Martial Peak

Chapter 5062 – I’ll Bring Up the Rear

Translator: Silavin & Jon

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

Xu Ling Gong became a bit more at ease at the thought of this. A wounded Territory Lord would naturally be less intimidating to them.

The intense battle continued, but it wasn’t long before Xu Ling Gong appeared exhausted as he secretly spoke to Yang Kai, “I’m running out of energy.”

A Seventh-Order Master was unable to bear the intensity of such a battle over a long time. Even though half of the pressure was borne by Yang Kai, Xu Ling Gong and his Seventh-Order Vice Squad Leader still found it difficult to deal with these enemies.

It had come to a point where all 3 of them were wounded. Worse, as more Black Ink Clansmen were killed, the Black Ink Strength on the battlefield became increasingly ample. Xu Ling Gong and his Vice Squad Leader were no longer able to keep resisting the Black Ink Strength.

Black Qi had begun appearing around their faces.

“Both of you, retreat to the Warship. We’ll have to fight our way out of here!” Yang Kai shouted.

“We’re going to fight our way out?” Xu Ling Gong was astounded upon hearing that. If they really did that at this point, all their efforts would go to waste; however, he soon realised Yang Kai’s intention. He nodded and sent a signal to the Vice Squad Leader, then the two of them returned to the Warship.

The current situation was vastly different from their original plan. With that said, it was to be expected. Regardless of how immaculate a plan was, there would be unexpected incidents when they went to carry it out. Only by reacting accordingly would they stand a chance to succeed.

It was the best idea to fight their way out of here at this point. As for how the situation would unfold, that was beyond their control. Even if they couldn’t achieve their goal this time, there was nothing they could do about it. They could only come up with a new plan.

The next moment, Yang Kai turned to look in a different direction and led the way for them. As he was followed by the Warship, they tried to fight their way out of this battlefield that was covered with corpses.

On the Black Ink Clan’s flight type artifact, Hei Yuan narrowed his eyes and snarled, “Trying to flee? Dream on! Stop them at all costs!”

“Yes.” Upon receiving the order, the Feudal Lord hurriedly left to pass down the order.

The Black Ink Clansmen did their best to stop the Humans from running away, causing the battle to further intensify.

Hei Yuan paid close attention to the battlefield. He could see that the spear-wielding young man had been invaded by Black Ink Strength again, but this time, he didn’t consume any Spirit Pills. Instead, he clenched his teeth and persevered. As time passed, the Black Ink Strength around him became increasingly richer.

It seemed that the Spirit Pills were extremely rare. The young man probably only had one with him.

[Finally, some good news!] Hei Yuan relaxed slightly. If those Spirit Pills were easily made and widely available, every Human could bring several of them with them. In that case, life would become difficult for the Black Ink Clan.

Seeing that the Warship led by the young man was about to break through the siege, Hei Yuan snorted and stomped his foot on the deck.

In an instant, the Territory Lord’s immense pressure reached out, forming into an invisible force and clashed with the young man’s spear.

The next moment, the seemingly unstoppable young man froze for an instant. While he was in a dazed state, a nearby Feudal Lord seized the chance and landed a punch on his chest, which caused him to spray out a mouthful of blood.

“A Territory Lord!?” The young man appeared horrified as he turned to look at the large ship. As their eyes met, one of them sported a solemn expression while mockery was written all over the other one’s face.

The young man appeared surprised, as though he had never expected to come across a Territory Lord here.

The next moment, he yelled, “All of you, leave now! I’ll bring up the rear!”

Aboard the Warship, Xu Ling Gong was finally able to put down his worries. Even though the Territory Lord didn’t show up in person when he made a move, it showed that he was no longer able to sit back and do nothing.

In that case, they had partially achieved their goal, and their task ended here. It then depended on luck whether Yang Kai would succeed; therefore, without hesitation, Xu Ling Gong sported a sorrowful expression and yelled, “Let’s go!”

The Warship started glowing up as the defensive and propulsion arrays were activated to the fullest, sending the Warship charging forward.

Just a moment later, the defensive array on the Warship dimmed. Following that, some of the propulsion arrays stopped working as the Warship slowed down.

With that said, they had finally broken through the siege after paying a hefty price.

Without the defensive array, the Warship had become far less intimidating; after all, the Fifth-Order and Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters aboard the Warship were unable to resist Black Ink Strength for a long time.

The instant they got out of the encirclement, they launched some attacks from the Warship on the Black Ink Clansmen that were chasing after them. Although many of them were instantly injured or killed, it wouldn’t change the overall situation.

“Go!” Yang Kai roared as he wielded his spear, which turned into innumerable shadows and cut many Black Ink Clansmen to pieces.

On the Warship, Xu Ling Gong appeared mournful. After a short moment of hesitation, he gave the order to withdraw from the battlefield.

Despite being soaked in blood, Yang Kai resolutely stood in the void with his spear in hand. With determination written all over his face, he blocked the Black Ink Clansmen from pursuing the Warship.

Aboard the large ship, Hei Yuan narrowed his eyes, “I really don’t understand. Are the Humans foolish or courageous?”

He had seen on the battlefield many times that a powerful cultivator would bring up the rear so that the weaker ones could flee; therefore, he wasn’t surprised when he saw what was going on as it was within his expectations.

However, regardless of how many times he witnessed it, he still didn’t understand why the Humans would act this way. All the Humans seemed willing to sacrifice themselves, but didn’t they know that a powerful Master was significantly more valuable than a bunch of weaker ones?

