As the morning sun had started to emerge from the horizon, the forces of the Dragon Kingdom had already arrived at the edge of a clearing that led to a large and open plain where the city of Asike resided. For this battle, the Kingdom deployed the vast majority of its forces, having saved only a few to protect key positions and the Queen herself. This led to an army of 55,000 strong being assembled to retake Asike.
This army saw General Ezekiel Ross himself as its overall commander, since he was the most experienced of the three generals. This was a much-needed trait, as this would be the single largest battle of the war. General Sol remained in the Royal Palace to protect the Queen, while General Iain was tasked with overseeing the remaining forces in other locations.
Of course, General Iain had allowed himself to be given such a diminutive position since his true master, the Elder Coffin Dragon Lord, had seen his aid in this battle to be unnecessary. Indeed, the young General understood that his master was preparing for a serious fight, since there was word of the presence of undead, and his double agent in Apollo Fedele Casto had long since vanished from the country.
When it came to the more standout units in the army, in particular the foreign unints from the Baharuth Empire, Commander Jean-Peire Picard and Iris Joy Pernet, were close to the frontline, with the Commander being very keen on having his forces showcase what they could do and see through the deal made between Empire and Kingdom. With this, surely his star would finally rise, and bring the recognition he had long sought.
For the Slane Theocracy, Noah Kai Roth and his men stood deeper within the human forces, with the intention of using them as a good buffer for any attackers, and a way to get a better feel of the battle before they acted. Crystal Tear and their newly formed battalion were placed towards the front, but this time Cerabrate played it safe, letting their "spear" take the lead.
The Kingdom's vanguard was none other than the Espada and their Fracción. As always, they were accompanied by Elim and his Worker group, along with Commander Abel Cujo and his unit. All of the Espada and Fracción were on warhorses, and would be the first thing the enemy would see. This position was something they had greatly debated on, since unlike everyone else present, they were expecting incredibly powerful undead to oppose them.
Not only that, but it was imperative that "Nazz" made his way to where Kana was, so their duel could get underway. This took on such importance, that Nazz wasn't the one taking the lead, but rather his second Leinas was. Along with the human soldiers, the Kingdom's army brought along numerous siege engines in the form of 150 catapults, 100 ballistas, 80 trebuchets, and 40 siege-towers to bombard the enemy and get over the city's walls.
Opposing this great force was the walled city of Asike, whose sides and front were surrounded by approximately 100,000 beastmen, leaving 15,000 inside the city waiting for orders to either go out or for the enemy to even manage to close the distance. Between both sides was a large patch of dead earth, where all grass had withered and even the ground itself seemed to crack open with a necromantic pestilence.
This was in a way, a smaller and more concentrated version of what existed in the Katze Plains, and a showing of what the Elder Coffin Dragon Lord could achieve. So much so that both sides were equally perturbed by it, and the idea of going through it, no matter how briefly, would be unsettling, regardless if it was the beastmen, or the Dragon Kingdom's warhorses.
The time of the battle's beginning was almost upon them, and a feeling of electricity filled the air. This grating tension was almost at a breaking point, when eerie green flames began to emerge from the cracks in the tainted earth. Flames that ascended until they seemed to fill the entire area, and were about as tall as the largest of the beastmen.
As the flames started to die out, from within them appeared hundreds of mangled and very active bodies. The flames vanishing signaled the end of a mass scale teleportation spell, and almost the entire area was filled with several types of undead. While there were clearly the regular types of undead like skeletons, both sides were appalled to see things that were the mix of different beings.
One had the body of a gorilla-type beastman with the head of a feline-type, whilst another had been fitted with the tail, claws and teeth of a Lizardman on top of the fast body of panther-type beastman, while others had multiple limbs or even heads. These were "Flesh Golems" that had been created by the Elder Coffin Dragon Lord.
Leading this army of undead were five powerful and imposing Revenants in Shi, Liger and her father, the previous king of the beastmen, Leo Leon, Tomo, and his son Toa. Their bodies had been patched together to look almost as good as they did in life, and unlike the other undead, and Revenants they had seen before, these had this strange purple aura swirling around them. This aura having a greater intensity in the bodies of Tomo and Leo, with the former King looking strange, even for an undead, simply because his body was fuller and visibly rejuvenated, no longer the weakling he had been in his later waning days.
"Finally, we get revenge against the invaders." Toa growled, his voice taking on an almost haunting echo.
"Be mindful, my son. These filthy humans have killed us once." Tomo remarked, placing a hand on his son's shoulder.
"Yes, they pay for what they've done." Shi said.
"Watch me, father. I'll show you how powerful l become." Liger said, looking up at Leo.
"Hrm... We'll see. Tomo... To think that we would fight together again." Leo spoke, his voice carrying the power and regal quality of a true leader.
"Agreed, my friend. This a long time coming. How's your [Talent]?" Tomo asked, with a serious, albeit jovial tone.
"Hm... Ready to use. Now, let's show them what it means to disrespect us." Leo replied, his eyes briefly flashing blue.
Revived, rejuvenated, boosted both by the tainted earth and dark magic of the Dragon Lord, and finally with souls twisted to fit their master's goal, these five were, even if they themselves did not fully realize, ready to show the Espada the price of crossing an ancient and powerful existence. The will of their master driving them forward.
"Those aren't regular Revenants." Nazz contemplatively remarked from his position behind his comrades.
"How so?" Inon asked, as he was readying himself to fight Tomo.
"Let's just say, that you may not need to hold back that much in order for him to send you flying."
"What a pain. Should we take the lead then? I can use a larger scale spell to put something between us and them." Carmyn suggested, resting on Inon shoulder.
"It may lead to even more chaos. Save it for later." Leinas stoically instructed.
