Yama Rising

“Heavenly Dao…” The Harken stared agape at the skies, “This is the Heavenly Dao… And it’s by no means the Heavenly Dao that represents the Yuan Dynasty!”

“The Yuan Dynasty was short-lived, and the Heavenly Dao that represents them is far too weak. Sure, they might well be able to summon it to bolster their defences against your attacks, but they wouldn’t be able to attack you with it at all. It would be no different from the Imperial Seal of the Yuan Dynasty. But this instance of Heavenly Dao… is far stronger than that! They… are they actually seizing the Heavenly Dao of other dynasties for themselves? Or perhaps they might have dug up some of the supreme treasures of other dynasties that gave them access to the Heavenly Dao of those dynasties!”

BOOM!!

As the Harken spoke, nine golden pillars of light shot right out of the sea of Yin energy, followed by the emergence of nine majestic figures that seemed to surround the horse’s head peak. Countless golden lotuses blossomed in the void around them, turning the mountaintop tainted with dark Yin energy into a holy place dazzling with golden light, just like the pure land of the kingdom of Buddha.

A bronze censer.

It was carved with birds, beasts, fish and insects, and it exuded an air of ancient antiquity about it. Censers came in all shapes and sizes, including three-pronged censers, four-legged censers, round censers, square censers, and even beast-headed censers. But regardless of what they looked like, censers have always been known to exude a terrifying presence about them.

The eruption of the golden pillars of light brought with it a terrifying gale that swept their clothes everywhere. The survivors stared completely dumbfounded as the massive censer rose up from out of nowhere like a rising sun. In fact, it dazzled with such brilliance that it appeared to completely shadow the radiance of the sun and the moon around them. This was the embodiment of the majesty of an entire dynasty. And even though none of the survivors knew better what it was, they were still shocked beyond words.

“My god…” One Sword One Mind’s jaws dropped as he stared at the dazzling light, “Is this… a censer? A Censer of the Xia Dynasty?”

Qin Ye didn’t say a word. However, he knew full well that it was by no means a Censer of the Xia Dynasty.

This was a Censer of the Song Dynasty.

Historical records reveal that there are generally three main groups of censers, namely the Censers of the Xia Dynasty, the Censers of the Tang Dynasty, and the Censers of the Song Dynasty. But regardless of the dynasty that they’re from, censers have always been known to be a representation of the Heavenly Dao of a dynasty. In other words, they are the physical manifestation of the laws of the land.

And its appearance makes it clear that the invaders were clearly already done with their probative attacks. Right now, they were striking with the intention to cause the greatest possible damage!

The skies were filled with illusions of all sorts. Meanwhile, time seemed to come to a complete standstill at the horse’s head peak. In fact, even the armies and investigators stationed around the borders of the Yin Mountains couldn’t help but pause what they were doing to gaze at the incredible sight in the skies.

Li Changkong had already boarded the plane by now. Even then, he peered out of the window, looking down at the top of the clouds, where black, gold and white swirled together in organized chaos, and even he couldn’t help but lean back into his seat and shut his eyes with a soft sigh, “Unbelievable… Is this what a battle between peak powers looks like?”

The images captured by the surveillance aircrafts were promptly circulated among the top echelons of the government that were concerned about the developments at the Yin Mountains.

Qin Ye naturally knew nothing of these things. Because as soon as the censer appeared at the mountain top, it immediately began to shower upon the Golden Horde cavalry with mysterious golden beams of light. At once, the riders disintegrated into wisps of black smoke that scattered with the wind.

The dense clouds around the mountaintop finally cleared up, and the survivors peered into the darkness. At once, they gasped, and they tightened their grip around the talismans in their hands.

What emerged from the darkness were instead countless skeletons of what appeared to be half-man and half horse, and they were all frozen in place like statues!

Each of these were easily two meters tall, and the human torso appeared to grow right out of the horse’s torso, just like the centaurs in western mythology. That said, their bones were all black in colour, and etched with faint traces of golden lines that appeared to come together to form intricate golden talismans. They were silent and still, just like the terracotta warriors. Every single one of them emitted faint traces of Yin energy.

“Haa…” Qin Ye waved his hand, causing what remained of the huge fan around him to shrink in size and fly back to him, where they immediately transformed back into their original shape of the bone umbrella. The entire mountaintop was silent. Black clouds continued to roll through the air, while illusory souls appeared to dart through the forest of centaur skeletons, screaming soundlessly with an anguished expression. Qin Ye could only hear his own heart’s deafening thumps at this point in time.

