If one were to say that Hell was black, then commencing from May of this year, red began to sweep over the entirety of Hell in a frenzy, starting from Eastmount Province and Insignia Province!
Arthis led an army of 80,000, entering the Northriver Province through the Eastmount Province before crossing the great defense line formed by Yan Capital and Skyford City and advancing deep into the Mongolian grasslands. Their planned route was to travel from Mongolia to the upper half of the Longxi Province, then to the western border and through the city of Haining before finally reaching the northwestern region of the Westriver Province.
Meanwhile, Zhao Yun led an army of 80,000, entering the Southriver Province through the Insignia Province, then crossing through the Shaanxi Province and the lower half of the Longxi Province, aiming for the northeastern region of the Westriver Province as their destination.
As for Oda Nobunaga and Oda Nobutada, they led an army of 160,000, entering Nanling County through the city of Jingzhou, then passing through the city of Qianzhou en route to the eastern region of the Westriver Province.
These were the routes planned out by the military headquarters, and they passed through virtually all of the important provinces in the city, traveling up along the Yellow River before surrounding the Westriver Province together. After all, the most important part of connecting all of the regions of Hell was to eradicate all of the monarch beasts that resided in those regions. They had to examine all of the major mountains to see if there was space to facilitate the reincarnation of Yin beasts, and it was quite a tall task.
The three armies were unmatched as they stained the entire map red bit by bit from east to west. Countless messenger birds were flying back and forth between the armies every single day, and both Hell and the mortal realm were paying close attention to this monumental war.
7th August. the Southriver Province was liberated, and in the same week, Jingzhou City was liberated. Thus, two of the army branches officially entered the central region of Cathay's Hell, and they were traveling directly toward the Central Plains.
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Shaanxi Province, Anyan City, Hukouxiang.
This was where the renowned Yellow River Hukou Waterfall was situated. There was also such a river in Hell, but it was even more spectacular than the one in the mortal realm.
The waterfall had seven levels, each of which was around seven to eight meters tall, and the entire waterfall was close to 60 meters tall! The turbulent water of the Yellow River was crashing down with unstoppable might with rumbling Yin energy interspersed throughout. This river was surrounded by the embrace of a cluster of mountains, and this mountain range was also not an ordinary mountain range.
The entire mountain range was littered with over 1,000,000 caves of different sizes, with the largest ones close to 10 meters in size, while even the smallest were around two to three meters. Furthermore, the caves were extremely deep and dark, almost resembling entrances leading into the depths of hell. Bursts of inky-black Yin energy were billowing out of the caves, giving them the appearance of a skull that was riddled with countless holes, presenting an unsettling sight to behold.
There were also all types of flags standing all over this giant mountain range.
The flags were very crude, and most of them were constructed from leaves. There wasn't even a single cloth flag among them, let alone flags with metal poles. Each cave was also covered by a series of vines woven from branches, as if to act as doors. In addition to that, there were over 1,000 young and fit Yin spirits present that were split up into orderly squads, patrolling the area while wielding sharpened wooden sticks. Occasionally, a Yin spirit could be seen entering or exiting the caves in the mountain range.
This was a city. To put it more accurately, it was a settlement. However, it was a settlement outside of Everburn and Ashmound, one that had never been discovered and belonged to another province!
Among a patrol squad on the outskirts of the mountain range, a Yin spirit who was dressed quite fashionably sighed, "Now that I think about it, we've been here for over 10 years."
While it was true that they were patrolling the area, they didn't look the part at all. It was clear that there were no industries here, and everyone was wearing the same clothes they had been wearing at their time of death. Anyone who was holding a wooden spear qualified as a patrol. The only signs of civilization here were some wooden boards placed in front of the doors, and they were completely natural and unrefined.
"Indeed, it's been 12 years," a Yin spirit in his early thirties sighed as he looked around in a sorrowful manner. "12 whole years, and we haven't even set foot once outside of this mountain range."
