Fierce Battle

The Gillian attacked again, clearly having lost its temper. It swiped down just as it had before, but this time, its speed was more than twice as fast.

However, in Hongjiang's eyes, it was still far too slow. He grabbed a nearby Hollow at random and tossed it under the descending giant hand, making it a scapegoat. Without any visible movement of his feet, he flickered and appeared beside another Hollow that was watching the show a few steps away.

The enraged Gillian felt no remorse for "accidentally" killing its own kind. At this moment, its eyes were fixed solely on Hongjiang, who was darting around like a flea. Wherever Hongjiang ran, its palm would slam down the very next moment.

This brought disaster to the ordinary Hollows present. Faced with a Gillian that had lost its mind, they wanted to flee, but Hongjiang would never allow such a thing to happen.

Some were tossed into the fray just like the first one, while others had their legs swept out from under them by him, leaving them to wait in despair as the Gillian's giant palm descended to claim their lives.

Every method of escape was thwarted by Hongjiang one by one. For a time, dust filled the air and wails echoed incessantly. Every gust of turbulent wind signaled the disappearance of a Hollow, a sight that made Kamisawa feel a pang of pity.

Under Hongjiang's guidance, the ordinary Hollows on the field were quickly wiped out by the Gillian.

With the small fry gone, Hongjiang no longer intended to hide. He sprinted up the Gillian's arm toward that comical face. The giant wasn't truly stupid; it raised its arm, intending to fling Hongjiang off directly.

Hongjiang was not flustered. He bent his knees slightly and, utilizing the upward momentum, kicked off and soared like a rocket. If nothing went wrong, his fist would make intimate contact with the center of the Gillian's brow in the next second.

At this speed, the Gillian had no time to recover its defense; it was definitely going to take this hit! Just as he was brimming with confidence, the giant made a move that shocked him to his core.

The originally smooth, white forehead shifted upward, then flipped backward, revealing a pitch-black, bottomless abyss. It was the Gillian's mouth, now wide open like a box waiting for him.

Kamisawa was still searching for Hongjiang's figure when he looked up and saw the Gillian closing its mouth. Could he have been eaten? Kamisawa was startled by his own thought.

"Impossible. How could someone with such beautiful Flash Step get eaten?" Kamisawa muttered to himself, beginning to search in every direction. But this was destined to be a futile effort, for Hongjiang was indeed inside the Gillian's mouth at that moment.

It wasn't very comfortable inside a Hollow's mouth, and even if it were, Hongjiang had no intention of staying. He had only ended up inside because he couldn't hit the brakes in time—he wasn't trying to play the part of a monkey calling for his sister-in-law!

Everything around him was pitch black. Even though he released his spiritual pressure, his own light couldn't penetrate the darkness at all, making it impossible to discern any direction.

However, Hongjiang knew clearly that the exit was behind him. He turned around, felt his way through the dark for two steps, and touched a wall. Unsurprisingly, these were the Gillian's teeth.

He clenched his fist, gathered his energy, and threw two rapid punches in succession. These nearly full-power blows shattered the Gillian's front teeth with the first strike, and by the second, the tooth had vanished entirely. This prompted Hongjiang to retract his third intended punch, activate Flash Step, and flee in a hurry.

Kamisawa, who had searched everywhere without finding a trace, was on the verge of despair when Hongjiang suddenly appeared beside him. At the same time, the Gillian began to clutch its mouth and shriek, its body twisting and turning in obvious agony.

"Where did you just go?" Kamisawa asked, looking dazed and pointing at the Gillian not far away. "And what is wrong with it?"

"I accidentally ran into its mouth," Hongjiang exhaled heavily, turning his head with a grin. "I knocked out one of its teeth on my way out."

Kamisawa was speechless. It was such a perilous situation, yet in his mouth, it sounded like he'd just gone out for a stroll. Was this the confidence that came with true strength?

However, Kamisawa was overthinking it. Although Hongjiang was smiling on the surface, he was actually panicking inside.

Old Man Yama had never taught him what to do if he ended up inside a Hollow's belly. It was fortunate that the creature's anatomy was relatively standard; if it had a small universe inside its body, he would have been a goner.

But the Gillian didn't understand what a terrible thing had just been done to it. Its most important mask had been damaged, causing it to fall into a state of complete madness. A red sphere of light slowly began to form in front of its toothless mouth, growing larger and larger.

Cero, a technique of highly compressing spiritual power and releasing it in an instant, was one of the exclusive skills of Menos-class Hollows. Although the Gillian wasn't looking down, Hongjiang knew it was aimed at him from the way its eyes were locked onto him.

He knew about this technique. Its advantages were high speed, great power, and immense destructive force. Its disadvantages were equally obvious: the move was too telegraphed, the preparation time was long, and the lower the rank of the Menos, the longer the preparation time!

It was stupid enough to have charged into its mouth earlier; if he let it successfully fire a Cero now, Hongjiang felt he might as well just end it all!

"If you like keeping your mouth shut, then I'll make sure you stay shut for good!"

Hongjiang moved, climbing up the Gillian's body. He was going to hit this idiot with something heavy! It wasn't just Hongjiang who was acting; from somewhere in the distance, a blue arrow suddenly shot out, heading straight for the Gillian's cheek.

Immediately after, the poor giant's jaw was forced shut, and its teeth shattered against each other. The blue arrows followed one after another, causing its head to spin ninety degrees. The red Cero was released passively, hitting nothing but air.

"Did that group arrive as well?"

As if to confirm his words, a rain of arrows, identical to the blue ones from before, descended again. Seeing this, Hongjiang first used a punch to twist the head of the already dazed Gillian. Then, he jumped onto its long nose, pushed off with force, and sent the countless blue arrows straight into its mouth.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Explosions erupted continuously from within the Gillian's mouth. Its eyes rolled back, showing only whites, and its entire body slowly toppled backward. The originally pristine white mask was now riddled with cracks and began to peel away piece by piece. The mask was the foundation of a Hollow; for it to reach this state meant the Gillian was dead beyond any doubt.

Hongjiang, who had returned to Kamisawa's side earlier, couldn't help but touch his own mouth at the sight. Just looking at it made his teeth ache!

"You guys are too ruthless!" Hongjiang said, facing to the left and baring his teeth. "Couldn't you have been a bit more gentle?"

"Don't go making false accusations. We were all aiming for the head. As for how it ended up like this? Well, isn't that exactly what you wanted?"

Under Hongjiang's gaze, the previously empty space was suddenly occupied by a dozen people dressed in white. The young man in the lead wore a smile, and it was he who had spoken.