The Great Hollow Forest, Black Night Jungle.
As the name suggests, this place is perpetually shrouded in darkness, with not a single ray of light.
"My King, the surrounding Adjuchas have already been cleaned up by you."
An Adjuchas in the form of a fiery red goat, about three meters tall and five meters long, said to Yekawa with a fawning expression.
This goat Hollow, named Puck, like the strange fish Jiwa Barnes, was a follower who had swallowed a lightning ball and submitted to Yekawa's might.
In the Great Hollow Forest these past few days, Yekawa had met all the dozen or so Adjuchas residing there. Apart from the strange fish and the goat who were willing to submit to him, the remaining ten or so had all been converted into Reiatsu within Yekawa's body.
"My King, do not go any further! This Black Night Jungle is suspected to house another Vasto Lorde besides you!" The strange fish Jiwa Barnes added.
Evidently, these two Adjuchas firmly believed that their incredibly powerful King was the strongest high-level Menos Grande, a Vasto Lorde. They had no idea that their King was merely a Gillian!
"If you two don't dare to enter, then just wait for me outside!"
How could Yekawa not understand the hidden meaning in this Adjuchas's words? These two Hollows were only subdued by Yekawa through violent means, and the time of their subjugation was still short, so it was naturally impossible to expect them to willingly risk their lives for him. Thus, he directly left them outside the Black Night Jungle.
Yekawa intended to enter alone and meet that mysterious Adjuchas.
Before leaving, he gave the two Adjuchas a slight smile and said:
"Oh, and you two, don't stray too far from me. If I can no longer sense your Reiatsu, then the lightning balls within you will probably...!"
Upon hearing this, the goat and the strange fish were terrified, their hair standing on end. They immediately declared:
"How could we run away? We will wait right here for our King to return triumphantly!"
Yekawa paid no mind, merely scoffing before ignoring them. He activated Sonido and strode into the Black Night Jungle.
"Caw! Caw!"
Within the Black Night Jungle, the cries of crow Hollows echoed.
Yekawa paid them no heed, merely releasing a bit of Reiatsu, and all the scattered crow Hollows immediately fell silent. After Yekawa left, those crow Hollows merged together, transforming into a giant crow.
It shivered, looking in the direction Yekawa had departed.
"Caw, another one! Another one!"
Continuing forward, Yekawa noticed that the trees ahead became increasingly short, with threads of spirit particles forming dewdrops hanging from their branches. Small bat Hollows hung upside down from the branches, their eyes tightly shut.
It wasn't until Yekawa's arrival that these bat Hollows were startled awake by his powerful Reiatsu.
Hundreds of thousands of small bat Hollows stared intently at Yekawa, their eyes glowing green.
"Screech! Screech!"
Countless bats screeched, their voices forming eerie sound waves that surged towards Yekawa.
"Noisy!"
Threads of dark golden Reiatsu rose from Yekawa's body, then grew denser and denser until they formed a thick pillar of dark golden light that shot up into the sky, illuminating the perpetually dark Black Night Jungle.
And those numerous small bat Hollows that were originally screeching at Yekawa were startled by his powerful Reiatsu and scattered in all directions, immediately throwing the entire Black Night Jungle into chaos.
"Still not coming out?"
Yekawa's expression was calm as he looked at the profound, seemingly endless black hole-like nest ahead and spoke softly.
Suddenly, a deep green Reiatsu surged from the nest ahead. A Reiatsu in no way inferior to Yekawa's surged like a tide from the depths of the nest, standing in equal opposition to the overwhelming dark golden Reiatsu.
"Such strong Reiatsu, worthy of a Vasto Lorde!"
Yekawa carefully sensed this immense Reiatsu, and to his surprise, he found that it was comparable to his own, perhaps even slightly stronger than his current self.
Yekawa's Reiatsu at this time was almost double what it was when he first became a Gillian. If Yekawa's Reiatsu level when he first became a Gillian was just barely touching the fringes of a Squad Captain's Third Class Reiatsu.
Then his current Reiatsu was already firmly among the elite of Third Class Reiatsu, a genuine Squad Captain-level Reiatsu.
Yet, even so, his Reiatsu was still slightly suppressed by this Vasto Lorde.
"As expected of a Vasto Lorde!"
Upon seeing this characteristic deep green Reiatsu, he already knew who this Vasto Lorde hidden deep within the nest was.
Not long after, an extremely fast afterimage rushed out of the pitch-black cave. Upon closer inspection, it was a humanoid creature, entirely white, with a height and build similar to a human.
Its entire body was covered in a layer of pure white keratin, except for the bat wings folded behind its back.
A pair of deep green pupils shone like two emeralds. The large hollow on the left side of its chest, where the heart would be, was particularly conspicuous.
A white mask shaped like a bat bore two streaks of deep green markings, like tear stains, extending from the corners of its eyes down to its jaw.
"It really is you, Ulquiorra Cifer!" Yekawa thought to himself, a hint of excitement in his expression.
"Who... are you?"
Ulquiorra spoke slowly, looking at this powerful fellow being who had disturbed his slumber. However, his speech was incredibly slow, clearly due to not having communicated with anyone for a long time.
"I am the future ruler of Hueco Mundo. I have come to conquer you. Submit to me, and I will lead you to find your heart!"
Yekawa stated his purpose directly, but the next instant...
"Whoosh!"
Ulquiorra Cifer's figure flashed, attacking Yekawa directly.
His first move was an incredibly fast Sonido, instantly appearing before Yekawa. His seemingly slender palm, like a steel blade, thrust towards Yekawa's heart.
"I knew it!"
Indeed, Ulquiorra's old habit of making holes in people's hearts had developed early on.
"I already have a Hollow hole in my abdomen, I don't need you to make another one for me!"
Yekawa let out a long cry, then drew the Asauchi, which was encased in a simple wooden scabbard and tucked at his waist, and slashed directly at Ulquiorra's hand.
"Pfft!"
Ulquiorra Cifer's left hand was immediately cut with a hideous wound, with traces of blood flowing, but in an instant, the flesh churned and returned to its original state.
Clearly, Speed Regeneration was also his forte.
Seeing his attack fail, Ulquiorra immediately retreated, maintaining his distance from Yekawa.
Yekawa, however, was filled with fighting spirit. He grinned, then held his sword and fiercely pursued him...
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