Chapter 1202: The Verdict on Liu Yu

There was another reason why Qin Ye didn't want to kill Liu Yu right away, and that was because he wanted the records of his interactions and dealings with other nations.

It would be very simple to kill Liu Yu. However, if he were to give Liu Yu no hope at all, then there was a very good chance that Liu Yu would simply refuse to say anything or provide false information. If that were to happen, he wouldn't be able to derive any benefit out of this.

Thus, he wanted Liu Yu to hand over the information himself.

With a gentle wave of his hand, the box flew into Qin Ye's grasp, following which he returned to his seat as a gust of Yin wind, and only after a long while did he speak again.

"Liu Yu."

"I'm here."

"In the wake of the fall of Fengdu, you staged a coup with the forces of Hanyang, and that is a crime of treason. You established your own territory, refusing to return to the Cathayan Underworld, that is a crime of insubordination. You collaborated with external forces to conspire against your own nation, and that is a crime of disloyalty. For those three crimes, you will be sentenced to the ultimate punishment in the six paths of reincarnation."

In that instant, Liu Yu's breathing completely stopped, and he felt as if the world were falling apart around him.

His vision went completely dark, and he was clawing at the carpet with such force that it was being torn by his fingers. He opened his mouth several times to say something, but was unable to say anything in the end.

No... It shouldn't be like this... I don't want my name to be disgraced like this!

Right at this moment, Qin Ye's voice rang out again. "However, in light of the fact that you're sincere in your desire to redeem yourself and the service you've provided to the old Hell..."

He paused intentionally as he cast his gaze toward Liu Yu.

Liu Yu had bitten through his lower lip, and his body was trembling uncontrollably.

"You will be sent to the path of the beast for three lifetimes, after which you will get a chance to serve Hell again."

Liu Yu felt as if a massive weight had fallen off his shoulders, and he kowtowed once again in a wooden manner. "I accept my fate and thank you for your kindness..."

A Soul Shackle extended out of the heavens, plunging into Liu Yu's chest before dragging him away.

"How fortunate for him," Yu Qian sighed before turning to Qin Ye with a smile. "Your generosity truly knows no bounds, Yanluo Qin. Had I been in your position, I wouldn't have been so kind."

Qin Ye smiled in response and offered no reply. At this point, the 12 envoys were virtually negligible to the current Hell, so sentencing Liu Yu didn't affect him much on an emotional level.

"Get Zhou Gongjin to come and see me," he said in an indifferent voice.

As soon as the order was issued, a voice declared from outside, "Zhou Gongjin, Yanluo Qin will see you now!"

At the same time, the sound of a long horn rang out, and the gates were opened one after another. Soon, Zhou Yu made his way into the palace, clad in a full suit of armor, then cupped his fist in a salute. "Zhou Gongjin pays his respects to Yanluo Qin."

Qin Ye was seated casually on his throne, gently drumming the armrest with his fingers as he said with a smile, "Long time no see, Commander Zhou. Have you been well?"

The netherfire in Zhou Yu's eyes flickered slightly as he hurriedly replied, "I have been well, thank you for asking, Your Excellency."

"No need for formalities," Qin Ye said. "I saw the valiant efforts of the 12 envoys during the Battle of Zhuolu."

"We were only doing what was to be expected of us."

These replies were a little rigid, and Qin Ye didn't like that. He put on a nonchalant display as he remarked, "It looks like the 12 envoys are still as powerful as ever."

It seemed like nothing more than an errant remark, but it immediately set Zhou Yu's mind racing.

What's that supposed to mean? Does he think we're too powerful and is beginning to grow wary of us?

He carefully contemplated his words before replying, "In order to make up for our past mistakes, we haven't dared to slack off in our training for even a single day so that we would constantly be ready to serve Hell when required."

The fear and caution in Zhou Yu's words were very apparent, and Qin Ye couldn't help but think back to the time when the 12 envoys had stormed Everburn, which was only a plot of barren land. He was willing to bet that they had never thought the day would come where they would have to Hell like this.

"How is the training of the naval forces coming along?"

The netherfire in Zhou Yu's eyes flickered once again upon hearing this, and he seemed to have realized something as he replied, "I've been constantly training our naval forces in preparation for the day that they'll be deployed."

Qin Ye nodded in response. "I have a mission, and after much thought, I realized that you're the only one capable of undertaking it. In the wake of Liu Yu's punishment, Hanyang will be vacant. However, the Hanyang Underworld is situated at a very important location, monitoring both the Strait of Tsushima and the Russian Underworld, so it cannot be without a leader. Will you be able to take over?"

"Yes, Yanluo Qin! I would be honored!" Zhou Yu immediately replied as he cupped his fist in an elated salute.

Qin Ye cautioned with a meaningful expression, "Don't forget that these are naval forces of the sea, which are different from the naval forces of the Red Cliffs."

"I've never trained sea-dwelling naval forces, but I'm willing to give it a try!" Zhou Yu certainly wasn't going to pass up this opportunity!

"Alright, you can go now," Qin Ye said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "You'll receive an official assignment notice within a week. As for what you're going to do and how you're expected to develop Hanyang, Governor Qin Hui will be the one to tell you all that."

