Yama Rising

The sound of a drawn sword reverberated throughout the Martyr’s Shrine, but remained trapped within its four crumbling walls.

There were two shadows beneath Zhao Yun’s feet. Whoosh! Just then, the shadow on the right opened its scarlet eyes and stared intently at Zhao Yun, “Zhao Zilong… It’s you?!”

“You’re but a single person, and not even an official Emissary of Hell! How can you possibly obstruct the march of all of the Golden Horde that have existed through time?”

But Zhao Yun didn’t say a word. Instead, he simply lifted the scabbard and thrusted it heavily into the ground, causing a web of cracks to appear on the ground with a mighty bang. At once, the scabbard shattered into smithereens, causing countless illusory faces of wailing ghosts to appear in the surroundings. And then… the entire Martyr’s Shrine began to glow with a dazzling light of Yin Talismans all around.

Temujin gasped in horror, “When did you--...”

No response.

Things were escalating to its boiling point.

A split second later, the speartip of the Courage of Dragons Silver Spear that was once placed in the corner of the Martyr’s Shrine suddenly flew over with a dazzling glimmer of light, sending dust and debris scattering everywhere in the wake of its approach.

Whoosh! At once, the Courage of Dragons Silver Spear was restored to its former glory, and Zhao Zilong pointed its tip at the throat of the shadow on the ground, “Temujin, you’re a hero of your time. Don’t you think it’s unbecoming that you’re reacting with such fear at the earliest signs of trouble?”

Silence.

Temujin was indeed a great warlord of his time, and his mastery of martial arts was indeed better than many emperors who have existed across the rivers of time. However, he wasn’t quite so arrogant as to think himself better than all. After all, not even the strongest warriors would dare to claim the title of an undefeated one for themselves.

Unfortunately… he knew he couldn’t back down now!

“Are you expecting that wide-eyed boy out there to hold back an army of tens of thousands for you?”

“I can easily tell that the Yama-King out there is grievously wounded. How do you expect a mere Abyssal Prefect to resist the charge of God’s Whip?”

Zhao Yun chuckled.

The wide-eyed boy was no ordinary Abyssal Prefect.

After all, he was the Third King Yanluo of Hell.

The fact that the speartip was in his hands was the best proof of that.

“Very well.” The shadow’s voice suddenly changed and grew grand and somber, “If it’s a duel you want, it’s a duel you’ll get!!”

BOOM!! As he spoke, another source of Yin energy infinitely close to that of a Yama-King erupted from the shadow, sending a black shockwave of Yin energy rippling out into the surroundings, transforming into lotus flowers that quickly dissipated and faded into the surroundings. Even Zhao Yun couldn’t help but be sent stumbling back a dozen meters.

As the dust settled, a nine-petaled lotus platform appeared where the shadow once was. A man dressed in a white, translucent robe sat right on top of the lotus throne. He appeared to both be smiling and frowning at the same time. His entire body was black and painted with golden runes, and his three eyes were glowing with dazzling golden flames. The entire figure was adorned with ornaments made out of human bones and gold rings. As the lotus platform slowly emerged from the darkness, the man slowly unfolded his six arms, revealing the fact that each of his hands appeared to be holding onto an artifact. A wheel, a dagger, human bones, a vase, a flute, and scriptures. As soon as the man appeared, boundless Yin spirits emerged from all around, screaming at the top of their voices as they slowly all drifted into the skies beyond. His robes fluttered with wild majesty.

“As expected, you’re no longer Temujin.” Zhao Yun chuckled, “Tengri’s soul… You’re merely retaining a fragment of Temujin’s consciousness. It’s no wonder you acted so passively… Had it truly been Genghis Khan, he would definitely have seized the initiative against me at the earliest possible opportunity!”

“Because he wouldn’t have experienced Hell, but you have!”

“You know all too well what happens to you if you even dare strike out at a Yama-King of Hell. I’m surprised at the dissipation of your system of faith, but…”

He took a deep breath, and then bellowed with thunderous fury, “That’s no reason for you to act so covetously towards Hell!”

There was no need for further nonsense.

The man was already holding his gleaming dagger in front of his chest, and yet neither party was willing to take a single step back. Tengri revealed a vicious smile on his face. And then, a split second later, his entire body transformed into a roiling cloud of Yin energy that hurtled straight towards Zhao Yun!

It was all-consuming.

