He didn't even budge an inch!
This imposing man was like an immovable mountain of iron.
Kaguya strained with all her might, desperately trying to pull Katen Kyōkotsu from Zald's grasp, but his bare-handed grip was far too solid to break.
Zald's expression remained completely unchanged.
Yet, this total lack of reaction perfectly highlighted his sheer disdain and absolute contempt for her efforts.
Kaguya tightened her grip on the hilt of her sword and unleashed her skill.
"Kurooni!"
Swish!
The trapped blade finally shifted a mere half an inch within his hold.
Zald immediately revealed a rare look of genuine surprise. "To be able to inflict even a minor scratch on me with your current strength... you should be very proud."
Being evaluated so highly by the legendary "Gluttony," a pinnacle Level 7, would make almost any Level 3 Adventurer feel deeply honored.
But Kaguya was definitely not among them.
"Hah? Don't underestimate me, you bastard!" Kaguya snapped, her true fiery nature completely exposed.
Usually, she went out of her way to pretend to be a polite well-behaved girl, but now she no longer bothered to conceal her fierce personallity.
She swung her other blade directly at Zald's armored arm in a vicious sweeping arc.
However, aside from gouging some minor damage into the thick metal, the heavy strike couldn't shake his massive body at all.
'Tch, He is way too tough.'
Making a swift decisive move, Kaguya promptly released Katen Kyōkotsu's Shikai.
As the massive blade abruptly reverted to its ordinary unreleased state and became significantly thinner, Kaguya swiftly yanked it backward.
She successfully retrieved her weapon from his overwhelming grasp.
Zald's large hand closed tightly around empty air.
He looked down with narrowed eyes at the ordinary twin blades now resting firmly in Kaguya's hands.
'Hmm? The shape of the weapon actually changed? This had to be some kind of special, unknown weapon.'
He quickly realized this was something that had never existed in Orario before his long exile.
In other words, was Orario actually developing and advancing new technologies in his absence?
"Kaguya! Dodge!" Ryuu's urgent voice called out from behind her.
Kaguya immediately understood her companion's intention and quickly dove out of the way.
The moment she cleared the direct path, Haineko transformed into a swirling whirlwind of thick abrasive ash, completely surrounding Zald in a grey storm.
"Cat Dance," the Elven girl chanted, unleashing her Zanpakuto's signature offensive technique.
Seeing that Kaguya's fierce physical attacks couldn't break the man's absolute defense, Ryuu knew her own strikes wouldn't be able to pierce his armor either.
But Haineko was a Zanpakuto that expertly manipulated dust and ash.
No matter how impossibly tough the human body was on the outside, the eyes and internal organs were still soft flesh and blood, making them far more fragile than the hardened exterior.
As long as the ash successfully entered Zald body, it could cause devastating internal damage!
Soon enough, Zald noticed these fine sharp particles invading his flesh.
The irritating ash seeped in through his ears, his nostrils, and his mouth.
Reacting with efficiency, Zald swept his heavy greatsword in a massive, horizontal arc.
A fierce, howling wind erupted from the sheer physical force of the swing, directly dispersing the swirling cloud of dust.
The wind pressure was so incredibly intense that it completely blew away the wooden roofs of the buildings lining the entire ruined street!
'What a monster!' Ryuu cursed inwardly.
She desperately attempted to assert control over the lingering ash that had already made its way inside Zald's body.
But before she could activate the ability, Zald took a massive deep breath and exhaled forcefully.
"Hooooo!!!"
It was just the breath of a single person, yet, a small localized storm swept violently through the area!
The invasive magical dust was actually expelled directly from his body in this crude overwhelming manner!
Ryuu struggled to remain steady on her feet.
She shielded her face with her arm, her slender body fighting hard against the powerful gust of wind.
Before she could fully recover her balance, a massive towering shadow completely enveloped her.
It was Zald.
As a high level Adventurer whose base abilities had all reached the absolute peak of Level 7, he might have appeared burly and clumsy at first glance, but how could agility pushed to its absolute limit possibly be slow?
This terrifying, explosive speed was even faster than Rayleigh's Shunpo!
At this moment, Ryuu's mind raced in sheer panic.
Everyone around her was incredibly anxious to rescue her from the towering threat, but no one could possibly keep up with Zald's speed.
His movements were akin to short-distance teleportation!
"RYUUUUUU!"
Seeing the life-threatening situation unfold, Rayleigh immediately drew the other sword resting at his waist.
"Collapse, Sakanade!"
Without caring about the steep risk of accidentally harming his own allies, he unhesitatingly initiated his Shikai.
