You are very strong, but my painting style is better than yours!

Even in her angrier moments, when Sera takes action, she still devotes some energy to protecting the Moon Queen's crown on her head...

Chapter 306 Centaur Vastod, 4K.

Hueco Mundo, a boundless sea of ​​grayish-white sand, appears desolate and barren, yet it possesses a spiritual particle density far exceeding that of Soul Society, nurturing countless Hollows. It is a cruel world where only the relationship of "eating and being eaten" exists.

More than 90% of the virtual worlds are formed from the fallen human souls. They possess wisdom and intellect, but are driven by instinct, obsession, and greed, constantly seeking delicious food, which is the human soul.

Only a very small percentage of Hollows have the opportunity to evolve into Hollow Grande, and there are three levels within Hollow Grande:

There is an insurmountable gap between Kylian, Acquas, and Vastod—every step forward requires eliminating countless competitors.

However, thanks to Hueco Mundo's size and "population," even the most exceptional Hollows are not actually that rare.

Clang!

The resounding clash of swords and halberds echoed throughout the heavens and earth!

In a basin surrounded by sheer cliffs, intense wind pressure tore through the rocks, leaving scars on the walls and ground that looked like they had been slashed by knives and swords. Two tall figures moved back and forth, their high-speed attacks and defenses dazzling the eye.

One of them was Esdeath, dressed in a female version of the Shinigami uniform. Her long, ice-blue hair was extremely conspicuous in the night of Hueco Mundo. She held an ordinary asabu, but her fighting style was completely different from that of ordinary Shinigami. She relied more on "Kido" than on slashing.

While wielding the sword, one can create sharp ice spikes or sturdy shields with every gesture. A single glance can freeze hundreds of meters of earth, and a thought can summon towering icebergs or cause thousands of sharp ice spikes to fall from the sky.

This is just the most basic technique. Esdeath can condense the moisture in the air into tiny ice particles that are invisible to the naked eye, thus forming a field-like structure. Whether it is to hinder the enemy's movements or to facilitate her own attacks, it is all a matter of a single thought.

Even in a different world, the Queen of the Empire lived up to her reputation as a genius. She quickly adapted to the Soul Society and Hueco Mundo, which were composed of spiritual particles, and began to combine the Shinigami's combat system with her original power. Her "materialized soul" body served as a bridge connecting the two, providing her with countless conveniences.

Now, she can use the Instant Step skillfully, but she is not very proficient. It would feel awkward in high-level combat and is not as good as normal high-speed movement for her.

Just like now, Esdeath, with her powerful attributes and beast-like intuition, dealt with enemies who could use the Resonance Technique. Combined with the ice domain she controlled, she was able to seize the initiative every time and did not fall into a disadvantageous position!

If the battle drags on and both sides become increasingly exhausted, Esdeath, with her unique physique, will undoubtedly gain the upper hand!

Of course, this was her first time fighting a high-ranking Hollow, and she knew it couldn't end like this, because her opponent was no pushover either. Although he didn't have as many moves and tricks as she did, his simple slashes and thrusts were enough to make Esdeath feel a chill.

Four-legged, lance-riding—that was the standard configuration for lancers. Compared to cavalry in the mortal world, the enemy hardly needed a running start; they already possessed astonishing speed from the moment they took off, easily breaking the sound barrier.

Often, there's no need for a spinning motion; pure speed alone can achieve an effect similar to teleportation. In addition, it adds powerful kinetic energy, which, when concentrated into a single point, creates a swift thrust that can penetrate several layers of solid ice defenses!

Esdeath herself is an expert in leading troops and knows the power of cavalry. If she were to make a targeted move, it would be best to restrict the mobility of the mounts. The trapped cavalrymen would become the prey.

However, achieving this in this battle would be difficult because the enemy possessed advantages that ordinary cavalry could not match:

She herself is a warhorse capable of breaking through enemy lines!

Strictly speaking, it is an "antelope"... like the centaur in Western legends, with the upper body of a dashing knight and the lower body of a magnificent four-legged beast.