The Martyr’s Shrine wasn’t large, and neither Yama-King was willing to cede even an inch to the other.

Whoosh! The knee-high grass bent so low that they may well be lying prostrate on the ground. Dust and debris scattered everywhere, while the armor on Zhao Yun’s body clattered wildly as he stood valiantly against Tengri’s overbearing approach

Just then, the sonorous cry of a phoenix tore through the dank and oppressive silence within the Martyr’s Shrine. At once, the plain and simple spear in Zhao Yun’s hands ignited with a fiery blaze of scarlet karmic fire.

Rise of the Phoenix Spear!

………………………………………….

SSS!!! Yaaaahhhh!!! Kwon Kyung-ho and Ryu Changmin roared and hissed at the top of their voices as they charged into the group of Yin spirits around. They could sense that the soldiers around them were all of incredible quality. And if they managed to devour them, who knows, they might even be able to attain a breakthrough to the next realm!

No…

They turned their gaze to the 15 banners located right in the middle of the formation. If they managed to devour all 15 of those flag bearers, then they were bound to go even further. After all… devouring was the best means of advancement!

Danger was synonymous with opportunity. They knew full well that the army arrayed right before their eyes was incredibly terrifying, and yet they still dove headlong into the fray without hesitation!

Pshkk!! Numerous scimitars plunged straight into Kwon Kyung-ho’s body at once. The army wasn’t hailed as God’s Whip for no reason. As soon as they cut down Kwon Kyung-ho, they immediately charged forward towards Qin Ye without even pausing for a closer look at the one they had just cut down.

The rumble of horse’s hooves, the chaotic dance of ghosts, and the clouds of dust and debris filled the atmosphere with such foreboding darkness that it may as well be the end of the world. The survivors gritted their teeth as they tightened their grasp around the talismans in their hands. None dared open their eyes even in the slightest bit.

Because they knew that they would witness the sight of a different realm as soon as they did.

Return alive… That was the only thought on their mind right now. They feared that as soon as they opened their eyes, then whatever remained of the courage in their hearts would be completely lost to them.

Rumble… The grounds trembled and creaked under the charge of the mighty army of Yin soldiers. Qin Ye glanced at Kwon Kyung-ho and Ryu Changmin, before promptly turning back to the task at hand. At once, his Abyssal Prefect token gleamed with a brilliant dark lustre, and then, the surface of the bone umbrella split right open, transforming into six fans that flew towards six different directions.

Do you really think a special Yin spirit is so easily disposed of?

The Golden Horde cavalry pulled out the scimitars from the body of Kwon Kyung-ho, bracing themselves to continue with their onward march. But it was right then that a peculiar smile crept up the corners of Kwon Kyung-ho’s lips. A second later… Whoosh… His entire being disintegrated into a pool of seawater that enveloped an entire domain spanning a thousand meter from end to end.

Meanwhile, a series of corpses promptly surfaced from the puddle of water on the ground, staring at the skies with dead, hollow eyes. These were the souls of the 300 who had perished from the MV Sewol tragedy. It was clearly a thin puddle of water on the ground, and yet it appeared no different from a portal to the underworld.

Slosh… Within moments, the puddle of water began to swirl around rapidly, transforming into a thousand-meter vortex. And then, the soulless eyes of the deceased gleamed viciously as they all turned to stare at the approaching Golden Horde at the same time. At once, the terrifying vortex of waters closed up at once, and the contraction of waters instantly engulfed all the cavalry within the thousand-meter domain it covered!

Clatter, crunch! There was immediately a sound of clashing iron from the depths of the waters. But, unfortunately, the cavalrymen rushed out of the waters once more. The golden light under their feet glistened brightly - a clear sign of the powers of Tengri they had been imbued with.

Military formation.

Kwon Kyung-ho was simply not strong enough to overcome the effects of Tengri’s powerful military formation, especially one that had empowered the Golden Horde conquests through the better part of Eurasia. In fact, the empowered Golden Horde was no longer something that could be dealt with by any Emissary of Hell under the ranks of Abyssal Prefect.

Their armor was covered with teeth marks, but the thousands of skeletal horses that had initially been consumed by Kwon Kyung-ho’s attack immediately rushed back to the surface, regrouping in their formations at once, before rushing straight towards Kwon Kyung-ho with great valor!

God’s Whip knew no retreat. They were a unit that once forced the submission of Eurasia, so what could a mere evil ghost of Daehan possibly do to them?

