At the southern entrance, Ashido was facing off against three formidable Hollows.
Tier Harribel spread her wings, firing several Cero blasts.
Boom, boom, boom—
Ashido emerged from the gray smoke, deflecting an incoming white tentacle with a single slash.
"This Shinigami is too persistent..."
Tier frowned, her desire to continue the fight waning.
The Shinigami side had strong fighters. The red-tentacled Hollow, Oquitz, was much stronger than her, but she sensed his spiritual pressure had already vanished.
Not only that, the spiritual pressure of the Hollow who had been with Oquitz had also disappeared.
Without a doubt, they had been dealt with by the Shinigami!
The thought of retreat entered Tier's mind.
Just then, she sensed that Baraggan's spiritual pressure was also rapidly fading.
"Rudbornn, Loly, Lord Baraggan's spiritual pressure is gone!"
Tier was shocked.
The ox-skulled Hollow, Rudbornn, paused his movements and sensed for the king's spiritual pressure.
He was stunned to find that Baraggan's spiritual pressure was truly gone!
"Hmph... Baraggan was killed by a Shinigami? And he called himself the King of Hueco Mundo with that level of strength?"
Loly Aivirrne sneered with contempt.
She was originally a Hollow from the Forest of Menos and was only forced to join the Las Noches after being driven out by the expeditionary force.
It turned out the so-called King of Hueco Mundo, Baraggan, was nothing special, killed by a Shinigami.
"Run!"
Tier abandoned her dream of repelling the expeditionary force and reclaiming their territory. She quickly flew into the desert passage to escape.
The ox-skulled Hollow, Rudbornn, hesitated for a moment before following.
Seeing her two companions leave, Loly certainly didn't dare to face Ashido alone and hurriedly fled after them.
"Hah—"
Ashido chose not to pursue them. Facing the siege of three powerful Hollows had consumed a lot of his stamina, and he wouldn't be able to catch them even if he gave chase.
"So Baraggan was defeated by Katori-kun? No wonder they retreated."
Ashido assessed the state of the battlefield.
"To think that Katori-kun could even defeat the long-renowned King of Hueco Mundo!"
Just then, Ashido saw a pillar of light rise from the direction of the camp.
Every Shinigami who could still move saw this scene.
"The Kidō cannon has been fired."
Sora gazed into the distance from high above.
A sphere of light, containing terrifying energy, shot out from the top of the pillar, hurtling towards the location where the Hollow army had gathered.
The Kidō, formed from the converged spiritual pressure of hundreds of Shinigami, exploded in the midst of the Hollow swarm.
"BOOM—!!!"
Even Gillian-class Menos couldn't withstand the blast for a second.
Hollows and Menos alike were disintegrated into reishi, completely annihilated.
"There really is strength in numbers..."
Sora remarked to himself. The power of that single blast was immense; not even 'Dankū' could have blocked it.
After the explosion, only a few scattered Hollows and Menos remained. They had been on the outskirts and had luckily survived.
But Isshin Shiba's group, the expeditionary force, and the 6th Division Shinigami were all on the periphery and quickly finished off the remaining Hollows.
Except for a few powerful Hollows who sensed the danger and escaped, the Hollow army that attacked the expeditionary force's camp was almost completely wiped out by the Shinigami.
Even the self-proclaimed King of Hueco Mundo, Baraggan, had died at the hands of Katori Sora.
Seeing that the battle here was settled, Sora returned to the expeditionary camp immediately.
He remembered that Sōjun Kuchiki's injuries were severe, and the camp's medical team might not be able to handle them.
"Professor Katori, you defeated the King of Hueco Mundo!!!"
"Not even the King of Hueco Mundo, Baraggan, was a match for Professor Katori!"
As soon as Sora entered the camp, he was surrounded by Shinigami.
Based on their spiritual pressure senses, they had determined that Baraggan had died at Katori Sora's hands.
"Ashido, has your battle ended as well?"
Sora saw Ashido in the camp.
"The southern route is close to the camp, so I came back first after the fight ended," Ashido said. "Since Katori-kun killed Baraggan, my three opponents fled immediately."
"To think that not even Baraggan was your match. Your strength is truly bottomless!"
Ashido had been in Hueco Mundo for a long time. Although he had never fought Baraggan, he had heard of his power.
He had originally thought that once Baraggan appeared, he, Katori Sora, and Sōjun Kuchiki could suppress him by joining forces.
But he had been tied down by three powerful Hollows and couldn't break away.
And Sōjun hadn't lasted long before being defeated by Baraggan.
Sōjun and the 6th Division's seated officers were together, but they still couldn't hold out for long.
To be defeated so quickly meant that Baraggan was even stronger than he had imagined.
And yet, such a powerful being had been slain by Katori Sora alone.
"My abilities just happened to counter his," Sora said with a modest smile.
Just then, two Shinigami ran out from the medical tent.
They were the two 6th Division seated officers who had brought Sōjun back.
"Lord Katori, please save our Lieutenant!"
"How is Sōjun's condition?"
"The Lieutenant's internal organs are injured. The medical team Shinigami said... there's nothing they can do to heal him!"
The seated officer's face was filled with grief.
The two of them were from lower noble families affiliated with the Kuchiki clan. It could be said that their fortunes rose and fell with the Kuchiki.
If something happened to Sōjun Kuchiki, the Kuchiki clan would be without an heir and would inevitably decline for a century or two.
During that time, their own families would not fare well either.
"Take me to see Sōjun's injuries."
Sora followed the two officers to the medical room.
Over the years, the 4th Division had also stationed some of its medical teams in the expeditionary camp.
The medical team Shinigami all knew Katori Sora.
Upon seeing him, they all stood up to greet him.
"Professor Katori!"
"Lieutenant Katori! You're here!"
Some even addressed him by the title he held when he was the lieutenant of the 4th Division.
"Everyone, please continue with your work. Don't delay the treatment of the wounded."
"Yes, sir!"
The medical team Shinigami responded in unison.
Sora's prestige within the medical corps left Ashido, who was following behind, somewhat speechless.
It was no less than his own reputation among the expeditionary forces!
Ashido and the two 6th Division officers were stopped outside the ward. Sora entered alone.
Sōjun Kuchiki was already unconscious.
Several medical team Shinigami were bustling about.
His abdomen had already been opened, exposing some damaged organs.
His lungs and liver were severely damaged, and even his heart had sustained some injury.
If not for spiritual pressure and healing Kidō sustaining his life, Sōjun would have already been gone.
Three medical team Shinigami were simultaneously using healing Kidō to maintain the vitality of Sōjun's heart, lungs, and liver.
The conditions in the expeditionary camp were poor, so the medical team could only resort to such crude methods for surgery.
Sora took one look and knew the situation was dire.
Sōjun Kuchiki was in a precarious state.
"Professor Katori!!!"
The lead surgeon saw Katori Sora as if he were a savior.
"I'll take over."
Sora put on gloves and took the scalpel.