The northern entrance was the route assigned to the 6th Division, led by Sōjun Kuchiki.
Hundreds of Gillians and thousands of ordinary Hollows couldn't put much pressure on Sōjun and the seated officers of the 6th Division.
Before Baraggan's arrival, everything was going smoothly.
But when the King of Hueco Mundo appeared, the tide of battle changed in an instant.
" Officer Matsushita, that Hollow looks really powerful!"
The attention of some Shinigami was drawn to the Hollow who had suddenly appeared in the sky, seated on a throne of withered bones.
"How arrogant! Watch me knock him down!" The young seated officer didn't recognize Baraggan and immediately raised his hand.
"Hadō #63: Raikōhō!"
Lightning gathered in his palm, and a beam of electrical energy shot swiftly towards the skeletal emperor in the sky.
Baraggan unhurriedly extended a skeletal finger and tapped lightly forward. The incoming lightning beam dissipated right in front of him.
"Commendable courage," Baraggan said slowly. "But perhaps it is merely ignorance."
"Everyone, be careful! That's Baraggan!"
Sōjun Kuchiki shouted a loud warning.
Although it was his first time seeing the self-proclaimed King of Hueco Mundo, this Hollow had survived since ancient times, and thus the Kuchiki clan had records of him.
"Baraggan?" Seated Officer Matsushita blinked, and the skeletal Hollow had vanished.
"Seated Officer Matsushita!"
Hearing the shout, Matsushita quickly turned his head, but a strange sound came from his neck.
Crack—
Seated Officer Matsushita's cervical vertebrae twisted and broke at an unnatural angle.
His eyes moved to the side, where he saw the skeletal Hollow standing right next to him.
Then, he collapsed to the ground and fell into an eternal sleep.
"What is this ability?!"
The other Shinigami were all horrified.
The skeletal Hollow had just lightly touched Matsushita's neck, and it had broken!
This was a seated officer-level fighter, yet he had been killed by this skeletal Hollow in a single encounter!
"Be careful of his ability! Baraggan can make things decay!"
Sōjun shouted the warning and immediately took out his Denreishinki to call for help.
"You know my ability well," Baraggan said calmly. "Correct. Just a touch like this is enough to age bones in an instant."
As if deliberately demonstrating his power, Baraggan once again placed his hand on a stunned Shinigami standing nearby.
The chosen Shinigami finally reacted and tried to escape using Shunpo, but it was too late.
Crack, crackle—
The Shinigami took only a few steps before his bones crumbled within his body, and he collapsed to the ground like a pile of sludge.
"Fall back! Use Kidō to hold him back! I've already called Professor Katori for help!"
Sōjun raised his hand. "Bakudō #62: Hyapporankan!"
Several light poles condensed from reishi pierced into Baraggan's skeletal body.
The other Shinigami reacted as well, distancing themselves from Baraggan and casting Kidō to restrain him.
"Bakudō #9: Hōrin!"
"Bakudō #30: Shitotsusansen!"
"Bakudō #61: Rikujōkōrō!"
"Bakudō #63: Sajō Sabaku!"
"..."
Dozens of Bakudō spells landed on Baraggan simultaneously.
"They all hit!"
The Shinigami were overjoyed. With all the Bakudō spells landing, they could hold him off with ease.
Although the northern entrance was the longest route, with Katori Sora's Shunpo speed, it would only take him two or three minutes to arrive!
However, Baraggan paid no mind to the restraints on his body.
From within his black robes, a purple-black mist began to emerge.
The moment the reishi light panels, beams, and chains from the Bakudō spells came into contact with the purple-black mist, they rapidly disintegrated and vanished.
"The... the Bakudō... they all disappeared!"
The Shinigami were terrified.
With so many Bakudō spells, even Captain Kuchiki would need some time to break free.
Yet these restraints were defeated in an instant!
"Your ability is even effective against Kidō..."
Sōjun's face grew grim. This was not mentioned in the records.
"Unable to comprehend?"
Baraggan asked slowly. "All things have a lifespan. Even the Kidō you cast cannot withstand the erosion of time."
Baraggan's 'Respira' could rapidly age anything it touched.
A Shinigami's Kidō also has a duration; it cannot exist for an infinite amount of time.
Therefore, when accelerated by 'Respira', the Kidō quickly dissipated.
"It seems you are the commander of these Shinigami."
Baraggan appeared behind Sōjun Kuchiki and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"In other words, if I take care of you, this war will be more or less over."
Sōjun's expression changed drastically as he quickly retreated.