The sweet strange fragrance emitted from the spinning blade immediately invaded the nervous systems of every single person present on the battlefield.
Zald's vision blurred momentarily as his senses were inverted, causing a crucial brief pause in his deadly movements.
This fleeting window of time gave Ryuu the exact opportunity she needed to escape certain death.
The heavy greatsword descended exactly where she had just been standing!
Boom!
Another devastating slash exploded against the earth like a bomb blast.
This terrifying strike carved a massive gaping trench ten meters long and two meters wide directly into the solid ground.
But this terrifying attack ultimately failed to kill anyone.
Ryuu's agile figure flashed safely to one side.
Upon witnessing her precise high-speed escape, Alise, Kaguya, and Rayleigh had the strongest reactions of all.
"Trash Elf, did you just...?" Kaguya trailed off in disbelief.
"That's Shunpo!" Alise exclaimed in pure surprise. "Rayleigh's Shunpo! Ryuu, have you really already mastered it?"
Rayleigh was also somewhat astonished by the sudden display.
Of course, half of his reaction was expected.
Because, in addition to her Zanpakuto's unique abilities, Ryuu had been simultaneously mastering the foundational techniques of Hohō and Hakuda.
Under her Zanpakuto's patient guidance, both her sword techniques and her Shunpo had improved at a rapid, astonishing pace.
For someone without any prior foundation in the Shinigami arts, they normally had to learn everything completely from scratch.
Shunpo was not merely a physical speed technique, it was a highly advanced movement method that perfectly combined Reiatsu with precise footwork.
Neither aspect was more important than the other, both were equally crucial for success.
Those with powerful Reiatsu could naturally execute much faster Shunpo, but without meticulously refined footwork to safely guide that explosive energy, such speed would only result in severe body harm to the user.
Rayleigh himself possessed a completely natural, innate control over his own spiritual power.
Ryuu, Alise, and the other girls sorely lacked this inherent masterful ability.
But this didn't mean learning the technique was absolutely impossible for them.
The Zanpakuto itself could smoothly substitute for the complex Reiatsu manipulation required.
Through the deep, resonating synergy forged between the wielder and their Zanpakuto, even those originally unable to manipulate Reiatsu could eventually perform Shunpo.
It was exactly as Ryuu had demonstrated just moments ago.
In reality, only Ryuu herself knew the truth: she hadn't mastered it completely yet.
Her current success rate was only hovering around a risky sixty percent.
But she obviously couldn't say that out loud right now.
Willingly revealing her own combat flaws in front of such a formidable enemy was essentially digging her own grave.
"Burn, Engetsu!" Alise commanded fiercely.
She swung her burning blade, and dozens of small, highly condensed fireballs materialized in the air around her.
They hovered brightly, looking exactly like a floating string of crimson lanterns.
"Go!"
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The string of fire lanterns swiftly floated directly toward Zald.
Before the giant man could observe the strange Magic any further, Alise had already activated the detonation command.
"Explode!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!!!
A dense continuous chain of fiery explosions violently erupted all around Zald, engulfing him in a sea of flames.
But the grim result remained exactly the same as before.
The heavy magical barrage was completely unable to shake his physique.
"This uncle... who exactly is he? He's way too strong!" Alise exclaimed in pure awe, gripping her sword tightly as she stared at the untouched warrior.
At this moment, Rayleigh finally spoke up to answer her with a grim voice.
"That's only natural. We're currently facing the strongest adventurer alive, and his origins are actually quite familiar to all of you! He's from the Zeus Familia, Level 7... 'Gluttony' Zald."
As Rayleigh's heavy words fell over the battlefield, the chaotic scene became silent.
It took a few agonizing seconds for the surrounding people to fully digest this shocking news.
"Zeus Familia!"
"How could it be!"
"The Zeus Familia should have been expelled from Orario years ago!"
"'Gluttony'... I remember the stories about that guy!"
"He's still alive?!"
"We're doomed."
"We're cooked."
The brave Adventurers who had initially planned to swarm forward and assist the girls now trembled with overwhelming fear upon learning the armored man's true identity.
The panic was led by several of the older, seasoned veterans who understood exactly what that legendary name meant.
What an absolute joke!
'Gluttony' Zald—wasn't that an undisputed monster standing at the peak of Level 7? Impossible.
We can't possibly win a fight like this!
Seeing the Orario Adventurers acting so cowardly and broken, Zald exhaled a heavy disappointed breath through his nostrils.
Without a single word, he hoisted his massive greatsword over his shoulder and charged forward to continue the slaughter!