Yama Rising

The tsunami had risen.

One wave after another was crashing over the world stage. No more than a week after the first press conference, the Cathayan Underworld held its second press conference.

In the beginning, everyone had thought that this was only a foreign affairs incident, but in the short span of just a month, it had escalated to a dangerous extent. The Cathayan Underworld's voice was growing louder and louder, and its stance was becoming more and more aggressive. At this point, all of the death gods had already realized that something massive was about to happen in the Asia-Pacific.

However, even after repeatedly reading through all of the reports on the major international events to have taken place this year, none of the death gods were able to gather any useful information, so all they could do was focus their attention on this press conference.

In the spacious conference hall, Geng Lijun declared, "... We are issuing yet another warning to the Nipponese Underworld. There is a limit to the Cathayan Underworld's patience! Do not think that you can just hide the truth by remaining silent! The Nipponese Underworld has ignored the Cathayan Underworld's statements over and over again, and the Cathayan Underworld has decided that if no satisfactory resolution is reached in two weeks, then it will be levying sanctions against the Nipponese Underworld."

A massive stir ran through the entire conference hall, and everyone was stunned by what they had just heard.

The wording was so severe that it didn't just seem like sanctions anymore.

Amid the silence, a reporter raised his hand, and Geng Lijun made an inviting hand gesture toward him, upon which the reporter rose to his feet and said, "Esteemed spokesperson of the Cathayan Underworld, we noticed that the Cathayan Underworld seems to be extremely displeased with the Nipponese Underworld at the moment."

Geng Lijun raised a hand to stop him, then said, "Correction: we are already at the end of our patience. We cannot tolerate being disrespected like this any longer, and it's imperative that the Nipponese Underworld responds to the situation."

The reporter nodded in response before immediately continuing, "But from my knowledge, the Cathayan Underworld doesn't seem to have established any foreign affairs pathways with the Nipponese Underworld, and according to my sources, the Cathayan Underworld has repeatedly turned down the Nipponese Underworld's requests for a joint investigation. In fact, there are envoys from the Nipponese Underworld detained in the Cathayan Underworld right as we speak. If all connections between the two nations have already been severed, how can the issue be resolved?"

Geng Lijun adjusted his own glasses before replying in a calm voice, "The Cathayan Underworld has severed all ties with the Nipponese Underworld as we do not want to see Nipponese armed forces enter our territory again. As for a joint investigation, why is that an arrangement that the Cathayan Underworld needs to accept? We already hold indisputable evidence in our hands. All the Nipponese Underworld needs to do is find out where the ship was built, whose soldiers were on the ship, and who issued the order for the deployment of the troops. How does that have anything to do with the Nipponese Underworld? We do not need to cooperate with the Nipponese Underworld, this should be an investigation that they launch by themselves. So long as this incident remains unresolved, ties between the two nations will continue to be severed!"

Unbeknownst to everyone, despite the calm display he was putting on, his hands were trembling beneath the lectern.

He knew that there were only two weeks left until the date of the official deployment of troops!

As soon as the reporter sat down, another one immediately stood up to replace him. "I noticed that the Cathayan Underworld has mentioned levying sanctions against the Nipponese Underworld on multiple occasions. May I ask what these sanctions entail?"

"They encompass military, foreign affairs, and economic sanctions, of course," Geng Lijun replied in a serious voice. "Allow me to reiterate this: the Nipponese Underworld has sent armed forces into our territory without permission! They have chosen to trample over the authority of the Cathayan Underworld, and this is an act of war! The Cathayan Underworld will never tolerate acts of provocation like this!"

The live broadcast of this press conference could be seen all over the world.

At the Argosian Underworld.

Hypnos was sitting on a sofa, watching the television with furrowed brows. Several other underworld emissaries were seated in silence at the round table before him.

The broadcast drew to a conclusion, and Hypnos massaged his own glabella as he asked, "What do you all think?"

"They're being far too aggressive, inexplicably so," one of the underworld emissaries replied. "According to what we've gathered, the Cathayan Underworld is holding all of the evidence and not giving the Nipponese Underworld a chance to deny the accusations. It's clear that they're determined to strike at the Nipponese Underworld."

"That's all obvious," Hypnos said as he picked up his teacup before taking a sip. "Every time the Cathayan Underworld has made a statement on this matter, they've mentioned the possibility of levying severe sanctions, and on no occasion have they ever denied the possibility of military sanctions. Do you think the Cathayan Underworld will actually attack the Nipponese Underworld."

Only after two full minutes of silence did Archimedes reply, "It's actually... not impossible. I only realized this just now, but the Cathayan Underworld has turned down all of the three pillars' invitations to discuss this incident, and their wording has been extremely severe. It's like they're determined to pin the label of invaders onto the Nipponese Underworld. If you think about it, why would they want to do that? It's because if the label sticks, then the Cathayan Underworld's retaliation through military means will be categorized as self defense!"

"Aren't you overthinking things?" another underworld emissary countered. "In this day and age, any nation that dares to start a war will be sanctioned by the entire world! The price is too heavy to pay! Why would the Cathayan Underworld do this?"

Hypnos's expression changed slightly upon hearing this. Something had just occurred to him upon hearing the words "sanctioned by the entire world".

How was the rest of the world going to sanction the Cathayan Underworld?

The price of the new energy resource had been dropping for several consecutive years, and the patents were still being held by the Cathayan Underworld, so no one could do anything to them.

A sense of growing unease was beginning to well up in his heart, and he took a large gulp of coffee before rising to his feet. "Where is Erinys? Get her to take the Golden Fleet to the Strait of Tsushima right away! I'm going to contact Yamaraja and Izanami."

"Yes!"

