The only ones who knew the truth had to be the core underworlds that were subsidiaries of the other three pillars, and they were going to be responsible for recruiting the likes of Count Dracula to join their cause.

This would be followed by the underworlds that were slightly out of the loop. They were going to receive word of what was going to happen, but they wouldn't know exactly what to do, and their role would be simply to cooperate. Most of these underworlds were ones that were receiving benefits from the three pillars or were in close geographic proximity to those three pillars, thereby making it very difficult to change their stances.

After that would be the other underworlds.

They didn't even need to know anything, all they needed was the slightest inkling of the trend that was sweeping over the international stage. The three pillars weren't going to force them to do anything, but if they were to go against the three pillars, they would definitely suffer severe consequences. At the very least, they would not be receiving any benefits from the three pillars.

The last category of underworlds was one that consisted of insignificant entities such as the Red Moon Federation.

All of the important players have already arrived, are we about to be notified?

Dracula looked around in a seemingly nonchalant manner, and in doing so, he discovered that there were already 20 underworlds present!

Would these votes already be enough to ensure that the Cathayan Underworld wouldn't be able to make a return?

All of the surrounding death gods were smiling and greeting him, and Dracula also responded in kind, but his mind was already far away.

It was not going to be a peaceful welcome banquet, that was for sure.

The banquet would be attended by 20 underworlds and the representative of the clan of vampires, and they were going to change the world!

…………………………………………………..

"Your Excellency." Qian Duolai made his way into Qin Ye's room and informed, "This is the invitation letter sent to us by the Nipponese Underworld."

Qin Ye opened the letter to take a look, and he couldn't help but burst into laughter at the first thing that he saw.

The Small Chrysanthemum... Was that supposed to be a sign to the other underworlds, placing the Cathayan Underworld on the same level as a clan of vampires? That was truly a slap to the face.

100 years ago, there was no way that the Nipponese Underworld would've dared to do this.

The hall that had been used for the Cathayan Underworld's welcome banquet would've been cleaned up and sealed off. If any other underworld wanted to use it, they would immediately be met with a derisive "who do you think you are?"

However, that same demeaning question was now being raised to the Cathayan Underworld.

Was he angry? Sure he was! Qin Ye wanted nothing better than to storm the hall and wipe all of these bastards out of existence, but he couldn't do that.

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He represented one of the most powerful nations in the world, and seeing as his opposition hadn't adopted military action, then he would also have to retaliate without the use of force. Otherwise, if he were to use brute force all the time, he would only be met with resentment from the entire world.

"My Lord, should we attend?"

Qin Ye placed the invitation letter onto the table and asked, "Why would we attend? So we can be made fun of by all of those underworlds? Even if we go on this occasion to prevent them from openly plotting against us, they can just arrange private meetings in secret anyway."

At the end of the day, it simply wasn't time for the Cathayan Underworld to flip the tables yet. Once they recovered Xu Fu's notes, it would be a different story altogether.

Anyone who dared to provoke the Cathayan Underworld during the next conference would immediately be crucified and made an example out of!

Qian Duolai was silent for a moment before asking, "Then when do we make our move?"

Qin Ye offered no response to this, and Qian Duolai insisted, "We have to act now. There are still two days until all of the underworlds arrive and only four days left until the official conference. Even if the Alkebulan Underworlds don't turn up, we have to do something! If we continue to remain dormant, even the underworlds that want to side with us will become very hesitant."

Qin Ye poured himself a cup of tea and smiled as he said, "I want to act more than anyone. I am more humiliated than anyone to be seeing the Cathayan Underworld demeaned like this."

He took a sip of tea before continuing, "That's why I've been waiting this entire time. I'm well aware that we need to make a move, but there's nothing we can say. With the current state of the Cathayan Underworld, there's no way we can reveal the truth to everyone. At the very most, all we can do is sign a few agreements, and even then, technological agreements would be out of the question. Hence, instead of saying anything, we have to do something, and if we're going to do something, then we might as well make it a spectacle. Right when they think they have us cornered, we're going to show them that they're not in complete control. We're going to tell all of the underworlds that everything is still going according to our plan. It would be just like what General Zhao and I did during the welcome banquet, but on this occasion, it needs to be even more impactful."

A hint of realization flashed through Qian Duolai's eyes upon hearing this. "You mean... we're going to act tonight?"

"There's no better time than the present," Qin Ye said as a cold smile appeared on his face. "It's clear that Count Dracula is the spokesperson for the Argosian Underworld, and he's going to disclose the plan to all of the underworlds. At a time like this, we have to tell them that we know everything that they're doing, but we simply can't be bothered to deal with them because we're absolutely confident that there's no way they can sway the Cathayan Underworld's position as one of the four pillars. If we can do that, I'm sure all of the death gods will think twice before agreeing to any plans."

Waiting didn't necessarily equate to passivity.

They were waiting not because they were powerless and passive, but because they already had a sound plan, and they were only searching for the right opportunity to execute it.

The Alkebulan Underworlds, the Northern Europa Underworlds, and the underworlds of the new continent still hadn't arrived, so they would still have to wait before they make their most game-changing move, but that didn't mean that these people could provoke the Cathayan Underworld over and over again without any repercussions.

"What do you plan to do?" Qian Duolai asked with a relieved expression. He had been feeling quite depressed these past few days. No one wanted to see their nation being ostracized and demeaned on the world stage, and frustration and indignation had been steadily building in his heart in the face of the repeated acts of provocation aimed at the Cathayan Underworld.

Even though this still wasn't the time to be laying all the cards on the table, they had to give everyone a taste of what was to come.

On the international stage, brute force and blatant insults weren't the way to go. Instead, it was all about completely stifling the opposition while still acting within the boundaries of the rules.