T-t-t-t… One of the survivors began to shiver wildly, and his teeth chattered uncontrollably.

This was the stuff of nightmares that were beyond his wildest imaginations.

“The Yuan Dynasty is still a Cathayan dynasty at the end of the day, and it’s only natural that the Heavenly Dao favours it.” The Harken’s gaze grew incomparably grave, “This represents their will to give it their all… I’ll make a move when the time is ripe.”

“No, you shouldn’t.” Qin Ye dragged his bone umbrella behind him as he slowly marched to the middle of the clearing, “You’ve got something more important to do, so… leave this place to me.”

“I’m still the Third King Yanluo of Hell after all.”

The Harken grew taciturn. It was only when Qin Ye was some distance away that the Harken finally nodded with approbation.

That’s right. Everyone has their roles to play, and this is the kind of dignity we should expect of the Third King Yanluo of Hell.

Clatter!!! Just then, the bones of the centaurs clacked wildly, and they opened their eyes, only to reveal terrifying scarlet netherflames blazing from within. At once, their surroundings were tainted with a crimson hue, almost as though they were marching out of a sea of blood. The air was instantly filled with aggressive bloodthirstiness. Then, a split second later… they charged!

“Hold on!!!” Qin Ye yelled at the top of his voice, “Don’t shift from your positions, regardless of what happens!!!”

The survivors nodded with chattering teeth. Who would dare to step away anyway? They could all see an ocean of devils located all around them right now, and the talismans in their hands were the only things separating them from the abysses of death.

Meanwhile, beneath the gathering of Yuan Emperor banners. The Yuan Emperors stood up at the same time, while Kublai Khan pointed his finger forward with a shudder of excitement. Moments later, his lips parted, “CHARGE!!!”

It was a single word, and yet it triggered the most uproarious response yet! The centaurs surrounding the mountaintop roared in unison, before hurtling forward like a terrifying tsunami!

A sea of black clouds had the island of the mountaintop surrounded, and the terrifying waves were all lapping against its shores.

Rumble… The skies rumbled in fury. This represented the might of an entire dynasty. The centaurs moved so quickly that they appeared like dark shadows, leaving trails of scarlet light wherever they went. Qin Ye gritted his teeth as he tightened his grip around his bone umbrella. His ears twitched gently, while his heart thumped with anxiety as the battle drew close to its most critical moments.

1,000 meters… 500 meters… 300 meters…

Then, as soon as the centaurs crossed the 300 meter mark, Qin Ye suddenly snapped his eyes wide open.

Whoosh! Qin Ye tugged at the handle of the umbrella. At once, the shaft transformed into a green bamboo longsword, while the surface of the umbrella turned into a ghost-faced shield. His Yin energy erupted once more, and a black rift appeared right in the heart of the horse’s head peak. And then… a cold gleam of light penetrated the darkness around.

The sword in his hand was clearly no more than two meters long.

And yet, his simple slash sent a thousand-meter wave of light travelling forward into the oncoming centaurs. This was the first time he had unleashed the full power of an Abyssal Prefect, and his attack caused about 600 centaurs leading the charge to shatter into smithereens! At once, they were reduced to a cloud of bone meal and debris that were sent flying everywhere!

Unfortunately, hundreds of centaurs were but a drop in the ocean, especially under the augmentation of the Censer of the Song Dynasty. Naturally, he felt a different kind of weight bearing down upon him!

It didn’t matter which part of the oncoming forces he was striking at, because every single strike of his was met with terrifying resistance. These forces were clearly backed by the might of the Yuan Emperors, the Imperial Preceptors, and even the terrifying Censer of the Song Dynasty that imbued the army with even greater might than Tengri’s military formation! To think that they would be able to resist the attacks of an Abyssal Prefect of Hell!

Military formation… No wonder I’ve been told this is a necessity in any war between underworlds! Qin Ye gritted his teeth. With a loud cry, he leapt right up into the sky and let himself loose. The surroundings turned pitch black from the endless Yin energy pouring right out of his body. But, even then, from the black sphere at the heart of the mountaintop would emerge an outpouring of vicious thrusts like a pouring rain that scattered indiscriminately ahead of him.

Clatter clatter! A multitude of dazzling gleams rained down on a segment of the approaching forces, felling thousands of centaurs at once. Meanwhile, the swirling sphere of Yin energy would pick up the remnants of their shattered bones, and they began to swirl them about in a mighty vortex around the heart of the mountaintop. It was a grand spectacle.

He had managed to create a clearing through the encirclement of forces. But, unfortunately, the rest of the encirclement still remained.

