Yama Rising

Usonia, New Jersey, S.H.I.E.L.D. branch.

Several men in gray camouflage clothing were seated in the building. Some were reading the newspaper while smoking cigarettes, while others were playing around on their computers in a bored manner. The supernatural disasters in Northern Usonia were quite severe, but the situation wasn't too bad in the major cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, and Philadelphia.

The most severely affected regions were the northernmost part and the central part of Northern Usonia.

Those areas were far away from the political and economic center of the nation, and they didn't receive much attention. Most of Usonia's certified exorcists were gathered there, and as for working at the New Jersey S.H.I.E.L.D. branch, which was situated in the city of Trenton, it was a high-paying job with not much to do.

It was already past 6 PM, but it still wasn't the time where Yin spirits were most active. Hence, the staff in the branch were either playing cards, chatting, or examining their gear, and the atmosphere was far more relaxed than what one would find in a Cathayan Special Investigations Department branch.

Right at this moment, the alarm registered a faint beep, and the room instantly fell silent as all of the exorcists looked up, but quickly turned back to what they were doing again.

This was a very normal occurrence. Occasionally, powerful Yin spirits would pass through the area, and most of the time, they would suddenly appear before disappearing just as quickly. There was no cause for concern as long as these Yin spirits didn't linger in the mortal realm.

However, right as they all turned back to what they were doing, all of the alarms in the room began to screech at full volume! One wave of sound swept through the branch after another, and within the short span of just three seconds, bright red lights were flashing everywhere!

The piercing alarm rang out throughout the entire building, and everyone was rooted to the spot in the face of this abrupt turn of events. Their first reaction was to wonder whether there had been an equipment malfunction in the alarm system.

This was New Jersey! Directly above them were the cities of Philadelphia, Washington DC, and New York! That was the first defensive line of the entire S.H.I.E.L.D. organization, which Yin spirit would dare to come here? Did they have a death wish?

The staff member monitoring the screens was also of the same opinion, yet as soon as he looked up to inspect the screens, his expression instantly stiffened, and his lips began to tremble as the cigarette he was holding in his mouth fell to the ground.

He got up unsteadily while supporting himself by pressing his hands firmly against the table, then stared at the screens in a slack-jawed manner.

"What on earth is going on?" Behind him, all of the exorcists of the New Jersey branch were also looking on with astonished expressions, and it was as if all of them had been transformed into statues.

On the screen, several dozen red dots were currently speeding rapidly toward the largest bay in the state of New Jersey, Delaware Bay. There were only around 60 red dots in total, yet the Yin energy figures on the upper right corner of the screen were climbing at an incredible rate!

One million, ten million, one hundred million, two hundred million, five hundred million, a billion, 1.5 billion, 1.8 billion, two billion!

Someone's cup clattered onto the ground, yet no one paid any heed to that as they stared at the screen like deer staring at headlights.

All of a sudden, an emotionless robotic voice rang out. "Attention! Attention! We are experiencing an S-level supernatural disaster! I repeat: we are experiencing an S-level supernatural disaster! An army with a total sum of Yin energy of 2.018 billion has appeared 100 nautical miles away from Delaware Bay. At their current speed and trajectory, they'll be reaching Delaware Bay in two hours, 12 minutes, and 50 seconds. Note: this army cannot be stopped, notification has already been sent out to all Usonian S.H.I.E.L.D. branches..."

The robotic voice faded here, and everyone shuddered before finally returning to their senses.

"What the hell is going on?!" An overwhelming wave of horror instantly swept over everyone as an exorcist screamed in a panicked voice, "A vengeful spirit army with a total Yin energy sum in excess of two billion?! How is this even possible?!"

"Two billion... My god!"

"Is the underworld attacking the mortal realm?!"

"Request reinforcements right away! Otherwise, New Jersey is going to be wiped out in a single night!!"

Amid the panicked cries and frantic screams, an authoritative voice suddenly rang out. "Be quiet, all of you!"

