Yama Rising

Chapter 337: Tigerform Battle Armor (2)

Furthermore… the survey questions were incredibly subtle. At the very least, nothing can be gleaned of the purpose of the survey from the questions themselves.

Qin Ye didn’t respond, but merely lifted his head smugly. Wang Chenghao continued reading.

“Your favourite accessory: A: Jade pendant. B: Folding fan. C: Watch. D: Perfume (not to be confused with scented pouches).”

“No.” Qin Ye’s gaze grew deep and abstruse, and he smiled wickedly, “It’s to test whether they… keep up with the times!”

He gently fanned out the stack of survey forms, “This survey will take a month’s time. And then… we’ll know exactly what kind of rulers they are. If they’re truly fixated on the ways of antiquity, then they’re bound to be lambs to the slaughter in this trip back to Hell.”

After issuing his instructions, Qin Ye delved straight into the planning process, and began to hunt for talents with experience in conducting auctions. It had to be said that he secretly missed working with Master Bai…

Time passed quickly. Two days later, Arthis returned to Hell, somewhat weary and forlorn.

“Where’s the stuff?” Qin Ye responded with urgency.

The armor was pitch-black in colour. The breastplate and the shoulders were all adorned with the emblem of a tiger’s head. The surface of the armor was shiny and smooth. It wasn’t the best looking armor, but the Yin energy emanating from the entire set was undoubtedly top of its class.

He touched the tiger’s head adornment on the bracers themselves. This adornment appeared somewhat different from the rest, in that this tiger head appeared to have a wider and higher jaw than the rest, almost as though it was hiding something. A blade groove lay right outside the adornment.

“Even if one loses his weapon, he will still have the means to preserve his own life with these hidden weapons.” He sighed with great satisfaction. This was the key to propelling the new Hell to the heights of a premium armament dealership. The stage had been set, and he was happy to be personally involved. But the most important thing of all was to have a truly premium product to sell.

Defying modernization with adamance?

“And that’s not all…” Arthis looked at the scroll and gasped in horror, “It actually augments the effects of battle formations, such that one would only require ninety percent of the actual number required to establish a proper battle formation?! Something like that… are you sure you want to sell something like that to the twelve envoys?!”

“I fear you might be underestimating the potential of this set of battle armor…” Arthis gritted her teeth, “Battle formations… constitute the heart of all potential of Yin soldiers. It enables the simplest, weakest Yin soldiers to stand tall against Infernal Judges and even Abyssal Prefects. The fact that 10% less soldiers are required to establish battle formations can mean that… there is suddenly a great deal more Yin soldiers at their disposal on the battlefield! Can you imagine how terrifying its impact will be on any battles that they participate in?!”

“You…”

Arthis was stunned.

“What’s there to fear if this isn’t even going to be a possibility? The new Hell isn’t anything like the Hanyang underworld. They’ve had hundreds of years of history behind them, while we’re still busy prioritizing the huge list of things that we have to get done. Million-men battle formations?”

Then, his expressions changed, and he snorted at Arthis, “Speaking of which, didn’t you see anything else when you went back to the city walls? Why didn’t you bring them back as well? Are you really going to follow my instructions to the tee, without the slightest bit of initiative altogether?! How are you going to take on the socialist lessons in future?”

Qin Ye muttered, “And don’t tell me that you didn’t see any siegebreaker crossbows or octagonal crossbows and the like…”

What kind of a person are you?!

Hanyang underworld.

After all, it had been hundreds of years since the Hanyang underworld first became a tributary of the old Hell.

If one walked through the main gate of the underworld, they would see that both sides were lined with Han Dynasty styled buildings, interlaced with countless Buddhist temples. Many of the building also bore signs of affiliation with Buddhism. Everyone appeared to be thriving in harmony.

And that was Liu Yu’s royal palace.

Furthermore, everyone sat in a kneeling posture.

Everyone downed the contents of their cups at the same time.

“I don’t know. It should be a survey of your lordships’ hobbies and interests.” Li Jixi naturally wasn’t aware of the contents of what was discussed at the monthly progress meeting. He deliberated for some moments, before adding, “But His Majesty mentioned that Hell would be preparing return gifts for each fiefdom based on the responses provided in these forms.”

Li Jixi remained silent. After all, he was new in Hell, and he naturally hadn’t begun to develop a sense of belonging for it just yet.

Liu Yu lifted his robes, picked up his chalice of wine and asked casually, “Imperial envoy, how do you view the Hanyang underworld? Is it comparable to the underworld of your master?”

Liu Yu stood up with his chalice in hand and smiled faintly, exuding an aura of great splendor and majesty, “Do you know how many great poets speak of my reign back in the days of the Northern and Southern Dynasties? These lands of mine are second to none, even among the multitude of fiefdoms which exist under Hell’s overarching umbrella. Mr Li, why don’t you come work for me instead? Wouldn’t it be far better here than the little village that Hell is right now?”

Truth be told, it didn’t matter to him where he worked. However, Qin Ye had almost immediately conferred upon him the title of a Soul Hunter of Hell, and he knew full well that his conferment of title wasn’t a glorification of the office he had been given. Rather, it signified the extent of Qin Ye’s distrust for him, because it bound him inextricably to the ranks of an Emissary of Hell.

Liu Yu watched silently as he left the hall. In fact, the entire hall was silent. Several moments later, Liu Yu finally chuckled bitterly and slammed his chalice to the ground, “Insolence.”

“I gave him a way out, and he turned me down. What disrespect.”

“No.” Liu Yu glared at him fiercely, “That man is an imperial envoy of Hell when all is said and done. The imperial court meeting hasn’t taken place yet, so any such acts might well constitute treason! Yu Qian and Yang Jiye are still scrutinizing my every action with great vigilance as though they were protecting their sheep from a wolf.”

“My lord, it’s just a plain old sheet of paper. We’ve checked and verified it’s not hiding any Hell’s Arts or techniques. What could he possibly want with it?” “It’s not an edict either. The imperial envoy had mentioned that Hell would be preparing return gifts based on the responses provided in these forms. The way I see it, Hell’s actually afraid.” “That’s right… I’ve heard that he’s summoning the twelve envoys back to Hell at the end of this year, and this comes after a century of Hell’s silence. How could he not be afraid of what might happen?” “I’ve also heard that the new King Yanluo of Hell looks no different from a teenager. Haha… the second King Yanluo had only taken the throne because of how formidable he was. Such positions can only be taken by those who possess the power to back their throneship. So how could Lord Liu possibly condone the existence of a young sprout ruling over his fiefdom?”

“Your subject is here.”

“Yes!”

“These are tricks befitting only of a kid. Even though I don’t know what games you’re trying to play over here, but… I’ll oblige you with much reluctance for once…”

“After all, even tigers have to give some indulgence to monkeys from time to time.”

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1. Patty is likely a reference to Patty Hou, a female anchor in Taiwan known for her beauty.