Shock and disbelief instantly filled Akashi's heart, and his expression changed dramatically.
"They're attacking already?!"
Qin Yi's decisiveness had caught Akashi and the Nie Kingdom army completely off guard.
This should have been the phase where both sides were still preparing for the final, large-scale war. Yet after only their first encounter, the enemy had chosen to launch a full offensive without hesitation.
The sheer decisiveness of Qin's Nation sent a chill down Akashi's spine.
"Prepare for battle! Attack!"
There was no time to hesitate.
Akashi drew the Zanpakutō at his waist and shouted at the top of his lungs.
At that same moment, across every corner of the Human World, ripples spread through the sky. Cracks tore open one after another as wave after wave of Qin's Nation soldiers poured out, diving toward the ground and instantly igniting the battlefield.
This was a battle that made everyone's hearts tighten with dread.
In an instant, the first wave of soldiers from both nations collided.
"Hollowfication!"
"Shikai!"
Shouts rang out one after another.
The next moment, two completely different powers crashed into each other. The flames of war erupted, spreading across every inch of the Human World in the blink of an eye.
The ordinary civilians of the Human World hid inside buildings, staring fearfully through windows at the chaos outside.
"What is happening?"
"How... how did the world suddenly become like this?"
Countless roars echoed like thunder without end. Explosions could be heard everywhere.
Every moment, blood sprayed through the air, splattering across walls and streets.
Bodies rained from the sky one after another, crashing onto the streets below and smashing craters into the ground.
It looked like the end of the world.
Countless civilians trembled in fear. Families clung tightly to one another, shaking uncontrollably.
None of them could understand how their world had suddenly turned into this.
'Boom!'
The explosions continued without pause.
Buildings were blown apart. Houses collapsed.
Innocent civilians were killed outright as the relentless blasts tore through the city.
The war between the two nations filled countless people with terror. Many wondered whether the apocalypse had truly arrived.
"Lock down the southwest!"
"Break through the northeast! Kill them all!"
"Show no mercy! Until the enemy falls, swing your weapons with everything you've got!"
"Charge! Keep pushing forward! Don't stop for even a second!"
Hovering in the sky, Qin's Nation's generals roared out command after command. Their auras soared upward, shaking the heavens.
Slaughter spread across the entire Human World.
Blood bloomed every second.
Lives vanished every second.
On the ground, blood gradually gathered into rivers, filling the air with the thick stench of death.
Some of it belonged to Qin's Nation's soldiers.
Some belonged to the Shinigami of the Nie Kingdom.
The numbers on both sides were dropping at a terrifying rate, visible even to the naked eye.
This was a true battle of annihilation, a clash between two evenly matched nations testing each other's strength.
Both sides fought until their eyes were bloodshot, until they had gone completely mad.
Rather than retreat even a single step, they chose death.
A Qin's Nation soldier was impaled through the body by two Nie Kingdom Shinigami.
His eyes widened with fury.
With one final roar, he swung his spear with all the strength he had left.
Even in his dying moment, he sliced one of their heads clean off.
Elsewhere, a Captain-class Shinigami of the Nie Kingdom cut down more than a dozen Qin's Nation soldiers in a furious charge.
But immediately afterward, hundreds of soldiers rushed him at once.
His eyes burned with rage as hundreds of spears pierced his body simultaneously, turning him into a blood-soaked corpse.
This was a battle where every fighter wagered their life.
They fought for the honor of their nation.
They carried the fate of their country on their shoulders.
Neither side was willing to give ground.
Neither side 'could' afford to.
"Qin! Qin! Qin!"
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
The soldiers of Qin's Nation marched forward in tight formations, their thunderous battle cries shaking the earth beneath the pounding of countless feet.
"For our King! For glory!"
"Cut down every enemy standing before you!"
No one cared how many died.
No one cared how many lives were lost.
This was war.
This was the moment when glory was built upon mountains of corpses, where life itself had become unbelievably cheap.
---
In Soul Society...
"Your Majesty, the Human World has erupted into war!"
"Qin's Nation has launched its attack! The Crimson Flow Army is currently locked in a desperate battle with the enemy!"
The urgent report reached King Chengdui's ears.
Sitting on his throne, his eyes narrowed.
"How is the battle going?"
"It's extremely fierce. Qin's Nation's soldiers are terrifying fighters. They don't fear death at all."
"It'll be very difficult for the Crimson Flow Army to defeat them."
"Both sides are practically throwing away lives just to gain ground."
The Shinigami reported rapidly.
His words caused everyone present to grow solemn.
"I see..." King Chengdui muttered.
His gaze gradually sharpened, and a ruthless smile appeared on his face.
"So he started the war this quickly. He's even more decisive than I expected. I thought he'd wait a while longer."
"In that case, dispatch reinforcements to the Human World immediately."
"I want Qin's Nation's first wave completely annihilated!"
The Shinigami turned to carry out the order.
But just then, several more messengers rushed into the hall.
"Your Majesty! Enemies have appeared in Soul Society!"
"Their numbers are increasing rapidly! The first clashes have already begun!"
The report made King Chengdui's pupils contract.
The thirty-six Venerables all focused their gaze.
Behind his glasses, Aizen's eyes gleamed as he fell into thought.
"The King of Qin's Nation..."
"...is a truly frightening man."
"He suddenly launched a full-scale war without any warning, and he's even taking the offensive inside King Chengdui's own territory."
"If that's his decision..."
"Then either he's fully prepared..."
"...or he's completely out of his mind."
After all, fighting inside King Chengdui's domain gave Qin's Nation no geographical advantage whatsoever.
So why would he make such a move?
---
Eastern Soul Society.
Ripples spread across the sky one after another.
Then, figures stepped out from the openings.
"So these are the brats from the Nie Kingdom?"
At the front stood a towering man holding a naginata, his crescent-shaped white mustache unmistakable.
Edward Newgate.
Behind him stood the Whitebeard Pirates, with Marco and Jozu among them.
Beside Whitebeard floated Ace, Luffy, Shanks, Enel, Sengoku, Garp, and many others, all looking down at the unfamiliar world below.
They silently observed this strange land...
...and its unfamiliar enemies.
"Oh?" Whitebeard laughed. "Looks like the enemy reacts pretty quickly. Look, they're already charging at us."
Below them, large groups of Shinigami rapidly gathered and rushed toward their position.
Countless figures surged forward like a swarm of locusts.
Yet Whitebeard and the others showed not the slightest trace of fear.
"Then let this old man fire the first shot of this New World!"
As his words fell, he swung his enormous naginata with one hand.
'Whoosh!'
A fierce wind swept through the air as the blade sliced forward.
'Pop!'
A shimmering halo spread outward in ripples, wrapping around the naginata.
The next instant…
Whitebeard let out a thunderous roar and brought his weapon crashing down.
(End of Chapter)
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