"What is this!?"
On the Quincy side, they stared at the boundless scorched wasteland, eyes wide in disbelief.
At this moment, the entire location of Squad One no longer had a single building left—everything had been burned into charred earth.
Some places still burned with lingering flames, releasing the foul stench of something burned beyond recognition.
It looked like the aftermath of a natural catastrophe.
But what truly shocked them was
From that scorched ground, skeleton after skeleton was climbing up.
They swayed unsteadily, like zombies, shuffling toward Yhwach.
Even more terrifying was that when they looked at these skeletons, they could somehow see the way they looked in life through their bones.
One. Two. Three. Four…
They were all Quincies.
Some of them were Quincies the Sternritter had even encountered a thousand years ago—powerhouses they could rely on.
Yet now they were nothing but white skeletons, with no self-awareness.
And they were attacking the Quincy King.
Standing atop the scorched ground, Yamamoto stared coldly at Yhwach.
"Yhwach… how does it feel to see your former subordinates? Are you going to kill them again?"
Yhwach stayed silent, only continuously cutting down the bone puppets coming at him.
And on each skeleton's face, he saw familiar people—his former subordinates.
Because he had slept for a thousand years…
Looking at Quincies who had been dead for millennia felt like seeing them only yesterday.
Gradually, the skeletons Yhwach cut apart piled up into a small mountain beneath his feet, and he stepped on them as he fought.
Seeing that, Yamamoto didn't continue mocking him. Instead, he raised his blade again and charged forward.
And this time, it was the same as before.
He steadily suppressed Yhwach, carving wound after wound across his body.
But the Shinigami watching from far away felt something was wrong, staring at Yamamoto in uncertainty.
Shunsui frowned. "Old man's state feels off… this doesn't look like a fight. It feels like he's venting."
The Bankai of Ryūjin Jakka had four forms, and each represented a different fighting style.
Zanka no Tachi: Higashi - Kyokujitsujin (Rising Sun Blade) was pure close combat.
Zanka no Tachi: Nishi - Zanjitsu Gokui (Remaining Sun Prison Garment) was for defense.
Zanka no Tachi: Minami - Kaka Juumanokushi Daisojin (Great Burial Ranks of the Ten Trillion Dead) was meant for mass slaughter.
But now, Yamamoto wasn't fighting with a single form—
He was weaving multiple styles together.
Like he was ridiculing and looking down on Yhwach.
As if to prove that even after a thousand years, Yhwach could still only be crushed—unable to fight back at all.
And for example, Zanka no Tachi: Minami—
That wasn't just an attack. It was stabbing straight into Yhwach's mental defenses by using his former subordinates to break him.
If someone didn't know better, they'd think the Captain-Commander was the real villain.
Chojiro stepped over and sighed, explaining Shunsui's words.
"You're right. Captain-Commander is venting. He's taking revenge for what happened a thousand years ago."
Everyone's eyes turned to Chojiro.
He explained helplessly, "In the Quincy invasion a thousand years ago… too many Shinigami died, including many of Captain-Commander's companions."
"And dying at the hands of Quincies means… they don't even have the right to return to the cycle of rebirth. They vanish completely from the world."
"Even after a thousand years, Captain-Commander has never forgotten those companions…"
At that, everyone finally understood why Yamamoto was fighting so emotionally.
Facing the enemy that slaughtered his comrades, how could he possibly stay calm?
Still, understanding didn't erase their worry. Byakuya frowned and said,
"No matter what, this is too careless. What if Yhwach finds an opening?"
Venting often meant holding back.
In a life-and-death battle, mocking an enemy like this could lead to disastrous consequences.
The others thought the same, but there was nothing they could do—none of them could even enter that battlefield.
Shunsui let out a breath and scratched his head.
"Captain Kuchiki, don't think like that. Old man still looks fierce. Yhwach doesn't even have a chance to fight back."
Byakuya gave a faint nod.
"I just hope Captain-Commander ends it quickly."
Even though Yamamoto had absolute advantage, for some reason Byakuya couldn't shake a bad feeling.
Was it instinct?
Or was he overthinking?
No one could say. All they could do was stare tensely at the battlefield again.
Of course, that excluded Kenpachi and Yammy—those two were still fighting two Quincies with blazing intensity.
But even the Quincies battling them had no real mood to fight, constantly stealing glances toward the main battlefield.
Because they could already tell—
Even if they killed every captain present, if that old man won, it would still be failure.
As long as that monster old man lived, he alone could wipe out the entire Sternritter.
Under everyone's gaze—
Yhwach panted heavily and retreated rapidly, summoning thousands upon thousands of strange bows in the sky.
Some were massive holy bows, others small.
But without exception, they all fired torrents of Heilig Pfeil (Holy Arrows).
In an instant—
Arrows rained down like a storm.
But in that same moment, Yamamoto suddenly swung Zanka no Tachi and said coldly,
"It's over, Yhwach!"
"Zanka no Tachi: Kita - Tenchi Kaijin (Heaven and Earth Reduced to Ashes)!!!"
With Yamamoto's roar, the sky ignited.
A flying blade of extreme crimson cleaved through space itself.
Shaa!
High heat condensed to a single point and shot out.
The red flying blade was so fast that even the Shinigami and Quincies present couldn't see it clearly.
