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

Of course, there's no need to show your full strength here; it's enough to make the veteran captain feel pressured.

Ideally, they should fight with all their might and barely win by relying on their affinity.

"Shitan's" residence is naturally on the top floor, which in the setting symbolizes his attempt to pull the god (Spirit King) down from the sky... but in reality it is just a stone house that looks impressive but is not comfortable to live in at all.

He will be here with his two squires to face the Grim Reaper captain who has climbed all the way to the top and give them a good beating!

"How can one aspire to power if one does not hate one's own weakness?"

hum!

With a flash of light, a pale bone mask materialized in Shi Tan's hand. The man stared at the mask, a playful smile playing on his lips.

"In times like these, the one who can lead everyone forward and give everyone strength... it really is 'Aizen Iori'!"

Chapter 429 Who do you think I am?!

"It's so quiet. I haven't seen anyone from Hueco Mundo today."

"They've probably all gathered in the east, haven't they?"

The two guards responsible for watching the side gate of the fortress were chatting idly.

"These past few days, the big shots from the Arrancar have been coming and going, and they've fought quite a few battles with the Las Noches side. I heard we won them all, and the other side won't be able to hold on for long."

"I hope this ends soon. I'm still looking forward to hunting in the real world. I finally escaped the control... and I'm starving."

"Me too~ Don't worry, it's only a few days away. I heard from the adults of the Zodiac that we will soon launch a full-scale attack on Hueco Mundo."

The spider-like creature looked on expectantly: "Before that, we must complete our mission well and shoulder the responsibility of guarding the gate!"

"Yes, we need to step up our efforts too!"

His relatively short, boar-man-like companion laughed happily.

But before the words were even finished, a strange sense of oppression descended upon the place, and the two of them immediately felt their mouths dry. The guards stationed further away inside the gate also felt the change in temperature, and alarm bells rang in their hearts, as if they had been thrown next to a volcano about to erupt.

"What, what's going on?"

The two looked up. "Why did it suddenly get so hot?"

The shadows covered half the sky, and billowing black smoke flickered with crimson lightning, as if countless evil dragons were writhing within it—leaving the two speechless.

"The protective shield... Where's the protective shield? Why isn't it here?!"

There should have been an invisible shield constructed with anti-membrane technology above the fortress, preventing interaction between the inside and outside. However, under this massive cloud cover, no shield appeared.

Just then, a voice came from somewhere:

"Overlay chant of the ninety-first Thousand Hands of the Hado Technique!"

hum!hum!hum!

Dazzling beams of light, scorching fireballs, and crimson lasers, accompanied by countless thunderous roars, rained down like a meteor shower, bombarding the land outside the gate.

A series of explosions engulfed the entire outer area, with raging flames and storms sweeping everything away. Not only were the gates forcibly broken open, but the entire area was scorched black, and the guards responsible for the defense had long since disappeared without a trace...

"First step, success."

Amidst the billowing smoke, stepping over the crumbling walls still bearing traces of melting, figures wielding Zanpakuto appeared at the White Gate. Standing at the forefront was Esdeath, carrying her Zanpakuto, while the incredibly powerful Kido was unleashed by the Great Kido Master Tessai and his subordinates.

"The defensive strength is really weak, which is disappointing."

Esdeath shook her head slightly and led her subordinates through the gate, which had been reduced to ruins.

Unlike the Las Noches, which Iori meticulously managed, most of the Hollows in this fortress came from Hueco Mundo, a group of wild monsters not under the control of Las Noches. Only a few high-ranking Arrancar came to risk their lives for an opportunity... Therefore, Esdeath had no psychological burden when killing these ordinary Hollows.

Led by the expeditionary force and followed by the 11th Division, wave after wave of death reapers poured into the war fortress. Most of them were dressed in black, except for the captains who wore white haori. From the air, they looked like a stream of black water spreading in all directions...

The war to quell the rebellion in Seireitei officially began at this moment!

"Stop! You have to make him stop!"

"The Arrancar Legion is on their way, hold on!"

"Don't come over!"

A cacophony of shouts and calls filled the air, creating a chaotic scene that made Esdeath frown with impatience.

hum!

