Qin Ye was thanking the heavens that the second King Yanluo had the foresight to set up the Array of the Nine Gods.

Otherwise, if these death gods got a glimpse of the internal state of the Cathayan Underworld, they would definitely immediately turn and leave.

A strategic partnership was a unique relationship between countries.

The categories of relationships between nations consisted of partnership, comprehensive partnership, collaborative partnership, comprehensive collaborative partnership, strategic partnership, strategic collaborative partnership, comprehensive strategic partnership, and comprehensive strategic collaborative partnership.

An example in the mortal realm was the Europa Union, the constituent nations of which had comprehensive strategic partnerships. The fact that the word "collaborative" was missing from the partnerships indicated that the relationships between these countries were not without problems. A nation would consider many factors before establishing such relations with other nations, including factors from the political, economic, military, scientific, technologic, and geographic spheres.

To put it in simpler terms, there was some friction between them, but they could still communicate with one another amicably.

As for Cathay, it had an exhaustive strategic partnership with Germany, and the "exhaustive" part of the partnership went a step beyond even "comprehensive".

An exhaustive partnership alluded to one that was omnidirectional and three-dimensional. Aside from political, economic, cultural, and societal ties, there were also ties in areas such as foreign exchange and immigration.

In terms of comprehensive strategic partners, Cathay only had one in the mortal realm, and that was Russia.

A strategic partnership entailed not just normal collaboration between the two nations, but also collaboration in the military and other important fields. Furthermore, they were going to stand as one in the same camp when it came to international affairs, and this was the highest level of partnership between nations.

Of course, such a partnership could only exist between nations that were on the same level. For example, would it be possible for Cathay to have a comprehensive strategic partnership with Daehan? Clearly not, and the same applied to the five nations of Northern Europa.

The underworld was currently in the midst of the Yin energy era, and only Qin Ye had the key to a new energy resource. If the Cathayan Underworld were to face a war, would the five nations of Northern Europa be able to reinforce them?

Don't forget that the Russian Underworld stood between them, and the Cathayan Underworld and the Russian Underworld certainly weren't on terms that were as friendly as those of Cathay and Russia in the mortal realm.

Just the nameless god of death alone would be enough to stop them!

If the five-nation alliance had dared to propose such a partnership to the second King Yanluo, he would most likely already be spitting into their faces! Qin Ye could even envision his response.

"Get the fuck out of here! Piss off, do you hear me? Don't make me force you to leave!"

However, he clearly wasn't the ruthless bully that the second King Yanluo was, and he merely smiled as he said, "In order to form a fair partnership, what you give and what you receive should be balanced, should it not?"

"I know we're asking for a little too much, but..."

Jörmungandr had only just begun speaking when Qin Ye's smile faded, and he cut him off with a serious expression. "You're not just asking for 'a little' too much."

He was being quite cold and straightforward with his words, but both Jörmungandr and Hela heaved an internal sigh of relief upon hearing this.

He didn't spit in our faces! He didn't ridicule us, then force us to leave! The third King Yanluo is different from the second King Yanluo!

Hela gritted her teeth with a strained expression as she said, "We're aware of that, but during the spring three years ago, Thanatos initiated his 'Hades Lighthouse' plan..."

"Oh?"

"The Cathayan Underworld has been cut off from the rest of this world all this time, so it's no surprise that you haven't heard about this. Allow me to explain." She pursed her lips, then said in a grim voice, "They've begun establishing forbidden arts reactors on the coasts of the Franks, Poland, Germany, and Belgium..."

Qin Ye's eyes narrowed slightly upon hearing this.

"On top of that, they've designated the Norwegian Sea as their forbidden arts testing site. I'm sure all of the Yin spirits across the entire world can see what they're planning to do!"

Qin Ye gently stroked a leaf that he was holding as he contemplated this matter.

Were they planning to use forbidden arts? No, that was a Pandora's Box that no one would dare to open carelessly. In that case, it had to be intimidation.