"Then, what do you suggest?" Carmyn asked with a raised eyebrow.
"We were already expecting something like this, and these horses would be lucky to survive the initial charge. We close the distance ourselves and take them out." Leinas matter-of-factly replied.
"Don't get too ahead of yourself, Leinas. Kaze is your target, and we still don't know what he can do even by himself." Nazz pointed out in caution.
"I'm aware. Just have some faith. Also, are Elim and his group towards the back of our line?" Leinas asked, dismissing the other topic.
"Yes."
"Good. Alright... are people waiting for me to give the signal?" She asked with an awkward chuckle.
"They are." Carmyn replied with a sigh.
Giving her fellow Espada a quick nod, Leinas took a deep breath, steeled her resolve at having to see this important fight through with Elim so close by, and then raised her spear so that it was visible to a large part of the surrounding human army.
"They're getting ready." Leo said.
"You want to take lead?" Tomo asked, with a chuckle.
"Not this time. You better at wider range attacks."
"Right."
"CHARGE!" Leinas roared.
As the "spear" of the Kingdom's army, the Espada set out against the army of undead. Leinas took the lead, with Inon and Carmyn to her right, and Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez and Tier Harribel to her right. Behind them were the rest of the Fracción on their horses, Nnoitra Gilga, Shunsui Kyōraku, Jūshirō Ukitake, Coyote Starrk, and Lilynette Gingerbuck who rode on the same horse, and finally Kenpachi Zaraki with Yachiru on his shoulder.
Nazz himself was placed in the middle of this group's formation. While he hardly needed their protection, in this case it was a deliberate move to entice enemies to their doom, should they think to try for him. As Tomo and the others saw this group quickly approach on their horses, he stretched out his limbs as his right-arm leveled with the ground. Clenching his fist, he then rammed it into the ground as he called upon his signature attack [Martial Art].
"[Jackhammer]!"
The ground violent cracked, giving in under the vibrations created by the attack. An effect that spread forwards and to the sides in a wide cone, which quickly reached the advancing horses. With their footing unsteady on the shaking earth, this caused the animals to cry out in distress and stop running, halting their advance.
"Spread out!"
Upon Leinas' command, they split up into three groups; one that continued advancing forward, while the others went right and left with the intention of hitting the weaker undead, and with that create a safe opening for the rest of the army to advance.
"I'll let you two take the group. I'll go clean over them and try to advance." Leinas said, looking at Inon and Carmyn who were leaping off their horse.
"Very well." Inon said, giving her a nod.
Placing her feet on top of her still unsteady horse, Leinas used her increased strength to leap up and into the sky, with the intention of going clean over the Revenants. However, just as she got into the air, her path was obstructed, as from the side of the beastmen it was as if a large, blue, almost bird-shaped flame appeared in the sky. It was an amazing and awe inspiring thing, even more so to the oldest among them, who lived long enough to see Leo Leon in his prime.
Before Leinas now was Leo, and indeed it was a surprise to see an undead wrapped in flames with seemingly no clear damage upon it. However, this was only to be expected from Leo's [Talent], [Primal Flame]. With flames erupting from his back and his arms extended, the beastman looked like a fiery bird from certain angles.
Retracting his legs while moving the rest of his body back, he planted a double foot stomp on the Espada. The blow was simple enough that Leinas managed to block it with her spear, but it sent her back onto the ground, whilst sending Leo back to the other Revenants' location as his flames vanished.
"As expected from someone that, based on what we knew, could match Tomo." Inon remarked with an eager smirk.
"Oi. Don't look so happy about it. We now have to open the way for Leinas." Carmyn said with an annoyed sigh.
"Shi, Liger, Toa? Kill the others. We deal with these." Leo ordered with a firm and determined tone.
"Hmph! Don't get too ahead of yourself... [Walls of the Frost Father]!"
Channeling the memories of the Frost Giant he was fused with, Inon clasped his hands together and smashed the ground with his fist. It then violently fractured under him as a massive wall of ice erupted from the ground and into Leo and Tomo. This served as a momentary distraction, and one that inspired the Kingdom's army as several cries echoed throughout the area.
With renewed vigor, they charged into the undead army, but did so with superior planning and coordination as they split down the middle and spread out to the sides, avoiding the battle between the Espada and Revenants in front of them. A maneuver that clearly showed the skill and sound judgement of the general overseeing them.
Leinas nodding in approval as she realized how things would proceed, and prepared herself to dash around Inon and Carmyn's fight, when she heard a loud whistle sporting a very familiar tone, which almost made her heart drop. Having taken the lead even before the order was given, Elim's group had come to the Espada's assistance, with the worker himself bringing his lover a spare horse for her use as he shouted.
"Get on! We're charging into that horde of undead!"
"You... idiot!" Leinas growled, getting on the horse.
"Agreed." The women in Elim's group dryly said in unison.
"Aw, come on. We were going to get here sooner or later."
"The army will do that! We've still got our own job, so move your group towards them." Leinas ordered back.
"Heh. Right... Still, pretty cool of me to get you this horse." Elim whimsically said with a grin.
As Elim's group retreated with Leinas' help, Nazz and the Fracción were deep within the undead horde, having also lost their horses. While the undead were easy enough to cut down, some of the Flesh Golems had elongated limbs that simply pulled the horses away.
Nazz ended up with a group comprised of Grimmjow, Harribel and Nnoitra, which was currently surrounded by approaching undead. While this wasn't an issue, Nazz would have preferred to make it further into enemy territory with his horse intact. He wanted to restrain himself as much as possible, and save the energy he might need for his duel. Although clearly this was no longer possible.
"Bah! This is boring." Nnoitra indignantly sighed, destroying a group of a dozen undead with a single swing of his halberd.
