Rei intended to fight his way through the Hollow horde with his subordinates. He could now freely cast Kidō spells in the thirties, and a single swing of his Zanpakuto could kill more than a dozen Ragged Hollows.
Seeing their captain like a god of war, all ten of his subordinates were fired up. Three of them even joined forces to kill a Gillian.
After the eleven broke through the encirclement, they quickly left the battlefield. They dealt with the faster Ragged Hollows that pursued them and shook off the slower ones.
Everyone lowered their Reiatsu, finally shaking off the pursuing Hollows for good.
Before long, however, they disturbed a group of flying Hollow beasts hanging upside down from tree branches, starting another battle. Two of them sustained minor injuries before they finally shook the creatures off.
Rei's subordinates were exhausted. After the group entered a hollow beneath a giant quartz tree, they stayed inside and sealed the entrance with Kidō.
All signs suggested that no Hollow had ever lived here. Moreover, in the shadows, there was rare moss and a long row of mushrooms. It was truly unusual to see real plants here.
Rei guessed that the plants grew thanks to water around the quartz tree's roots. Water was incredibly scarce here; they hadn't seen any this deep underground. The moss showed that there was water here...
"There are so many Hollows in the Menos Grande Forest. We've only run about ten kilometers altogether, but we must have encountered over ten thousand Hollows. What do they eat?"
His underling Kuluo voiced his question. They didn't know that Gillians formed when Ragged Hollows devoured one another.
"Your textbooks say that Menos Grande are made up of dozens or even hundreds of Ragged Hollows piled together, right? Actually, that's wrong. Gillians evolve when Ragged Hollows devour one another."
"In other words, they survive by eating their own kind and evolve by eating their own kind, eventually becoming Menos Grande called Gillians."
Rei understood everything the Soul Reapers didn't about Hollow evolution, because he had a Hollow inside him. Yanis clearly remembered how he had struggled his way up from being a Ragged Hollow.
"Evolving by eating their own kind..."
"What? Ordinary Hollows are formed by devouring one another?"
"This is the first I've heard of it."
"How does Lord Nangong know that?"
The Soul Reapers all looked at Rei, full of curiosity. One tactless bastard even asked how he knew, leaving Rei feeling as though he had choked on something.
If there weren't people around, he would have thrown that guy out to feed the Hollows. Still, it was his own fault for showing off this damn knowledge. He couldn't blame anyone else...
"I saw it while traveling through the Soul Society a couple of years ago. In a valley, a Giant Hollow swallowed more than a dozen souls and evolved into a Gillian as its power swelled."
Rei lied outright about how he knew, without so much as a change in expression.
"I see. Giant Hollows can already fire masses of Reishi to attack. Once they evolve further into Gillians, they can fire Ceros..."
"Wait, that doesn't make sense! Giant Hollows are intelligent, but they lose that intelligence when they become Gillians. They gain power but become simpletons. If it were me, I wouldn't choose to evolve, would I?"
"That's true. Lord Nangong, how do you explain that?"
The same clever fellow from before had raised the question of gaining power at the cost of intelligence, and Yuanshan, who had agreed with Rei earlier, now questioned him in turn.
That kid Jiuchuan really loves to argue, Rei cursed the green-haired youth inwardly, but calmly explained to Yuanshan, "Ordinary Ragged Hollows evolve into Giant Hollows, and Giant Hollows evolve into Gillians. That's a qualitative change, just like when we learn Bankai. If your Zanpakuto itself doesn't acknowledge your power, but you still forcibly insist on using Bankai, you could die."
"And for a Giant Hollow to become a Menos Grande, there will naturally be a corresponding price. When I was traveling through the Soul Society, I encountered an Adjuchas, fought it, and asked it why."
"That Adjuchas said that a Gillian's consciousness is chaotic because the consciousnesses of over a hundred Hollows inside it are fighting for control of the body. A born king's willpower far surpasses that of its kind, so they can control a Gillian's enormous body."
"Gillian of that kind are intelligent and very rare. If they aren't killed, they can definitely evolve into Adjuchas-class Menos Grande!"
"They're rare relative to Hueco Mundo, but I estimate there are at least thirty thousand Adjuchas across Hueco Mundo. Although they're scattered everywhere and some die every day, some should be born every day too!!!"
Gulp!
Yuanshan swallowed, his expression grim. He hadn't expected Rei's estimate to be so enormous and could only pray inwardly that it wasn't true.
The other Soul Reapers' expressions also turned grim. Expeditionary Forces had often failed to return to the Soul Society before; it turned out this place really was terrifying. Their seniors had only warned them to be careful, and then even more careful, when they came to Hueco Mundo, and not to underestimate a single Hollow.
