"Are you the strongest one in Las Noches now?"
Above Las Noches, black mist and azure flames divided the entire sky, splitting the dome of Las Noches in two.
"It is commendable to use your full power without hesitation."
Yhwach looked at Cirucci, who was enveloped in black mist, and nodded slightly: "But facing an enemy far stronger than yourself alone is not the act of a wise person, or perhaps…" Yhwach paused, lowered his eyes, and looked down:
"Are you trying to probe my strength for him?"
Cirucci's expression remained normal at his words, but her purple eyes flickered slightly, and then the flame-shaped Hollow Mark on her forehead brightened.
Buzz buzz buzz buzz—!
The sound waves, merged into the black mist, swept towards Yhwach as if they had become corporeal, covering the sky and earth.
"It seems my guess was not wrong."
Yhwach smiled slightly at the sight, as azure flames rose around him. His gaze fell on Starrk below, specifically on the small, crosshair-like purple adornment at the corner of his eye, and a sneer appeared on his face:
"So that's it, a 'flaw detection' type of ability?"
"Oh no, Starrk, you idiot! I told you not to stare at people, now you've exposed yourself."
As Yhwach's self-muttering faded, a voice came from the crosshair-shaped adornment at the corner of Starrk's left eye.
As the voice fell, the purple crosshair brightened slightly, expanding in a burst of purple light, eventually transforming into a strangely shaped aiming scope.
"Idiot, he already sensed your presence from the beginning."
Starrk did not avert his gaze, still staring intently at Yhwach, a hint of solemnity flashing in his eyes: "He just didn't care about your observation."
"Huh?"
And just then, Cirucci, who had remained motionless in mid-air, suddenly took a step forward.
—
With that step, the endless black mist around her instantly vanished, replaced by the increasingly bright flame Hollow Mark on her forehead. And the tree-branch-shaped Reiatsu Crest on her body seemed to echo the Hollow Mark, both flickering between bright and dim.
"Heh heh, have you given up on transmitting vibrations through sound?"
Yhwach smiled at the sight, slowly raised his hand, and pressed it towards Cirucci.
Boom—
Terrifying Reishi instantly converged, forming an incredibly massive Reishi bow above Yhwach. An arrow shimmering with lightning was almost fully formed the moment the Reishi bow appeared.
This arrow, though not yet fired, had already caused the space in Las Noches to distort, and a vacuum zone had formed at the tip of the arrow.
Medium-sized Heilig Pfeil.
The arrow shot out silently, without any impact or fluctuation. The entire world seemed to fall into silence at that instant.
Until that vacuum zone completely exploded!
Boom~
It was like a storm after the calm. The deafening explosion, which reverberated throughout Hueco Mundo, made those fighting below feel a buzzing in their ears. The weaker ones even bled from their ears.
Looking up.
The azure arrow completely replaced the night sky, illuminating the eternal night of Hueco Mundo.
Before that colossal arrow, Cirucci was as tiny as a mosquito, but she did not dodge. The light from the flame-shaped Hollow Mark on her forehead and the Reiatsu Crest on her body reached its peak at this moment.
Then…
Cirucci's wings behind her suddenly flapped forward.
Clap~!
The azure Reishi scattered like countless stars, and the enormous arrow that enveloped the sky above Las Noches vanished abruptly without a trace.
Energy dissipated, roaring ceased, light faded… The transition from extreme motion to extreme stillness made everyone who witnessed this scene feel an indescribable discomfort deep in their hearts.
"Di…disappeared?"
Among the Sternritter, someone murmured, breaking the silence.
His Majesty's terrifying attack was hard to ignore even in combat. They had originally thought that the Arrancar who dared to face His Majesty would be completely reduced to dust by this strike.
No one had expected…
Such a scene to unfold!
"Oh?"
Yhwach's face showed surprise, and for the first time, a look of astonishment appeared in his eyes as he looked at Cirucci: "Reishi vibration?"
He clearly saw that the moment Cirucci flapped her wings, not only did the Reishi arrow collapse, but the Reishi bow of the Medium-sized Heilig Pfeil also collapsed with it.
It wasn't blocked by defensive power, nor was it destroyed by a stronger force.
Instead…
Using Reishi as a conductor, she elevated her terrifying vibration to the extreme, causing all armaments condensed from Reishi to disintegrate from within!
Although the vibration transmitted through sound was formidable, it was still an external attack. With some caution, it could be resisted or dodged. But if this vibration were hidden within Reishi, and then these Reishi were allowed to…
"This is…"
"Cough cough… what… happened…?"
