Casting the Cage, Star Extinction

The Star-Extermination Force had just entered a forest not long ago. The surroundings were quiet, with no signs of danger apart from the unknown darkness.

No danger would appear now, but if Hongjiang had gone five meters further just now, there would definitely be a fresh Negacion and a group of hungry Hollows at this moment.

Although he couldn't see it, Hongjiang could sense that five meters away was the spirit-power-nullifying zone protecting the Sternritter Fortress, which Hongjiang called the Spirit-Nullifying Membrane.

The Spirit-Nullifying Membrane being here proved that the Sternritter Fortress was not far away. Once they passed through here, the Casting the Cage and Star-Extermination would officially begin.

But they definitely couldn't force their way through. Hongjiang and Old Man Yama had no intention of squaring off against the Quincy head-on. Before any close combat, the existence of the Star-Extermination Force must not be detected by the Quincy.

Hongjiang extended his right hand and slowly moved it forward. Feeling his right hand touch the Spirit-Nullifying Membrane in the air, he immediately stopped.

Under everyone's gaze, the scenery around Hongjiang gradually blurred. It became slightly brighter than the surrounding environment, as if an unknown liquid had been smeared on the invisible wall in the air, finally forming a circular archway large enough for ten people to enter side by side.

Hongjiang kept his right hand in the same position and extended his left hand forward less than five centimeters. Another circular archway appeared. He turned and nodded at the team members behind him, signaling, "You can enter. Just walk through as rehearsed."

The method of passing through the Spirit-Nullifying Membrane was not difficult, nor was it simple. The basic principle was to use spiritual power to create a gap in the Spirit-Nullifying Membrane and then use appropriate spiritual power to fill the gap, which was the true nature of those two circular archways.

Every time a Soul Reaper passed through, they only needed to coordinate their speed to ensure that the spiritual power barrier did not instantly create a gap. Finally, the spiritual power would slowly cancel out the Quincy power that formed the Spirit-Nullifying Membrane. Since the gap was not large, the Spirit-Nullifying Membrane would eventually wear down the spiritual power and return to its original state. Although its power would be significantly weakened, it would still be more than enough to maintain a spirit-power-nullifying zone for a period of time.

The principle was not difficult, but the operation was very difficult. It required the person executing it to have extremely fine control over spiritual power. However, this was not a problem for Hongjiang, who had been skilled in developing Kidō since childhood. Spiritual power control was his specialty!

That's what he said, but it wasn't until all the team members had passed that Hongjiang truly breathed a sigh of relief. To pass through these short five centimeters, he and the members of the Star-Extermination Force could not afford a single mistake. Fortunately, the team members did not panic, and he did not perform poorly due to nervousness.

The entire forest was about thirty kilometers deep. According to Hongjiang's multiple stealth reconnaissance missions, the Quincy in the Sternritter Fortress rarely appeared here unless they happened to be out.

Even so, Hongjiang, at the head of the team, remained highly focused, guarding against any possible Quincy. Fortunately, he wasn't a jinx, and the entire Star-Extermination Force encountered no Quincy troops and successfully reached the inner edge of the forest.

From here, a slight bulge on the horizon ten kilometers away could be seen, which was the target of the Star-Extermination Force this time—the Sternritter Fortress.

From here to the Sternritter Fortress was a completely open plain. It was impossible for the main force to approach unnoticed.

However, Hongjiang had already made arrangements for this. They would send a vanguard to approach the Sternritter Fortress, while the main force would remain here and charge towards the Sternritter Fortress when the operation officially began. At this moment, he was giving the final instructions to the members of the vanguard.

The vanguard was not large, consisting of the four captains known as the "Strongest Quartet"—Hirako Shinji, Otoribashi Rojuro, Aikawa Love, and Muguruma Kensei; the Chief and Deputy Chief of the Kidō Corps, Hachigen Ushoda and Ushoda Hachigen; the new Deputy Commander of the Onmitsukido, Shihoin Yoruichi, and her four subordinate captains; and finally, himself, the overall commander—Ao, totaling twelve people.

The entire Sternritter Fortress was circular, with a radius of ten kilometers, about one-sixtieth the size of Seireitei, divided into outer, middle, and inner three zones. The exact number of Quincy inside was unknown, but it was certain that over a thousand Quincy were stationed there.

Among the three zones, the inner city was particularly crucial, not only because most of the experts in the Sternritter Fortress resided there, but more importantly, because in the central plaza, there was a Senkaimon connecting to the Human World.

It was hard to believe that something whose manufacturing technology was only mastered by Soul Reapers would appear in the Quincy's lair. But this was the fact. According to Hongjiang's investigation, the Quincy in the Human World directly arrived at the Sternritter Fortress through this. There were no similar structures in other locations, indicating that this Senkaimon was likely built with the help of the group led by Azashiro.

The existence of this Senkaimon made the Soul Reapers in Seireitei grit their teeth in anger, because they could not directly attack the Sternritter Fortress, or rather, they could not attack it directly before dealing with the Senkaimon. Otherwise, once the Quincy in the Soul Society returned to the Human World, the cost of dealing with them again would be too great, a result that the Soul Reaper side would never want to see.

Of course, to avoid alerting the enemy and causing the majority of Quincy living in the Human World to sense something was wrong and disperse, protecting the Senkaimon in the Sternritter Fortress was also a key point that needed attention in Casting the Cage and Star-Extermination.

