Yama Rising

It was 12 AM, midnight.

On the eastern outskirts of Philadelphia stood a two-story ancient Europa-style building. It had been constructed in a very pronounced Gothic style, and it had clearly already existed for a very long time. Its walls were crawling with ivy, and it was situated in a forest, giving it a holy and regal appearance.

Any Usonian who stood here would be struck by a sense of reverence and veneration. This was none other than the vastly renowned Independence Hall of Usonia, ranked behind only the Statue of Liberty among Usonia's top 10 landmarks.

Several hundred years ago, it was here that the first Usonian president, George Washington, read out the monumental Declaration of Independence. Due to the historic significance of the city, there was an unspoken rule among all powers that Philadelphia was not to be encroached upon.

However, this rule only applied to Usonians and non-humans. At this moment, there were two figures currently standing in the bell tower at the top of Independence Hall. The ground beneath their feet was paved from stone, and there was a staircase that was leading upward, but it had been sealed shut. Four panels of glass that were tinted white were situated all around the huge bell, which didn't obstruct the vision of the two figures in the slightest.

Normally, no one would come here, and this place was off-limits. This was one of the places that the Usonian government absolutely wouldn't allow to be defiled. However, a Yama-King from the Cathayan Underworld naturally didn't care about any of that. In fact, the fact that this place was viewed as sacred and off-limits made it the perfect hiding spot for him.

"There are a total of four Yin Yang Mezzanines in Philadelphia that lead to the underworld," Benson said as he spread open a map.

Qin Ye was standing right beside him, and he nodded with a serious expression.

Upon his arrival in Philadelphia, there had only been around a month left until the conclusion of the grand script of death. 20 days had already passed since then, so at the very most, he would only have about 11 or 12 days left.

He cast his gaze out of the bell tower at the rest of the city.

It was nighttime, and the streets were completely deserted due to the supernatural disasters taking place. The only sources of light came from the street lamps and the televisions flashing in apartments, presenting a very eerie scene to behold.

Who knew what kind of chaos the city would descend into in 12 days' time?

Even standing in the bell tower, Qin Ye could sense the terrifying Yin energy brewing within Philadelphia. The Yin energy was converging from all directions, enshrouding the entire city in dark clouds for the duration of a month. The light of the moon and the stars were completely concealed, setting the scene for the chaos that was about to unfold.

It was so quiet that one couldn't help but feel uneasy, and it was a very oppressive environment to be in.

Benson wanted to keep talking, but didn't receive a response from Qin Ye as he had expected. He turned to Qin Ye with a puzzled expression, then cast his gaze toward the same direction that Qin Ye was looking in.

THere was nothing out of the ordinary there, yet just as he was about to withdraw his gaze, he suddenly sprang up as if he had been zapped by electricity, then slid down onto the ground with his back against the wall as his body trembled uncontrollably.

Right as this gaze was passing over a certain hotel, he sensed the Yin energy of two incredibly fearsome beings, standing before him like an insurmountable mountain.

The Yin energy was indescribably vast, and normal Yin spirits could only worship and revere.

"Th, th, th, those are Dukes..." He was stuttering from horror. "Two of them!!"

No, there's not just two Dukes...

Boundless Yin energy was swirling around them, forming a formidable sea. It was like the most nightmarish scene imaginable, the very definition of hell on earth!

This was once the capital of Usonia, but it was currently a battlefield rife with demons and monsters!

"Rest assured," Qin Ye said in a calm voice, "The death gods of the four pillars are different from other death gods."

Strictly speaking, it was the death gods ruling over major underworlds that were different from other death gods. Unless one such ruler death god unleashed an all-out Yin energy eruption, it would be very difficult for other death gods to detect them. In addition to that, the bell tower of the Independence Hall was the perfect hiding spot, so it was very unlikely that anyone would find them here.

This was his main advantage.

The second advantage that he had was the fact that his Dusk Legionnaire was an extremely stealthy unit that could do a lot of work for him.

