Martial Peak

Chapter 5685: Wanting the Lion’s Share

On the Universe Fragment, Yang Kai hesitated for a moment upon receiving Mo Na Ye’s message, originally intending to ignore it. But after giving it some thought, he realised that there was no point in being sneaky about things and decided to confront Mo Na Ye directly. So, he immediately surged his Divine Sense and sent a message through the communication bead.

At the same time, inside the No-Return Pass, Mo Na Ye’s communication bead trembled once again. He quickly immersed his mind in it to investigate, and in the next moment, boundless anger surged within him, almost causing his lungs to explode.

The message in the communication bead was straightforward, consisting of only two words, “Fifty percent!”

Although it seemed incomprehensible at first glance, Mo Na Ye instantly understood Yang Kai’s intention. This bastard was clearly demanding 50% of the resources excavated by the Black Ink Clan on the Black Ink Battlefield. His appetite was simply outrageous! 

These resources were mined by the Black Ink Clan and were intended to be transported to the frontline battlefields to enhance the Black Ink Clan’s strength. It was all meant to be used against the Human Race, but now, without any effort on their part, the Humans wanted to take away 50% of them.

Moreover, if the Human Race were to use these resources to enhance their own strength, it would inevitably harm Black Ink Clan.

Mo Na Ye would never agree to such an act of aiding the enemy. If he did, he would forever become a criminal in the eyes of the Black Ink Clan!

The more Mo Na Ye interacted with Yang Kai, the more he found the latter to be difficult to deal with. At this moment, he had formed a new evaluation of him. Yang Kai was shameless beyond all imagination, able to make such outrageous demands without any scruples. It was simply unbelievable! 

Suppressing the anger in his heart, Mo Na Ye sent a message to the Territory Lord in charge of the resource affairs, asking him to come over. At the same time, he feigned ignorance and replied, “Sir Yang, what do you mean? Please explain in detail!”

The communication bead quickly trembled, and Yang Kai replied with only two words, “Heh heh!”

Mo Na Ye’s brow twitched, and Yang Kai’s annoying face inexplicably appeared in his mind, causing the anger he had just suppressed to surge up again.

“Sir Mo Na Ye!” The summoned Territory Lord quickly arrived and bowed respectfully.

Mo Na Ye looked up and asked, “How many teams are overdue from the past month?”

“Five, Sir!” Replied the Territory Lord.

“And how many have returned?”

“Also five!”

Five teams had disappeared, and five had returned. This was precisely 50%. Mo Na Ye knew that this was no coincidence, but rather Yang Kai’s intentional doing. His meaning was evident. The Black Ink Clan could refuse his offer, but he would still be able to take 50%!

In fact, if Yang Kai wanted to, there was a good chance he could take the other 50% as well.

This was open bullying!

Facing such a tricky opponent, Mo Na Ye had always been patient and avoided confronting him head-on because he knew that Black Ink Clan had no way of dealing with Yang Kai at the moment.

In terms of strength, both he and the Royal Lord were stronger than Yang Kai, and if they were to fight it out in a one-on-one fashion, they could easily suppress him.

However, if they couldn’t kill Yang Kai, all hostility towards him would be meaningless. The Divine Spirit Ancestral Land was a great opportunity to kill him as the Four Gates Eight Palaces Great Pagoda Array blocked the entire space, leaving Yang Kai with no place to use his greatest strength. It was the best opportunity the Black Ink Clan had to kill him.

It was a pity that Di Wu had messed things up. Not only did the Black Ink Clan lose many Innate Territory Lords, but even Di Wu was killed. 

The Dao of Space… was undoubtedly the most troublesome Grand Dao for the Black Ink Clan!

Apart from Mo Na Ye and Royal Lord, none of the other Masters on the Black Ink Clan’s side were a match for Yang Kai. 3,000 years ago, Yang Kai was capable of slaughtering Territory Lords as easily as chickens, but at that time, he still needed to use his strange Soul Secret Technique to achieve such remarkable results. Now, 3,000 years later, Yang Kai’s strength had increased significantly, and Innate Territory Lords were no longer a challenge for him. Even if they formed a Battle Formation, Territory Lords might not be able to do much against this menace. 

How could Mo Na Ye not be cautious in the face of such an opponent?

The whole reason why they had made peace with the Human Race back then was also because of this. In the current situation, Yang Kai’s had become a nightmare that the Black Ink Clan could not contain. Since that was the case, they could only place their hopes on the future.

If the Black Ink Clan managed to produce many Royal Lords one day, then the role that Yang Kai could play would naturally be greatly reduced.

Over the years, Yang Kai had been travelling around, his whereabouts elusive, and his reasons unknown. 

Mo Na Ye never imagined that one day, this guy would block the No-Return Pass and personally loot resources from the Black Ink Clan.

Although angry and annoyed, he saw the underlying message through the situation’s appearance.

The Human side must be running out of resources; otherwise, there was no reason for a Master like Yang Kai to act like this. For this reason more than any other, Yang Kai’s impudent demand could not be agreed to. As long as the Black Ink Clan held on a little longer, the Human Race would only face more shortages, and even if they had countless rising prodigies, without enough supplies, their cultivation would not improve!

Mo Na Ye was anxiously trying to communicate with Yang Kai through the communication bead while summoning all the Territory Lords of the No-Return Pass. 

Within moments, hundreds of Territory Lords gathered in the Main Hall, but this time, the Royal Lord did not appear and only Mo Na Ye stood below the throne of bones.