Her lower body was covered in green fur, while her human body was covered in white bone plates. She wore a Hollow Mask made of an antelope skull on her head, making it impossible to see her specific appearance. Only her protruding chest and tight, supple waist allowed one to determine that she was an extremely rare female Hollow, or rather, a female Hollow, and the highest-ranking one at that!

The reason they are considered rare is that Hueco Mundo follows the law of the jungle, where the strong prey on the weak, and the Hollows also have genders. Males have a stronger fighting spirit and violent impulses than females, which often translates into an advantage in actual combat.

In the world of Hollows, there is no concept of "unless it's male and female." They have no concept of love or family. Before reaching the Adjuchas or even Vastod level, all Hollows only have one most basic desire—

Hunger! Appetite!

The Void craves the souls of humans or Grim Reapers, but for them, the most common food is actually their own kind. Moreover, compared to ordinary souls, the spiritual particle density (nutritional value) of their own kind is undoubtedly higher!

Of course, Shinigami are the best to eat, but the difficulty of hunting Shinigami in Soul Society... goes without saying, it's basically all about luck.

And there are countless others of the same kind in this Hueco Mundo!

Therefore, many Hollows will selectively hunt weaker companions to strengthen themselves. This has forced many Hollows to band together for survival, forming large and small groups.

But basically, if one wants to evolve into a Hollow, then one is destined to leave one's race and embark on a path of wandering, constantly hunting down any souls one encounters, whether they are Shinigami, humans, or even one's own kind... Only in this way can one break free from the shackles.

Naturally, under such cruel rules, life is not easy for females, who are the weaker party compared to males.

(In the original work, only one of the Espada was female, and even including the first ten Espada, their number was still quite small.)

Female Hollows must go through more brutal battles to evolve, so the higher you go, the smaller the proportion of female Hollows becomes... But perhaps because it is more difficult, female Hollows that do appear are often quite powerful.

And female Hollows who have evolved to the Vasto Lorde level, like the Antelope Knight before us, must be extremely rare in the entire Hueco Mundo!

Esdeath didn't care about anything else; all she knew was that this opponent was worth her all-out effort!

boom!

The lance, resembling an elongated iron cone, swept across the ground, leaving only a blurry black shadow as it swiftly passed by. Immediately afterward, the thick ice wall shattered with a deafening roar, and the remaining force shot out, only to be blocked by the Ice Queen's shallow strike, forcefully pushing Esdeath dozens of meters away.

What followed was a spiral that seemed to gather the entire basin's atmosphere into a single point, using the lance as a breakthrough point to drive a vortex of spiritual particles—

Zheng!

It's a javelin!

The Antelope Knight threw his weapon directly, letting out a terrifying roar in the air. The lance itself was even faster than the sound wave, breaking the sound barrier the moment it was thrown. Before Esdeath could hear the warning, the spear tip that could pierce through the rocky mountain was already in front of her!

In response, Esdeath curled the corners of her lips into a confident and competitive smile—

【Mahāprabhāṣṭa】!

The move, known as the Frozen Hell, froze everything around it in an instant. Whether it was the flying lance or the antelope knight himself with a surprised expression, everything except Esdeath was frozen in that moment!

"End it!"

Esdeath lunged forward, not using a ranged attack, because her attack was extremely short-lived and any object that slipped out of her control would be stuck in mid-air.

So the Ice Queen drew her Asahi and slashed at the Antelope Knight with a move that could not be called any particular style, but which perfectly combined speed and ferocity.

But in that instant, a yellow flash suddenly appeared beneath the antelope's mask—

boom!

The simple Cero, charged up in an instant, head-on with Esdeath, but judging from the distance between them, it exploded directly between the Queen and the Knight!

The powerful impact knocked the Antelope Knight over, and Esdeath was also blown away. Before the two of them could land, a sound like crystal shattering echoed in the air.

Click——!

The next second, all things in nature resumed their flow, and various collision sounds were released at the same moment, creating an earth-shaking impact as Esdeath landed...

