Chaos Evolution
Each different weapon corresponds to a special ability, and the same applies to armor.
This is the most favorable rule I could negotiate.
The attack consists of nine waves, each one hour apart. The first wave of monsters has First-Class Spiritual Pressure, and each subsequent wave is stronger.
Adnyeus didn't continue, but a little speculation reveals that the final wave of monsters might be of Transcendent strength.
Suppressed by the peak of the First-Class Spiritual Pressure, the key to victory lies in the choice of weapons and armor.
"Interesting." Aizen smiled and stepped forward.
He didn't head towards the weapon rack; instead, he looked at the armor first, and after a moment, he summarized and spoke:
"Cloth armor can increase the speed of incantation in the Kidō and the recovery of Spiritual Power."
"Leather armor improves mobility and Hakuda ability."
"Light armor enhances weapon capabilities and provides a certain level of defense."
"Heavy armor provides powerful defense and one chance to avoid death."
"Indeed, if we want to survive until the final wave and clear this game, we need to allocate resources carefully."
Aizen stroked his chin, then turned and said, "I'll use the cloth armor."
"Lord Aizen, what should I choose?" Ulquiorra asked calmly.
"You can choose for yourself based on your own judgment," Aizen replied with a smile.
Tokoyo Misao stepped forward and put on the obsidian-like black armor.
He had been checking his own power since then, and while his Reiatsu was indeed limited to First-Class Spiritual Pressure, his physical strength was undeniably present.
Therefore, he valued the one-time immunity to death provided by the heavy armor more than those fancy abilities.
He wouldn't give that kind of leeway to the other two Espada.
"I'll take the leather armor." Grimmjow walked straight up and put it on.
He was already highly mobile, and now he's taken it a step further.
Ulquiorra had no choice; he frowned and stepped forward to put on his light armor.
Next comes choosing a weapon; each weapon has a corresponding ability.
For example, the katana is sharp, the fist has penetrating properties, the spear is tough, and the staff increases casting speed and Spiritual Power recovery.
The whip has binding and restraining properties, the hammer has heavy strike properties, and the trident's property is splitting.
There are just too many types of weapons. Even if you look at them all, you still have to think carefully about which one is the best to use.
At this moment Tokoyo Misao spoke up, "I'll use the trident. If I'm not mistaken, there will be a large number of enemies in the first few waves. You won't need to intervene then."
He looked at Aizen and continued, "The next few waves will likely feature powerful enemies, so try to choose weapons that enhance your abilities as much as possible."
"Why should I listen to you?" Grimmjow sneered.
He walked straight toward the special weapon that had a long handle but a head that was a huge cone.
The weapon's defining characteristic is destruction; the moment he saw those two words, he had already decided to use it.
Grimmjow reached out and grabbed the long handle, trying to take it from the weapon rack, but as soon as he lifted it, he frowned instantly—it wasn't that he couldn't lift the weapon, but its weight was beyond his expectations, and he didn't have enough strength to wield it.
He clicked his tongue and released his grip, still choosing the claw spikes.
"A staff, huh? That's quite interesting." Aizen held a jet-black staff as tall as a person, with a deep blue sphere embedded at the top.
After much deliberation, Ulquiorra finally chose the whip.
With a bang, the weapon rack vanished.
Tokoyo Misao and realized that he was the tank, Aizen was the mage, Grimmjow was the assassin, and Ulquiorra, wielding a whip, could be used for control.
The squad is well-equipped; now it all depends on the strength of the enemy.
The game begins.
Chapter 224 Chaotic Evolution
"Lord Aizen, are we really going to follow their rules?"
Ulquiorra, whip in hand, asked calmly.
Aizen smiled and replied, "Adnyeus has already made it very clear that our Reiatsu is no match for his and Hell's. Even if we wanted to forcefully break through this game arena, we wouldn't be able to."
As he spoke, he turned his head to look at Tokoyo Misao and asked, as if to confirm:
"Brother Misao, even your Zanpakuto isn't working?"
