Two days later, the Shinigami of the 6th Division were ready to set out.
"Lieutenant Kuchiki, the students are ready," Sora said.
Behind him were seven students: Isshin Shiba, Tetsuzaemon Iba, Sajin Komamura, Lisa Yadōmaru, Isane Kotetsu, Munehiro Kyōraku, and Maki Ichinose.
Sōsuke Aizen had won the Shinken Taiketsu championship and defeated Lieutenant Gosuke of the 11th Division. After completing the procedures, he could graduate early and go directly to the 5th Division to serve as the 3rd seat officer.
The other students who had shown strength above a seated officer in the Shinken Taiketsu had earned the qualification for an early graduation assessment.
Coinciding with the Onmitsukidō detecting unusual movements from the Las Noches army, they were assigned an assessment mission to follow the 6th and 2nd Divisions to reinforce the Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force.
The 6th Division's Lieutenant, Sōjun Kuchiki, was their examiner.
Katori Sora was the supervising professor for this assessment and would also provide assistance to the 6th Division's support operation.
"Then let's move out. Lieutenant Shihōin has already led the Onmitsukidō ahead," Sōjun Kuchiki nodded.
Yoruichi Shihōin had already led the Onmitsukidō to Hueco Mundo yesterday.
A secret report came from the Onmitsukidō that Menos from Las Noches were frequently appearing in the Forest of Menos.
The personnel dispatched earlier were no longer sufficient to cover such a large-scale reconnaissance mission.
Therefore, Yoruichi Shihōin had gone ahead to support her subordinates in Hueco Mundo.
After preparations were complete, Sōjun Kuchiki and Katori Sora led the way into the Senkaimon.
The journey to Hueco Mundo this time was smooth.
The group did not encounter any spiritual particle storms while passing through the Garganta and arrived in Hueco Mundo without any issues.
Their landing point was a boundless desert in Hueco Mundo.
"So this is Hueco Mundo... just as described in the books. So desolate, not a single green plant in sight, and the air is very uncomfortable..."
Lisa Yadōmaru frowned. The Reishi concentration in Hueco Mundo was high, but the Reishi here made her feel very uncomfortable, far from the comfort of the Soul Society.
For a Shinigami, an excessively high concentration of Hollow Reishi was like a human being in heavily polluted air.
"The Hollow Reishi concentration is extremely high... The Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force is really amazing. I can't imagine what it would be like to stay in this environment for several years."
Isshin Shiba squatted down and grabbed a handful of sand, feeling the substance of Hueco Mundo.
"Successfully arrived in Hueco Mundo! Proceed along the planned route, immediately head to the Forest of Menos. Everyone, keep up, don't fall behind!"
Sōjun Kuchiki spread out a map of Hueco Mundo and confirmed that their landing point was not far off.
The Shinigami set off immediately, heading swiftly towards the entrance of the Forest of Menos.
The 6th Division had dispatched over two hundred Shinigami this time. The Spiritual Pressure fluctuations emitted by over two hundred Shinigami moving at high speed made the Hollows along the way scatter in fear.
"The entrance to the Forest of Menos is up ahead. Be on high alert after entering the forest!"
Sōjun Kuchiki pointed to a sand dune and instructed.
The Forest of Menos was located underground in the Hueco Mundo desert, and there was more than one entrance. This was the entrance closest to the expeditionary force's camp.
The entrance tunnel to the Forest of Menos was a slope with an angle greater than 70 degrees. The group slid down the slope.
"We're sliding so fast. Wouldn't it be dangerous if we encounter a Hollow!"
Munehiro Kyōraku shouted.
"Don't jinx it. The space here is so narrow, it would be difficult to deal with a Hollow!"
Isshin Shiba grumbled.
The Hollow Reishi concentration here was even higher than on the surface. If a Hollow were ambushing them here, it would be really hard to detect.
"This place is perfect for an ambush. If I were the king of Las Noches, I would definitely set up an ambush for the Shinigami reinforcements in a place like this!"
Munehiro Kyōraku talked on and on.
Just then, the sand and gravel under the Shinigami's feet suddenly exploded, and several Hollows of various shapes drilled out of the sand.
"Enemy attack!" Sōjun Kuchiki shouted.
Munehiro Kyōraku didn't react in time and was tripped by a Hollow that suddenly appeared under his feet, sending him rolling.
"There really are Hollows in ambush! It's all your fault for jinxing it!"
Isshin Shiba exclaimed.
"What are you standing around for? Finish them quickly!"
Lisa Yadōmaru placed her hand on the hilt of her sword.
The students were in the center of the Shinigami formation, and these Hollows were mainly concentrated here.
