelve armies — even twenty or more would have enough Ninth-Order to lead and command them, and the current awkward shortage of Ninth-Order would naturally cease to be an issue.
Zuoqiu Yanghua frowned slightly and said, "Speaking of which, the Ink Race should be close to having a Domain Lord advance to King Lord as well. The first batch of Ink Race to emerge from the Primordial Great Seal years ago wasn't composed solely of Innate Domain Lords — there were many ordinary Domain Lords as well, and all of them are qualified to advance to King Lord. The Ink Race's growth has always been simpler than humanity's. After so many years of accumulation, no one knows what kind of reserves they've built up. It's just that any Domain Lord with hopes of advancing to King Lord is certain to have been hidden away at the Gate of No Return, growing inside those King Lord-grade Ink Nests. Humanity has no way of gathering any intelligence on that front."
Yang Kai raised an eyebrow at this. "What a coincidence. I was just planning to pay a visit over there."
Zuoqiu Yanghua was taken aback. "My Lord intends to go to the Gate of No Return?"
"Mm." Yang Kai gave a casual affirmation. "To retrieve a few things."
He spoke with such nonchalance that the several Eighth-Order cultivators' expressions turned grave. They exchanged glances, privately marvelling at this man's courage born of supreme skill.
The other Ninth-Order cultivators had never entertained — nor dared to entertain — such an idea.
But thinking it over carefully, even back when Yang Kai was still Eighth-Order, he had made trouble at the Gate of No Return before. Now that he was Ninth-Order, he could move like a fish in water, and there probably wasn't all that much danger.
Besides, worrying about the safety of a Ninth-Order was hardly their place to do so.
Zuoqiu Yanghua said solemnly, "Then please be careful on your journey, my Lord."
Yang Kai nodded, and in turn advised them, "After taking the Wu-Fifth Domain, rest in place for a while. Wait for orders from the General Headquarters to see what comes next."