"Cheh! Agreed." Grimmjow added, kicking a large undead into several others with enough force to crush them.
"I'm going to teleport deeper into the enemy's lines." Nazz announced, seeing no other way to quickly make progress.
"Hm. We'll cover you then." Harribel dutifully said.
"Yeah, sure..."
The Nnoitra duplicate spoke with a roll of his eyes, when his causal halberd swing was stopped by a large form emerged from within the crowd. It was familiar to him, having seen it among those five Revenants, and having him described to him before. This was the undead Toa.
"[Jackhammer]!"
Raising his clenched fist, Toa landed a massive uppercut on the duplicate, sending vibrations through the surprised Fracción, and in turn send him flying into Grimmjow, with both falling onto the ground. Nazz, who by this point had his characteristic purple smoke emerge from his armor, and Harribel were quick to face the new arrival, with the Fracción placing herself in between Toa and her Espada superior.
"[Tiger Step]!"
A female voice came in with a roar, and a blur rushed past Harribel, who manage to block a portion of the oncoming attack by slicing one of the attacker's hands, while at the same time suffering a cut on her face. After the attacker rushed past Harribel, she crashed into nearby undead, but swiftly returned to all fours. Liger grinned as her missing hand regenerated. Toa was also regenerating, as his unmastered [Jackhammer] caused great damage to his arm.
"Finally, some worthwhile prey." Liger hissed with glowing eyes.
"Then come and get it you bitch! Hadō #4: Byakurai!"
Pushing Nnoitra aside, an enraged Grimmjow returned to his feet and took aim at Liger with his right index-finger, firing a stream of lightening energy, which the female beastman was barely able to ducked under, which went through others behind her.
While this distraction was unexpected, showing how Nazz was correct in his assessment of these Revenants being enhanced, they had not affected his own teleportation spell. As the smoke fully engulfed him, it quickly dispelled, and the Dragon Lord transporting his avatar elsewhere.
Meanwhile, the human army began to assault in earnest both sides of the undead army, leading to the beastmen army's bloodthirst awakening, as savage cries echoed through the air, and the enemy sprang into action, signaling the start of the battle proper. Roars both human and inhuman echoed in an unnerving cacophony as the two sides clashed.
While the Dragon Kingdom's forces found themselves outnumbered by the combined might of both undead and beastman forces, in the distance the siege-engines that were originally meant to break down the walls of the city's entrances sprang into action. Soon explosive, fiery death rained down onto the battlefield from the army's catapults, trebuchets, and ballistas, showing once again the tactical ability of its commanding general, having prepared for the possibility of needing to use such risky bombardment tactics to support his troops in the distance.
On the other side of the undead field, the group of Shunsui, Ukitake, Starrk, Lilynette, Kenpachi, and Yachiru were more fortunate when it came to their horses. Shunsui and Ukitake ended up sharing a horse, with Shunsui cutting down any approaching undead. Starrk and Lilynette were barely holding on to theirs given, how the small girl had to most of the work when it came to cutting down assailants. Kenpachi and Yachiryu were doing much better, as with every one of his swings Kenpachi cut down two to three rows of undead.
They way they mowed down their attackers with ease would have likely been awe-inspiring, if the entirety of the battlefield hadn't been a chaotic maelstrom of combat, death, and explosions. Their charge lasted until a blurred form rushed past them, and seemingly in a single motion beheaded all three horses. Right away this grounded the Fracción, who weren't really affected by this unexpected turn as they skillfully landed on their feet.
"Ah, what a pain." Starrk groused with a sigh.
"Oi~! Get it together!" Lilynette growled, kicking his buttocks.
"Quiet. We finally have something worth our time here."
The serious tone of Kenpachi's voice got the group's attention as all eyes went to the Revenant standing on top of one of the larger undead, Shi. He majestically stood atop the large undead, his keen gaze piercing through the duplicates, and his purple aura almost as large as Tomo's and Leo's. This actually made sense, due to the fact that it was believed in perhaps a few years' time, he would match, if not perhaps surpass even Tomo among the ranks of Beastman Lords.
"Oi, oi~ Why do we get the hard jobs." Shunsui sighed, scratching his head.
"Attack!"
Letting out a feral and commanding roar, Shi pushed the undead into action who moved away from their usual slow and ineffective tactics to a full-on charge, seemingly overwhelming the Fracción with sheer numbers.
"Dammit, Starrk! Do something!" Lilynette shouted, slicing an undead in half from the waist, just for Starrk to nonchalantly behead five of them in-front of her.
"Yeah, yeah, I will. Just keep it quiet."
"[Lunar Step]."
Shi's voice rang out as he invoked his [Martial Art], vanishing from sight. Stepping over the heads of several undead, with just enough force to jump from one to the other, Shi made his way around Shunsui and executed a horizontal slash, managing to go through his target's hair just for the duplicate to also vanish and appear a few feet away from the Revenant.
"Well, well~ That's some good speed. Or should I say footwork?" The Shunsui duplicate remarked with a casual smile, readying his weapons.
"Hrm... A bit of both." Shi mused, swiftly throwing himself at Shunsui.
"Had..."
Shunsui tried to attack, but before he could Shi had not only closed the distance between them, but had successfully closed the distance right up to his face. This made Shunsui casually whistle, impressed by the display as Shi bent his body and delivered a kick to the side of his head, and sending him into Starrk.
"Gahk! Watch it!" Starrk barked, turning to face Shunsui and the Revenant.
"Hehe... Sorry about that. He's fast." Shunsui remarked with a chuckle, dusting himself off.
"Hmph. He's got that troublesome look about him." Starrk added.