"Don't let your imaginations run wild. Fill your stomachs first, then find a way up. We're only here to investigate. There are too many Hollows here; it isn't a suitable place for you to survive..."
Rei only said it wasn't suitable for his subordinates to survive here, not that it wasn't suitable for him. As he spoke, his hands kept moving, gathering all the mushrooms.
He used Hadō number fifty-nine, Ice Fang Storm, to make ice, then waited for it to melt into water to wash the mushrooms... Hadō was the same as the abilities of ice- and water-type Zanpakuto. At its core, it was formed by converting Reiryoku into Reishi, so it could naturally melt into water.
There were three kinds of mushrooms: red, black, and white. Rei and the others carved pots and bowls out of the quartz tree and cooked the three kinds in separate pots. Rei had already made it clear they might be poisonous, but three Soul Reapers quickly volunteered to test them.
They had brought seasonings and the like, and the aroma filled the entire space beneath the tree. Everyone's appetites surged, but they all restrained themselves.
"Mmm... mmm, delicious. Ha, really good!"
"I've finished. I'm fine so far!"
"Me too!"
The three wolfed everything down, even drinking the broth. Rei's underling Yuanshan was the one testing the red mushrooms.
"Hahahahaha, that's hilarious! Huh! I, haha, what's, haha, going on, haha?"
They waited a full ten minutes, and all three were fine. Just as Rei and the others picked up their bowls, Yuanshan suddenly burst into wild laughter, which kept interrupting his speech.
"Don't eat the red mushrooms. They're poisonous!"
Rei shouted and went over to check on Yuanshan, only for Yuanshan to foam at the mouth and pass out.
Rei picked Yuanshan up upside down and shook him repeatedly, trying to shake the mushrooms he'd eaten out of him.
"My lord, hold him still. I'll help!"
His good brother Kuluo volunteered, rushing over and landing a punch to his liver. That wasn't all; he quickly followed it with a combination of more than ten punches.
Yuanshan finally retched, vomiting up all the mushrooms and broth he'd just eaten. His whole body went limp.
Seeing that the other two were fine, Rei couldn't help inwardly recalling a little rhyme... Red caps, white stems, eat them and you'll lie on a board...
By the time Yuanshan woke up, not even a scrap remained of the other two pots of mushroom soup. However, Rei had gone outside and caught him a few flying Hollows the size of eagles, and had someone roast them for him.
By the time Yuanshan regained his strength, they had been in the Menos Grande Forest for twelve hours. Sealed off by Kidō, they had no idea what was happening outside.
When they emerged again, everything outside had long since returned to normal. A group of Ragged Hollows wandered around in a daze, fighting one another from time to time. There were no Menos Grande...
"Keep it quiet when you kill them. I'll go up high and scout the terrain!"
"Yes."
Rei headed upward while the Soul Reapers ambushed the group of Ragged Hollows. Their movements were sharp as they tried to keep the twenty-odd Ragged Hollows from calling other Hollows over.
It's too dark. I can't see. Yanis, which way should we go now?
Boss, in the Menos Grande Forest, you can only hope to find an exit by going higher. A place with lots of rock will do too. After all, there has to be a lot of rock to support the desert and form an exit.
Yanis was experienced and gave Rei directions immediately. Rei jumped down from the tree and began looking for higher ground. Keeping their Reiatsu under control, the group ran east, where the terrain was higher.
They continued to encounter Ragged Hollows along the way and were forced to fight them again... Often, after they shook off one group of Hollows, another would appear ahead.
They had fought all the way here and no longer knew how many Hollows they had killed. That so-called mission to kill thirty thousand Hollows had become a joke. It was hard enough to stay alive now; who was in the mood to count?
At last, Rei and the others saw a rock face nearly three hundred meters high. It meant they hadn't gone the wrong way.
After Rei and the others leaped up, pushing off several times along the way, the Ragged Hollows didn't follow, but the sight before them left them stunned.
The place was full of Gillians draped in black witch's robes. There were more than two hundred of them.
"My god! Are... are those all Gillians?"
"Damn it, how are we supposed to get past that many?"
"Looks like we're done for."
It was no wonder they were discouraged. Of the eleven, everyone except Rei was already wounded. Even before exhausting their strength, they had needed several people working together to deal with a Gillian. Against this many, they had no chance of winning.
"If you want to stay here and wait for death, stay by yourselves. I'm not waiting to die. And if you don't want to die, grip your swords and follow me!"
Rei was prepared. He had gotten some information from Yanis: wherever there was an exit from the Menos Grande Forest, it would definitely be occupied by Adjuchas.
