Yama Rising

What familiar scenes these were!

On the international stage, insults didn't need to be verbally communicated for the subject to understand. Initially, Thanatos was furious at this situation, but that was quickly replaced by a sense of complex bitterness.

Never did he think that the world would turn a cold shoulder on him like this!

However, this wasn't the time to be thinking about these matters, he was facing an even more terrifying problem at the moment!

The interior of the carriage instantly fell completely silent.

Thanatos crossed his legs as he gently tapped the armrests of his chair in an absentminded silence.

He was organizing his own thoughts.

How was it possible that the Cathayan Underworld had constructed a city on the back of one of the six kings? This was an entirely impossible feat!

"Given how aggressive the six kings are, there's no way a city could be built on the back of one of them! Unless… it's dead!" he mused as his eyes narrowed slightly.

On this occasion, Erinys was wearing a golden visor, and white netherfire instantly erupted out of the eye slits as she said in a stunned voice, "The Cathayan Underworld is flaunting its naval dominance to the rest of the world! Most nations have coastal sections, and the fact that the Cathayan Underworld already possesses the power to slay one of the six kings means that their coastlines are no longer safe! This is why no one dared to come and greet us!"

Everyone knew that the three pillars had joined forces to try and strip the Cathayan Underworld of its forbidden arts supervision rights a decade ago, only to be thwarted by the Zhu Rong plan. Once the three pillars managed to glean the true state of the Cathayan Underworld during this international trade conference, then they would definitely strike again, and they absolutely weren't going to allow the Cathayan Underworld to slip off the hook!

In other words, the final showdown between these powerhouses was going to take place during this international trade conference!

Everyone wanted to see the true state of the Cathayan Underworld, but instead of being held on the Cathayan Underworld's mainland, the international trade conference was being held in a city constructed on the body of one of the six kings!

Is this supposed to be a fucking joke?! If they can already kill the six kings, then their naval dominance was essentially absolute and unshakeable!

This was an indirect show of the Cathayan Underworld's military power, through which they were telling everyone that even though the Cathayan Underworld had gone out to buy milk for over a century, it was still everyone's daddy!

"Can we leave the island?" Thanatos asked as he turned to Yamaraja. "Can we enter the Cathayan Underworld's mainland?"

"There's no way that would be possible," Yamaraja replied. "There are emissaries from the Cathayan Underworld constantly watching over this place from the four pagodas, and Ghost King Zhao is also here. Unless you want to be caught and paraded like a fool in front of everyone, you'd better not try anything."

Thanatos fell silent upon hearing this, but he was cursing internally.

He took a deep breath before turning to everyone else in the carriage. "I still support the opinion of our panel of elders, there's definitely something off about the Cathayan Underworld! They've made a show of power by displaying their naval dominance, but at the same time, they're not allowing us to leave this island! That's self-contradictory! Under normal circumstances, an underworld wielding such immense power would be eager to open up their nation to the rest of the world and show everyone just how powerful they are!"

Right at this moment, the carriage drew to a halt.

Thanatos immediately exited the carriage, followed by everyone else. They had arrived at a cape, and there was no lack of other underworld emissaries present.

These underworld emissaries were wearing attire from various different nations, and many of them were from underworlds that fell under the Utopia Alliance. It was clear that the ruler death gods of these underworlds had anticipated that they could be meeting some awkward individuals here, such as Thanatos and his group, so they had only sent underworld emissaries here rather than visit this place in person.

A cold smile appeared on Thanatos's face upon seeing this. As the ruler of one of the four pillars, he had never been treated like this before!

In the face of the Cathayan Underworld's display of naval dominance, these allied nations, which had all benefited from being a part of the Utopia Alliance, didn't even dare to speak to him!

They were far too pragmatic, so much so that he wanted nothing more than to rush over to these people and kick them to death!

The carriage was far too eye-catching to miss, and upon seeing it, all of the underworld emissaries in the area quickly departed. A cold smile appeared on Yamaraja's face as he said in an ironic voice, "How thoughtful of them to leave this area all to us. We arrived a month earlier than you did, and we've already been receiving this treatment for an entire month! Do you know where this place is?"

Thanatos quickly repressed the rage in his heart as he shook his head in response.

This was a cape, a very ordinary one.

The ground was littered with rocks that were rustling and clattering together from the waves.

All of a sudden, Thanatos's expression changed ever so slightly, and he squatted down before gently stroking the ground.

The sensation was very strange… These rocks didn't feel like rocks at all!

"Is this… an enamel layer?" Even though he had already been told that this was one of the six kings, witnessing it for himself was still an astonishing experience.

The Yin energy reciprocation that he could feel through his hand told him beyond a doubt that this really was one of the six kings!

The final shred of hope that he had harbored in his heart had been instantly erased.

He stood up before taking a deep breath. "What a massive surprise this is. As expected of the Cathayan Underworld, are they not even going to attempt to hide this? Alternatively, perhaps they're trying to intimidate us with this? But this doesn't change anything!"

He abruptly swung around as he continued, "In the face of the new energy resource, this is not enough to have a decisive effect on the final outcome! The other underworlds are only avoiding us because they're unaware of what our trump card is…"

His voice abruptly cut off there as a realization dawned on him.

The other underworlds were unaware of what their trump card was, but the top 10 consortiums did!

He had written letters to them in person, so why weren't any of their representatives present, either?

