The Stench of Death / Bankai: Wailing Hell

With a gritted-teeth smile, Shunshun Shidō thought, "What do you people take me for? I would rather be beaten to death than use my Shikai. I, the dignified head of the Shihōin Clan and Second Division Captain, am being treated like a mascot by these people? This is intolerable!"

Shunshun Shidō pushed off with his feet and rushed forward at a speed that was completely incomprehensible to ordinary people. Apollo hurriedly used his Schrift ability, which immediately shone brightly!

The instant his fist struck Shunshun Shidō, Shunshun Shidō vanished right before his eyes.

Apollo could vaguely sense the other's Reiatsu appearing behind him. He turned around as fast as he could, but when he did, Shunshun Shidō once again entered his blind spot.

Apollo then realized that after Shunshun Shidō used Shikai, the increase in speed was only one aspect; the greater improvement was in reaction time.

It is well known that cats react seven times faster than humans.

After Shunshun Shidō transformed into a cat-person, the biggest improvement he made was in his reaction time rather than his speed.

Especially on the battlefield where life and death are at stake, even being half a second faster than the opponent can give you a huge advantage. And now, Shunshun Shidō's reaction speed is seven times faster than the opponent's.

Apollo instantly entered a passive state. In order to launch an effective attack on Shunshun Shidō, he had to concentrate the scorching sunlight in one place. However, Shunshun Shidō's reaction speed was too fast. He avoided the enemy's sharp edge and directly attacked the enemy's weakness.

Adding to that Shunshun Shidō's Captain-level strength and Reiatsu, he directly overwhelmed his opponent, making it difficult for him to breathe.

Apollo was caught off guard, Shunshun Shidō's claw pierced right through his thigh, causing blood to gush out.

"Laila, stop standing there like an idiot, come help me! I can't beat him!" Apollo said helplessly.

Each of the Captain of the Gotei 13 is extremely powerful. Unless the members of the Sternritter awaken some strange ability, they are simply no match for the Captain.

Laila was a cute little girl of about fourteen or fifteen years old, with chubby cheeks. She skipped and hopped over to me.

However, before she even reached the spot, a large axe came crashing down from mid-air, scaring the little girl so much that her hair stood on end.

This large axe is none other than Setsugetsumaru, Katoru Hatsunoya's Shikai ability.

"Your opponent is me, so don't be half-hearted!" Katoru Hatsunoya said coldly.

Laila took a deep breath. Just as Katoru Hatsunoya was about to rush over and kill the little girl, Laila suddenly exhaled a mouthful of black smoke.

Unaware of his opponent's abilities, Katoru Hatsunoya hastily retreated, fearing that the smoke might be poisonous.

The Quincy soldiers nearby saw Laila exhale black smoke and, terrified, abandoned the Shinigami who were engaged in battle and hurriedly left the battlefield. Katoru Hatsunoya looked grave. At that moment, a Shinigami accidentally inhaled a puff of the black smoke. Suddenly, his face turned ashen, and he clutched his neck tightly with both hands, dying in excruciating pain within two or three seconds.

"Let me introduce myself. My name is Laila, a member of the Sternritter. My birthdate is O." Laila smiled at Katoru Hatsunoya, then said with an envious tone, "Sister, you have such big breasts! If you lose the battle, I won't kill you. I'll keep you in my room."

"... You must be a girl, right?" Katoru Hatsunoya looked at the little girl in front of him. Although she was still young and not fully developed, he could tell from her slightly protruding chest that she was indeed a girl.

Laila blushed slightly and said, "But shouldn't girls like other girls?"

"Hmm???" Katoru Hatsunoya tilted his head, surprised that there were so many talented people in the Quincy lineup.

Laila's ability is called "Death Breath," which allows her to exhale a black Death Aura. Anyone who accidentally inhales even a single breath will experience rapid organ failure and die.

"Shihōin, watch out, a wide-range attack is coming!" Katoru Hatsunoya warned Shunshun Shidō, who was standing next to him.

At this moment, Apollo also arrived at Laila's side. Laila handed her a small blue pill. Instead of eating it, Laila took a deep breath and then exhaled a massive amount of black smoke.

If the body comes into contact with this smoke, the Death Aura will enter the body through the skin, and the person will die in just two or three seconds.

Although Shunshun Shidō reacted quickly, he was still somewhat overwhelmed in the face of such a large-scale biological weapon.

As Yamabuki Chidori once said, the Quincy themselves are not particularly strong; their strength mainly lies in the various amazing abilities they develop.

In a direct confrontation, even if Justin, who claimed to have been harmed, were to use a powerful drug, he still wouldn't be able to defeat Yamabuki Chidori. However, he was able to transfer the poison directly to Yamabuki Chidori using his ability to transfer damage, almost killing Yamabuki Chidori.

