Yama Rising

The sky was covered with karmic fire. Yin soldiers raged, and left a trail of netherflames in the wake of their march. The entire Darkriver City was instantly transformed into a purgatory, where endless Yin soldiers tussled with each other and tore at each others’ necks.

“What are you still waiting for?!” Sha Xiangzu turned to the seven Hellguards around him and bellowed with rage, “Their army is incredibly strange, and I didn’t bring much with me this time! My army--...”

He gnashed his teeth with intense heartache. Looking down, he could see the line where both armies were clashing against each other. Sparks flew wherever spears and swords struck their opponent’s armor. Yin soldiers fell like flies, but the ratio of casualties was still approximately ten to one. Furthermore, the difference in military discipline soon became stark and apparent. Whenever his own soldiers fell, they would leave a palpable hole in the formation, but when Hell’s forces were felled, the gap in their formation would almost immediately be filled in with one of the reserves at the backlines.

But what frightened him even more was the fact that he could see the dark silhouettes of the ten thousand Savage Tiger Raiders laying in wait right behind the spear and shield formation. Like vipers, the tiger raiders were all laying low, biding their time to deliver that fatal strike.

They’re waiting for the right time… Sha Xiangzu cried out in his heart - They’re just waiting for the right time to strike at our jugulars and deal us a fatal blow!

“Bunch of useless things!” He gnashed his teeth and retracted his gaze. His army had appeared powerful when they were trampling over the monarch beasts of the fields, but it was only when they encountered the genuine army of Hell that they finally revealed their true weaknesses!

Unfortunately, he no longer had the luxury of time to dwell on these things. He stared intently ahead, right where Qin Ye and Arthis, and several other Hellguards stood. His heart was toiling with great rage and ferocity, and he finally drew his sword.

Two Judges… damn it… DAMN IT!

When he last encountered Qin Ye, he had been quite some distance away, and he naturally failed to notice anything amiss. But now, he finally realized that the difference in ability arose from the fact that he was a genuine Emissary of Hell. That was the only reason! The energy and presence emanating from Qin Ye swept over with such oppression that it even made his heart tremble and his soul quake. This was the result of a bloodline suppression - his entire being was instinctively screaming for him to flee! Just then, Qin Ye slowly began to walk over. It was a slow and calm approach amidst the chaos and strife. Yet, each and every step that Qin Ye took filled him with fear and terror, and the pressure weighing down on his heart even made it increasingly more difficult to breathe!

The fear of the unknown had finally broken him. With a maddened shriek, Sha Xiangzu opened his bloody mouth, and his tongue lashed out like a bolt of lightning, straight towards Qin Ye’s jugular.

Haa… haa… His chest rose and fell with every breath that he took. The pressure was so great that even his breathing had grown ragged. It was also the pressure that forced him over the edge to do something… to do anything. Never in his wildest dreams would he have imagined facing off against such a terrifying opponent. Not even Kong Mo stirred such intense terror from within him.

The scarlet tongue was as quick as lightning, and there were even sounds of the air itself being torn apart. But just as it was about to plunge straight into Qin Ye’s body, Yin energy suddenly began to pour out from Qin Ye’s seven apertures. It was dark as ink, and it slowly began to blossom like a spider lily in the air, “It looks like Kong Mo has concealed many things from you… To think that you would even have the guts to approach an Emissary of Hell at the same level as you. Your courage is both commendable… and laughable.”

Sssss!!! Sha Xiangzu hissed in pain. He immediately retracted his tongue, only to realize that it had actually been torn into two pieces.

Whoosh… The majestic Yin energy billowing from Qin Ye’s body had transformed into a terrifying vortex by now, and two spots of golden netherflames lit up from within, “I’ve always been a coward. And there’s only a single exception to this rule.”

“And that is… when I’m facing off against an evil ghost of the same cultivation level as myself.”

“Sigh. The evil ghosts of the recent century really don’t know any better at all…”

As soon as he finished speaking, the vortex of Yin energy suddenly dispersed, and an illusory brush formed from Yin energy slowly blotted at the air.

It was a soft action.

But the tip of the brush had undoubtedly also torn through the air with a series of shattering sounds! The roaring rumble of sonic booms flew straight towards Sha Xiangzu in an instant.

“Damn!!” The intense gaze in his eyes flickered wildly, and he immediately tossed out ten Yin artifacts as though they were loose change. These included a human skull with horns, a necklace of finger bones, palm-sized skeleton puppets, and so on and so forth. Following that, his entire world suddenly grew silent, almost as though he had been completely cut off from the rest of the world.