It was just like how Cathay would often test out missiles in the Formosa Sea. With each test that took place, the Formosa government would be struck by a sense of fear and urgency.

Furthermore, how could they be certain that one of those "tests" wasn't going to be an attack in disguise?

Continuing with the Formosa government analogies, why was it that Formosa's economy was clearly struggling, yet they were still spending astronomical sums of money on weapons to the tune of twenty billion USD?

This was a massive investment for any government, and there would be no reason for them to make such a huge investment unless they were concerned that Cathay could actually lash out at them someday.

The fact that the forbidden arts testing site had been set at the Norwegian Sea was an act of blatant intimidation.

Anyone would be afraid if there were forbidden arts being detonated so close to them. It would be like constantly walking around with a sword hanging above one's head.

"Has no one intervened on this matter?" Qin Ye asked in a calm voice. "Have you reported this to the Coalition of Underworlds?"

"It's no use," Hela sighed in a forlorn voice. "The four pillars haven't done anything. Thanatos has made it clear that he's determined to conquer our five nations at some point, and no one is willing to form an alliance with us when the downside is making an enemy out of the Argosian Underworld. After all, we only hold a single vote, and that's nowhere near enough to tempt potential powerful allies."

Qin Ye nodded in response. Indeed, if it weren't for the special state that the Cathayan Underworld was currently in, he wouldn't get involved in this matter, either.

There was nothing that he stood to gain from saving an underworld that was so far away. The Russian Underworld was constantly standing between them, and that wasn't even taking into account the fact that assisting the five nations would draw the ire of the Argosian Underworld. Even an idiot would know what the right decision was here.

He cast a meaningful gaze toward Hela.

I must say, you're extremely fortunate. If you had come even 20 years later than you have now, I wouldn't even grant your request for an audience with me.

"Further consideration is required on the subject of a comprehensive strategic partnership." He wasn't agreeing to the proposal, nor was he rejecting it outright.

"Mr. Qin!" A hint of desperation and despair crept into Jörmungandr's voice as he said, "We can offer other conditions! Tell us what you want and we'll do everything in our power to satisfy you! There are people plotting against you here, and they must be doing this because the third administration of Hell hasn't had a chance to establish itself on the world stage yet following its century-long absence! At the very least, we can give you our vote and we'll stand by your side as your most resolute allies!"

That's because you have no one else to count on but me.

Qin Ye shook his head as he made a grabbing motion, and a scroll appeared in his grasp, but he didn't immediately open it. Instead, he smiled and said, "The Alkebulan Underworlds have also decided to lend me their unreserved support. I'm sure you've already heard about this, right?"

Hela's heart sank upon hearing this, and she gave a reluctant nod.

The Alkebulan Underworlds held a significant geographic advantage over the five-nation alliance of Northern Europa.

At the very least, they could sail through the waterways of the Red Moon Federation, then enter the South Cathayan Sea from there. Furthermore, the Alkebulan Underworlds had already lent the Cathayan Underworld their assistance during the Russian Underworld incident.

In contrast, what could they do? Sail through the Arctic Ocean?

"We just so happen to have arrived at an agreement, which is currently being assessed by international arbiters. Once the agreement is finalized, we'll immediately hold a press conference to declare it to the world. This agreement is quite similar to that one."

Hela accepted the scroll with a skeptical expression, yet after only reading the contents of the scroll for three seconds, she abruptly closed it, and an astonished look appeared on her face for the first time.

She stared intently at Qin Ye as she asked, "Are you sure?"

Qin Ye nodded with a smile in response.

Hela's hands were trembling slightly as she held onto the scroll, and she said in the most placid voice that she could muster up, "Mr. Qin, this is an extremely important agreement, and I think we should begin preparing for it right away."

"Of course," Qin Ye replied with a calm smile. "However, this agreement is already sufficiently detailed, and I think what you need the most right now is to be able to claim that you have the support of the Cathayan Underworld. Hence, why don't we make it seem like we're already quite close with one another and lure everyone else into thinking that we've been communicating this entire time and have already settled on this agreement well in advance? We could make it seem as if this is nothing more than a formality and sign the agreement today, what do you think?"