"What move was that just now?"

The Antelope Knight stared intently at Esdeath with lingering fear: "Is this the Shinigami's 'Bankai'? It's not to be underestimated after all."

Swastika?

Esdeath certainly wouldn't use Bankai, but she was too lazy to explain it to her enemies. She was more concerned about how the Antelope Knight broke through [Mokpatomo].

Upon hearing this, the Antelope Knight shook his head slightly and did not give a definite answer: "I was just struggling to the last moment, wanting to fight to the death. It was a pleasant surprise that I was actually able to release a Cero."

Esdeath was naturally unhappy that her signature move had been countered, but upon reflection, it wasn't surprising that Iori had already neutralized it when it first appeared... Strictly speaking, Esdeath had never used this ultimate move to achieve a decisive victory before.

Thinking about it this way, I feel a little sad. Freezing space is a super powerful move that is considered an ultimate technique in any world, so why does it keep failing when used by Esdeath?

"No matter what you did, I will not give you a second chance!"

A fierce glint flashed in Estes' eyes. The temperature in the world began to drop precipitously. Hueco Mundo, where there is no climate change, was now witnessing extreme weather that even people in the mortal world had never encountered.

Layer upon layer of dark clouds obscured the entire sky, blocking out the waning moon. With the light source gone, the world fell into complete darkness, followed by a fierce wind that could uproot trees and destroy houses. Sharp ice spikes and swirling snowflakes, carried by the howling wind, turned the whole world white...

"They made such a big fuss just to kill me."

Although the scene before her was awe-inspiring enough, Antelope Knight was not intimidated. As a Vastod-level Hollow, she was at the top of the food chain in Hueco Mundo, and her strength was no weaker than Esdeath's.

It's just that, compared to other creatures, there are fewer methods available, but that's a common problem for creatures like the Void.

After all, they are born to fight only by instinct, and at most they can develop "Cero" and their own special abilities, unlike the Shinigami and Quincy next door who have complete power systems and a large number of skills to study.

As someone who has climbed to the top in Hueco Mundo, Antelope Knight naturally has her own pride. In her opinion, Esdeath's summoning of a blizzard poses no real threat to her; it is merely a futile waste of spiritual pressure.

"What an unfathomable fellow. He casually unleashes his power, yet his spiritual pressure shows no sign of depletion... But no matter how astonishing the scene may be, the essence of the battle remains unchanged: I just need to kill your true form!"

"Ha! Stop talking big!"

Esdeath swung her long sword, her beautiful, cold eyes filled with murderous intent: "If you can do it, then come at me!"

"Arrogant enemy, watch how I will defeat you!"

The Antelope Knight reached out and recalled her lance. The pure white, bone-like lance, radiating an orange-yellow aura, flew automatically into her hand.

The next second she moved!

Her four feet left only shallow tracks in the snow, but the power she unleashed was astonishing. The atmosphere was instantly torn apart, and a vacuum membrane covered her body, allowing her speed to increase rapidly without restriction. The lance in her hand concentrated a blinding spiritual light into a single point.

If you get hit, it's not just a matter of getting a hole in your body; half of your body will be shredded into mincemeat by the bursting spiritual pressure!

"Humph!"

Esdeath's pupils shrank suddenly, her long legs tensed abruptly, and the surrounding wind and snow were instantly repelled. The intense, almost tangible chill exploded like a nuclear bomb!

This time, what will descend is a more enduring and robust [Mahāpratimāra] that truly freezes everything, or rather, its upgraded version. It will first change the celestial phenomena to lower the overall temperature, thereby expanding the area of ​​effect and the freezing effect.

...Such an extravagant fighting style could only be achieved by Esdeath and her lover.

Just before being frozen, the Antelope Knight opened his mask, revealing a Cero shot condensed to its maximum in his mouth, ready to be released immediately!

It turns out that the Antelope Knight had been hiding something. Although she didn't know the specific principle, after her experience of being frozen once, she realized that Esdeath's spatial freezing was to reduce the activity of all matter at extremely low temperatures (the Antelope didn't know about molecular motion, so she understood it as "activity").