A Cero flash swept through, the air it passed through emitting a mournful sound as if it were being torn apart; its sheer power was enough to level a street.

However, Esdeath did not dodge. She simply flung away the Hollow hanging from her sword, then raised her Zanpakuto to block in front of her. She took no other defensive measures.

In that instant, Esdeath felt a hot wind blow over her, but the blade covered with high-density spiritual pressure easily separated the Cero.

call!

Esdeath casually waved her hand, unleashing a sharp gust of wind that dispersed the choking smoke, and emerged from the explosion completely unharmed.

"hateful!"

A Hollow of Adjuchas swung up behind Esdeath, drew its longsword, and thrust it with all its might toward Esdeath's back.

"go to hell!"

Zheng!

A bolt of lightning flashed, hovering in mid-air and forming the shape of a blade. Xu froze instantly, and then a line of blood extended from the center of his forehead, splitting him in two.

Akame appeared from the side, her Zanpakuto unstained by a single drop of blood.

Stealth combined with a one-hit kill—ever since learning ninjutsu from the female ninjas of Chaldea, coupled with lightning-enhanced speed and the blessing provided by Iori… Akame has now mastered the technique of a first-hit kill. Not to mention Adjuchas, even Halibel and others wouldn't dare say they could dodge it.

"I won't thank you."

Esdeath glanced back. "That level of attack couldn't hurt me at all."

"I know."

Akame said calmly, "But this is my duty, because I am now your deputy."

"Ah……"

Esdeath smiled slightly, then looked back at the Hollows blocking her way, her Zanpakuto emanating a chilling white aura.

This is not the initial release of the sword, but a technique she developed herself, combining ice-attribute spiritual pressure with slashing skills. Supported by her own stats, the sword can create a "line" of freezing effect wherever it passes.

Her Zanpakuto is purely physical, and once it is unleashed, its power will be greatly enhanced. When combined with "Freezing Everything in One Line," there will be almost nothing she cannot cut!

—The progress of these two is astonishing.

Firstly, they are very talented, and secondly, Iori provided them with a larger stage and all the resources they could use.

Furthermore, as Iori's strength continues to increase, and he also possesses a buffing ability that specifically enhances the attributes of his teammates, those whose souls are connected to him naturally benefit the most.

Zheng!

Esdeath and Akame simultaneously used Shunpo, appearing in the chaotic Hollow Realization formation the next moment, each wielding their weapons to slash at the enemy.

"stop!!!"

A massive Void charged forward recklessly, but was frozen into an ice sculpture fifty paces away.

The difference in strength is obvious. Even with so many Hollows, they couldn't stop the two. Even the Adjuchas-level Cero couldn't break through Esdeath's cold aura defense. (Speaking of technique development, Esdeath and Iori have different styles, but they are more like Yamamoto. They mainly focus on increasing the strength of attack and defense. The Freeze of All Things is actually an AOE that prevents enemies from escaping. Everything is developing towards being able to "cut people more quickly".)

Even if you try to use Hibiki to move around and engage in close combat, you will not be able to avoid Akame's detection and lock on. In high-speed battles, those with slow reflexes will be at a disadvantage, and Akame has clearly strengthened this aspect.

After being upgraded by Iori and endowed with the divine power of lightning, the Thunder Emperor's Gauntlets, supported by the Third Law, Akame was able to maintain lightning-fast speed throughout. The sharpness of her blade was unimaginable, and the steel skin that the Arrancar were so proud of was practically as thin as paper!

She didn't use any fancy techniques like demonic arts; she simply killed one person at a time with machine-like precision, and no matter how the Hollow tried to escape, it couldn't avoid her ghostly pursuit.

In just ten minutes, the two worked together to completely defeat the virtual group, and the Death God's army also gained a decisive advantage, especially the expeditionary force, whose morale soared.

Meanwhile, the Eleventh Division, which used to be the main force, was overshadowed.

In fact, the Eleventh Division is already considered to be the team with the highest average combat strength, but now their captain and vice-captain are not present, and only the third seat Madarame Ikatsu is in charge, so they are naturally not so conspicuous on this level of battlefield.

