Yama Rising

Unfortunately, not all effort was rewarded in this world.

The three Caribbean death gods looked on in despair as the light of worship passed them by, then began to rapidly revolve around Qin Ye. This was the power of worship from the hundreds of thousands of followers that they had painstakingly gathered over the course of a century!

Thud... Leoric's legs gave out from under him, and he fell to his knees as he looked on in despair at the light of worship passing directly through his body. Several seconds later, he abruptly swung around as he roared like a madman, "Why?! You're the ruler of one of the four pillars, you already have everything!! Do you fear us that much? Are you that afraid to us rise up through the ranks?!"

His voice was filled with burning jealousy and killing intent, but he could only look on helplessly as the light of worship formed a vortex around Qin Ye that was constantly expanding. Qin Ye had already closed his eyes and was hovering up into the air as if he were completely weightless, and he replied in a mocking voice, "As a death god, you are truly incredibly naive. If you're weak, then you're going to be oppressed. It's simple, and that's how the world has always been. Back when Cathay was being invaded left, right, and center in the mortal realm, did we ever expect anyone to take pity on us?"

As soon as his voice trailed off, the light of worship rapidly converged toward the center, forming a scintillating sun in the dark night and enveloping Qin Ye in a massive cocoon of light that was hovering in mid-air.

Inside the cocoon of light, Qin Ye's Yin energy was rapidly spreading across the new continent, rapidly encroaching upon the power of the existing death gods on the new continent.

In that instant, Mictlantecutli, Mictetikasiwa, Xolotl, Ah Puch, and Supay all sensed what was happening, and they turned toward the direction of Philadelphia with incredulous expressions in unison. Of course, Brando, Leoric, Akana, and Zerens were also staring intently at the scene unfolding before them.

This was their power of worship! They had prepared painstakingly for over 100 years, only to fall catastrophically at the final hurdle.

Right at this moment, a resounding boom rang out, and a burst of vast Yin energy erupted out of the cocoon of light. The Yin energy was far above the nascent Yama-King level, and it was so vast and powerful that the three Caribbean death gods were forced involuntarily to their knees.

There was simply far too massive a disparity in power, and even though they wanted nothing more than to tear this man to shreds, they couldn't help but kneel and kowtow to him.

"I curse you! With every fiber of my being, I curse you!!" The enormous Yin energy was like a mountain weighing down upon Akana, and she couldn't even raise her head under its immense weight.

"I wish the most painful of deaths upon you!!" Zerens's entire body was being crushed into the earth by the enormous power of worship, but he still raised his head with all his might to glower directly at Qin Ye with bloodshot eyes.

However, the only sight that they were greeted by was that of the cocoon of light slowly revolving in mid-air, sending waves of resplendent light surging in all directions like shockwaves that spread through the entire city.

Qin Ye couldn't see any of this right now.

In the instant that he was enveloped by the cocoon of worship, his heart was filled with excitement. As a nascent Yama-King, he was powerful enough to ensure self-preservation, but the full extent of his ambitions lied far beyond that!

Thinking back to the steps that he had taken to become a Yama-King, none of the steps that he had taken had been defensive or passive. He had worked relentlessly and managed to chip away at even the most resolute of fortresses to get what he wanted.

I've finally become a mid Yama-King... The three death gods of the Caribbean have taken advantage of the chaos in the new continent to weave a massive plot during the past century, but all of their work has benefitted me now...

All of these thoughts quickly began to fade as the sound of devout prayers washed over him in waves one after another from all directions, and soon, he entered a peculiar tranquil state.

He felt as if he could see one face after another flashing before his eyes, and he saw just how the three death gods of the Caribbean had earned their followers. It was very simple. The Caribbean Sea was situated at the center of Northern Usonia and Southern Usonia, making it a natural fish farm. There were countless companies and fishermen there that depended on the sea for their survival.

However, the sea was an unforgiving place, and accidents often happened. Throughout the past century, the three death gods of the Caribbean had performed countless "divine miracles" with the assistance of the Freemasonry, which included occasionally saving a fishing boat or chasing fish to places where they could be easily caught. Thus, over time, everyone came to know of the name of Dax in Central Usonia. It could be said that the religion of Dax was far more popular than even Catholicism in Central Usonian nations such as Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, Panama, Costa Rica, Cuba, and Jamaica.

"I see..." Amid the sea of prayers, Qin Ye's heart was as calm as a still lake, and he could feel his own soul rising up out of his body to look at the world of worship around him.

"Northern Usonia is one of the main parishes of Catholicism. The religion of Dax was unable to stake a foothold there, so it chose to establish itself in Central Usonia, where there were many religions present, then slowly extend their influence toward Northern Usonia and Southern Usonia, using the sea to spread their faith. Humans are pragmatic creatures, they'll be inclined to worship gods who have actually benefited them. Central Usonian nations aren't developed nations like those in Northern Usonia. In the former, there were far more people fighting for their survival rather than searching for psychological pillars."

He swept his gaze over the countless faces around him. There were people from all genders, ages, and ethnicities, and they were all knelt on the ground in a devout manner with their palms joined together, praying in reverence and worship.

