Yama Rising

Whoosh… The rain of arrows looked no different from a swarm of locusts, replacing the sky with a screen of jade-green netherflames. Their target? None other than Qin Ye.

“Just you guys?” Although Qin Ye snorted back coldly, the truth of the matter was that his forehead was already percolating with cold sweat. After all, this was the first time he had been caught in such a dangerous predicament ever since the founding of the new Hell. Arthis had always told him that the netherworld was in chaos, but it was only today that he truly understood the full implications of such a phrase.

Damn it…  I should have vacated my office when I had my chance. It’s too late for such thoughts right now!

Given just how outnumbered I am, it’s going to take more than a miracle to get out of this bind…

Unfortunately, he only had one chance at this, and he couldn’t afford to make any mistakes or act with any reservations. His Prestige of the Luminary promptly erupted at full strength, but as soon as the arrows struck his shield, he soon discovered that…

They felt incredibly heavy!

Far more forceful than he had earlier anticipated!

Arthis had on various occasions informed Qin Ye of the importance of military formations. In fact, she had even gone so far as to inform Qin Ye that armies were practically built around military formations. Yet he had never in his wildest dreams expected his first encounter with an enemy military formation to be under such conditions. Furthermore… the military formation he had encountered was far more troublesome than he could ever have anticipated!

Shk! Shk! Shk! Within moments, the entire sphere of his Prestige of the Luminary turned into a ball of arrows. Each of the arrows hurtled into his defensive ability with outstanding force! Yet, to Qin Ye’s great dismay, the arrows didn’t ricochet off his Prestige of the Luminary as soon as it was repelled. Instead… they simply howled with a piercing scream, and began to spin as they sought to drill their way through!

Zzzzt, zzzzt, zzzzt… Qin Ye desperately maintained his Prestige of the Luminary as the rain of arrows continued to pelt down and Yin energy continued to erupt all around him. But before Qin Ye could even take a breather, he heard yet another disheartening roar, “AGAIN!!!” Within moments, a second volley of arrows hurtled through the sky like an endless tsunami!

Ding, ding, ding! The rain of arrows clinked against Qin Ye’s shield, followed swiftly by an intense drilling sound that erupted all around him. The blanket of arrowheads appeared like a pack of carnivores. Qin Ye felt like a helpless fish surrounded by a pack of hungry piranhas.

“These arrowheads are forged from human bones at the hour of extreme Yang. They can even be said to be the natural counter to all defensive abilities powered by Yin energy. Even if you’re a Judge, you’ll still feel the pain of Yang energy coursing through your body as soon as these arrowheads strike you…” The man within the mobile residence glanced up at the sky that was filled with arrows with a sneer as he took a sip from his vermillion wine cup, “When it comes to our understanding of Yin spirits, the Confucius Family is second only to the Yama-Kings of the Ten Palaces. On the other hand, you’re just a newly minted Infernal Judge. So, if you’re even contemplating the prospects of escape… I’m afraid that’s wishful thinking.”

Qin Ye was indeed contemplating the prospects of escape.

Unfortunately, it also remained a fact that the arrows were forcefully slamming against Qin Ye’s Prestige of the Luminary, so much so that it had already begun to visibly wear down!

Hurry up!!! Qin Ye wasn’t even thinking of what he was going to do when his Prestige of the Luminary was finally breached. He tightened his grip around the shard of King Yanluo’s Seal - How can you be so muted at a time like this? Suppressed by Limbo? You’re the King Yanluo’s Seal!

There was no reason to be thinking of other contingencies.

As long as he could activate his shard of King Yanluo’s Seal, he would most certainly be able to return to the old Hell safely. Thus, everything else naturally fell out of Qin Ye’s consideration.

Just then, there was a loud clattering sound - the Prestige of the Luminary had finally been breached!

They’ve broken through…

My defenses have actually been breached!! The five or six volleys of arrows have whittled down the density of my Prestige of the Luminary so much that they’ve actually managed to breach my defenses!

Time appeared to freeze in that very moment. The only thing that Qin Ye could see right now was an entire sea of bows around him and arrows above him. The arrows were trembling and hissing, almost as though they were piranhas that were viciously snapping at him.

The next thing Qin Ye knew, the sounds of drilling had vanished, only to be replaced by the rushing sound of the arrows gaining momentum once more. In that instant, Qin Ye moved instinctively. He unleashed the full extent of his energy and immediately darted down below.

A mess of arrows clattered violently above him, sending chills down his spine in an instant. Is this the might of a military formation? Ten thousand Yin soldiers should never have been an issue for me in the first place. Yet, to think that they could actually threaten my existence under the effects of the White Tiger Immortal-Punishing Array?

Yin soldiers empowered by military formations were clearly on a whole different level altogether!

Unfortunately, Qin Ye wasn’t given any opportunity to even catch his breath, because he soon realized that the intense spear formation on the ground had already planted the base of their spears on the ground and pointed their tips upwards, transforming the ground below into a pit of spikes!