"The battle went relatively smoothly."

Esdeath closed her eyes, carefully sensing the countless spiritual pressure fluctuations emanating from the air.

She has already begun Hollowfication training under Iori's supervision. Among the Hollowfication's innate abilities, she particularly values ​​steel skin and nerve detection.

The former is obviously for increasing defense, while the latter, as descendants of a hunting people, naturally possesses an unparalleled talent for "sensing prey".

In this respect, she was one step ahead of Akame—the girl with long, straight black hair had not yet begun to explore Hollowfication.

"Most of the fortress has become a battlefield. The Voids were clearly caught off guard and are proceeding according to plan... They have also successfully infiltrated the inner city."

"Oh."

After listening to Esdeath's long explanation, Akame simply replied with an "Oh."

After all, she knew the inside story, so naturally she wasn't worried about winning or losing.

Which battlefield are we heading to next?

After the two stopped, someone moved quickly over and arrived in an instant – it was Xianghe.

He was originally assigned to oversee the battle and shouldn't have been on the front lines, but after being enlightened by Iori, his mindset changed, and he decided to act more proactively and strive to accumulate merits.

Even without considering his Zanpakuto, this guy is still a top-tier vice-captain; he could handle Adjuchas.

"We are launching a feint attack. We don't have a specific mission. We just need to keep attacking the fake defenses."

Esdeath smiled and said, "By continuously expanding our gains, we will naturally attract powerful enemies, which will also directly reduce the resistance from Iori's team. You can rest assured about that."

"That's good."

Hibiki nodded, then suddenly noticed something: "Commander Hyori, do you call Captain Aizen Iori?"

In the Soul Society (Japan), addressing someone by their first name, especially a superior's first name... that means the relationship is definitely not ordinary!

"Yeah, what's the problem?"

"nothing."

Xianghe shook his head.

He was present before Iori and the others set off, so he naturally noticed what was going on between Iori and Saito...

Ah no, let's not delve too deeply into this. At most, we can ask Muramasa to give someone a hand in the future and keep an eye on the woman's Zanpakuto so she doesn't end up stabbing the next Captain-Commander-in-Chief.

……

boom!

A massive surge of spiritual pressure emanated from underground, causing the ground to collapse instantly. The desert vortex devoured everything at a visible speed!

Inside the war fortress, Iori's squad, clad in "invisibility cloaks"—equipment created by Mayuri Kurotsuchi to conceal spiritual pressure fluctuations—sneaked around the massive battlefield and entered the fortress.

But it was impossible to reach the BOSS room smoothly. Right outside the towering Tower of Babel, in a wide-open space with no buildings to cover them, Iori and the others encountered their first enemy.

Whoosh!Whoosh!Whoosh!

The captains leaped backward, away from the suddenly collapsed crater, while the masked man in a black trench coat descended from the sky, spreading his wings about ten meters above the ground. Spiritual patterns lit up on his wings, and he floated in mid-air.

Then, three more figures flew out of the sand below, standing side by side with the Arrancar, aided by props.

"Lord Jack Crowley!"

"Death? Hmph!"

This Adjuchas-class Arrancar has an appearance almost identical to a human, except that the left half of his face is covered by a mask, which reveals his identity.

His gaze swept over the group of people, but because they were all covered by cloaks and masks, he couldn't tell who they were.

It doesn't matter. According to Lord Helibel's orders, although this war was arranged by "His Majesty," they don't need to think about anything else during the battle. They can just fight to their hearts' content as usual.

Only by working hard enough can one have the chance to be noticed by His Majesty and gain further opportunities!

"I'll acknowledge your efforts in getting this far, but there's absolutely no way you can go any further!"

Iori and the others remained silent.

At this moment, Jack Laurie's valet realized something was wrong and quietly reminded him.

"These people didn't panic even when they saw you, so they're probably not ordinary people. Please be careful."

"Hmph! Who do you think I am? I am the 'King's Gatekeeper'!"

Jack Lowry shouted confidently, "Call out all the Killian!"

"Yes!"