Cairo moved. He slowly removed the 'Sanrei Gloves', and his Reiatsu instantly surged, alerting his Quincy companions dozens of kilometers away.
The purpose of the Sanrei Gloves is to enhance the diffusion of Reishi. Once worn, Quincy cannot use Reishi to create Spirit Bow; however, once a bow is created and maintained for seven days and seven nights, the wearer can approach the Quincy's maximum limit.
However, it can only be used once, and once worn, it cannot be taken off, because the Quincy's own ability to gather Reishi has reached its limit under its influence.
If they take it off, Quincy can indeed gain immense power, which is the 'Quincy’s Final Form'. However, after that, all their power will slowly disappear, but there are ways to recover it.
This form can only be used by Mixed-Blood Quincy at the cost of Loss of Power; recovery requires the help of Pure-Blood Quincy, and there are many risks involved...
Pure-blooded Quincy, once fully grown, only experience temporary weakness when using this technique; they do not lose their power and can even reuse it.
This is not the era of the Thousand-Year Blood War, Quincy have not yet developed the Vollständig; these two are also hybrids, so they cannot use the 'Blut Vene' and 'Blut Arterie' that Pure-Blood Quincy born with, they are just much stronger than the weaklings...
"That's a powerful technique. In this state, all the surrounding Reishi are gathering towards you. Is this considered Quincy's Shikai? Or Bankai?"
Zero was only slightly surprised, but soon felt excited. After killing a few cannon Quincy, Yanis absorbed a large amount of Reiryoku.
Quincy fight by gathering surrounding Reishi and firing Reishi Arrows, which means that when they absorb Reishi, the Reiryoku within them is not weak.
The soul itself is composed of countless Reishi. When the density of Reishi is high enough, Reiryoku is generated. The stronger the Reiryoku, the stronger the Reiatsu released...
"No, this is the Quincy’s Final Form, fighting at the cost of Loss of Power, which means... one of us is destined to die!"
The Reishi Bow in Cairo's hand grew larger. He drew the bowstring taut and began to charge up. A brief second later, a giant arrow shot towards Zero.
This is the Quincy's 'Heilig Pfeil,' composed of Reishi, possessing immense power, and can also be used as a Reishi sword.
'Two dead, one alive? Revealing information is stupid. I could just turn and run now, wait for your power to dissipate, and then turn around and attack you, wouldn't that solve everything?'
Upon hearing the intelligence, Zero secretly grumbled to himself. He had already put down the seasonings to avoid affecting the battle.
The arrow was moving very fast, and Zero could have dodged it if he wanted to, but he chose not to, wanting to test the full power of this Quincy.
"Hadō #81, Dankū!"
His expression instantly turned serious. The seal on his wrist had been broken, and he unleashed the Binding Bakudō without chanting, creating a transparent spatial wall that blocked the arrows.
With a bang, 'Dankū' shattered instantly, and at the critical moment, Zero dodged the arrow with Shunpo.
How powerful is the Quincy's "Heilig Pfeil" in this form? Just look at Mayuri Kurotsuchi from the original timeline; his Bankai Doll Insect was shattered by a single arrow, and his body was even blown apart.
It's fair to say that, in this state, Cairo and Mode are fully capable of Captain-level strength...
Is it powerful? Of course it is, but those who are not Pure-Blood Quincy can only use it once. Even if they are lucky enough to regain their power later, they will not be able to use this move again.
"Whether you are Soul Reaper or Menos Grande, you will die today!"
Zero already wore a complete small Visored on his face, but he was using Zanpakuto, making it difficult for Cairo to determine whether he was Soul Reaper or a Hollow.
But none of that matters. Just as Zero landed with his Shunpo, Cairo used his Hirenkyaku to move behind Zero and diagonally above him, firing a... blue arrow.
As he turned his head, a wicked smile appeared on Zero's face. He moved sideways and then Shunpo, as if he were leaping to dodge the arrow, which also prevented Cairo from aiming accurately, causing him to miss again.
Zero seized the opportunity to come to his side and slashed down with his sword. Cairo reacted quickly, raising his Spirit Bow to block, but was knocked to the ground, leaving a furrow in his wake.
Just as Zero was about to give chase, two powerful arrows shot out from the smoke, forcing him to halt his pursuit.
'Its power is impressive, but it's a pity. The Reishi in the World of the Living are too scarce; Quincy, who rely on Reishi in combat, cannot unleash their full power... It's time to end this.'
After a brief exchange of blows, Zero secretly pondered that he had observed the limits of the 'Quincy: Letzt Stil,' which was becoming somewhat dependent on the surrounding environment.
As the surrounding Reishi dwindled, Cairo's arrows grew weaker and weaker; only the first arrow remained effective, retaining considerable power even after breaking the Bakudō.
With more Reishi, they are strong in combat; with fewer Reishi, they are weak. The only thing that can be called a killing move also has many drawbacks.
Ultimately, Quincy of this caliber can threaten Captain-level, but if it comes to a one-on-one fight with Captain, the chances of defeat are high, since the Captain's Bankai is not weak either.
If there are even more powerful Quincy, then there's a very good chance of defeating Captain-level...
"Slaughter on a whim— Blood Drink!"