This was the final period of peace before the storm, and the next 12 days were to decide whether it was Qin Ye who was going to be fast enough to intercept the grand script of death or whether it was his opposition that was going to be powerful enough to keep him at bay.

He took a moment to calm himself down, then drew the map into his own grasp and began to carefully inspect it.

He couldn't afford to rush, he had to be careful, careful, and more careful in order to spot every possible flaw or oversight in the plan. Otherwise, no matter how well the plan was executed, his failure would be decided from the outset if the plan itself were flawed to begin with.

The map had been drawn by the resistance army a day ago, and it was already the day after the day he had arrived in the settlement of the resistance army. As soon as the map was ready, he didn't delay in the slightest and immediately arrived at Philadelphia, where the final showdown was going to take place.

Five minutes ticked past, then 10 minutes, then 15 minutes... As he carefully scrutinized the map, the layout of Philadelphia began to surface in his mind. 20 minutes later, his brows furrowed slightly as he fell into deep thought.

Something's wrong here...

Several minutes later, he spread the map open and focused on a few areas annotated in red as he murmured to himself, "Firstly, looking at this from the church's standpoint, the Freemasonry is a sworn enemy. On this occasion, they're only collaborating with the Freemasonry as they've folded to the Freemasonry's vast wealth and influence. At the very most, all they'll be willing to do is follow the agreement and unleash the Spear of Longinus at the right time, but they certainly won't go above and beyond to assist the three death gods of the Caribbean."

Qin Ye cast his gaze toward Benson. He had given Benson a rough idea of what he was trying to do. After all, he couldn't just make Benson go into this completely blind as there would undoubtedly be many occasions where Benson would have to exercise autonomy when leading his troops.

Benson nodded in response. "I agree. If I were in the church's shoes, that would indeed be my stance in this matter."

He didn't think it was unnecessary for Qin Ye to be considering what the church was thinking. In this tumultuous storm concerning multiple powerful parties, it was important to consider the thoughts and motives of all parties as ignoring these details could lead to a failure to consider many possible scenarios that could arise. With so many incredibly powerful beings, any oversight on their part could easily spell death for them, and Qin Ye certainly didn't want to see that happen.

If he could succeed here, he would be able to obtain a floating fortress as large as a city, resolve the issue concerning the next international conference to be held by the Cathayan Underworld, and intercept the grand script of death. Any one of these rewards alone would already be enough to warrant his involvement here.

"It sounds like there are no issues, but how is Kraken supposed to come up?" Qin Ye asked with narrowed eyes as he pointed at four of the red spots on the map.

Benson's brows also furrowed slightly upon hearing this.

Indeed, Kraken was still in the underworld at this point. A certain fleet was dragging Tezcatlipoca's heart behind them, leading Kraken on a wild goose chase, and Kraken wasn't going to be led up to the mortal realm until the conclusion of the grand script of death. However, there arose an issue: which Yin Yang Mezzanine would be massive enough to allow a gargantuan creature like Kraken to pass through?

"The largest Yin Yang Mezzanine in Philadelphia is only around 50 meters in size... That's not even enough for one of Kraken's tentacles to pass through!" Benson mused.

Qin Ye stroked his own chin as he murmured, "That's not the only problem here. According to my research, the Spear of Longinus is indeed an exceptionally powerful divine artifact, but it can only ensure the death of its target if it manages to pierce into their body. Kraken's far too massive to fit through any of the Yin Yang Mezzanines here. Even the Delaware River would only just be able to contain one of its tentacles, but piercing the spear into one of Kraken's tentacles alone won't be enough to kill it. If it doesn't die, the Slumber of the Stars and the Sea won't be able to come into existence. As a result, they won't be able to perform a divine miracle, and the entire grand script of death would fail."

All of a sudden, a thought occurred to both of them, and they immediately met as Benson said in a trembling voice, "Could it be that Philadelphia is only a distraction? Is Kraken actually going to be appearing elsewhere?"