Elsewhere, Inon and Carmyn were dealing with the overwhelming tag-team of Tomo and Leo. They both now understood what Nazz said about them not needing to hold back as much as they had before. Inon himself was surprised by how much harder Tomo was actually hitting him. Blow after blow, the Espada found himself being pushed back, bruised, and even bleeding from his nose, while every blow that Tomo and Leo received would just regenerate.
Carmyn was trying to keep her spells as limited as possible, since she knew that a large enough spell would get too much attention and she wanted a bit more chaos on the battlefield before she risked that.
"[Mid-Tier Summon: W...]" Holding out his summoning crystal, Inon prepared to call upon his trustworthy aide, only for Tomo intercept this.
"[Jackhammer]!"
Tomo's fist made contact with the crystal, and under the powerful vibrations the crystal shattered sending a torrent of magical energy that managed to blind both fighters and despite the loss giving Inon an opening.
"[Frost Smash]!"
"[Shining Claw Edge]!"
Just as Inon counterattacked with his free hand, Tomo clamped both of his hands into his arms, his shinning claws managing to dig into his skin and stop Inon's attack mid-motion. Pulling Inon close, Tomo brought his head down, delivering a devastating headbutt which momentarily stunned the Espada, allowing the Beastman to throw him onto the ground.
"[Fist of Stone]!"
As Leo charged at her, as Leo charged towards her, Carmyn's spell created and hurled a massive fist-shaped projectile towards Leo, who easily leaped over it. After several mid-air flips, he came down at her with his foot encased in flame from his [Talent].
"Tch! [Tele..."
Carmyn's eyes widened and her heart sank as Tomo, who had just thrown Inon onto the ground several feet to her left, was now behind her with his right-hand extended. Before she could finish her spell, said hand violently collided with her body, and was sent flying into Inon. Shortly after Leo landed next to Tomo and the two started walking towards the fallen Espada.
"Eh? M-My arm is... numb?" Carmyn hissed, surprised by the relatively new sensation.
"I think he broke a few things in my hand, and he destroyed my crystal." Inon said sitting up, placing one arm around Carmyn so as to try and protect her from any incoming attack.
"Cheh! [Maximize Magic: Light Healing]. I guess it's a testament to that Dragon Lord's magic and corruption of this land that he made them this powerful. But it's just another indication that we need to get serious. Since most of the army is already busy, that shouldn't be an issue."
"Hm. As you say."
With that the Espada got back to their feet. Dusting themselves off, they again stared down the pinnacle of beastman power.
"It sickens me to see you like this Tomo! To see you as someone else's puppet." Inon roared out.
"I don't understand what you are saying, Inon. I am protecting my people, like I told you before you killed me." Tomo remarked, with a strange and alien anger directed towards the Espada.
"You trusted me to carry out your will. To protect your people!"
"Nonsense." The Stone Bear said dismissingly.
"Don't waste your breath. It's plain that they're puppets on that Dragon Lord's strings. Let's just get this over with." Carmyn firmly said, getting a pained nod in reply.
"We'll see about that. Tomo, if you will."
Giving Leo a nod, Tomo rammed his fist into the ground, followed by Leo touching it and activating [Primal Flame], with the two chanting in unison.
"[Primal Eruption]!"
The vibrations of Tomo's [Jackhammer] cracked the ground around them and the Espada, with them also carrying along Leo's flames, which erupted from the ground around them with a violent intensity and enough heat to worry even the Espada.
"Hmph. Clever combination, however... [Maximize Magic: Earth's Spring]."
A large magical array formed in front of the Espada from where a rising pillar of water erupted, and sure enough ended the flames that were surrounding them.
"[Fur Spike Shield]."
Wasting no time, Tomo charged them and in response Inon charged to meet him. Both titans crashed against each other with force enough that created an explosive displacement of air, and forced both to stumble backwards before they resumed in exchanging blows.
"[Ability Boost]!"
Reeling back with his entire body weight, Inon landed a clean hit on Tomo's lower jaw, partially dislodging it, which was then followed by an uppercut that sent the jaw flying. But also led to Tomo landing a palm strike upon Inon's face, stopping the Espada in his tracks. In a display of expert timing and teamwork, Leo simultaneously pressed the attack, wanting to give Tomo a chance to recover, but Inon too possessed an experienced teammate as Carmyn acted.
"[Maximize Magic: Magic Lance]!"
The spell created a lance of light that was launched towards Leo. Given the fact that its power was directly influenced by its caster Carmyn, the projectile had the impact of an 8th-tier spell. This time Leo could not dodge the attack, impaling his side by the physical/light aspected projectile, sending a searing pain through his body and momentarily stunning him.
"[Fist of Stone]!"
In his current stunned state Leo was unable to act, taking the full impact of the blow which not only made his body give in under the immense power, but also partially buried him under the resulting stone. Concurrently, Tomo and Inon continued exchanging thunderous strikes, with Inon making it a point to not stop talking, hoping against hope that he could get through to him.
"Graaaah! Silence!" Tomo roared, landing a gut punch upon Inon.
"Think! Remember! You said that we'd look over your people! What do you think you're doing!?" Inon shouted, swifting landing a front-kick on Tomo's gut.
"Pah! Stop talking! [Shining Claw Edge]!" The Revenant angrily retorted, slashing Inon across his chest.
"This cannot have been it! What about your son!? What about your people!? Look around you! This wasn't your dying wish!" The Espada continued, landing a punch on Tomo's face.
"Argh! What about my son!?" Tomo roared, executing a palm-strike that Inon dodged.
"You're letting him be used by the same thing that drove him people into this war! And you're letting it control both of you!" The Espada roared, throwing a wild haymaker that Tomo managed to dodge.
"N-Nonsense!"
"He'll die again and after him, your entire people, because you didn't have it in you to resist this! [Divine Strike Barrage]!"