Qin Ye knew better than to underestimate the weapons that had been made entirely out of paper. In fact, he had no doubts that the pit of spikes was no less powerful than the rain of arrows that had assaulted him above!

He forcefully mustered the might of an Infernal Judge to briefly hold his ground in mid-air. Alas… the Yin soldiers’ attacks were well-coordinated, and they assaulted him in incessant waves. Within moments, what appeared to be another swarm of deadly locusts promptly took flight as the next volley of arrows was loosened from their bows. An impermeable cloud of death quickly zoomed in on his location, leaving him little room for escape.

No way up, and no way down… Qin Ye could practically feel a lump in his throat right now. Not only was a military formation powerful, it even had the ability to snare its target and make escape no more than an impossibility!

Not even the mighty elephant could stand strong against an overwhelming army of ants. And this didn’t even account for the Judge-class Yin spirit that was clearly commanding the military formation right now. Worst of all, the shard of his King Yanluo’s Seal didn’t seem to be responding to his cries at all… Qin Ye gritted his teeth and bellowed at the top of his voice, “GET LOST!!”

Instantly, a Judge-class shockwave of Yin energy swept across the field, repelling the rain of arrows in the sky and creating a buffer zone of fifty-meters radius around him. The Yin spirits directly under his feet weren’t even able to grunt in pain before they promptly exploded into a cloud of flying ash.

Just like that, approximately five hundred Yin spirits were decimated with Qin Ye’s powerful strike. Even the Judge helming the operations couldn’t help but feel a mild sting of pain from their great losses.

These were Yin soldiers after all… and much had to be invested in conscripted Yin spirits before they could be considered true Yin soldiers!

Back within the mobile residence. The man’s grip momentarily tightened around his wine glass, instantly causing a web of cracks to form on its surface. He drew a deep breath and gritted his teeth, “We won’t be able to stop the genuine Emissary of Hell with only ten thousand Yin soldiers! What the hell are you still waiting for?! Strike him down all at once! If he gets away, I assure you that life will truly be hell from now on!”

No response.

“Idiots!!” The man stood up and cursed with great indignation, “Are you still thinking of weakening me at a time like this? Let me tell you something - none of you know how terrifying a genuine Emissary of Hell can truly be! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! It’s our chance at breaking away from the law! Do you know what his existence over here means? It means that Hell is ready to regain control of the netherworld!! Don’t you know what’s of true importance right now?!”

Still, no response.

It was only several moments later that the veils in all directions around suddenly drifted up softly, almost as though someone had just rushed out of the residence.

On the other side, Qin Ye had finally managed to catch his breath.

White Tiger Immortal-Punishing Array… This military formation sounds impressive, but in truth… it’s not that bad, is it?

Admittedly, the effects of the military formation meant that the Yin soldiers were far more powerful than before. However, a single strike from his Judgment Pen had easily erased hundreds of Yin soldiers in one fell swoop. If that were the case, wouldn’t disposing of the rest of the military formation simply mean blotting several more times with his Judgment Pen? Although he might not be able to sustain that many attacks with what little remained in his tank right now, the only thing he needed to do right now was to drag things out until the shard of King Yanluo’s Seal could finally respond to his desperate cries!

The White Tiger Immortal-Punishing Array flickered softly, before stabilizing itself and glowing brightly once more. Qin Ye’s powerful attack earlier had blasted a holt right in the centre of the array, leaving a wide gap where the formation should be filled. Unfortunately, there was a limit to the amount of Yin energy at his disposal. His restored Prestige of the Luminary had expanded to the edge of the fifty-meter radius around him, rebuffing all Yin soldiers’ attempts at penetrating his defenses. That said, at least it managed to keep him alive for now.

I can hold on!

Qin Ye’s heart was overflowing with joy. With his defense up once more, he began to blot his Judgment Pen outwardly, tearing through the array surrounding him with powerful tremors that rumbled throughout Limbo. The surrounding Yin energy was slowly beginning to disperse, and his heart was escalating with joy. But, right in that moment, his heart suddenly constricted as he glanced into the distance.

To be fair, it was a misnomer to say that this happened in the distance, because apart from the array of ten thousand Yin soldiers surrounding Qin Ye, everything around them was concealed by a dense fog of Yin energy. But now, Qin Ye could see that the fog was slowly clearing up, only to reveal… countless shadows among their midst, together with a massive silhouette that looked like a small hill!

The man within the mobile residence finally heaved a sigh of relief, “You guys sure know when to make an appearance.”

Wuuuuu… The cold blare of war trumpets soon reverberated through Limbo. Dong, dong, dong… Tremorous sounds of war drums echoed in the distance. Qin Ye was stunned. He glanced around with great dismay, only to realize that countless flags embroidered with peculiar designs had been raised in the areas where the Yin energy was dispersing. Yet what was most terrifying was the fact that the flags stood tall amongst… countless other Yin soldiers!