In this way, matter is easily fixed, but energy is difficult to freeze because it has extremely high "heat" which increases the activity of surrounding matter and gives it a certain ability to move.

The shot she was about to unleash had been brewing for a long time and was already at its maximum power. If it hit, it could even destroy a mountain. The mere body of the Grim Reaper would be reduced to ashes!

Let's see who's faster—Esdeath and the Antelope Knight locked eyes and launched their attacks almost simultaneously, neither of them hesitating at all!

But just as the battle was about to end, a thunderbolt struck from the sky, splitting the clouds like a sword, revealing a cold, waning moon!

Then, with overwhelming force, it shattered the frozen space and landed precisely between the Ice Queen and the Antelope Knight—

Clang! Clang!

Two crisp metallic clanging sounds rang out. Before the two women could even realize what had happened, their bodies suddenly twisted and they lost their balance. The dagger and the lance fell into empty space completely off target.

In that sudden moment, a tall, slender figure stood there quietly, seemingly doing nothing, brushing past the two women who were walking back and forth to his left and right.

"This is so bad it's unbearable to watch. This pointless battle should end here!"

~~~~~

Chapter 307 I am the King of Hueco Mundo (4.5K)

A new enemy?

The Antelope Knight felt a chill run down her spine. Although she was still in mid-air and had not yet regained her balance, she leaned forward, and the white bone mask opened, releasing an orange-yellow beam of light instantly. The powerful spiritual pressure caused the atmosphere to tremble.

False flash!

Although it is a common skill of Hollows, Vastod's Cero is naturally incomparable to that of the likes of Kyrians and Adjuchas, not to mention that Gazelle Rider is a specialist who is extremely good at Cero.

This attack had been charged up for a long time, and its power was comparable to a high-level Bakudo of level 85 or above. What was particularly impressive was its speed, which hit Iori instantly like a javelin!

Succeeded?

The antelope rider twisted her body, her seemingly clumsy but actually agile limbs landing on the sand, carving furrows and gullies. But when she looked up to check the situation, her pupils involuntarily contracted sharply:

The Hollow Flash, which he had been charging up for a long time, hit the opponent but failed to destroy them or explode as expected. Instead, the enemy caught it with one hand. The energy beam, which was compressed to the extreme and was about to go out of control, was forcibly controlled by the opponent in some way, and the light stream was continuously received and eventually converged into a sphere.

Then, Iori smiled and raised a finger. The sphere of light shrank smaller and smaller at her fingertip, its density becoming increasingly exaggerated, gradually changing from yellow to deep red, and finally to a pitch-black darkness that seemed capable of swallowing all light—

"This is?!"

The Antelope Knight recognized the object and a thought had just crossed his mind. Before he could react, Iori had already launched the sphere outward with a gentle tap.

[Hado Zero Style Opening]!

A black and red beam of light, darkening the heavens and earth, swept across the land, easily slicing through the rock face as if cutting tofu with a knife, even extending outwards for hundreds of meters. From above, all that could be seen was a narrow, straight crack that tore the earth apart.

"Well!"

The Antelope Knight stood frozen on the ground. Only after the spiritual pressure fluctuations gradually dissipated did she vaguely look to the side. The crack that stretched across the earth was just a few meters away. Looking at the edge that showed signs of melting, she couldn't help but imagine what would happen if she were hit head-on, and then she felt a chill run down her spine.

Wrong shot?

No, judging from that calm and composed demeanor, this attack was far from the opponent's full strength, and there was no possibility of it going wrong. It was simply a warning or a show of force.

She glanced deeply at Iori, then unconsciously gripped her spear tighter.

Is this guy the leader of Death? Just by looking at his stance, you can tell he's ridiculously strong!

Soon, as if sensing the Antelope Knight's hostile gaze, the young man who had suddenly entered the battlefield glanced coldly in their direction:

boom!

It's a slash!