The Shinigami didn't know much about the Quincy, so before the battle Yamabuki Chidori repeatedly told everyone not to act rashly if they discovered any strange abilities, and to retreat if necessary, as the saying goes, "Where there's life, there's hope."

Assuming this war is lost, we can simply cede Quincy to the Seireitei; we must preserve the strength of the Gotei 13.

After all, as the great man said in "On Protracted War," "If you save the land but lose the people, you will lose both the land and the people. If you save the people but lose the land, you will save both the land and the people."

No matter where you go, people are the most important thing.

Chapter 259: The Death Aura

Many military strategists in later generations have said that war is all about intelligence.

Because she knew that Yhwach's ability was All-Knowing All-Powerful, Yamabuki Chidori used various methods to target his ability.

Anyone who has read "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure" knows that there is no true invincibility in this world. As long as your abilities are revealed, there will always be a corresponding countermeasure.

Kars was supposed to be the strongest creature? In the end, wasn't he exiled to outer space?

At this moment, Laila sprayed Death Aura everywhere. Shunshun Shidō and Katoru Hatsunoya ordered their subordinates to retreat immediately. In Captain-level battle, ordinary members could not play any role; at most, they could only cheer from the sidelines.

As for the Great Sage of the Central 46, no one cared whether they lived or died; they could only hide in corners, trembling and waiting to die.

Without the micro-management of these people, the casualties of Gotei 13 would have been much lower.

"Shunshun Shidō, Katoru Hatsunoya, hurry and save us! You are nobles too, aren't you? Hurry and save us! If you are willing to save my life, I am willing to give up my position to you!" A Great Sage cried out in a very disheveled manner as Death Aura approached.

Even at the very end of his life, he still believed that the position of Great Sage was very important. Little did he know that, in the eyes of the Gotei 13, the so-called Great Sage was no different from an old man selling vegetables on the street.

"Let's go. Do you have any ranged attack methods?" Shunshun Shidō asked with a grim expression.

"My Bankai can attack from a distance, but..." Katoru Hatsunoya's expression was somewhat grim. He didn't know if these Death Aura would have any effect on non-living things. Once Bankai is damaged, it cannot be restored. If his sword were to decay, he would have nowhere to cry!

At that moment, Apollo, standing amidst the Death Aura, began to unleash beams of light, his main strategy being to use long-range attacks against short-range opponents, taking advantage of the fact that you lacked ranged damage.

He had just taken a small pill, which was probably the antidote, so he was able to stand unharmed amidst the Death Aura.

"If he took the antidote just now, then it means that this Death Aura is not a rule-based ability, but some kind of poison. If Old Man were here." Shunshun Shidō said helplessly. The Old Man he was referring to was Sakurane Saizo, who was a master of poison.

Moreover, if the fight continues, the two of them will only be passively taking hits.

If only Kidō-type abilities at this moment.

Shunshun Shidō. Is he going to use Bankai here?

"I can tell from your eyes that you definitely have a backup plan. At this point, stop hiding your abilities and show them to everyone," Katoru Hatsunoya said to Shunshun Shidō while dodging the Death Aura.

Shunshun Shidō said in a very serious tone, "Of course I can use my hidden abilities, but there's one condition: no matter what happens, you can't laugh. I'll make you swear an oath, or you'll never get married!"

Katoru Hatsunoya's lips twitched involuntarily. Just how bizarre is your Bankai ability? It actually made me make such a vicious oath!

"Okay, I promise I won't laugh, or my sister will never be able to get married." At the most crucial moment, Katoru Hatsunoya didn't hesitate to throw his sister out as a shield.

"..." Shunshun Shidō stared at Katoru Hatsunoya for a long time, "You're such a good older sister."

"Forget it, with a formidable enemy at hand, we can't worry about these things now!" Shunshun Shidō gently called out, "Bankai!"

A powerful Reiatsu erupted instantly, causing a dramatic change in Shunshun Shidō's body.

The other three stared at Shunshun Shidō in shock, hardly believing their eyes.

Because of Shunshun Shidō... she turned into a cat the size of a human!

And it's a black cat.

It has glossy skin, twitching whiskers, soft paw pads, and a large head and ears.

The two girls at the scene were almost completely charmed.

How could there possibly be such an adorable Bankai in this world?

Katoru Hatsunoya suppressed the urge to pounce on the cat and asked in a low voice, "What's the point of turning into this? Even if you become a cat, you'll still use melee attacks, right? We can't break through the Death Aura at all right now."

At this point Shunshun Shidō had completely lost the ability to speak, and only managed to utter a single meow!

"Meow meow meow meow!"

"..." Katoru Hatsunoya felt that Shunshun Shidō, who could meow like a cat, was even cuter.