His left arm hung limp. The bones in the entire arm had aged, shattering completely, leaving it immobile.
Baraggan's power far exceeded Sōjun's. He hadn't even had time to react before Baraggan was upon him!
Unsure if the effect would spread to his whole body after breaking contact, Sōjun decisively cut off his left arm with his Zanpakutō.
"Very clever. If you had been a ten-thousandth of a breath slower, all the bones in your body would have aged."
Baraggan opened his skeletal arms. "However... this is the end."
The purple-black 'Respira' poured out from his black robe, spreading in all directions.
He had already sensed the spiritual pressures of several Hollows disappearing. The goal of starting this war had been achieved.
The dissenters had been purged.
Now, he just needed to deal a blow to these Shinigami and kill their commander to greatly boost his prestige and maintain his rule in Hueco Mundo.
The 'Respira' spread faster than the 6th Division Shinigami could retreat. Soon, more than a dozen of them were touched by it.
"Ah—ah—ahhh!!!"
The Shinigami afflicted by 'Respira' let out bloodcurdling screams.
In the blink of an eye, they turned into skeletons, which themselves only lasted for a moment before decomposing into ordinary reishi and melting into the ground.
"Ugly. As Shinigami, to fear death so much. Then I shall send you on your way first."
Baraggan pointed, and the 'Respira' surged towards the retreating Shinigami.
On the other side, Sōjun Kuchiki also raised his hand, and a sky full of colorful butterflies flew towards the 'Respira' to block it.
But the butterflies were like moths to a flame; they couldn't withstand the 'Respira' at all.
The swarm of butterflies fell like rain.
The butterflies that landed on the ground were quickly corroded into nothing by the 'Respira' clinging to them.
"It can even corrode a Zanpakutō!"
Sōjun's heart sank. With both Kidō and his Zanpakutō unable to resist it, he had no other way to stop the mist.
The butterfly blade formation couldn't hold back the 'Respira' for long, but it bought the Shinigami some time to retreat.
Slightly displeased, Baraggan pointed at Sōjun. A stream of 'Respira' branched off and shot swiftly towards him.
Sōjun was concentrating on controlling the Senchidō formation to cover the 6th Division's retreat and had no time to dodge.
The 'Respira' instantly passed through Sōjun's right abdomen.
Sōjun swayed. He gritted his teeth and quickly controlled a part of his butterfly blade formation to pass through his abdomen, carving out all the flesh tainted by the purple-black mist.
Doing this would likely kill him, but not doing it meant he would die immediately!
Sōjun's internal organs were damaged, and his strength was rapidly draining away.
"Lieutenant!"
Two seated officers rushed forward to support Sōjun and quickly fell back.
These two were from noble families affiliated with the Kuchiki clan and chose not to retreat when the others did.
"Such loyalty. It makes me a little reluctant to kill you."
Baraggan thought of his own naturally rebellious subordinates and hesitated for a moment, allowing the two officers to carry Sōjun out of the 'Respira's' attack.
"Reinforcements are here already?"
Baraggan looked up to see a bolt of lightning rapidly approaching from a distance.
The Shinigami reinforcements were much faster than he had anticipated; he hadn't been able to finish off these Shinigami before they arrived.
The lightning arrived in an instant. Sensing danger, Baraggan immediately manipulated the 'Respira' to form a shield in front of him.
But the lightning suddenly changed direction, instantly dodging the 'Respira'.
The next moment, the lightning vanished from Baraggan's sight.
"Behind me!"
Baraggan swung the black axe in his hand, slashing violently behind him.
"A fake?!"
The black axe hit a lightning afterimage; it didn't feel like it had struck a solid object.
Baraggan was shocked. This person's speed was even greater than his own!
However, his spiritual sense was much faster than his reaction speed. He finally located his enemy's trail.
Looking up, the lightning was right above him!
A blue crescent moon, shimmering with the majestic power of thunder, slashed down.
Raikiri: Getsuga Tenshō!
"BOOM—!!!"
A deafening thunderclap echoed throughout the Forest of Menos.
Even the Shinigami in the main camp felt it like a heavy hammer striking their chests.
They all looked towards the dazzling flash of lightning in the distance.
"Professor Katori... is here..."
Sōjun Kuchiki, already somewhat delirious, relaxed.
Katori Sora had arrived. The 6th Division was saved!
He had been terrified that his own lack of strength would lead to the annihilation of the 6th Division's elite forces here.
Sōjun could not accept such an outcome.
He was the one who had proposed to lead the 6th Division to Hueco Mundo to provide support.
