Yama Rising

The war horns blared, and the war drums thundered. Under Yang Yanzhao’s command, the Yin soldiers rapidly shifted into formation. Qin Ye couldn’t help but sigh with great amazement.

The bowmen retreated, while the shield-bearers shifted to the front. The Savage Tiger Raiders skirted around and formed up on the side, ready to flank the enemy at the moment’s notice. Within moments, the entire army became entirely poised to strike. The blazing Karmic Fire Divine Crossbows were aimed straight at the location from which the wings were still slowly unfurling.

It was a place of rolling hills. The hills were only approximately twenty meters tall - just sufficient to obscure the true appearances of the winged-beast behind. That said, this also meant that the Yin beast behind was at least twenty meters in size.

Silence.

With bated breaths and intense gazes, the two factions confronted each other in silence for the next ten minutes. Then, just as Qin Ye and Arthis turned to look at each other, the Yin soldiers suddenly parted ways, allowing passage to their commander, Yang Yanzhao, who promptly darted over.

“My lord, there’s something strange about this.” He cupped his hands respectfully, before promptly explaining himself, “Hell was just formed, so it might not have had the chance to see what Yin beasts could be like, but Felipinas is practically surrounded by sea Yin beasts, and we’d like to think that we’ve seen enough to understand their habits. Generally speaking, so long as a Yin beast displays some form of aggression to us, we can take it that they’ve taken an interest in us as a prey. And to that end, a Yin beast would never rest until they finally capture what’s in their sights.”

His eyes narrowed, “Furthermore… there are a multitude of means in which a Yin beast can display their aggression. Making a cry or a call is but one of those means. There’s no doubt that the Yin beast over there has detected our presence, but they would never stop at making a single display of aggression, especially not over such a long period of time. Furthermore, a monarch beast would be surrounded by countless other beasts. What usually follows after the initial display of aggression is a multitude of menacing hisses and prowling of subordinate beasts. That’s how Yin beasts generally behave. But… I just can’t figure out what this Yin beast is doing.”

Qin Ye nodded, before turning placidly to Arthis, “Go take a look.”

However, he received a death glare from Arthis in return.

Qin Ye immediately softened his tone of voice, “Fine, don’t go, then. Did you really have to be so fierce? Well, then, who’s willing to scout ahead for me?”

Arthis continued to stare threateningly at Qin Ye. Her intentions were clear - Say another word of the sort, and I’ll immediately take your life.

Thus, without another word, Qin Ye turned around with great despondence and slowly began to approach the hill in the distance.

He rode the nethergale and drew closer and closer. Ten minutes later, he finally entered the vicinity of the rolling hills.

Sss… Coooo!! Almost as though the Yin beast could sense his presence, its cries gradually grew more urgent and flustered. The unfurled wings vibrated rhythmically. Qin Ye drew a deep breath. Then, just as he was about to reach the top of the hill, he suddenly crouched down.

Something’s not right.

The closer he drew, the more he felt that this particular Yin beast didn’t seem too interested in him.

It had obviously discovered him, but it remained unmoving. Its wings were vibrating softly, but they were most certainly not flapping in a threatening fashion. If the Yin beast had been interested in them, it would most certainly have made a move by now, and not remain just as still and motionless, almost as though it were…

Asking for help.

“Legend has it that when a man removed the thorn from a tiger’s paw, the tiger willingly submitted to the man as a means of repaying his act of kindness.” Qin Ye cautiously peeked out from over the hill, “Would I be so fortunate to find myself in such a situatio--... Holy shit?!!”

An intense wave of fear washed over him before he could even finish his spiel.

It was a basin below.

A huge basin.

It was approximately tens of thousands of meters wide, and surrounded by what appeared to be small rolling hills on the side. And there, right at the edge of the basin, lay a creature that was rather difficult to describe.

It looked like a butterfly with six colourful wings, yet the patterns on the wings were all human faces. And it’s body… appeared no different from the body of a completely naked woman!

At least a naked woman with no legs, no head, and six arms. Moreover, there was a large slit in the middle of the body from which rows after rows of fine, razor-sharp teeth peeked out threateningly.

Countless tentacles stuck out from the head of the creature, each of which tentacles had an eye on it. The creature was approximately thirty meters from end to end, and it was staring right towards Qin Ye!

However, that wasn’t even the scary part.

What was truly terrifying about this all was the fact that this Yin beast… was actually trapped on a massive spider web!

That’s right - the basin appeared completely bottomless.

It was an endless abyss.

At the same time, there lay suspended across the entire basin a massive spider web spanning tens of thousands of meters. Countless Yin beast bones could be seen scattered all over the web. Some were decomposing, while others were not. Apart from that, there were even small eggs lying around various parts of the web, with a shell so thin that one could even see the soft squirming of the embryo within!

