"Huh? Huh? Huh?"
Everyone present was dumbstruck, staring in disbelief at Yhwach and Cole.
Their gazes kept flicking back and forth between the two.
What the hell!?
They actually turned hostility into peace!?
A king of the Wandenreich and the commander of the Military Police Corps—those two didn't fight, and the latter even became the crown prince.
What kind of joke was that!?
Did Yhwach chicken out!?
No—if it was "heir," then he would have to wait until Yhwach died before he could inherit the throne of the Wandenreich.
But would Yhwach die?
Come on. Even though they didn't know how strong he truly was, the man had slept for a thousand years without his lifespan running out.
If Cole really agreed, who knew who would outlive whom.
As for whether Cole was qualified to be the King of the Wandenreich… nobody even bothered to consider that.
Because qualified?
He was absurdly qualified, okay!?
Originally, within the Wandenreich, other than Yhwach, Jugram's status was the most supreme.
But now a Cole had appeared.
If Yhwach had awakened a few years later, Cole could've completely hollowed him out and seized control.
Unlike the Quincy who were letting their imaginations run wild, Yoruichi, Rukia, Soi fong, Ichigo, and the others were practically about to explode.
No—how did you end up climbing into the crown prince position!?
Did you forget who you are!?
Soi fong looked especially tense. She couldn't help poking Yoruichi lightly and whispered,
"Yoruichi-sama, what do we do? If Cole becomes the King of the Wandenreich… will he still help us?"
In her eyes, the terms Seireitei offered Cole were nowhere near what the Wandenreich was offering.
After all, Seireitei only gave Cole a Substitute Shinigami identity, and before that the Zero Division members even wanted to kill him.
But the Wandenreich was offering him the throne.
That was the highest position there was.
From what she'd learned about the Wandenreich lately, if Cole became king, who knew how many Quincy women would throw themselves at him.
Yoruichi jolted, blushing as she covered her chest, glaring in embarrassment at her rebellious disciple.
"If you're asking a question, ask it properly—can your hand stop poking around everywhere?"
Soi fong's face flushed as well. She seemed almost intoxicated by the brief touch, then hurriedly nudged Yoruichi again, signaling her not to fuss over such a tiny detail.
Yoruichi gritted her teeth, but there was nothing she could do about this rebellious disciple. She could only whisper,
"Just trust Cole. And don't say anything stupid—otherwise I'll have to cover your mouth like Ryuken is doing to Ichigo."
There were too many powerhouses here. Even though Soi fong's voice was very low, Yoruichi was still afraid someone might hear.
Soi fong looked over at Ichigo, confused.
Only then did she notice Ryuken pressing a hand tightly over Ichigo's mouth, terrified that this idiot kid would blurt out something he shouldn't.
That discovery made her eyes light up.
If Yoruichi-sama covered her mouth…
Yoruichi sensed something was wrong. Before her disciple could start acting up, she hurriedly whispered with a red face,
"Don't mess around! If you've got something to do, wait until later, okay?"
Soi fong blinked instinctively.
Yoruichi ground her teeth again and, with a shy little tremble in her voice, whispered,
"As long as you don't mess around… after this is over, I'll play with you properly, alright? Consider it compensation."
Soi fong's eyes filled with delight, and she nodded like a pecking chick.
Seeing that reaction, Yoruichi felt even more mortified, wishing she could discipline her disciple on the spot.
To restrain this rebellious disciple, she had basically offered herself up as a gift.
And the disciple was actually happy about it.
Even so, while Yoruichi managed to stabilize Soi fong, the scene was still chaotic.
Especially Ichigo, despite having his mouth covered by Ryuken, he kept struggling and swinging his fists.
His target was Yhwach.
Yhwach saw the commotion below, and a cold glint flashed in his eyes.
A thousand years had passed, and these newborn-generation Quincy had no reverence at all for him, the King of Quincy.
Right under his nose, they still dared to act this way.
