"My Lord, please come this way!"
Jiwa Barnes' ugly, bone-spiked fish face actually managed to contort into a somewhat human-like, fawning smile.
Passing through a patch of withered yellow trees and circling a bizarre swamp, Ronan had been doing nothing but traveling these past few days.
"Not there yet? If I find out you're lying to me, you know the consequences, right?!"
Ronan looked at the strange fish before him, his expression slightly cold.
"My Lord, rest assured, your most loyal Jiwa Barnes will never disappoint you!"
Ronan had been following this strange fish's guidance for several days now, but along the way, let alone Adjuchas, he hadn't even encountered many Gillian.
He had encountered quite a few Giant Hollow, but for the current Ronan, hunting these low-spiritual-pressure Giant Hollow was a complete waste of time.
The continuous travel made Ronan feel somewhat annoyed, even contemplating devouring the strange fish several times.
However, there was nothing he could do; Adjuchas-level Hollow were originally as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns in Hueco Mundo. Furthermore, Hueco Mundo's territory was incredibly vast, clearly larger than Soul Society and the Human World among the Three Realms.
Since Ronan's transmigration, his exploration of the entire Hueco Mundo had been minimal.
Therefore, although Ronan now possessed Squad Captain-level strength, he showed no trace of complacency. Not to mention, according to the original plot, Aizen Sōsuke and his two companions were about to enter Hueco Mundo to subjugate Baraggan and other Vasto Lord to begin the Arrancar experiments.
Even within Hueco Mundo itself, there were hidden masters, and who knew where a Vasto Lord-level Hollow, not seen in the original work, might be lurking.
After several more days of continuous travel with Jiwa Barnes, Ronan finally sensed a powerful spiritual pressure.
"My Lord, the Adjuchas residing ahead is named Taan Verik. He is a lone wolf, and his strength is considered top-tier among all Adjuchas."
He looked in the direction pointed by the strange fish's tail. In the dense forest ahead, there was a pond, and that powerful spiritual pressure was emanating from it.
"You stay here and don't run around, or I'll immediately detonate the thunderball inside you."
Ronan gave the strange fish a cold glance.
The strange fish shivered, then obediently hid to the side.
Ronan, however, did not approach the pond. Instead, he extended his right index finger, and a wisp of black-red spiritual pressure gathered at his fingertip, forming a sphere, which then transformed into a beam of light that shot towards the pond.
"First, a shot!"
"Bang!"
A Cero directly shot into the pond. Ronan did not use Gran Rey Cero; this was just a regular Cero.
Even so, the pond, which was over three zhang in both length and width, was engulfed by a huge water column. The entire pond water was blasted high into the air, and the terrifying high temperature evaporated a significant portion of the water, raising plumes of white mist.
"Roar!"
A mournful roar came from the pond water.
A figure slowly materialized in the mist; it was a hippopotamus-shaped Adjuchas. Its size was similar to the hippos Ronan had seen in his previous life. The only differences were the deep white mask on its face and the pitch-black hollow beneath its neck.
At this moment, the hippo was covered in scars, with not a single piece of intact skin. Its eyes, filled with rage, stared at Ronan. If gazes could turn into swords, Ronan would probably have been minced into stew by now.
He couldn't understand why, when he was sleeping peacefully and hadn't gone looking for trouble, such a shameless Vasto Lord would come to attack him.
When he turned his head to look at the strange fish cowering to the side, he finally understood.
"Jiwa Barnes, you despicable, ugly fish, did you lead this Vasto Lord here?!"
Unexpectedly, the strange fish did not respond, but instead made a face at the hippo Hollow named Taan Verik, then retreated several tens of zhang further.
"Damn it!"
The hippo Hollow opened its large mouth, and a black-red Cero also formed within it, shooting towards Ronan.
Ronan, however, remained calmly standing where he was, seemingly not putting the Cero in his eyes.
Just as the Cero approached within a foot of him, Ronan actually extended his left hand. He caught the Cero in his hand, then with a gentle squeeze, the Cero directly dissipated into nothingness.
And the hippo Hollow, looking at its full-power Cero, which hadn't even managed to break the skin of the 'Vasto Lord' opposite him, couldn't help but feel a hint of despair.
"Is this all there is to a so-called top-tier Adjuchas?"
Ronan felt the power of this Cero and shook his head with some disappointment.
"This hippo Hollow's spiritual pressure is indeed far higher than the few Adjuchas I've seen before, but it seems to be only about three or four tenths of my true spiritual pressure. Even this Cero is so soft and weak!"
After taking a Cero from the hippo Hollow, Ronan slowly spoke:
"Taan Verik, I've also taken a Cero from you. Your resentment should be gone now, right? Now I'll give you a chance: swallow this thunderball in my hand, swear allegiance to me, and I'll let you live. How about it?"
Although this hippo Hollow was not comparable to Ronan's true form, its strength was indeed the strongest among the few Adjuchas he had seen so far, which was why he decided to actively recruit him.
To gain a certain say in the Shinigami world and to deal with the impending Aizen Sōsuke and Yhwach, who would sweep through the Three Realms, he had to have his own subordinates.
He hadn't taken on subordinates before because his strength was still weak, but now he had the confidence to build a team.
One must know that the power of the masses is immense and cannot be ignored. A significant reason why those two major bosses in the original work failed was that they ignored the power of the masses.
The hippo Hollow looked at the dark golden thunderball in the hand of the terrifying 'Vasto Lord' opposite him, knowing that once he consumed it, his life and death would be controlled by another. Thus, he first let out a roar to the sky, then spoke in human tongue:
"You wish! Taan Verik will always fight for freedom and will not submit to any being!"
The hippo Hollow opened its large mouth and exhaled a stream of murky air. This murky air then expanded, quickly turning into a thick tornado that swept up the surrounding bushes and soil, rushing towards the mysterious 'Vasto Lord'.
Seeing this, Ronan could only sigh helplessly:
"What a pity!"
Immediately, he performed an incredibly fast Sonido, dodging the terrifying hurricane, and directly rushed in front of the hippo Hollow, delivering a horizontal slash.
"Boom!"
The moment the sword was drawn, a crisp sound like a spring thunderclap echoed from the blade.
It was Thunderclap Slash!
Facing such a strong-willed opponent, he gave him the respect he deserved.
"Pfft!"
Under Ronan's full-power slash, Taan Verik's tough hide did not offer the slightest resistance. It was like cutting tofu, directly split into two.
"Soul Eater!"
Then, Ronan directly activated Soul Eater to absorb him. Facing such a determined individual, devouring him completely, leaving not a trace, was also a form of respect!
Jiwa Barnes, who was hiding in the distance watching the battle, couldn't help but swallow his saliva at this sight.
"Vasto Lord are truly terrifying!"
He would never have thought that the powerful being, mistaken by many Adjuchas as a Vasto Lord, was currently just a Gillian.
Meanwhile, Ronan, feeling the continuous spiritual pressure surging into his body, let out a comfortable cry:
"Hoo, this is the feeling!"
Before long, all of the hippo Hollow's spiritual pressure was completely absorbed and refined. Ronan felt his own spiritual pressure had increased by 30% compared to before.
He turned his head and saw the strange fish cowering in the corner.
"My Lord, you ate Taan Verik, so you can't eat me anymore, oh…"
Hearing this, Ronan's face darkened, and he directly kicked it eight zhang away.
"Quick, take me to find the next Adjuchas!"
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