Apollo wasn't a cat lover, and although he found the large cat in front of him quite adorable, he still cautiously said, "Be careful, he might use some strange abilities. I wouldn't be surprised if he gave birth to a whole litter of kittens right there!"

Shunshun Shidō was so angry upon hearing Apollo's words that she bristled.

I'm a male cat!

You'll have babies, your whole family will have babies!

Although Shunshun Shidō has turned into a cat, his abilities have nothing to do with close combat.

Around the world, black cats are associated with many myths about death.

For example, in China, there is a saying that a corpse will rise from the dead if it encounters a black cat.

In Ancient Egypt, black cats were considered symbols of death.

Therefore, the true ability of Shunshun Shidō, who transforms into a black cat, is not to pounce on people and bite them or play with a cat toy, but rather...

"Undead Summoning!"

Shunshun Shidō's enormous cat paw pressed against the ground.

A very strange sound came from all directions.

"Giggle giggle..."

It felt like countless bones rubbing and colliding, sending chills down your spine.

The Shinigami and Quincy who had died in battle also stood up in contorted postures.

They can even retain some of their abilities from when they were alive!

Apollo and Laila's expressions changed slightly, but they quickly recovered!

"This little trick does seem pretty powerful, but... I am the mighty Sun God. How could such a petty trick as controlling the dead possibly defeat me?" Apollo shot out a golden beam of light, which instantly turned the corpses that touched the golden light to ashes.

"I originally thought you were very capable, but now I'm so disappointed in you. You're only destined to be a pet!" Apollo said arrogantly.

The cat scoffed.

"Giggle giggle giggle..."

The sound of bones grinding together grew louder and louder. Suddenly, the earth cracked open, and countless skeletons poured out from underground, endlessly, as if opening a gap in Hell!

Apollo unleashed scorching sunlight from his hands, turning corpses to ash wherever he passed. At first, he was quite adept at it, but he gradually realized something was wrong. No matter how many he killed, the corpses seemed endless, coming from all directions!

Most importantly, these already dead skeletons are not afraid of the corrosive influence of the "Death Aura".

Chapter 260: Bankai, the Wailing Hell

Laila drew her bow and shot arrows, each Holy Spirit Arrow capable of shattering hundreds of corpses, but for every hundred shattered, a thousand more pounced on them, and for every thousand shattered, ten thousand more pounced on them!

The endless corpses didn't even soak in; as far as the eye could see, whether in the sky or on the ground, there were only walls of corpses, and they kept rushing over regardless of the cost!

Even a large enough number of ants can kill an elephant!

Besides, human physical strength is not inexhaustible!

Using the power of Schrift consumes Reiatsu and physical strength. Apollo doesn't know how many of these skeletons he has killed, yet he still can't see where the end of this wave of skeletons is!

More and more! More and more! More and more!

Apollo didn't know how long the battle had lasted, but he felt that his Reiatsu was almost exhausted, and the number of corpses he killed was probably less than one percent of what he had summoned.

Finally, the first skeleton broke through the defenses and grabbed Laila's face, causing Laila to scream in terror.

"Apollo! Quickly use your invincible power to clear a path!" Laila shouted. "Also, these skeletons were summoned by that cat. Quickly use your power to kill that cat, and maybe these skeletons will disappear!"

But Apollo couldn't see where Shunshun Shidō was at all; all he could see were skeletons.

Some of these skeletons were wielding weapons, while others were simply biting with their teeth. The two men's Reiatsu was being constantly depleted. If this continued, even if they managed to kill all the skeletons, they would lose the strength to resist.

At the critical moment, Apollo came up with a good idea.

He radiated golden light, letting the sunlight envelop his entire body, and then charged desperately in one direction.

These skeletons would turn to ashes as soon as they came into contact with the sunlight on him, which meant that as long as he could hold out long enough, he would definitely be able to break through the endless encirclement of skeletons.

As for Laila...

Good luck to you, but I'll put in a good word for you with His Majesty.

After setting his strategic goals, Apollo spared no effort, expending a great deal of Reiatsu, and burst out of the encirclement of the mountain of corpses and sea of blood, his entire body enveloped in scorching light.

Laila looked at her companion who had abandoned her, and for a moment she didn't know how to react.

Her Schrift ability, "Death Aura," is specifically designed for the living, and is completely useless against these overwhelming undead. She can only continuously release Reishi Arrow.

But how could she, alone, withstand the tidal wave of attacks from billions of undead?

"Apollo! You bastard, I'll haunt you even as a ghost!" Laila screamed shrilly, but her cries were quickly drowned out by the endless Hell of bones.

After defeating the powerful enemy, Shunshun Shidō transformed back into a human from a cat, though his expression was extremely grim, as people had somehow discovered his ability to transform into a cat.

"Katori, you're a sensible and good girl. You should know what you can and can't say. If this gets out, I'll never forgive you!" Shunshun Shidō said through gritted teeth.