Reinforcements had arrived! Next to the army that Qin Ye was fighting, Qin Ye could tell that the reinforcements numbered… more than sixty thousand Yin spirits!

It was as though an icy god of death were standing tall on the horizon, staring avariciously at Qin Ye’s soul.

“How is this possible…” Qin Ye’s mind went numb in an instant.

Ten thousand Yin spirits was merely a number in writing, but it was only when one stood face to face with an army of such magnitude that he would truly be able to appreciate the depth of such forces. Qin Ye was fighting desperately for his survival against ten thousand Yin spirits, only to discover that reinforcements of six times that number had just arrived. To this end… the reinforcements could practically be said to be vast as the skies and deep as the oceans.

There was simply no end to their numbers in sight. Enemies were arrayed against him no matter where he looked.

And that wasn’t all. There were another eleven mobile imperial residences clustered together in the midst of the army of sixty thousand Yin soldiers. Moreover, Qin Ye could sense copious amounts of Judge-class Yin energy emanating from each of these mobile residences! The mountain-like existence also slowly emerged from the fog, appearing no different from a giant tortoise. Most surprisingly, the colossal tortoise was also a Judge-class entity! A terrifying amount of Yin energy diffused from its body. Its back was covered in barbs, while its eyes were blazing with menacingly green netherflames. Qin Ye’s heart practically froze in that instant.

Sixty thousand yin spirits, and a total of thirteen Judge-class entities… This… is a terrifying force that could stir up a superstorm within Cathay and even establish themselves as the lords of a land. And yet… their sole purpose right now is to simply crush and obliterate me?

Why? Why do they have to go this far?

There was a moment of tense silence. And then, before he could even react to the sudden change in the circumstances, the majestic flags of the reinforcements immediately began to flutter vigorously in the nethergale. And then, Limbo began to tremble and rumble!

That was the sound of sixty thousand Yin soldiers charging en masse!

Rumble, rumble, rumble! The vanguards of the reinforcements were all wearing white paper helmets and wielding white spears. Apart from that, the only other thing that Qin Ye could see was a long line of them madly rushing at him from Limbo’s horizon. And then… Qin Ye noticed the last straw that broke the camel’s back - the various armies of Yin soldiers that were charging towards him were all imbued by various military formations that were glowing underfoot!

And that wasn’t all! Qin Ye soon heard a muffled sound, before a majestic tsunami soon rose from behind the vanguard of spearmen.

It was a tsunami of flaming arrows.

Countless flaming arrows instantly blotted out the sky with a fine curtain of light, and every single one of these arrows in the sky were aimed directly at Qin Ye!

It was overwhelming. The reinforcements of sixty thousand Yin soldiers didn’t merely bring about a linear surge of strength. Their existence alone was already an insurmountable psychological mountain that bore down heavily on Qin Ye’s heart.

“Damn it!!” Qin Ye cursed at the top of his voice. Without any further hesitation, he mustered every modicum of energy within his body and wrapped himself tightly with his Prestige of the Luminary.

This was the only way he could guarantee his own safety.

One second… two seconds… three seconds...

And then, his Prestige of the Luminary shattered completely. The mighty volley of tens of thousands of flaming arrows meant that his defensive ability couldn’t even last for seconds on end!

Shk! Shk! Shk! The only thing that Qin Ye saw was a shower of arrows that were pouring towards him. There was no room for mistakes. Qin Ye drew down every last bit of Yin energy in his body, gritting his teeth as he desperately kept the arrows outside of his body!

Dong, dong, dong… There was now a massive ball of sharp arrows around Qin Ye’s body, desperately trying to drill through his defenses. Despite that, countless arrows were still pouring in towards their sole target like an incessant downpour that showed no signs of letting up. Qin Ye’s eyes were bloodshot. Each arrow that rained down on his body felt like the jabs of long spears. They weren’t able to penetrate his defenses for now, but they still caused his blood to stir and his skin to tingle.

The bravado of a man… At that very moment, it suddenly dawned upon him that next to the might of tens of thousands of Yin soldiers backed by the strength of military formations, a single man’s bravado… was incomparably small.

Dong, dong, dong… It was like a torrential downpour that continued pelting down towards him. By now, several arrowheads had already managed to breach the last of his defenses. He gnashed his teeth ferociously. I’ve got neither techniques nor arts at my disposal! Hell doesn’t even have in existence a research institution for such matters right now, so where are my techniques supposed to come from?

I don’t even have any Yin artifacts at my disposal! There’s still much to be done for the new Hell, and not even my citizens could be said to have been properly settled in. So, where are the Yin artifacts supposed to come from?

In fact, I don’t even have any colleagues to call upon for reinforcements… In that instant, despair completely filled every corner of Qin Ye’s heart.