The two fighters performed simultaneous attacks towards each other, when for the briefest of moments, Tomo froze, with a certain light reemerging in his eyes. With this opening Inon's technique landed, producing a flurry of blows that tore away at Tomo, breaking bones, cutting or breaking other portions away.
What came next was witnessed by Carmyn and Leo, who was emerging from under the rock, and of course Inon who stood victorious, Tomo, the Stone Bear, collapsed on his back, not defeated but certainly stunned.
"Hmph. Your attacks lack weight." Inon stoically proclaimed.
"[King's Rage]!"
Releasing a mighty roar that was heard for miles, for the first time in years Leo was cloaked in his flames and exploded from under the rocks, lunging towards Inon who only managed to pull himself back just enough to not get his eyes cut out and then jump back to Carmyn's side. Leo did not press the attack, since he simply wanted to get in between Tomo and the Espada. As soon as that happened, he dropped the power of his [Talent].
"Thinking a human would do that to you, Tomo..." Leo said, scratching the back of his head, as in stunned by the sight.
"And there's more from where that came."
"Grm? We'll see, human." Leo turned, brought back to the battle by Inon's proclamation.
In the case of Grimmjow, Harribel, and Nnoitra they made good progress in destroying the undead fodder around them, but the cuts, bruises, and scrapes that covered them said a lot for the combined power of Toa and Liger, which was enhanced by the Elder Coffin Dragon Lord's preparations.
Yet they formed a strategy of sorts, which by placing themselves in-between Toa and Liger to ensure they didn't work together, meant that at any time at least one of their own was facing a single Revenant. As Fracción it was imperative for them to move away from this fight and deeper into the battlefield. The fact that no proper beastman had reached them was a testament for what the humans were doing, but they still must assist their Espada superiors.
"[Shining Claw Edge]!"
Toa tried to slice through Nnoitra, who counterattacked by swiftly cutting through Toa's fingers with his halberd. While an annoyance, it didn't stop the undead from trying to attack with his other hand.
"Carriage of thunder, bridge of a spinning wheel. With light, divide this into six! Bakudō #61: Rikujōkōrō!"
Harribel had been the one to invoke the Kidō spell, which pierced Toa with the six beams of light, halting his attack on Nnoitra. As soon as he saw the Revenant frozen, let out a mocking laugh and started calling upon his own Kidō spell.
"Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south! Hadō #31: Shakkahō."
Lifting his palm towards Toa's head, Nnoitra fired a concentrated orb of high-temperature flames that bathed the Revenant's head in scarlet flames, incinerating it. Immediately Harribel's spell ceased, along with it the purple aura that the body had been exuding. Toa's remains collapsed, once more leaving nothing but a corpse which, due to the magic involved, started quickly wither and fall apart.
"Keh! Trash." Nnoitra laughed, kicking what was left of the body.
"Toa!"
Liger snarled at Grimmjow, who made sure that she couldn't move around him to assist Toa. Now more than ever, she wanted to tear him apart, but at the same time she understood that these weren't normal humans.
"Now to deal with her." Harribel said with a calm and almost indifferent tone.
"Don't look down on..."
The Revenant tied to speak, but soon felt silent, as something told her. Something in the back of her skull told her to run and move elsewhere. Her master having felt the destruction of one of his pawns, decided to not have Liger meet the same fate just yet.
"[Tiger Step]."
Increasing her speed and agility, Liger turned and retreated, swaying through the remaining undead in order to cover her escape and move to where her master had ordered her to.
"Huh!? Coward." Grimmjow dismissively said.
"That doesn't matter. We now can keep moving." Harribel calmly pointed out.
Kana had been overseeing everything from the tower that Oka once made her home in, since it was the largest tower in Asike. The avatar had placed itself on the roof and with this view, along with the connection the Dragon Lord had with its minions and the different undead birds flying around the area, there was almost nowhere that was hidden from his vision.
That was why the Dragon Lord had called back Liger not wanting to let such a powerful pawn be thrown out so soon. Especially after all the work that had gone into it. Shi was so far holding on rather well, which went to show his potential. Tomo and Leo were having some trouble, but at this point that was to be expected given the power of the numbered Espada, so the result of that fight was more or less set in stone.
The humans were also quite remarkable in their tactics and ingenuity. Perhaps because they knew they had to back up the Espada, and that this fight would essentially decide everything. They were doing very well against the beastmen managing to hold them in place, despite the beastmen's natural capabilities and numbers.
The forces of the Empire were a force all on their own, and while the Theocracy's forces were smaller in number, they were by no means a weaker force, slowly picking off what they could and setting fires to do even more damage. Although their smaller numbers meant it would be easier to thin them out once isolated. It was then decided; Liger would be sent after the Theocracy's troops next, and with her power it would be an easy job.
"You seem busy." Nazz casually spoke, appearing behind the hobgoblin avatar.
"Not at all. Just putting a few things in place before we departed. I'm actually surprised that it took you so long to get here." Zyl'vryg Grayl'dranth said, turning to face his fellow Dragon Lord's avatar.
"I do have a mission for my people to see through. So I took a quick look at Kaze, and informed the rest of the Espada. That's quite problematic set of equipment you've given him." The Cero Espada hissed.
"Hmph. It won't do them much good to know of such things, but you are well within your right to do so before we attend to our own business... [Gate]."
With a wave of his hand the hobgoblin avatar opened a portal and motioned Nazz to enter. The Espada at first was reluctant. His heart was still clouded by several fears and concerns regarding his duel with his elder, since there was so much on the line that even he wasn't sure if he could see it all through.
"Is there an issue?" Zyl'vryg asked, his avatar tilting its head questioningly.