Even the most careful and meticulous of individuals wouldn't have been able to think of these problems had they not had a map to consult. With so many powerful forces gathered in Philadelphia, who could've possibly imagined that the city would only be acting as a decoy?

A sense of elation welled up in Benson's heart. This meant that there was a very good chance that he and his troops would survive. However, he then immediately banished the thought.

Their objective was to assist Qin Ye to the best of their abilities, not to prioritize survival above all else.

If he were to display too much joy here, he would only incur displeasure from Qin Ye, and that could result in catastrophic consequences for the resistance army. After a few seconds of silence, he asked, "Are you sure about that?"

Qin Ye's hands were clasped behind his back as he paced back and forth in the bell tower.

He placed his hand on the bell as he contemplated the situation. He knew that the decision he was going to make next was going to have a decisive impact on the outcome of this mission. It was obviously safest to stay here, but risk and reward always came hand in hand.

Several minutes later, he pursed his lips as he mused, "There's a very good chance that this is the case. The purpose of Philadelphia has already been fulfilled. The city was once where Tezcatlipoca had been held captive, and according to the Freemasonry's original plan, the three death gods of the Caribbean would've had a chance to obtain Tezcatlipoca's divine arts and inheritance if they had attained godhood here. Otherwise, all they would have would be Duke level power, but they wouldn't know any divine arts. Even if they were to successfully attain godhood, they would only be at the very bottom of the death god pecking order, perhaps even inferior to the mythic spirits of the Alkebulan Underworlds."

He withdrew his hand from the bell as he continued, "Philadelphia has already lost its purpose, but our opposition is trying to make it useful again. They're continuing to raise the stakes in Philadelphia, trying to lure potential enemies like myself into focusing all of my attention on Philadelphia, thereby overlooking the true location where the grand script of death is going to unfold. Benson!"

"Yes, Esteemed Yama-King Qin!" Benson immediately replied.

"Conduct a search right away to see if there are larger Yin Yang Mezzanines around Philadelphia, I'm talking about the type that's large enough to grant passage to the likes of a creature like Kraken! If such a Yin Yang Mezzanine exists, then Philadelphia definitely wouldn't be the place we need to be focusing on. Also, during your search, make sure to pay special attention to the sea."

Benson's mouth gaped open slightly as he replied, "There's no need to conduct a search, esteemed Yama-King Qin."

He was completely in awe of Qin Ye's deductive abilities as he continued, "The Delaware River leads straight to Delaware Bay, which is home to the largest Yin Yang Mezzanines on the entire new continent, the Delaware Great Blue Hole Abyss!"

He quickly spread open the map before pointing at a certain spot on it. "The Delaware Great Blue Hole is the largest of its kind in the entire underworld with a radius of 437.326 kilometers! Even two Krakens could fit through it at a squeeze, let alone one!"

That's it!

Benson continued, "Legend has it that a god once perished there. It's been around ever since the new continent came into existence, and no one knows how it was created. However, there are close to 50,000 troops stationed around it. It's the largest Yin Yang Mezzanine that leads to the mortal realm, and we once considered traveling through it to the mortal realm, but it was too difficult for us in the end."

Qin Ye nodded slightly upon hearing this.

It may be difficult for you, but it's no problem at all for Kraken!

Even if this piece of news were to be reported to Mictlantecutli and Mictetikasiwa, there was no way that they would be interested in battling one of the six kings in the mortal realm at a time like this. In fact, there was a very good chance that they would even prohibit the death gods under them from participating in this event as well!

Hence, regardless of what happened in the mortal realm, they would refuse to get involved, and with that example set by them, the other death gods wouldn't investigate this matter, either.

"What a brilliant plan. They haven't bothered to conceal anything, but it makes no difference in the end. It really does look like no death gods can be underestimated," Qin Ye mused. "What is the closest corresponding city in the mortal realm to that place?"

"That would be Cape May and Dover!"