Chapter 175: Node
Battle began white-hot from the start.
The Shinigami battle line resembled reefs, bearing wave-like impacts from Hollow swarms.
Under pale moonlight, every exchange appeared especially loud.
The main battlefield required no concern from Suoh.
How could scattered stragglers among Hollow swarms compare with well-trained formations?
"Shatter, Dankai!"
Konoe Shuzo positioned at the front line accompanied his fierce shout with his zanpakuto transforming into a naginata over seven feet long.
The naginata swept horizontally, carrying pure, weighty momentum.
Subsequently with one blade swing, he cleaved a lunging ape-form Hollow in half.
Foul blood sprayed across sandy ground, rapidly absorbed by dry sand particles.
Konoe Shuzo gripped his blade with both hands, sharp gaze sweeping across enemies before him as he spoke in low tones.
"Bakudo preparation!"
"Bakudo #4: Hainawa!"
Behind him, teammates almost the instant his words fell completed synchronized chanting and release.
Several spirit particle light ropes manifested from thin air, precisely binding several Hollows attempting to surround Konoe Shuzo, forcibly locking them in place.
A circle of blade flashes passed, severing all heads frozen in restraint.
"Very good."
Watching his adjutant's excellent performance, Suoh thought inwardly. Konoe Shuzo's combat style inherently leaned toward steady solidity, skilled at seizing opportunities to deliver decisive strikes.
Dankai's ability amplified this characteristic, making him the assault force breaking through defensive lines within the formation.
The Hollow swarm's numerical advantage vanished completely as battlefield momentum thoroughly reversed.
"Don't let a single one escape."
"Fourth Squad, seal the rear."
Suoh's orders clearly spread across the battlefield as the four squads began organized clearing.
Combat continued approximately another quarter-hour before the final Hollow disappeared on the wind.
Shinigami began sheathing blades, checking their own conditions while forming pairs with practiced coordination—long-term joint missions had long accustomed them to this rhythm.
"Report: no personnel casualties. Seven lightly wounded, all already treated with Kaidou. Doesn't affect mobility."
After counting numbers, Konoe Shuzo came beside Suoh, face carrying some relaxation.
Suoh nodded, unsurprised by this result.
Everyone in this formation had been personally trained by him—coordination proved seamless. Dealing with this kind of Hollow swarm lacking organization and relying only on instinct naturally wouldn't cause significant losses.
"Reorganize in place for ten minutes. Strengthen vigilance. Handle these Hollow remnants."
He instructed.
"Yes!"
Squad members immediately moved into action.
One portion held blades guarding all directions while another began using specific Kido to process battlefield Hollow remains, thoroughly purifying them.
Suoh once more gazed toward the moon's direction.
Through the recent Hollow swarm's advance, he'd gained clearer perception of his current position.
"Forest of Menos..."
He murmured in low tones.
According to information and experience provided by Captains, the Forest of Menos' entrances and exits typically lay within several miles directly beneath the moon.
The just-encountered Hollow swarm very likely had wandered out from one of those openings.
Suoh's two fingers lightly tapped his brow as he closed his eyes in concentration.
Spiritual perception no longer spread broadly but contracted, following faint spiritual pressure trajectories left during the Hollow swarm's attack, backtracking in reverse.
"Found it!"
Moments later, he opened his eyes, understanding flashing through them.
Trajectories proved chaotic, but the general direction precisely pointed toward the moon's location, and traces vanished approximately ten-some spirit ri away.
Reorganization time quickly passed.
"Depart."
Suoh said no more, once again walking at the formation's forefront.
The formation reformed.
Having experienced actual combat, squad members' faces showed less tension than when first entering Hueco Mundo, gaining several degrees of adaptation.
Hueco Mundo's environmental oppression also weakened somewhat from this victory.
The following journey proved considerably calmer. Occasionally sparse small Hollows not knowing death emerged from beneath sand or behind rocks, purified by Suoh's casual Byakurai.
With continuous deepening advance, ground quartz dead wood gradually enlarged, branch forms growing increasingly bizarre and twisted.
The formation arrived at relatively level sandy ground.
Spirit light surged in Suoh's hands, palm raised upward.
"Hadou #57: Daichi Tenyo!"
BOOM—
Sandy ground answered by collapsing, as if torn open by invisible giant hands.
Sand walls dozens of meters high stood vertical to the ground. A massive rock cavern several meters in diameter exposed itself under pale moonlight like the earth's opened eye gazing at night sky.
Konoe Shuzo stepped forward quickly, jumping to the opening's edge to peer downward.
Bottomless darkness seemed capable of swallowing light. Even with Shinigami visual acuity, he could barely discern extremely deep below—countless massive things standing quietly.
Those were quartz trees' true main trunks, thick as mountain base pillars, rooted in bottomless gloom.
Those twisted branches previously seen on the surface were merely insignificant terminal twigs buried by yellow sand.
Cold wind poured upward from the cave bottom, causing everyone's shihakusho hems to flutter loudly.
Without thick sand layers separating them, Suoh's spiritual perception could also easily investigate conditions below.
Spiritual pressure reactions proved very chaotic, quantities extremely numerous, but distribution uneven.
He withdrew spiritual perception, looking toward Konoe Shuzo and squad members gathering around.
"Entrance complete. I'll go down first. Others advance according to my landing point. After landing, immediately establish circular defense."
"Understood!"
Everyone answered in unison.
Suoh said no more, leaping forward as his figure vanished into that bottomless darkness.
The underground world's cavern wasn't completely vertical. Besides quartz tree branches, some places had protruding rock blocks providing footholds.
Descending deeper, air grew increasingly damp and cold. Some places bore moss-like plants attached with faint luminescence, providing some illumination.
Faint dripping water sounds could be heard from somewhere unknown.
Approximately half a minute later, his feet touched solid ground.
Suoh's steps didn't stop as his figure flash-stepped. Blade light passed through dimness, clearing all Hollows near the landing point.
Soon, Konoe Shuzo led squad members arriving one by one.
All personnel assembled completely. The twenty-some person expedition team appeared especially small in this massive underground space.
Surroundings held endless darkness and jagged rocks.
"This is merely a node."
"Those passages are the entrances leading to the Forest of Menos' maze network. Menos Grande-level spiritual pressure reactions come from those directions."
Suoh pointed toward several passages of varying sizes in various directions deep in the cavern.
Konoe Shuzo came beside a roughly massive stone-carved chair, looking at traces resembling human habitation with somewhat confused expression.
"There are artificial traces—very ancient."
"Normal. Hueco Mundo's history extends far longer than Soul Society records document."
"The existence of highly intelligent rational Menos Grande individuals isn't strange. Perhaps this place was once somewhere some tribe lived."
"Intelligent individuals naturally form groups. Group survival inevitably leaves traces—perhaps once a gathering place or node for some Hollow tribe."
"They aren't merely devouring beasts."
Suoh explained flatly.
Starting from Gillians, Menos Grande possessed certain group characteristics. Though Hollows evolved through continuously devouring their own kind, after evolving to Adjuchas they possessed extremely high rationality.
These words made surrounding squad members' expressions grow slightly stern.
In training and knowledge they'd received, Hollows were merely chaotic, crazed monsters.
Suoh didn't explain much more, subsequently ordering.
"Alright, no need to dwell on these matters. The urgent task is finding a suitable place to establish camp."
"Everyone's tired too."
This position they'd used as initial landing point obviously didn't suit camping.
Space proved too open, difficult to defend, and possessed several passage openings, meaning they might suffer attacks from multiple directions.