Yama Rising

Before Qin Ye opened his mouth to speak, Zhao Yun said, "You're correct, Your Excellency. The other three pillars aren't stupid, and they've already backed down after failing to breach our Cathayan Underworld's defenses for over 10 years. The fact that many of the attitudes of many of the underworlds toward our Cathayan Underworld has begun to shift is a clear indication of this. They wouldn't dare to do that if the three pillars were going to oppose our Cathayan Underworld to the very end. It's already been several years since the new energy resource was released, and as long as their advisors aren't completely useless, they'd realize that even if our Cathayan Underworld had been standing on its last leg, these past few years would've been enough for us to make a rapid recovery. Of course, in reality, we're nowhere near as powerful as they imagine. However, are we going to continue to isolate ourselves just because of that?"

His voice began to grow louder as he spoke. This was something that he had to say as even if he were to encounter resistance from the department directors, Qi Ye would be able to shore him up. If Qin Ye were to say this and encounter resistance, then there would be no backup, and it would be difficult to bring up the subject again in the future.

"As our Cathayan Underworld continues to develop, we'll definitely have to open up the Array of the Nine Gods. The array existed to protect us, but at the moment, it's already severely restricting our information exchange pathways with the rest of the world. Our Yin energy optical fibers are unable to go beyond our borders, and our military is also unable to reach the rest of the world. Thus, our presence is absent from the entire underworld, and as a result, we're reducing our own influence. However, if we remove the array, there's no way that we would be powerful enough to withstand an attack from the three pillars. The underworld is not a safe place, and the only thing that can ensure our safety is power. Only during the past few centuries did wars that wiped out nations gradually disappear. We must prove ourselves to the entire underworld once again!"

Just like during the Gulf War in the 90's, where Usonia had shown the world once again who was the boss.

Influence and speaking rights in the world were priceless assets, and a small nation could disregard such things, but they were extremely important to major nations.

No one said anything.

At this point, everyone already understood Qin Ye's intentions, but this was far easier said than done.

At the very least, it would take several dozen more years of preparation before they could implement this plan.

Finally, an elderly man in a Mao suit stood up to speak with a serious expression. "Yanluo Qin, given how expensive carrier molds are to produce, there are definitely no more than 30 of those molds across the three pillars. There's no way we can just sacrifice a second-generation forbidden art carrier mold for no reason! These are extremely precious assets that we must manage carefully."

This man was the top dog of the military arms department, General Xie Yong, so it was no wonder that he was so familiar with forbidden arts.

Xie Yong continued, "The production cost of a second-generation forbidden art can only be higher than that of a first-generation forbidden art, and at the moment, the cost of a forbidden art could make a severe dent in our nation's finances."

A smile appeared on Qin Ye's face.

What Xie Yong was thinking was that they would simply detonate a forbidden art for demonstration purposes. The other three pillars could do that, but with the current state of affairs of the Cathayan Underworld, this wasn't something they could afford to do.

Thus, the implication was that if a forbidden art had to be detonated, then there had to be a target, so what was this target going to be?

Qin Ye sat up straighter as he smiled and said, "Indeed, detonating a second-generation forbidden art would be extremely taxing to our nation's finances, and at the moment, we can only detonate two at most. The first one will be detonated for all of you to see as a proof of concept. As for the second one, that will naturally before the entire world to see. Not only will we show them the second-generation forbidden art, we have to make an example out of something so that no one thinks about messing with us again!"

In the first row, Qin Changxin was furiously writing down notes, but the tip of his pen suddenly drew to a halt.

A thought seemed to have occurred to him, while all of the other directors thought of something else, and they turned toward Lu Ban in unison.

Spacecraft-launching technology + second-generation forbidden arts...

This combination would essentially allow them to launch nuclear weapons!

In the face of this formidable combination, any underworld's defenses would be instantly destroyed! Following the detonation of the forbidden art, enemy morale and defenses would be in shambles, and that would allow Hell to crush them with its army, even after having so many troops killed during the Battle of Zhuolu. In fact, that would only make the rest of the world more astonished by how the Cathayan Underworld was able to conquer the enemy with so few troops!

Everything had clicked into place, and it seemed that Hell really was preparing to instigate a war between underworlds!

Of course, they couldn't publicly declare the second-generation forbidden arts. After all, the treaty on the non-proliferation of forbidden arts had only been re-signed less than 20 years ago. However, they could easily just change the name into something like Alpha Missile or Xuanyuan Sword Art...

In any case, they were going to stubbornly refuse to acknowledge that these were forbidden arts, and there wasn't anything anyone could do about it!

"Your Excellency..." Qin Changxin finally opened his mouth to speak, and his voice was trembling slightly as he asked, "Where will the... testing site be?"

Qin Ye looked straight into his eyes before asking, "What do you think about Amano-Iwato?"

The hall instantly fell deathly silent.

In the next instant, the netherfire in the eyes of all of the officials present sprang up drastically.

"I concur," Xie Yong immediately said before Qin Changxin had a chance to reply.

Immediately thereafter, several more directors concurred one after another. How could they pass up such a brilliant opportunity?

This was a war to conquer a nation! Perhaps it was still quite far away in the future, but if they could play a part in making such a massive contribution to the Cathayan Underworld, then surely they would be given favorable reincarnations in the next life!

