Yama Rising

Everything was silent in the underworld.

Arthis had created sufficient screens of Yin energy so that every team within the remaining forces of Hell could watch what was going on.

As the great war escalated, so did each Yin spirit tighten their fists in anxiety. Everyone was desperately resisting the urge to rush straight to the surface and join their comrades-in-arms in battle.

Emotions were a contagious thing. Even the meekest of rabbits would turn into a ferocious lion in such circumstances. And this was not to mention the fact that they were already ferocious lions to begin with.

Countless Yin spirits gritted their teeth and tightened their grasps around their weapons, eagerly anticipating the moment that their King Yanluo would give the command. If not for the fact that their role was to bide their time for the perfect opportunity to deal the final blow, they would already have sought permission to enter battle by now.

They fully appreciated the fact that this might well be the last time they were going to see their comrades-in-arms.

Nobody knew how devastating their casualties were going to be, but it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that at least half of the Yang Clan forces would be decimated in this war.

But, even then… they couldn’t make a move just yet!

The assassins were only supposed to strike at the most critical of times! The time clearly wasn’t right!

“Huh?” Just then, Qin Ye’s eyes brightened. There were screens of Yin energy which were monitoring the situation on each of the outer city walls, and something on the southern wall had caught his eyes. In an instant, the anticipation in his eyes gradually turned into shock and astonishment.

And he wasn’t the only one. Several Yin spirits abruptly shot to their feets, breathing raggedly as they stared at the screen of Yin energy that was displaying the southern city walls. Even their hands were trembling profusely.

They’ve breached it…

They’ve breached it!!

Hundreds of Savage Tiger Raiders roared ahead of the pack. Although their armors were tattered, and the riders sported a multitude of wounds, they continued to pursue the Qufu soldiers who were retreating out of the city walls. Incidentally, that was also where the Soul-Launching Coffins were located!

That’s where Hua Jieyu had been deployed…

She’s truly worthy to be called the eldest among all female generals. To think that she would bring us such great news in such a short time!

“Don’t be fooled!” Just as both Arthis and Qin Ye were stirring with great joy, Yang Yande dragged them right back to reality, “Look here… They’re… doing this on purpose.”

Qin Ye glanced over, only to discover that the retreat of the enemy forces was well-timed and orderly. They appeared to be defeated, but the truth of the matter was that they were merely regrouping their forces elsewhere.

The area below the city walls was far wider than atop the city walls itself, and it would make manoeuvring a larger army far easier for the Qufu soldiers!

This was undoubtedly a good thing for Qufu and its immense advantage in numbers! Furthermore… they could all tell that Qufu’s reinforcements were already laying in wait at their rendezvous point.

“I wonder if General Hua would notice this in time…” Yang Yande derw a deep breath, “I’ve got a feeling that the core defensive forces at the southern walls are going to appear soon enough. They’re not going to let an opportunity like this slip through their hands…”

That’s right. It was an opportunity.

It was an opportunity to both Hua Jieyu as well as Qufu alike!

……………………………………………….

“God!!” Oh god!!! Help!!!” “Yin soldiers have entered the city! Yin soldiers have entered the city!!” “Where are the guards? How can the city guards allow them to trample over the city like that?!”

Countless Yin spirits on the outermost streets of Qufu screamed at the top of their voices as they scrambled back to the safety of their own homes.

Hua Jieyu was dressed in an imposing black armor, sweeping through the streets of Qufu with nary an expression on her face. At least, until she got to the end of the street.

A throng of armored cavalry were already waiting for them at the end of the street, approximately a thousand meters away from where they were. A thousand meters was more than sufficient for their horses to accelerate to top speed for the greatest charging force possible. And then, there was a slope behind the contingent of cavalry.

The surroundings were also sparsely populated with civilian houses. But as soon as Hua Jieyu’s forces showed up, countless Qufu archers immediately ran to the top of the houses, holding up bows and arrows that were trained directly on Hua Jieyu’s army. There were approximately 20,000 or so archers in all.

No retreat.

The design of the walls within Shanhai Pass were exquisite and ingenious. The inner city walls were constructed at the top of ramps and slopes that led straight down to the outer city. Incidentally, the Soul-Launching Coffins were located right at the top of these ramps. Such a design made it easy for the forces located within the inner city to descend to the outer city, but incredibly difficult for the invaders to siege the high ground.

Hua Jieyu didn’t have any thoughts of retreat.

She turned her attention away from the forces arrayed before her, and straight to the city walls apart from the one that she had come from. Each of the walls were erupting with intense Yin energy and an explosive display of netherflames. She immediately knew that she was the only one who had managed to breach the city walls and arrive at the urban areas.

She was now confronted with an immense army of tens of thousands of troops.

It was dangerous. But it was likewise also an opportunity to her.

