Yama Rising

"Why?!" Akana raised her head with all her might upon hearing this, and she screamed in a furious and broken voice, "You've already won and taken everything from us! Why are you still intent on taking our lives?!"

Qin Ye didn't even bother to reply.

Why? You're too close to the birthplace of my new religion, that's why!

"You can't do this!" Zerens roared in a furious voice while panting heavily. "It's against international regulations to kill death gods with autonomous jurisdiction power! We created the Caribbean civilization!"

Qin Ye almost laughed out loud upon hearing this.

It was no wonder that these idiots could only cower in the Caribbean Sea. How had the nameless god of death conquered Outer Mongolia? He had deployed troops there without any warning.

Had the Mongolian Underworld not requested reinforcements? No one had responded to them!

These three were just a trio of pirates from the Caribbean Sea. Back then, Mongke Tengri had already been an established deity, yet he had been destroyed just like that, let alone Death God Dax, who didn't even exist.

Oh wait, I'm Dax now, aren't I?

As for their claims of founding the Caribbean civilization, it had been a long time since Qin Ye had heard such a funny joke. This place belonged to the Aztecs and Incas, what claim did they have on anything?

Qin Ye was certain that even if the other death gods knew that it was him who had done this, they would all turn a blind eye anyway. Back when Usonian had sentenced the President of Iraq to death, which nations had actually taken substantial measures to condemn Usonia? They only "admonished" Usonia after the event, and it didn't take a genius to figure out that all that was just for show.

The underworlds were no different from the nations of the mortal realm, and in this case, the Cathayan Underworld was in the same position that Usonia in the mortal realm had been in.

Zhao Yun faltered slightly upon hearing what the three death gods of the Caribbean had to say, but Qin Ye remained completely unmoved as he instructed, "Kill them."

"No... No!!!" In the face of life-threatening danger, netherfire erupted violently from the bodies of the three Caribbean death gods as they implored in trembling voices, "No, please! We can serve you! We can... Arrrrgh!"

The Courage of Dragons Silver Spear had already reached them, and it was imbued with such immense power that the space before it was shattering layer by layer. The bodies of the three death gods were disintegrating at a rate discernible even to the naked eye, yet just as Qin Ye shook his head and was about to turn away, he suddenly faltered slightly before abruptly turning back to face the three Caribbean death gods.

Zhao Yun was also quite taken aback by what had just unfolded.

A figure had appeared in front of the three Caribbean death gods and grabbed onto the Courage of Dragons Silver Spear!

No one had seen how this figure had appeared, it was as if they had instantaneously teleported here without any warning. It was as if they were free to come and go anywhere they wanted in this world in an instant.

It was a very thin and frail-looking figure without any Yin energy or true energy emanating from their body, yet it was this exact figure who had stopped Zhao Yun's attack cold in its tracks. Zhao Yun immediately withdrew his spear as he stood resolutely in front of Qin Ye. His black hair and cape were flapping around him as he stared at the figure with a wary expression.

"Be careful, Lord Qin." An unprecedented hint of caution and hesitation had crept into his voice as he said, "This thing... isn't from any of the three realms."

Qin Ye was staring intently at the opposing figure. The figure hadn't said anything since their sudden emergence, and the only thing they had done was grab onto the tip of Zhao Yun's spear and position while positioning themselves in front of the three death gods of the Caribbean. However, the manner in which they had appeared was what was most astonishing to Qin Ye.

Yin energy gathered around his body as he reverted back to his King Yanluo appearance, and he gave Zhao Yun a reassuring pat on the shoulder before clasping his hands behind his back and slowly taking a few steps toward the mysterious figure. "Just now, it seemed as if time had been erased and space had been severed. It was like a sudden frame drop in a video game, and that was the instant in which you appeared. I must say, that was masterfully done. Even Ghost King Zhao isn't capable of this. Who are you?"

The figure didn't reply.

They were adorned in a cloak woven from pure white feathers, yet somehow, it was giving off a black sheen. They were an extremely contradictory yet completely unified entity, and despite the countless self-contradictions they possessed, they somehow gave off an indescribable sense of harmony.

