Adjuchas

The Gillian Wien had marked walked faster and faster. Wien had to use Shadowless Strike to catch up. After reaching the edge of the Gillian's black robe, Wien pulled up a fold of cloth and wrapped himself inside it.

Judging by the situation, the giant was so eager to move forward that he probably had no attention to spare for Wien. Clinging to the fold of cloth, Wien reached a conclusion. Perhaps the Gillian had sensed an Adjuchas calling him.

If war had broken out, there was no way the journey would have been this peaceful. The entire Forest of Menos would surely have been in an uproar. So, for now, it was more likely that the Gillian had been summoned by an Adjuchas.

Sure enough, after tens of minutes of travel, the giant slowed down. He continued forward, screeching as he walked, and there seemed to be traces of fear in his cries.

Wien chose that moment to leave and resumed following him from behind.

Just then, Wien had also sensed an enormous fluctuation of Spiritual Pressure. It was almost as strong as that of the shark Hollow Beast he had encountered when he first arrived in Hueco Mundo. Clearly, the shark Hollow Beast Wien had met at the beginning was probably an Adjuchas-class Menos Grande.

Perhaps it had just finished advancing at the time and was preparing to head for the Inner Circle. But things were different now. Wien was far, far stronger than when he had first arrived.

Facing Spiritual Pressure of this level, Wien no longer felt as though even his soul was being crushed. He even had a vague sense that he could hold his own against it for a while. Though he certainly could not win, at least he would not be killed instantly.

As for the Spiritual Pressure Wien sensed now, he could be certain that whoever released it was an Adjuchas.

Judging by the fluctuations, this was probably a Hollow that had lived in the Forest of Menos for a long time without heading to the Inner Circle.

There were generally two kinds of Hollows that stayed in the Forest of Menos without entering the Inner Circle. The first had not encountered a Garganta leading from the Forest of Menos to the Inner Circle, commonly known as a stretch of sand. This was uncommon. After all, there were countless such Garganta in the core area.

The other case was what Wien was seeing now. Weak Adjuchas that wandered the outskirts of the Forest of Menos, or Adjuchas that were not particularly good at fighting, stayed here and accumulated Spiritual Power bit by bit by preying on Gillians.

Upon reaching the Adjuchas class, Hollow Beasts entered a new stage of division. At this level, Adjuchas were likewise divided into low, middle and high ranks, and each rank could be further divided into early, middle and late stages. This showed the disparity in strength within the Adjuchas class.

The Spiritual Pressure Wien sensed now was probably around the middle stage of the low rank of Adjuchas. In the past, Wien had had little idea what such strength meant, because they had all been too powerful.

However, ever since Wien reached the peak of the High-Level Hollow class and fought a running battle with Yammy, his subconscious understanding of an Adjuchas's strength had made a great leap. Perhaps, as people said, combat was the best way to test one's true strength.

"Why would an Adjuchas from the outskirts summon Gillians? Just to make feeding easier?" Wien asked himself as he followed behind.

Although he was still a High-Level Hollow, his Spiritual Pressure had already reached the strength of a Gillian's. When facing an Adjuchas, as long as he was not locked onto by a high-rank Adjuchas, the same still held true against a low-rank one: he could not win, but he could escape without a problem.

This was different from when Yammy had chased and attacked him. Gillians and Adjuchas were everywhere in the Forest of Menos. None of them would expend large amounts of Spiritual Pressure chasing a High-Level Hollow no more significant than an ant. Otherwise, one careless mistake could very well leave them as someone else's food.

After proceeding for a while, Wien's body suddenly trembled. Not far from the Spiritual Pressure he had just sensed, another low-rank Adjuchas's Spiritual Pressure slowly spread out.

"Two... of them?" Wien's vigilance rose instantly. If there was only one, he might still be able to escape, but with two, he would have almost no chance. "But why are there two? And there aren't any Spiritual Pressure fluctuations from them fighting, either. Could they be hunting together?"

Menos Grande that reached the Adjuchas class had basically all awakened Intelligence; the only difference was how much.

It was understandable that they might hunt together. But why were two Adjuchas summoning Gillians? And quite a few of them, at that. Around seven or eight Gillians had already gathered near Wien, heading toward the source of the summons. Even a middle-rank Adjuchas would have to be cautious when dealing with that many, let alone two low-rank ones.

But when Wien crept to the place where the summons originated and saw those responsible with his own eyes, he immediately understood the situation. It turned out this was just a game between two Adjuchas.