So long as they could break through the army that stood in their way, then they could set the entire outer city on fire - even if it meant having only ten thousand troops left at their own disposal!

And if there wasn’t any room left for retreat… then there was no need to contemplate retreat at all!

“Formations.” She gave an order, and the skeletal tigers behind her immediately lined up like a mighty torrent of black waters. The shield-bearers and spearmen immediately rushed forward to their positions with a loud cry, squaring off against the enemy contingent located some distance away.

No words were needed.

There was no need for empty talk either.

A split second later, the war drums began to sound from behind the enemy lines, and an entire row of Qufu’s forces comprising thousands of war horses began to charge wildly at the same time.

Rumble… It was like a thunderstorm. Then, after the first wave of Qufu’s war horses began their charge towards Hell’s army, a second wave immediately moved off, and the third wave slowly marched forward to prepare for launch!

The houses around them quivered softly to the rumble of hooves. Tens of thousands of cavalry charged towards Hell’s forces at the same time! It was a spectacular sight! Smoke and dust scattered behind them, interweaving with the dark, billowing Yin energy about them. Everything became a hazy blur, and the only things they could see were spots of flickering netherflames that peeked out from within.

As well as the soft, cold gleam of the blades wielded by the enemy forces.

It appeared no different from the rumble of a demon god’s approach. Given the speed of their approach, it wasn’t going to take more than thirty seconds before all hell broke loose. Each stomp of the hooves weighed heavily on the hearts of Hell’s Yin soldiers. In ancient times, the sound of the approach of ten thousand cavalry was something that could even cause Yin soldiers to desert their armies and turn tail to run.

Hua Jieyu didn’t say a word. Instead, she simply stared intently at the vast black tide that was approaching them. Closer and closer, and faster and faster. The foremost war horses were already lowering their bodies, signifying that they were now already charging at full speed!

Three hundred meters… two hundred meters… one hundred meters!!

Kkkkkk! The spears in the arms of the Qufu forces kicked up a shower of sparks as they dragged along the surface of the ground. Both forces could practically hear the breaths of the opposing forces. In that instant, Hua Jieyu clasped both hands together and made a hand seal. In the next second, a golden talisman flourished from beneath the feet of every Yin soldiers around, linking them up and connecting them in the shape of a beautiful flower. The eyes of the Yin soldiers instantly lit up. Their shields even glowed with complex runic symbols.

It was a military formation!

The Yang Clan military formation!

Back in the underworld. Both Qin Ye and Arthis were watching this sight with great astonishment. Neither of them had expected the Yang Clan to actually be in possession of a mighty military formation!

But it clearly wasn’t the time to be delving into these thoughts. Everyone stared intently at the screens of Yin energy before their eyes. Meanwhile, just as the Qufu cavalrymen drew within a fifty-meter range of Hell’s forces, an equally bright light suddenly erupted from beneath their feet as well! Likewise, a massive talisman appeared underneath the feet of the cavalrymen, before coalescing into the shape of a white tiger.

It was also a military formation!

This was a battle between military formations!

It was a full-on confrontation of strength. Hell’s Yin soldiers possessed the ability to face ten rogue Yin spirits at once, but the Qufu forces clearly had an edge in the speed of their cavalry’s charge. There were no tricks in their upcoming clash. It was an unadulterated contest of strength.

The victor would be able to move ahead.

While the loser would perish and be buried in the ground.

Rumble… Twenty meters… ten meters… five meters!!

“Victory to Hell!!!” Hua Jieyu swung her hand down mightily, and the Yin soldiers tightened their defenses, yelled at the top of their voices and braced themselves for impact.

“Kill them all!!” Likewise, Qufu’s forces raised their lances in unison like a demon with ruffled feathers.

BOOM!!!

It was a thunderous impact.

It was so deafening that everything appeared to go silent.

All that remained was a soft rumble in the wake of the interlocking formations.

When all was said and done, neither side had much of an edge over the other. All that remained was a messy melee of Yin spirit against Yin spirit.

The first point of impact had seen countless Qufu cavalry being turned into hedgehogs by Hell’s spearmen. This was undoubtedly one of the benefits of doing battle within the city. Granted, their current location was already far wider than the city walls itself. However, these streets still weren’t large enough to accommodate the mighty clash between such immense forces!

Ssss!!! Countless Qufu soldiers screamed miserably as they were reduced into spots of netherflames that quickly faded away. Yet, this was only the first wave of cavalrymen. A far larger wave of cavalrymen were approaching fast from behind!

Rumble… Rumble, rumble, RUMBLE!!!

The successive waves of Qufu cavalrymen were like mighty tidal waves that constantly battered against the shores. Qufu soldiers were pounded away desperately at Hell’s defensive formation. One wave… two waves… five waves… ten waves!! By the time the twelfth wave of cavalry arrived, Hell’s forces could no longer resist their approach any further.

