As white explosions and smoke stirred up a whirlwind, Bazz-B's expression subtly changed.
Because his attack, just as it was about to hit Aozaki Reiji, was as if it had struck an invisible wall, unable to advance an inch!
"Don't joke around, how can this be?"
Bazz-B gritted his teeth, continuously increasing his power.
He clenched his fist and continued to strike the transparent wall, unleashing a massive amount of flames.
In an instant, an bone-chilling pain shot up his arm.
Bazz-B's left hand actually began to split and disintegrate!
Yet, the terrifying high-temperature flames still couldn't cause any effective damage to the transparent wall.
The next second, under Bazz-B's disbelieving gaze, whoosh!
Aozaki Reiji drew his Zanpakuto from his waist and lightly swung it, a sharp Sword Pressure shooting out, directly pulverizing his flames.
A sense of impending death instantly surged from the depths of his heart, and Bazz-B's face was filled with terror.
He would die!
Even with the protection of the Blut Vene, he would definitely die!!
He couldn't imagine such an attack coming from a Shinigami; how could there be such a monster among the Shinigami?!
Bazz-B was utterly despairing, already closing his eyes, ready to die.
"They're finally here, you guys."
Ignoring the blonde young man blocking his attack, Aozaki Reiji turned his head.
His eyes gleamed with black light, and he spoke with great displeasure, "However, I don't particularly like strangers appearing behind me."
"I advise you not to think about using those strange things to stab into my body."
As his words fell, the shadows on the ground began to twist.
Suddenly, a man with long black hair parted down the middle emerged from the shadows.
This man had no eyebrows, and his face was covered by a black mask with multiple conical protrusions, obscuring the lower half of his face below his eyes.
He possessed deep black eyes, a tall and slender build, delicate and long fingers, and black fingernails.
Was he seen through?
The long-haired man frowned.
He had originally intended to launch a stealthy attack, and had even prepared to fire spirit arrows.
However, Aozaki Reiji had keenly sensed his presence.
This man's name was Äs Nödt.
He was a member of the Sternritter, with the Schrift F, representing Fear.
His ability allowed him to conjure cone-shaped spirit arrows from thin air around himself and attack surrounding enemies.
Any living target hit by his spirit arrows would have everything in their heart turn into fear.
Aozaki Reiji slightly tilted his head, looking behind him, "It seems I have to make a big commotion."
Over there, multiple spiritual pressures were being exposed and rapidly approaching.
The first to appear was a full-figured female Quincy.
She wore a military cap with the Wandenreich insignia, a sleeveless top, and shorts.
She had side-parted, medium-length grass-green hair, greenish-blue eyes, and the ends of her eyebrows and some hair ends were lightning-shaped.
Overall, she was a sexy beauty.
However, Aozaki Reiji merely glanced at her before shifting his gaze, then he grinned.
A hint of excitement flashed in his dark eyes.
His targets had appeared—the Soul King's Left Arm and the Soul King's Heart.
The Soul King's Left Arm, Pernida.
He was entirely shrouded in a robe, his face completely black with no discernible features, only two glowing orbs visible.
The Soul King's Heart, Gerard.
He wore a mask adorned with wing-like decorations, had medium-length golden hair, and was clad in a red cape and trousers, with armor covering his limbs.
He stood there like an insurmountable mountain.
Gerard looked at the fallen Bambietta and the disheveled Bazz-B, undisguised disgust and disdain in his eyes, "What a pair of useless trash, to allow someone to disturb His Majesty's slumbering place! You deserve death!"
"You disgraceful failures, I'll personally execute you."
Gerard bared his teeth in a sarcastic smile, his murderous intent unconcealed in his eyes.
"Gerard, what are you saying!?"
A flicker of anger crossed Bazz-B's eyes.
But as soon as Bazz-B stood up, before he could make any move, his pupils suddenly constricted.
In his line of sight, a thick, powerful fist, carrying terrifying force, was hurtling towards his face.
Gerard had actually targeted Bazz-B first, intending to kill him with his own hands!
However, at this moment, a slender hand suddenly appeared in front of Bazz-B, effortlessly blocking Gerard's enormous fist.
