Chapter 42: Yuhha: Let Araki Become My Son! Araki: Yeah

Boom!!

The "explosion sounds" and "roaring sounds" kept echoing inside the Jingling Court, endless flames stretched people's shadows, making this Jingling Court, shrouded in gloom and war, look increasingly eerie.

"Kill! Don't be afraid, our Sovereign guides us!"

One by one, the Eradicators, like fearless machines, roared and launched wave after wave of attacks against the Death Gods.

Noisy!

Unfortunately, despite the sky‑splitting flames, no matter how many Eradicators arrived, before Chief of the 13th Guard Corps Yamamoto Motoyanagi Shigoku they were merely adding a few charred corpses to the land of the Jingling Court.

"Hm? What? Am I the first to arrive?"

When Yamamoto Motoyanagi Shigoku brandished the Great Fire Sword and cut a path as easily as slicing a melon, arriving at the gate of the 1st Guard Corps headquarters beneath Twin Slaying Hill, there seemed to be no other Death God shadows around him.

He furrowed his perpetually tight brows…

"Second!"

As Yamamoto grew dissatisfied, a violet figure flickered into his rear, struck a victorious pose, spread its arms, and shouted toward the sky.

"Saito?"

Yamamoto looked at the newcomer with a hint of surprise; he hadn't expected that the one who followed him here would be the ageless, immortal Saito, that foolish… foolish girl.

"Idiot, you're the fourth to arrive."

Before Saito could boast about her "glorious feat" of being the second to reach Yamamoto's summons, a pitch‑black figure suddenly rose from a charred corpse beside her…

If it weren't for the man suddenly standing, relying on his "unique" complexion—no, his formidable stealth skills—he truly merged with the night and the charred bodies.

"Ah! Damn you, Sifengyuan Qiri!"

"Even if you arrived before me, I'm still the third to get here, okay?"

Saito stared at the newcomer, as if a bucket of cold water poured over her head, dousing the fresh enthusiasm in her heart, leaving her instantly displeased.

"Is that so? That's not certain…"

The newcomer was, of course, Sifengyuan Qiri. After hearing Saito, he glanced at the distant shadows; the one who had been crouching there, stealthing, was truly the second to arrive, and he himself was merely the third.

"You all are so fast…"

Accompanied by a pair of "creak" "creak" sounds like snapping branches, Lu Qu Ba Yun Zhai, gripping the naginata "Kokoaiai", stepped over the charred, unrecognizable Eradicator corpses, deliberately crushing their bodies.

Most importantly, as Lu Qu Ba Yun Zhai's stride widened, the massive "evil" on her chest rose and fell like waves, seizing everyone's gaze and striking their souls.

"Do not look at what is indecent…"

However, Sifengyuan Qiri only glanced and turned his head; despite his constant carefree demeanor, he does have a family.

"Your flash steps are too fast! Conserve stamina! Conserve stamina!!"

"Where are the enemy troops? I don't see any!"

In an instant, the leaders of the 3rd Guard Corps, Yan Yuan Jinle, and the 12th Guard Corps, Shan Ding Si Youpin, also arrived beneath Twin Slaying Hill.

"Oh ho! Looks like we won!"

Saito, seeing that the first arrivals were all the leaders of their Blue Flow Gate group, instantly straightened her back, feeling quite impressed.

"Old Man Yamamoto, and everyone else, looks like you arrived long ago!"

Just as Saito was smug, the leader of the 5th Guard Corps, Weihua Dan Erlang, finally reached the gathering point of the leaders.

"So tired! I'm dying! I just want to go back to sleep!"

Hehehe, for an old man like me, whose body is so frail, such rapid movement is truly overwhelming~

"No enemy troops? This gathering point can't be wrong, right?"

"It should be correct! Look, everyone else is here, Chief Yamamoto is also present."

Behind Weihua Dan Erlang were the remaining four leaders responsible for the Black Ridge Gate: Zhidao Zhiwu of the 4th Guard Corps, Nigu Caicang of the 13th Guard Corps, Zhixing Nai Wugang of the 7th Guard Corps, and Jiǔ Miàn Jǐng Yān Tiě of the 9th Guard Corps.

At this moment, Zhidao Zhiwu and Nigu Caicang each pretended to be exhausted, one feigning extreme fatigue, the other acting as an old, useless, breath‑struggling elder, yet not a drop of sweat beaded on their foreheads…

Zhixing Nai Wugang rested his hand on his brow, constantly scanning the surroundings for enemy traces, while Jiǔ Miàn Jǐng Yān Tiě flashed a protruding golden tooth, pointed at Yamamoto Motoyanagi Shigoku and the leaders behind him, and patted Zhixing Nai Wugang's shoulder.

Eleven…

"Oh, looks like we're all here~"

"No, seems we're still missing one!"

Sifengyuan Qiri stared at the Black Ridge Gate leaders who had arrived at the gathering point, then began searching for the 11th Guard Corps leader; as he turned, he saw a pretty woman with disheveled hair and eyes dark with cold murderous intent silently standing behind Yamamoto, though he couldn't recall when she had appeared.

Thus, Sifengyuan Qiri clenched his right fist and hammered it hard onto his left hand, flashing a smile as he announced that the 13th Guard Corps leaders had all arrived. Then, after casting a glance at Mao Zhi Hua Lie, he suddenly remembered something and murmured softly.

"Sorry, I'm late! Thank you all for waiting…"

As Sifengyuan Qiri spoke, a figure wearing a bamboo hat finally trudged in, treading the charred ground, running toward the crowd; the newcomer was, of course, the leader of the 10th Guard Corps, Wang Tuchuan Yuxu Ji.