This squad was comprised of around 10 Yin spirits, and they were seated casually on some rocks, clearly already accustomed to their monotonous patrol duty. A middle-aged Yin spirit in his forties plunged his wooden spear onto the ground in front of him, then looked up at the seven-tiered waterfall as he murmured to himself, "How are we supposed to step out of this place? During these past 12 years, we've been attacked by monsters on four occasions. The higher-ups can't do anything, so all we can do is hide in these caves and pray that the monsters don't hunt us down. Every attack we suffer, over 1,000 of us will vanish; we're already very lucky to even be standing here today."
He kicked his wooden spear with a wry smile, but the spear remained completely unmoved. "How do you propose we venture out of here? By arming ourselves with these wooden spears?"
"It's important to be satisfied with what you have," a Yin spirit who was around 60 years of age said as he stared absentmindedly up at the chaotic netherflames in the pitch-black sky.
"We're already very fortunate to still be alive. It's not like the higher-ups haven't sent out scouts to explore the outside world, but what good has come of that? This is the only settlement in a radius of several hundred kilometers. Occasionally, you can see people like us in a barren region even further away. They'll enter through that strange crack, but they're all quickly eaten by the descendants of those monsters, so like I said, we're already very lucky to still be alive."
He heaved a long sigh before musing, "Who would've thought that the afterworld would look like this?"
"Indeed! Where are the Yama-Kings of the 10 Palaces? Where is Fengdu and the netherworldly city?"
"Seeing as there's a world after death, where are the legendary Yin Soldiers?"
"Hehe... Yin Soldiers? Yama-Kings? Fengdu? They're just myths. I'm so disappointed in them that I'm already well past the point of despair."
"Just keep living; there's always a chance that our luck will turn as long as we remain alive."
The elderly man smiled as he stood up and said, "Let's go. Aren't things already much better now? At the very least, everyone has something to do and a place to live..."
All of a sudden, his voice drew to an abrupt, and his eyes widened with incredulity as he stared directly forward.
Everyone else was huddled around in front of him, so they didn't notice anything amiss, and a young Yin spirit asked in a perplexed manner, "Why did you suddenly stop talking, Uncle Liu?"
Uncle Liu's mouth was gaped open slightly, and his hand was trembling uncontrollably as he pointed in the direction behind the other Yin spirits. A bone-chilling sensation immediately surged up into the heads of the Yin spirits, and the fine hairs on the back of their necks stood up on end as they turned their heads around in a stiff and robotic manner.
Whoosh!!
There was a lush forest in the distance, and all of a sudden, an inky-black Yin cloud suddenly exploded! It was as if countless birds had fled their nests in unison, quickly encompassing the entire sky and sweeping up fierce Yin winds that made their Yin energy dance in a wild frenzy!
That wasn't a dark cloud; it was a type of monster that fed exclusively on Yin spirits.
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They were rather similar to bats, but they had human faces and fleshy wings that resembled human ears. At this moment, netherfire was dancing wildly in their eyes, and they opened their mouths to reveal rows of sharp fangs, screeching as they flew over the squad of Yin spirits.
They were far too fast, so fast that the Yin spirits didn't even have a chance to react. Only after two seconds had passed did all of the Yin spirits shudder in unison, and only then did they suddenly realize that they were still alive!
"Was that... a beast tide?!" A patrol also began to scream in panic. "We.. we have to hurry and report this to the higher-ups right away! The beast tide is here again! They're here to eat us again... Waaah..."
Before he had a chance to finish speaking, Uncle Liu had already clamped a hand tightly over his mouth, and he whispered urgently, "Get down and don't move!"
Rumble... The dark clouds swept over the sky as fast as lightning as the Yin spirits cowered on the ground, feeling as if even their souls were trembling. However, three seconds later, all of the Yin spirits raised their heads again, and they were greeted by the sight of... light?
