Jon
The drawback to the Humans was good news to the Black Ink Clan.
Now, the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were unable to make a move as they had to sustain the strange Grand Array; however, the Black Ink Clan were not restrained at all.
In other words, the Eighth-Order Masters were in a situation where they couldn’t counterattack, and regardless of how powerful the Grand Array was, there had to be a limit. As long as the Black Ink Clan continuously attacked, there would come a moment when this shield was shattered.
Upon that realisation, the Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples stopped hesitating as they chased after the Dragon and cast their Secret Techniques.
On the other hand, after the Humans activated the Intertwining Branches Formation, their defence had indeed been boosted greatly, but their destructive power had also been considerably weakened. For that reason, the Dragon could no longer rampage smoothly as it appeared somewhat sluggish now.
They were efficient earlier as the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters could act freely to kill the enemy. Now that they were unable to use their Secret Techniques as they pleased, the Humans appeared less intimidating.
Besides that, as the powerful Black Ink Clansmen relentlessly attacked the Intertwining Branches Formation, the Spirit Array started showing signs of collapsing.
Xiang Shan promptly led the Human soldiers to retreat. The Black Ink Clansmen chased after them and continued to attack. It wasn’t until the Humans were 10 million kilometres away from the Royal City that the Black Ink Clan stopped.
Right then, the 16 Universe Worlds finally arrived. The 30% of the Black Ink Army on the right side easily intercepted them, ensuring that the Royal City was not damaged one bit.
The Black Ink Clan had suffered fewer losses this time than the previous battle, mainly because they were caught off guard by the Humans’ 20 years ago. Now that they had put their guard up, they ended up in a better situation.
Regardless, they had still lost several tens of thousands of troops, including many Feudal Lords.
The Humans had suffered some losses as well, but with the Intertwining Branches Formation’s protection, the damage was minimal.
A few days later, the Old Ancestor and the Royal Lord returned to their own places and recuperated.
After this battle, the Human soldiers would launch an attack on the Royal City every 20 years or so. Basically, the Old Ancestor would make a move first and lure the Royal Lord away. Following that, the two Armies would engage in an intense battle.
Unlike the Black Ink Clan’s rigid defence, the Humans had a myriad of tricks up their sleeves.
The Intertwining Branches Formation underwent several improvements. In the past, it couldn’t be easily stopped once it was activated, but now they could stop or start this Grand Array as they pleased. When the Spirit Array was running, the Division Commanders could connect their Battalion Class Warships and provide the best defence to the long Dragon. The moment the Spirit Array stopped running, the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters could slaughter their enemies.
As they effortlessly switched between defence and offence, the Black Ink Clan found themselves powerless to deal with them.
Also, the East-West Army wouldn’t just launch an attack on the Royal City from the left side.
In one of the battles, 20,000 soldiers from the East-West Army followed behind the more than 10 Universe Worlds and struck the Royal City from the right side.
The Black Ink Clan suffered immense losses during that clash.
That was because they had been focused on monitoring the Humans’ forward base and failed to detect any mobilisation of Warships at the time.
During that battle, while nothing major happened at the station, more than 10 Universe Worlds appeared out of nowhere and flew at the right side of the Royal City.
The Black Ink clan forces on the right side of the Royal City certainly had no regard for these Universe Worlds. They had to deal with such a situation every 20 years, so they already knew how to quickly destroy these Universe Worlds.
However, after they fully activated their powers and shattered these Universe Worlds, they were astounded to see the fleet of Human Warships appearing before them.
They were caught completely off guard, and in just a few exchanges, many had lost their lives.
On the other hand, 70% of the Black Ink Clansmen had been paying close attention to the Human encampment, but their wait was futile. It had been unusually silent at the enemy forward base, and it wasn’t until the fleet of Warships appeared behind the Universe Worlds that they realised the Humans were already within striking distance.
The Humans had hidden behind the Universe Worlds this time, which was why the Black Ink Clansmen were unaware of their presence.
It was easily the most devastating battle for the Black Ink Clan since they started confronting the Humans outside the Royal City.
Most of the Black Ink Clansmen on the right side of the Royal City were slaughtered, with as many as 8 Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples being killed as well.
The Territory Lord and Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples did not hold their powers back when destroying the Universe Worlds; therefore, the moment the Humans surprised them, they were out of breath and couldn’t respond promptly.
As for the 70% of the Black Ink Clan Army on the left side, they quickly raced to the rescue, but they were unable to save their clansmen’s lives.
The Humans never stayed for long and would always run away as soon as they gained some advantage. Before the Black Ink Clansmen from the left side arrived, the Humans had retreated.
After the battle, Che Kong’s unresigned roar reverberated across the Royal City.
The two Armies had clashed five times over the past 100 years, with both sides suffering some losses.
Other than the Feudal Lords and Seventh-Order Black Ink Disciples, there would be Territory Lords, Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples, and even Eighth-Order Division Commanders who lost their lives in every battle.
Although the Humans had the incredible protection of the Intertwining Branches Formation, the brutality of this war was beyond what any of them could have possibly imagined.
As the war that the East-West Army was embroiled in intensified, things were similarly heating up on the North-South Army’s side.
When the East-West Army originally set up their forward base outside the Royal City, there were already a million Black Ink Clan soldiers lying in wait.
After years of war, there were still a million Black Ink Clan soldiers. In fact, instead of a decrease, there had actually been an increase in their numbers.
The reason they were able to achieve this was that they had a way to replace the dead Black Ink Clansmen.
However, the new soldiers were not comparable to the original Black Ink Clan Army.
The Black Ink Clansmen outside the Royal City in the beginning were the Territory Lords’ elite subordinates, so they were all fairly powerful.
On the other hand, the new Black Ink Clansmen were the weaker ones who didn’t get to be selected back then.
Many elite Black Ink Clansmen would be killed in every battle. As time passed, there were still a million Black Ink Clan soldiers, but their collective power was no longer comparable to that in the beginning.
It could be proven by looking at the number of casualties on the Black Ink Clan’s side after every battle. As the Black Ink Clan clashed with the Humans, the number of casualties they suffered from increased with every fight. It wasn’t that the Humans had become stronger; it was because the Black Ink Clan’s collective strength had become weaker.
The Humans’ collective power had weakened as well. That was because there would be people who lost their lives in every war.
However, they still managed to gain an increasingly bigger advantage.
How was Che Kong supposed to stay calm and collected in such a situation? The Royal Lord had told him to defend the Royal City. With a million Black Ink Clan soldiers under his command, he didn’t even need to launch an attack; all he had to do was protect the Royal City at all costs. If he couldn’t even achieve that simple task, how was he supposed to face the Royal Lord again?
Nonetheless, it was an undeniable fact that the collective power of the Black Ink Clan was on the decline. In order to change that, he had to get more elite Black Ink Clansmen to come to the Royal City.