The figure had no striking physical characteristics, and it wasn't even possible to identify them as male or female.

Right at this moment, the figure slowly raised their hand, yet the hand was raised toward Zhao Yun rather than Qin Ye.

Boom!

Boundless white mist surged out of their fingertips, instantly encompassing an area with a radius of several kilometers. The mist seemed to have a mind of its own, and countless tentacles elongated out of it, reaching directly toward Zhao Yun.

A hint of alarm flashed through Qin Ye's eyes, and at the same time, Zhao Yun swept his spear horizontally through the air, unleashing a powerful shockwave that instantly shattered the ground around him. However, much to their astonishment, the mist remained completely unaffected! It seemed to be immune to the influence of all types of power!

More and more mist was gathering, and it was approaching Zhao Yun faster and faster, completely inundating him in the blink of an eye. However, in the next instant, all of the mist abruptly exploded, and the mysterious figure raised their head with a stunned expression.

Zhao Yun was also quite taken aback as he stared at his own hands. He didn't understand why the mysterious figure had backtracked. Only after coming into contact with the mist did he discover that it was seemingly immune to all power and was trying to take him to an unknown place.

The three death gods of the Caribbean were also completely rooted to the spot.

This was a man above the Duke level! How could there possibly be anyone capable of opposing him?!

Zhao Yun was only in a stunned stupor for an instant before tightening his grip around his spear again, yet just as he was about to rush forward, Qin Ye gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder.

As soon as his palm landed on Zhao Yun's shoulder, a burst of dazzling golden light appeared behind Zhao Yun's head, immediately following which Fate slowly flew out from behind Zhao Yun in its completely activated form.

Qin Ye wasn't controlling it at all.

At this moment, Fate didn't resemble a pen at all. Instead, its top had opened up layer upon layer like a lotus flower, and there was a golden soul situated in the hollow part of the pen's body, giving off bursts of scintillating golden light. In the face of the golden radiance, the mysterious figure finally retreated a few steps.

In the next instant, violent tremors rang through the entire area as all of the true energy and Yin energy in the city converged toward Qin Ye like a tsunami. The tremors were so strong that they instantly erupted out of the states of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, surging through the cities of Washington DC and New York!

Within the span of less than a minute, the entire continent of Northern Usonia was trembling!

Boundless Yin energy and true energy formed a chaotic rift, immediately following which a hand reached out from inside to tear the rift wider, and a familiar figure emerged from within.

It was the second King Yanluo!

Qin Ye cast a meaningful gaze toward the second King Yanluo. He had never seen the second King Yanluo go all-out, but in the face of this mysterious figure, he was revealing more of his power than ever before!

The second King Yanluo wasn't even in the mood to chat with them as he stared directly at the mysterious figure with tightly furrowed brows. "You are... Nothingness?"

"Nothingness?" Qin Ye asked.

The figure offered no reply, and several seconds later, the second King Yanluo answered Qin Ye's question. "You can also call them the Heavenly Dao."

"The Heavenly Dao?!" Qin Ye drew a sharp breath upon hearing this.

This was the Heavenly Dao, the ruler of this world?!

No wonder they were a match for Zhao Yun.

It was only to be expected that the Heavenly Dao would appear at some point to claim Zhao Yun, but it seemed that the second King Yanluo had been constantly waiting for them.

The second King Yanluo was rather displeased by Nothingness's lack of response, and he urged, "Speak up! Don't act like you can't talk!"

Nothingness finally spoke, but when they opened their mouth, everyone felt as if they could hear the cries of apes, the roars of lions, the songs of countless birds... It was very strange in that it clearly wasn't a human voice, but the meaning of its speech somehow managed to resonate directly in everyone's minds.

"I won't allow you to kill them."

Nothingness pointed at the three death gods of the Caribbean as they spoke.

Brando and the three Caribbean death gods were already completely rooted to the spot. The astonishment they were feeling from watching this extraordinary situation unfold had already far exceeded the concern they felt for their own safety.

The second King Yanluo was wearing a set of camouflage clothing, and there was dirt and leaves all over his clothes, but that did nothing to diminish his aura as he crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. "Setting that aside for now, why are you trying to take a Yama-King from my nation?"

