A Powerful Outsider

Boom!

With the loud crash, the nearby trees in the forest trembled slightly, and quite a few birdlike Beast Hollows were startled into flying swiftly away from this barren land.

"Phew..." Wien jumped down from a tree and wiped the sweat from his forehead. As a Hollow, he shouldn't have had any sweat, but even now, Wien instinctively retained and performed some of the motions he had made in his previous life.

"Phew... That was hard work. We were both Elite Hollows of the same rank, but he was so much stronger than me. Good thing I had enough traps, or I really couldn't have worn him down." Beside a pitfall trap, Wien muttered to himself, laughing at his own expense.

Wien had been hunting in this forest for some time now.

Through constant hunting, he had advanced from a high-rank ordinary Hollow to the mid-rank of an Elite Hollow. The Hollow he had just hunted was a high-rank Elite Humanoid Hollow on the verge of becoming a High-Level Hollow.

Though only one rank separated Mid Rank from high rank, this monster on the verge of becoming a High-Level Hollow possessed considerable intelligence. Although he couldn't speak, he could control his attacks and defenses with ease. He could even deliberately avoid Wien's traps.

Against such a troublesome opponent, Wien had ultimately had no choice but to fight him personally. After several exchanges, he finally scratched both his eyes and robbed him of his sight, at the cost of two bone blades on his right claw. Only then, by using his spiritual pressure as bait to lure him into several traps, did he slowly wear him down and kill him.

Wien jumped into the trap and pulled off the Humanoid Hollow's damaged mask. He then found a large tree, leaped into it, and began eating. After hunting for so long, Wien had also grown considerably faster at absorbing Reishi.

"The spiritual pressure from a Hollow above my own rank really is different." Wien looked at his right hand in satisfaction.

Just now, a large amount of Reishi had fused into Wien's body, and the two broken bone blades on his right claw had already shown signs of growing back. He believed it wouldn't take long for them to recover completely.

Not only that, but the bony layer extending along Wien's right arm had begun spreading across his entire body. His once armor-like skin had now truly become a layer of bone.

With Wien's current body, he could easily withstand the sonic projectile that Mutant Hollow had once used. The bone blades had also grown stronger once again, and considerably longer.

"At this rate, I shouldn't be far from the high rank of the Elite-Level," Wien thought, feeling the surging spiritual power within him. "But I'm not very happy with my size." As he spoke, Wien looked at his body, which had grown considerably taller again.

After a long period of hunting, Wien's body had grown to nearly three meters tall.

This was a phenomenon caused by the swelling of his spiritual power after consuming large quantities of it over a long period, making his body considerably larger.

However, his strength had also increased considerably. He believed that, even without traps and relying on strength alone, there was nothing in this forest capable of killing him now.

All Wien had left to do was keep hunting until he advanced.

Since Hueco Mundo had no concept of time, Wien had no idea how long he had been there, or where the main storyline had reached.

Wien only hoped he had been born before the main storyline. After all, if he had been born afterward, both Hueco Mundo and Soul Society would be far too dangerous.

At his current level, he believed any character in Soul Society could easily kill him.

"No, I have to improve my abilities quickly." The thought made Wien's heart tighten.

He rose from the branch, ready to replenish his traps and continue hunting.

The instant he rose, a powerful spiritual pressure bore down on him from behind, accompanied by a sharp claw.

His keen senses and awareness of danger saved Wien once again. The instant he felt the chill, he lunged forward, twisting at the waist as he turned and swept his right claw behind him. The two claws collided with a metallic clang. After the clash, the attacker remained on the branch while Wien fell from the treetop.

As he fell backward, he drove his right claw into another large tree, bracing himself against its trunk and staring fixedly at the enemy in the tree.

Looking up, he saw a Beast Hollow in the form of a cheetah. Its entire body was covered in a bony layer, hardest around its head and limbs. Its Hollow Hole was in its lower back, and two sharp fangs protruded from its mouth.

Judging by the attack just now, his spiritual pressure should have been considerably higher than Wien's. He had probably already advanced to the level of a High-Level Hollow.