Meanwhile, an wrinkled, old Yin spirit standing right underneath one of the Yuan Emperor’s banners dressed in an earthy-coloured robe suddenly raised his head violently. With his palms still clasped tightly together, countless paper immortal cranes suddenly flew out from within his sleeves, rushing forward and adhering themselves to the backs of the Yin soldiers that were confronting Kwon Kyung-ho. At once, the emblem of Tengri beneath their feet glowed with an intense golden lustre, as though these emblems were soon about to ignite in flames.

No, in fact, it did burst into flames just moments later. These flames started out on the emblem beneath their feet, but soon began to spread through the entire body of the cavalry, drawing out every bit of fighting desire within them as though they were invincible warriors of the lands.

Unstoppable…

Thousands of cavalry dragged their scimitars along the ground as they hurtled forward once more, crying valiantly at the top of their voices as they charged straight towards Kwon Kyung-ho. On the other hand, Kwon Kyung-ho felt his soul screaming in terror. Who would’ve thought that an entire army of meagre Operative-class Yin spirits backed by the might of a military formation could actually trigger a sense of crisis within him?

Was a thousand meters a long distance when cavalry was involved? The imprint of hooves ravaged the ground as the flaming warriors hurtled forward like the rise of demons. In a flash, they arrived no more than 100 meters away from him, where Kwon Kyung-ho noticed for the very first time that each of the Yin soldiers were staring intently at him with netherflames blazing as high as a meter into the sky!

Every gallop of the horse appeared to drum terror and fear into his heart!

“Why are you seizing up?!!” Just then, Kwon Kyung-ho was suddenly knocked right off his feet. In his place now stood a pregnant lady holding the hand of a little girl. Everything appeared normal, save for the fact that the pregnant lady’s abdomen was torn wide open by a dark baby within. At once, the baby swung both of its hands down in an instant.

The Yin energy around them bubbled and toiled like the roaring waves of the wild oceans. The cavalry had arrived within 10 meters of them all in the blink of an eye! At once, they raised the blades in their arms and swung down in a concerted fashion… only to realize that they couldn’t advance another step further!

Domain of the Avernus Spirit!

Fufufu!!! The war horses leading the charge neighed in dismay as they were knocked back dozens of meters at once. Ryu Changmin’s eyes gleamed as he surveyed the battlefield, only to realize that the cavalry that had been repelled wasn’t even dead. That said, the only change was that the emblem underneath their feet had lost a lot of its earlier lustre.

What the hell is that thing?!

Unfortunately, they weren’t given the luxury of time to marvel at the sight.

This was precisely why the Golden Horde was terrifying. It was because as soon as they began their charge, they were endless and relentless! As soon as the first wave was sent flying back, the second wave immediately charged forward to take the place of the first. Meanwhile, the rear guard of the cavalry had already begun to fire volleys of arrows into the sky, like a rising swarm of locusts that blotted out the moon and devoured the stars.

It was the unstoppable charge of the Golden Horde!

The horse’s head peak was now surrounded on all sides. There were at least 5,000 cavalry in front of them, and that was not to mention the thousands on the back, as well as their flanks. Had this been an ancient battlefield, they would’ve been crushed to a pulp in the blink of an eye.

But this was the underworld.

A rain of arrows pelted down from above, while thousands of cavalry continued to charge at them from below. Golden and black Yin energy blended together, forming a terrifying vortex of Yin energy that threatened to consume everything at the mountaintop. Even Ryu Changmin couldn’t help but gasp in horror and cry out without hesitation, “HELP!!!”

At once, the pregnant lady and the little girl opened their eyes, expanding the range of their domain to protect Ryu Changmin. But before he could even heave a sigh of relief, a Yin spirit far more powerful than the average Yin soldier out them suddenly lunged for his head!

It was the ghost of an old monk who had countless pale arms growing right out of his back. Each of these arms had an eye on them, and they were covered with vermillion talismans all over. It was an incomparably hideous sight. And right now, this old monk was no less than 50 meters away from Ryu Changmin!

An Abyssal Prefect had finally entered the fray!

Everyone knew that it was a race against time.

Tengri was located in the heart of the Martyr’s Shrine, and he would be able to gain the upper hand against the soul of his embattered opponent so long as they could breach the last bastions of defenses here at the mountaintop!

All who stood in their way would have no choice but to face the wrath of the God’s Whip, regardless of the cost!