Qin Ye's eyes had also narrowed slightly. He was suddenly struck by the feeling that the situation in the Caribbean was even more complex than he had imagined.

If the Heavenly Dao really had only intervened to prevent him from killing these three death gods, then why hadn't they intervened during the destruction of Mongke Tengri?

The Heavenly Dao had always been an entity of peace and fairness. They hadn't even stepped in to prevent the death of Mongke Tengri, a god who had lived for thousands of years, so why were they intent on saving these three death gods now? Furthermore, they were clearly aware of the fact that he was the Cathayan Underworld's King Yanluo, yet they were still going out of their way to try and capture Zhao Yun.

"He's overstepped his boundaries." Every time Nothingness opened their mouth to say something, their voice was different. On this occasion, their voice was like the chirping of insects on a grassland in a summer's night, and it was completely emotionless. "He tried to kill them, so I have to take him away. Beings above the death god level shouldn't exist in this world."

Nothingness finally raised their head, but nothing could be seen under the hood of their cloak aside from a pale chin and a pair of dazzling golden eyes above it.

"You already left, why did you come back?"

The second King Yanluo's wary expression remained unchanged as he watched Nothingness and replied, "You know why I came back."

Nothingness didn't say anything.

The second King Yanluo heaved a faint sigh. "They deserve to die. They don't know who they're making a deal with, and they're tinged with that being's aura, so they need to die."

"I don't agree with that," Nothingness countered. "It's exactly because they're tinged with that being's aura that they should be observed for future reference."

The second King Yanluo was rather amused to hear this. "Forever the observer, eh? This is why you're never going to be able to get out of this universe."

Nothingness offered no response.

Qin Ye didn't say anything, either, but he was intently observing the two of them.

Why was it that the manifestation of the Heavenly Dao had arrived to save three Abyssal Prefects? Why were they so important? Who exactly were they connected to?

"Let's end this here." The second King Yanluo and casually tore open space as he turned to Nothingness and said, "The Cathayan Underworld will take responsibility for everything it should take responsibility for, so let's not whittle down the top-end beings in this world any further. I'm sure you're aware of just how fearsome those things are. I promise that we won't kill them, but in exchange, I ask that you don't pursue this matter any further, either."

Nothingness remained still on the spot as they watched the second King Yanluo walk into the spatial rift along with Qin Ye and Zhao Yun. The spatial rift then closed over, and only after a long while did Nothingness murmur to themselves, "I hope you're right."

In the blink of an eye, Nothingness vanished into thin air without any warning just as abruptly as they had appeared, and the three death gods of the Caribbean also vanished alongside them.

Thus, Brando was the only one left at the scene.

After a long while, a wry smile appeared on his face as he slowly and methodically combed his fingers through his own hair. "I'm a Duke, but why does it feel like I don't even exist here? At the very least, I can give a satisfactory answer to the elders now."

………………………………………………….

Upon re-emerging from the spatial rift, Qin Ye found himself situated on a ship.

It was a luxury cruise ship, and even the servers on the ship were wearing immaculate suits. They weren't surprised in the slightest to see the second King Yanluo and Qin Ye's sudden appearance. Instead, they immediately fell to their knees and greeted in a respectful voice, "Welcome, esteemed underworld emissaries."

The second King Yanluo's attire was completely inappropriate for this setting, but he was as relaxed as if this was his own house. He casually picked up a glass of wine, then led Qin Ye over to a table, where they took a seat. The table was already laden with all types of delicacies.

"You must be quite surprised to see me here, right?" He swirled his wine glass around with a reminiscent look in his eyes, and after a brief pause, he continued, "It has nothing to do with you, I don't have a habit of cleaning up after you. On top of that, you've already done your best here, and truth be told, I didn't think that you would be able to do so well. Having said that, the emergence of Nothingness came as quite a surprise to me. They haven't appeared in several thousand years already, and I wouldn't have come here if not for them."

He downed the contents of his glass in one go before turning to Qin Ye with a meaningful expression. "The other reason I came back is to teach you your final lesson as King Yanluo."

"Right now?" Qin Ye asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"Right now."