"Hm. No. None at all. We will put an end to your involvement in this war soon enough."
Steeling his resolve as he thought back to Draudillon and their unborn children, Nazz marched through the portal, with his foe promptly doing the same, with the portal vanishing behind.
Below the tower, the battle continued to unfold, as Leinas was slowly but surely making her way towards the city and with the information Nazz had communicated to her, her worries were at an all-time high.
Cerabrate and Crystal Tear, along with their support troops, ended up protecting some of the siege-engines that the Kingdom brought with them. The enemy was smart enough to know that these things were dangerous, meaning skilled individuals were needed to keep them protected and working. For the time being that role became Crystal Tear's, with Cerabrate focused also on coordinating some of the discharges, once again showing his ability as a commander.
The forces of the Empire found themselves at the forefront of the battle with the beastmen. A new and dangerous situation for them, but with the force of an entire army backing them Commanders Picard and Iris proved themselves fierce leaders and a key in pushing deeper into the enemy's position.
On the other hand, the Theocracy's forces who were still at the edge of the fight, killing some beastmen and undead, had been attacked by Liger as per her master's command. Liger had been enough to break down their defenses and soon enough the Theocracy's forces were crushed and sundered by the enemy, with only Noah and a few of his men managing to survive as they escaped on horseback.
Fearing for his life like never before Noah was sweating like a madman, panting as if he had run a marathon and with eyes so wide it looked as if they would pop-out at any moment.
"..."
One of the remaining riders went to speak, but both he and the men to his side were swiftly beheaded as Liger emerged from the trees in a blur, still focused on her task. Then another was taken out as his horse's throat was ripped out, the animal falling over and crushing the rider in the process. This continued until Noah was the only one left, mumbling under his breath several prayers, in hopes of a miracle, until his horse was also killed and he was sent onto the ground.
"G-Get away from me you foul beast. I-I am one of the gods' fingers! I cannot be killed by the likes of you!" Noah shouted, Liger again emerging from the trees as she silently stalked him with empty glowing eyes.
"D-Don't you dare get any closer! I-I will make y..."
Noah's words were cut short, as Liger swiftly closed the distance between them and beheaded the pitiful man who was seen by many as worse than the things he had been fighting. With his death, the Theocracy's main expeditionary force was gone. Though Labrax was the only one left he wasn't part of Liger's orders, so she fell back on her default command to lay waste to any nearby enemies.
The Revenant Shi had done considerable damage to his adversaries, leaving them with many cuts and bruises. Even Shunsui's left-eye was lost during this, but as the human army advanced his efforts were increased as Abel and his unit reached him and his quarry. Still, it wasn't the humans that made his danger sense react, it was the one they called Kenpachi.
With Abel and his unit there, the Fracción were freed up from the other undead and were able to slowly put some distance between them. This led to all of them getting on new warhorses, until only Kenpachi, with Yachiru on his back stood before the Revenant.
"Aren't you coming? The others have agreed to go deeper into the battlefield." Abel pointed out.
"Nah. I'm good right here." Kenpachi replied with a wide grin.
"That's right~! Kenny's going to get his fun." Yachiru cheerfully added.
"I... But... Ahem! Very well. Good luck." Abel reluctantly said, taking his leave with the rest of his men.
"Feh! I don't need luck."
"[Lunar Step]. [Silver Claws]."
Closing the distance between himself and Kenpachi, Shi performed a sweeping a kick that could slice through a target's chest. However, this time it resulted in Kenpachi grabbing onto his leg with his left-hand and sending him flying several feet away.
"Hah-hah! Finally, some proper fun! I was getting tired of waiting and cutting down weaklings! I guess what they say is right. Aizen-sama does know what he is doing!"
Shi almost didn't have time to jump out of the way, as his opponent executed a devastating sword-slash that sliced through the ground. Placing himself on Kenpachi's left, Shi tried to claw at him with his right-hand claws. With a laugh and his sword still in the ground, Kenpachi turned his body towards Shi, ripping his sword out of the ground as he performed an upwards slash.
"[Lunar Step]."
Shi used the brief delay to place some distance between himself and Kenpachi.
"Come on, don't run away from me! I thought you five were this army's trump-cards."
"Grmph! Don't get ahead of yourself, human. You far too slow to defeat me. [Lunar Flash]. [Silver Claws]."
In the blink of an eye Shi had vanished and reappeared, with the only clear change from this were the fresh cuts in Kenpachi's chin and right-shoulder. Shi was faster than he could perceive, that was just annoying and fantastic, and changed nothing since Kenpachi knew that all he had to do was wait for him to slip up.
"Yachiru, don't move too much." Kenpachi chuckled, going back on the offensive.
"[Lunar Step]."
Kenpachi moved to bring his blade down on the Revenant, when his target moved aside using his [Martial Arts], and to Kenpachi's right where he executed an upwards kick. Yet, this did not come to pass, as in the final possible moment, Kenpachi used his left-hand to grab on to Shi's leg, using his strength to lift the Revenant and smash him onto the ground.
"[Fur Shield]!"
Lifting his arms, Shi enhanced his fur as if it were armor-plating to avoid a swing from Kenpachi, but much to his surprise the weapon sliced his fur without difficulty, his [Martial Art] only avoiding complete amputation. Shi didn't have much time to think of his next move, when Kenpachi again threw him a few feet away.
"Here I come!"
"[Lunar Flash]. [Silver Spear]!"
Again, Shi vanished, but this time ramming his right hand into Kenpachi's gut like a pointed dagger. This made the duplicate bend over slightly, opening him to another attack.
"[Lunar Step]."
Going to move around Kenpachi, Shi was again surprise as his opponent's left hand not only darted out towards him, but also managed to wrap around his head.
