Yama Rising

Chief Secretary Anador immediately chimed in, "Due to the abrupt turn the proceedings have taken, I suggest we adjourn this meeting for two hours. Please meet back here in two hours. For now, meeting adjourned!"

After that, she hurriedly left the venue.

Qin Ye didn't say anything as he calmly walked down from the stage. Right as he was passing by the ruler death gods of the three pillars, Yamaraja suddenly said, "Given how severely depleted the Cathayan Underworld is, don't you think you're biting off more than you can chew by attacking the Nipponese Underworld at a time like this?"

Qin Ye took a glance at him, then cast his gaze toward Thanatos and Anubis as a smile suddenly appeared on his face.

"Biting off more than we can chew? I think you're under the false assumption that taking down the Nipponese Underworld poses a challenge to us. It just so happens that I have a present for all of you that will be revealed in a few days, and you'll understand everything then. For now, please exercise some patience."

With that, he departed from the hall, but none of the three ruler death gods left. Thanatos turned to the other two with a smile as he said, "Looks like unwavering confidence is a trait shared by all rulers of the Cathayan Underworld. It just so happens to be the perfect time for breakfast. Would you care to join me?"

"Of course."

The construction of the headquarters for the Coalition of Underworlds was funded by all nations, and it was complete with all types of facilities, including breakfast restaurants of all types of national cuisines.

The restaurants reserved for the ruler death gods of the four pillars were naturally different from those catering to other death gods. The three ruler death gods soon found themselves in a resplendent hall with bodyguards stationed outside. There were fake mountains and streams, as well as all types of exotic plants in the hall, and as soon as the three ruler death gods sat down, gentle piano music immediately began to play.

A delectable breakfast was quickly brought to them on beautiful platters one dish after another, and the fragrance of milk, coffee, and freshly baked bread instantly wafted throughout the entire hall.

"Thinking back now, we really should've seen this coming," Thanatos murmured as he took a sip of coffee. "Prior to opening up the island of Formosa as an outpost, most of the Cathayan Underworld's trade with the rest of the world was conducted in the form of exchanges of goods, rather than transactions involving currency. There's no way that a normal underworld would've done that."

Anubis clearly had a preference for dairy products, and he raised a cup of milk to his lips with a black paw, then said, "However, no one suspected a thing just because the Cathayan Underworld is one of the four pillars. Cognitive inertia really is a terrifying thing..."

"That's not important," Yamaraja said as he set down his cup of black tea. "There's no point in thinking about missed opportunities and crying over spilled milk. The Array of the Nine Gods prevented us from doing anything to the Cathayan Underworld anyway. What we have to discuss now is what we're going to do next."

Thanatos downed his coffee in one go, then set the empty cup down onto the table. A server quickly took the empty cup away before replacing it with a gold-rimmed crystal cup, which was filled with fragrant green tea.

"Surely he's not revealing all of this just because we can't break through the Array of the Nine Gods. It's imperative for the Cathayan Underworld to maintain its status and reputation, and those aren't things that can be protected by the Array of the Nine Gods."

Yamaraja shook his head in response. "If that was his logic, then he would've already revealed this long ago."

"So why is he only telling everyone this now?"

"I don't know," Yamaraja replied with an absentminded expression. "However, I'm almost certain that he definitely has something up his sleeve."

"Perhaps we can try to probe out exactly what he has up his sleeve," Thanatos suggested.

The other two ruler death gods' expressions changed slightly upon hearing this. In a rare moment of unity, the three ruler death gods had come together.

Thanatos picked up a small piece of cake before placing it into his own mouth in an elegant manner. "Erinys's Golden Fleet is currently locked in a confrontation with the Kraken."

This statement was met by a few seconds of silence, following which Anubis asked, "Are you of the opinion that the Cathayan Underworld's current navy isn't powerful enough to oppose the Golden Fleet? If that's the case, then we can get the Golden Fleet to launch the first attack under the guise of protesting the invasion of the Nipponese Underworld, and that could force the Cathayan Underworld to reveal its trump card early."

At this point, the Nipponese Underworld was already completely inconsequential, at least in their eyes.

All they were interested in was how they could exploit the situation with the Nipponese Underworld to achieve their objectives, no one actually cared about the Nipponese Underworld itself.

Who had risen up in opposition back when the Argosian Underworld had conquered most of Europa and the Aegyptian Underworld had conquered the Middle East?

Even the second King Yanluo turned a blind eye to all of that.

If one of the four pillars were determined to get something, there would be no way to stop them. Thus, seeing as opposing the invasion would be futile anyway, it would be far more beneficial for them to think about how they could use this invasion to their advantage.

Thanatos nodded with a smile, then dismissed all of the nearby servants with a wave of his hand. At the same time, a Judge-level underworld emissary silently approached him before extending a respectful bow. "What are your instructions?"

Thanatos turned to the underworld emissary with his eyes slightly narrowed, then said, "Send a message to Erinys right away instructing her to be more aggressive and confrontational with her words and actions. Ultimately, the goal is to find an excuse to open fire on the Kraken."

The netherfire in the underworld emissary's eyes flickered slightly upon hearing this, following which he lowered his head in response. "As you wish."

……………………………………

On the Hades of the Golden Fleet.

Erinys set down the receiver with her brows slightly furrowed, unable to comprehend why Thanatos would issue her such an order.

She cast her gaze toward the distant horizon, where the Kraken sat on the surface of the sea like an insurmountable island, cutting off the entire waterway. Even the mighty Golden Fleet would struggle to deal with the consequences of attacking such a monstrosity, and she couldn't help but wonder what Thanatos was thinking.