There was nothing in this world that could be completely concealed. During the past few months, a tsunami had continuously been brewing in the Cathayan Underworld, and now that it was about to strike, it was inevitable that some signs would be revealed.

However, those signs weren't enough to make the rest of the world think that the Cathayan Underworld was going to initiate a war to bring down a nation.

If they were to do that, they would be attacked by the entire world!

However, there was still a lingering sense of unease on the international stage. During the following two weeks, all of the death gods across the world made their attitudes known, expressing a desire to see a peaceful resolution to the Asia-Pacific incident, and the Nipponese Underworld was holding a press conference once every three days, bringing out all types of evidence to prove their innocence.

A week later, the Argosian Underworld, the Aegyptian Underworld, and the Hindustani Underworld also stepped forward one after another.

"I think this is just a diplomatic incident. While it's true that the Nipponese Underworld is primarily at fault here, the Cathayan Underworld's treatment of this matter has not been conducive to achieving a peaceful resolution at all. We want the Asia-Pacific to remain peaceful, and we think that this matter can be resolved through peaceful means of negotiation." - Thanatos.

"The Cathayan Underworld and the Nipponese Underworld are the only two underworlds that still remain in Eastern Asia, and the two should be regarding one another as close allies. These two underworlds have had extensive trade and diplomatic relationships, and it would be far too unfortunate if this collaborative relationship that has lasted over 1,000 years were to be severed as a result of this diplomatic incident. I hope to be able to do my part in contributing to a peaceful resolution in this matter." - Anubis.

"The esteemed ruler of the Hindustani Underworld, Yamaraja, has already contacted the esteemed ruler of the Cathayan Underworld, Yanluo Qin. Their conversation lasted over half an hour, and we are currently awaiting confirmation from the Cathayan Underworld. Once permission is issued by the Cathayan Underworld, the Hindustani Underworld will immediately hold a meeting between the leaders of the Cathayan, Hindustani, and Nipponese Underworlds to discuss a resolution to this major diplomatic incident." - The Ganges Daily.

The three pillars had made their voices heard, but the only response that they received was a fourth press conference held by the Cathayan Underworld.

"We are unsure of why the three pillars have determined this incident to be a diplomatic incident. In our eyes, this is a precursor for more sinister measures to be taken by the Nipponese Underworld against the Cathayan Underworld! Nippon has done the exact same thing in the mortal realm, and it cannot be trusted. The Cathayan Underworld reserves the right to determine whether this is a diplomatic incident or not. We do not need other nations categorizing things for us!"

This was the final response from the Cathayan Underworld. During the subsequent week, the Cathayan Underworld didn't release any further public announcements no matter how the rest of the world tried to mediate the conflict.

This was very much the calm before the storm.

……………………………………………………

At the Hanyang Underworld.

The entire city was already up in arms with countless soldiers standing on lookout all over the city. After several years of expansion and renovation, it was as resolute as a stronghold. Within the stronghold were countless rivers, and each river had rows of treasure ships berthed on them.

There were even more Yin soldiers inside the stronghold. At this point, a million Yin soldiers had already been gathered!

The entire Hanyang Fortress was brightly lit day and night, and all of the Yin soldiers were training every single day. At the moment, it was 12 AM, the most relaxed time of the Yin soldiers' schedule.

Inside a barrack, a middle-aged man fanned out a series of cards with a wide smile on his face. "Three to 10 straight."

The other two players rolled their eyes in unison upon seeing this.

"Pass."

"Pass."

"10 to Ace straight."

"Bullshit!"

"How do you have so many straights?!"

The round was quickly over, and the middle-aged man accepted a few dragon jade for his efforts. "Thank you! Let's play again!"

Right at this moment, the sound of urgent footsteps rang out downstairs, and the middle-aged man was in the process of shuffling the cards when he raised his eyebrows with a surprised expression. "What's going on? Are we going into battle?"

"I doubt it!" one of the other players scoffed. "I joined the army because I wanted a piece of the Nipponese Underworld. It's been a few months since then, and we haven't done anything!"

"It's probably just an act of intimidation." The other player handed him a cigarette as he said, "It's just like what Cathay was doing to Formosa in the mortal realm. It's just not realistic to start a war in this day and age. We're currently in a peaceful era, so I doubt we'll be seeing any wars anytime soon. Hell has already collapsed once, and we only have a handful of Yama-Kings at the moment. Don't you remember back in university that they taught us that all of the other three pillars and even large alliances like the Northern Europa nations have no fewer Yama-Kings than we do? How are we supposed to start a war under these circumstances? If we take a swipe at the Nipponese Underworld, the Hindustani Underworld and the Russian Underworld are definitely going to step in. If we want to initiate this war, then we'll make the entire world our enemy, and we don't have the power to do that yet."

All of a sudden, the door was flung open violently, and a Yin soldier strode into the room.

"Captain!" The three Yin soldiers immediately stood up, and only now did they realize that their captain was fully suited up in armor.

"Put on your armor and gather on the drill grounds! If you're not there within 10 minutes, prepare to be executed!"

After that, he immediately turned and departed. The three Yin soldiers faltered slightly before immediately putting on their armor.

By the time they arrived at the drill grounds, they discovered that the entire city had already erupted into a flurry of activity.

Beams of red light were shining up from down below, staining the entire sky a blood-red color. One cavalier after another was rapidly rushing toward a certain direction on the roads outside the barracks, and behind them was a long line of beast-drawn carriages carrying military supplies.

A sense of excitement began to well up in the hearts of all of the Yin soldiers upon seeing this.

Is it finally about to begin? Is this just a drill, or are we going into battle?

Right at this moment, the captain yelled, "This is not a drill!"

He was just as excited as the soldiers as he roared, "The third company of the 17th battalion is fully assembled! We march for Nagasaki!"