Rukongai, North Fifth District defense line.
"Hahahaha, is this a captain of the Gotei 13? He's too weak!" The red-haired Quincy at the front laughed madly, and the arrows fired from the spirit bow in his hand poured down like rain.
"Damn Quincy, they really sent this many people all at once!"
Takamiya's hat had long since been destroyed in the battle, and his handsome face was now completely covered in blood.
He continuously swung his Zanpakutō, using the sword energy he had studied his whole life to resist the rain of arrows, but the three Sternritter still forced him to retreat step by step.
"Rakid, stop spouting nonsense and finish our mission quickly, or His Majesty will get angry, and we'll all suffer for it!"
Another blonde Quincy in the air urged impatiently, and the spirit bow in her hand was already condensing a blinding blue light.
"I know, I know. Maine, you're such a nagging woman!"
"Nidalee, get ready to focus fire on this Shinigami!"
"Roger!"
The three Sternritter split up and surrounded Takamiya in a triangle formation, with massive blue arrows condensing in their hands.
Seeing that the situation had reached a very dangerous point, that the surrounding defense lines had already been breached, and his men were being massacred, Takamiya Yūji no longer intended to hold back.
He took a deep breath, the spiritual pressure in his body surged abruptly, and thin blue lines began to appear on the surface of his Zanpakutō.
"Bankai! Sa–"
However, at that critical moment, a purple-black crescent slash suddenly fell from the sky and struck precisely in the open space between the three Quincy and Takamiya Yūji, kicking up a cloud of dust and smoke.
"Who's there?!"
The Quincy named Nidalee turned her head sharply, her brown ponytail swinging in the air, and saw a slender figure appearing above the rampart.
Arata stood on the wall with a sword in one hand, the edge of his death suit fluttering in the strong wind.
He glanced at the battlefield below him, his eyes gradually growing cold as he scanned the torn defense line and scattered corpses.
These Quincy truly deserve to die.
"Vice-Captain Squad 8, Arata."
This self-introduction made the three Sternritter flinch simultaneously. The blonde Quincy Maine narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
"Didn't the Intelligence Department say the position of Vice-Captain Squad 8 has been vacant for years? When did this guy appear?"
"Who cares who he is!" Rakid sneered viciously and drew his spirit bow. "Even the Captain can't handle us, and this ordinary Vice-Captain dares come alone to die?"
Arata ignored the provocation and looked at the bloodied Takamiya Yūji. "Captain Takamiya, leave this to me. Please go help the other squad members first."
Takamiya Yūji suppressed the spiritual pressure that had already surged due to his Bankai, and under his imagined hat, surprise flickered in his eyes. "Arata, you alone…"
"This is just a pile of trash. I can handle three of them without issue." Arata said calmly, slowly raising Meigetsu in his hand.
"Destroy everything, Meigetsu."
The purple-black spiritual pressure wrapped around the blade writhed like a living creature, releasing a pulse that made the heart stop.
"Arrogant bastard!"
Maine from Sternritter finally couldn't hold back anymore and instantly fired dozens of blue arrows from her spirit bow.
"Holy Arrow of Destruction: Heavy Rain!"
Faced with the incoming rain of arrows, Arata simply swung Meigetsu lightly.
"Moon Feast."
Countless purple-black slashes exploded like fireworks, precisely intercepting each arrow. The two forces collided in the air, causing a deafening explosion.
Before the dust settled, Arata's figure had already vanished from his spot.
"What speed!"
Maine's pupils shrank suddenly, and she hurriedly condensed a blue spirit shield in front of her, simultaneously switching her Blut from Blut Arterie to Blut Vene.
However, in the very next moment, the purple-black glow of the blade was already before her eyes, piercing through the shield as easily as paper and leaving a wound on her shoulder so deep the bone was visible.
"Aaaaaaaah!"
Maine screamed and stumbled several steps back. She looked in disbelief at her slashed shoulder.
