Yama Rising

Inside a certain room, there was a death god wearing a goat skull mask and a pristine white cloak, and he asked, "Has anything happened?"

This death god was an advanced Abyssal Prefect, so he was only one step away from reaching the Yama-King level, and he wasn't the only Abyssal Prefect in the room.

To his left was a death goddess with the appearance of a human woman. Her complexion was quite dark, and her eyes were of a fiery red color, but what was most remarkable about her was that she had a head of venomous vipers rather than hair. With each and every breath that she took, Yin energy would dissipate around her as wisps of black mist.

To his right was a middle-aged man with deep-set features and countless holes all over his skin. The wails and sobs of Yin souls would occasionally ring out from within those holes, and right down the center of his head was a massive crack that spanned the length of his entire brain, disappearing behind the collar of his white suit. Inside that crack were countless miniature human hands, presenting an extremely harrowing sight to behold.

Further to the right was a woman wearing a golden crown. The crown was designed in a very crafty way, splitting her face up into three sections, and each section had a face of its own.

These were four Abyssal Prefects.

Generally speaking, regardless of what a death god's true form was, they would take on appearances that were as close to humanoid as possible during these international conferences.

In front of the four death gods stood an underworld emissary, who replied in a respectful manner, "There's been no reaction at all."

"They haven't summoned any underworlds?"

"No."

"And there haven't been any underworlds that have visited them?"

"No."

Silence.

Several seconds later, the middle-aged man with holes all over his body said, "Alright, you can go now."

The underworld emissary extended a respectful bow before departing, and in the instant the door was closed, the man turned to the other death gods and asked, "What do you think of this, Kuwal?"

He was referring to the death god in the goat skull mask, and Kuwal pondered the question for a moment before replying, "It's hard to say, but in any case, this is a matter concerning the top-tier powerhouses in the world, so all we can do is watch from the sidelines. My Sanfotsi, your Micronesia, Tanvana's Marshall Islands, Borne's Melanesia, and General Gatlin's Polynesia are all nations that are part of the Pacific island chain. The geographic conditions in the mortal realm are reflected in the underworld, resulting in similarly tiny territories for our underworlds, and we're in close proximity to the two superpowers that are the Cathayan Underworld and the Hindustani Underworld."

He continued in a grim voice, "In the past, the Cathayan Underworld took over the South Cathayan Sea, while the Hindustani Underworld just barely managed to take down Bagan, thereby securing the Bay of Bengal. However, we all know what the Hindustani Underworld really wants is to be able to conquer the nations in close proximity to it in the South Cathayan Sea rather than the current Maluku Islands. If they can succeed in this endeavor on this occasion, then the state of Asia will undergo a massive change."

Tanvana bit down onto her own lower lip, and she unconsciously lowered her voice slightly out of fear and respect for the four pillars as she asked, "Do you think they'll make a move?"

"You don't even know who it is that's planning to make a move," Kuwal replied with a cold smile. "You're not the only one, none of the small island chain underworlds like us are privy to this information. However, as long as you're not blind, you should definitely be able to identify the current atmosphere. At this point, it's clear to everyone that one or more of the four pillars are standing behind the Nipponese Underworld, and what have they done? The Cathayan Underworld's King Yanluo suffered an assassination attempt on their territory, yet they failed to find the perpetrator. On top of that, they went out of their way to mention this during the Cathayan Underworld's welcome banquet. Why do you think they did that? "

No one said anything.

The Nipponese Underworld wasn't even bothering to disguise its animosity now, and only an idiot wouldn't be able to see this.

Kuwal continued, "Also, do you still not understand? It's been two days since the welcome banquet, and five more underworlds have arrived. All of the underworlds in question are also quite small, and under normal circumstances, they would definitely take this opportunity to interact with us. However, they refrained from doing this on this occasion. Instead, they've all shut their doors and refused to see all guests, only engaging in internal communication. If the other three pillars outside of the Cathayan Underworld aren't looking to make a move, then there's no way to explain this."

The entire world is about to be turned on its head... Just this thought alone was enough to make their souls shudder, and they didn't dare to ponder the matter any further.

This was something that only Yama-Kings could play roles in, and they could only look on as bystanders.

Borne, the death goddess with venomous snakes all over her head, took a deep breath before analyzing, "The most telling sign is that not a single underworld has dared to visit the Cathayan Underworld, even though this is the first major international conference the Cathayan Underworld has featured in for more than a century. This is already enough to tell us many things. Prior to this, we also received hints from certain important characters, urging us to get with the times."

Everyone fell silent once again.

After a long while, Kuwal finally broke the silence. "All we can do now is adapt and react as the situation unfolds. As far as we know, the Cathayan Underworld is still the same Cathayan Underworld as before. They have a being above the Yama-King level among their ranks, and taking the second King Yanluo into account, that's already two in one underworld. With him present, the ones looking to bring down the Cathayan Underworld may yet be thwarted."

A faint smile appeared on Borne's face as she countered, "You're placing too much weight on beings above the Yama-King level. When compared with an underworld, the underworld is clearly more important than a being of that caliber. On top of that, if something's going to happen, then it will involve the votes of several dozen underworlds, whereas even a being above the Yama-King level will only have a single vote."

"Hence, we have to assess who the Cathayan Underworld's allies are."

"We hold four votes in total, so we must stick together. Our vote is going to affect the state of the entirety of Asia, and we must choose carefully!"

"Indeed, let's wait and see what both sides do next. What I'm quite perplexed by is that the Cathayan Underworld still hasn't made a move. Are they not aware that the representatives of the other underworlds don't dare to approach them? Looking at the current situation, they'll only be able to secure three or four votes at most!"