An intense look appeared in Jörmungandr's eyes as he took a glance at the scroll, then extended a deep bow as he said in a respectful voice, "As you wish. In that case, should we arrange things as soon as possible?"

Hela's mind was racing as she suggested, "How about we meet in a conference hall in four hours?"

"That sounds like a good arrangement," Qin Ye replied before his body dissipated as a gust of Yin wind.

Following his departure, Jörmungandr and Hela didn't leave right away.

They picked up the scroll to take a look at it again, and their chests were heaving drastically from excitement.

The first line on the scroll read: "Participating nations of the Cathayan Underworld's Zhu Rong plan." [1]

"With this agreement, we should be safe for the time being!" Hela carefully swallowed the scroll as she speculated, "The Cathayan Underworld doesn't seem to be doing too well itself."

Jörmungandr nodded in response. "That's only to be expected. Its enemies are very powerful, it could even be said that they're facing all of the international underworlds with the exception of us and the Alkebulan Underworlds. They've been plotting for so long and prepared countless plans of attack during the Cathayan Underworld's century-long absence, all in preparation for this moment. The fact that they've dared to strike entails that victory is already virtually assured for them. Otherwise, why do you think he granted us this agreement? Do you really think the terms we offered were attractive enough to warrant this?"

A wry smile appeared on his face as he sighed and continued, "No matter how well something is hidden, as long as it's been done, there have to be leads left behind. Having said that, we're in a far worse situation than they are. The Cathayan Underworld's foundation is still there. If the second King Yanluo were to return, who would dare to try and dethrone the Cathayan Underworld as one of the four pillars? I'm sure the Cathayan Underworld's opposition is also testing the waters to see whether the second King Yanluo is still around. If he is, then why was there a change in administration?"

Hela's hair was blowing in the gentle breeze, and she looked calmly up at the sky. After a long while, she finally broke her silence. "Hence, we shouldn't be thinking about trying to secure any benefits from the Cathayan Underworld through our agreement. A clash between such almighty powerhouses is not something that we can get directly involved in. At the very most, we can only assist the Cathayan Underworld, and this agreement will be the lifeline that drags us out of the dire situation we're in! If we're too greedy and irk Yanluo Qin, he could sever this lifeline and we would end up in the same spot we were in before. The way that Yanluo Qin does things is different from the second King Yanluo's style. However, he's not as pure and innocent as he looks."

"Of course not! There's not a single Emissary of Hell that can be described as pure and innocent!"

………………………………………………

It was 5 PM three days prior to the commencement of the treaty on the non-proliferation of forbidden arts.

The conference hall was opened for the first time.

If one of the four pillars had arrived this early in the past, the conference halls would've been opened much earlier than this, and they would've been cleaned and maintained twice a day. However, this was the first time that these halls had been open since the Cathayan Underworld's arrival.

Even though Izanami was doing everything in her power to hide it, in the instant that the conference hall was opened, Yin energy from a whole host of death gods immediately converged from all directions.

They could clearly see that Yanluo Qin and his entourage had entered the conference hall with the negotiation experts of Northern Europa's five-nation alliance, following which the doors of the conference hall were tightly shut.

Izanami was standing right outside the door, and she seemed to be quite calm and collected, but she felt as if her heart were being roasted over an open flame.

Why aren't you here yet?! Do you really think an Abyssal Prefect like me can handle the situation here?! I'm too weak to do anything without support! I want nothing more than for this conference to not go ahead, but what can I do? Can I tell them that the conference halls are under renovation? Can I tell them that I ate the reporters that they invited for the press conference? Please, for the love of god! If you don't arrive here soon, I have a feeling that things really are going to spiral out of control!

[1] [Zhu Rong is a god of fire in ancient Chinese legends, and it was said that he was the one who brought fire to humanity and taught man how to use fire. I'm not entirely sure why his name was made the name of this plan, but I'm assuming we'll find out later on.]