His pupils narrowed. Outside, a terrifying shockwave of Yin energy swept out from the vault of the sky, engulfing the entire Darkriver City.

“This--...” The seven Hellguards surrounding him had barely managed to escape to the side just as Qin Ye was making his move. They stared with their jaws hanging low as they stared at the source of the Yin energy eruption, where Sha Xiangzu had been just moments ago. It had already transformed into a terrifying black hole, and they could even hear Sha Xiangzu screaming tragically from within. The terrifying nethergale generated by the shockwaves sent ripples fluttering through their clothes.

Is this really an Emissary of Hell?

Are they truly the fabled existence of Hell that I’ve heard so much about just before I died?

Lord Sha… can’t even stand toe to toe against them?

The terrifying aura of an Infernal Judge bore down so strongly on them that they didn’t even dare to move a single muscle. Just then, the ball of Yin energy finally began to fade away, revealing the silhouette of a man who still appeared intact, albeit barely. His hair was now disheveled, while his skin was clearly lacerated in more places than it was intact.

Netherflame poured out from the cracks in Sha Xiangzu’s skin, causing him to appear both tragic and terrifying. Meanwhile, the Yin artifacts that he had tossed out earlier had already been completely disintegrated. His lips trembled slightly, “Still. Watching?!”

The seven Hellguards jolted out of their stupor and stared at each other with great fear in their eyes.

“You won’t be of any use here.” The eye between Sha Xiangzu’s brows had already flown out of his body and begun to ripple with faint golden runes. Even his hair scattered menacingly as he stared vigilantly at Qin Ye, “Get down there and help the Yin soldiers breach this damned encirclement. Anyone that manages to get out of this damn place should immediately inform the Alliance of Darkness that someone is trying to sneak up against Qufu!!”

One of the Hellguards immediately gasped in horror, “Then, what about you?”

“Idiot!!” Sha Xiangzu turned around and spat furiously, “If I die here, the Alliance of Darkness will have one less Infernal Judge. If you manage to get out and inform the rest, we might still have a chance of survival. But if we can’t get word out there, then we’ll all have to die here!”

His words sent chills running down the spines of the Hellguards. They didn’t even respond. Instead, they immediately shrieked in terror as they transformed into seven roaring streams of nethergale and rushed straight down at the armies below.

SSS!!! The seven ferocious winds that were billowing with netherflames whistled as they slammed straight into the armies below like a viper rustling through thatch. Wherever they passed, Yin energy would soar, and countless Yin soldiers would be blasted away. Within moments, the battlefield below turned into a complete bloodbath.

Gulp… Dozens of Hell’s Yin soldiers were immediately consumed by the rushing Hellguards. Then, with a few sickening crunches, the Yin soldiers were reduced to nothing more than wisps of Yin energy that slowly seeped back out of his lips.

One of the Hellguards was a bald old man wearing a white lapelled, sleeveless short coat, black trousers and black cloth shoes. He was incredibly thin, but a large stomach bulged out from his belly. It wriggled and squirmed as though it was a completely different and separate entity from him. Yet, even then, his eyes flickered wildly with palpable fear.

Boom!!

Just then, there was another loud sound in the air. Sha Xiangzu forcefully suppressed his scream and let out a muffled grunt instead. Yet the bald old man heard it, and it immediately caused goosebumps to flare up all over his skin.

Terrifying… This is simply too terrifying!

They had all felt no different from ants up there. It was only after they departed from the battleground of the Infernal Judges that he regained confidence in his abilities as a Hellguard once more. It was only when he was tearing through the Yin soldiers in front of him that he remembered his existence as that of an evil ghost.

That’s right… I’m a Hellguard. I’ll kill them… I’ll kill them all! We still have a way out!

Fear was generally followed by succumbing to one’s emotions with uncontrollable shivering, or a swelling up of confidence in denial of the source of terror.

The overbearing terror had triggered the most primal of instincts in the hearts of the Hellguards. The bald old man lay on all fours on the ground, surrounded by an encirclement of valiant Yin soldiers from Hell. The army of Sha Xiangzu followed closely behind him. He stretched out his scarlet tongue and licked his pale lips, “Charge… and kill! All who retreat shall die!!!”

SSSS!!! With that, he rushed headlong into Hell’s forces.

