Two years passed in the pale stillness of Hueco Mundo.
Under Sombravida's deliberate resource control and continuous devouring, his reiatsu density finally crossed into high-tier Adjuchas.
Not Vasto Lorde.
Not yet.
But undeniably superior to ordinary forest lords.
Nel followed closely behind. Her absorption efficiency and combat adaptation placed her just beneath Sombravida in raw output, though she remained slightly behind in total reserve capacity.
Beyond the two of them—
None had broken into high-tier.
Several mid-tier Adjuchas had stagnated completely.
Sombravida did not blame them.
In Hueco Mundo, evolution was not linear.
Some Hollows peaked early.
Some never rose again.
Even Timd, elevated through deliberate feeding and battlefield accumulation, plateaued at mid-tier.
Void Beast Thunder production improved—
But not exponentially.
Its paralysis duration increased.
Its lethality against low-tier Adjuchas remained conditional.
Against Gillian?
Absolute devastation.
The Call to War
"Your Majesty," Jekain reported, kneeling.
"The allied lords are assembling. Departure to the Great Menos Forest's border is possible in two days."
Sombravida rose without hesitation.
He stepped into the sky.
Reiatsu expanded.
A deep, controlled roar reverberated across the eastern forest.
One by one—
Spiritual pressures responded.
Hundreds.
Nearly two hundred Adjuchas gathered beneath him.
Not chaotic.
Disciplined.
Forged through two years of drills, formation training, signal command, and battlefield sequencing.
"Comrades," Sombravida said calmly, not shouting, yet heard clearly through reiatsu resonance.
"The Holy War begins."
"Ten years ago, North Forest crushed Central Forest."
"This time—"
"We will erase that imbalance."
The roar that answered him shook the dunes.
Allied Assembly
At the Central Tree, the allied lords had gathered.
Approximately eighty Adjuchas from the western territories stood ready.
Combined strength:
Nearly three hundred Adjuchas total.
Still fewer than North Forest's likely deployment.
But better organized.
Better coordinated.
Better armed.
"Lord Sombravida," one of the western lords bowed.
"We await your command."
Sombravida nodded.
"No Gillian deployment."
"We move at Adjuchas speed."
They entered Garganta.
Arrival at the Battlefield
The Great Hollow Graveyard.
Ancient battlefield.
Reishi density thick with residual slaughter.
They arrived nearly ten days early.
Sombravida immediately issued orders.
"Lay Void Beast Thunder in staggered grid."
"Forward arc, three layers."
"Fifty-meter horizontal spacing."
"Twenty-meter vertical overlap."
Total mines deployed: one thousand.
Not to annihilate—
But to destabilize.
Mud's earth-type ability raised fortified walls.
High vantage point established.
Adjuchas divided into:
Aerial resonance unit
Ground assault unit
Anti-Membrana rotation unit
Healing rear guard
Subterranean ambush group
Everything ready.
North Forest Arrives
Garganta tore open.
Gillian flooded outward in suffocating numbers.
Tens of thousands.
Behind them—
More than two hundred Adjuchas.
And then—
The Sandworm Lord emerged.
Larger than ten years prior.
Reiatsu denser.
Still peak Adjuchas.
Still capped.
He had not ascended.
First Contact
"Charge."
The Gillian horde advanced.
The first stepped onto a Void Beast Thunder.
Screech—
Detonation.
Purple toxin cloud.
Spikes erupted outward.
Dozens of Gillian collapsed instantly.
Chain explosions followed.
Hundreds fell before even launching Cero.
The Sandworm narrowed his eyes.
"Detection unit."
A serpentine Adjuchas activated bio-wave sensing.
Coordinates marked.
Cero barrage began clearing mines.
Sombravida watched from the wall.
Then vanished.
Silent Assassination
He reappeared above the sensory Adjuchas.
A fully condensed Cero dropped point-blank.
Instant obliteration.
Sombravida continued forward.
Decapitated two additional clearing Adjuchas.
The Sandworm locked onto him.
Their eyes met across the battlefield.
Recognition dawned.
"EsSombravida…"
"So you remember."
Sombravida did not waste more words.
He retreated deliberately.
Luring.
Minefield Neutralized
The Sandworm ordered full Gillian Cero saturation fire.
Hundreds of beams rained downward.
Remaining mines detonated prematurely.
Damage limited.
North Forest adapted quickly.
Sombravida did not show frustration.
He had expected this.
Phase Two began.
Full Engagement
"Thunder Wave Two—deploy."
Borut screamed.
Dozens of mines hurled mid-air into the Gillian formation.
Explosions layered.
Poison spread.
Gillian ranks shredded.
Simultaneously—
Flash disruptors detonated in the sky among enemy Adjuchas.
Temporary visual distortion.
Minor.
But enough to desynchronize.
North Forest Adjuchas launched upward.
Hundreds of Cero streaked toward the flying Thunder carriers.
Half destroyed mid-air.
Effective counterplay.
Sombravida nodded internally.
They were not fools.
Sombravida Enters the Swarm
He activated stealth.
Descended into the Gillian mass.
Low-tier Cero glanced harmlessly off his Hierro.
Then—
"Zero-Type Storm."
He did not overextend its range.
He compressed it.
High-density lightning cyclone.
Focused.
Concentrated.
Thousands of Gillian reduced to fragments in seconds.
Not the entire battlefield—
But a decisive rear collapse.
The Sandworm roared and lunged.
Acid sprayed.
Sombravida deflected with his blade—
The steel hissed under corrosion.
He discarded it immediately.
Generated a new one.
Peak Adjuchas combat demanded constant adaptation.
Duel of High-Tier Adjuchas
The Sandworm's tail slammed downward.
Shockwave rippled across dunes.
Sombravida sidestepped with spatial displacement.
Cero clash.
Reiatsu collision tore open the sky above them.
Neither gained decisive advantage immediately.
The Sandworm possessed monstrous durability and raw mass.
Sombravida possessed precision, timing, and spatial control.
Meanwhile—
The battlefield descended into structured chaos.
Main Army Clash
Timd commanded aerial units.
Jekain led ground assault.
Void Beast Thunder detonations continued in controlled waves.
Adjuchas-vs-Adjuchas combat ignited.
No longer one-sided.
Real losses began.
But coordination mattered.
Anti-Membrana rotations prevented chain deaths.
Healing units stabilized critical injuries.
North Forest relied on raw pressure and numbers.
Central Forest relied on sequencing and traps.
Escalation
Sombravida reappeared mid-air.
"Compression Cero."
Not Gran Rey.
Not yet.
But a fully condensed high-tier blast.
The Sandworm blocked—
Hierro cracking visibly.
For the first time—
The worm staggered.
Nel arrived from above.
Emerald Spear carved into exposed plating.
The Sandworm retaliated violently.
But now—
He faced two high-tier opponents.
And the battlefield momentum was shifting.
The Slaughter Begins
With Gillian numbers collapsing and mine disruption spreading,
Central Forest forces surged forward.
Ground Adjuchas tore into broken ranks.
Aerial units hunted isolated enemies.
Subterranean units emerged beneath clustered targets.
North Forest still fought fiercely—
But their numerical advantage eroded rapidly.
The Holy War had reached its turning point.
And this time—
Central Forest had not come to survive.
They had come to conquer.
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