Yet what was most striking was the creature sleeping soundly in the middle of the web. It was a dark, long-haired creature that was approximately a hundred meters in size. Its body pulsed softly.

That’s the apex of the food chain around here!

It only took Qin Ye one glance to notice the near-Prefect-class Yin energy that was emanating from the spider’s body! The butterfly creature was no more than an advanced Hellguard-class Yin beast.

In other words, the spider was the monarch beast around these parts!

Gulp… Qin Ye gulped softly, and began to slowly crouch back down and vanish from the top of the hill. The spider was coiled up into a ball right now, so much so that it was impossible to tell what lay underneath the surface of its appearance. That said, he could already tell that its exoskeleton wasn’t going to be easy to deal with!

I’ve gotta get out of here while it's still sleeping… Qin Ye was delighted by the fact that they’ve departed from Hell at the perfect moment while the monarch beast was still deep in slumber. But just as he began to slowly trudge down the side of the hill, the butterfly Yin beast suddenly unleashed a terrifying shriek!

SSSSSSSSS!!!!

This cry was far louder than any cry it had earlier emitted. In fact, it was so loud that the surrounding hills and basin trembled violently. Qin Ye froze for a moment, before quickly jolting back to his senses. That’s right - the creature had indeed discovered their presence a long time ago. It’s previous cry was an appeal for help, so it was naturally cautious and careful. But as soon as it noticed that it's only lifeline was about to turn tail and flee for their own lives, what would it do?

Qin Ye’s departure meant certain death to the butterfly creature. The primal fear in its heart naturally caused it to shriek in despondence!

“Screw you!!” Qin Ye’s eyes instantly grew bloodshot, and he transformed into a swift nethergale and rushed back to his army in an instant.

Because he could sense… that the powerful source of Yin energy… had finally awakened.

Whoosh! A massive gust of nethergale blasted out from the abyss. Far away, Yang Yanzhao heard the loud shriek of the butterfly Yin beast, before noticing Qin Ye’s full on retreat back towards the warm embracing arms of the Yin soldiers behind. At once, he shouted, “All troops, on alert!!”

Rumble! The bows and crossbows were loaded and ready. Shields stood erect in front of their entire formation, while their spears were held upright. The great army stood their ground, waiting for the next command. Meanwhile, the butterfly Yin beast’s cries only grew increasingly loud. Even Arthis couldn’t help but be taken aback by its cries, because she could tell that they were all desperate pleas for help.

Why is it pleading for help?

“Who would’ve thought…” Her hair began to scatter like a thousand poisonous vipers, while a bloodthirsty smile crept up the corner of her lips, “It’s only been a few centuries since my last wanton massacre. It looks like these newly-minted monarch beasts no longer know how terrifying a Rakshasa can truly be…”

SSSSSS!!! SSSSSS!!!! The further Qin Ye got from the basin, the more anxious and urgent the butterfly Yin beast’s cries grew. Meanwhile, as Qin Ye ran, he couldn’t help but develop the urge to give the butterfly Yin beast a tight slap across the cheeks - Idiot! You should shut the hell up if you want to live a little while longer!

Unfortunately, it wouldn’t.

Yin beasts didn’t possess any spiritual awareness or intelligence at all. Everything they did was based entirely on their instincts. Thus, the shrieks from behind only grew louder and louder. At the same time, Qin Ye’s heart only grew more and more apprehensive.

It’s awake… it’s definitely awake… He could sense that the terrifying source of Yin energy behind him was slowly but surely getting stronger and stronger. A split second later, the butterfly Yin beast cried out with a heart-rending scream.

SSSSSSS!!!

It started loud and clear, but it soon softened and faded away, almost as though its life were swiftly being drained from its body. And then, it vanished completely.

It’s dead… Qin Ye’s army was right in front of him, and he charged into their open arms at full speed. Just then, he sensed a chilling gaze landing directly on his back.

“Retreat!!” As soon as he arrived within a thousand meters away from his army, he immediately barked his next command, “The entire army is to march full speed towards the next Beacon of Light right away!”

As soon as he gave the command, the entire land behind him rumbled and trembled. A second later, a layer of pitch-black carpet that appeared no different from a swarm of ants immediately rushed out from the depths of the abyss.

They were… innumerable black spiders!

Although they appeared rather small from afar, Qin Ye could tell that each of them was at least half a meter in size! Each of them would be a monstrosity in their own right if discovered back in the mortal realm!

Wave after wave of excited squeaks could be heard in the distance, ostensibly triggered by the sight of prey sufficient to feed them all. Meanwhile, a colossal creature approximately one hundred meters in size finally crept out of the basin in the midst of the outpouring of spiderlings.