The door had been flung open, and an elderly man wearing a Usonian military uniform made his way into the room with his hands clasped behind his back, followed by a row of burly and imposing bodyguards in suits.

There was an innate air of authority about him, and he sat down onto a chair as if he were the owner of this place. The bodyguards behind him immediately closed the door, and he held up three fingers in a completely expressionless manner. "Three things: number one, you are not to tell anyone about anything that happens tonight. Those who do so will be charged on the count of compromising national security. Secondly, regardless of where you receive calls from tonight, ignore them and keep them confidential, especially calls for reinforcement from Philadelphia and Cape May."

Everyone was stunned to hear this. They were facing an army with a total sum of Yin energy in excess of two billion, yet they weren't allowed to provide reinforcements...

"Thirdly." The elderly man rose to his feet as he declared, "If you have any questions, you can feel free to ask me. My name is Pikov Williams."

All those who wanted to say something immediately decided to hold their tongue upon hearing this.

Pikov Williams was the head of the entire S.H.I.E.L.D. organization!

Pikov swept his gaze around the room before pointing at the control room. "I'll be in the control room during the next two days."

He then strode into the control room, paying no further heed to all of the stunned staff in the S.H.I.E.L.D. branch. After that, he picked up the phone before dialing a number. "We've done everything you need us to do, but I'm sure you're aware of what you're allowed and not allowed to do. Cape May cannot be destroyed, at least not fully. We won't be able to sweep the destruction of an entire city under the rug. Also, you only have eight hours."

He glanced at his watch before continuing, "You will have from midnight tomorrow night to 8 AM the next day to do what you need to do. If you fail to resolve everything during that time or some unforeseen circumstances arise, resulting in the situation spiraling out of control, then the government will immediately contact the Cathayan, Hindustani, and Aegyptian governments, requesting holy artifacts to resolve the issue."

His voice was cold and forbidding, and he didn't seem to want to speak even an extra syllable to the person on the other side of the line.

Right after his voice trailed off, Brando's voice rang out on the other end of the line. "Of course. After this, the DuPont Consortium and the Rockefeller Consortium will cover all of the S.H.I.E.L.D. organization's holy water and holy silver costs during the next three years with payments to be made quarterly. At the same time, the internal research centers of the Rothschild Family, the Morgan Family, the Mitsui Family, and Daehan's Lee Family will be made accessible to you. This is what we already agreed upon in advance."

Money really is a powerful thing... Pikov heaved an internal sigh.

The Freemasonry hadn't made its wealth and influence felt for quite some time, yet that certainly didn't mean that it had become any less powerful than before.

The package that they were offering to the S.H.I.E.L.D. organization was simply irresistible, and to them, it was as if money were no different from air, with infinite supply and accessibility.

"Remember your promises," Pikov reiterated. "You only have eight hours, after which the government will be stepping in."

He ended the call there.

At this moment, inside the presidential suite that Brando was staying in, the lights were all off, and Brando had already transformed into a massive werewolf in the darkness. His seven eyes were glowing in unison, and he was seated on the sofa with his legs crossed. A wine glass was being gently swirled around in his hand, and Arlot was hanging upside from the ceiling. As Brando set down the phone, Arlot immediately asked, "How did it go?"

"Everything is ready," Brando replied as he stood up before flexing his neck from side to side, making it crack audibly. "Let's begin. It's time to welcome the big finale."

As soon as his voice trailed off, Brando crashed straight through the window before leaping outside.

He rushed up along the smooth walls of the hotel, reaching the top of the hotel in what seemed like the blink of an eye before letting loose a long howl.

His howl seemed to have awakened the darkness within Philadelphia, and countless wolf howls instantly rang out from all directions as one shadowy figure after another emerged from every corner of the city before rushing to the rooftops of the nearby buildings.

"How rude." Inside the suit, Arlot shook his head with a resigned expression as he looked at the shattered remains of the window. He then bit into his own finger, and a drop of blood dripped down onto the ground.

The ground rippled like water, and the drop of blood fell onto it in complete silence.

