Yama Rising

An exquisite carriage stopped right in front of a light barrier formed by Yin energy.

These were the veterans who had survived the great Battle of Qufu and experienced the massive upheaval during the Hungry Ghost Festival. There wasn’t the slightest bit of slack in their postures. Each soldier stood erect as a javelin. The contingent wasn’t formed by many soldiers, but it exuded a sharp and oppressive aura.

White words flickered about on the golden barrier of light that appeared to flow endlessly, thousands of meters long, almost as though it were composed of the galaxy of stars in the sky.

Back then, when they first stepped out of the City of Salvation and marched towards Ashmound City, the portal of light that represented their only gateway back into Hell promptly shrank and vanished before their very eyes. Back then, all that remained was a vast world out there, filled with wild monarch beasts prowling about, waiting to devour them. And right now, they were all back, standing right before Hell’s Gate once more.

This was the place where it all began.

This was also where he first purged Wrath, mustered tens of thousands of troops, and departed for Eastmount Province. As soon as his hand made contact with the barrier of light, it immediately blossomed with golden ripples like a glorious haze. And then, the barrier of light split open right in the middle.

Buzz… At once, even the Yin spirits back in Ashmound City sensed that the vault of the heavens had opened, and a scarlet light that symbolized death erupted from within. Following that, a somewhat familiar source of Yin energy erupted like a powerful volcano, and its outpouring of energy blanketed the entire City of Salvation at once!

That said, it felt strange… because it was far, far stronger than what it used to be when it first left Hell!

“He… Lord Qin is actually a Prefect now?!”

Oda Nobunaga had spoken of this a little while back. However, witnessing the might of a Prefect and experiencing it with his body was quite something different. After all, Qin Ye wasn’t even a Judge back when he departed from Hell back then! His rate of growth was simply astonishing!

There were a row of Yin soldiers standing in front of them, each of which were equipped with black armor that was forged from the carapace of the blight vermin. They also carried three-meter longhorns made of the white bones that were harvested from the marionette of Wrath.

OOOOOOOOOO!!!

Clatter! A deafening clatter of armor striking the ground resounded throughout the City of Salvation, followed quickly by another wave of trumpet blare from all directions. Meanwhile, a majestic flag bearing the Qin emblem fluttered gloriously in the wind.

Meanwhile, countless Yin spirits throughout the entire city did the same. So long as they had once experienced life under Qin Ye’s leadership, all bowed respectfully and deeply to the scarlet sliver in the sky. As a result, even the Yin spirits who had never seen him before couldn’t help but bow in reverence because of the solemn sense of ritual that filled the air.

Buzz… the sliver in the sky opened up bit by bit, until, with a loud bang, the scarlet light melded together with the darkness around, transforming into an avenue a hundred meters wide. A figure dressed in a vermillion garments stood right at the other side of the avenue, followed closely by hundreds of Yin soldiers.

The ghastly citizens of Hell wanted so much to lift their heads to see what exactly this fabled young King Yanluo of Hell looked like. However, not a single one of them dared look up in the slightest.

Just then, Qin Ye finally walked forward.

The forest was gone. An urban forest of towering buildings stood in its place. The seeds he had sown - the works he had started before he left, had all come to fruition and become reality.

I guess… I’m not that incompetent after all…

“Hmm?” Oda Nobunaga glanced around in consternation - Enemy attack?

The look in his eyes quickly changed from surprise to shock, and then to abject disbelief, because he could see that the Yin energy surrounding Hell was suddenly rapidly dissipating!

He had experienced something like this before!

But just because he knew what was going on didn’t mean that others knew just as well.

And there was more!

There was even a mound that bore a flower the size of an entire basin that sported the appearance of a beautiful woman!

“My god…” A Yin spirit looked around, completely dumbfounded, “What the hell is going on here?”

At the beginning, there were nothing more than a few whispers. But, within ten seconds, the entire city was abuzz with excitement!

That said, even Qin Ye was astonished.

BOOM!

The entire process of expansion lasted for what felt like an inordinate amount of time, before everything calmed down.

“Arthis mentioned before that Hell has its own defences. Back when I first departed from the City of Salvation, I wasn’t even an Infernal Judge yet…” Qin Ye could sense his fingers tingling with excitement, “Does this mean that… Hell no longer sees the need to defend itself anymore? Does it already feel ready to unveil the fangs of Hell’s current civilization to the great unknown that exists in the surrounding ecosystem? Was it… waiting for my return to indulge in the second great expansion?”

However, he wasn’t a True Abyssal Prefect.

Sure, even though he might not be a True Abyssal Prefect, but that doesn’t change the fact that his official status is still that of a True Infernal Judge, and that was because Eastmount Province was for all intents and purposes already under his command! The largest armed group belonging to Kong Mo had already been defeated!

He glanced around, murmuring to himself, “The City of Salvation and Ashmound City can be likened to the Yan Capital and the Eastsea Province of the mortal realm. My official status is closely intertwined with the size of Hell’s capital here in the City of Salvation! This…”

If I’m right about Hell’s capital being of a size commensurate with my official status, then the City of Salvation probably has the area of a province right now!

Put differently, 2 of the 34 provinces in Cathay had already been reclaimed by Hell!

This was the place where he had founded Hell with the investment of a shard of King Yanluo’s Seal. His return had practically cut his time investment required to unify the entire country by as much as half! To this end, the current expansion wasn’t quite like his ventures in Eastmount that entailed exploration, clashing against the incumbent powers and seizing land and territory for Hell. Rather, the entire province could already be considered part of Hell as soon as its expansion was complete! They were able to travel anywhere they wanted to go!

Just then, a violent roar suddenly came from the mountains around the valley. Shortly afterwards, a colossal head peeked out from behind the mountains, scanning its surroundings warily with its eight eyes.

Only a year had passed, but it felt like such a long time that he’d nearly forgotten how his sproutling army was trampled all over at the start of their eastbound expedition.

To think that you’re still here?

The Broodmother carefully surveyed his surroundings.

Moreover, it couldn’t sense any traces of danger from the city. In fact… all it could detect was the fragrance of delectable food. Naturally, all eight eyes gravitated towards the city that had just appeared. But, just then, a violent nethergale promptly coalesced at the top of the valley, and a Yin spirit dressed in vermillion garbs suddenly appeared.

It saw churning netherflames and a roaring abyss. It saw… endless desolated lands covered with a blanket of white bones!

Run away immediately! This Emissary of Hell is a monster!

The man’s aura is incredibly familiar. I could’ve sworn that it had encountered this man just a year ago. But… how could he possibly be so terrifying? If he were as terrifying as this, I would’ve abandoned this nest a long time ago!

Qin Ye smiled at the monarch beast that had caused him much anguish back then, “It’s been a while.”

SMACK!!!

“I’ve missed you.”