Yama Rising

Everyone remained silent, and all of the death gods were gnashing their teeth together with indignation. No one was going to be pleased with this type of coercion, but rising up in resistance was clearly not a wise option here.

They only had 100 years left. If all of the underworlds fought on their own, then there was no way that they'd be able to oppose the canter underworld. Once a foothold was established on Earth, the canter underworld would be able to send unlimited reinforcements to support the war effort, and no matter how powerful the four pillars were, their downfall would only be a matter of time.

At the same time, if they refused to accept this arrangement, then they wouldn't' be allowed to leave, and their underworld would be forcibly taken from them anyway. No one was of the opinion that this could've been a joke or a prank. The subject matter was simply too serious for jokes to be made here, and the ruler death gods of the four pillars certainly weren't so bored that they would join forces just to prank the entire underworld.

What if they were to agree?

All of the underworlds would receive rapid development, as well as shared resources, skilled personnel, and technology.

All of those patents and pieces of technology that they had been eyeing with envy in the past, including even forbidden arts, would be shared with them!

With that in mind, it seemed that this arrangement suddenly wasn't so difficult to accept.

The only thing that was preventing them from agreeing right away was the feeling of indignation from being forced into this arrangement, even though they knew the most of them wouldn't have been willing to accept this if the meeting had been arranged on an amicable basis.

Hela took a deep breath, then gritted her teeth as she asked, "What if the ruler death god of one of the alliances has had a major conflict with a member of their alliance in the past?"

She was naturally referring to the five Northern Europa nations.

Back when their confrontation with the Argosian Underworld had reached its most severe point, the Argosian Underworld had already begun constructing forbidden arts on their coastline. If it weren't for the Cathayan Underworld's intervention, the five Northern Europa underworlds would've most likely ceased to exist given another century.

There were many other similar examples as well. For example, the Red Moon Federation and the Star Cluster Alliance had major border disputes with the Indonesian Underworld. If these issues couldn't be addressed properly before forcing the underworlds into alliances, then it would only be a matter of time before everything fell apart.

Even though this wasn't a direct agreement, the ruler death gods of the four pillars all heaved internal sighs of relief. The fact that this question was being raised at all was already a sign that they were willing to accept this arrangement, and at this point, they were merely negotiating terms.

A faint smile appeared on Yamaraja's face. It made sense that the other death gods would be willing to accept this arrangement. They had already been forced into corners, so they had no choice but to accept.

They were tempting all of the death gods with hefty benefits, but they were also willing to enforce this plan through violence. Prior to coming here, they had already mentally prepared themselves to destroy a few civilizations should that have been required.

Unbeknownst to everyone, the armies of the Argosian Underworld, the Aegyptian Underworld, and the Hindustani Underworld had already traveled to the Strait of Tsushima and the Mediterranean Sea. The Golden Fleet and the Naga Fleet could be deployed at any time, and any resistance from the death gods present would be quelled through devastating means!

Of course, with the four pillars united, no one in the underworld would've been capable of opposing them anyway. The Alkebulan Underworlds were most likely going to remain neutral, while the new continent also seemed to have approved of this plan, so if a war really were to erupt, then the outcome of that war would've been all but decided from the very beginning.

"The four pillars will sign Heavenly Dao Contracts with all of the underworlds joining the eight alliances," Qin Ye assured. "There's no need to worry about prior conflicts. As long as you're in the eight alliances, you'll be our allies with whom we'll oppose the canter underworld together. There's no way that we'll do something to whittle down our own power."

The four pillars are willing to sign Heavenly Dao Contracts with us?

All of the ruler death gods were truly reassured upon hearing this. Heavenly Dao Contracts were agreements of the highest caliber in this plane, and the fact that they were being offered was a sign of the four pillars' determination.

"In that case, a clause must be included, stating that after the conclusion of the interplanar war, the eight alliances will be dissolved, and all of the underworlds will return to their original positions," a death god requested.

"Of course."

Silence.

All of the ruler death gods had fallen into silent contemplation, thinking about what else they could negotiate.

Qin Ye swept his gaze around the entire venue, then said, "Everyone, this is both a challenge and also an opportunity. Challenges and opportunities have always come hand in hand. Regardless of whether you choose to join or not, the outcome will not change. The eight alliances will still be formed, and those who refuse to join it will cease to exist. The space exploration era is a brand new beginning. In that new era, any underworld could have a chance of experiencing a meteoric rise. On top of that, in the initial phase of that era, the four pillars won't impose any restrictions. All underworlds will set off in completely different directions, and even setting off earlier or later by a single day could yield completely different outcomes. It's time to make your decisions, everyone. We'll need to discuss the specific details together, but the decision must be made now."

Everyone continued to remain silent.

15 minutes of silence quickly passed by. Only after close to half an hour had passed did Mythic Spirit Black Mamba finally rise to his feet, then took a deep breath as he declared in a solemn voice, "I am willing to join the Mythic Spirit Alliance."

Right as his voice trailed off, a string of voices rang out at almost the exact same time.

"I am also willing to join the Mythic Spirit Alliance."

"As am I."

"Count me in too."

All of the ruler death gods turned around with surprised expressions to find that all of the Mythic Spirits of the Alkebulan Underworlds had risen to their feet.

Mythic Spirit Black Mamba, Mythic Spirit Golden Rhinoceros, Mythic Spirit Emerald Hummingbird, Mythic Spirit Phoenix... All of the dozens of Mythic Spirits of the Alkebulan Underworlds had stood up at once, and it was as if the entire world had agreed!

