514 One-Third of the Underworld

513 One-Third of the Underworld

[POV: War]

Two hundred years had passed since War’s last encounter with that slippery Da Wei. The man moved like a shadow across the layers of the Underworld, vanishing the moment War’s crimson banner appeared on the horizon. War stood atop the obsidian spire of his forward command, gaze fixed upon the glowing red marks etched into the skin of his wrist—two swords interlocked in an unbreakable Binding Vow.

A technique so simple, yet so profound. The Supreme Fate himself had forged the concept of Binding Vows to officiate heavenly unions and seal oaths between immortals. What was meant for sacred bonds and unbreakable pacts had become a cage that forced even the God of War from the battlefield. War had never imagined Da Wei would stoop to such a trick, promising a grand duel that bound both parties to face only each other and rendering all other conflicts meaningless until the vow was fulfilled.

The tales of Da Wei’s heroism, unyielding honor, and dignified bearing must have been heavily embellished by those who sang his praises. Those who had been deceived by him were likely too embarrassed to speak of their folly aloud. War himself felt the same sting. If his legions learned how easily he had been ensnared, the morale of his army would crumble like ancient ruins beneath a heavenly tribulation.

At that moment, two armored generals ascended the spire, their blood-red cloaks billowing with residual qi from the front lines.

“Lord War,” the first general reported, voice steady yet laced with battle-worn fatigue, “the fighting in the Eighth Layer grows ever more ferocious. The enemy’s assaults strike with unnatural precision, yet we still cannot discern how they slip behind our lines. Their forces appear from voids where no breach should exist, as though the very fabric of the layer bends to their will.”

The second general stepped forward, cupping his fists in deference. “On Famine’s front, progress continues steadily, my lord. His forces press deep into the Hollowed World, devouring supply lines and sowing despair among the mortal realms. The seeds of starvation bloom as planned, though the pace remains slower than anticipated due to unexpected resistance from Da Wei’s hidden allies.”

War’s fingers tightened around the hilt of his sheathed blade, the Binding Vow pulsing faintly like a mocking heartbeat. He said nothing, merely turning his gaze toward the distant haze where the Eighth Layer burned.

“Good,” said War. “Keep up the good work.”

…

..

.

[POV: Da Wei]

Mighty Duck cut silently through the vacuum of the Third Layer. It was Conquest’s turf. Sneaking through the Fourth and Third Layers had been a nightmare of close calls and hair-raising dodges, but we had pulled it off in just under two centuries. New personal record, I guess. Not bad for a guy who used to think “grinding” meant staying up late in an MMO.

My current party consisted of Hei Mao, Gu Jie, Chen Wei, Gao Fu, and Alice. We were a weird little family at this point, but it worked.

Hei Mao’s voice broke the quiet first. “It’s been some time since we last saw him. I wonder how Ru Qiu is holding up…”

Gu Jie answered before I could, her tone light but reassuring. “Father left an Ezekiel to accompany Ru Qiu, so he should be fine. Besides, you know how careful Father is with these things.”

I nodded, glancing at the group. “Just checked in with him a bit ago. Ru Qiu’s doing alright. Better than alright, actually. Judge Shi Chang’s been surprisingly generous and let us establish a proper base there. Guy’s got a soft spot for well-mannered invaders, I suppose.”

We had left the Heavenly Demon back in the Sixth Layer to kick off the next phase of the plan: summoning players. My Immortal Art: Divine Appointment of the Faithful acted like the ultimate control stick. With it, I could pull in my players directly into that layer without much hassle, letting us slowly but surely carve out territory. It carried risks, of course. The Sixth Layer was still technically Nidhogg’s domain, and poking that particular dragon wasn’t something I took lightly.

Thankfully, when Shi Chang finally handed over his symbol some time back, I had been able to officially claim the layer and set it as the official spawn point for the players. Right now, we controlled two full layers of the Underworld, namely the Ninth and the Sixth. The Eighth was still hotly contested between War’s forces and mine, turning into one long, ugly tug-of-war.

Right now, we were relying on a one-time-use warp array series that Alice and I had heavily modified. I had fused it with my Egress ability and layered in her planar spellwork, linking it straight to the outpost Ru Qiu had set up. Using Ophanim to peek a few seconds into the future, specifically the timeline where I actually activated the array, let me catch up on Ru Qiu’s situation in real time. It was the best insurance I could ask for, in case something went wrong in his side.

“We’re here,” I announced.