"I see. Now I get what Shunsui meant by 'footwork'. This [Lunar Step] isn't all that different from what we do~" Kenpachi said as he grinned.
Tightening his hold on Shi's head, Kenpachi smashed the Revenant into the ground with enough force to crack the ground, momentarily stunning the shocked Revenant. He then brought his blade down on Shi, slicing through his head with a wide enough area of damage to erase it from existence. Much like Toa, the body went limp, the purple aura vanished and slowly what was left started to crumble away.
"Humph! Well, that takes care of that. Better get back to this war thing, before someone tells Aizen-sama." Kenpachi sighed in disappointment, resting his sword on his shoulder as he walked away.
Deeper into the battlefield, the human forces were slowly managing to push into the beastmen formation, and weaken one of their sides enough to start getting close to the city walls. This was thanks to the efforts of Commanders Picard and Iris, and General Ezekiel leading their respective forces with great skill and tenacity, and at the same time the overwhelming power presented by Leinas' presence.
While she allowed some soldiers to take the front and try to keep her from using too much of her stamina, there were simply points where there were either overwhelming numbers or makeshift blockages the beastmen put up, and action needed to be taken before the initiative was lost to them.
"It's going to be a pain to move out of here once we get you close enough to the wall." Elim remarked, as Mira from his group used a spell to heal him and his horse.
"You have good people near you, it should be fine. Or, you could have stayed behind like I wanted." Leinas dryly remarked.
"I'll let that one slide and wait for the thank you later." Elim chuckled.
"Enemy inc...!"
The warning came from somewhere to their right, but the soldier giving it was promptly cut off, along with his head and the heads of everyone around him. Liger had returned to the field and was making her way towards Leinas and her companions, as they were the ones that had gone deeper into beastmen territory successfully.
"I'll handle this." Leinas informed.
"Wai..." Elim went to say, when she spoke over him.
"Melle, don't let him do anything stupid. This enemy is way beyond any of you."
"You can count on me." Melle dutifully said.
Leinas jumped from her horse and into the nearby crowd of beastmen, her legs bending as they made contact with the ground, tensing to the maximum before releasing like springs, with enough force to explosively create a crater, propelling her in a straight line towards Liger.
"[Greater Ability Boost]. [Flow Acceleration]."
The Espada was like a rocket making her way unimpeded towards the Revenant, who upon seeing the immediate and deadly treat, had no other option but to fight and kill this threat to herself and people.
"[Liger Assault]!"
As Leinas came into range, Liger invoked her ability that increased her speed and agility, along with allowing her to tear apart an enemy. Her claws spread out and towards Leinas, but then the Espada mercilessly released a barrage of blindingly swift, deadly accurate, and puncture-like blows in a flash.
While Leinas had indeed increased her overall abilities and agility to ensure she could promptly take out this enemy that had survived her comrades, the attacks she was puncturing into Liger weren't [Martial Arts] themselves, but was pure technique. The undead quality of the flesh also helped her, but now fighting in full earnest, Leinas filled Liger with several holes that not only stopped the incoming attack but left the Revenant defenseless against her finishing move.
"[Explosive Thrust]."
Invoking another [Martial Art], Leinas rammed her spear into Liger's head, which was followed by a concussive explosion of air, obliterating the Revenant's head, and thus leaving only Tomo and Leo for Carmyn and Inon to handle. Not that Leinas was envious of their task, since those two were on another league from the one she had just "killed", and she had her own task to complete.
Swinging her spear a full 360-degrees, Leinas cut down three rows of approaching beastman before then turning her attention to the walls. She knew that at this point there was no reason to allow things to continue as they have. Letting out a weary sigh, Leinas ran with an inhuman burst of speed through the enemy, striking down any that got in her way as forged ahead towards the walls, charging towards them until she decided she was close enough to again bend her legs and propel herself into the air and finally onto the wall.
"E-Enemy!" One of the nearby beastmen cried out in shock at Leinas speed and battle prowess.
"[Burning Explosion]."
Ramming her spear into the ground, Leinas stoically invoked a [Martial Art] that heated up the air molecules around her, creating a destructive wave of heat that damaged that portion of the top of the wall, and roasted all nearby enemies. Looking around, she reached into her pouch and took out an orange-colored potion. Developed in Las Noches, the [Rejuvenation Potion] would free her of any fatigue acquired during her trip here, and the coming battle awaiting her.
"Alright then. Here I come Kaze." Leinas resolutely affirmed to herself.
Leaping to a nearby building, she hopped forward from rooftop-to-rooftop in superhuman feats that would have awed any that saw it, whether they be human or beatman.
On the opposite side of the battle, Carmyn and Inon were still dealing with Tomo and Leo. These two enhanced Revenants were certainly on a league of their own, and their ability to work as a team, made them an admirable, genuine threat. The Espada on their end had Inon run offense, with Carmyn staying at a distance to give support, either giving him minor boosts as requested, or making sure he wasn't double teamed with ranged attack spells.
What was evident was that the Sexta Espada, Inon Zur Morres, was fighting more seriously than ever before. Having placed himself between Carmyn and their opponents, no harm had yet to come to her. This however meant that Inon was covered in many injuries. Some of which were cauterized due to Leo's [Primal Flame], and slashes and bruises from Tomo.
"Come on, Tomo. You can't even knock me down anymore!" Inon shouted, slamming his own chest.
"[Stone Bear's Might]!"
A rage-filled Tomo charged the Espada, each step cracking the ground under him, until with a wide swing his right hand wrapped around Inon's throat and started to try and crush it. Staying composed, Inon grabbed onto Tomo's arm and called upon his own ability.
"[Winter's Embrace]."
