Chapter 343: Convergence of Dragons (2)
Chapter 343: Convergence of Dragons (2)
That said… he hadn’t expected there to be so many disloyal feudal officials, much less that they would actually join hands to speak with a louder voice!
Unfortunately, he didn’t have the time to consider these things any longer. The nethergale billowed powerfully, causing the seven banners representing each of the allied powers to flutter wildly in the wind. Each of these banners were embroidered with the same majestic soaring dragon on them. And as soon as the ranks of Yin soldiers appeared, the Yin cloud behind them… breached its dike.
From a distance, they appeared no different from a rushing black tide, save for the fact that the front row of armors were brightly lit from within with a green netherflame. A split second later, the tens of thousands of Yin soldiers hidden in the black tide of Yin energy behind the first row of cavalrymen suddenly flickered on with eerie green netherflames as well.
Rumble! As the thousands of cavalrymen rushed right over, the paper money in the air began to scatter even more wildly. The sound made by the multitude of trampling hooves were so stifling that they may as well have been trampling directly on their hearts. Yet, these sounds only stirred the boiling blood that was in Qin Ye’s heart, because he knew whose army constituted the vanguard forces.
“This is… the Iron Stupa!” He grunted under his breath. The ferocious charge of iron-armored cavalrymen was typical of that of the Mongol Empire. This was naturally something that could only have been done by the Mongol feudal official.
They were maintaining their own armies!
He could only sense the Yin energy signatures of seven Infernal Judges, and yet the number of soldiers under their command numbered well in the region of a hundred thousand altogether! Wasn’t this a show of great disrespect to the old Hell? Wasn’t this an affront to his existence as the King Yanluo of Hell?!
But ever since he had fully embraced his station as the new King Yanluo, and after investing so much in the revivification of Hell, he truly and sincerely felt wrath and indignation surge from the depths of his heart.
And it was an active murderous intent at that.
Qin Ye shut his eyes and suppressed the stirring indignation in his heart. Seconds later, he finally opened his eyes once more and sneered coldly, “Don’t worry, I’m not suicidal.”
For the next twenty minutes, the Yin cloud in the sky looked no different from a rift to the underworld, and countless spots of eerie netherflames continued to pour out of the darkness, only to join the torrent of armed forces that were already lining up in rank and file. Nobody had expected the twelve envoys to possess such depth of forces. A hundred thousand strong army… was more than sufficient to sweep through the other nations in the regions, all the way through to the Spice Islands! And to think that all of these forces were now pointing their spears and edges directly towards Hell!
Ka-ka-ka! Sharp flaming arrows were strung to their bows in an instant. If the Iron Stupa represented the ferocious rush of a roaring river, then Yang Jiye’s troops represented the great immovable dam that stood in the way of their charge. Within moments, the vanguard forces of Chaghan had already drawn as close as fifty meters from Yang Jiye’s forces, well within the optimum striking range of his bows and arrows.
A desolate wind swept through the lands, tousling Yu Qian’s white beard even as he remained rooted to the ground, firm as a rock. After all, he had personally been involved in the battle of Tumu, when the enemy forces had even abducted his then-emperor. Sights like these were dime a dozen in his wealth of personal experience.
There was no hesitation in their hearts.
Clatter, clatter… clop! But at exactly fifty meters away, all of the war horses raised their front hooves, before slamming it straight back onto the ground in unison. A great clatter of hooves echoed endlessly through the still silence of Hell. A second later, seven huge processions, replete with earth-shattering auras of Yin energy emerged from the darkness in the sky. Each of these processions were formed by hundreds of Yin spirits. With a cacophony of soft bangs, bundles of paper money were scattered into the air like confetti, as though they were declaring the arrival of a majestic, otherworldly being.
Whoosh… The cavalry held their ground firmly. After some time, a lazy voice resembling that of an ancient eunuch called out from the darkness, “Lord of the Khmer Empire, Guo Ziyi, answers the call of Hell’s summons.” “Lord of Siam, Chang Yuchun, answers the call of Hell’s summons.” “Lord of Hanyang, Liu Yu, answers the call of Hell’s summons.” “Lord of Bagan, Ma Fubo.” “Lord of Sanfotsi, Han Qinhu.” “Lord of Jiaozhi, Gao Changgong.” “Lord of the Bamboo Region, Chaghan.”
Seals…
Therein lies the mark of a Yama-King’s soulfire - all evil shall disperse!
“Naturally. But it’s best that you shelve any designs for it right now. This isn’t something that they would willingly hand over. Rather than obsessing over such things, why don’t you… take a good look at these feudal officials before you right now?” Arthis’ voice carried a trace of fury and wrath. Qin Ye lowered his gaze from the gleaming seals in the skies above, and then, his eyes began twitching uncontrollably.
The seven feudal officials weren’t in their Hell’s Emissary state either. Instead, they were simply dressed in the flamboyant clothes and adorned with the exquisite perfumes that they had previously been buried with. Unfortunately, these did nothing to mask the stench of decay emanating from their bodies and plethora of livor mortis spots covering their skin. Not even someone who loved beauty as much as Lord Gao Changgong deigned to shirk that disgusting appearance of his.
Such blatant provocation caused Qin Ye’s pupils to shrink intently. Nevertheless, he suppressed the raging fury in his heart and continued to observe them placidly.
Each set of procession was surrounded by dozens of carriages, including a guiding carriage, a drum carriage, a white heron carriage, a luan banner carriage, a warding carriage, a pavilion carriage, and so on and so forth. Each of these carriages were drawn by four horses. A glorious mobile imperial residence was located in the middle of each procession, carried by hundreds of Yin spirits on their shoulders.
But who was the true lord and master of Hell?
How could she not be infuriated?
You’ve got nothing over us, whether seniority, cultivation nor wealth and resources. So, what gives you the right for this?
Look at the glory and splendour of our fiefdoms. Are none of these comparable to the newly established, raggedy Hell that you stand for right now? We’ve chosen to present ourselves in this form in order to register our disdain. After all, what right does a young Hell in a state of disrepair, led by a prepubescent youngster who calls himself the nominal King Yanluo, have to summon us back in our Emissarial forms?
But our fiefdom’s wealth and our present cultivation is still realms above yours. So what use is that meagre effort of yours? We’re giving you face here. You’d best be good and cross our names from Hell’s Record once and for all. Otherwise… don’t blame us for doing more than just knocking on your door and giving you a tight slap across the cheek.
After all, only they knew just how much they had sacrificed for the development of the new Hell thus far.
“The only thought on their minds is the fact that their escape from Ksitigarbha’s clutches is tantamount to an endorsement to their existence. But haven’t they considered what it means to have their names still etched in the annals of Hell’s records?!” Arthis’ expressions were ashen, and she ground her teeth coldly in seething rage, “These ingrates… To think that their heart and minds would stray so far from the path after merely a hundred years. Impertinence… Insolence!”
1. Stupa is Sanskrit for a mound-like structure.
2. The eastern islands of Indonesia, not to be confused with Sumatra.
3. Ancient capital of Burma.