Boom! Boom! Boom!
Streams of lava erupted from the highlands, piercing through the dark clouds and raining down upon the city.
The once-bustling metropolis was instantly transformed into a wasteland of molten rock. Flames soared into the sky, thick black smoke swirled, and the air grew thick with a pungent, acrid stench.
Wails of agony echoed from every direction.
Sakazuki's ears twitched as the cries of the people reached him, yet his expression remained unmoved—cold, stern, and resolute.
His movements grew more frequent, raining down clusters of lava to incinerate the areas his previous volleys had missed.
Bang!
A dull, heavy impact rang out.
Sakazuki was forced back two steps, and his assault ground to a halt.
His eyes widened as he looked down at his chest. A hole the size of a bowl had been gouged straight through his body.
Magma surged from the wound, rapidly plugging the hole and restoring his form to its original state.
A thin trail of blood trickled onto his clothes before being scorched black by the intense heat of the lava.
Fortunately, his reflexes were sharp. The moment he sensed the attack, he had activated his elementalization, narrowly avoiding a fatal blow.
He had still been grazed, but it was nothing more than a minor injury.
Sakazuki expanded his senses, but he couldn't detect any suspicious spiritual pressure nearby.
'So, it was a sniper?'
He glared in the direction the attack had come from, but the distance was too great. Even with his superhuman sight, he couldn't spot the shooter.
From atop a high-rise building, Sengoku saw Sakazuki's predicament clearly.
"Looks like a Quincy sniper."
Hearing this, Nobunaga immediately ducked behind a wall to conceal his silhouette.
Following the earlier mobilization, Nobunaga had led the command staff to the second floor of this building.
The location offered a wide field of vision to oversee the battlefield, and the surrounding skyscrapers provided ample cover, making it an ideal command post.
This position had also been chosen specifically to guard against enemy snipers.
"Is it that bird-man Ren mentioned? The one who can pierce through anything?"
"I can't be sure yet."
Sengoku replied, his gaze sweeping over the urban hellscape in the distance. He then turned and barked an order to Sakazuki standing in the clearing.
"Sakazuki, the city is sufficiently softened up. Move into the combat zone."
"Your order is simple: Eradicate every enemy you see!"
In urban warfare, the greatest fear is being drawn into a meat grinder of street-to-street fighting.
Who knew what kind of traps the enemy had hidden in those alleys?
The best way to handle street combat is to ensure there are no streets left!
Sakazuki's initial barrage had completely leveled the city's architecture, taking a large portion of the defenseless enemy with it.
The Quincies left alive in the city were either exceptionally lucky or the cream of the crop.
It was the perfect time to deploy their elite forces to pick them off one by one.
"Understood!"
Sakazuki nodded.
Boom!
His body erupted like an active volcano. Magma surged from beneath his feet, providing a violent burst of propulsion that launched him into the air, a molten comet hurtling toward the ruined city.
As Sakazuki departed, Nobunaga shifted his gaze toward the "giant" standing between the buildings.
Even standing on the ground, the man was tall enough to reach the third floor. He held a massive bisento in his hand.
From Nobunaga's perspective, he could only see the man's flowing blonde hair and the iconic crescent-moon white mustache.
"Brother Newgate, you should head into the fray as well."
"Your targets are their experts, specifically the members of the Sternritter."
Hearing this, Whitebeard lowered his head slightly, his eyes peering into the building through the window.
His lips curled into a smile, causing his mustache to quiver.
"You don't need me here to guard you?"
Sengoku chimed in, "I'm here. Don't worry about the safety of the command center."
Nobunaga added a warning to Whitebeard, "Just don't go too hard, old man. If your vibrations reach the Seireitei and alert those Soul Reapers, it'll be a headache for us."
"I see."
Whitebeard gave a slight nod. He gripped his bisento and charged toward the battlefield, each step causing the ground to shudder violently.
"Ace, Izo, let's go!"
"Right!"
"Wait for me, Pops!"
Beside Whitebeard, Izo kept pace, his dual pistols at the ready.
Ace, meanwhile, transformed into a mass of flames and floated into the air.
"Pops, it looks like a fight has broken out over where Kaido is. I'm going to check it out!"
"Just make sure you don't get yourself killed."
"I won't die that easily, Pops! Don't you worry!"
With those words, Ace's flames erupted. The powerful thrust propelled him toward the lone palace remaining in the city center.