This technique activated a powerful grappling move, that unleashed Inon's frost energy and started to freeze his opponent solid. Seeing this, Tomo's eyes widened. As an undead Revenant, while the freezing wouldn't cause damage per-se, it would still immobilize him long enough for his enemy to finish him.
Realizing this danger, with a swipe from his left-arm he removed his freezing limb, managing to escape the devastating follow-up attack from Inon. Yet ironically it left himself open to another.
"[Frost Smash]!"
Landing a massive punch on Tomo's chest, Inon caved in his ribcage, partially freezing it as several ice "flowers" formed in and on the affected area, some digging further into the flesh or creating enough weight to break away the frozen portions of the Revenant's torso, the damage being enough to send Tomo to his knees.
"Come on, Tomo. You're better than this. Snap out of it!" Inon commanded, his face heavy with the pain of seeing the Stone Bear like this.
"Get away from him!" Leo shouted, going for an attack on Inon.
"[Maximize Magic: Magic Lance]!"
Again casting this spell, Carmyn landed a hit on Leo's shoulder severing his right arm and forcing the former King of the Beastmen back onto the ground. Letting out an annoyed hiss, Leo didn't let up and again rushed towards Inon and Tomo, wanting to help his fallen friend.
"[Flame Bite]!"
The flames surrounding Leo's body grew even larger, now clearly taking the shape of a fiery lion, whilst at the same time Tomo moved, pressing the attack with his left-arm.
"[Jackhammer]!"
Time itself seemed to slow down as Inon's and Tomo's eyes unblinkingly locked with each other. As Tomo's arm shot up, Leo got within arm's length of Inon. As Carmyn prepared to cast another spell to reinforce her comrade's defenses, in the final moment Tomo's fist veered to the right and explosively went through Leo's head.
Carmyn was honestly shocked. That was no mistake or mistimed aiming. That was a deliberate move. As she gawked at the macabre scene, the impact and vibrations forcefully dispersed the flames that enveloped Leo and sent what was left of the former king's body into the distance, once more allowing the beastman to join the ranks of the truly dead.
"I knew you were in there." Inon said with relief.
"Not sure if true. Like you said, I've gone against everything I believed in. But... such is the might of the one that did this." Tomo remarked, his eyes still focused on Leo's withering body.
"You can't blame yourself. The enemy is simply a master Necromancer. What matters is that for the time being you are yourself now."
"But not for long. I can already feel something pulling at me. I'd prefer to be like this, and not a puppet." Tomo said, turning to look at Inon with an almost pleading look in his eyes.
"Of course. And you don't need to worry. As you can see we are strong, we won't let this happen again."
"Hrmph. Indeed, you strong. And I can see you grasping that something else. That which keeps you on your feet. Now, do it."
Clenching his right-fist, Inon's hand started to vibrate, as he prepared to use the technique which even if he had learned, he was still adapting to using naturally. Something Tomo noticed and calmly chuckled, as he could see exactly what the Espada was about to do.
"Hehehe. Good." Tomo said with a proud smile.
"[Jackhammer]!" Inon shouted, his voice carrying both relief and pain.
His fist shot through Tomo's head, the vibrations traveling through the undead flesh, breaking it apart and propelling it into the distance. The waves traveled through the Stone Bear's body, until it exploded into tiny pieces that left behind only the lower-half and a part of the torso. These small bits of the Revenant quickly withered away, and the remaining half of the body, still firm in its footing, also began to wither and break apart... The Revenant threat was no more.
"Finally." Carmyn sighed, approaching Inon.
"Indeed." Inon tersely replied, still looking upon where Tomo had been standing.
"Don't look so distraught. I know the two of you were close, but he only caused us trouble. Still, I heard what he said that you were 'grasping' something." She said, crossing her arms.
"Yes, it would seem so."
Their conversation was cut short, when from the distance came Abel and ten of his men, who stopped a few feet away from the Espada. Especially when Carmyn glared at the Commander.
"Is something the matter?" Carmyn asked, with a rather stern tone.
"Well, I came to see if you needed assistance." Abel replied, swallowing nervously when Carmyn leveled her glare upon him.
"No need. We just took care of them. What about you? Did you break away from your unit for this?" She asked with an accusatory tone.
"I left my best men in charge. Still, do you need horses? Or something else?"
"We don't, thank you. We'll just heal and recover a bit, before we return to the fight." Carmyn replied, with a softer tone having moved past her initial annoyance.
"By your..." One of Abel's men went to say, stopping when the Commander lifted his hand to silence him.
"Alright! You heard her men; we're leaving. We're going to Crystal Tear's aid."
Giving the Espada a nod, the group left in the direction of the Adventure team's location, near the siege-engines, from where currently a large fire and active battle could be seen. Carmyn sighed, but she could understand how it couldn't be helped. Thanks to her and the rest of the Espada, Abel had progressed greatly, so she couldn't fault him for wanting to help.
The battle for Asike continued to rage on, and while the undead threat was mostly neutralized at this point through the efforts of the Espada, there was still an overwhelming number of beastmen to deal with. Beastmen that thanks to the Revenants had been allowed to run unchecked for longer than they usually would have had if the Espada were unrestricted.
Noah's forces had been destroyed, and both the Empire and Ezekiel were starting to feel even more danger as inhuman magic-casters rained spells down on them to halt the support the siege-engines were providing. As a result, things had taken a turn for the worse.
Cerabrate and his own people were now dealing with the result of an ambush that had set a portion of their siege-engines ablaze. Leinas was still making her way towards the large tent where Kaze, a still mostly unknown threat, rested. While the Revenants were gone it was clear the tide had yet to definitively turn to either side. As this battle waged, a shadow loomed over the area, as fate of this war also hinged on a duel between two powerful Dragon Lords. And no one who knew of it could predict its outcome.