The tens of thousands of followers who had come to Cape May were the most devout of all of the followers, and there were many more followers elsewhere who were unable to make it here.

They were the ones who had paved the way for Qin Ye's breakthrough to the Mid Yama-King level.

"Almighty Lord Dax, please grant me a bountiful school of fish when I go out to sea next..."

"Esteemed Lord Dax, please let there be good weather during my next voyage..."

Every single one of those prayers was tugging at his heartstrings, and he slowly closed his eyes as he declared in a gentle voice, "In the name of the Slumber of the Stars and the Sea, I grant all of your prayers."

His voice echoed throughout the entire world of worship, and all of the praying followers instantly raised their heads with astonished expressions.

Many of them looked around with surprised expressions, and only after a long while did they withdraw their gaze and kowtow respectfully toward the direction that Qin Ye was situated in. Meanwhile, Qin Ye had involuntarily raised his hand, and dazzling white light abruptly erupted out of his fingertips, instantly inundating him in resplendent white radiance.

It was holy and warm.

Qin Ye closed his eyes in a blissful manner. He had already experienced this feeling on several occasions in the past, so it was already very familiar to him, and all he had to do now was wait.

……………………………………………………

After what seemed like an eternity, a rift finally appeared on the cocoon of light, which was around three to four meters in size. Immediately thereafter, a burst of dazzling white light erupted straight into the sky, and in the next instant, boundless white light began to slowly seep out of the rift as well.

The three death gods of the Caribbean closed their eyes with despairing expressions, and Brando heaved a long sigh with a forlorn shake of his head.

It's over... It's all over...

At this point, the situation was completely unsalvageable, and what he had to think about now was how to explain himself during the conference between elders.

The Freemasonry had lost billions of dollars and owed multiple parties massive favors, and it was all his and Arlot's fault. Arlot was most likely already in a state of slumber at this point, so he would have to face all of the other furious elders alone.

Crack... Crack... The cocoon of light fell away piece by piece before disintegrating into a flurry of pristine white butterflies, following which a tall figure was revealed.

It wasn't Qin Ye.

Well, it was Qin Ye, at least the soul belonged to Qin Ye, but the outward appearance was completely different.

He had the appearance of a native Usonian with a dark complexion, and his head was entirely concealed under his cloak. Only the lower half of his face was visible, thereby revealing his complexion and some complex patterns etched on his skin.

He was wearing a long black cloak with a skeletal raven perched on his shoulder. The raven had sporadic black feathers and a pair of blood-red eyes, and it was somehow existing despite its lack of flesh and organs.

There was a giant scythe resting on his shoulder, and no feet were visible beneath his cloak as he hovered in mid-air. Furthermore, the hands that extended out of the sleeves of his cloak were skeletal hands.

Boundless Yin energy was drifting out of his body, but there was nothing evil or sinister about his appearance. Instead, he was like a god who oversaw the natural order, and in his presence, one would inevitably be struck by a sense of awe and veneration.

I was planning to stake a claim on Usonia through the Plumed Serpent God, then take advantage of the war that's inevitably going to take place on the new continent in the future, but I don't have to count on him anymore now!

There were far too many benefits to this!

The new continent was a ticking time bomb that could explode at any moment. Once Mictlantecutli and Mictetikasiwa passed away, the major death gods on the new continent would be certain to wage war against one another in order to claim ultimate ownership over the continent.

As for the four pillars, they were undoubtedly going to get involved as well.

The main obstacle for an underworld trying to conquer another underworld was that when waging war on a territory with another main religion, one's powers would be diminished by 10% to 20%, thereby placing the invading nation at an inherent disadvantage. Even the weakest of death gods would do everything in their power to protect their underworld, and it was not always an easy task to conquer another nation.

From this moment forth, the Cathayan Underworld wouldn't have to suffer that disadvantage anymore because its King Yanluo was also a death god in Usonia and had countless followers!

Of course, he still couldn't even begin to compare with the influence of Catholicism in Northern Usonia. The followers of Catholicism numbered in the hundreds of millions, while his followers numbered in the hundreds of thousands at the very most. However, Central Usonia was an extremely important place! It was the ribbon that connected Northern Usonia and Southern Usonia, and he would be made aware as soon as anyone tried to access those two continents! Despite his relatively small influence, the location at which his influence was most concentrated was not far from ideal!

"However..." A smile appeared on his face as he tightened his grip around his scythe. "Dax is an extremely weak deity. Its faith is built solely upon its followers, and this is the stronghold of the three Caribbean death gods, so there's no way that they'd allow Dax to exist. They're definitely going to do everything in their power to defame and slander Dax, perhaps even creating another legend in the process."

He turned to the three Caribbean death gods, who were kneeling on the ground in silence, and continued, "So it's best for you three to die."

He turned to Zhao Yun and instructed, "General Zhao, take them to see Mictlantecutli and Mictetikasiwa."

He had to have full control over the Caribbean Sea!

This was going to be the foundation from which the Cathayan Underworld would take advantage of the chaos that would sweep over the new continent in the future!

"Yes, Lord Qin!" Zhao Yun replied, and in the next instant, his Courage of Dragons Silver Spear shot forth like a bolt of silver lightning directly toward the three death gods of the Caribbean!