"Yes!" Zhou Yu took a deep breath before departing from the hall.

Inside the hall, Qin Ye exchanged a glance with Yu Qian and Yang Jiye. At this point, all of the preparations were underway, and all that was left was for the panel of advisors to go through the information provided by Liu Yu and devise a plan to invade the Nipponese Underworld. The gears of war had already been set into motion...

Qin Ye rose to his feet as he cupped his fist in a salute. "I'll be taking my leave now."

Before Yu Qian and Yang Jiye had a chance to speak, he continued, "Once the panel of advisors decides on a plan, I'll be sure to notify the two of you right away via messenger birds. All you have to do is keep a close eye on the Hindustani Underworld and the Strait of Tsushima. Make sure not even a single fly gets past you!"

"Yes!"

………………………………………………..

Time passed by very quickly, and a quarter flashed past in the blink of an eye. Everything was peaceful and prosperous in the Cathayan Underworld, and the nation was developing rapidly.

On the surface, there didn't appear to be anything out of the ordinary happening, but there were certain things that were unfolding in a slow and subtle manner away from the public eye.

For example, the term "Nipponese Underworld" was frequently making headlines during the past quarter.

During the past few years, the Cathayan Underworld hadn't refrained from participating in international conferences. The nation had only just re-established its place in the world, and it was naturally wise to bolster that position.

That wasn't to say that they attended every conference that they could, but the Cathayan Underworld was never absent from the important conferences. During this time, the Cathayan Underworld naturally interacted with all of the other major underworlds.

The most frequent source of international news in relation to the Cathayan Underworld was Izanami of the Nipponese Underworld. However, all of these pieces of news were negative with no exceptions. For example, there were news stories about how Izanami was opposed to the Cathayan Underworld's policies, how she was a spokesperson for the three pillars, encouraging the Russian Underworld to form an Eastern Asian co-prosperity sphere, only to be rejected.

All of these pieces of news were spread through the media as subtle propaganda, and within the short span of just a month, public opinion of the Nipponese Underworld had begun to plummet.

Of course, this was only the beginning.

A reason had to be manufactured to instigate this war. Only then could they contain controversy and prevent an eruption of domestic anti-war sentiments. Thus, the first thing that the Cathayan Underworld had to do was to villainize the Nipponese Underworld.

Thankfully, the two nations had a less than amicable relationship to begin with, and that was why it had been so easy to stir up public outrage toward the Nipponese Underworld.

There were also other preparatory measures being taken, such as Minister of Defense Qin Changxin's recent announcement that two fleets consisting of a total of four naval divisions were going to be established in the next three years, or the policy that the government had implemented at the end of March to open up all coastal ports and support the shipbuilding industry.

Thanks to the Array of the Nine Gods, the Cathayan Underworld didn't have to hide its intentions. No one could leak any information to the outside world, but those in the Cathayan Underworld who knew what to look for could already see the writing on the wall. As a result, the number of Yin spirits conscripted into the military swelled to an all-time high, and around 20% of all enrolment applications in the nation were submitted to military academies.

This machine of war that was powerful enough to strike fear into the entire world was already being silently mobilized, and once it emerged from the Array of the Nine Gods, it would lay waste to its unfortunate target.

Meanwhile, Qin Ye's attention was primarily dedicated to the research into space exploration technology and second-generation forbidden arts. Without those two things, there was no way he was going to war, even if the entire nation fully supported a war effort.

During this process, he also discovered some new uses for the origin rune of emotions and desires. At the moment, he could control it to split it up into countless butterflies, and he could control these butterflies at will anywhere within the Cathayan Underworld, but he couldn't sense them when they were in the mortal realm.

Each butterfly was capable of stirring up or calming a Yin spirit's emotions, so there was one accompanying every single researcher in the Sword Coral Research Institute and the Yin Mountains Research Institute.

This allowed all of the scientists to be absolutely calm or extremely fervent depending on the requirements of the situation. Thus, Qin Ye was able to manipulate their emotions like machines, and the efficiency of the two research institutes was raised by about 20% as a result.

Out of the two research institutes, the Yin Mountains Research Institute was by far the more renowned one. After all, it was the birthplace of the electricity-like energy string. However, the Sword Coral Research Institute was certainly nothing to be scoffed at, and it was constantly vying to outdo its more renowned counterpart, so there was a relationship of healthy competition between the two.

At this moment, in the Yin Mountains Research Institute, Qin Ye and Lu Ban were peering through a panel of glass with serious expressions.

This was the newly developed impact-resistant glass, and it would take five minutes even for an Abyssal Prefect to shatter it. The cost of its production was incredibly expensive, and directly beneath it was a spacious area.

The area was roughly 10 kilometers in size, and the ground was littered with engraved Yin runes. There were also countless talismans hovering in the air and slowly revolving, releasing bright blue light that had a dreamy quality to it.

The statues of the four symbols were situated in the four corners of the space, each releasing a beam of rainbow light that converged at the center, where a crimson saber was lying in a pit that was around 50 meters in radius.

As one burst of power after another rapidly converged toward the blade, illusory images of countless different types of flora and fauna were glowing on its surface, and it was releasing an aura that was superior to even the Yama-King level!