Several hundred meters ahead in the forest was a conspicuous clearing. Yes, it was conspicuous, as though someone had cut down the trees to create it, leaving it completely out of place in the forest. On the left and right sides of the clearing, two Adjuchas radiating powerful fluctuations of Spiritual Pressure faced each other. Yet their Spiritual Pressures were not clashing. Instead, as if by prior arrangement, they stood in place on opposite sides. Behind them, dozens of Gillians slowly approached the clearing. The sparks of battle were ready to fly, and a group fight was on the verge of breaking out.

"Clever," Wien remarked. "Using an Adjuchas's oppressive power to force the Gillians into a group fight, then reaping the benefits themselves. That method really is convenient." Wien sneered as he began creeping closer, carefully observing the two Adjuchas on either side as he went.

On Wien's left was a Mutant Hollow, roughly spherical and floating in the air. It had no hands or feet, only a few bony spikes on its back that swayed constantly, seemingly to keep it balanced. An enormous mask covered half his body, and the eyes beneath it flickered red, seeming to hold a trace of mockery.

On the other side was an Adjuchas that was half human and half snake. His powerful arms rested lightly on the ground, and his eyes were filled with endless greed, as though he wanted to swallow every Gillian here in a single gulp.

The actions of the two Adjuchas confirmed Wien's guess. The dozens of Gillians faced off in pairs, Spiritual Pressure gathering in their mouths. Dozens of Ceros were about to erupt.

The next second, a dark red beam shot out first, followed immediately by a second and a third. Explosions, the muffled thuds of impacts, and the charred stench of burning followed in rapid succession.

"Holy shit, this is fucking intense." Wien could not help being shaken by the enormous collision of energy before him. This was the most powerful clash of energy he had seen since coming to Hueco Mundo. It was the combined power of dozens of Gillians' Ceros.

At the same time, Wien quietly concealed his Spiritual Pressure. Once the smoke from this volley cleared, he would go make trouble for the two Adjuchas. After all, the giant he had been following was still among those Gillians. If something went wrong, would all of Wien's efforts not have been for nothing?

When half the smoke had cleared, Wien entered the battlefield. Using his Spiritual Pressure mark, he found the Gillian he had been following.

"Oh? It seems a little bug has sneaked onto our dinner table." Wien had only just entered the battlefield when the Mutant Hollow discovered him.

After all, an entire major class separated them, so it was practically impossible for Wien to avoid being locked onto.

But Wien did not care. To those above him, his presence could not affect the ultimate purpose of their summons.

"Haha, an ant hoping to pick up scraps?" The snake-man Adjuchas on the other side also let out a cold laugh. "Too bad he came in too early. Otherwise, he might actually have managed to pick up a fragment or two."

"Hey, Niji, let's make a bet," the Mutant Hollow suddenly said, taking an interest.

"A bet? On what?" asked the snake-man Adjuchas called Niji.

"Let's bet on which side's Gillians will kill this ant first. As for the stake... how about seven Gillians?"

"Hmph, I knew you were up to no good," Niji said irritably. "Kaslanine, don't think I don't know. Your Spiritual Pressure is a little lower than mine, but your attacks are mental in nature. Your control over Gillians is much stronger than mine. If I bet with you on those terms, wouldn't I be sure to lose?"

"Then how do you want to bet?" Kaslanine's little trick had failed, but he was magnanimous enough to drop it without further argument.

"A bet should naturally come down to luck." Niji flicked his tail. "Neither of us interferes. We'll bet on how many rounds this bug can last amid the Ceros in the melee. How about it?"

"Hmm... that's rather interesting." The Mutant Hollow Kaslanine narrowed his enormous eyes slightly. "All right, let's bet on that. I say he won't make it past the third round."

"Then I say five rounds," Niji said.

"Oh? Are you interested in this bug?"

"Of course not," Niji said coldly. "I just noticed that the first round is already over, and the second volley of Ceros is about to arrive, yet that bug's Spiritual Pressure hasn't wavered at all. Judging by its amount, he's probably almost ready to advance to Gillian. So I think he can last a few more rounds."

"Haha, fair enough," Kaslanine said with a laugh. "There are as many Gillians as we want. Even if I lose, it's only seven. At worst, I'll just go catch some more. You're on!"

And so, the two Adjuchas wagered on how long Wien could survive in the aftermath of the Ceros.

And what of Wien, the subject of their bet? Caught between the two Adjuchas, Wien naturally knew what they were saying.

But Wien did not panic in the slightest. As long as the two Adjuchas did not personally make a move, he would not be in danger. As for the aftermath of the Ceros? Wien might have dodged a direct Cero, but it was only the aftermath. Wien believed that, with his own strength, the chances of him directly withstanding the aftermath of the irregular explosions were still very high.

With a faint smile, Wien began weaving back and forth among the dozens of Menos Grande, waiting for his chance to act.