The Alkebulan Underworlds' Mythic Spirits were definitely not the most powerful of death gods. Due to the fact that they had been artificially raised to this level by the Plumed Serpent God, there was no way that they would ever go beyond the initial Yama-King level. Even during international conferences, they only held a single vote between them, but the one thing that they had in their favor was numbers!

They had dozens of tribes, represented by dozens of Mythic Spirits, and they had all stood up! Even though all of the other ruler death gods knew that the Mythic Spirits only held a single vote, this was still an astonishing sight!

The Alkebulan Underworlds had chosen to cooperate. The entirety of Eastern Asia was under the Cathayan Underworld's control, while the Hindustani Underworld controlled the Strait of Tsushima and the Maluku Islands. The Middle East was the Aegyptian Underworld's territory, and then came the Argosian Underworld... Out of all of the land in the entire underworld, they took up over 50%!

Anko's fingernails were digging tightly into her palms, and just now, she had almost been swept up by the trend and also agreed to join the eight alliances. However, she was unable to bring herself to do so in the end.

As a ruler death god, she had her own divine nation! Why should she allow herself to be led by others?

"Thank you for your understanding." Qin Ye nodded in Thanatos's direction, and the latter's fingers moved slightly, upon which the array of death beside the Alkebulan Underworlds' Mythic Spirits silently vanished. The Mythic Spirits exchanged a few glances with one another, then vanished on the spot as bursts of Yin energy. By the time they reappeared, they had already appeared on the main stage, and they sat down in silence onto the dozens of seats that had already been prepared on the stage.

"Our patience is limited, everyone," Qin Ye said as a cold look appeared on his face. "There are only 100 years before the commencement of the interplanar war. Also, let me reveal one more thing to all of you: the Cathayan Underworld wasn't the first one to discover the interplanar threat. Instead, it was the new continent."

A string of gasps instantly rang out in response, but he ignored everyone's stunned reactions as he continued, "In order to survive, Mictlantecutli and Mictetikasiwa turned to space. They were the first ones to develop the super astronomical telescope, and it was also them who discovered the interplanar threat first. They stand with us... Do you understand?"

"We can give you a final half-hour to make your decision," Anubis said as he also rose to his feet. "I respect all cultures, civilizations, and underworlds, but that doesn't mean that I'm going to tolerate division and lack of cooperation even as the entire underworld is on the cusp of destruction!"

Yamaraja and Thanatos also stood up in unison, and even though they weren't saying anything, the Yin energy of four advanced Yama-Kings was as vast as the sea, crashing into every single corner of the conference hall, urging everyone to make their decisions.

The souls of the Prefect-level and Judge-level ruler death gods present were being compressed under the immense pressure, and everyone felt as if there were a massive mountain weighing down directly upon them.

It was as if the sound of a ticking countdown timer could be heard, and finally, after another 10 minutes, Hela stood up with gritted teeth. At the same time, she was joined by J?rmungandr and Fenrir.

Hela opened her mouth. Due to the fact that she was attending an international conference, she had made sure to put on her most splendid makeup. Her lips were gleaming as if they had been dipped in diamond powder, but after opening and closing her mouth several times in succession, she was still unable to say anything.

After a few seconds, J?rmungandr decided to speak up in her stead, setting down all of his pride as he declared, "The five nations of Northern Europa have decided to join the Europa Alliance. I hope you won't make us regret our decision in the future."

"The Europa Alliance welcomes you all," Thanatos said with a smile. "Trust me, you definitely won't regret this decision. From now on, all of the past differences between the Argosian Underworld and the five Northern Europa underworlds will be seen as bygones."

The Northern Europa death gods nodded in response, then vanished on the spot before appearing on the main stage.

Thus far, two underworlds had agreed to join the alliances, and both were significant powerhouses. Their departure seemed to have sent a signal to all of the other death gods, and soon, a figure clad in a black cloak also rose to his feet.

It was the nameless god of death!

Everyone's attention was immediately drawn to him. He was the ruler death god of a first-rate underworld, one that controlled close to 10% of all of the entire underworld's landmass! What was his decision going to be?

"The Russian Underworld will join the Northern Alliance." The nameless god of death extended a slight bow toward the main stage as he spoke, and the array of death around him instantly faded.

All of the remaining death gods heaved a collective forlorn sigh upon seeing this.

Thus far, around 90% of all of the world's territory had chosen to join the alliance, so there really was no point for them to hold out any longer.

"The Red Moon Federation will join the Southern Alliance."

"The Star Cluster Alliance will join the Southern Alliance."

"The Lithuanian Underworld will join the Europa Alliance."

"The Celtic Underworld will join the Northern Alliance."

In the blink of an eye, one figure after another rose to their feet, and more and more figures were gathering on the main stage!

In the span of less than 10 minutes, all of the ruler death gods had made their decisions.

No matter how reluctant some of them were, all of the underworlds of the plane had finally been united as one.

The ruler death gods of the four pillars turned toward the death gods seated behind them, then extended a bow together.

"Thank you for your understanding, everyone. From this day forth, you will be our allies in facing the canter underworld. With the eight alliances established, there will no longer be any national borders. We will advance together to usher in a new era for our plane! Everyone, please gather at the Mahabodhi Temple tomorrow for further details to be discussed. We must begin preparations for the interplanar war in 100 years right away!"