Chapter 5141, Facing the Enemy
Translator: Silavin & VictorN
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
When troops of the Black Ink Clan died, the Black Ink Strength that escaped from their corpses would fill the void. When it reached a certain density, it would turn into Black Ink Clouds.
Such an environment caused great trouble to the Human Race. While the Fifth and Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters could hide in their Warships and rely on them for protection, the Seventh-Order Masters had to roam around the battlefield to make the best use of their strength to kill the enemy. When the battlefield was filled with Black Ink Strength, they had to utilize their own strength to resist its corrosive effects.
The Black Ink Clan could also hide among the Black Ink Clouds to launch sneak attacks.
This was the biggest effect of the cannon fodder. Their deaths not only created a lot of potential problems for the Humans, but they also provided better conditions for the Black Ink Clan Army to fight in.
However, now that Blue Sky Pass not only had Purifying Light, but also Purifying Black Ink Pills, it was hard to say if the Black Ink Clan cannon fodder strategy would work this time.
“Senior Brother, your aim is off. You should target the denser crowds to kill more of the Black Ink Clan,” a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master said on the Western wall of Blue Sky Pass.
In front of him, Yang Kai sat within a Grand Array that had a giant crossbow-like artifact installed in it. His stirring World Force began to calm down slowly.
Yang Kai did not need to participate at this point; after all, this was only the early stages of the battle as each Black Ink Clan siege would generally drag on for a long time. Additionally, he had only just returned from a battle with the Western Army and should be spending this time recuperating.
A Master like him would only be required when the real battle began.
The Black Ink Clan attacked Blue Sky Pass with cannon fodder to create a favourable battlefield, and the Humans responded from behind Blue Sky Pass’ shields.
Such a fight would last at least a month or two until the Black Ink Clan’s cannon fodder was exhausted. Only then would the main enemy force attack. At that time, it would be difficult for Blue Sky Pass’ shields alone to resist the assault. They would need to go out to meet the enemy directly on the battlefield. Then it would become a back-and-forth fight for years to decades until the Black Ink Clan could not handle it anymore and retreated.
However, considering his current Artifact Refining mastery, which had recently reached the Grandmaster Rank, Zhong Liang had positioned Yang Kai at the Western wall.
Numerous artifacts, which were used as Array Cores, were set up here. When used in high-intensity battles, wear and tear became obvious. This would then require Artifact Refiners to maintain and repair them, while Array Masters had to be on standby to coordinate with them.
Yang Kai was now stationed on the Western wall and was performing repairs on a large artifact known as a Scattering Feathers Crossbow.
This artifact was specially made for such a battlefield scenario and needed to be paired with an appropriate Spirit Array to fully utilise its strength.
Of course, it was possible to use this giant Artifact all on its own, but even a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like Yang Kai would find it hard to bring out its full power in a battlefield setting.
Thus, it was not quite the same as the normal artifacts used by a cultivator.
The Array Masters used this Scattering Feathers Crossbow as an Array Core for a Grand Array that defended this section of the wall. Yang Kai simply poured his own power into the Grand Array to stimulate the power of the Scattering Feathers Crossbow.
There were Artifact Refiners and Array Masters assigned to each section of Blue Sky Pass’ walls at regular intervals, all of them on standby to repair and maintain them. That was how each of the artifacts were kept functioning during battle.
This arrangement had the advantage of allowing lower-order Open Heaven Realm Masters to exert the killing power of High-Rank Masters. In short, a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master could exert the power of a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master if he operated the Scattering Feathers Crossbows.
This was the same principle as the artifacts placed on Warships, where Fifth-Order and Sixth-Order Humans could combine their might and launch attacks on par with Seventh-Order Masters against the Black Ink Clan.
Yang Kai was a Seventh-Order Master, and an extremely powerful one at that, but this was the first time he operated this artifact so he had to get used to it, and the best way to do so was to fire it.
With Yang Kai operating it, this Scattering Feathers Crossbow could launch an attack comparable in power to his Golden Crow Casts the Sun, which was quite astonishing.
The Array Master behind Yang Kai was called Lu Xing. He knew who Yang Kai was, but Yang Kai did not know him. This wasn’t a surprise though as, by now, Yang Kai was universally known throughout Blue Sky Pass.
As an Array Master, Lu Xing had never been involved in a head-on clash with the Black Ink Clan. Each time the Black Ink Clan attacked, he was responsible for the maintenance of this section of the wall. Artifact Refiners, Alchemists, and Array Masters were never allowed on the battlefield because, not only were their skills extremely valuable, but they had often immersed themselves in their respective Daos and were not proficient in fighting. Thus, they were not that useful in combat.
Lu Xing was thrilled to learn that he would be working with the famous Yang Kai to maintain this section of the wall. He secretly told himself that he would do his utmost to assist Senior Brother Yang to kill as many of the Black Ink Clansmen as possible.
He observed that Yang Kai’s attack had gone off the mark, and immediately gave his opinion.
Yang Kai nodded lightly, and as Lu Xing suggested, he adjusted his aim down a bit, and then pushed his own power into the artifact.
The Grand Array hummed, condensing power into the Scattering Feathers Crossbow, causing it to shine brightly.
Yang Kai did not rush to attack, wanting to test the limits of this weapon.