Thousands of centaurs might have perished under his mighty volley of thrusts. But even then, it was still nothing compared to the rest of the reserve forces in the army that was still hurtling towards them! Besides, Qin Ye was a true Abyssal Prefect of Hell, and the fact that he was only able to crush a fraction of the enemy forces was testament to the might of the Heavenly Dao’s backing.

And what was even more terrifying was the fact that Qin Ye could only defend against the onslaught of troops from this very position! The rest of the centaurs were still charging up the hill with the sole aim of breaching the defences surrounding the Martyr’s Shrine!

Rumble! The ground trembled. They were now no more than 50 meters from the shrine, and they couldn’t even be bothered with the survivors on the ground. Meanwhile, the survivors did likewise, suppressing every bit of fear in their hearts as they lowered their heads, passively allowing passage to the encroaching forces.

“Don’t look at me… don’t look at me!” One Sword One Mind murmured to himself like an ostrich with its head in the ground. Snot and tears were already pouring down his face by now. The centaurs whistling past his side, rushing forward under the glow of the head-turning celestial phenomenon. This was well beyond the realms of his ability, and he was scared out of his wits!

Just then, the strike of a sword suddenly sent a shower of sparks flying up from the ground ahead of him. At once, he jumped with a cry of fear, only to be greeted by the cold gleam of a sword.

“Want to die?” Qin Ye lifted his chin with the blade. In that instant, it suddenly dawned on Qin Ye how Arthis, the Harken and the Second King Yanluo must have felt when they were looking at him.

Even then, Qin Ye’s eyes gleamed with passion, “Stand up. Don’t forget that you’re humanity’s last bastion of hope!”

“Look at yourselves! Have you forgotten your identities after being locked up for just a few years in this place?!”

The survivors stood up with great trepidation. Qin Ye glanced at the oncoming centaurs. They were now no more than 30 meters away from the Martyr’s Shrine! Suppressing the sudden surge of murderous intent in his heart, Qin Ye bellowed, “Do you want me to personally send you to the afterlife, or are you willing to pour everything you have into the defences?!!”

Pshk! The tip of his sword cut through the flesh of One Sword One Mind’s throat. At once, One Sword One Mind screamed at the top of his voice, and he immediately poured every bit of true energy in his body into the talisman without reservation.

“Hurry!!!” Qin Ye turned to the rest and bellowed at the top of his voice. At once, a palpable wave of murderous intent fell upon them, and they immediately drew upon every bit of their last reserves for the final stand.

Meanwhile, the centaurs were now no more than 10 meters from the entrance to the Martyr’s Shrine!

The centaurs raised their scimitars, staring intently at the Martyr’s Shrine with bloodshot eyes. Ten meters… This is the last hurdle! Our king… our lord is calling us from the other side of the shrine!!

CHARGE!!!

Their scimitars came swinging down as they hurtled ahead. Just then, the illusory image of Laozi shone with renewed brilliance, blasting away the encroaching darkness of the winds and the clouds, and instantly crushing all of the surrounding centaurs with a resounding bang! Everything in the immediate vicinity was reduced to dust and ashes, and the lingering Yin energy began to swirl into a mighty vortex.

“Haa… haa…” “Phew…” The burst of power was followed by the ragged breaths of the survivors who were all gasping for breath. However, Qin Ye didn’t relax in the slightest. He glanced around at his surroundings, only to realize that the remnants of the bones that were flying around in the air were slowly regrouping and reassembling themselves. So long as the netherflames remained unextinguished, they would soon come back to life once more.

Immortal… What kind of power did the Heavenly Dao bestow upon these things?!

Qin Ye gnashed his teeth, “How long more?”

“Two hours have passed.” The Harken glanced around with an equally grave expression on his face, “Hang in there. So long as you can hang in there, we will have victory! I know I’ve mentioned that the fight between Ghost King Zhao and Temujin might take as long as six hours, but… it doesn’t necessarily mean that it will!”

“Besides, the endowment of the Heavenly Dao has its limits as well. The Yuan Dynasty was short lived, and the endowment of the Heavenly Dao cannot possibly be enduring as well! What they’re after right now is an instant burst that will allow them to breach the defences of the Martyr’s Shrine!”

“By my estimate, they can only muster three such strikes!” The Harken gritted its teeth, “They’ll only have enough in their tank for three strikes that can potentially threaten an Abyssal Prefect. And if there’s a fourth… I’ll make my move!”

“After all, you… are more important than Ghost King Zhao.”