When their eyes widened
Their pupils suddenly shrank to pinpoints as they stared at Yhwach in shock.
"Your Majesty!!!"
Gerard screamed, his heart falling into an icy abyss.
The other Quincies also sucked in cold breaths, staring at Yhwach in horror—forgetting even to guard against the Shinigami.
In everyone's sight
Yhwach had been cut in half at the waist.
His upper body and lower body separated
Like dough being sliced
And crashed heavily to the ground.
Because he was bisected at the waist, blood poured from the severed cross-section as if it cost nothing.
The blood was so vividly crimson it almost hurt to look at.
The Quincies' faces went pale, boundless terror blooming in their hearts.
Would His Majesty die from this?
If he needed to heal… would he activate Auswählen (Holy Selection) again?
A thousand years ago, when Yhwach finally lost, he nearly devoured half the Wandenreich's lives.
And now, the ordinary Soldat of the Wandenreich had basically been wiped out by the Military Police.
If he couldn't get life from them, then if Yhwach activated Auswählen
It would fall upon the Sternritter.
And they had no power to resist it at all.
As panic spread, Kenpachi wasn't affected in the slightest. He roared, crazed, and chopped downward.
"You bastards! Don't you dare look away!"
A Sternritter member in front of him had their chest torn open by Kenpachi's blade, blood spraying everywhere.
But the remaining Sternritter could no longer spare attention for that.
Their eyes were locked on Yhwach—bisected, blood pooling everywhere, yet still showing faint signs of life.
Would His Majesty activate Auswählen again?
If he did, then they could just wait to die.
But if he didn't…
Then they would witness Yhwach's death with their own eyes, and immediately flee to the Human World.
As long as they reached the Human World and hid their spiritual pressure, they'd be no different from ordinary humans.
The Shinigami, meanwhile, finally relaxed, smiles returning to their faces.
"As expected of old man… he's strong like a monster." Shunsui said with a relieved grin.
The other Shinigami nodded as well.
This time the Wandenreich had come ferociously and seized the advantage from the start—everyone thought they were finished.
Yet Captain-Commander had cut the Quincy King in half with a single strike.
It was basically drawing a period on this war.
Yamamoto showed no reaction, only staring coldly at Yhwach on the ground.
At last—
He had avenged his old comrades from a thousand years ago.
But then—
Yhwach's upper body, dazed and struggling, forced itself upright and spoke with difficulty.
"...I'm sorry, Your Majesty..."
The instant those words were spoken, Yamamoto's face changed violently.
He realized his thinking had gone wrong.
And in that same moment—
A completely uninjured Yhwach appeared on the battlefield and said calmly,
"Genryusai… you've grown soft."
As he spoke, the star medallion on his chest erupted with a violent pulling force, crazily devouring Yamamoto's Bankai.
Unlike the earlier Sternritter who tried to steal it, this medallion truly could swallow Zanka no Tachi itself.
Seeing this, the Shinigami in the distance turned deathly pale, never imagining an accident would happen at this critical moment.
"Not good—Captain-Commander's Bankai—!"
Byakuya's pupils shrank as he roared, "Kyoka Suigetsu! Hurry and go over—make Captain-Commander's zanpakuto materialize!"
Kyoka Suigetsu appeared beside him, face grim.
"I can't."
"What!?" Shunsui was furious. He grabbed Kyoka Suigetsu by the collar and shouted,
"Back then, Muramasa could do it! You devoured him, you're even stronger—how can you not make Captain-Commander's zanpakuto materialize!?"
Kyoka Suigetsu slapped Shunsui's hand away impatiently, then pointed toward the battlefield with an ugly expression.
"Idiot. When you say that—won't you look and see who else is on the battlefield?"
The Shinigami froze, then looked over
And their expressions turned incomparably ugly.
Shunsui clenched his teeth and squeezed out a name.
"Aizen..."
Beside Yhwach stood a man in white robes, wearing glasses, looking gentle and refined.
Aizen looked at Kyoka Suigetsu and smiled.
"Kyoka Suigetsu… you've taken on the form of a Hollow, haven't you? You must have devoured many Hollows."
"I really didn't expect you to help these Shinigami. What—do you want to return to my hands?"
As he spoke, he raised his right hand, and an invisible pulling force locked onto Kyoka Suigetsu.
Kyoka Suigetsu gritted his teeth and resisted with all his strength.
He refused to return to the form of a zanpakuto.
And it was precisely those few seconds of delay
That allowed Yhwach to complete the theft of Zanka no Tachi.
The temperature in the air instantly dropped by dozens of degrees.
Even so, Yamamoto didn't give up resisting. He narrowed his eyes, staring at Yhwach with a grave expression.
Yhwach didn't bother with Yamamoto. He calmly walked up to "Yhwach" on the ground and said flatly,
"Sternritter 'Y'… Royd Lloyd."
"You did well."
"You weren't discovered."
The "Yhwach" on the ground returned to his original appearance, his pupils widening as excitement surfaced on his face. He struggled and said,
"I… did well…"
Yhwach didn't answer. He simply extended a finger coldly.
Blue light burst from his fingertip.
Boom!
Royd Lloyd's body was instantly blasted into ash.
Yamamoto's face turned incomparably dark as he roared,
"Scum—what did you do!?"
(End of Chapter)
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