As World Force continued to pour into the Grand Array, the crossbow glowed brighter and brighter, and the energy arrow soon became as bright as the sun.
Lu Xing turned pale as he said nervously, “Senior Brother hold back a little, the Grand Array is about to reach its limit.”
Yang Kai did not know that the Grand Array was about to reach its limit; however, he could tell that the Scattering Feathers Crossbow was beginning to strain under the energy he channelled into it.
It was not surprising that this would happen when a cultivator poured in too much World Force. Furthermore, with the additive effects of the Grand Array, the power of the cultivator would be significantly enhanced.
Yang Kai’s Divine Sense locked onto the place where the Black Ink Clan’s cannon fodder had gathered in the largest number in front of him, and, as he was about to launch his attack, Yang Kai suddenly he had a bout of inspiration and he lifted his hand slightly.
The array buzzed and the void shook, a dazzling light shot out, flying some 100,000 kilometres away.
Lu Xing thought that Yang Kai had missed again, and this time it was even more outrageous than before, but when he looked up, he saw the stream of light had reached the rear of the approaching Black Ink Clan Army before exploding into thousands of rays of light, just like a peacock opening its tail from afar!
“Hahaha!” Yang Kai laughed heartily.
Lu Xing might not be able to see the effect of the strike due to his limited strength, but Yang Kai could see clearly the full effect of the Scattering Feathers Crossbow. Not only did he manage to fire the weapon to the 100,000-kilometre mark, he managed to cause some casualties to the unsuspecting Black Ink Clan Army. At least 100 Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen were turned into dust by that attack and even more were injured.
The Scattering Feathers Crossbow was meant to be an area-of-effect weapon, and it suddenly struck the rear of the Black Ink Clan Army, which no one was prepared for.
This artifact was more powerful than an ordinary full-powered attack from him, making it worthy of being an all-rounded weapon used for both offence and defence. With such artifacts, the Human Race didn’t need to worry that the Great Pass would fall.
However, such a move was only effective for the first strike and its effect was also limited. When repeatedly done, the Black Ink Clan would be able to guard against it, not to mention the distance his attack had to travel to hit its target made it easier to dodge for those paying attention.
Additionally, launching such powerful attacks would wear down the Scattering Feathers Crossbow and damage it in no time.
Yang Kai just wanted to test where the limits of this Array Artifact were. Dawning Light was also equipped with a Scattering Feathers Crossbow, but he was always roaming around the battlefield to kill the enemies while the Squad’s Fifth-Order and Sixth-Order members were the ones who operated this artifact.
With a plan in mind, Yang Kai once again poured in his power.
Lu Xing watched with trepidation as Yang Kai began channelling his energy; however, he did not do anything unconventional this time. He aimed the weapon and attacked the tidal wave of Black Ink Clan cannon fodder coming in front of him.
One after another, giant bolts of light cleared an area of the void without stopping.
Lu Xing was deeply impressed. He had seen people manipulate this artifact before, but they fired far less rapidly and with far less force than Yang Kai. He had finally seen for himself the reason why Yang Kai was so legendary.
The high intensity of the fight lasted for three days and nights. The Black Ink Clan cannon fodder seemed to be inexhaustible, so no matter how many were killed, more would show up. Furthermore, Black Ink Cloud began to block his view.
Yang Kai had stopped for a moment. The Grand Array formation and Scattering Feathers Crossbow needed to cool down and be repaired. Additionally, he had expended his energy and required some time to restore it.
The good thing was that there were many Grand Arrays and artifacts arranged on the walls; thus, they could take turns to rest and conduct maintenance on some while others were still active. Thus, the intensity of the bombardment would not drop.
After more than 20 days of fighting like this, the wave of cannon fodder finally came to an end. Almost all the cannon fodder that was put into the battlefield was dead.
This was the standard tactic of the Black Ink Clan. They had an endless supply of cannon fodder and could sacrifice them without any concerns. Creating a favourable battlefield with the death of some cannon fodder was well worth it.
Furthermore, in the days to come, the Black Ink Clan would continue to send a steady stream of troops against Blue Sky Pass, including a large number of cannon fodder which had been sent from the Black Ink Clan’s territory as reinforcements. Such attacks would continue throughout the duration of the war.
In between, it would be time for Black Ink Clan’s main forces to enter the battlefield.
The void was silent as Black Ink Strength accumulated and Black Ink Clouds enveloped Blue Sky Pass. The movement of the Black Ink Clan Army was not visible from 100,000 kilometres away anymore. From past experience, the Humans knew that the main force of the Black Ink Clan had begun to move, but they could not track them as they were still too far away.
The Human soldiers gathered to prepare for the impending attack.
Before they encountered the Black Ink Clan main force, they would continue to use the artifacts on the walls to launch harassing attacks. They were not just for eliminating the Black Ink Clan cannon fodder, but also a strong weapon to fight the Black Ink Clan main force.
A sense of anticipation permeated the entire Blue Sky Pass.
At the West Gate, Squads were assembled, and Dawn was among them.
Yang Kai had left his position on the wall days ago, leaving others to operate and maintain the Scattering Feathers Crossbows.
As they waited, they suddenly felt a wave of energy surging in from all directions and the whole Blue Sky Pass hummed loudly. Blasts of light from Array Artifacts were constantly sent out in all directions from the walls.
The battle had begun!
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