"Reishi…"
Almost as soon as the thought appeared in Yhwach's mind, a panicked commotion suddenly erupted from the battlefield directly below them.
…If the Reishi were then absorbed by others, then the vibration from external to internal would transform into from internal to external!!
Looking around, the Sternritter members on the battlefield below them found their condensed Reishi armaments exploding one after another. All Sternritter members who were close to the battlefield of Cirucci and Yhwach, without exception, suffered a backlash from their own condensed Reishi armaments.
What's more, some had their condensed Reishi armaments explode directly, blasting their owners, to whom the Reishi belonged, into a bloody mess!
For Quincies who relied on Reishi armaments for combat, this kind of vibration transmitted through Reishi was simply a natural enemy.
Yhwach retracted his gaze, grabbed at the void with his right hand, and a constantly vibrating ball of Reishi was immediately clutched in his hand.
This scene caused Cirucci's pupils to constrict slightly.
"Interesting."
Yhwach looked at the constantly vibrating Reishi ball in his hand and chuckled: "This is no longer a mere ability, but something infinitely close to a rule."
Just like…
The Schrift he bestowed upon the Sternritter!
That these Arrancar could evolve to such a degree was truly beyond Yhwach's expectations.
"Do you have any other abilities?"
Yhwach closed his five fingers, and the Reishi ball in his hand was instantly crushed and exploded: "I will give you every opportunity to display them, and then I will use absolute power to make you understand that following me is your only path to survival."
Although his initial invasion of Hueco Mundo was merely to use it as a foundation to declare the return of Wandenreich and to convert some barely usable Arrancar into expendable soldiers.
But now…
Yhwach had changed his mind!
He wanted to incorporate these Arrancar into his Sternritter.
The inferior Arrancar created by Aizen were naturally not worthy of such an honor, but the unknown life forms that these Espada were in, gave them this qualification.
Boom—!
A Reiatsu wave, like an abyss, erupted from Yhwach, and the Reiatsu pillar that shot into the sky caused thunder to appear in the night sky of Hueco Mundo, where it shouldn't exist.
Thunder roared, and endless lightning surrounded Yhwach. This scene was as if the end of the world had arrived, and no matter where one was in Hueco Mundo, they felt a tremor from the depths of their soul!!
At this, Cirucci's expression darkened, because even she felt that tremor, and more directly than anyone else.
This guy, who came from who knows where, is simply a…
"Monster!"
The voice came from beside Cirucci. Starrk appeared next to Cirucci, looking at Yhwach amidst the lightning with a grave expression.
"How is it?"
Seeing Starrk appear, Cirucci's eyes lit up, and she asked urgently.
"Not good."
Starrk shook his head slightly: "Lilynette's ability has no effect on him… No, strictly speaking, it should be… he has no flaws whatsoever, and it even gives me a strange feeling that it's simply impossible to kill him!"
"So, we can only fight head-on?"
"Mm."
…
Two separate stories.
After the initial panic, the Sternritter members gradually stabilized under the attack of Harribel and others.
The reason for the one-sided situation earlier was certainly due to the formidable strength of Harribel and her companions, but more so because their power completely contradicted the intelligence they had received.
However, the Sternritter, after all, were not ordinary people, and they did not collapse due to the initial panic; instead, they gradually pulled back the disadvantage after activating their 'Quincy Vollständig'!
As the war continued, the battlefield was divided into several areas.
Some areas featured one-on-one duels, while others saw individuals suppress multiple enemies single-handedly.
For example, Dordoni and Gantenbainne each faced Jerome Guizbatt and Driscoll Berci from the Sternritter. These two were codenamed in the Sternritter as:
O, representing 'Overkill';
R, representing 'Roar';
Not far from them, scorching flames and sharp claws violently collided in mid-air.
Bang—!
With an explosive sound, two figures shot backward, but both stopped within ten meters of their retreat.
One of them was Grimmjow, whose face was very indifferent, as if he found the current battle uninteresting.
Across from him was a man with a red mohawk and scorching flames emanating from his hands, looking incredibly arrogant: "To be able to fight me to this extent is commendable, but this battle should end now."
"Remember the name of the one who kills you, I'm Bazz-B, and my codename in the Sternritter is 'H', which stands for Heat!"
As he spoke, a terrifying Reiatsu fluctuation suddenly surged around him, forming a cross-shaped Reishi pillar that enveloped him.
"Be proud to have witnessed the Quincy Vollständig!"
Grimmjow showed no reaction to Bazz-B's taunts, merely looking at him with an expression as if he were watching an idiot, and slowly uttered two words:
"Idiot."
After Grimmjow spoke, just as he was about to make a move, the scorching flames enveloping Bazz-B suddenly extinguished without warning.