He had used the power of the Enrakyōten to Tosesato, and knew exactly what that power was.
Tokoyo Misao shook his head. "I've tried, but there's no way to infiltrate him. Although I've never underestimated the Soul King before, I didn't expect him to be this powerful. Yhwach and the like are far inferior."
He couldn't help but sigh. If the Soul King hadn't wanted to break free from the wedge and come to Hell, even ten more Yhwach wouldn't be a match for Soul King.
It can only be said that the gap between the two is terrifyingly large.
A splashing sound rang out at that moment.
If you listen carefully, you can hear that the sound of water is getting faster and faster, starting like dripping water from a faucet and then becoming like the Yellow River rushing by.
Tokoyo Misao looked up and saw that at the very top of Black Tortoise's pillar in the sky, a water curtain sprayed out like the sky itself.
After the water flowed to the ground, it gathered and rose up, transforming into shapes made of water elements, resembling the heads of crocodiles and the backs of turtles.
In just a short time, nearly a thousand of these water elements crowded into the huge square.
Tokoyo Misao stepped forward, gently waving his trident. "This is the first wave, and it should be the easiest one. Everyone can try it out together. Put on your armor and weapons now, and get a feel for the effects, so you won't be caught off guard later."
As soon as Adnyeus announced the rules of the game, Tokoyo Misao's mind was instantly filled with a player-made map from an ancient game— Defend Athena.
In that game, equipment is very important, and understanding the characteristics of equipment is even more important.
Unlike that game, the equipment and characters here cannot be upgraded, making it more challenging to master the game's mechanics.
Tokoyo Misao took the lead and charged forward. Even though he was wearing heavy armor, his speed was not slow at all due to his strong physique.
He was like a giant tank, each step he took on the ground producing a thunderous roar.
The ground of this square was made of some kind of solidified material, yet it did not crack even after being trampled by such tremendous force.
Tokoyo Misao forward towards the water elemental, thrusting his trident at the figure in front of him.
At the very moment he thrust, each of the three tips of the trident shot out a sharp beam of light.
With a series of thuds, the spear light pierced through the chest of the water elemental, scattering more than a dozen of them before dissipating.
So that's how it is. Simply using the trident can trigger its built-in splitting attack.
What if we add the power of Soul Reaper to it?
Tokoyo Misao gripped the halberd with both hands, placed it in front of his waist, and swung it horizontally at the densely packed water elementals in front of him, while rapidly chanting, "Shakkahō!"
The trident's spearhead continuously spewed out red spherical Shakkahō, firing like a machine gun. Each Shakkahō that hit the water elemental caused a violent explosion, capable of engulfing an area of several meters in radius.
With this sweeping attack, the artillery wiped out almost the entire front row of elementals, killing at least two or three hundred of them in this wave.
However, at this moment Tokoyo Misao frowned. When he used the Shakkahō earlier, he naturally infused it into the trident in his hand.
As expected, multiple cannon shots were fired, but the continuous firing caused the Soul Reaper power within the body to drain away rapidly. This single burst of fire had consumed at least half of the Soul Reaper power.
He stood there, carefully sensing his surroundings. Based on the current rate of automatic recovery within his body, he estimated it would take two hours to fully recover.
In other words, this practice cannot be used casually.
After being attacked, the water elementals seemed to go berserk, opening their mouths wide and spewing streams of water forward.
The remaining hundreds of water elementals converged into a single, high-pressure vortex that hurtled towards them with unparalleled force.
A golden light flashed in Tokoyo Misao's eyes. He stood still, brandishing his trident with both hands, swinging it like a fan to block the whirlpool.
He swung the trident in the opposite direction to the high-pressure water vortex, creating a huge reaction force in an attempt to disperse the vortex.
But just two or three seconds after he managed to block it, he felt his body being uncontrollably spun around by the swirling water.
Tokoyo Misao immediately assumed a horse stance, lowering his center of gravity completely. Relying on his heavy armor and his own strength, he managed to withstand the attack.
