The Battle of Bamboo Creek Plain (10)

Gin Ichimaru's appearance subtly changed the atmosphere on the battlefield.

His blade thrust out from behind Kou, precisely forcing Hongming, then slowly retracted. The Zanpakuto shrank to its normal size in his hand, and he casually draped it over his shoulder.

"Young man, are you alright?" Yin didn't turn around, his voice still relaxed. "I was just about to tell you, you shouldn't be doing strenuous exercise after taking your medicine."

Hu was panting, still not recovered from the crisis that had just occurred.

"Persimmon Bro, you..."

"This guy seems tough to deal with." Silver looked at Hongming, who was panting heavily in the distance, and said with a smile, "Let me help you out, brother."

Fon Shaoling's gaze fell on Silver, and she narrowed her eyes slightly.

That Zanpakuto that could extend, that smiling expression, that drawn-out Kyoto accent, even with some disguise on his face...

A name flashed through her mind.

But she didn't directly confirm it.

After all, they came to help. Although we don't know why they were disguised and using a false name, in the current situation, having more combat power is always a good thing.

"Thank you very much then," said Fon Shaoling.

Yin nodded, without saying anything more.

Hongming stood at a distance, watching the newcomer, a sense of unease rising within him. His body was still aching, the wounds torn by the Dimensional Rifts just beginning to heal.

He dared not let Amber regain her Reiatsu.

If it happened again, he really would die.

"Drink!"

Cilian let out a low shout and charged forward first.

With a flash, the silver figure formed an angle with the Cilian and attacked Hongming at the same time. His blade suddenly extended and then quickly shortened, stabbing out from an odd angle, each time hitting the joint where Hongming was exerting force, making his movements disjointed.

Fon Shaoling wasn't idle either, continuously releasing Hadō and Bakudō in alternating waves, causing Hongming to lose her sense of direction in the Kidō and lose track of Amber's location.

The three worked together seamlessly, firmly suppressing Hongming.

"Young man!" Gin turned around and called out to Amber, "Reiatsu Recovery Potions are great for restoring Captain-level Reiatsu in just a few minutes! The effects haven't worn off yet, so hurry up and adjust your breathing to recover!"

Seeing Hu's blank expression, Yin had no choice but to be more direct:

"Try that move again, and the other side will be finished!"

Hu understood.

He gritted his teeth, forced himself to stand up, retreated to the edge of the battlefield, found cover, and sat down cross-legged.

Close your eyes and begin to regulate your breathing.

The Reiatsu flowed slowly within his body, and the potion's power began to take effect once more. Amber's Reiatsu gradually replenished.

Hongming realized he had lost track of Hu's location. Hu's faint Reiatsu was now masked by three thick Reiatsu. Lacking combat experience, he couldn't sense Hu's position and felt anxious, wanting to chase after him.

"Want to leave? No, no, don't be in such a hurry. You have to give people time to prepare!"

The silver blade instantly extended, stabbing towards Hongming's face from the side. Hongming was forced back, and the Cilian chains wrapped around him again.

"Bakudō #62: Hyapporankan: Hyapporankan!"

Fon Shaoling's voice rang out, countless beams of light shot in from all directions, trapping Hongming in place.

Hongming roared and struggled, but the three of them were working together so well that he couldn't break free at all.

While attacking, Gin glanced at Fon Shaoling.

"Captain Soi Fon, as the captain of the Second Division, instead of staying in Seireitei, you've been slacking off in the West District Two for over a month, not even attending the Command & Conquerors' meetings. Isn't that a bit much?"

Fon Shaoling frowned.

It really is Gin Ichimaru.

"And what about you? As the Third Division Captain, what are you doing here?"

Yin smiled.

"Your team's Marechiyo Ōmaeda has been secretly seeing Kira these past two months. I was a bit curious, so I came over quietly to find out what's going on."

His gaze swept towards Hu, who was meditating in the distance.

"And then we found a promising talent. We were even thinking of seeing if we could poach him."

Fon Shaoling's expression changed.

"You--"

"But I've given up on that idea now," Yin interrupted her, a hint of mischief in his voice. "After all, it seems she's already taken."

Fon Shaoling's face flushed slightly.

She certainly knew what he meant.

It's one thing for Amber to like her; it's just rumors circulating among the Onmitsukidō and Fon Clan —they're all close friends and wouldn't spread them around. Why does even Gin Ichimaru know about it now? Does Amber even know how to keep her mouth shut?!

She gritted her teeth and remained silent.

Yin's smile deepened as he looked at her expression.

"Alright, let's get down to business." His tone became slightly more serious. "We're mainly here to provide support for the Third Division. After all—"

He paused.

"I, the current captain, must settle the score with the former captain of the Third Division who was betrayed a hundred years ago."

Fon Shaoling paused for a moment.

