Yama Rising

Endless Yin energy poured out of the seven apertures on his face, transforming into the likeness of faces filled with various agonized expressions, before returning back to his body once more. He raised his withered head and looked straight at the Harken and Qin Ye, “It wasn’t easy getting an audience with the Emissaries of Hell…”

There was no need to beat about the bush.

At least, until today.

He gently flicked the sleeves of his robes, “Emissary of Hell, successor to the throne, Prefect Qin.”

The netherflames in both the eyes of Catherine the Great and Aristotle flickered wildly for a moment, and then they gazed deeply upon Qin Ye once more. After a long time, Catherine the Great lifted her puffy skirt slightly and curtseyed elegantly, “I sincerely look forward to our encounters in future.”

Ignoring her, Qin Ye turned to Aristotle, “Ever since our previous encounter with the Russian Underworld, we’ve been wondering - the research and development of Forbidden Arts requires not only that moment of inspiration, but also pure raw data gathered over experimentation and tests. And to that end, the Russian Underworld would never be able to gather the materials required for such experiments and tests without alerting the international arena to their intentions.”

“And that was when we first began to speculate whether someone had in fact deliberately leaked data to the Russian Underworld. The more we thought about it, the more we found such a possibility highly probable. And to that end, your underworld was at the top of the list of suspects. After all… you do share a substantial border with the Russian Underworld.”

He walked forward unhurriedly and gazed deep into the eyes of Aristotle, the renowned thinker, statesman and educator, “You want to know the truth about Hell.”

He paused here. Truth be told, Qin Ye had some further thoughts that he chose not to reveal.

And the answer to this was likely because the gods of death in the New World didn’t have much time left in the netherworld! Their underworlds were about to collapse at any time, and Hell’s likelihood of participation would immediately be relevant to the potential division of the lands in the New World. Who wouldn’t be anxious about something like that?

“I don’t care what thoughts and considerations you have on your mind either. What I want to know right now is…” He turned to Catherine the Great with a grave expression, “Are you planning to wage war against Hell?”

There was only so much one could plan for, and the current situation was largely caused by the variables in actual implementation. For one, they hadn’t thought about laying their claim on Genghis Khan’s tomb until they learnt that Hell was only sending two Emissaries to the final showdown.

Thus, Aristotle had moved to take matters into his own hands. And when he made this suggestion, the Russian Underworld naturally didn’t say a word about it. The Argosian Emissaries had opened the door to the dusty tomb of Genghis Khan, and Aristotle had also personally come to the Mongol Empire to oversee the operations. Unfortunately, this also meant that the dispute had escalated to beyond its original form, and now took the form of a dispute between the P4 underworlds. The Russian Underworld had to tread carefully.

Catherine the Great didn’t say a word. Instead, she simply took a step back and stood slightly behind where Aristotle was standing.

“Pursuant to Article 178 of the International Convention…” Aristotle’s lips curled up with a contemptuous smirk, “Only Yin spirits of eminent importance to an underworld are required to be returned to their respective underworlds. But, has Hell forgotten?”

“So, are you telling me that you refuse?” Qin Ye smiled and nodded gently, before backing away.

Whether you dare to send troops, and whether you even have the capacity to send troops - both of these questions are the key to the next international tussle that is on the cusp of breaking out!

These were lands that would soon become completely masterless. These were lands that were rich in both resources and Yin spirits. It was also a land where Catholicism had a presence. Hell’s decision now would determine whether the door to the New World would also be open to them or not. It would determine whether the tussle for territory would be among the P4 underworlds, or… the P3 underworlds.

Aristotle’s gaze flickered wildly.

Not only is an underworld bold enough to make a foray into the development of Forbidden Arts at Hell’s doorstep, it’s even going to be expressly tolerated by them?

And even if the matters pertaining to international conventions are ambiguous and arguable, since when do the P4 underworlds adhere to the rules to begin with?

“So… you’re giving up?” Aristotle’s heart thumped wildly - Not enough… This isn’t enough. I’ve merely touched the tip of the iceberg. I’ve got to keep testing their bottom line to get to the bottom of it all!

Or perhaps I might even call for a global condemnation of the Russian Underworld’s refusal to comply with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Forbidden Arts. That way, as the master of the East Continent, Hell will have no choice but to lift the seal and preside over this matter. Otherwise… they would have no choice but to relinquish their position as one of the P4 underworlds!

“Is it that you’re unwilling to send troops, unable to send troops, or…” He slammed his cane on the ground, and a terrifying blast of Yin energy erupted at once, “Do you no longer have the strength to do so?”

As he spoke, Qin Ye sensibly retreated, leaving a large berth of several meters between them, before he finally responded, “Hell naturally wouldn’t interfere with such matters. After all, international disputes should be resolved using global means.”

But before they could say anything more, they heard a sound of something shattering echoing from the distant skies across the horizon.

Unlike the usual sound of glass shattering, the crashing sound they heard had a far more cosmic timbre to it. In fact, the sound even caused the entire East Continent to tremble softly.

Aristotle also froze and turned back at exactly the same time. And a split second later, the netherflames in his eyes instantly contracted.

It was an unforgettable sight.

And to that end, the vortex was easily tens of thousands of meters wide from end to end! It was quite literally a giant tornado that was sweeping straight through the skies and descending towards the ground! Moments later, dozens of pairs of netherflames lit up from the boundless darkness in the skies and stared intently over. Then, with a soft chuckle, they immediately swooped over like a majestic eagle!

BOOM!!! The sheer impact of their arrival crushed the densely packed Russian cavalry on the ground at once, blowing them up to smithereens and tainting the skies with darkness!

“Mythic Spirits?!” Aristotle was the first one to exclaim in horror. As one of the highest emissaries in the Argosian Underworld, he knew full well the deep revulsion the Mythic Spirits had for the Argosian Underworld. That said, there was only one thought in his mind right now.

On what grounds?!

“It’s you!!! It’s you, isn’t it?!!”

“Esteemed Thinker, and renowned Empress Catherine, shouldn’t you be thinking of how you’re going to extricate yourself from the interrogations of these Mythic Spirits?”