Yama Rising

Hindustani Underworld, Mahabodhi Temple.

The sound of uniform footsteps echoed throughout an empty corridor as a man with his palms joined in prayer quickly rushed through the corridor. As soon as the underworld emissaries on either side of the corridor caught sight of him, they immediately extended respectful salutes.

He was the ruler of the Hindustani Underworld, Yamaraja himself, and no underworld emissary in the entirety of the Hindustani Underworld dared to display any disrespect to him.

Furthermore, he wasn't alone.

Around a dozen death gods of the Hindustani Underworld were trailing along behind him, and all of them were wearing grim expressions.

Only after they had passed by did all of the guards heave a collective sigh of relief, and one of them cast his gaze toward the direction that Yamaraja had just departed in with a fearful expression. "What the hell is going on? All of the death gods have been assembled! How long has it been since this last happened?"

The other guards shook their heads in response, but it was clear to all of them that something was seriously wrong.

Earlier the same night, several envoys had arrived, and the Mahabodhi Temple had erupted into a silent yet frenzied hub of activity. Mahamayuri, who was overseeing the Strait of Tsushima, was the first of the death gods to arrive at the Mahabodhi Temple, and he was immediately followed by all of the other death gods of the Hindustani Underworld, as well as many ministers and diplomats, all of whom had arrived within a span of just three hours.

Yamaraja didn't know what they were thinking. All he knew was that this was the most important event he had faced in the past 500 years!

The Cathayan Underworld was invading the Nipponese Underworld, and Nagasaki had already fallen! Kyushu's fall wouldn't be far away, and once Kyushu was conquered, Chugoku would be next.

At the end of the corridor was a golden gate, and with Yamaraja's arrival, the gate was hurriedly opened by the underworld emissaries standing on either side of it. Inside the spacious hall beyond the gate, several hundred Yin spirits, including reporters, diplomats, and envoys, were already present.

Of course, included among them was Zhao Zizhen, the Cathayan Underworld's Hindustani-Underworld-based diplomat, as well as his secretaries and assistants.

At this moment, there was a bubble of empty space around him, and no Yin spirits dared to approach him.

Yamaraja made his way onto the stage with a grim expression, and cameras flashed incessantly as the dozen or so death gods behind him fanned out in a line, presenting a formidable display of power. After a few seconds of silence, he began, "A few hours ago, we received a piece of news, and that piece of news has since been confirmed to be true."

Everyone in the hall already knew what he was referring to, and they turned their attention toward Zhao Zizhen in unison.

Zhao Zizhen's expression remained unchanged.

Several decades ago, Cathay had been invaded by eight nations in the mortal realm, so why couldn't it get some payback here in the underworld?

"Three and a half hours ago, the Cathayan Underworld's navy crossed through the Strait of Tsushima to enter the Nipponese Underworld's waters, launching an undeclared attack on the Nipponese Underworld. At this point, the situation in the Nipponese Underworld is already extremely dire. The county of Nagasaki has completely fallen, as well as the islands of Ukushima, Nakadori, Fukae, and Hirado, and the entire Kyushu region is hanging on by a thread."

Right at this moment, an underworld emissary entered the hall, then whispered something into Yamaraja's ear.

Yamaraja nodded in response, then continued, "I've just received word that Kyushu has fallen. All of the Nipponese Underworld's Kunisukami have already gathered at Chugoku and Shikoku to prepare for the next wave of the Cathayan Underworld's assault."

All of the journalists in the hall were astonished to hear this, and they couldn't help but exchange shocked glances with one another.

This was the power of one of the four pillars! In the span of less than four hours, Kyushu had already fallen! Wasn't the Nipponese Underworld supposed to have four million Kunitsukami? How were they unable to last even three and a half hours? Wasn't the Nipponese Underworld renowned for being difficult to invade due to the inter-realm mirrors? How was this possible?

"Silence!" Yamaraja made a quieting gesture, then continued, "According to our sources, Yama-King Harken of the Cathayan Underworld is personally overseeing the invasion, and the Hindustani Underworld is extremely opposed to this. We are in an era of peace and prosperous development, and we cannot allow powerful underworlds to enforce their will on weaker underworlds! As one of the four pillars, the Cathayan Underworld has not fulfilled its rightful duties. In light of this, the Hindustani Underworld has decided to open up the Strait of Tsushima with immediate effect. All underworlds and armies willing to offer reinforcements to the Nipponese Underworld can pass through the Strait of Tsushima once their intentions are verified. The Hindustani Underworld vehemently opposes the invasive behavior of the Cathayan Underworld, and we advise the Cathayan Underworld not to play with fire. The Hindustani Underworld will be deploying its Naga Fleet, led by Mahamayuri and the Sky Serpent King, to the Cathayan Underworld's waters! At the same time, the Hindustani Underworld will be reinforcing the Nipponese Underworld alongside the Argosian Underworld's Golden Fleet!"

The announcement was met by complete silence.

All of the journalists looked at one another, and they could see their own complex emotions mirrored in each other's eyes.