"How is this possible! My Blut Vene actually…"
She was the deputy instructor of this year's Sternritter. Her basic Quincy skills had been honed to an extremely solid level, second only to Captain Haschwalth and Vice-Captain Hubert.
And now, such a strong Blut Vene was pierced with a single strike from some unknown Shinigami Vice-Captain?!
Impossible, absolutely impossible!
Arata didn't give her time to think and turned Meigetsu to slash directly toward her throat.
At that critical moment, Rakid and Nidalee attacked simultaneously, and two powerful Holy Arrows of Destruction flew in from the left and right.
"He's caught!" Rakid shouted excitedly.
However, it seemed as if Arata had eyes on his back, he twisted his body at an impossible angle, and a spherical purple-black spiritual pressure condensed in his left palm.
"Underworld Seal Bead."
The compressed spiritual pressure orb flew forward and collided with the two Holy Arrows of Destruction, causing a violent explosion.
The shock wave blew all three Quincy away at once, but Arata used the recoil to land gently on the ground, his icy gaze once again locking onto the still-alive Maine.
What a shame. If the opponent had reacted just a fraction of a second slower, that strike would have killed her on the spot.
"Such a powerful attack…" Nidalee wiped blood from the corner of her mouth, and for the first time, panic appeared in her eyes. "Is this guy really only at the Vice-Captain level?"
Maine, who had barely escaped with her life, quickly retreated and hid behind her two companions. Her pretty face was now dark.
If I survive today, I'll definitely whip the Intelligence Department hard!
They had absolutely no information about a Shinigami possessing this level of strength.
Takamiya Yūji, who was supporting his men nearby, was equally shocked.
As the Captain of Squad 10, who often fought on the front lines himself, he knew the strength of the Sternritter better than anyone. If he didn't use Bankai, he could at best take one-on-one.
And this young Shinigami, who only joined the Gotei 13 yesterday, could not only handle three at once but even had the upper hand. A real monster!
Arata shook the blood off his blade and coldly scanned the three Quincy. "I'll give you one last chance. It's not too late to surrender."
"You must be joking!" Rakid furiously tore his shirt, revealing skin covered in runes. "Let me show you the true power of our Sternritter!"
With a roar, Rakid's blood vessels bulged all over his body, and complex blue lines appeared on the surface of his skin.
His spiritual pressure exploded instantly, and the air around him distorted from the high temperature.
Maine and Nidalee looked at each other and nodded simultaneously.
"We have no choice. We must use that technique."
The two quickly retreated behind Rakid, crossed their arms in front of their chests, and began chanting obscure incantations.
As the incantation progressed, three dazzling blue light pillars descended from the sky and enveloped the three of them.
"This is…" Takamiya's face suddenly changed. "Arata, watch out! They're preparing a combined attack!"
Arata narrowed his eyes and sensed the abnormal flow of spiritual particles in the air.
The spiritual pressure of the three Quincy was merging in a strange way, forming a staggering energy far surpassing that of an ordinary Captain-level opponent.
"Holy Giant!"
In the blinding blue light, the silhouettes of Rakid and the other two gradually blurred, eventually merging into a giant with three heads and six arms.
The giant's entire body was dark blue, with the star-and-cross emblem engraved on its chest, and in each of the six arms was a massive spiritual bow.
Arata followed the flow of spiritual pressure within the giant, and then a slight smile appeared on his lips. This thing was almost identical to the combined skills of those three Arrancar under Harribel.
The spiritual pressure created by the fusion was far greater than before and looked terrifying at first glance, but the actual stability and combat power were not as impressive as they seemed.
If by any chance the Miracle "M" from the Royal Guard were to come back from the dead right now, Arata would still keep his distance.
But this second-rate giant, formed by fusing three second-rate Sternritter, didn't put any pressure on him at all.
The spiritual pressure was high, roughly at the level of eighteen train cars.
But for Arata, who had already reached the same level as Unohana Retsu, it was just a slightly bigger ant.