The Yin soldiers of the Alliance of Darkness behind them drew a deep breath. The presence of a Hellguard reinvigorated them with great confidence. They had earlier felt lost and hopeless because Hell’s forces felt practically invincible. But now… don’t they have the assistance of a powerful Hellguard that was leading the charge ahead of them?

“What are you still waiting for?! Charge!!!” One of the generals of the Alliance of Darkness bellowed as his troops as he dove headlong into the enemy forces. Instantly, the Yin soldiers behind him drew a deep breath, tightened their grips around their somewhat broken weapons and roared at the top of their voices as they charged forward.

Onward! Let’s trample over the enemy forces! We won’t stop until they’re all dead! Their eyes gleamed with bloodthirstiness. Spears and swords clashed mightily, and Yin spirits shrieked as they were reduced into clumps of netherflames. As soon as the ones heading the charge were felled, the backlines immediately rushed over to fill their place. The battlefield was merciless and boiling with passion, so much so that even the most cowardly of Yin spirits felt their souls completely aroused and ignited with bloodlust. One by one, and wave after wave, they continued to pour forward, as they threw themselves at their opponents, doing everything they could to take down as many as they could before they were cut down.

To that end, the previously lost and forlorn forces of the Alliance of Darkness suddenly showed signs of a second wind, and they began to fight back against the advance of Hell’s forces.

And they weren’t the only ones.

The seven Hellguards had transformed into seven powerful streams of nethergale that swept through Hell’s forces, easing the pressure on their own forces and alleviating the fears that previously paralyzed their hearts.

In the southeast corner, Hell’s forces could be seen backing off from their opponents, leaving a large berth of a hundred meters. Thousands of Hell’s forces held up a wall of shields in a tight formation, leaving just enough room for spears to protrude from the formation. At the same time, thousands of spots of Karmic Fire Divine Crossbow bolts were clearly raised above the shields and aimed towards the center of their encirclement.

Right there, there was a figure of a lady.

She was wearing a black halter dress, and completely barefooted. Her hair draped down all around her shoulders, and she was hugging herself as she screamed and trembled, “How terrifying… how fearsome!”

“I’m a Hellguard… I’m a Hellguard… Yaaaaarrggghh!!” She continually encouraged herself in order to shake off her fears. Then, she jerked her head up and screamed at the top of her voice. Instantly, a massive shockwave of Yin energy struck the surrounding Yin soldiers, causing their shields to clack and clang against each other. Meanwhile, the Yin soldiers facing off against her could see exactly what kind of terrifying creature she was.

She didn’t have any facial features at all.

Instead, there was simply a huge, bloody hole filled with teeth where her face used to be.

As though staring, she swept the gaping hole across the surrounding Yin soldiers as she muttered with a trembling voice, “That’s right… I’m an Anitya Hellguard… I’ve already died once, so there’s nothing to be afraid of… nothing… nothing at all…”

With that, her black hair rushed out like a tsunami, instantly wrapping around the surrounding Yin soldiers and dicing them to countless pieces. None of them even had the chance to feel a single moment of pain before they were reduced to clumps of netherflame.

The scarlet eyes underneath the curtain of black hair finally turned from fear to calm, “I’m a Hellguard indeed… Hehehe…”

The act of killing had allowed her to relieve some of the fear in her heart. Moments later, she unleashed a terrifying shriek as she plunged straight into the ranks of Hell’s forces once more.

The Yin soldiers of the Alliance of Darkness followed closely behind her with an earth-shattering roar, “Chaaaaaarge!!!” With that, they rushed straight into the enemy forces after their Hellguard general.

From a bird’s eye view, the forces of the Alliance of Darkness were all pouring straight towards Hell’s forces with reignited passion. Wave after wave, they shouted at the top of their voices as they charged recklessly towards their enemies without any formation.

This was the battle song of clashing armaments and abounding Yin energy. It was a battlefield of the undead. Netherflames marking the end of a Yin spirit’s life flourished with every moment that passed, while the grim, black armaments and dark Yin energy covered the entire Darkriver City with a terrifying black sheen. One of the alliance’s Yin spirits pulled out his spear from the chest of one of Hell’s soldiers, trembling with excitement as he saw his opponent transform into a clump of netherflame - Amazing… such ecstasy… But in the very next moment, he, too, found another spear running straight through his chest.

“I--...” He transformed into a clump of netherflame before he could even finish his sentence. Scenes like this were playing out everywhere across the battlefield.

The only thing that could strike fear in an evil ghost’s heart was another evil ghost.

And the only way to end a battle was through battle itself.