Although the Royal Lord was absent, Mo Na Ye did not dare to sit on the main throne, which was exclusively reserved for the Royal Lord. As a Pseudo-Royal Lord, he did not have the qualifications to sit there.

Looking at the group of puzzled Territory Lords below, Mo Na Ye stated bluntly, “Yang Kai is currently somewhere outside of the No-Return Pass!” 

Some of the more belligerent Territory Lords began clamouring to lead their Armies to surround and kill Yang Kai. The more timid ones turned pale because they had suffered losses at Yang Kai’s hand.

Mo Na Ye took in the expressions of the Territory Lords and continued, “The Human Race doesn’t have enough resources, so now Yang Kai has come to plunder our supply transports! Although the losses are small for now, if this issue is not resolved soon, our resources will probably be cut in half compared to previous years. This will inevitably affect our plans for conquest.”

The noisy Territory Lords instantly quieted down, while a particularly sturdy-looking one cupped his fist and asked, “How should we solve this problem, Sir Mo Na Ye?”

Mo Na Ye declared, “The matter of resources is fundamental to both the Black Ink Clan and the Human Race. The plundering of ours is a secondary loss compared to helping the Human Race grow stronger. For now, I need you to investigate Yang Kai’s movements and escort the resource transports and their goods back!” 

The sturdy Territory Lord then said, “If that’s the case, we have to move in teams capable of assuming Battle Formations. Against that killing star, not forming a Battle Formation would be equivalent to sticking out our necks and letting him chop our heads off.”

Fortunately, in recent years, the Territory Lords of the Black Ink Clan had not been idle and had been diligently practising various Battle Formations. It was ridiculous to say that these Innate Territory Lords were already powerful enough to not fear any Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, but just because of Yang Kai’s presence, they had to practise these Battle Formations to protect themselves. This was humiliating, but they were left with no other choice.

Mo Na Ye nodded, “Yes, you will all need to form Battle Formations, with Four Symbols Formations being the minimum requirement to face Yang Kai. Only Territory Lords who can form a Four Symbols Formation can perform this task. Those who cannot should not go out for the time being.”

A Battle Formation was not something that could be just casually formed. The Human Race Squads could do this because they grew and developed in a totally different environment compared to the Black Ink Clan. The invasion and oppression of the Black Ink Clan had long made all Human Race Masters sincerely united. Each Squad also had time to become familiar with each other through daily interactions and battles, so no matter when or where, they could easily form Battle Formations as there was innate trust among each other.

It was different for the Black Ink Clan, especially the Innate Territory Lords, as each of them was born strong and naturally had their own arrogance and opinion. They were not willing to fully trust each other and entrust their lives to others, preferring to believe in their own selves above all else. 

This wasn’t a surprise though as in the face of danger, the first reaction of most living beings was to protect themselves.

At the time of forming a Battle Formation, the auras of all in the Formation were linked, essentially turning them into a single entity. However, once an individual had the intention to protect themselves over the group, the Battle Formation would collapse. 

That was why, when Di Wu led 20 Innate Territory Lords to surround and kill Yang Kai in the Ancestral Land, the Battle Formations they formed were only Four Symbols Formations. It was not because they lacked the numbers, but rather because forcing a more advanced Battle Formation was impossible.

Most of the Territory Lords of the Black Ink Clan could only form the Four Symbols Formation at most, with a select few capable of forming the Five Elements Formation. No Six Paths Formation had ever been formed among them. 

In fact, this was not a problem unique to Territory Lords; it was also difficult for Eighth-Order Human Masters to form a Six Paths Formation, though not impossible. So far, the highest record for Eighth-Order Masters was a Seven Stars Formation, which happened during a life-or-death crisis against a Royal Lord.

The higher the individual strength, the more difficult it was to form a Battle Formation. This principle applied to both the Humans and the Black Ink Clan.

For example, back when Yang Kai was Squad Leader of Dawn, he led his Squad members to kill many enemies and once formed a Nine Palaces Formation. However, if he were to try to form such a Formation with other Eighth-Order Masters now, he would not be able to do so.

With the command from Mo Na Ye given, a few Territory Lords relaxed because they could not form a Battle Formation with other Territory Lords at all. Unexpectedly, this lack of competence had allowed them to avoid a potential crisis.

Mo Na Ye then deployed all the Territory Lords who could form Battle Formations into two groups. One group was responsible for searching for Yang Kai’s whereabouts outside the No-Return Pass, with the other was responsible for protecting the squads returning from gathering resources in the depths of the Black Ink Battlefield.

He then said, “The objective this time is not to kill Yang Kai. If you encounter him, prioritise self-preservation!” 

After speaking these words aloud, Mo Na Ye could not help but feel a sense of helplessness deep down in his heart. Faced with a Master like Yang Kai, he actually unconsciously gave up the idea of killing him. 

Now, he only hoped that the Acquired Territory Lords would grow up soon. As long as more Royal Lords appeared in the Black Ink Clan, the threat that Yang Kai posed to the Black Ink Clan would be greatly weakened!

The Territory Lords then dispersed quickly, following Mo Na Ye’s previous assignments. They dared not be careless, forming Four Symbols and Five Elements Formations immediately after leaving the No-Return Pass and quickly dispersing as they headed towards the depths of the Black Ink Battlefield.

Back in the Main Hall, Mo Na Ye looked at the more than 10 Territory Lords who remained, furrowing his brow slightly before waving his hand, “Be vigilant against any potential attacks from Yang Kai!”

“Yes!” The Territory Lords then left with their orders.