The order to retreat was relayed swiftly. Even amid the chaos, the Ink Clan army maintained a semblance of order as it prepared to assemble and withdraw.
Under the plan, at least thirty percent of this Ink Clan force had to remain behind to pin down the two Giant Gods and that human killing star. Only then would the main body have enough room to maneuver.
This decision caused countless Ink Clan powerhouses hearts ache, yet there was nothing they could do.
On one of the World Furnishes, the commanding Pseudo Ink Lord stared out at the battlefield steeped in slaughter and carnage, his gaze cold enough to freeze bone. Even knowing there was no hope of vengeance in this life, he would etch the image of that human killing star into his mind.
"Report!" A Lord suddenly flew in and landed before the assembled Pseudo Ink Lords. "My lords, human army signatures have been detected!"
The group of Pseudo Ink Lords were momentarily stunned.
The commanding Pseudo Ink Lord barked immediately, "Which direction?"
"This way." The messenger Lord pointed toward a bearing.
The Pseudo Ink Lords strained their vision toward that direction and, sure enough, caught sight of faint, wavering silhouettes deep in the void.
They were still some distance away, not entirely clear, but there was no doubt it was a human army — and a sizable one at that.
"Excellent!" The Pseudo Ink Lord clenched his fist. This sudden intelligence, far from filling him with dread, seemed to delight him.
No matter how this human army had managed to cross in such a short time what should have taken over a decade, this was precisely what the Ink Clan wanted to see.
After breaking free from the Primordial Heavens Great Restriction, their original mission had been to reinforce Returnless Pass, link up with the Ink Clan forces there, and launch a pincer attack against the Humans — catching them off guard and annihilating their strength.
But that mission had changed the moment Returnless Pass fell. Now, the only thing they needed to do was engage the human army that intended to march on the Primordial Heavens Great Restriction in a decisive battle — regardless of the outcome, regardless of life or death.
The sudden appearance of Yang Kai and the two Giant Gods had thrown their original plans into disarray, forcing them to split their forces — some staying behind as a rearguard, the rest racing toward Returnless Pass to intercept the human army as quickly as possible.
No one had expected the human army to have already arrived!
It was like a pillow delivered just as one was falling asleep. After their initial surprise, the Ink Clan powerhouses' fighting spirit surged.
The Humans had used that killing star and the two Giant Gods to disrupt this Ink Clan reinforcement force's formation and deployment, then launched a swift assault — clearly well-prepared. Fighting such an enemy would surely be fraught with peril.
But… what was there to fear?
Sacrificing everything for the Supreme One — that was, after all, the very reason the Ink Clan existed.
"Report!" Another shout approached from the distance. A second Lord touched down and reported urgently, "My lords, human army signatures have been detected!"
The commanding Pseudo Ink Lord nodded. "I am already aware."
The messenger Lord was flabbergasted. He had rushed over the moment he received the intelligence — how could the Pseudo Ink Lords already know?
He didn't dare say anything, however, and could only stand off to the side. He glanced at the first Lord who had arrived, and their eyes met — a vague awareness passing between them.
"Report!" Yet another Lord arrived from yet another direction.
Moments later, the Pseudo Ink Lords finally realized the situation was not as simple as they had thought.
The human army had appeared from more than one direction.
Centered on the Ink Clan army's encampment — above, below, ahead, behind, left, right — from every direction in the void, human forces were converging.
They were surrounded.
It was hard to fathom how the Humans had managed this. The Ink Clan fielded tens of millions of troops — surrounding an army of that scale without being detected beforehand was nearly impossible.
Only now did a few Pseudo Ink Lords recall intelligence from recent days that they had overlooked: several resource-gathering teams and scattered scouts had failed to return on schedule.
Looking back, those missing Ink Clan soldiers had certainly been encountered by the Humans and swiftly eliminated.
They had never imagined the Humans could reach this location so quickly. They were still bracing for a great battle more than a decade away. As a result, even though the Humans had already completed their encirclement, they had been completely oblivious.
"Despicable Humans!" The commanding Pseudo Ink Lord was livid. Though his wish for a swift engagement with the human army had come true, being outmaneuvered like this was not what he had wanted. After a brief moment of deliberation, he issued his command: "Pass the order! All Ink Clan forces — advance in that direction!"
He pointed toward the bearing of Returnless Pass — the same direction the first messenger Lord had indicated.
The Ink Clan was indeed surrounded, but looking on the bright side, the Humans had spread their forces thin. They had divided themselves into over a dozen columns. While surrounding the Ink Clan reinforcements in full, they had also given the Ink Clan the opportunity to devour them one by one!
As long as they moved fast enough, with the Ink Clan's current reserves, wiping out several of the human columns would be entirely feasible. That would cripple the Humans and bring their grand expedition to a premature end.
The Ink Clan had already made preparations for retreat, and now, with the commanding Pseudo Ink Lord's order, the tens of millions of Ink Clan soldiers split into two groups. Roughly thirty percent remained behind to pin down the Giant Gods and the killing star named Yang Kai. The remaining seventy percent charged toward one of the human columns heading from the direction of Returnless Pass.