Therefore, there were also two Hollows near the students, one of which was the one that had tripped Munehiro Kyōraku.
These Hollows all seemed to be ordinary Hollows, not a big threat. It was just that their sudden appearance from underground had disrupted the formation of the Shinigami who were sliding at high speed.
Clang—
With a flash of her sword, Lisa Yadōmaru used Shunpo to get behind an alligator-like Hollow.
The next moment, the alligator Hollow was instantly cut in two.
Lisa Yadōmaru looked at the other Hollow. Its head had been cut off by Munehiro Kyōraku, who had gotten back up.
"You made me fall!" Munehiro Kyōraku said hatefully as he pulled back his sword.
The other Hollows were also quickly killed by the Shinigami of the 6th Division.
These were just ordinary Hollows, which even regular squad members could handle.
"I told you, this place is perfect for an ambush..." Munehiro Kyōraku breathed a sigh of relief. "Luckily, these Hollows aren't very strong..."
As soon as he finished speaking, he heard Katori Sora's warning:
"Be careful!"
The corpses of the slain Hollows suddenly swelled up and exploded violently.
A red light containing terrifying Spiritual Pressure instantly engulfed the Shinigami.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM—!!!
Lisa Yadōmaru and the others subconsciously covered their heads with their hands.
The next moment, they found that they hadn't been hit by the explosion.
They were now in a pitch-black space.
The pitch-black space shook violently several times, its boundaries flickering, but it eventually stabilized.
"How did we suddenly end up in a place like this?"
Munehiro Kyōraku was very confused.
"This is the Professor's Bankai..."
Lisa Yadōmaru looked around the black space and quickly came to a conclusion.
At the moment of the explosion, Sora had deployed his shadow space, pulling some of the Shinigami and students at the center of the blast into it.
This was a special application of his shadow space.
He could isolate people from an explosion by pulling them into his shadow space.
As long as the Spiritual Pressure of the explosion was not enough to break through his shadow space, he could save people in this way.
"That explosion just now was a Cero..."
Sora frowned slightly.
"That red light was a Hollow's flash?!" Munehiro Kyōraku exclaimed. "No wonder it was so terrifying. I thought I was going to die just now!"
At such a close distance, Munehiro Kyōraku could not have withstood such a terrifying explosion.
"It's even much stronger than a Gillian's Cero, but it hasn't reached the level of a Gran Rey Cero."
The shadow space had absorbed the explosion, so Sora could feel its power.
"But a Cero of this level can obviously only be released by Menos of the 'Adjuchas' or 'Vasto Lorde' class or higher. Those were just ordinary Hollows, their strength was clearly not at that level."
Sora was quite puzzled by this.
"Thank you! If it weren't for Vice-Principal Katori's intervention, we probably would have died here!"
Some of the 6th Division Shinigami who had been pulled into the shadow space were also terrified.
A Cero explosion at such a close range, even a seated officer would find it hard to escape. To be hit by something like that would mean serious injury, if not death.
"Let's see what's going on outside."
Sora dispelled the shadow space.
The Shinigami outside were waiting anxiously.
"Professor Katori, are you all okay?"
Sōjun Kuchiki asked hurriedly.
The Hollows had appeared in the central area of the Shinigami formation.
Sōjun Kuchiki was at the very front of the team. By the time he reacted, he saw that the Hollows were just some ordinary ones, so he chose not to go back to help, letting the nearest Shinigami handle them.
However, no one expected that the explosion of these ordinary Hollows would have the power of a Cero.
"We're fine. I blocked the explosion with my Bankai," Sora shook his head.
"I failed to detect the danger in advance, nearly putting everyone in danger," Sōjun Kuchiki said with some self-reproach. "Luckily, Professor Katori is here! Otherwise, with such an explosion... we would have suffered heavy losses before even reaching the camp!"
"Lieutenant Kuchiki, you don't need to blame yourself," Sora said. "The enemy was clearly prepared. These Hollows were well-hidden, specifically in areas with high Hollow Reishi concentration. Even I didn't detect them."
Sora went to the location of the explosion.
"It was the Cero of a single Hollow," Sora said after sensing the residual Spiritual Pressure at the explosion sites. He found that the Spiritual Pressure fluctuations were identical. "And it must be at least a 'Vasto Lorde' class Menos!"
"A single Hollow?" Isshin Shiba also came over to sense the residual Spiritual Pressure fluctuations. "It really is from the same Hollow, but there were several of them just now!"
"That means the Ceros just now were not released by those Hollows," Sora analyzed. "Perhaps a Menos can 'store' its power in the bodies of these Hollows, turning them into Cero bombs!"
"A Menos can store a Cero in the body of another Hollow?"