ROARRRR!!! It lifted its two front limbs and slammed down onto the closest hill, instantly shattering it into an explosion of boulders. And then, it began to lumber towards the army!

Whoosh! Just like that, they covered thousands of meters in the blink of an eye. Qin Ye’s forehead was already covered in sweat as he promptly turned to Yang Yanzhao, “General Yang! Full speed ahead! Follow the Beacon of Light in the sky right away!”

Yang Yanzhao didn’t even have the luxury of time to respond. The war horns sounded, and the banners fluttered. The army immediately turned around and began to march full speed towards the Beacon of Light in the sky.

Unfortunately, the marching speed of Yin soldiers wasn’t quick.

At the very least, they would never be able to move as quickly as the tiny spiderlings that were hot on their tail. The colossal spider behind was slow in its movement, but the scuttling spiderlings in front were able to cover hundreds of meters in a short few moments. They kicked up sand and dirt behind them, leaving a menacing yellow cloud that appeared to roar towards the army!

“This isn’t going to work.” Arthis glanced behind and spoke with a cold determination in her voice, “Every single one of these spiderlings are at least Operative-class Yin beasts. They’ll be able to whittle down our army in no time. It’s up to us to stop them in their tracks. Then, once our main army is far enough, the monarch beast will realize that it can’t take us down, and will naturally leave--... Where the hell is he?!?!?!”

Arthis turned back, only to realize that Qin Ye had already snuck into the midst of the great army and begun to retreat at the same time. She chuckled softly, “Bloody hell…”

She promptly sent a lock of hair lashing hundreds of meters into the heart of the marching army and dragged a single person back to her.

“Damn it…” Qin Ye glared back at Arthis, “Do you realize the kind of situation we’re in right now?! Do you know how dangerous it is back here?!”

Arthis gritted her teeth, “A general may be the heart and soul of the army, but the soldiers are still the limbs of the body. Do you want to see your entire army reduced to nothingness even before you face off against Kong Mo?”

“But I’m afraid! Have you never heard of arachnophobia before?! It’s a thing!”

“If I can stand tall against it, I don’t see why you can’t.”

“But I’m a human! A human being!! You’re a bloody ghost! Do you think we have the same kinds of fears and considerations?!”

Before they could go on, both Arthis and Qin Ye raised their hands at the same time, sending a powerful blast of Yin energy towards the rushing spiderlings and reducing many into nothing more than ashes. The combined forces of two Infernal Judges had stopped the rush of Operative-class spiderlings in an instant!

This was the might of Infernal Judges.

Without the backing of military formations, the Operative-class Yin beasts were no different from fodder.

“Eeeeyucks! That’s disgusting!” Qin Ye bared his teeth and rolled up his sleeves, “Do you see the goosebumps that are creeping up all over my skin?!”

“Is now really the best time for these things?” Arthis bellowed back. Her hair stretched out thousands of meters in a criss-crossed fashion, before swiftly trapping another wave of spiderlings before dicing them into pieces.

Rumble… Countless spiderlings continued to pour towards them in endless waves. Qin Ye no longer had the luxury of time to engage in banal discourse with Arthis. He whipped out the faux Judgment Pen and blotted it straight at the distance. In an instant, a massive tremor erupted from the ground, generating an invisible shockwave that sent thousands of spiders scattering into their demise. Just like that he kept blotting away at the waves of spiders, until moments later, he suddenly noticed that the number of spiderlings had decreased substantially.

He paused for a moment, and then scanned his surroundings carefully. Indeed, there were now fewer spiderlings than before.

The spiderlings were no longer rushing forward to their demise like they had done before. Rather, they appeared to be waiting for something. And it was only then that Qin Ye realized that there was now an incomparably dense cloud of Yin energy that was fast approaching them.

Time seemed to stand still in that very moment.

Qin Ye squinted his eyes. A soft wind swept through the lands.

It carried a horrid stench as it caused his robes to flutter wildly. The wind even came and went with soft huffs and puffs. And it even hid a soft, bloodcurdling sound within, almost as though it was the sound of incisors rubbing against each other.

It was then that it dawned on Qin Ye that it wasn’t wind after all.

Qin Ye held up his Judgment Pen. This was… the monarch beast’s breaths.

Just like that, the dense cloud of Yin energy squared off against Qin Ye and Arthis. It was a confrontation between three Infernal Judges.

Thump… thump… Things were so silent and tense that they could all hear their own heartbeats. And then, a split second later, eight startling green eyes suddenly opened up within the dense cloud of Yin energy, and a behemoth rushed out with a loud bang!

ROOOAAAARRR!!!