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Las Noches, a magnificent structure standing solitary between heaven and earth.
It was built entirely of massive white stones, with countless thick stone pillars and intricate bricks supporting this ancient Hollow city.
Unlike the sleek, modern, and technologically advanced Las Noches during Aizen's reign, the architectural style displayed here was closer to the ancient craftsmanship of the real world.
The surrounding rocky mountains were dotted with caves of various sizes, serving as the nests of Adjuchas.
Their animalistic forms made their living habits similar to those of wild beasts.
However, the scale and design of most buildings in Las Noches clearly indicated that they were prepared for humanoid creatures.
Among the Hollows, only Vasto Lorde and Arrancar were most similar to human form!
This couldn't help but raise a question: had an ancient civilization composed of Vasto Lorde or Arrancar once existed in the long history of Hueco Mundo?
As night deepened, moonlight streamed into Las Noches.
Many powerful Menos Grande knelt respectfully before the throne, their bodies trembling slightly, not even daring to look up.
Seated on the throne was a humanoid skeleton wearing a brilliant golden crown, his entire body enveloped in a long black velvet and purple robe.
His presence commanded respect without anger and looked down on all beings, displaying the supreme majesty of a ruler!
He leaned his chin on one hand in a lazy posture, looking down at the Hollows below.
His hollow eye sockets had no eyeballs, yet they seemed to emit an incomparably sharp gaze, sweeping over every subject.
The Adjuchas present couldn't help but nervously swallow their saliva.
Adjuchas were several times, or even more than ten times, larger than Vasto Lorde, but this clearly did not explain anything.
From the perspective of Reiatsu, Vasto Lorde were the truly "massive" existences.
As the king who ruled all of Hueco Mundo, Barragan rhythmically tapped the armrest of the throne with his skeletal fingers.
Each tap seemed to carry a heavy force, instilling a sense of awe.
His deep voice was like thunder, shaking the hearts of all present:
"The pursuit of Harribel has lasted for half a month. Has Oswiel returned?"
However, before his subordinates could respond, a figure rushed into the palace like a whirlwind.
It was a blooming pink rose, but it possessed humanoid biological characteristics.
It was Charlotte, one of Barragan's capable subordinates, an Adjuchas Menos Grande!
He looked flustered and hurried, as if he had encountered a great crisis.
Seeing his disheveled appearance, all the Hollows present felt a sense of unease and their hearts grew heavy.
Barragan's wrath was far more than these Adjuchas could bear.
"Lord Barragan! Something terrible has happened! Lord Oswiel… he unfortunately died in battle! We found… his corpse in the sand dunes to the west."
Charlotte reported breathlessly, his voice filled with grief and shock.
"Ggio, Abirama, and Findorr, who went with him… are also missing!!"
The hearts of the Hollows tightened, their faces filled with astonishment, Then they tremblingly looked at Barragan, who was seated on the high throne, and buried their heads even deeper.
Missing?
They probably died together, turning into spiritual particles and vanishing into thin air!?
Even Oswiel, a Vasto Lorde, couldn't escape death; how could those Adjuchas be spared!?
The atmosphere in the open-air palace instantly became solemn and deathly silent.
Barragan slowly straightened his body, his previously lazy demeanor gone, but he did not speak immediately.
However, everyone knew that this was merely the calm before the storm.
As expected, in an instant, a terrifying Reiatsu from the pinnacle of Hueco Mundo descended upon everyone.
This incredibly powerful pressure made everyone freeze.
Hollows with weaker Reiatsu even showed symptoms of mental confusion, as if they were about to faint from the pressure of endless fear!
"Who committed such a grave sin!?"
Barragan's voice contained uncontrollable rage.
Oswiel was his right-hand man!
He was also well aware of Harribel's strength.
Their strengths were almost evenly matched; it would be a pipe dream for Harribel to kill Oswiel!
Even if that woman abandoned her belief of not devouring her own kind, her strength could never have increased so quickly!
Without a doubt, it was another powerful being, not Harribel, who killed Oswiel!
"The situation is currently unclear; no valuable clues were found at the scene."
Upon hearing this, Barragan slowly stood up.
Anyone could see that a raging inferno was burning in his heart!
A Vasto Lorde subordinate as exceptionally strong and loyal as Oswiel was truly rare in all of Hueco Mundo.
Losing such an excellent subject was an incredibly heavy blow for a monarch.
An Adjuchas in the form of a mantis with six scythe-like arms stepped forward, kneeling on one knee as if he had something to say.
Barragan glanced at him.
This Adjuchas was a subordinate Oswiel had recruited for him during a pursuit.
As an Adjuchas, his strength was among the top-tier Menos Grande below Vasto Lorde, with the potential to advance to Vasto Lorde in the future.
Because of this, as soon as he joined Las Noches, his status surpassed that of elders like Ggio Vega, making him one of Barragan's trusted favorites.
Barragan looked at the Adjuchas below with an expressionless face, and asked calmly:
"Nnoitra, do you have something to say?"
Hearing Barragan's question, Nnoitra quickly bowed his head and respectfully replied:
"Your Majesty, I believe the murderer who killed Oswiel is very likely Nelliel!"
As soon as his words fell, the entire Las Noches fell into silence.
Everyone looked at Nnoitra with strange expressions.
Nnoitra hadn't been in Las Noches for long, but his dislike for women was no longer a secret.
Harribel and Nelliel, as female Vasto Lorde, were often slandered by him.
Nnoitra paid no mind to the strange looks from the others.
He stared intently at Barragan, as if seeking confirmation in his eyes.
Barragan sat back on his throne, deep in thought, without saying a word.
In his mind, The image of that tall, half-human, half-goat female Vasto Lorde gradually appeared.
Having ruled Hueco Mundo for many years, he knew that the number of Vasto Lorde was extremely small.
In this era, the Vasto Lorde he knew, including the deceased Oswiel, did not exceed the fingers of one hand!
And Nelliel happened to be one of them, with strength even surpassing Oswiel's.
More importantly, Nelliel was not keen on fighting, but she always liked to meddle, disrupting Las Noches's capture operations more than once.
Given this, she indeed could have, and had the ability to, help Harribel deal with Oswiel.
Thinking of this, Barragan frowned slightly, his agreement with Nnoitra's statement growing.
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