Lisa Yadōmaru was surprised. Such an ability was too terrifying. To cut open a seemingly ordinary Hollow only to be met with a powerful Cero explosion.
"Some Menos have unique abilities. It's not impossible for them to have such an ability," Sora said.
Sora expanded his perception to its maximum, but he didn't detect any Menos nearby.
Sōjun Kuchiki did the same. Unable to find the target that had released the Cero, they could only continue forward:
"Let's keep moving. Everyone, watch your step!"
The Shinigami set off again, heading towards the expeditionary force's camp.
...
Las Noches.
The King of Las Noches, Baraggan Louisenbairn, sat on his throne of bones, watching his Menos subordinates in the palace.
"Oh, my Cero bombs were triggered!"
A small, girl-like Hollow said.
She was sitting on the shoulder of a ten-meter-tall giant Hollow, dangling her little feet.
"But it seems like none of them were killed!" Tim said with great regret.
"Tim's Cero bombs being triggered means the Shinigami reinforcements have arrived. Shouldn't we start moving, Your Majesty Baraggan!"
The Menos with a cow skull on his mask, Rudbornn Chelute, said.
"Your Majesty Baraggan, we should take action!"
The Menos with an oval mask, D-Roy Rinker, said.
Many other Menos also spoke up, saying it was time to act. The palace suddenly became lively with discussion.
Baraggan looked coldly at the noisy palace, not saying a word to stop them.
After a long time, the Menos seemed to remember that the king on the throne of bones had not yet spoken, and the voices of discussion gradually died down.
"Are you done discussing?"
Baraggan asked calmly.
"Your Majesty Baraggan, the Shinigami reinforcements have just arrived in Hueco Mundo and have not had time to rest. Now is the best time to attack!"
The cow-skulled Menos, Rudbornn, bowed his head and said.
"Hmph... Baraggan, if you're scared, just keep sitting there. I will lead the army and drive out the Shinigami expeditionary force!"
A red-haired Hollow said impatiently.
"Tim also thinks it's time to attack!"
The petite Tim stood up from the giant Hollow's shoulder.
"It is indeed time to strike," Baraggan said slowly. "Let's begin! Drive all of the expeditionary force and the Shinigami reinforcements out of Hueco Mundo!"
"Yes!" The Menos could no longer hold back, each one eager for a fight.
The Menos left Las Noches to assemble the Hollow army gathered there.
"Luppi, are we really going to attack with them?"
Cirucci Sanderwicci asked her companion.
"Of course. It's a rare chance to kill Shinigami. Are you scared, Cirucci?"
Luppi Antenor had many white tentacles growing from his body.
"I don't think that Baraggan has good intentions. If he really wanted to drive out the expeditionary force, why didn't he act before the Shinigami reinforcements arrived?" Cirucci Sanderwicci was worried.
She felt that Baraggan's goal was probably not to drive out the Shinigami.
"Why think so much? As long as there are Shinigami for me to play with, it's fine!"
Luppi Antenor didn't think too much. He just wanted to kill.
Inside the palace, Baraggan Louisenbairn was still sitting on his throne of bones.
Just as Cirucci Sanderwicci had suspected, Baraggan's true goal was not to drive the Shinigami expeditionary force out of Hueco Mundo.
He had a relatively clear understanding of his own strength and that of Las Noches.
As long as he and the Las Noches army joined forces, they could even annihilate the Shinigami expeditionary force.
But Las Noches could not withstand the retaliation from the Soul Society.
Baraggan's true purpose was to use the Shinigami's hands to eliminate some of the disobedient voices in Las Noches.
The Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force had been entrenched in the Forest of Menos for a long time.
The Menos in the outer areas of the forest were either eliminated by the expeditionary force or had fled.
The Menos that fled had all gone deeper into the Forest of Menos or to the Hueco Mundo desert.
The Menos that had the strength to escape from the expeditionary force were not weak.
These Menos from the Forest of Menos also liked to form groups.
To Baraggan, these groups of Menos were an unsettling factor that could affect his rule.
Once there were too many such groups, it would have a great impact on Las Noches.
Disobedient voices had to be eliminated.
Therefore, Baraggan gathered the Hollow army under the pretext of driving out the expeditionary force.
As he expected, the Menos from the Forest of Menos also joined his Hollow army.
The Menos would follow the army to drive out the Shinigami, destroy the expeditionary force's camp, and reclaim their territory.
"It's time to prune those branches that have grown out of line."
Baraggan Louisenbairn stood up and slowly walked out.
-----------------------------
Access more than 400 chapters across more than 7 different novels on Patreon!
For this novel, there are already more than 100 chapters available, and we are only 3 subscribers away from unlocking up to chapter 150!
And many more projects in progress!