She could barely accept this reason.

But she quickly realized what was happening.

"So you've been here from the very beginning?"

Silver's smile remained unchanged.

I guess so.

"So you waited until now before making a move?!"

Silver didn't answer, but instead quickened the pace of his attack.

Fon Shaoling gritted her teeth in anger, but the current situation did not allow her to lash out.

"Oh, right," Yin suddenly spoke up, "The troops inside the court were already preparing to close in when I arrived in the West District Two. I reckon they've almost finished interrogating everyone."

Fon Shaoling's eyes sharpened.

"Then we need to resolve this battle quickly as well."

Not only did she release the Kidō more frequently, Fon Shaoling she also began to chant some of the more powerful Kidō completely.

Meanwhile, on Hongming's side...

As Amber's Reiatsu recovered, Hongming was finally able to sense Amber's location once again.

Hongming's body is regenerating; the wounds torn by the Dimensional Rifts are healing at a visible speed. But the pain has not disappeared; the agony of being cut into countless pieces is deeply etched into his memory, and even just feeling Amber's Reiatsu triggers waves of phantom pain.

He couldn't let Amber recover her Reiatsu so easily any longer.

If it happened again, he really would die.

Madness flashed in Hongming's eyes.

He stopped dodging the attacks from Silver and Cilian, enduring Cilian's chains head-on. Even with Silver's blade pressed against his head, he ignored it and charged straight towards Amber.

"Stop him!" Fon Shaoling shouted.

The chains of the Cilian wrapped around Hongming's ankles, but he ignored them and continued charging forward, dragging the chains along. The silver blade retracted and pierced his shoulder with even greater speed, but he only let out a muffled groan and continued walking.

"Damn it!" Cilian gritted her teeth and used Shunpo to catch up.

Cilian tightened the chains and used Shunpo to keep up, but she couldn't stop Hongming. Hongming was getting closer and closer to Amber...

Cilian's left gauntlet suddenly glowed with a dark golden light.

That was the completion of the Thousand-Mechanism Gauntlets ' adaptive adjustments—it had been recording Hongming's fighting style, analyzing his weaknesses, and adjusting its weaponry.

Now, the adjustments are complete.

Cilian turned and quickly closed in by tightening the chains, circling around from Hongming's side to his front.

A new weapon popped out from the gauntlet.

That's through the Shadow Piercer.

But unlike the previous Shadow Piercer:

Its barrel is longer, its tip is thicker, and its surface is covered with spiral patterns. The moment the guard pops out, the tip begins to spin at high speed, emitting a deep hum.

"This time--"

Cilian thrust out her spear.

Two thrusts.

In the first part, the spear tip pierced Hongming's chest. In the second part, the spiral drill exploded, spinning and tearing through his armor, piercing through his flesh, and going straight into his chest cavity.

"--This is for you!"

Hongming screamed in agony, thrown backward by the immense impact.

He looked down and saw a long spear stuck in his chest, next to his Hollow Hole, relentlessly piercing his body—a physically excruciating pain! He wanted to pull the spear out.

But the silver blade pierced through his arm from the side. The Bakudō of the Fon Shaoling sealed his other hand.

The three of them worked together to pin him firmly to the spot.

Just then, amidst the deafening spinning of the Shadow Piercer, Amber opened her eyes.

The Reiatsu has been mostly restored.

Although she hasn't fully recovered to her best condition, after the Sizhuzhai incident, Amber clearly knows what she needs to do. What kind of state does her "Noble Phantasm Launcher" need?

He stood up and gripped Jiku'a.

The Summoned Swords coalesced around him and shot out, flying to Hongming's feet.

"Withdraw!"

Cilian was the first to react, releasing the chains and leaving Shadow Piercer on Hongming Nether before retreating in Shunpo. Silver sheathed his sword, flashed away, and disappeared into the distance. Fon Shaoling reinforced the Bakudō with a final layer and vanished from the spot.

Hongming looked down at the blue sword at his feet.

He knew what this meant.

"No--"

He struggled to escape, but his body was no longer under his control. The Shadow Piercer in his chest was still churning inside him, drawing blood; his arms were pierced, and his legs were still bound by the Bakudō.

Amber appeared before him.

The Jiku'a took flight.

Judgment Cut--

Hongming's pupils contracted to their maximum size.

"--Absolutely amazing!"

Space shattered once again.

Amber vanished instantly, and everything within a spherical space centered on Hongming was shattered as if by an invisible giant hammer.

Countless Dimensional Rifts opened simultaneously around Hongming's body, densely packed and layered. His armor shattered in an instant, and his body was almost sliced into countless pieces. His screams echoed in the night sky!

The cracks disappeared.

Hongming knelt on the ground.

There wasn't a single intact part of his body; pieces of his body tissue had fallen off, exposing the bones, and blood gushed from every wound, pooling on the ground.

