Yama Rising

Chapter 484: Coincidence and Doubt

Black Yaksha seized up.

What’s an Abyssal Prefect doing here?

He knew he would certainly die if he turned back.

Meanwhile, Black Yaksha had a completely different view of the matter.

Is this the person from Hell who’s meant to be receiving him?

Run!

But before he could even finish his statement, his entire body suddenly trembled violently. His hair and clothes scattered about wildly, and he even let out a shrill shriek of terror, because he could sense… a terrifying presence staring directly at him.

No words were needed. At once, Black Yaksha gnashed his teeth and scuttled off into the distance as quickly as his legs would take him.

Everything was dark. The stream of nethergale that represented Black Yaksha continued to flee as quickly as it could until it was thousands of meters away, before he finally paused and glanced behind him with much palpitation.

If not for how wildly his heart was still thumping right now, he would never have believed that he had just had an encounter with an Abyssal Prefect.

Just then, Black Yaksha felt someone suddenly tap on his shoulder.

Thud… Crow Tengu’s head was cleanly sliced off his neck, and it fell straight to the ground in an instant. The rest of the body clumsily hobbled over to its head and picked it up, “Haa… What the hell is wrong with you?”

“Haa… Don’t worry, I’ve put her to sleep for some time. She… won’t be coming to her senses in a little while…”

“An Emissary of Hell?!” Crow Tengu blurted back with a tone of voice nearly an octave higher than before.

“Apart from that… I also saw Oda Nobutada… and he was wielding the very same Kiku-ichimonji used by the Demon King of the Sixth Heaven.”

“Hoo… Has the Oda Clan earned the favour of an Abyssal Prefect?” Crow Tengu muttered hoarsely as it slowly began to reattach his own head.

Crow Tengu looked back at Black Yaksha with a confused expression, clearly unsure of what to make of it.

“We’re in Eastmount, the closest place to Nippon!”

“Otherwise, there wouldn’t be any reason to station an Abyssal Prefect here, together with the Oda Clan! We’ve got all the intel on where the Cathayan Abyssal Prefects are stations. The Abyssal Prefect overseeing the Eastmount and Breakwaters region is located at Skytribute City, and not in the Azurewaters City!”

“Moreover, the Oda Clan is naturally the best clan to involve as far as a siege against Nippon is concerned. Sure, if either one of them had been here, it could simply be explained away as a mere coincidence… but this is just one too many to still be a coincidence!”

“Are you nuts?!” Crow Tengu stared at Black Raksha with great disbelief.

“But that’s an Emissary of Hell we’re talking about…” Crow Tengu gulped nervously, “How are we supposed to get away after that?”

……………………………………………………..

Oda Nobutada kept his eyes tightly shut until his skeletal war horse stood up from the ground and neighed powerfully. It was only then that he opened his eyes apprehensively and glanced about his surroundings with great trepidation.

“I’m still alive…” Zhang Zeguang spoke with palpitations in his heart. Again, there was a period of tense silence between the two ghosts. And then, they slowly turned to look behind with tacit understanding.

A chorus of ghastly wails echoed everywhere, while the skies were concealed by a dense canopy of dark clouds. Illusory images of agonized human faces even appeared on the surface of the clouds from time to time, before slowly fading away, as though they were being dragged right back into the mires of despair. A frigid gust swept through the seaside cliffs, sending chills down the two ghosts’ spines.

Dong~! Just then, a loud gong chimed from the depths of the clouds, followed closely by the proclamatory blare of sornas and celebratory chimes. A split second later, the gloomy clouds parted like the red sea, and 32 figures appeared, toting a majestic palanquin on the back of their shoulders.

Dong, dong… Clang! Paper money scattered everywhere in the sky. Within moments, an otherwise secluded cliffside was instantly transformed into a ceremonial ground welcoming the arrival of a procession of humanoid paper effigies. Oda Nobutada gulped nervously as he pulled Zhang Zeguang behind him. He held Kiku-ichimonji horizontally across his chest and gazed intently at the arrival of the procession.

Run! Get out of here right now! There’s a monster standing right before you!!!

Boom!!

How terrifying… What the hell is that thing?!

“Who are you?” A hoarse voice cut through the tense silence in the night sky.

“Nipponese?” The voice from the palanquin responded with some measure of surprise, “Are you a messenger sent by the Third King Yanluo of Hell?”

Silence.

“Minister of the Department of Ghost Resources, Zhang Zeguang.” It took Zhang Zeguang almost all of his might to respond under the enormous weight of the Yin energy bearing down on him. Even the Yin energy from his body had begun to seep out through his pores.

“Haha…” The voice from the palanquin chuckled hoarsely. Meanwhile, a tense rustling sound could be heard coming from the palanquin, almost as though maggots were writhing around excitedly from within, “The Third King Yanluo of Hell seems rather cautious… As I’d imagined, something calamitous must have happened to Hell. Otherwise, why would Hell even bother sending a pawn to me? The old Hell would have sent an army in a heartbeat…”

Zhang Zeguang lowered his head and gnashed his teeth as a multitude of thoughts began to spin in his mind.

“For all intents and purposes, Hell is currently already in charge of several provinces. In the process of doing so, we’ve defeated the Umbral Mount Tai Alliance of Darkness, and taken down Kong Mo’s base of operations. Had we not done so, you wouldn’t be standing here right now. I wonder if you know about the Mythic Palace of Reflections?”

“Mythic Palace of Reflections?” The voice in the palanquin finally grew somewhat austere, “What city did it project?”

Shanhai Pass!

Shanhai Pass… The Mythic Palace of Reflections actually replicated the Shanhai Pass, and… Hell actually managed to breach its defenses?!

Didn’t the dynastic change affect the might of Hell’s forces in the slightest bit?