The Gate of No Return—a towering fortress—had been seized by the Ink Clan for many years. Thousands of years had passed since the human armies staged their full retreat, and after all that time of fortification, this mighty bastion that once belonged to humanity had long since become the Ink Clan's great rear base and stronghold.
Every Ink Nest of Sovereign caliber and countless Domain Lord-grade Ink Nests were gathered here, along with a vast number of powerful Ink Clan experts stationed as guardians. Even the only two Sovereigns currently in existence watched over this place year-round.
Of the Ink Clan's two Sovereigns, Mo Yu was the one who rarely concerned himself with affairs. Ever since Manaye had taken over managing the clan's matters on his behalf, Mo Yu spent virtually all his time in his own Ink Nest, using its power to constantly strengthen himself.
It had been many years since anyone had fought him, and no one knew just how far his strength had grown.
Intelligence from the front lines was relayed through successive Ink Nests, converging at the Gate of No Return.
Inside a grand hall, Manaye examined the reports arriving from the front. Seeing the human losses across various battlefields, the gloom that had weighed on his heart for so long finally eased a little.
The last time he had led a team to assassinate Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing, while also breaking the Ink-colored Colossus out of its encirclement, he had expected the mission to be a walk in the park. Instead, the humans had unveiled a devastating weapon of their own—releasing a true Colossus.
Not only had his mission fallen apart at the last moment, but the two human ninth-grade experts had also shaken free of their restraints. Meanwhile, the Ink-colored Colossus he had placed such high hopes on had been pinned down by the enemy Colossus. It was an absolute disaster.
Every time he recalled the incident, Manaye felt a dull ache in his chest. It seemed that no matter what he tried to accomplish, so long as Yang Kai was involved, nothing ever went his way.
After returning from that failed mission, Mo Yu had chewed him out thoroughly. Fortunately, as a Sovereign himself, Mo Yu couldn't actually do anything too drastic to him—but it was still enough to put him in a foul mood.
In the years since, he hadn't stirred up any more trouble. He simply held the Gate of No Return while directing the Ink Clan armies battling the human forces on the front lines from afar—and the results had been quite satisfactory.
Particularly in the Wu Fifth Domain, where he had concentrated his efforts. After battle after battle, the Crimson Fire Army had suffered considerable losses, with many eighth-grade experts falling in combat.
If this trend continued, the Crimson Fire Army would likely be crippled by the Ink Clan in less than a hundred years.
He had no illusions about gobbling up his enemy in one bite. Every human army was a formidable force—even without a ninth-grade expert in command, they were teeming with powerhouses. The Sacred Spirits in particular were each a handful to deal with. Destroying the Crimson Fire Army would have to be a gradual endeavor.
It was true that the humans kept producing promising newcomers in droves, but as long as the Ink Clan killed them fast enough and in sufficient numbers, their losses would always outpace reinforcements. The day would come when the Crimson Fire Army could no longer hold on.
Implementing this strategy had come at no small cost to the Ink Clan. Currently, not a single Innate Domain Lord remained—neither at the Gate of No Return nor on the front lines. Every Innate Domain Lord who had escaped from the Primordial Heaven Grand Sealing had been ordered by him and Mo Yu to perform the Art of Fusion Return, transforming into Pseudo-Sovereigns.
The sacrifice of so many Innate Domain Lords had given birth to the Ink Clan's current formidable number of Pseudo-Sovereigns. This was the capital that allowed the Ink Clan to contend with humanity. Otherwise, on the front lines, where the humans had ninth-grade experts but the Ink Clan had no Sovereigns to match them, how could they possibly fight back?
Moreover, after so many years of accumulation, the Ink Clan was finally on the verge of producing new Sovereigns!
When the Ink Clan had originally broken free from the Primordial Heaven Grand Sealing, those below Sovereign rank included not only Innate Domain Lords but also many ordinary Domain Lords. The Innate Domain Lords could not advance to Sovereign because their potential had been exhausted—but the ordinary ones still had the qualifications.
As early as the beginning of his tenure leading the Ink Clan, he had already handpicked large numbers of Domain Lords with Sovereign potential from across their territory, sequestering them at the Gate of No Return for meticulous cultivation. Now, at last, they were on the cusp of bearing fruit—the season of harvest was nearly upon them.
Once the Ink Clan produced more Sovereigns, it would offset some of the disadvantage posed by the human ninth-grade experts. When that day came, humanity's situation would only grow more dire!
Did the humans actually think reclaiming a few great domains counted as victory? How laughably naive.
Setting down a report from the front lines, Manaye leaned back in his chair, fingers lightly tapping the tabletop, a contemplative expression on his face.
He was considering whether to send additional Pseudo-Sovereigns to the Wu Fifth Domain to place even greater pressure on the Crimson Fire Army. The Ink Clan currently had the capital for it—many Pseudo-Sovereigns at the Gate of No Return were restless and growing impatient, frequently coming to request deployment to the front. He had turned them all away, for now.
What he was weighing was how to inflict maximum damage on the human leadership and weaken their overall fighting strength. Currently, in the Crimson Fire Army's efforts to counter the Pseudo-Sovereigns, eighth-grade experts regularly threw their lives away, sacrificing themselves solely to wound the Pseudo-Sovereigns enough to force them off the battlefield.
This was exactly the kind of situation he liked to see. On the Ink Clan's side, he couldn't care less about casualties below Domain Lord rank. As long as the Domain Lords and Pseudo-Sovereigns survived—even if they were gravely injured—it wouldn't matter. They could simply return to the Gate of No Return and enter slumber for a few years to recover.
Before he could finish deliberating, one of his subordinate Domain Lords burst in, looking frantic.
Manaye glanced up at him and furrowed his brow. Just from the Domain Lord's expression, he knew something bad had happened.
Still, Manaye didn't make a fuss. On the battlefield, situations changed in the blink of an eye. While most of the intelligence from the front lines had been favorable, there were always some less-than-ideal developments.
After so many years of leading the Ink Clan, he had long since cultivated the composure to remain unmoved even as mountains crumbled before his eyes.