Right at this moment, the sound of door-knocking rang out, followed by a voice. "Esteemed death gods."

The sound of conversation in the room instantly ceased, and only after three seconds of silence did Kuwal reply. "What is it?"

"Your Excellency." The person on the other side of the door was speaking in a very respectful voice, but their voice was also tinged with a hint of irrepressible excitement. "Count Dracula of Romania has arrived."

Count Dracula! 

The four death gods exchanged a few glances, and each of them could see their own excitement and apprehension mirrored in one another's eyes.

The first important death god had arrived! It was the patriarch of Romania's clan of vampires, Count Dracula himself!

The clan of vampires virtually took no part in underworld affairs, but they would always attend international conferences of this caliber. Furthermore, it was common knowledge to everyone that their only ally among the underworlds was the Argosian Underworld.

There was no reason for this other than their extremely close geographic proximity.

Had Count Dracula arrived in person at the behest of Thanatos? Could it be that he was nothing more than a pawn for the Argosian Underworld? Had he brought any new information with him?

In that instant, the four death gods all seemed to have arrived at a tacit understanding, and they nodded in unison.

………………………………………………

At this point, all of the underworlds were frantically analyzing the current situation. Many smaller underworlds had already arrived, and they wanted to approach the Cathayan Underworld, but they could sense that something was amiss, so they didn't dare to proceed.

At this moment, all of them had arrived in front of the pavilions to welcome the arrival of the first important death god outside of the Cathayan Underworld. 

Qin Ye was also watching. Count Dracula's status didn't warrant a welcome from the Cathayan Underworld, particularly when one considered that there was a very good chance Count Dracula would be standing against the Cathayan Underworld.

Through the window, Qin Ye could see an orderly convoy of 10 black carriages entering through the main gate. The carriages were shiny and glossy, and each carriage was being drawn by four massive bats as opposed to skeletal horses. Lit oil lanterns with golden skeleton covers were hanging from the four corners of the carriage, and a bat insignia was emblazoned directly onto the front of the carriage.

At the main entrance, around a dozen death gods led by Izanami were already waiting respectfully. This was far more ceremonious a welcome than the one that the Cathayan Underworld had received!

None of the death gods were idiots, and they all knew what exactly it entailed for Count Dracula to be arriving in person and for Izanami to be greeting him, and that wasn't even taking into account all of the death gods behind her who had refrained from visiting the Cathayan Underworld during the past few days.

The carriages slowly drew to a halt in front of the pavilions amid loud welcome music, and a thin man emerged from the third carriage. The man was dressed in ancient Europa attire with deathly pale skin and was wearing a golden wig. He smiled as he extended a hand forward, and at the same time, Qin Ye closed his window.

It was already their third day in Nara, yet even as one of the four pillars, they hadn't received a visit from a single underworld!

In contrast with the grand welcome that Count Dracula was receiving, this was a massive insult!

It was like a sign telling everyone that a new world order was about to be established, and that following its century-long absence, the Cathayan Underworld was no longer the dominant powerhouse it had once been. All of the death gods present were certainly more than intelligent enough to interpret these signs, and the more underworlds came to realize this, the more insulting it was for the Cathayan Underworld.

"Why aren't they here yet?" Qin Ye murmured to himself as he stared intently at the calendar. 

There was nothing that he could do prior to the arrival of the Coalition of Alkebulan Underworlds and the Northern Europa Alliance!

All he could do now was lie low and endure the humiliation until the day he could retaliate.

………………………………………………

Count Dracula wore a friendly smile as he shook the hands of all of the underworld emissaries who had emerged to greet him. For someone like him who barely ever participated in these conferences, he had already forgotten most of the death gods' names.

In contrast with the warm hands of living humans, he much preferred shaking the icy hands of Yin spirits.

"Count Dracula," Izanami greeted with a smile. "It's been so long, yet you're still as handsome and dashing as ever. In order to welcome your arrival, we've prepared a lavish welcome banquet for you tonight."

All underworld received welcome banquets, the only difference was whether the two death gods of the Nipponese Underworld were going to be in attendance. For example, entities like the Red Moon Federation weren't worthy of being attended to by Izanami in person.

Dracula smiled and nodded in response, and a handsome young man behind him had already helped him take off his coat. He made his way over to the pavilions with the death gods around him and replied, "Thank you very much, I've heard great things about Nipponese cuisine."

Izanami also smiled as she said, "The welcome banquet will be held in the 'Small Chrysanthemum'."

Everyone immediately fell silent upon hearing this.

Thus far, only the Cathayan Underworld had been welcomed in the "Small Chrysanthemum".

There was no rule stating that each underworld had to be welcomed in a different hall, but during this sensitive time and in this sensitive setting, wasn't the Nipponese Underworld essentially placing the Cathayan Underworld and the Romanian clan of vampires on the same level by doing this?

All of the death gods present couldn't help but ponder this notion even deeper.

Was this a sign? Where was this sign coming from? What exactly was it trying to tell them? Was it from the Argosian Underworld? The Aegyptian Underworld? The Hindustani Underworld? Or perhaps... all of them?

Chills were already beginning to run down the spines of all of the death gods present, and right at this moment, Izanami continued, "Also, I'll be inviting all of the underworlds who have arrived thus far to attend your welcome banquet."

The netherfire in Kuwal's eyes flashed slightly upon hearing this. 

Are the forces looking to strike at the Cathayan Underworld finally about to bare their fangs and reveal their intentions to the entire world?