His body was no longer able to move.

But he is still alive.

Amber gripped the Jiku'a, panting heavily, and stared at the enemy before her:

"How can you survive longer than a cockroach?" His voice was hoarse, clearly exhausted. "Why... why won't you die...?"

He no longer had the strength to draw his sword.

Hongming's body and mind also began to tremble.

He didn't want to die.

He barely escaped death by killing his wife and daughter, and having finally gained power, he didn't want to die here.

Hongming suddenly stood up, turned around and ran.

His body was already broken and blood was spilled with every step he took, and his Sonído was also messed up, but he didn't care and just ran desperately.

Hu wanted to chase after him, but his legs gave way and he knelt down.

"Damn it..."

Just then, two figures rushed in from the courtyard entrance.

Tessai and Sakiro.

Their wounds had been mostly treated, and their eyes were sharp; the sheer number of corpses they had seen along the way was shocking.

"We've made it!" Tessai shouted in a low voice.

Sakiro's gaze sharpened as she watched Hongming being chased and fleeing by her own princess.

"We can't let him get away!"

Hu looked up at them and suddenly had a brilliant idea.

He raised his hand, and a Summoned Swords materialized in his palm.

"Persimmon Bro!"

Silver turns back.

Hu threw the Summoned Swords at him.

"Throw it over for me!"

Yin caught the blue sword and instantly understood his meaning.

He smiled and forcefully flung the Summoned Swords toward Hongming.

"Then you'd better seize the opportunity!"

The Summoned Swords traced an arc as it flew towards Hongming.

But the distance wasn't enough, and it began to fall.

"I'll do it!"

Sakiro's figure vanished from her spot, merging into the shadows. The next second, she appeared below the trajectory of the Summoned Swords, a scythe made of shadow materializing in her hand, which she precisely struck the sword.

The Summoned Swords was bounced up and continued flying forward.

Tessai understood immediately, striding forward, and simultaneously launched two prayer beads. One struck the sword, sending it soaring higher into the air; the other followed closely, striking it again—

The Summoned Swords drew an arc in the air, passing over Hongming's head.

Cilian used Shunpo to catch up, and a shield popped out of her gauntlet. She used the shield to forcefully slam the Summoned Swords out again.

The sword whistled as it flew towards the Hongming.

Fon Shaoling made the final move.

She Shunpo into the trajectory of the Summoned Swords, caught Summoned Swords, and then threw it forcefully at Hongming.

The Summoned Swords shot straight towards Hongming's back like an arrow released from a bow.

Hongming sensed something approaching from behind and whirled around—

The blue sword was already within reach.

He tried to dodge, but his reaction was too slow.

The sword tip pierced his chest.

Hongming looked down at the blue short sword stuck in his chest.

A figure appeared beside the sword in an instant.

Yexing Hu.

Hu held Jiku'a in his hand and stood in front of Hongming.

The knife is already raised.

"I see you," his voice was hoarse, yet incredibly firm, "—are you dead or alive!"

"Void Blade Realm!"

The knife cleaved down.

A sharp blue blade of light flashed out, slicing through space and time, and also cleaving open Hongming's head and body.

Hongming's body stiffened.

His head flew off, and in his eyes, fear, anger, and resentment—all his emotions froze in that instant.

Finally, his body began to disintegrate.

The armor turned to ashes, the flesh and blood transformed into Reishi, and even the bones dissipated.

Hongming —that good-for-nothing who feigned death to escape beneath the corpses of his wife and daughter, that man who traded everything for power, that monster who relied on countless Nether Abyss Insects to parasitize Bamboo Creek Plain —finally died.

After finishing his attack, Hu landed on the ground, panting heavily.

The Jiku'a slipped from his grasp and stuck into the ground. Watching Hongming turn to ashes, his body swayed, about to collapse—

A hand supported him.

Fon Shaoling stood beside him and helped him up.

Hu raised his head and looked at her.

Under the moonlight, her face still bore the scars of battle, and a few strands of her hair were disheveled.

Hu smiled and gave a thumbs up.

We won.

He then fell into a deep sleep.

Before Fon Shaoling could answer, she could only support him and not let go.

In the distance, Cilian put away her Thousand-Mechanism Gauntlets and let out a long breath. Sakiro and Tessai both slumped down, having rushed here at top speed and expending considerable energy. Gin Ichimaru sheathed his sword, watching this scene with a smile.

Moonlight spilled into the messy courtyard.

The battle is finally over.

Meanwhile, Aizen, hidden in the shadows, revealed a satisfied smile:

Very well, the Reiatsu Theory hasn't been broken. Even with such a high level of power, there are limitations on the levels that can be crossed above Reiatsu. Therefore, the solution is much simpler...

After leaving a message for Yin, he turned and left alone.