A loud "bang" echoed, as if the entire space trembled.
A powerful shockwave rapidly spread out from the two, distorting the surrounding air.
Faced with such a strong impact, Gerard's punch was forced to stop.
"Haschwalth, what are you doing?"
Gerard gnashed his teeth, questioning him, sparks of anger flashing in his eyes.
Haschwalth, however, remained expressionless, answering indifferently, "With a great enemy before us, we should work together, not fight amongst ourselves."
"Furthermore, though Bazz-B and Bambietta were defeated, their punishment should be decided by me."
After speaking, he slightly narrowed his eyes, revealing an unquestionable authority.
"Defeat means execution. This is the rule of our Wandenreich, and no one can violate it."
Gerard sneered, a hint of disdain flashing in his eyes.
He believed his strength was enough to defeat anyone.
He never showed mercy to failures.
"Are you trying to protect him?"
Gerard asked in a cold tone, a mocking smile on his face.
He knew well that the relationship between Haschwalth and Bazz-B was extraordinary, having been friends since childhood.
But he didn't care about such things.
In his view, only the strong deserved respect.
Haschwalth's gaze remained indifferent as he slowly retracted his hand, responding coldly, "Even if he is to be executed, it should be carried out by me personally."
"As the Captain of the Sternritter, His Majesty bestowed upon me the Mask of the Ruler; I have the right to handle all matters of the Empire."
"You only need to be His Majesty's sharp sword; you don't need to worry about other matters."
"Tch…"
Gerard looked disdainful, having no desire to listen to such grand pronouncements, as debate was certainly not his strong suit.
"A mere Shinigami, I'll eliminate him without you telling me to."
He abruptly raised the long sword in his hand, and his figure vanished from his original spot.
In an instant, he appeared before Aozaki Reiji.
At this very moment, Aozaki Reiji was caught in a pincer attack.
Behind him were Äs, Pernida, and the full-figured female Quincy.
And in front was Gerard's enormous, sandbag-like fist.
"It seems there's no way out now, how dangerous!" Aozaki Reiji said with a laughing jest.
"Die!" Gerard roared, without a single wasted word.
His tall figure stood like a mountain above Aozaki Reiji.
The gigantic fist, carrying unparalleled might, smashed down fiercely towards his head.
It was about to hit its target.
Only 0.01 centimeters remained between the fist and Aozaki Reiji's face.
A cold flash suddenly streaked across.
Everyone's vision blurred, and they hadn't yet understood what had happened.
Gerard's body, without any warning, was vertically sliced into two halves.
Blood gushed out like a fountain.
Just then, the full-figured female Quincy appeared behind Aozaki Reiji.
Lightning coiled around her legs, sweeping in with a sharp momentum.
This female Quincy's name was Candice Catnipp.
She was a member of the Sternritter, and her Schrift ability was "..." for Thunderbolt.
Aozaki Reiji slightly tilted his head, giving her a quick glance.
Then, with one hand, he grabbed Candice's left leg as she swept it towards him, and lifted her high into the air.
Immediately after, he slammed her heavily onto the ground, causing dust to billow.
After everything was done, Aozaki Reiji casually released his hand.
Candice rolled to the side, mouth agape and eyes closed.
She happened to meet up with Bambietta on the ground, and the two successfully formed a pair of distressed sisters.
"Damn it, to be so humiliated, so disheveled, how can I still have the face to follow His Majesty…"
At this moment, an angry voice came from the ground.
"Shinigami, I will use your life to wash away this shame!"
Gerard, supporting himself with both hands, quickly scrambled to his feet.
At this moment, the mask he wore had been cut off by Aozaki Reiji, revealing his original appearance.
He had glowing white eyes and spectacle-shaped eye sockets, but no eyebrows.
His head was adorned with an olive branch wreath, and a pair of epsilon (ε)-shaped black markings extended from the sides of his forehead down to below his eyelids.
He had a strong, ancient Greek tough-guy vibe.
Not only that, if one looked closely, they would also notice that his physique seemed to have grown larger.