Yama Rising

If it were a pride of lions, perhaps they could put up a fight, but if it were a giant dragon... Uncle Wu didn't even dare to consider such a possibility. This city had been named West Capital by Lord Dong; what kind of horrific battlefield was this city going to be transformed into?

Among the Yin spirits of the fourth and fifth paths, the weakest were Netherworld Operative, while the most powerful ones were Anitya Hellguards. All of them were lingering at the gate of West Capital City, but none of them dared to enter. Dong Zhuo's Yin energy had engulfed the entirety of heaven and earth, and no beings below the Abyssal Prefect level dared to oppose him. He was the true ruler of the west.

Right at this moment, the gate slowly opened amid a loud grinding noise, and the Yin spirits outside rushed in amid a sharp screech. Standing atop the city wall, Uncle Wu's patrol squad was situated closest to these Yin spirits, and their brows furrowed tightly in unison upon seeing this.

What a putrid and gorey smell...

These Yin spirits had killed countless people in the mortal realm; why were they being allowed into West Capital City? Was this place supposed to be a rubbish dump that accepted anything and everything?

"Come to think of it, hundreds of evil ghosts have already entered our city in this month alone," the young Yin spirit suddenly sighed, "I don't know what's happening, but all of the evil ghosts in the surrounding area that have taken human lives during their living days have fled to our city as if they're being pursued by someone..."

"Who knows what's going on?" Uncle Wu sighed as he stood up straighter. "We just have to mind our own business and focus on our duties..."

Before he had a chance to finish his sentence, his voice abruptly cut off as his netherfire jolted sporadically.

All of the Yin spirits, including him, cast their eyes toward the horizon in the distance, and they reflexively tightened their grip around their spears as they adopted hunched-over defensive postures.

This was the instinctive defensive posture that humans would adopt when faced with the horrors of the unknown.

"U-U-U-Uncle Wu..." The young Yin spirit's voice was trembling, just like the spear in his grasp. "Wh, wh, what's going on?"

No one replied.

The only response came from the sound of the trembling earth and the black line that was rising up from the horizons.

That was the sound of tens of thousands of charging cavaliers.

The black line was very thin, but all of the Yin spirits knew that this was a Yin energy line that had to be formed by over 100,000 Yin soldiers. It was like the veil of a death god, and soon, it was going to be lifted to reveal the true appearance of the death god.

"What's going on?" Right at this moment, the gate of the tower was abruptly flung open, and a square-faced Yin spirit emerged before yelling, "What are you all doing? You've been training for so many years! Where is your composure?"

Before he had a chance to finish, he was also completely rooted to the spot, casting his gaze toward the horizon with a dumbstruck expression.

What they were witnessing was an army that resembled an inky-black tsunami wave! At the very forefront of the army rode over 10,000 cavaliers. The netherflames of the skeletal war horses glowed with an eerie blue light under the dark sky, and were galloping along in a synchronized and orderly fashion, causing the earth to rumble under their thundering hooves.

Behind them were countless footsoldiers, while ahead of them were frantically fleeing Yin spirits. However, one arrow after another quickly shot forth, slaying the fleeing Yin spirits in mid-air.

"Spare me! Please spare me!!"

"I won't ever do it again! I'll never eat blood food again!"

"Please spare me! I beg of you!"

Anguished wails rang out incessantly while the trembling Yin spirits looked on from the city walls. However, the approaching army displayed no reaction, merely continuing to force ahead like an unstoppable machine constructed from iron and steel.

Clack clack... Each and every footstep seemed to be resonating in the hearts of the Yin spirits standing atop the walls of West Capital City, and these footsteps were only growing louder and louder. There were even massive Mechanical Beasts that were several dozens of meters tall bringing up the rear, and these weapons were clearly designed for the purpose of attacking cities and fortresses. Boundless Yin energy swirled up in the heavens, forming a fearsome ring of Yin energy.

Uncle Wu gulped nervously. Every single nerve in his body was screaming at him, telling him that this was an extremely formidable army, one that had definitely endured true battles and was completely different from them!

While it was true that they had also participated in some battles and even attacked a few settlements, they didn't actually do anything in those battles. With King Yama's Seal and the Shu Han Imperial Palace under his control, Dong Zhuo's army was unmatched in power, sweeping through the southwest without encountering any stern resistance.