Before us floated a hauntingly beautiful island dominated by a grand castle constructed entirely from ivory bones. A few shambling undead wandered the grounds like lost souls, their movements slow and aimless under the dim astral light of the Third Layer.

Gao Fu studied the structure for a moment, then spoke with quiet certainty. “This is the place. The Bone Palace. It was said to be modeled after the Palace of Endings of the Supreme Death. If our intel is right—which it likely is, since the Judge of Order has little reason to lie—this should be where we can find the lord of the Third Layer, the Judge of Karma.”

Our ship hovered to a stop just outside the island’s perimeter as we stared down at the shambling dead below. They were all women.

Gao Fu’s face twisted into a grimace. “Oh, my dear sisters…”

Chen Wei frowned. “What are they doing here?”

Gao Fu’s voice carried a heavy sigh. “There was a time the Four Horsemen hunted us for sport, mostly Conquest. The Unsupreme Death doesn’t care for us. War only sees us as rivals. Famine only sees us as food. We, the Death Daughters, still possess an essence of the Supreme Death. Though small, we carry a sliver of potential that could be viewed as either a threat… or a means to an end. As you can see, Conquest has claimed almost all of my sisters.”

Hei Mao’s tone turned sharp with disbelief. “Aren’t you siblings? This is just too cruel.”

I glanced at the scene below and shrugged inwardly. One more reason to keep pushing forward. “I guess we have one more thing going for us. Hei Mao, can you resurrect them? Gao Fu, stick with Hei Mao. A familiar face ought to help them decide where to align their interests. Alice and Chen Wei, you’re with me.”

Gao Fu’s eyes widened in visible shock as Hei Mao gently but firmly ushered her toward the side of the ship. “Wait… my lord, you mean right now? I… I didn’t expect—”

Her words faded as the two of them separated from our group, basically dragged away by Hei Mao.

Gu Jie immediately cried out, “How about me!?”

I didn’t even look back. “You guard the ship.”

She pouted dramatically. “But I’m weak—”

“That won’t work on me,” I cut in. “You have Wen Yuhan with you. Don’t forget you still have your punishment to carry out.”

Without waiting for further complaints, I jumped from the deck. Alice and Chen Wei followed close behind. I activated Divine Step to lead the way, keeping the pace measured so Alice and Chen Wei could keep up. Both of them moved with Zealot’s Stride, their steps glowing with faint holy light against the dark bone-strewn ground.

The undead scattered across the island tried to lunge at us, but we were simply too fast. We reached the grand entrance of the Bone Palace in short order, where two enormous headless statues stood guard. Each one radiated the oppressive aura of the Ascended Soul realm, roughly over fifty layers of immortality. That meant they had to be killed at least fifty times, and you’d need at least an Immortal Art to make any real progress.

Chen Wei rolled his shoulders. “Go on your way. I can handle this.”

Alice hesitated. “But you don’t have an Immortal Art.”

Chen Wei flashed a confident grin. “I just need them to keep busy. Even if you stay, Lady Alice, it will take some time for you to kill these things. Moreover, uncle here can’t fight properly with the Binding Vow on his wrist. He’ll need you at his side if trouble shows up. I can handle myself just fine.”

I quickly consulted Ophanim, peering a few seconds ahead. In the vision, Chen Wei was absolutely giving those statues the beating of their lives. Whoa… the kid had gotten seriously strong while I wasn’t looking.

“He’ll be fine, Alice,” I said. “He’s no longer a kid.”

Chen Wei grinned wider as he summoned his sword from his pocket dimension with a flourish.

As Alice and I prepared to move, Chen Wei called out loudly to the nearest statue, his blade already flashing. “Come on, you big headless bastard! Let’s see how many times I have to chop you down before you stay down!”

I used Divine Step to slip past the rumbling stone guardians while Alice followed closely behind with short, precise teleports. The statues’ massive fists crashed down behind us, but we were already inside the shadowed halls of the Bone Palace.

We walked deeper into the Bone Palace. I honestly hadn’t expected one of the Judges of the Underworld to align himself with a Horseman, but when I thought about it, it made a twisted kind of sense. The Four Horsemen weren’t exactly invaders in the traditional sense. They were more like the consequences that showed up after the fact. Still, they were oppressors all the same.

When we finally reached the throne room, the sight that greeted us was… bizarre, to say the least. A rather portly man was on all fours, serving as a living seat, while an elegant woman lounged comfortably on his back. It was Pestilence, the alter ego of Conquest, the same figure who had once promised me her allegiance before heading off to a neighboring realm in search of traces of that hidden Supreme I had glimpsed.