"I concur!" Qin Changxin rose to his feet, then cupped his fist in a salute and extended a deep bow.

The promise that had been made to him was finally about to be fulfilled, and it seemed that there was no chance that they could fail!

They had one being above the Yama-King level, an advanced Yama-King, and two Yama-Kings, in addition to second-generation forbidden arts coupled with launching technology... How could they possibly lose?!

He knew that the purpose behind the second-generation forbidden art was not just to crush Amano-Iwato's defenses, but also to make up for the losses in Yin soldiers suffered during the Battle of Zhuolu. In addition to that, it was a warning to the entire world, telling them that a second-generation forbidden art would be coming their way if they dared to make a move against the Cathayan Underworld!

"Take a seat, everyone," Qin Ye said with a smile. "This is only an idea at the moment. Let's call this idea the Nippon plan for now. I'll have to trouble President Lu and President Zu to make the plan possible. Everything will hinge on when they can complete their research and development. That will be the end of this meeting. Director Qin, please stay behind."

All of the directors quickly departed.

This meeting was a perfect reflection of Qin Ye's style, which was to do things quickly and efficiently, but just because it was over quickly didn't mean that it wasn't impactful.

They knew that from this point onward, there were many things that they would have to prepare.

Thus, the only ones left in the conference hall were Qin Ye and Zhao Yun, while Qin Changxin eagerly entered the small conference chamber.

Only now did Zhao Yun allow himself to heave a sigh of relief. "It's a really good thing you thought of a way to gradually build up to that announcement. Otherwise, the directors wouldn't have agreed to the idea of initiating a war against another nation so soon after the Battle of Zhuolu."

"It's about time that we flex our muscles to the world," Qin Ye said in a cold voice. "Izanami has been overstepping her boundaries for far too long. During the 20 years of my reign, she has constantly been provoking the Cathayan Underworld."

Zhao Yun raised an eyebrow upon hearing this. "Is that the only reason we're starting this war?"

"That's not the entire reason," Qin Ye replied with a faint smile. "We have to look after our loyal subordinates too. I made a promise to Qin Changxin, and I have to follow through."

Zhao Yun nodded in response.

All of a sudden, Qin Ye changed the subject. "There's something that I haven't told you. Anyone at or above the Infernal Judge level can immediately become a Yama-King under any circumstance after consuming the soul that the Heavenly Dao extracted out of the inner demon."

Zhao Yun immediately raised his head upon hearing this, and a thought seemed to have occurred to him as he said in a trembling voice, "You don't mean..."

Qin Ye continued, "If I recall correctly, Yue Fei's soul is in the Nipponese Underworld, and that's the true reason why this war has to happen!"

At the end of the day, Qin Changxin was still Oda Nobunaga.

However, Yue Fei was in the Nipponese Underworld, and he wasn't a Yama-King!

Once Yue Fei became a Yama-King, the top-end power of Hell would receive another significant boost. Furthermore, this was a display of power to the entire world, and in addition to that, there was the promise that had been made to Qin Changxin and the need to teach Izanami a lesson for her transgressions.

Thus, there was a combination of reasons that made the Nipponese Underworld the ideal target, and Qin Ye couldn't think of any better candidate.

It was like they were asking for it!

Zhao Yun took a deep breath, then cupped his fist in a salute, yet just as he was about to depart, he suddenly asked, "What about Qin Hui?"

"He's in luck," Qin Ye replied. "He and Su Daji have truly put their lives on the line during the Battle of Zhuolu, so I'll let him live even after we recover Yue Fei's soul."

Qin Ye had always been fair and just in his administration of rewards and punishments.

On this occasion, Zhao Yun didn't say anything and vanished from the room.

Qin Ye also departed. Seeing as they were going to make a move against Amano-Iwato, the first step would be to get an understanding of Amano-Iwato's military prowess.

……………………………………………………

Two gusts of Yin wind flew into the conference chamber, and Qin Changxin immediately stood up from his chair before extending a deep bow.

"Your Excellency..." His voice was trembling with emotion. "I didn't think you would truly fulfill your promise! I am extremely fortunate to have made the decision to follow you!"

"No need for formalities, Director Qin. Take a seat." The trio sat down, and Qin Ye smiled as he said, "You and I have known each other for a long time, and you watched Hell grow from essentially nothing, so you're no less invested in Hell than I am. As such, it's only expected of me that I fulfill my promise to you."

"Thank you, Yanluo Qin!" Qin Changxin stood up again before extending another deep bow.

Cups of fragrant tea were quickly brought into the room, and Qin Ye took a sip before continuing, "I'm sure you already know why I asked you to stay behind."

"Of course!" Qin Changxin rose to his feet and bowed for a third time as he cupped his fist in a salute. "I'll be sure to tell you everything I know!"

He had been waiting for this moment for centuries!

Finally, he was about to reclaim the Nipponese Underworld!

After sitting down again, Qin Changxin was silent for a few minutes, as if he were carefully contemplating his words. Only after five minutes had passed did he begin to speak. "Your Excellency, I don't know if there have been any major changes in Amano-Iwato during the past few centuries, but I can tell you everything from before that."

He repressed his own excitement as he continued with a serious expression, "Firstly, Amano-Iwato is different from all other underworlds as it's an underworld inhabited by both ghosts and demons, and there are even some so-called deities there!"