Therefore, surrounding this damned Senkaimon, the twelve members of the vanguard would each carry out three different missions to ensure the smooth progress of the operation. These three missions were called Casting the Cage, and the operation was named Star-Extermination.

The first layer of the cage would be set up outside the Sternritter Fortress, encompassing the entire fortress. The main implementers of this mission were the Kidō masters Hachigen Ushoda and Ushoda Hachigen.

First, they would join forces with Hongjiang to set up a large Kidō—Triple Seal Triple Gate—one kilometer away from the Sternritter Fortress. This was a Kidō created by Hongjiang to seal the space of the Soul Society. Its characteristic was that it could be used by one person or divided and performed by multiple people, which was very suitable here.

However, this Kidō could not restrict the Senkaimon; it was more to prevent the Quincy from escaping the Sternritter Fortress and flowing into the Soul Society.

Before the Triple Seal Triple Gate was completed, Yoruichi and the four subordinate captains of the Onmitsukido had to infiltrate the Sternritter Fortress first. However, their tasks were different. The four subordinate captains would participate in the casting of the second layer of the cage.

These five people each held a Boundary-Breaking Talisman, which was an extremely weakened version of a Senkaimon, capable of spatial travel within about ten kilometers in the Soul Society.

The four subordinate captains would enter the junction between the middle and inner city zones and wait for the moment the Triple Seal Triple Gate outside began to activate their Boundary-Breaking Talismans, ensuring their operation.

This was the second layer of the cage, a cage targeting people in the middle city zone.

"Everyone, don't push yourselves too hard. As long as you enter the middle city zone, that's enough. The requirement for you is not to expose yourselves prematurely." Hongjiang temporarily changed the mission requirements and continued to say to Yoruichi, "As for you, you are the most crucial. Not exposing yourself is a prerequisite, but you must at least enter the inner city zone and get as close to the Senkaimon as possible to protect it. Finally, ensure that when I arrive, I can reach the Senkaimon within a breath!"

Hongjiang also lowered some requirements for Yoruichi, but even so, the mission Yoruichi had to carry out was extremely dangerous because she would participate in the casting of the third layer of the cage.

The Senkaimon was the key to this operation. The Quincy could not be allowed to leave the Soul Society through it, nor could the Quincy destroy it, causing the remaining Quincy in the Human World to sense something unusual and disperse into areas where mortals gathered.

Yoruichi was responsible for the operation targeting the Senkaimon. Originally, Hongjiang had planned to have her father, Shihoin Dozo, carry it out, but the old man said that Yoruichi's infiltration and Flash Step had already surpassed him, so Yoruichi had to bear this heavy burden.

Yoruichi and the four others carried Boundary-Breaking Talismans. Similarly, Hirako and the other three, along with Hongjiang, also had corresponding Boundary-Breaking Talismans.

When the Triple Seal Triple Gate began to be released, Hirako and the other three would first be transported directly into the middle city zone of the Sternritter Fortress through their Boundary-Breaking Talismans, causing chaos and destruction to attract the attention of the experts in the inner city zone, ensuring the smooth release of the Kidō.

After the Kidō was completed, Yoruichi would activate her Boundary-Breaking Talisman. Hongjiang would use it to directly arrive at the plaza, use Kidō to seal the Senkaimon, and stand shoulder to shoulder with Yoruichi, guarding the Senkaimon in the inner city zone together.

This was the last layer of the cage in the Casting the Cage mission, sealing the Senkaimon, which was also the only escape route for the Quincy.

With the Triple Seal Triple Gate as the signal, the main force of the Star-Extermination Force would also quickly arrive. Their objective would be to capture alive as much as possible, with direct killing as the bottom line, and launch a frontal assault on the Quincy starting from the outer city zone!

At that time, the Star-Extermination Force in the outer city zone would be the main body, responsible for advancing inward and dealing with the majority of the Quincy. The four captains in the middle city zone would serve as pivot points, constantly ensuring coordination between the inner and outer zones. Hongjiang and Yoruichi in the inner city zone would be the guarantors, leaving the Quincy with only the option of fighting back. This was the main body of the operation—Star-Extermination.

At this moment, Hongjiang was making the final adjustments to this step.

"There are not many beings that can hold you back one-on-one. According to my years of investigation, there are two Quincy in the Sternritter Fortress called the Holy King and the Holy Queen. I estimate only they can hold you two back."

Hongjiang instructed Hirako and the other three, "Hirako and Love, you two will deal with these two. Otoribashi and Kensei, you will provide support and try to prevent other Quincy from harassing Hirako and Love. Also, try to push the battlefield towards the inner city zone. The more commotion you cause, the better!"

"Of course, if the opponent intends to retreat, you only need to keep the key figures in the middle city zone. We can handle the cannon fodder, Yoruichi and I. However, if you don't feel any pressure, you must immediately send two people to the inner city zone. Currently, it's tentatively Hirako and Love. If there are any accidents, we will adjust using Kidō as a signal!"

Seeing the four nod in unison, Hongjiang summoned all eight vice-captains of the Star-Extermination Force, except for Chojiro Sasakibe, and gave them a few instructions. They would take over the command of the Star-Extermination Force after the vanguard departed.

Whether Casting the Cage and Star-Extermination could succeed in exterminating the stars depended entirely on whether the cage formed by these twelve people could be successfully cast.