"Hmph, no wonder you've managed to establish yourself in this forest. So you really do have some ability." A voice full of contempt rang in Wien's ears, making his body tremble slightly.

"You can talk?" Wien asked instinctively.

"Oh? So you're an intelligent Hollow too." The Panther Hollow was equally surprised. "Then it's no wonder you could hunt like that. But I hear that swallowing an intelligent Hollow gives you a greater advantage in your later evolution. I wonder if that's true." The Panther Hollow showed no intention of stopping; instead, he grew even more interested in Wien.

"Hmph, you want to devour me? First, let's see if you have what it takes!" A cold look appeared at the corner of Wien's mouth. He pushed off the trunk and leaped at the Panther Hollow, raising his right claw and slashing down with all his might, only for the Panther Hollow to dodge nimbly.

"Give up, insect," the Panther Hollow said contemptuously. "Even if you have intelligence, your spiritual pressure is pathetically weak, and you're far too slow. Be a good meal for me!"

As he spoke, the Panther Hollow's spiritual pressure surged. In an instant, he leaped right in front of Wien and raised his barbed tail, lashing it fiercely at him. He was so fast that Wien had no time to react.

By the time Wien tried to defend himself, the tail had already struck his chest. With a bang, Wien was sent flying, crashing heavily into a nearby tree behind him before falling toward the ground.

"The weak should be prepared to become food." The Panther Hollow looked down at Wien, his eyes full of contempt.

"But you're not bad. You actually still have the strength to get up after taking a hit from me."

"Ugh... cough, cough." Once the dust scattered, Wien struggled to his feet, his mind racing. This was the second High-Level Hollow he had encountered since that Totem Giant Hollow.

Unlike the clumsy giant Hollow last time, he was facing a Panther Beast Hollow known for its speed. Escaping the same way was simply impossible.

Compared with their last encounter, Wien's current spiritual pressure, combined with his traps, made it possible for him to kill this one. So Wien had no intention of fleeing. He slowly brought his turbulent spiritual pressure into its optimal state, ready to finish him off right here!

However, Wien didn't foolishly charge at him. Instead, he turned and ran, because there was still a large area of his traps in the forest behind him.

"Trying to leave?" The Panther Hollow had no intention of giving Wien a chance to escape. He jumped straight down from the treetop and swiftly gave chase.

Because of the gap in their spiritual pressure, the Panther Hollow caught up with Wien again in only a few seconds. Just as he was about to rake Wien with a claw, Wien raised his right claw and grabbed a large tree he was about to pass.

Using the tree as a pivot, he swung around it to face his pursuer and threw a vicious punch at the Panther Hollow's face with his left hand.

The Panther Hollow reacted just as quickly. Seeing Wien's move, he immediately leaped up and dodged the blow. But that jump gave Wien time to escape again, so Wien turned and retreated once more.

With an angry roar, the Panther Hollow continued his pursuit.

A few seconds later, the two had covered nearly another hundred meters in their chase.

When the Panther Hollow caught up with Wien again, they had reached a trap area Wien had prepared long ago. At that moment, the prey became the hunter once more.

Turning around, Wien strained to block an oncoming claw and used its force to retreat until he came up against a large tree. Once there, he raised his hand and punched the tree hard. Countless objects whistled through the air straight toward the Panther Hollow.

They were branches Wien had sharpened long ago to use as a trap. However, they were so badly weathered that they would have been of little use even against an Elite Hollow, let alone the High-Level Hollow before him.

Wien had set them up only so the spikes would kick up dust and obscure the enemy's vision. What followed was a series of enormous objects.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Beneath the dust, dozens of huge logs came crashing down at the Panther Hollow. If the branches just now had merely been meant to obscure his vision, then the logs did more than that. Their enormous size would also force him to dodge or destroy them, and as long as he moved, he was bound to leave an opening. Like... now!

A massive trunk crashed down, and the Panther Hollow dodged instinctively. The instant he jumped, he realized he had fallen into a trap. Beside him, a spiritual pressure powerful enough to injure him was rapidly bearing down on him.