"..."
Bazz-B looked at his hands in confusion, then looked up at Grimmjow opposite him: "What did you do!?"
Grimmjow ignored him, instead looking grimly into the distance.
Following his gaze, what came into view was a vast blue expanse, something that could never exist in Hueco Mundo...
—The ocean!!
...
Half a minute ago.
In an area outside Las Noches, water dragons churned, and the entire area became incredibly damp.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—!
The sound of arrows piercing the air continuously rang out, as overwhelming Reishi arrows collided with the overwhelming water dragons.
However, the water dragons seemed endless; one collapsed, and another immediately took its place, with dozens of them visible as far as the eye could see.
Within the area surrounded by water dragons, seven Sternritter members were trapped, all looking somewhat disheveled.
"What's going on with this dark-skinned woman?"
Bambietta waved her hand forward while retreating.
Boom—
The water dragon that approached her suddenly exploded, looking as if it self-destructed.
—Bambietta Basterbine!
One of the Sternritter members, her Schrift is 'E', symbolizing her ability: Explode.
"Are you showing off how fair your skin is?"
As she spoke, a large mouth suddenly appeared in the center of the battlefield, biting down on a water dragon and directly swallowing most of it.
The large mouth gradually shrank, returning to its original appearance. This was a woman with short, yellow hair and blunt bangs, a petite figure, and wearing a small military cap with the Wandenreich insignia. Her expression seemed somewhat cold.
—Liltotto Lamperd!
One of the Sternritter members, her Schrift is 'G', symbolizing her ability: Glutton.
"Ha, if we're comparing who's fairer, Bambi has no right to compare with me!"
As she spoke, a figure retreated to their side, looking incredibly disheveled.
Seeing this, both Bambietta and Liltotto couldn't help but roll their eyes.
"If you have time to talk nonsense here, you'd better think about how to deal with that dark-skinned woman. You're the most useless one here."
"What can I do!"
The figure picked herself up from the ground. This was a woman with shoulder-length, grass-green hair, light green eyes, and an extremely voluptuous figure: "Don't forget, if I release my power in this environment, I won't be the only one affected."
—Candice Catnipp.
One of the Sternritter members, her Schrift is 'T', symbolizing her ability: Thunderbolt.
"So why did you come here to cause trouble!!"
Bang!
A water dragon exploded, and a pink-haired girl maintained her punching posture, saying discontentedly: "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be trapped here."
—Meninas McAllon.
One of the Sternritter members, her Schrift is 'P', symbolizing her ability: Power.
After Meninas spoke, she turned to look not far from her, scolding impatiently: "Idiot, has your brain rusted from water? Can't you collect information on your opponent? Did you get anything useful?"
The person she looked at was a figure wearing an axe-shaped iron mask similar to a medieval knight's, with exposed skin that appeared mechanical.
—B.G.9.
One of the Sternritter members, his Schrift is 'K', symbolizing his ability: Kaleidoscope.
"Compared to him, I actually think someone who's always hiding behind others has water in their brain."
Bambietta glanced at the corner, where a person with waist-length black hair parted to the side, two antennae-like strands of hair on top of their head, and a small military cap with the Wandenreich insignia stood. They looked like a beautiful woman...
But Bambietta, who knew him well, was very clear that this guy was a man!
—Giselle Gewelle.
One of the Sternritter members, his Schrift is 'Z', symbolizing his ability: Zombie.
"Let's stop playing around. Don't keep Yhwach waiting."
A steady voice rang out, and almost as soon as the words fell, the Sternritter's Reiatsu pillar shot skyward, and beams of Reishi shot out like formless entities, directly passing through the water dragons toward their source.
Buzz~
The next second, a spherical cage suddenly appeared above everyone's heads, and the sky-filling water dragons seemed to have their supply cut off, collapsing with a roar.
"You rigid guy, why didn't you do this earlier?" Meninas said discontentedly.
—Quilge Opie.
One of the Sternritter members, his Schrift is 'J', symbolizing his ability: Jail.
Despite their words, everyone inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. Although they hadn't suffered much damage, the opponent's formidable strength was undeniable.
To be able to suppress them to such an extent single-handedly, the name of the 3rd Espada was indeed well-deserved.
However, now she had become a prisoner!
Quilge, though a rigid and boring guy, possessed extremely powerful abilities; no one except a Quincy could break through the Jail he created.
"Hmph, I'm going to tear that dark-skinned woman to shreds!"
"Leave the corpse to me, okay?"
"You two perverts."
...
As they joked, they headed towards the cage in mid-air.
But just then...