The Adjuchas would only let other Hollows go up after demanding a "toll." Hollows that wanted to go up had to capture a group of Giant Hollows for them to devour.
A Giant Hollow had to pay with the mask of another Giant Hollow of the same rank, while other Adjuchas likewise had to hand over the mask of one of their own rank to pass.
Four Adjuchas had already spotted them and were standing in the trees, looking down at Rei and the others. Strange laughter issued from beneath their masks from time to time.
The masks of these four Adjuchas were peculiar. Each bore the same pattern...
"Blood Drink!"
Since he'd already been discovered anyway, Rei went straight into Shikai without even using the release command, emitting waves of astonishing Reiatsu.
"So this is Lord Nangong's Shikai? It's my first time seeing it!"
His subordinates marveled at Rei's power, then forced themselves to rally. They would charge into battle alongside him.
Death wasn't frightening; what was frightening was resigning oneself to death. Even the Soul Reaper who had joined the squad most recently had been there for ten years. If he hadn't fought for himself during those ten years, who knew how many times he would have died already?
"Such Reiatsu... Is this the Captain-level fighter Jemirri mentioned?"
"What incredible Reiatsu. It's stronger than Lord Zommari's, isn't it?"
"Careful! Here he comes!"
"So fast!"
The four Adjuchas had been chatting and laughing on the branches, but the speed Rei unleashed after entering Shikai made them shriek in panic.
Squelch! Squelch!
Two Adjuchas had their arms severed. Even as they used Sonído, they were covered in blood. Rei was too fast, and he had attacked without saying a word.
As the saying went, a biting dog doesn't bark. Rei fiercely pursued the two wounded ones, paying no attention to the two uninjured ones for the time being.
He caught up with the two wounded Adjuchas and slashed them several times. Since Rei had grown stronger, their blood wasn't enough to bring Blood Drink to full capacity. Its blood gauge was at fifty percent at most.
Rei didn't intend to use his own blood to boost his combat power this time, since there was no need.
"Forget the Gillians. Get through first!"
His subordinates were hacking furiously at a Gillian. Rei told them to retreat first, but the Gillians' movements had also grown nimble, and their huge feet stomped down on Rei's group one after another.
"Gillians, Cero volley!"
The two Adjuchas who had just escaped were giving the orders, and the Gillians acted on them. The one who shouted "Cero volley" was a black-skinned Hollow whose mask and hands and feet were the only white parts of his body.
There were more than twenty Menos Grande in the front row, firing with almost no gaps. There was no way to dodge all the Ceros. Rei's argumentative squad member, the fellow who asked difficult questions, was blasted to ashes on the spot.
"Again... wh... at..."
The black-skinned Hollow ordered another attack, but how could Rei let him have his way? He raised his greatsword and aimed it at him, and a beam of red light pierced the black-skinned Hollow's mask.
The other Adjuchas resembled an ape. He took the opportunity to seize Yuanshan, no longer willing to keep fighting, and quickly fled. Seeing his underling captured like that enraged Rei.
Without the Adjuchas controlling them, the Gillians began to scatter. As it happened, Rei took his anger out on them, swinging his sword and killing more than a dozen.
"Find somewhere to rest below the rock face. I'll go bring him back. If I can't save him, I'll find a way to give him a quick death..."
"Yes!"
Rei gave the order calmly. The exhausted Soul Reapers could only agree; they wouldn't be able to help even if they went.
Besides, a quick death for Yuanshan, as Rei had said, would be better than letting him be devoured by Hollows. Almost everyone agreed...
Rei followed the direction in which the Adjuchas had fled. Before he had gone far, an even higher rock face blocked his path. There were also seven Adjuchas Reiatsu in the area, and they weren't hiding them.
Seven Adjuchas of different shapes appeared, including Jemirri, the rat Hollow who had fought Rei at the beginning. In an instant, they surrounded Rei, who had come alone.
"Hehehehe, nameless Soul Reaper Captain, we have been waiting here for you for a long time."
An Adjuchas covered in eyes and shaped like a clove of garlic appeared using Sonído. He had no legs and wore a large mask on his face. This was Zommari Rureaux before becoming an Arrancar...
"Hmph. Release my subordinate, and I can spare your life, you garlic Hollow!"
Rei spotted the ape Hollow on the other side holding Yuanshan with his tail and softened his tone slightly.
"Garlic Hollow? Giving others nicknames as you please—how arrogant of you. My name is Zommari Rureaux, master of this part of the Menos Grande Forest. Intruder, give me your name!"
Zommari offered his name of his own accord and asked Rei to do the same. He considered them to be on the same level!