Yama Rising

Based on what Sha Xiangzu was saying, it was clear that Qufu… was an incredibly developed city!

“Forty square kilometers?” Qin Ye asked with a burning gaze in his eyes. That was already twice as large as what Hell had initially predicted.

Qin Ye gasped, “Sixty?”

“Eighty?”

A hundred square kilometers!!

We’re no longer just talking about great losses over here… It could practically even be a bloodbath!

This was because they wouldn’t even be able to patrol the streets of a city that size without that many troops around.

Yang Yanzhao, Oda Nobutada, Mu Guiying, and the rest were all deep in thought. None of them were smiling any longer. It was as though the prospects of victory had just slipped completely out of their grasp. Qufu’s development was completely outside of their expectations! Granted, if they were able to take down Qufu, the entire city would be theirs. But besieging a city that size was something far more easily said than done. In fact, it was a mission that was nigh impossible!

“I was the twelfth Judge to join the alliance. I asked the other Judges about Qufu City, but… their answers were completely mind-boggling to me!”

“Reflection Palace?!” Arthis suddenly exclaimed in shock.

Arthis reeled in shock for the next few moments, before slowly murmuring to herself, “How is this possible… How can something like that be with a great sinner of the Confucius Family?”

“It’s able to take a snapshot of one of Hell’s cities, and then reproduce the city in whole at a location of the user’s choice! That’s right… if memory serves me well, this might well be the only object that can possibly cause a city to appear out of thin air! But… an artifact like this wouldn’t even be easily found in the possession of a direct descendent of the Confucius Family, so how could a great sinner of their family have his hands on something as precious as that?!”

“Impossible! The Mythic Palace of Reflections is the only artifact that can achieve such effects!” Arthis responded with categorical determination.

Both Qin Ye and Yang Yanzhao immediately noticed the crux of the matter.

That’s right… This must have been how he landed his hands on the Peach Blossom Lantern in the first place.

“Kong Mo is one thing…” Arthis bit down on her lower lip, “What I’m more concerned about is… which city did he reproduce in Qufu?”

Sha XIangzu frowned deeply for a minute, before finally shaking his head, “It’s too big. I haven’t had the chance to go around the city at all. Whenever we go to Qufu, it’s always for an official reason, and we’d always be escorted to specific locations for our meetings. Kong Mo would never allow us to visit other parts of it… Ah, that’s right!”

“The stone stele is very old ,but there are some words that have been inscribed on the stele. I can’t remember the first two lines, but the latter two lines are… umm… yes, it’s this - Through Elm’s Pass by night, to barren deserts in the morrow.”

Both Qin Ye and Arthis immediately turned to Yang Yanzhao at the same time, “General Yang, you know this?”

“Village Pass?” Qin Ye furrowed his brows. It was an unfamiliar name. But before he could go on any further, Yang Yanzhao promptly stood up and smiled bitterly, “The only reason why I called it the Village Pass is because I hesitate to say its other name. I’m afraid that its other name might… cause us all to feel more hopeless than we already do…”

Yang Yanzhao grew taciturn. Seconds later, after much deliberation, he finally muttered, “Shanhai Pass.”

Qin Ye stared dumbfounded at Yang Yanzhao for three full seconds, before finally responding with great trembling in his voice, “Are you sure?”

Dead silence.

“My Lord!” “Lord Qin!” “Your Excellency!”

“That’s right!” Arthis added with a deep voice, “We’re travelling through the underworld. After ascertaining our position, we’d be able to emerge from within Shanhai Pass itself. Shanhai Pass is a pass designed to keep intruders out. I refuse to believe that its internal defenses are as solid as gold!”

All of the generals stepped forward and cupped their hands earnestly at once.

This was a battle that would dictate the course of Hell’s future. Once they managed to take down Qufu, the returns would be immeasurable. But no matter how hard he tried, he simply couldn’t turn his mind’s fixation away from the terrifying words, ‘Shanhai Pass’!

Granted, it’s true that even a good city requires good soldiers for a proper defence. But… a city like that would undoubtedly have defensive establishments, bunkers, crossbows and bolts, and the like, wouldn’t it?

Gritting his teeth, Qin Ye turned to Sha Xiangzu, “What’s it like within the city walls? How do the industries and amenities look? How many citizens are there? What number of Yin soldiers are we looking at?”

820,000?!

Qin Ye rubbed his temples with a pained expression. The only silver lining was the fact that they had discovered this early on. Otherwise, if Hell’s forces were to discover these things only at the siege of the city itself, they might very well lose their fighting spirit all at once.

“My Lord, there are 820,000 Yin soldiers located in Qufu. Apart from that, the alliance has under its charge another 1,500,000 or so Yin soldiers, and they’re currently…” Sha Xiangzu paused for a moment and gnashed his teeth, “Along the coastal areas of Eastmount Province, duking it out against a monster…”

“How’s the situation there?”

That much is obvious. We’re talking about one of the strongest fighting forces across Cathay after all. It would be more peculiar if Kong Mo weren’t afraid of him in the slightest.

What should I do…

Sha Xiangzu heaved a sigh of relief.

“Take him out.”

But before he could finish speaking, Arthis hair crept all over his body like a poisonous viper, instantly binding up all of his limbs. Sha Xiangzu watched with great astonishment as he was firmly held down. Then, he looked up at Qin Ye and gnashed his teeth, “You’ve tricked me… You’ve deceived me!!”

“But you’ve promised me… You promised not to kill me!!” Sha Xiangzu screamed hysterically.

“You…” “I’ve only asked you whether you were willing to accept Hell’s conferment of title, didn’t I? Are you deaf? Can you really say I haven’t held up my end of the bargain?”

Unfortunately, Sha Xiangzu’s mouth was already completely sealed by Arthis’ hair. He stared at Qin Ye with bloodshot eyes, making whimpering sounds as his body trembled profusely.

Then, he leaned over and whispered in Sha Xiangzu’s ear, “Remember, there’s only one place for the evildoers in Hell.”

“Do you think you can get away with death after committing the crime of genocide? Far be it from that. All evil that goes unpunished in the mortal realm shall be paid in full in Hell. Don’t you still recall the slew of unsolved murder mysteries with headless victims? That’s great…”

“Drag him out and subject him to the sky lantern punishment.”

1. This is a loose translation of the poem that reads 前驱皆大将,列阵尽元戎。夜出榆关外,朝看朔漠空.

2. It’s one of the major passes of the Great Wall of China.