In contrast, the aura, disposition, killing intent, and discipline of the approaching army was on a completely different level compared to them!

He abruptly turned toward his nephew, and his mouth had suddenly become completely parched as he said in a low, trembling voice, "Make sure you don't charge forward no matter what! This is a true army, one that's made for killing; anyone who opposes them will die!"

"What's that?! Are my eyes playing tricks on me?!"

"Are those... red-star flags?! No way!"

The army on the city walls suddenly erupted into a frenzy, and even the commanders were completely dumbfounded. Everyone knew that this was the flag of this nation; it represented an era! A dynasty! In contrast, the large flags emblazoned with the "Dong'' character paled into insignificance!

The raised spears were lowered, and the drawn bowstrings were also loosened. After a stunned stupor of several seconds, the square-faced commander hurriedly rushed back into the tower in a frantic manner, and three seconds later, the sound of thunderous war drums rang out.

Clack clack! In the face of the ever-increasing number of Yin Soldiers on the opposing city wall and the sharp, gleaming arrows being aimed at them, the army outside the city displayed no intention of stopping, only drawing to a halt roughly a kilometer away from the city. A figure then emerged from among their ranks, and the Yin energy around him was like a boundless abyss. She clasped her hands behind his back as she appraised the city with a cold smile and mused to herself, "East Capital City? Is that supposed to be a counterpart to the eastern capital, Dusk City? I must say, it's quite a fine name..."

She then took a deep breath, and when she spoke again, her voice rang out like rumbling thunder. "Daolord of the Beast Dong Zhuo, you've resided in the southwest and defied the authority of Hell for far too long! Now, the West Vanquishing Army of Hell is here to strike you down. We'll only point our swords at those who are in charge and the evil ghosts who have devoured blood food in the past. As for all other Yin spirits, surrender and you shall be spared."

Dead silence.

There was too much information to process. Daolord of the Beast? West Vanquishing Army of Hell? These words crashed down into the minds of all of the Yin spirits like asteroids, leaving them momentarily speechless as they struggled to process what they had just heard.

"What a joke!!" All of a sudden, a burst of Abyssal Prefect level Yin energy erupted from the center of the city. Furthermore, this Yin energy was even more powerful than that of Su Daji and Qin Hui. In fact, it was only one step away from reaching the Yama-King level!

Whoosh... Boundless Yin energy converged, rapidly forming what resembled a giant funnel in the sky. Soon, an imposing figure emerged up above.

This figure was at least three meters tall, and he was wearing a Taishi robe of the Han Dynasty, an inky-black robe that was embroidered with black patterns. The craftsmanship was extremely intricate, and accompanying the robe was a tall Han Dynasty hat, attached to which were two yellow ribbons that trailed down to his shoulders. The man had a thick, coarse beard and a burly physique, and violent Yin energy was surging out of every single one of his pores, giving him an indistinct appearance, much like an evil ghost standing in a cloud of mist.

In contrast with Su Daji and Qin Hui, there was a 卍 symbol etched on his glabella, and once the Yin energy that was expelled out of his body traveled to over a meter away, it would transform into countless wailing Yin spirits. The Yin spirits enveloped him as they howled and roared, only dissipating after several seconds. Within one of his wide and baggy sleeves was a deathly pale hand with black fingernails. The hand was currently gently playing with a bracelet, one comprised of a string of irregularly shaped crystals.

The bracelet was very ordinary in appearance, but those who were at or above the Infernal Judge level could sense that the Yin energy emanating from Dong Zhuo's body flowed and ebbed like the tide in a pattern that corresponded with the rotation of the bracelet in his hand. With each breath that he took, his aura would become ever-so-slightly more powerful. The enhancement was barely noticeable, but given sufficient time, he would be sure to become a Yama-King.

Right in the instant that the bracelet appeared, all of the rotating crystals suddenly ceased in their movement, following which the bracelet rose straight up into the sky, where it directly faced the army of Hell!

Those are fragments of King Yama's Seal!

At the center of the army of Hell, Qin Ye's heart was thumping violently. The fragment of King Yama's Seal in his possession had also stood up straight, struggling and yearning with all its might to become whole and perfect again.

He gently stroked his own chest as he deliberately slowed down his breathing to calm himself. It had been six years since he had left Clear Creek County. At the time, he had been forced to flee to the City of Salvation due to the arrival of the Assassins of the Underworld, and now that he had returned, he was facing off directly against the one who was pulling the strings behind the Assassins of the Underworld.