Zero has already used his Zanpakuto. After dawdling for so long, he needs to finish this quickly. Grimmjow might have a hard time against this guy.
"I feel like I'm almost there, draining his Reiryoku..."
Yanis also spoke up. In his Final Form, Cairo possessed a large amount of pure Reishi. If Yanis were to devour his Reiryoku, his evolutionary path would definitely be shortened.
"Is the Zanpakuto being released? A fusion of Soul Reaper and Hollow? Or is the Hollow controlling the Soul Reaper?"
The fact that Cairo was able to raise these questions is enough to prove that the Quincy still have a large amount of heritage, and that their understanding of Soul Reaper and Hollows is still passed down.
Hollows that parasitize Soul Reaper, humans, or Quincy are rare, but they do exist; they are even recorded and taught in Quincy textbooks.
Their near-establishment as a clan with a lineage naturally posed a threat to the Seireitei, prompting them to secretly plot and investigate...
The Red Greatsword clashed with the blue arrow, and the sky and earth burst into light. The battle had already attracted the attention of some people, who, whether in groups or alone, rushed over at top speed.
Grimmjow was badly beaten; even though he was incredibly fast, his left forepaw was shot off, which severely hampered his speed.
Mode on the other side was also in a bad situation. The power of his 'Final Form' was already waning, especially in the World of the Living where Reishi were scarce, so he couldn't exert much power. If he lost the Ransōtengai at this moment, he would collapse on the spot.
Huff... huff... huff...
Amidst Mode and Grimmjow's heavy breathing, a tremendous light erupted in the distance, followed by a rapid decline of another Reiatsu.
"Impossible! Cairo, he..."
"Haha, that bastard Nangong won! Damn human, I will definitely eat you to avenge my claws."
To Mode's astonishment, Grimmjow let out his classic maniacal laugh.
Even Grimmjow himself didn't realize that his words implied: Nangong Ying, he will definitely come and help me kill you.
"Go to hell!"
Mode attacked again. Since it was difficult to hit Grimmjow with his bow, which was moving at high speed, he chose to attack at close range, slashing with Greatsword made of Reishi.
Grimmjow, missing his forelegs, slowed down and nearly got hit. As he gathered his Cero again, Mode charged forward head-on.
Mode didn't dodge, but instead activated 'Sklaverei', which is the submission of Reishi. If this move were activated in a world composed of Reishi, such as Soul Society or Hueco Mundo, its power would be even greater.
This is Quincy's technique that pushes the ability to absorb Reishi to its maximum limit. It can absorb almost any technique formed from Reiatsu or Reishi, not just Cero.
'Even the Reishi that make up my own being are being plundered? Damn bastards!'
Grimmjow sensed the Power of Plunder from his opponent, but as a high-ranking Adjuchas, his own Reishi density was extremely high, and no matter how much the opponent drained him, he could not die.
Whoosh! Pfft~
Just as the ferocious Grimmjow was about to risk having a large amount of Reishi drained to bite that damned Quincy, Mode, who had activated 'Sklaverei', was shot through the body from the side by a beam of extremely fast red light.
"It's over! Quincy, hahaha!"
A sudden surprise! Grimmjow rushed forward and bit Mode's head off in one swift motion...
Zero arrived, his mask concealing his identity shattered, and his tattered black robe was now only half intact. During the battle, Cairo had also activated 'Sklaverei,' causing Zero some trouble.
However, Zero also analyzed this ability. The more Reishi has, the stronger the power, and the greater one's Reiatsu, the more difficult it is for the opponent to directly absorb and kill one.
"Grimmjow, what a sorry sight!"
Yanis scoffed, plunging his left hand into the chest of Quincy Cairo. Zero carried Cairo along, while Yanis absorbed the remaining Reiryoku and Reishi from the corpse.
Before Cairo could fully transform into a spirit after his death, he was completely devoured by Yanis. The same was true for Mode; after Grimmjow crushed his skull, Mordred himself was swallowed before he could transform into a spirit.
"You're so talkative! If you've got the guts, get off Nangong, and I'll kill you."
When Grimmjow turned around, his eyes were fierce. He felt a little bad about being saved by Zero, but it wasn't the first time.
His pitiful dignity and confidence were shattered time and time again by Zero, only to be rebuilt time and time again; Zero rarely mocked Grimmjow anymore, but Yanis was still the one who kept talking.
"Stop dawdling, let's go! A few stronger guys are coming..."
After Zero and Grimmjow returned and retrieved the items they had collected, they opened the Garganta and fled. This was mainly because Zero had gained a general understanding of the Quincy's combat capabilities.
One guy like Cairo is already troublesome enough; if I were to face several at the same time, I'd probably have to use my Bankai to deal with them.
After Yanis devoured Cairo's soul, he obtained a great deal of information about the Quincy.
Since the great war hundreds of years ago, the Quincy clan has grown to a very large size. As far as Cairo is concerned, there are at least more than twenty Quincy who can use their 'Final Form'.
That is equivalent to the combat power of dozens of Captain-level. Although it may not be able to defeat Captains with Shikai or Bankai, it is enough to deal with Vice-Captains.
Moreover, above these twenty-odd people, there were some even stronger individuals who were said to have drunk the blood of the Quincy founder and possessed various extraordinary abilities.
They are called... the Sternritter!