Yama Rising

Ivantov stood aboard the Pyotr, drifting into it together with the Alkebulan fleet. His mind was already dull and buzzing numbly, and he could no longer see or hear anything clearly.

In the past, they would have been elated to see landfall after sailing for such a long period of time. But now…

It was just any human being’s reaction when they saw Heaven for the very first time. Who would dare look up and gaze at the gods straight in the eye, or openly marvel at the glorious golden gates?

“My Lord…” Just then, the lips of one of his adjutants quivered as he recalled the orders of the Council, “We… we’re here…”

With that, he immediately turned back slightly and hissed as his adjutant, “Have all of the Yin soldiers begin unloading! And forget the damned Council’s orders if you still want to live!”

After approximately 10 minutes of laying prostrate on the ground, a pair of black brocade boots embroidered with patterns of clouds finally appeared in front of him, and a young voice spoke flatly, “Why did you send the Pyotr?”

The voice above responded at once, “Hmm? That’s all?”

Silence.

“Get up. You can do as you please, so long as you keep in mind the rules of this place. Otherwise… the Russian Underworld might well have to call another fleet to pick up the Anglo’s corpse.”

WHOOSH!!! The surface of the waters bubbled violently, transforming into a massive whirlpool that twisted and swirled wildly.

The fleet of ships from the other underworlds had finally arrived, and this was the first time that any of them had seen traces of foreign underworlds. Then, right in the middle of their torturous apprehension, a massive silhouette rushed right out of the whirlpool, followed closely by 20 large ships!

“Ohhhhhhhh!!!” “That’s the Alkebulan fleet and the Russian flotilla?!” “Holy crap! What the hell is that thing? A sea beast? A monster?” “What an eye opener…”

Unlike the festivities in Ashmound City, nobody cheered wildly or screamed at the top of their voices. Instead, there were only brief gasps of shock and surprise. Fortunately, there wasn’t any panic and mad scramble either, because they trusted in the Yin soldiers to keep the peace and maintain the order at the docks. Naturally, there was a solemn atmosphere at the docks, at least until the Yin spirit known as Baron Ivantov kowtowed to the ground and requested an audience with the Emissaries of Hell.

It meant that Hell’s authority extended well beyond the borders, and even to foreign underworlds!

“The Golden Rhino Tribe’s fleet has arrived. We humbly ask the Emissaries of Hell to verify the cargo on board.” A Yin spirit dressed in vibrant colours drifted out of the ship and bowed deeply with his hands cupped respectfully. Everything was done in accordance with the customs of the Cathayans.

Golden Rhino, Sunbird, Lioness, Emerald Wolf, Seema, Hornets, Zawa, Vidala… And the list went on. One by one, a series of names was announced by their corresponding captains in the same respectful fashion. Not a single one dared to speak with even the slightest measure of arrogance.

“Hehe… Cathay is still reeling from the attack of the Eight-Nation Alliance. Who would’ve thought that we’d see a completely different sight here in the netherworld?” An old man stroked his beard with great emotion, “How many years has it been since Cathay has dreamt of becoming a frontrunner of the world once more? And yet, who would’ve thought that the netherworld would actually beat them to it?”

But… was that it?

Just then, the cargo on the ships suddenly lifted themselves into the air, transforming into an entire river of cargo that flew straight towards Ashmound City!

Three seconds later, everyone began to cheer and shout with great joy!

This wasn’t an insignificant action.

Meanwhile, were the foreign Yin spirits afraid?

Unlike the excited workers of Hell, the captains of the foreign vessels reacted with far more restraint. And this was particularly the case for Ivantov, whose tall frame curled up helplessly like a shrimp. He didn’t even want to entertain the thought of fighting with Hell.

“It’s… spectacular…” The second floor of the Yellow Springs Pavilion was already packed full of Yin spirits, all of whom were staring intently at the river of cargo in the skies with gleaming eyes.

And the room was constructed in a tiered fashion, with a main stage located right in the center of the room, and approximately 200 booths cascading outwards in a radial fashion. Every single booth in the room was packed with Yin spirits.

After all, this place was soon going to turn into a battleground!

Meng Zhiming sat on one of the seats, staring at the sight of goods being unloaded from the docks. It was a sight that he had seen countless times back in the mortal realm, but he couldn’t help but feel his heart stirring wildly.

Which company is going to become the next unicorn? Which company is going to disrupt the entire industry and shock the world? This room was the place where everything would go down.

Ashmound City, Heaven’s End Pavilion.

More and more, and denser and denser! The speed of approach of this river of light was frighteningly fast! And then, in less than 10 seconds, every Yin spirit saw clearly what exactly it was. And it was precisely because they did that their hair stood on end.

An endless river of cargo!

BOOM! The ground trembled slightly as the goods rushed straight into Heaven’s End pavilion.

It was almost as though they were afraid that the slightest peep of sound they made would instantly jolt them back from this delightful reverie.

After all, Ashmound City’s output was hardly sufficient to sustain the entire city of Yin spirits. And this meant that only the most privileged in Hell had access to goods not deemed to be essentials to them. But… was there any Yin spirit out there who didn’t want to decorate their own home and make it truly their own?

Sure, they might have been dressed up in their favourite clothes when they passed on, but they would’ve grown sick of them by now, having worn them for well over a year.

For the next ten minutes or so, the river of cargo continued to sort themselves out before flying straight through the windows of Heaven’s End Pavilion. And then… Clatter… Bang! The windows finally shut, and the Yin spirits slowly turned their eyes back towards the main door.

Unfortunately, it was only when they entered that they discovered… they were blocked at the door!

But nobody paid any attention to them.

This is the Heaven’s End Pavilion?!

No. In fact, they had simply extrapolated from their preconceived notions of what an ultra-scale mall was like. But the reality of what they saw was on a completely different level!