It was true that the three pillars had responded to the situation, and the Hindustani Underworld was even sending two Yama-Kings with its Naga Fleet.

However, why were they only deploying their fleets? Why weren't they using their super long distance teleportation arrays? Why wasn't the Hindustani Underworld's renowned Holy Elephant Legion not being deployed?

Were two fleets really going to be enough to oppose the mighty army of the Cathayan Underworld?

All of a sudden, a sharp voice rang out. "Objection!"

Zhao Zizhen was in his seventies, and he once worked in Cathay's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Due to a heart attack, he entered the underworld 10 years ago. At this moment, he stood up in an unhurried manner, then said, "You claim that this is an invasion, but I beg to differ. The Cathayan Underworld has already issued many warnings to the Nipponese Underworld for its unannounced trespassing of Cathayan waters, but we didn't receive any response, and that's why we had to take military action to protect the honor of our nation. This is an act of self-defense, not invasion. Everyone knows that the Cathayan Underworld is a peace-loving nation."

"Yamaraja will be discussing this topic with Yanluo Qin during the next international conference. You're in no place to be speaking here, " the Sky Serpent King scoffed. "This is a press conference, not a debate. Sit down!"

Zhao Zizhen did as he was told.

He was naturally aware of that, but at a time like this, he had to support the policy of his nation.

Yamaraja continued, "I will travel to the Coalition of Underworlds right away to discuss the next steps to be taken. Before a definitive conclusion is formed, the Hindustani Underworld announces that we are temporarily entering a state of war."

After that, he vanished on the spot as a gust of Yin wind before anyone had a chance to say anything.

By the time he reappeared, he was already standing next to a giant teleportation array, and standing beside him was Durga.

Right as Yamaraja was about to step onto the teleportation array, Durga asked, "Your Excellency, are you really going to work with the other nations to stop this war?"

A bright red eye lit up beneath Yamaraja's cloak as he replied in a calm voice, "Don't take jokes seriously."

Durga nodded in response. "I just wanted to remind you that we're already saving hundreds of billions per year in our energy resource purchases, and I'm sure the same applies to other underworlds as well."

Yamaraja didn't say anything. Only now did it occur to him just how devious the Cathayan Underworld had been during the past few years.

He had forced everyone onto his side with the reductions in energy resource costs! The meeting between the Coalition of Underworlds was about to begin, and Yamaraja was not optimistic that the entire world would come together to forcibly put an end to this war.

Once the Nipponese Underworld fell, the Cathayan Underworld would be the only underworld in the East Cathay Sea. Once that happened, it would be able to venture into the Atlantic Ocean as it pleased, and no underworld would be able to stop them. However, that had nothing to do with all of the small underworlds that had benefited immensely from the energy resource price reductions.

The problem was that these small underworlds each held a vote in their hands!

Even to the Hindustani Underworld, the annual energy resource costs accounted for a massive chunk of their GDP, let alone other underworlds.

Qin Ye had made his intentions very clear. The entire world had benefited from his kindness, so they had to turn a blind eye to what he was doing now!

"He's been plotting this for years... As the saying goes, the quietest dogs bite the hardest," Yamaraja sighed. "They've even manufactured an excuse so that their invasion could be categorized as self-defense! How devious..."

As his voice trailed off, he finally stepped into the teleportation array.

At the Coalition of Underworlds.

All of the underworld rulers aside from Izanami had gathered in the tiered conference hall, and all of the death gods had their attention focused on a single figure in the room.

The ruler of the Cathayan Underworld had come to attend this meeting in person!

Don't you feel awkward here? Have you no shame?!

Three figures appeared beside Qin Ye, and Anubis took a meaningful look at him before giving him a grim nod. "You're much more ambitious than I gave you credit for."

Thanatos wore a stony expression as he nodded in the direction of the main stage. "Mr. Chief Secretary, we're ready to begin."

Chief Secretary Anador had only taken over this post less than 20 years ago, and she was certainly not prepared to deal with something like this. If there were any alternatives at all, she definitely didn't want to host this meeting!

Five years ago, she had persuaded Qin Ye to make the energy resource free of charge to the Coalition of Underworlds and all of the major world organizations. Only now did she realize that nothing in this world was truly free!

She took a deep breath to steel herself, yet just as she was about to begin speaking, Qin Ye's voice suddenly rang out. "Before we begin, I'm sure everyone already knows why this meeting is being held. However, you may not be very familiar with the events that led up to this point, so before we do anything else, I'd like to say some things in order to avoid any potential misunderstandings."

The four pillars naturally had some special rights over other underworlds, and no one objected to this.

Thus, Qin Ye extended a slight bow with a smile on his face before making his way onto the stage.

Countless pairs of eyes were focused intently on him from all around the hall, and a reminiscent look appeared in his eyes.

Back during the Nara conference, no one had paid any heed to him. He had been shunned and neglected, avoided like the plague.

He couldn't help but wonder what everyone was feeling toward him now.

Were they fearful? Were they reverent? Were they concerned?

The strong never asked to be worshiped. Instead, they were meant to be feared and respected.

"Now then, allow me to give everyone a brief recount of the situation."