Just then, the Feudal Lord beside him asked, “Sir, do we pursue the enemy Warship?”

Hei Yuan took a glance at the fleeing Warship, then shook his head, “There’s no need for that. With this young man around, those useless dregs wouldn’t be able to break through his blockade for some time. Moreover, this person is the most valuable. It would suffice as long as we can capture him.”

Upon hearing that, the Feudal Lord secretly let out a sigh of relief. He was worried that the Territory Lord would tell him to keep pursuing them.

Meanwhile, Xu Ling Gong’s Squad soon arrived at a safe place. When they turned their heads, they realised that there wasn’t even a single Black Ink Clansman in sight.

Presently, all the Squad members were panting for breath. They had to exert themselves as the battle was truly intense. In fact, up until this moment, they still hadn’t figured out how a small Squad like them had managed to persevere for such a long time when facing the tide of Black Ink Clansmen.

They were fully aware of their Squad’s strength. In the past, they would’ve been destroyed after just an hour of such combat.

Nevertheless, not only had they fought against the Black Ink Clansmen for half a day this time, but they had also escaped unscathed. Even though the Warship was tattered, the Squad members didn’t suffer from any serious injuries. As for the damage to the Warship, that could be repaired by spending some Military Merits when they returned to the Inner Sanctum.

All of this was made possible because of Yang Kai.

Qing Kui gazed at Xu Ling Gong and asked in a grim voice, “Honoured Master, are we really leaving Yang Kai behind?”

Although the Squad members were directly involved in this plan, only Xu Ling Gong was aware of the details and objectives. The Seventh-Order Vice Squad Leader had some speculations, but he couldn’t verify them.

Qing Kui had no idea what the plan was; after all, this was top secret, so it would be best to let fewer people know about it.

Presently, Qing Kui felt extremely apprehensive as the Squad had escaped while Yang Kai brought up the rear for them. He had the urge to go back and stand by Yang Kai’s side. Being killed on the battlefield would be much better than waiting here.

“What do you intend to do?” Xu Ling Gong sported a dark expression.

Qing Kui appeared hesitant as he had no idea what to say, but a moment later, he said resolutely, “Honoured Master, please allow me to go back and assist Yang Kai!”

Besides him, the other Squad members sported the same kind of expression.

“You want to go back and get killed?” Xu Ling Gong glared at him, “You’re just a Sixth-Order brat! What can you do even if you go back? You’ll only become a burden to him!”

Qing Kui clenched his teeth. Just when he was ready to speak, Su Ying Xue suddenly pulled his sleeve and said in a small voice, “Senior Brother, stop. Have you forgotten about a particular ability he possesses?”

With a frown, Qing Kui soon realised she was talking about the fact that Yang Kai was a Master of the Dao of Space.

Therefore, Yang Kai was extremely adept at fleeing. Even if he was unable to deal with so many Black Ink Clansmen, he could easily escape. Qing Kui supposed that was the reason Yang Kai decided to bring up the rear.

All of a sudden, the Seventh-Order Vice Squad Leader said, “Qing Kui, do not act on a whim. Your Honoured Master and I are unable to persevere any longer. We have to return to the Inner Sanctum as soon as possible.”

Qing Kui was shocked upon hearing that. It wasn’t until this moment that he realised the faces of his Honoured Master and the Deputy Squad Leader were tinged with some Black Ink Strength. It was apparent that they were being corrupted by it. Despite being Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, they had been contaminated by Black Ink Strength from a protracted battle with the Black Ink Clan. Moreover, there was only one Squad here. Presently, the 2 Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had to divert most of their attention to suppress the Black Ink Strength.

They wouldn’t fall into danger immediately; nevertheless, if this dragged on, their Small Universes would be completely eroded by Black Ink Strength. By then, they would turn into Black Ink Disciples.

Xu Ling Gong ordered in an authoritative tone, “Listen up. Head back to the Inner Sanctum as soon as possible. We must not delay!”

Despite being unresigned, these Open Heaven Realm Masters wouldn’t dare to disobey the Squad Leader’s order.

A moment later, huge arrays started appearing beneath everyone’s feet. As a light flickered, they disappeared at the same time. It was obvious that they had used the Universe Transference Law and returned to Yin-Yang Pass.

After all of the members were gone, the Vice Squad Leader nodded at Xu Ling Gong, “I’ll be waiting for you in the Inner Sanctum, Squad Leader.”

Upon finishing his words, he activated the Universe Transference Law as well.

Xu Ling Gong nodded and watched him leave. Then, he turned to look in the direction where they came from and let out a sigh. After transferring the tattered Warship in his Small Universe, he too activated the Universe Transference Law.

On the battlefield, Yang Kai fell into a perilous state without the Warship’s support and was surrounded by a large number of Black Ink Clansmen once again.

Despite being terrified, the Black Ink Clansmen had no choice but to charge forward following the Territory Lord’s order. Fortunately, Yang Kai didn’t seem able to persevere any longer; otherwise, they wouldn’t have the confidence to keep fighting.

An incense stick after the Warship left the battlefield, an asteroid that looked like a universe fragment abruptly appeared on the battlefield. The asteroid was covered with Black Ink Strength, and the instant it appeared, the World Force around it dissipated.

At the same time, Yang Kai, whose aura was already unstable, significantly weakened.