At the time, close to half of the top 10 consortiums had clearly expressed their support of the three pillars! Surely they were aware of what the decisive factors in this clash were! The carcass of the six kings was great for intimidation, but it wasn't like it could move. This biological fortress was only a reflection of the fact that the Cathayan Underworld possessed sufficient power to attain naval dominance, but unless they wanted to start a war, this was really nothing more than an empty threat. In comparison, the new energy resource was countless times more significant than this biological fortress!

In that case, why weren't any of the top 10 consortiums' representatives here? Were they really that foolish?

Countless thoughts were flashing through his mind, and all of a sudden, he drew a sharp breath as a harrowing thought began to take shape in his mind.

Before he had a chance to articulate it, Archimedes did so in his stead in a trembling voice. "My Lord, we still can't tell whether this is a biological fortress or a biological mothership! The Cathayan Underworld has never said that this thing is unable to move!"

Everything became clear to Thanatos in this instant.

Indeed, what the other underworlds were wary of wasn't this biological fortress. In contrast with the new energy resource, which could change the entire world and provide unimaginable opportunities, everyone would still stand by the three pillars even if this biological fortress was a show of the Cathayan Underworld's potential for naval dominance.

However, what if this biological fortress was actually a biological mothership that was capable of movement?

In that case, a question naturally arose.

Thanatos looked out at the turbulent sea with an absentminded expression, and in this instant, his heart had completely sunk.

How was this thing capable of movement?

If this thing really were a biological mothership, what was allowing it to move?

His hands began to tremble as the only possible answer to that question surfaced in his mind. It had to be an energy resource, one that was countless times more advanced than theirs!

"That's impossible!" he reflexively denied. "If they've already developed a new energy resource, then why didn't they release it? For the past 10 years, they've remained silent and allowed all of the other underworlds to defect to our side. Why would they place themselves in such a passive position?"

Surely this can't be true!

Just the mere thought of this possibility alone was striking fear deep into his heart. If this really were the case, then this international trade conference would be their funeral!

This was what the other underworlds and the top 10 consortiums were afraid of!

Thanatos immediately turned to Yamaraja and Anubis as he continued, "You came here before me, have you sensed anything strange taking place in Heavenly Pillar City?"

"Not at all," Anubis replied in a grim voice. "I've arrived at the same conclusions that you have, and as such, I've been keeping a close eye on everything. When I discovered that this was one of the six kings, my reaction was much the same as yours. After that, I've constantly been vigilant for any abnormal activity, but there hasn't been anything."

Thanatos closed his eyes and heaved a faint sigh of relief upon hearing this.

If Yin spirits could sweat, then his clothes would already be drenched in cold sweat, and even now, there was still a sense of lingering fear in his heart.

Archimedes was also quite relieved to hear this. "Perhaps we're overthinking things. The Cathayan Underworld didn't possess the carcass of any of the six kings in the past, so they must've secured it during the past decade or so. 10 years is nowhere near enough time to create a biological mothership, so the carcass is most likely only being used as an island to carry this city."

His thoughts became clearer and clearer as he continued, "In order to create a biological mothership, the insides of this carcass would have to be completely dug out. All of the organs would have to be removed, and the existing blood vessels and muscles would have to be used as bridges to establish biomechanical systems that would allow the fortress to move. It would take at least six to seven years to complete such a feat, and there wasn't enough time for the Cathayan Underworld to do all of this! Also, you made a very good point earlier: if the Cathayan Underworld really is as powerful as it's trying to make itself appear, then why is it so insistent on keeping the state of the nation a secret to the rest of the world? They don't want us to see the internal state of the Cathayan Underworld, and if this really is a biological mothership, why didn't they move it further out into the sea instead of keeping it in the Bohai Sea?"

This was an angle that even Anubis and Yamaraja had failed to consider, and both of them nodded in response upon hearing this, while Izanami also heaved a faint sigh of relief.

She had already taken such a firm stance that there was no choice for her but to cling to the three pillars until the very end.

If the Cathayan Underworld were to win this showdown, the three pillars would most likely emerge relatively unscathed, but the Nipponese Underworld would practically be doomed! As such, she was the one who was most afraid of the prospect of the Cathayan Underworld developing a new energy resource.

Thanatos didn't offer an immediate response to Archimedes's analysis. Instead, he clasped his hands behind his back and slowly paced back and forth as he said in a grim voice, "We have to change our plans. I've had this nagging sense of foreboding this entire time, and now that we've seen this, my suggestion is that we don't throw any jabs at all. Instead, we bring out our trump card with full force from the get-go, not affording them any opportunity to react at all!"

He paused momentarily before continuing, "According to the conference schedule that we've all received, there are still 18 hours left until the commencement of the conference. We have to make sufficient preparations and apply to deliver an address right away as soon as the conference begins! Mr. Archimedes will then bring out the proton and electron Yin runes, and we'll submit a joint request with the chairmen of the consortiums to found a new energy resource foundation. We have to secure victory in one fell swoop. Otherwise…"

He cast his gaze toward the vast and majestic Heavenly Pillar City as he sighed, "I'm afraid of what could happen next."

The sequence of events that had taken place since his arrival in Heavenly Pillar City had completely thrown him off.

Even though the possibility that the Cathayan Underworld had developed their new energy resource had already been denied through logical thinking, just the mere thought of it had still been enough to paralyze him with fear. He had never felt like this before. Even though he held the decisive trump card in his hands, he felt like the situation was still constantly spiraling out of his control somehow.