Once he invaded Seireitei and obtained a massive amount of vitality from there…
He would cleanse these Quincy to the last.
At worst, he would just convert new humans again.
In that atmosphere, Cole raised an eyebrow and said,
"Heir!?"
"You just said you'd hand the Wandenreich to me. Don't tell me I have to wait until you die before I can become king!?"
Yhwach's killing intent surged, but he still forcibly suppressed his rage.
"You misunderstand. After we defeat Seireitei, I will hand the Wandenreich to you. You will become the king with Schrift 'A.'"
"Going to war with Seireitei…" Cole gave a cold snort. "But what if I want to become the King of the Wandenreich right now? I want to defeat you and prove my strength is the strongest."
Yhwach nearly failed to hold back his fury.
This arrogant brat—he dared to be arrogant even in front of him.
He slowly exhaled and said,
"A battle between you and me would cause the entire Wandenreich to collapse. You don't want those Shinigami to profit from it, do you?"
Jugram quickly nodded as well, speaking in a deep voice.
"Commander, the fight between you and me just now already destroyed a huge amount of buildings. The current Wandenreich cannot withstand a large-scale battle between us."
Hearing that, the Quincy present hesitated.
It was true. No matter what, the Wandenreich was like a rootless floating weed—hidden in shadow, an extremely fragile environment.
If they shattered it now, they would be forced to face those Shinigami head-on.
They believed they could still win, but the losses would be enormous. It was better to wait until after victory.
Cole sneered.
"If that's the case, then you go deal with Seireitei yourself. I'm not going to be your spear point. Who knows if you're lying."
At that, Cole paused and continued,
"But don't worry. If I see you can't defeat Seireitei, I'll choose to act. But by then, you'll no longer be qualified to be the lord of Quincy."
As he spoke, the twelve black wings of his Complete Holy Form exploded open behind him.
Those expanding black wings shattered the entire Ice Palace into powder in an instant—ice shards and rubble blasted everywhere.
Like a fallen angel displaying his pressure.
The Quincy present could barely breathe, all of them staring at Cole in terror.
He left Yhwach not even a scrap of face.
Under Yhwach's livid expression, Cole gave a cold laugh, turned, and walked out without looking back, saying calmly,
"What are you still standing there for?"
"Let's go."
Bambietta and the others were fired up, hurrying to follow behind Cole.
This was the commander they wanted to pledge loyalty to.
Even facing Yhwach, he showed not the slightest fear—he flat-out ignored the other man's temptation.
They even felt that if he weren't worried the Wandenreich would collapse…
Their commander would've fought Yhwach.
Maybe even defeated him.
Yoruichi, Unohana, and the others hurried after them as well.
Ichigo didn't want to leave, but Ryuken grabbed him by the collar and forcibly dragged him away from the Ice Palace ruins.
In just a short while, only a few people remained on the rubble.
The once-mysterious, magnificent, awe-inspiring Ice Palace had now become a ruin of broken stones—a symbol of failure.
Yhwach's face turned dark and purple. He clenched his fists so tightly they creaked, wanting nothing more than to chase after that madman and kill him right now.
Since the day he mastered the power of Quincy, he had never suffered humiliation of this degree.
Most of all—this brat who dared to be so arrogant before him had been born from his power in the first place, nothing more than a common Quincy soldier.
A subordinate.
A slave.
And now he dared to rebel against his master.
Forcing down the raging fire in his chest, Yhwach turned his gaze and coldly glanced at Quilge and the others, saying icily,
"What are you still standing around for? Go prepare for war."
Quilge and the others jumped, hurriedly bowed, and withdrew from the Ice Palace ruins to handle the war preparations.
But their hearts were filled with countless thoughts.
Even with the premise that the Wandenreich might collapse, over centuries and millennia, this was the first time they had ever seen Yhwach compromise.
Did that mean Yhwach also didn't dare to clash with Cole?
Or even more radically
Was Yhwach afraid of Cole?
Their minds churned, yet no one dared to openly betray Yhwach.
After all, nothing had been settled.