Whoosh!
The brilliant flames streaked across the sky like a meteor, shattering the sound barrier and carving a crimson trail beneath the black clouds.
In front of the palace, the form of the Azure Dragon flickered within the clouds. Only a massive dragon head pierced through the gloom, whiskers swaying, as its cruel vertical pupils glared downward.
Five young girls stood on a rooftop, looking around.
Perhaps because of the dragon's presence, the buildings in this immediate vicinity had not been touched by the lava.
"The magma stopped, but most of the city was destroyed by the enemy. How annoying."
A boy with a cockroach-like hairstyle wearing a small military cap complained. He was slim and pretty, staring off into the distance.
Giselle Gewelle, a member of the Sternritter, Schrift 'Z' for The Zombie.
While she looked like a girl, she was actually male.
In the sky, the molten fists that had been falling from the clouds gradually ceased.
The clouds, which had been glowing red, returned to their original gloomy gray.
"One of our guys must have interrupted the enemy's attack," a petite blonde girl said calmly.
Liltotto Lamperd, Schrift 'G' for The Glutton.
Beside her was a girl with a curvaceous figure and long pink hair. She surveyed the devastation of the city with a surprisingly gentle tone.
"Only the area around Silbern remains intact. The enemy must be concerned about the safety of that dragon in the sky."
Meninas McAllon, Schrift 'P' for The Power.
Another girl with waist-length hair and a short skirt looked on with a foul expression.
Bambietta Basterbine, Schrift 'E' for The Explode.
"Dammit! I just became a member of the Sternritter and now there's an invasion? They've turned our city into this? Unforgivable!"
"Exactly! Don't let me catch their leader, or I'll blow him into stardust!"
Violent words followed, accompanied by the crackle of lightning.
The woman was dressed provocatively with grass-green hair, her exquisite face flushed with rage.
Candice Catnipp, Schrift 'T' for The Thunderbolt.
Her light green eyes looked upward, reflecting the silhouette of the dragon. A trace of surprise crossed her face.
The beast had taken a direct hit from her lightning, yet its scales were only slightly charred!
Seeing the dragon still soaring through the sky, it was clear that it hadn't suffered any significant damage.
"Azure Dragon? There's a mythical creature like this in the Soul Society?"
"Then I'll skin you first before I go kill your boss!"
If the Azure Dragon could act so arrogantly here, even if it wasn't the enemy boss, it had to be an important general!
Killing it first was the priority!
The lightning around Candice intensified as she flew toward the dragon.
As she flew, she drew a bolt-shaped Reishi bow from her waist. Ambient spirit particles gathered on the string, forming a glowing arrow of crackling electricity.
"Turn to ash under the weight of five billion joules!"
"Galvano Blast!"
Buzz!
The arrow shot forth like a thunderclap, erupting into streaks of cyan lightning. It carried unimaginable destructive power as it slammed toward the dragon in the sky.
Kaido looked down at the incoming attack and let out a booming laugh.
"Worororo! Lightning this time, is it?"
He could use lightning too!
With a thought from Kaido, the clouds rumbled. Thunder crashed and lightning flared, turning the dark clouds white and revealing the long, winding silhouette hidden within.
Streaks of lightning converged beneath the Azure Dragon, forming a massive pillar of electricity. It carried the majesty of the heavens as it slammed head-on into the Quincy's attack.
Boom!
The two attacks collided and exploded instantly. The deafening roar was accompanied by bursts of blue-white light that saturated the area.
The air surged, smelling of ozone and scorched earth. The heat was intense, and the resulting shockwave blew away the clouds obscuring Kaido, exposing his winding upper body.
Below, Candice was forced to stop her flight by the rushing air. She hovered in mid-air, raising an arm to shield her face against the aftershocks.
Her gaze pierced through the explosion to see the dragon's upper half. Her pretty face flickered with shock.
The dragon's powerful body coiled in the sky, covered in cyan scales that reflected the light with a metallic sheen. Its black claws shimmered with a sharp, lethal luster.
Its horns reached upward, menacing and wild. Its fanged face exuded an aura of ancient majesty and savagery. Within its vertical pupils, a surge of killing intent erupted—a total disregard for life and a primal thirst for battle.
Anyone with emotions would find it nearly impossible to remain calm before such a beast.
Even warriors who had survived countless battlefields would feel a chill in their hearts upon seeing the dragon's true form.