He immediately shouted, "Don't underestimate these guys' attacks!"
He didn't say anything more.
If it had been Ulquiorra or Grimmjow blocking the way just now, they would have been sent flying.
They won't die, but they'll at least get injured.
After this round of attacks, the water elementals seemed unable to release any more water. Instead, they opened their mouths wide and charged forward with tiny feet.
"Chain, Sajō Sabaku."
Aizen's voice came from behind him.
Golden chains wrapped around Tokoyo Misao's body and rushed towards the water elementals in front of him.
These chains, like long snakes, passed through the water elementals at the front, reaching the enemy's midst, and then suddenly coiled up, binding hundreds of water elementals in place.
These creatures seemed to have no intention of rescuing their companions, and simply bypassed the bound water elementals, continuing their attack towards the coffin.
Aizen said, "I can use this level of Kidō about twenty times. Each time it takes about a minute to recover."
This is the strength recovery efficiency he just calculated.
It must be said that his choice of cloth armor and staff allowed him to continuously use enhanced low-level Kidō. Currently, it's proving extremely effective against the first wave of monsters.
Tokoyo Misao nodded slightly, rushed forward, and wielded his trident, using basic attacks and his own splitting ability to clear away the water elementals that were bypassing the restraints and charging towards him.
He stood there like a tall wall, and all the water elements were like water-filled balloons that crashed into the wall and burst open with a bang, making it impossible to get over.
Neither Ulquiorra nor Grimmjow made a move; they simply watched quietly.
Aizen smiled and raised his staff once more.
His gaze fell on the bound water elemental, and he chanted rapidly, "Chain Byakurai."
A white beam of silver light shot out from the tip of his staff, as thick as an arm, and transformed into a silver snake that bit down hard on a water elemental.
In that instant, the silver serpent suddenly exploded, transforming into countless smaller silver snakes that continuously pierced through and split apart the bound water elementals.
These water elements were instantly annihilated, turning into a puddle that fell to the ground and vanished without a trace.
With a single strike, Aizen annihilated over a hundred water elementals.
He seemed somewhat dissatisfied and spoke again, "Flock of Birds Ice Spikes."
A huge block of ice condensed around him, and with a wave of his hand, it flew above the rear of the water elementals, shattering with a bang and transforming into simple triangular spikes that shot down from the sky.
Each triangular ice spike that struck a water elemental instantly froze them, shattering into ice blocks that scattered on the ground moments later.
This time, Aizen wiped out all the water elementals in the back row, leaving only a dozen or so in front of Tokoyo Misao on the field.
Tokoyo Misao also accelerated his pace slightly, eliminating all of these guys. He breathed a sigh of relief, turned around, and said:
"The first wave took a total of five minutes, which means we have fifty-five minutes of rest time."
He stepped forward and glanced at Ulquiorra and Grimmjow.
These two guys were a bit disobedient and didn't test their abilities in the first wave.
However, they were not his subordinates after all, and the ultimate reward of this game was to allow his wife and children to return to Soul Society.
It doesn't really benefit them, so it's not the time to lose their temper.
Then, Tokoyo Misao walked up to Aizen and stopped, smiling as he asked, "Impressive. I never imagined your self-created Kidō could reach this level."
"Brother Misao, while I am pleased by your praise, it is rather pretentious," Aizen said with a slight shake of his head and a smile.
"I brought them both along this time simply because I think they are the most likely of the current Espada to continue evolving, so I don't want to interfere with their decisions."
"I see, "Tokoyo Misao's brow twitched, and he carefully examined the two of them before speaking after a moment.
"Grimmjow may still evolve further, but Ulquiorra might have a harder time."
"Ah, what do you mean by that?" Grimmjow was slightly excited.
He's certainly not the type to be pleased by a few words from someone, but it depends on who's saying it.
If it were just some ordinary nobody saying something casually, he would only assume it was to please himself and spare the other person's life, nothing more.