One minute passed, then two minutes, and Arlot remained standing in the exact same posture.

Three minutes later, a burst of dazzling red light abruptly erupted forth!

The burst of light erupted out of the suite, illuminating the entire hotel. One ancient rune after another appeared within the light, and as the light glowed with dazzling radiance, a signal was sent out to the entirety of Philadelphia as houses and streets lit up one after another.

Right as these runes lit up, Qin Ye suddenly opened his eyes in the underworld.

They've finally made their move!

He then abruptly vanished on the spot, and three seconds later, a man who was in his early thirties with a head of disheveled hair opened his eyes in a hotel room in Philadelphia.

He had always had some reservations about Philadelphia, so the Spatial Spirit had been stationed here this entire time.

He immediately made his way over to the window, then parted the curtains slightly before looking outside, upon which his pupils immediately contracted drastically.

Countless runes had been inscribed all over the city of Philadelphia, but they had been concealed so well that even he had failed to detect them until after all of them had lit up.

Waves of blood-red light were rippling through the air with the hotel at the center, and they were traveling so extremely quickly, rising up from Philadelphia straight up into the heavens!

A gigantic red light barrier had appeared over Philadelphia like an all-encompassing dome, and countless runes were flashing on its surface, sealing the entire city.

"Is this... Lullaby?" Qin Ye stared intently up at the sky through narrowed eyes. He had heard of this array before. It came from Hypnos, the Argosian god of sleep, and the array was capable of warding off all surveillance and reconnaissance efforts. Furthermore, it forced all of the living beings encompassed within the array to enter a state of slumber. So long as the array continued to stand, the state of slumber would also remain, and as a result, the array was also called "Eternal Slumber".

The entirety of Philadelphia had fallen silent as if it were a city of the dead.

Lights were still visible in countless houses in the city, but not a single sound could be heard.

There were no meows or barks from cats and dogs, no chirping from insects, nor blaring from car horns... Every single living being in the entire city had entered a state of slumber from which they couldn't be roused until the array was removed.

"Something big is about to happen in Philadelphia," he murmured to himself with a grim expression.

Otherwise, why would they be going as far as to use Lullaby? What did they want to conceal from the public eye?

Was this the root cause behind his concerns toward Philadelphia? In other words, was this why the four Dukes had remained here this entire time?

Before he had a chance to think through the matter, countless dark clouds flew forth from the roof of the hotel before rushing into all of the houses into the city.

He immediately lied back down in bed without any hesitation, then returned to the underworld.

Those weren't dark clouds, they were bats! Tens of thousands of bats!

Those were all Arlot's underlings! Not only were they using Lullaby, Arlot's underlings had been deployed to conduct surveillance over the entire city!

As soon as Qin Ye returned to the underworld, he looked up with tightly furrowed brows and murmured to himself, "What exactly are they worried about?"

He wasn't sure whether these bats would be sensitive enough to be able to sense Yin energy fluctuations, but if he allowed them to get too close to his host before returning to the underworld, then there was a chance that he could be noticed.

This was one of his hidden trump cards, and unveiling it here for no reason certainly wasn't a good idea.

However, what he was sure of was that there was definitely something in Philadelphia that he still hadn't seen yet.

Right at this moment, Benson rushed over to him, panting heavily as he reported with a serious expression, "Esteemed Yama-King Qin, the Red Eagle Faction is on the move! According to our sources from the east coast of the Usonian Underworld, the Red Eagle Navy is heading toward the west coast at full speed, led by Warlord Dalton and Warlord Erza. Behind them is a massive tsunami, which means that Kraken must be following them!"

Is the final act finally about to begin? The next 24 hours will decide the final outcome...

Qin Ye took a few deep breaths to calm himself down, then turned to Benson and instructed, "Take me to the Great Blue Hole Abyss right now!"

Everything was ready and the show was about to begin.

He had to arrive on the scene as quickly as possible. Otherwise, if he were even the slightest bit late, the grand script of death could be beyond his reach!