There was no room for emotion here.

"For now, we wait," Qin Ye said as he returned the letter of invitation to Qian Duolai. "Tell the Nipponese Underworld that I'm not free tonight. However, I'll be sending a big present to them. Oh, by the way, you'll be responsible for delivering the present, and while you're there, you can take a good look at all of their faces. It would be a shame if there were no audience to witness such a good show."

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"Yes."

…………………………………………………..

6 PM, Small Chrysanthemum Hall.

The hall was brightly lit, and all of the death gods were present. Count Dracula and the representatives of the Nipponese Underworld still hadn't arrived yet, but all of the death gods could already sense that something was different.

It was the decor.

During the few days between the Cathayan Underworld's welcome banquet and Count Dracula's arrival, the Small Chrysanthemum Hall had been completely renovated! The floor was paved with gold, the ceiling was paved with Yin spirit jade, and the pillars were decorated with all types of precious gems.

Even though there was no set rule for this, the four pillars had always received the highest profiles during the past international conferences. The fact that Count Dracula was receiving a more spectacular welcome than the Cathayan Underworld was essentially placing the former above the latter, implying that the Cathayan Underworld was no longer fit to continue as one of the four pillars.

Due to the fact that there were no official rules about this, the Nipponese Underworld couldn't be faulted for this.

None of the death gods present were saying anything unnecessary. These types of gatherings were ones where they should be listening and watching intently rather than speaking excessively.

None of the death gods who didn't know their place and regularly spoke out of turn had ever fared well on the international stage.

At the stroke of 6:10 PM, the doors were opened wide, and Count Dracula strode into the hall with a smile while Izanami trailed along behind him. "Sorry to keep you all waiting."

All of the death gods in the entire hall immediately rose to their feet and smiled as they responded along the lines of "Not at all, esteemed death gods!"

All of a sudden, the entire hall was filled with boisterous and joyful chatter.

"Please take a seat, everyone," Izanami said, and everyone did as they were told.

Izanami was just about to sit down on the main seat when a thought suddenly seemed to have occurred to her, and she asked in a surprised voice, "Is the Cathayan Underworld not in attendance?"

Are we doing this already? None of the death gods seemed to have heard her, and they were suddenly taking a particular interest in the tableware in front of them.

Susanoo-no-Mikoto sighed, "The Cathayan Underworld refuses to meet with our emissaries. Even though we've already sent several emissaries bearing letters of invitation, it seems that our efforts were all to no avail."

"What a pity..." Izanami sighed. "My apologies, everyone, I'll be sure to make it up to all of you at the conclusion of the conference."

Even though the most powerful underworld currently present in Nara wasn't in attendance, Izanami didn't seem bothered at all as she sat down in an unflustered manner. Many of the death gods exchanged a few surreptitious glances, but no one dared to voice their thoughts on this matter.

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"The times really have changed." Right at this moment, a voice suddenly rang out, and everyone faltered slightly upon hearing this.

Who was it that dared to speak in such a blatant and forthright manner?

Everyone turned to discover that it was the death god of a small underworld nestled right between the Aegyptian Underworld and the Hindustani Underworld. No one said anything upon seeing this. The geographic location of this underworld meant that there was no way that they could side with the Cathayan Underworld.

It was destined to be used as cannon fodder, and some things couldn't be directly verbalized by Izanami and Count Dracula, but these small underworlds could act as their mouthpieces.

No one disagreed with this sentiment, and Izanami and Count Dracula seemed to have suffered from temporary deafness right as that statement was made.

Izanami clapped her hands together, and a meal that was comparable in quality with the one served during the Cathayan Underworld's welcome banquet was brought into the hall, one course after another.

"It is truly an honor for Amano-Iwato to be hosting all of you for this conference to re-sign the treaty on the non-proliferation of forbidden arts." Izanami raised her wine cup in an elegant manner before downing its contents in one go. "I hope all of you have an enjoyable stay in Nara."

Thus, the banquet commenced, and once all of the courses had been served, Count Dracula suddenly heaved a faint sigh.

Is it about to begin?

Aside from Izanami and Dracula, all of the death gods present were constantly listening and observing intently throughout the course of the banquet. Thus, Dracula's sigh instantly attracted everyone's attention.

No one could ignore the turning of the international tide, they could only choose to go with the flow or be drowned.

Izanami picked up her napkin and dabbed at her own mouth in an elegant manner before asking, "Was the meal not to your liking, Count Dracula?"

"No, no, on the contrary, I enjoyed it very much," Dracula replied with a smile. "It's just that I don't often visit the Nipponese Underworld, and I'm a little saddened by the thought that I won't be able to enjoy this cuisine in the future."

Izanami smiled and offered, "If you want, I can get my team of chefs to return to Romania with you."

"No, that would be asking too much," Dracula replied, and to everyone's surprise, he began to speak in ancient Cathayan. "Come to think of it, Cathay is also vastly renowned for its cuisine. I really wanted to meet this third King Yanluo, and it's quite a pity that he's not in attendance."

Izanami was still smiling as she replied, "There will always be opportunities in the future."

Dracula shrugged in response. "Perhaps not."

At this point, even the death gods who were slowest to react had already put down their cutlery.

Dracula seemed to be completely oblivious to the attention that he was receiving as he said, "According to all types of reports, the state of the Cathayan Underworld isn't as calm and placid as it appears on the surface. It's had no imports or exports for over a century, so its GDP has to have suffered immensely."

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He swept a sharp gaze around the entire hall as he smiled and continued, "It would be a great pity if it were to be removed as one of the four pillars for a reason like this, wouldn't you think so, everyone?"

The hall had fallen so silent that even the lightest of pin drops could be heard.

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