The smoke suddenly dispersed, and the Panther Hollow saw five bone blades slashing toward him. He couldn't dodge while he was in midair, but he was no less experienced in battle. He bent his body and spun rapidly to adjust his position, whipping his hard tail at the incoming claw.

Clang! Bang!

His tail knocked the claw aside. The Panther Hollow thought he was safe for the moment and had intended to jump away after landing, but he hadn't expected another fist to come smashing toward him from behind.

A copper head, iron claws, and a tofu waist: these were traits common to every canine and large feline. Though Wien was facing a Panther Hollow, he could only try anything that might work.

So, without thinking, Wien punched him in the lower spine. The Panther Hollow let out a whimper, and his entire body was smashed to the ground.

Having landed the blow, Wien had intended to continue attacking. But that punch had sent the Panther Hollow into the dust, and Wien didn't dare approach him just yet. Even though he could track him by spiritual pressure, the loss of visibility kept him from acting rashly. He had no choice but to leap away and wait for the dust to settle.

Several dozen seconds later, the smoke gradually dispersed, and the Panther Hollow slowly climbed back to his feet.

"Lowly insect! How dare you hurt me!" The Panther Hollow went wild, driving his spiritual pressure to its limit. A flash of blue light appeared on his foreclaws, and he swiftly clawed through the air toward Wien.

"Pantera's Claw!" With a furious roar, six blue claw-shaped streaks imbued with spiritual pressure shot toward Wien.

"A Spiritual Power Skill!" Wien's pupils contracted. He immediately dodged to the right, but the streaks were too fast. He had no time to evade them completely, and one grazed his left arm. Blood spurted out at once, leaving a wound deep enough to expose bone!

A Spiritual Power Skill was an ability learned according to one's own attributes and characteristics.

It was a skill only a High-Level Hollow could master. Faced with an attack as swift as lightning, dodging was Wien's only way to survive.

As the smoke dispersed, the Panther Hollow stood before Wien, panting heavily and glaring at him in fury, as though he wanted to tear Wien apart with his eyes.

On the other side, Wien also steadied his footing, ready to meet the next attack.

Although his left arm was covered in blood, now was no time to let the pain make him lower his guard. Before him, the Panther Hollow's foreclaws were still glowing blue.

If the Panther Hollow could unleash Pantera's Claw repeatedly, Wien would undoubtedly flee the forest as fast as he could.

But although the Panther Hollow's foreclaws still emitted powerful spiritual pressure, Wien could feel that his overall spiritual pressure had dropped considerably. He believed the Panther Hollow could use an attack like that only once or twice more at most, and afterward, he would be completely exhausted.

After some thought, Wien decided to stay and put some distance between them. Once the Panther Hollow used Pantera's Claw, as long as Wien dodged it, the roles of prey and hunter would reverse again.

However, the Panther Hollow also seemed to know he was nearing his limit. The light on his foreclaws slowly faded. Clearly, an attack like that had already taken more than he could bear. If he really exhausted his strength in a fit of anger and was devoured by the insect before him, he would be the one to suffer a great loss.

"Insect, I have to admit that with your intelligence, you're very capable," the Panther Hollow said. "Remember, my name is Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. I've memorized the scent of your spiritual pressure. I'll spare your life this time, but the next time I see you, I'll devour you until there isn't even a scrap of bone left!"

After leaving him with that threat, Grimmjow turned and raced out of the forest. His spiritual pressure had fallen considerably after using that powerful move. If he didn't recover quickly, he was very likely to be injured or even drop a rank.

Seeing Grimmjow leave, Wien sat down heavily on the ground and let out a long breath. Then an excited smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"Heh, hahahaha! Pantera, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. In the main Bleach storyline, he's the sixth 'Espada' under Aizen, an Adjuchas-class Arrancar. But right now, he's only just grown into a High-Level Hollow. Looks like I'm still a long way from the main storyline."

At that thought, Wien grew even more excited. He now knew where he was in the timeline. Before the story began, or at least before Aizen came to Hueco Mundo, he had to work hard to improve himself. Only then could he break free of Aizen's control and have a chance at a free and carefree life!