If, after Seireitei was defeated, Cole truly crushed Yhwach, they wouldn't mind switching flags.
Soon, only Yhwach and Jugram remained in the ruins.
Jugram respectfully asked,
"Your Majesty, what should we do next?"
Yhwach's face sank.
"Of course we launch the war as soon as possible. I want to destroy Seireitei at the fastest speed."
As he spoke, his expression grew even darker—because he had intended to return to his throne, only to realize the throne was already shattered.
Jugram had good instincts. He respectfully said,
"Your Majesty, how about resting in my house for a while?"
Yhwach snorted coldly.
"Is there no other council hall?"
He was the King of Quincy.
How could he possibly cram himself into a small house?
Jugram nodded awkwardly and whispered,
"There are other council halls, but they've all been occupied by the Military Police Corps. Going there now… would be inappropriate."
Yhwach's killing intent grew several degrees heavier.
In the end, he could only follow Jugram to his house.
Jugram asked with worry,
"Your Majesty, the Military Police Corps commander, no, Cole his strength really is extraordinary. If he disrupts our plans…"
"Don't worry. Everything is within my plan."
Yhwach sat on the sofa and cut Jugram off in a heavy voice.
Did Jugram really think he trusted Cole that much!?
What a joke.
As the king of an empire, how could he so casually trust another person's promise?
The reason he chose to "believe" Cole was because, in the future he had seen, he did not see the Military Police Corps interfering.
Meaning, Cole truly kept his promise and did not obstruct his invasion of Seireitei.
In that case, Yhwach didn't mind letting the Military Police Corps off for now—he would settle it after everything was decided.
Because becoming the Soul King was the only thing that truly mattered.
Jugram exhaled in relief, not doubting Yhwach's judgment at all.
But soon, another question surfaced in his mind.
"Your Majesty, there's something I've never understood."
"What is it?"
"That Cole… he was clearly just an ordinary soldier. Why does he have that level of strength? And how can he resist your Auswählen (Holy Selection)?"
Jugram's tone was filled with confusion.
In his view, all Quincy in the Wandenreich drew their power from Yhwach. Logically, they couldn't resist.
Yet Cole had shattered that common sense.
Yhwach fell silent for a moment. He didn't answer, only said in a deep voice,
"That has nothing to do with you. Go prepare for the war too. After that, come with me to Seireitei. We'll go see our old friend."
Jugram froze for a moment, then nodded respectfully.
"I understand, Your Majesty."
He withdrew from the house.
After Jugram left, Yhwach narrowed his eyes, clenched his fist, and recalled Cole's figure, saying coldly,
"A fusion of multiple power essences… could that guy also be the Soul King's child?"
From the moment he saw Cole, he had already sensed it—the similarity between Cole's power and his own.
But who was he?
A Quincy born by nature, wielder of an all-knowing, all-powerful force, and even holding a fragmentary authority of the Soul King.
That was why he called himself the Soul King's child.
Because he held the Soul King's authority over Quincy power.
As long as he devoured the Soul King…
He could obtain the Soul King's full power.
That was what he had always worked toward.
Yet today's Cole carried an eerily similar essence, as if their powers originated from the same source.
"Fortunately, he hasn't awakened the Soul King's authority yet. For now, there's no need to worry…"
Yhwach thought this, then slowly closed his eyes.
At the same time—
Inside the Military Police Corps headquarters.
Cole rubbed his temples, staring at the women who were glaring at him with fierce expressions, and spread his hands helplessly.
"I already said it—you misunderstood. I never wanted to become the King of the Wandenreich. That was all Yhwach being delusional on his own."
Rukia pouted, clearly not believing him, and said sourly,
"Liar. Are you saying you didn't feel tempted at all? There are so many pretty girls in the Wandenreich."
"Like those girls from the group, each one prettier than the last. And you even specifically brought them into the Military Police Corps."
"Tell me the truth, don't you want to become the king here and start a huge harem?"
(End of Chapter)
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