However, it was her duty to follow orders, so she would still do as she was told.

She returned to the cabin, where all of the high-ranking officials on the ship were already awaiting orders. She took a brief moment to gather her thoughts, then instructed, "Connect me to the Kraken..."

Right at this moment, her voice abruptly trailed off as she cast an incredulous gaze forward. Furthermore, she wasn't the only one; all of the underworld emissaries in the cabin were also stunned by what they were seeing.

It was a small boat in an antiquated Cathayan style, and there were two boatmen paddling the vessel as it slowly emerged from the Kraken, then casually made its way toward the formidable Golden Fleet.

One of the generals on the Hades looked on with tightly furrowed brows, unable to quite comprehend what he was witnessing.

The boat moved forward slowly yet steadily, and five minutes later, Erinys's expression suddenly changed slightly as she took a deep breath. "Prepare to welcome the Yama-King of the Cathayan Underworld!"

A Yama-King of the Cathayan Underworld?

Everyone turned toward her with incredulous expressions, and she explained, "We are on the sea right now, and there are countless powerful beasts in the sea, yet not a single one has dared to attack that boat! What do you think that entails?"

Everyone was immediately enlightened upon hearing this, and they quickly departed to make preparations. However, Erinys remained still on the spot, continuing to stare intently at the approaching boat.

The boat was extremely peculiar.

Just as she had said, not a single Yin beast dared to appear near the boat, as if there were some type of terrifying monster on it. However, what was most perplexing to her was that she was unable to sense any Yin energy at all coming from the boat!

This meant that there was either really no Yin energy on the boat, or there was a being on the boat that was so far beyond her that she couldn't even sense their Yin energy!

As the boat drew closer and closer, the sense of pressure in the air grew more and more oppressive. She was holding onto the railing in front of her with a white-knuckled grip, and she felt as if she were witnessing a boundless abyss slowly making its way toward her over the sea.

Right at this moment, her secretary quickly approached her. "All preparations are complete... Mistress Erinys?"

Erinys was still staring intently at the approaching boat, which was no more than two kilometers away from the forefront of the Golden Fleet at this point. She felt as if she were being crushed under a mountain, almost robbing her of her ability to breathe, and she gritted her teeth before abruptly transforming into a gust of Yin wind that sped onto the sea.

She had intended to wait on the Hades for the opposition's representative as an act of intimidation. After all, this was the mighty Golden Fleet. However, she didn't dare to allow them to set foot onto the ship now!

In fact, she was having to fight back the urge to activate the Golden Fleet's protective barriers to their full capacity!

Who exactly was on the boat?

"Mistress Erinys!"

"We must protect Mistress Erinys!"

Erinys emerged in front of the fleet, hovering just above the surface of the sea as she sped toward the boat as a gust of Yin wind.

The closer she drew to the boat, the clearer she was able to see it, and she finally spotted a spear that was standing upright like a silver pillar.

"That's the Courage of Dragons Silver Spear!" Erinys exclaimed as a wary look surfaced in her eyes.

It was Zhao Yun!

He was the only being above the Yama-King level that was currently still free to roam the underworld, and even the ruler death gods of the three pillars wouldn't stand a chance against him unless they used their underworld's creation-grade divine artifacts!

Was Zhao Yun the source of the Cathayan Underworld's confidence in the face of the denouncement of the entire world?

"What a pleasure it is to meet you here, Ghost King Zhao." She drew to an abrupt halt in front of the small boat, then extended an elegant bow as she asked, "May I ask why you're here, Ghost King Zhao?"

Inside the cabin of the boat, the sound of a wine cup being set down onto a table rang out, immediately following which a man in a suit of dashing white armor slowly emerged. He stood at the entrance of the cabin with his hands clasped behind his back, looking directly at Erinys, and Erinys didn't dare to raise her head to look at him.

Standing in such close proximity to Zhao Yun, every single cell in her entire body was screaming at her to get away as quickly as possible. However, her body was completely paralyzed as if she were suffering through the most terrifying of nightmares.

A drop of cold sweat dripped down onto the surface of the sea, creating a series of tiny ripples. Right at this moment, the surrounding pressure abruptly eased, and Zhao Yun said in a cold voice, "You should thank your lucky stars, Erinys. Half an hour ago, Yanluo Qin told me that he strongly suspected that someone was going to open fire on the Kraken. I'm sure you know what the consequences would be if you had opened fire on a naval military base of the Cathayan Underworld."

He took a step forward, and just this single step was enough to make Erinys feel as if the entire world were collapsing in toward her!

The pressure that Zhao Yun was exuding at this moment was far beyond anything that the ruler death gods of the three pillars could muster up!

"I understand," she replied in a strained voice.

At this point, Zhao Yun had already arrived directly in front of her, and through her lowered eyes, she could only see his boots. "Relay a message from me to your ruler death god. Ask him whether he's prepared for a third great war of the netherworld. If the answer is no, then you'd better not try anything funny! If the answer is yes..."

A gust of fierce wind swept forth, and Erinys abruptly raised her head as she drew a sharp breath, upon which she discovered that she had been blown back by over a kilometer in the blink of an eye!

The ses in front of her was churning violently, and Yin energy had formed a boundless black screen around the boat, extending up as far as the eyes could see!

Zhao Yun had already grabbed onto his Courage of Dragons Silver Spear, and with a gentle flick of his wrist, the tip of the spear was aimed directly at Erinys's throat.

"Then feel free to try me."