"Ah, I forgot this guy!"

The leaders glanced at the "late" Wang Tuchuan Yuxu Ji, turning their heads; they were about to forget him entirely.

"Actually, we didn't wait that long…"

To that, Sifengyuan Qiri smiled at Wang Tuchuan Yuxu Ji, saying that no one was really waiting for him, so there was no reason to speak of waiting long!

"As long as we didn't wait long, it's fine!"

At this moment, Wang Tuchuan Yuxu Ji hadn't realized he was being ignored; seeing he hadn't been late long, he casually exhaled a puff of foul breath.

"Hahaha, did that Araki guy arrive late? He was clearly the fastest to set out, yet he ended up being the last!"

At that moment, the ageless, immortal Saito burst into loud laughter; perhaps because she finally bested Araki once, she finally had a chance to mock him, deciding to ridicule Araki for a hundred years… no, a thousand years, ten thousand years.

"That's impossible! The reason we gathered here is that Araki told me he had scouted a massive enemy force in this area…"

Without letting Saito speak further, Yamamoto Motoyanagi Shigoku interrupted, explaining to Saito why they chose this spot to assemble.

"Eh?!"

Saito's pupils narrowed slightly at the words.

"Since Araki arrived here first… where has he gone now?!"

For a moment Zaitou's heart pounded, and she began to worry about Araki's safety.

Yuan Liuzhai fell silent at the words; among the enemy troops, only a handful could fight Araki directly, and among those who could trap Araki, preventing him from leaving the original rally point, only one name occupied Yuan Liuzhai's thoughts.

The enemy is coming!

Before Yuan Liuzhai and the captains could think further, a roar of explosions rang out, and Eradicators in white knight armor poured in from all sides like a flood, beginning to surround the captains of the Guardian Court Thirteen Squad.

Battle!

Yuan Liuzhai, seeing this, said nothing further, drew his Zanpakuto from his waist, and endless flames surrounded him.

Kill!!

And the leaders of the Thirteenth Squad standing beside Yuan Liuzhai hesitated not, borrowing the moonlight as they surged into the endless ranks of soldiers! For a moment it was as if tigers had entered a flock of sheep! Countless 'blood' soaked the ground, and 'severed limbs and wreckage' flew into the sky!

Remember to cut off these Eradicators' heads or break their limbs~

Otherwise they'll employ a strange ability (Chaotic Puppet) to rise again~

Ni Gu Caizang was already intimately familiar with the Eradicators' abilities; with a grim smile he kept reminding the surrounding captains, though obviously Ni Gu Caizang's reminders meant little…

Because these captains felt no mercy at all, they had no intention of leaving any survivors; when they struck, they aimed for death, either slicing the enemy's throat cleanly or cleaving the whole body in two.

Damn! Damn! Damn!

Araki, where did you go! Don't die!!

Zaitou, immortal, brandished his Zanpakuto, each swing spilling blood, each strike lethal, continuously venting his fury.

Swish…

As for Maozhihua Lie, her expression remained unchanged, because she never believed a man who could face her head‑on would be defeated by mere Eradicators.

Yet in reality, the hardest to kill on this battlefield were Araki, Maozhihua Lie, and Zaitou.

Meanwhile…

Approximately thirty li from the Guardian Court First Squad's quarters.

Araki was confronting a man clad in a pitch‑black cloak.

The man had long, jet‑black, slightly disheveled hair, rode a white steed, and looked down on Araki from a lofty, superior perspective; around him were several Eradicators dressed in white knight armor, members of the Star Cross Knights.

What a jackpot!

Araki watched as a few beads of cold sweat formed on the newcomer's forehead.

At that moment, a system panel in his mind quietly displayed two missions.

【Urgent Mission: Defeat Youhabah!】

【Final reward depends on the host's and the Eradicator Emperor Youhabah's battle outcome.】

【Main Quest: Kill Youhabah!】

【Seal Youhabah together with his father in the Spirit King Palace!】

【Final Reward:???】

Indeed, the man who dares to leisurely ride a horse within the Soul Society's Pure Spirit Court is none other than—

It is the Emperor of the Light Empire, who reigns over the Light Empire and is called "His Majesty" by countless Eradicators—the founder of the Eradicators, the ultimate final boss of BLEACH, Youhabah!

But the current Youhabah is not at his peak! In Araki's view, if this Youhabah is only at the level of the Y‑brother copy from the Blood War arc, then he still has a fight left, at least enough to reap some benefit from the "Urgent Mission" and continue amassing power for himself…

"Araki! I've been waiting for you; the power within you shares the same source as mine, so you shouldn't stand on the side of the Shinigami!" Without waiting for Araki to speak, the Youhabah on horseback spoke a step ahead of Araki: "Araki, now I give you a chance to choose! Abandon the Zanpakuto in your hand, join the ranks of us Eradicators! Become my son! Join forces with me and devote the power within you to everlasting peace! You will become the brightest cornerstone symbolizing peace!!"

"Huh? You white‑bearded bastard!!"

Araki's eye twitched slightly at the words; does Youhabah not know the fate of the last guy who went around collecting sons, who ended up with half his head smashed off?!

"K·ROOM·Piercing Wave!!"

Araki said nothing and immediately activated his Fruit Awakening ability.

"Hwee hwee~" A whinny from a white horse sounded, followed by a roar: "How dare you kill His Majesty's horse?!"

A bit late, but better late than never! Also, please give me wave tickets! These chapters will fully explain the main plot, the male lead's abilities will be gradually clarified, and his cheat isn't given for nothing—it's for a rather interesting development.

(End of Chapter)