Yama Rising

Chapter 561: Red Zone (2)

The map revealed that Geumjeong District and Gijang County were both scarlet, red zones.

Unfortunately it wasn’t the time to be thinking about these things. As he drew closer and closer to the edge of the boundaries that separated the two districts, a massive wall appeared right in front of his very eyes.

The way through was obstructed by a giant 20-meter wide gate bound up tightly with chains and plastered all over with talismans. The talismans were drawn up with intricate patterns and Cathayan words on them. Qin Ye could even sense a faint trace of Judge-class true energy lingering along the surface of these talismans.

Whoosh… An icy wind swept from beyond the gates, carrying with it traces of the hissing of wild beasts. The faint stench of death and the oppressiveness of the silence on the other side of the fence was chilling.

“Vajra Voodoo Array?” Wang Chenghao adjusted his glasses, “Why is Daehan using our Cathayan arrays at every turn of the road?”

One of the officers marched right over and scanned the permits, and then nodded. Just as he was about to address them, QIn Ye promptly asked, “How many living people are there on the other side?”

“What?!” Qin Ye gently tapped on the window to his vehicle with a faint smile, “Aren’t you going to rescue them?”

He glanced at the towering wall that kept the abyss of zombies out, “Every day, we airdrop supplies and ammunition to the survivors on the other side. There are still two divisions of military troops on the other side…”

Hut! Taking cue from their commander, the other soldiers in the vicinity promptly followed suit.

He didn’t have a good impression of Daehan thus far.

After all, all things were equal when it came to matters of life and death.

Wang Chenghao shook his head, “No, Brother Qin, I think that… perhaps this might be exactly why Granny Meng and the others have selected you among everyone else.”

Eh? Why does it seem like a certain One Tail has suddenly gained enlightenment?

Whoosh... A tide of dark Yin energy rushed out from within. It was clearly daytime, yet the Geumjeong District appeared as dark as night, just like a deep abyss devoid of sunlight. Countless scarlet eyes lit up in the darkness at once and looked over to the other side.

It was the sound of a stampede of countless people.

Sss… Ahh… Urrrgghhh… The rumble of footsteps were interspersed with snarls and groans that were filled with avarice and bloodlust. The sea of scarlet eyes were rushing straight towards the main gate, bringing with them a wave of nauseating stench arising out of their festering flesh and gnarly bodies. Amidst the cacophony of gasps and ragged breaths of the living, the specially modified car revved its engine and hurtled bravely through the main gate.

They could sense that… there were no living human beings in this vehicle.

If he were going to intercept Liu Yu’s harvest of faith, he would first have to understand the script of death in its entirety. Moreover, he would have to act without divulging his own identity as the King Yanluo of Hell. Otherwise… the fact that the King Yanluo of Hell is acting upon something as trivial as this would give the Russian Underworld far too much insight as to Hell’s current state of affairs.

Eh? Someone’s a little impatient today, isn’t he?

Hmph… I’ll show you…”About that… I’m about to head out to do something outrageous. Wouldn’t I be daft not to reach out to someone as intelligent and all-knowing as you before I do?”

“Speak.” The Second King Yanluo of Hell didn’t even deign to look Qin Ye in the eye.

“I’d like your help to disguise me as one of the most well-known Infernal Judges known to the netherworld.

The Second King Yanluo looked at him with a smirk. After some time, he finally chuckled, “You’re finally shaping up a little.”

Why are you giving me that ‘my foolish brother’ look?

“Liu Yu is merely an Infernal Judge. Who cares if he’s the most powerful one of them all? All traitors must die!” The Second King Yanluo calmly sentenced Liu Yu to death, “The fact that I can’t care less about him doesn’t mean that he’s automatically given the right to act all haughty and mighty. The twelve envoys have been left as a sort of proving ground to you. Deal with them well, and you’ll naturally be qualified to take to the larger international stage and take on the old fogeys of the long-standing underworlds around.”

“You might have some lingering hatred for me from the Hungry Ghost Festival, but…” Xu Yangyi smiled, “I don’t care.”

Qin Ye cursed under his breath.

Isn’t this… one of the four evil arts of the East Continent, the Metamorphosis Technique?

Whoosh! Qin Ye’s Yin energy soared, and he promptly clothed himself with his Hell’s Emissary state.

He’d now become far more awe-inspiring. He was clothed with a Tang Dynasty round-necked robe that was embroidered with the Torch Dragon holding up a lamp. His head was wrapped with a soft veil, and a sword hung loosely by his waist. There was even a snow-white cloak attached to his scarlet official robes.

However, the screen of light soon vanished without a trace. Qin Ye tutted softly - What kind of a fella is this? How dare he act so arrogantly to me when he’s still living and feeding off the food that I bring to the table?!

He wanted them to act more scrupulously and fall in line. This would most certainly smoothen the path to reaping the harvest of faith.

All Infernal Judges were bestowed with a Book of Life and Death. Naturally, this wasn’t quite the same as the divine artifact of Hell, but it was for all intents and purposes a replica of the same. To this end, the first page of the faux Book of Life and Death would also be embossed with the name of the holder.

There were two words written in calligraphic strokes.

That’s the epitome of identity theft… Qin Ye took a deep breath and tightened his grasp around the Book of Life and Death as he turned to look at the lifeless city in the distance.

There weren’t any pedestrians out on the roads. The tall buildings in the downtown areas were completely dark and devoid of light. Even the roadside stores and supermarkets were all tightly shuttered with “temporarily closed” signs hanging right at the front of these buildings. The entire city appeared to have entered the twilight zone, and the air felt dead and dank.

And… that’s not all.

Whether young or old, male or female, all were all dressed in modern clothes in their pre-mortem attire. However, most of their bodies appeared gnawed and mutilated, almost as though Pusan had just experienced a terrifying stampede of demonic beasts that had poured out from a portal to the abyss and turned the entire city into a living nightmare overnight.

“There were so many living dead just a little while ago. We’ve not traveled for more than a few minutes, but… where have they all gone?”