Sōjun had underestimated the power of the King of Hueco Mundo.
But he would rather risk his own life than see the 6th Division be lost here.
"Lieutenant! Hang in there! We'll get you back to camp immediately!"
The two seated officers carried Sōjun away while using healing Kidō to keep him alive.
However, once Sōjun relaxed, he quickly lost consciousness.
Katori Sora would deal with Baraggan, but the Hollow army was something the 6th Division Shinigami had to handle themselves.
But now, with their lieutenant unconscious and several seated officers killed by Baraggan, their morale had plummeted, and they were on the verge of a complete rout.
The 6th Division could no longer hold back the Hollow army's offensive.
Fortunately, their objective wasn't to stop the offensive. As they retreated, they moved towards the pre-determined location.
As the Hollow army pursued them, it inadvertently completed the Shinigami's luring mission.
The three Hollow armies, attacking from the east, south, and north entrances, gradually converged.
The Shinigami in the expeditionary force's main camp also detected that the Hollow armies had gathered.
"Luring mission complete! Prepare the Kidō cannons!"
The Kidō cannons in the camp charged rapidly, the spiritual pressure of hundreds of Shinigami converging into one.
A terrifying fluctuation of spiritual pressure swirled within the Kidō cannons.
The lightning dissipated, and Baraggan's figure had retreated several dozen meters away.
At this moment, Baraggan could no longer maintain his kingly image.
The crown on his head was gone.
The crown he had worn for thousands of years had melted under that terrifying lightning strike.
Not only that, but a massive crack had also appeared on his skull.
"Shinigami! You deserve to die a thousand deaths!"
Baraggan pressed a hand to the crack on his skull, seething with rage.
"Baraggan, you are the one who deserves to die a thousand deaths, for daring to attack the Shinigami's expeditionary force!"
Sora said coldly.
He wasn't satisfied with his last attack.
He had wanted to cut off Baraggan's head directly, but Baraggan had reacted at the last moment and dodged the fatal blow.
"It's you..." Baraggan remembered seeing this Shinigami before. "Since I became the King of Hueco Mundo, you are the first Shinigami to have injured me."
"And the first Shinigami to have infuriated me to this extent," Baraggan spread his arms, and more of the purple-black mist poured out from his robes.
Baraggan's figure was hidden within the 'Respira'.
He sensed the threat from Katori Sora and took this opponent very seriously, using 'Respira' to protect himself from all angles.
The range of the 'Respira' expanded rapidly, soon forming a giant cloud of mist two to three hundred meters in diameter.
Sora was forced to retreat some distance.
"You should feel honored. It has been a long time since I have used 'Respira' at full power."
A sinister voice came from within the black mist.
Sora pinched the blade of his sword between two fingers.
The next moment, the blade swung up, and a stream of light shot towards Baraggan inside the black mist.
But after traveling a dozen meters into the black mist, the stream of light disintegrated.
"A troublesome ability."
Sora frowned.
Baraggan's ability was terrifying.
This black mist could even corrode a 'reishi blade' of concentrated spiritual pressure!
"Before my power, something as trivial as time is nothing."
Baraggan pointed a finger, and the black mist surged towards Katori Sora like a tide.
Katori Sora's spiritual pressure flared again, and a turbulent current of reishi and arcs of lightning erupted from his back.
He instantly activated his 'Raikiri: Shunkō' form and retreated at high speed.
To an ordinary Shinigami, the spread of 'Respira' was fast, but for Katori Sora, it was still within a controllable range.
The 'Respira' couldn't catch up to him at all.
However, Baraggan continued to release 'Respira'.
The range of the 'Respira' was still expanding.
He simultaneously controlled several streams of black mist, forcing and squeezing Katori Sora's movements.
If this continued, Katori Sora would be forced into an encirclement of black mist.
"Shinigami, how much longer can you dodge?"
Baraggan waved his hand, and several clouds of black mist surged toward Katori Sora.
"Decay, Shinigami!!!"
--------------------------------------
Look, guys, I know I shouldn't focus on it, and there are so many more people who leave positive comments. But there's one person who's been constantly leaving negative, hateful comments on my reviews, and it's starting to get overwhelming. Out of every 400 notifications, 100 are from them.
I'm just being honest with you all because I'm doing my best to keep things going despite this. For those who want to help, I'm offering a small reward. The more reviews you leave, the more chapters I'll post ahead.
I'll update a bit later today, but please remember that the reviews need to be here and on my Pokémon novel.
Thanks so much for your support, I really appreciate it.