It looks like everything has come full circle... A faint smile appeared on his face, and he was struggling to muster up the urge to even regard his opponent seriously.

"May I, Lord Qin?" Zhao Yun asked in an indifferent voice, as if he were merely talking about crushing a bug. His Yin energy was extremely well concealed, and there was no way that Dong Zhuo would be able to discover him.

"There's no need for you to get your hands dirty," Qin Ye replied in an unhurried manner as cold killing intent welled up in his heart, "We'll have to train our soldiers to attack cities sooner or later, so this is the perfect training opportunity. Just keep an eye on Dong Zhuo. As for everything else..."

He looked around at the army around him, which was already raring to go, and a confident smile appeared on his face. "Just leave it to them."

This was the final battle in the war of unification, and everyone wanted to be the one to land the final blow, even the ordinary Yin Soldiers!

At the same time, Dong Zhuo had already risen up into the sky, and his voice was audible to everyone present. "The old Hell has already collapsed. I once resided in Fengdu, but I don't belong to your new Hell!"

"Besides, what right do you have to say that you represent Hell? You..." All of a sudden, his voice drew to an abrupt halt, and he sniffed a few times in a dumbstruck manner before immediately bursting into raucous laughter. "Hahahaha! It's you! You're that little rat from Clear Creek County! You were already extremely fortunate to have gotten your hands on the fragments of King Yama's Seal that I released, yet now, you dare to lead a crusade against me?! Who gave you the courage to stand before me?!"

His furious voice rang out across the entire palace like rumbling thunder, and all of the Yin spirits were trembling in their boots. Dong Zhuo swept a sleeve through the air as he continued, "You dare to proclaim yourself as the ruler of Hell just because you have a few fragments of King Yama's Seal? In that case, I possess far more fragments of King Yama's Seal than you, so it's clear who should be in power!"

This wasn't just a useless declaration, it was a tactic employed by Dong Zhuo to win the hearts of his soldiers.

He knew that when facing an official regular army, the first thing that he had to do was steady the hearts of his soldiers. Arthis's earlier declaration and those accursed red-star flags had already sowed the seed of doubt into his soldier's hearts, so he had to convince his soldiers that they stood on the side of justice and righteousness.

Thus, he had no choice but to appear in person.

As soon as his voice trailed off, a burst of even more terrifying Yin energy surged through the entire sky, completely dominating Dong Zhuo's aura. The Yin energy formed substantial shockwaves that erupted forth in all directions, whipping up ferocious Yin winds right above Dong Zhuo's army. Qin Ye stepped out of the Yin winds and scoffed, "What a cocky bastard you are! If I'm just a little rat, then would you dare to fight me to the death? No one else is to get involved; it'll just be you and me. If I lose, I'll hand over control of the entire nation and the fragments of King Yama's Seal in my possession. So? Will you take me up on my challenge?"

Even in the face of an evil ghost of the same caliber as himself, Qin Ye was still as confident and unyielding as ever!

Dead silence ensued once again.

Countless eyes were turned toward Dong Zhuo, some full of anticipation, some full of suspicion, and some waiting for him to provide proof. In the face of this widespread scrutiny, the netherfire in Dong Zhuo's eyes was flickering erratically, but he didn't utter a single word.

What was he supposed to say?

How did that brat become an Abyssal Prefect? It's only been a few years since we first met!

How was an evil ghost like him, who had no proper conferment of title, supposed to challenge an Emissary of Hell at the same level? That would be no different from suicide!

Never did he think that he would be so brutally silenced immediately following his declaration, and he was so enraged that he felt like throwing up blood, but there was simply nothing that he could say.

"Are you too scared?" Qin Ye scoffed as he swept a sleeve through the air. "Su Daji and Qin Hui were also ruling over their own territories, but they were far smarter than you are. Attack!"

As soon as his voice trailed off, the sound of long horns rang out, and the entire landscape was transformed as inky-black Cathayan characters instantly emerged beneath the feet of Hell's Yin Soldiers.

The netherflames in Dong Zhuo's skipped violently as a sense of fear finally began to set in. "Is... Is that one of the 10 superior military formations, Wumu?"

The only answer that greeted him was a tsunami wave of black-armored soldiers storming his city!