It was too much to handle. Nobody could expect Hua Jieyu’s small army to be able to resist the charge of 50,000 war horses. Thus, cracks soon began to appear within their military formation.

Bang… One of Hell’s soldiers was knocked into the air, and the watertight defenses of Hell’s formation finally sprung a small leak. But before they could even patch things up with their reserve forces, the rest of Qufu cavalry immediately rushed straight to the gap like sharks that had smelled blood, and they tore frantically into it.

“Everyone…” One of the Qufu commanders cast away his broken spear and drew his saber as he roared impassionately, “Kill them all!!!”

“Chaaaaaarge!!!” It was infantry against cavalry. Whenever a part of Hell’s formation was forcefully torn open, what soon followed was a raging avalanche of destruction. Fortunately, most of Hell’s soldiers who were knocked back didn’t dissipate immediately. Under Hua Jieyu’s calm leadership, they gritted their teeth and fought through the pain, before promptly rejoining the formation from behind.

Hell continued to resist the approach of the wild charge of Qufu’s cavalry.

They could tell that these forces were undoubtedly part of Qufu’s core forces! Otherwise, they would never have been able to go toe to toe against genuine Emissaries of Hell.

Destroy them… and the way ahead would be clear!

Clang, clang! Metallic clashes rang out throughout the battlefield. The battle raged with a white hot intensity. Hua Jieyu’s commands were no longer useful. In the ensuing chaotic melee, what truly shone was the disciplined leadership of the five-men leaders. As formations slowly broke up, the cavalrymen who charged into the heat of battle soon found themselves surrounded by several Yin soldiers armed with spears.

The Qufu cavalryman would from time to time cut down one of Hell’s soldiers, only to find four long spears running straight through his chest.

Clatter, clatter… Swords and spears flourished like the dance of dragons. Wherever they passed, Hell’s forces would scream miserably in defeat and perish in netherflames. But they would soon be replaced by fearless warriors that rushed up to take their place. Meanwhile, the waves of cavalry continued to pour in like unrelenting waves, while arrows continued to pelt down in a chaotic fashion all around. Hell’s military formation had already crumbled completely by now, and the Yin soldiers no longer had the ability to resist the impact from the cavalry’s charge.

As more and more cavalrymen were killed in the melee, so did the wounds and injuries of Hell’s forces deepen. Finally, after a long struggle, the unrelenting waves of Qufu cavalry finally came to an end.

“Long live Lord Kong!!!” With a maddened roar, the final wave of cavalry charged forward bravely into the fray. Hell had finally breached the last of Qufu’s military formation!

The sky was already filled with countless spots of netherflames, while a ferocious nethergale swirled around the fog of Yin energy that all lost lives had become. The final wave of cavalry had trampled over numerous Yin soldiers of Hell, and sent the heads of even more flying into the air, reducing them to nothing but wisps of pure Yin energy. That said, even more cavalrymen perished to Hell’s final stand. Then, Hua Jieyu’s eyes gleamed brightly as soon as she saw that the cavalrymen were all fully disposed of, and she immediately made a series of hand seals.

Now’s the time!

The greatest weakness of the waves of Qufu’s cavalrymen was the fact that there were no Hellguards in their midst. In fact, all of them were Yin spirits no stronger than Netherworld Operatives. Coupled with the fact that their numerical advantage wasn’t immense, what appeared to be a difficult tussle of strength in fact turned out to be an overwhelming victory for Hell. Three thousand of Hell’s troops traded their lives for thirty thousand of Qufu’s cavalrymen.

While they’re in the midst of regrouping their forces, I’ll head into the fray and take down the scraps of cavalrymen that remain on the battlefield. And then, I can break my army up into 100-men groups to wreak havoc across the entire city of Qufu!

But just as she was halfway through her series of hand seals, she suddenly froze.

She hadn’t felt a single trace of fear back during their earlier skirmish. But now… her back suddenly felt soaked through with cold sweat as a chill ran down her spine. She turned her head stiffly to locate the source of her fear at the end of the street.

And then, she suddenly understood why she hadn’t seen a single Hellguard in this fight.

She had just noticed the existence of a massive residence parked right in the center of the street.

It was approximately twenty meters in size, decorated with an ancient-Cathayan flair. The openings to the residence were somewhat obscured by a soft, green veil. Furthermore, there were at least ten Hellguards kneeling before the residence!

Infernal Judge… The mainstay of their defenses has finally showed up…

“Pretty good, eh?” A voice spoke placidly from behind the green veil. That said, Hua Jieyu could sense the overwhelming murderous intent and fury stirring beneath the calm surface of the voice, “To think you’d actually have designs on Qufu, and even decimate the Almanac Army… Not bad… not bad at all.”

“Come, tell me, what power do you serve? If you do, I--...”

There was the soft sound of gnashing teeth, “Might just consider letting you die a quicker death!”