Boundless light filtered down through the gaps of the dark clouds formed by the beast tide, illuminating the earth and transforming into a vast expanse of scarlet. It was like the rising sun tearing through the night, and before the Yin spirits had a chance to react...
Boom!!!
Boundless heavenly flames exploded like a scorching sun, releasing countless waves of fire. Immediately thereafter, a burst of earth-shattering sizzling rang out above them.
They didn't dare to move; only their netherfire was dancing wildly while they each curled up into a ball with their arms hugging their heads. Only after a full five minutes had passed did Uncle Liu raise his head in a fearful manner.
"My god..." Uncle Liu immediately drew a sharp breath at the sight that he beheld, and he felt as if he were on the verge of asphyxiation. He stared blankly up at the sky, feeling as if he were witnessing Armageddon.
The sky resembled a sea of blood, while all of the clouds had been set alight.
A sea of fire was burning violently above them, and countless Yin beasts were being incinerated into ashes within the flames. Black Yin energy and scarlet netherflames combined to form a vivid spectacle of death and destruction. Beneath these lethal heavens, the Yin spirits seemed so tiny and insignificant, to the point that they could only worship and revere the marvelous scene unfolding above them.
"Wh... what is that..." Uncle Liu's was so faint that it was barely audible.
Meanwhile, the Yin spirits around him were already screaming. "Arrows!! Look!! Those are Arrows!!"
"Holy shit!! Those really are arrows!"
"What the hell is going on?! Where did these arrows come from?!"
"This is incredible... Wh, who's doing this? What's doing this?"
"Ar, are my eyes playing tricks on me?! Those are arrows!"
Above the waves of fire, arrows were falling like a meteor shower. These arrows were burning with scarlet flames as they launched an indiscriminate assault on the entire sky, exploding upon contact with those bat-like monsters, but there were also some arrows that slipped through and landed on the ground without striking any targets.
Thk! An arrow plunged straight into the ground several meters in front of the squad of Yin spirits, and the tail of the arrow was still trembling slightly. All of the Yin spirits looked on with their mouths gaped wide open, and their minds had gone completely blank as they exchanged a few bewildered glances.
Those were arrows! Those really were arrows, the very same one that they had seen in historical dramas during the time they had been alive!
But... How is this possible?!
In order to construct arrows, many prerequisites had to be satisfied, including metallurgy and suitable adhesive materials! They had searched for over 10 years for a way to smelt iron ore, all to no avail, yet arrows had appeared right in front of them!
Hold on...
"These arrows must indicate that an army is nearby..." Uncle Liu said in a trembling voice, and the netherflames in his eyes flickered as he appraised the forest from which the monsters had emerged.
"An army has arrived, and it's definitely one that we can't oppose... For them to have arrows... This must be some type of regular army!!"
Before he had a chance to finish, the earth began to tremor violently.
Dong dong dong... It was as if some type of gigantic creature were ramming itself repeatedly into the ground, causing the earth to tremor to such an extent that it was discernible to the naked eye. In the forest, countless trees were being felled, and the canopies of the remaining trees were all swaying violently. 10 seconds later, a massive tortoise monster rushed out of the forest amid a horrified roar, then rose up into the air before falling heavily back onto the ground.
Boom! A vast expanse of dust was flung up into the air by the impact of the giant monster's fall, and all of the Yin spirits that bore witness to this were completely rooted to the spot.
They were far too familiar with this monster; this was the leader of all of the monsters, and it had devoured thousands of Yin spirits during the past dozen or so years.
However, why were there so many arrows on its back? In addition to that, there were also spears and... were those pieces of broken armor?
It was armor! It really was armor!
In that instant, their worldview was completely tipped on its head, and they felt like humans coming into contact with a type III civilization for the very first time.
This army was from another city, one that was far more advanced than theirs, perhaps even one that was from a higher dimension altogether.
This army was currently traveling toward them, and they were hunting down these monsters, which had slaughtered thousands of Yin spirits from Deadsend City, but were completely powerless against their enforcers!
"Wh... who are they?!"