If there was anyone among the Four Horsemen I had to stay most wary of, it was Conquest. Or Pestilence, as she stood before me now.

“Oh my, this is awkward,” Pestilence remarked with a playful lilt.

The Judge of Karma, still on all fours, spoke up. “My lady, do you wish me to shoo away the outsiders? With my immortal treasures and immortal arts, it should be easy.”

Pestilence clicked her tongue. “You forgot the oink, piggy. And I just have to remind you, this is my liege. You should show him proper respect.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Why sit on him when there’s a perfectly functioning throne right there?”

Her cheeks flushed with obvious delight. “Of course it’s to establish dominance! The thrill! The joy! The conquest! Don’t you agree, pig?”

“YES, MY LADY!” the Judge of Karma answered enthusiastically. “Um… er… oink?”

Why was the guy sweating so much? Was she really that heavy? No… the poor fatty was clearly being cursed.

“How about you try it?” Pestilence offered cheerfully. She slid off the man and dropped onto all fours herself, looking up at me expectantly.

I was speechless.

Alice glanced at me, then took the newly freed spot. She sat down on the Judge of Karma without hesitation.

“Um… Is this… Uh… sure, help yourself… oink…” the Judge mumbled.

Alice stared straight at me, her expression a clear dare.

With a mental sigh, I sat down on Pestilence’s back. I played along, figuring I couldn’t afford to burst Conquest’s lies or Pestilence’s schemes right now. I had been so convinced back then when she told me she only wanted to survive and replace the Supreme Death. What if there was some other play I was still unaware of?

“How long have you been here?” I asked. “Since when did you get back?”

When an individual come from another realm and entered the Underworld, the first place you’d land would always be the Ninth Layer with the exception of Nidhogg messing around. So what was Pestilence doing all the way up here in the Third? It was suspicious as hell.

“Not long ago,” Pestilence replied. “I wanted to meet you immediately, my lord. But I couldn’t find you in the Ninth Layer, so I decided to come here to relax a little. It’s quite annoying, because of the War waging war, get it?” She giggled at her own pun. “Can you imagine? He’s demanding I fight you. Of course, I will never betray you, my lord.”

My Divine Sense told me she was speaking the truth, but I couldn’t shake the doubt anyway.

“I’m here to take ownership of this layer,” I said. “That’s why I’ve been looking for the Judge of Karma. You don’t mind?”

“I don’t mind at all,” Pestilence answered lightly. “It’s not like I actually rule this layer. I just keep him because he’s fun.”

The Judge of Karma spoke up from under Alice. “I refuse. I decided to fall in line under Conquest because I get to keep ownership of the layer. Even while subservient, I am still able to perform my duties, watching cause and effect across lifetimes and judging the passing souls who seek my verdict.”

“But the number of those souls has been decreasing, hasn’t it?” I countered. “At some point you’ll have no souls left to judge, and you’ll be left with nothing. Just give me your symbol and let me claim this layer. The Judge of Fate and the Judge of Order already gave me theirs. If you hand over yours, I’ll already have one-third of the Underworld in my grasp.”

The Judge of Karma sounded genuinely confused. “Wait, Judge of Order? How did you even pull that off? Didn’t he go to the deep end and start going crazy?”

“He’s faking it,” I said simply.

I stood up from Pestilence’s back. She let out a disappointed little sigh that sounded far too playful for the situation.

Alice stood up beside me as well. Pestilence straightened herself elegantly while the Judge of Karma shifted into a proper kneeling position.

“If you are telling the truth,” the Judge said, “then I shall give it to you.”

Pestilence smiled brightly. “He can be trusted. After all, I serve him.”

She suddenly clung to my arm, but quickly let go when Alice leveled a sharp glare at her. Way to go, Alice. Despite being a major realm weaker, she wasn’t the least bit intimidated by Pestilence.

“My name is Wang Yang,” the Judge introduced himself. “Wang Zhou, the former ruler of the Ninth Layer, was a distant relative of mine.” He kowtowed deeply. “This Wang Yang is at your service. May I know the name of the master I now serve?”

“The name’s Da Wei,” I replied.

He offered me his symbol, a smooth marble that gleamed with karmic light. “I offer you the Third Layer of the Underworld, Lord Da Wei.”

I accepted it, and the marble dissolved into my body. From that moment on, one-third of the Underworld was firmly in my grasp.