Candice hadn't seen it clearly from the ground, but up close, this wasn't some divine protector—it looked like a calamitous, evil dragon!
"Dammit! It actually blocked my attack... I guess it's not just for show!"
Just as she paused, another figure streaked past her. Surrounded by several glowing orbs of Reishi, the figure flew toward the dragon in the clouds.
A flippant voice trailed behind in the air.
"You're not allowed to attack this dragon. I'm going to capture it and keep it as a pet."
Watching this silhouette, Candice's face flushed with the anger of having her prey snatched away.
"Bambi?!"
She was about to release her lightning to shoot the other girl down when the three remaining companions appeared by her side.
The petite Liltotto said, "Bitch, anyone looking like that is clearly a high-value target. We aren't letting you take all the credit."
"You guys are going to fight me for it too?!"
"Naturally, the credit goes to whoever lands the kill," Gigi said.
Beside him, the curvaceous Meninas looked at Bambietta's retreating figure, a look of confusion crossing her face.
"That girl is called Bambi, right? I haven't really seen her before."
"I don't recall her being among the recent recruits for the Sternritter either."
This reminded Candice of something, and her expression turned puzzled.
"Now that you mention it... she said she was a new member, so I brought her along. Thinking back, it is suspicious."
"Maybe it's something Haschwalth did," Liltotto said, her mouth splitting open as her flesh extended into a massive maw.
Just as the four were about to act, their expressions changed simultaneously. They whipped their heads toward the distance.
A black speck was approaching at incredible speed!
"That's..."
"What now?"
"A new enemy!"
The dark shadow approached like a raptor, wreathed in flames, carving a line through the sky like a falling star.
In the blink of an eye, it reached the four girls and its massive beak slammed into the ascending Bambietta!
Caught off guard by the sudden strike, Bambietta couldn't react in time, only managing a slight tilt of her body.
But the opponent's size was too great to dodge entirely.
Boom!
Bambietta was sent flying, hurtling toward the distance.
The black figure spread its wings. It had a long neck and a beak as hard as iron, with flames burning fiercely on its back as it circled the Azure Dragon.
The four girls looked over immediately, recognizing the strange creature. Their faces were filled with disbelief.
"That's... a Pteranodon!"
"And it's on fire."
"First a dragon, now a dinosaur..."
"I wonder how it tastes."
In the clouds, Kaido looked at the black Pteranodon circling him. His lips curled, revealing his fangs as a trace of a smile appeared on his majestic face.
"King, you're here."
"Big Brother Kaido. Avoiding Akainu's magma took a bit of effort. Big Mom is behind me; she'll be here soon."
"That old hag should be guarding the base. Why is she coming here to steal my prey?" the dragon rumbled.
The Pteranodon shook its head, its voice solemn.
"The girl I just knocked away should be the 'Explode' girl Ren mentioned—the one whose attacks can't be defended against."
"Big Brother Kaido, I'll handle that one."
King's racial talents were formidable; he was practically immortal. He was the perfect match for such an opponent.
The Azure Dragon replied, "Then she's yours. I have no interest in these little brats."
"The ones I want are the man with the power of miracles, or the Quincies' strongest visionary."
"King, the moment you see them, tell me immediately."
"Understood, Big Brother Kaido!"
King beat his wings, creating a powerful gale. He shattered the sound barrier, flying toward the spot where Bambietta had fallen.
Boom!
In an instant, he vanished, leaving only a gust of wind behind.
Kaido retracted his gaze, his vertical pupils landing on the four girls hovering in the air.
"You lot are fragile."
"I'll give you one chance. Go call out that visionary or the miracle, or I'll slaughter you all!"
Hearing this, the faces of the three girls and one boy turned black with rage.
"Damned overgrown worm! How dare you look down on me!" Candice's anger flared, lightning dancing across her skin.
"Bitch, that's not the point!"
Though Liltotto's expression was just as grim, she maintained a shred of calm.
"This is an enemy we've never faced, yet they know our situation so well. They even know about Gremmy and Gerard... This is not good."
Meninas realized what she meant. "You mean... we have a traitor?"
"How can that be!" Gigi exclaimed in shock.
None of the four were fools; they caught on immediately.
Liltotto's mouth split open as she glared at the dragon in the sky.
"Hey, you damned worm! How do you know so much about us?"
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]