After completing the Void Beast Mines, Sombravida ordered Muld and Pantelin — the pangolin-like Adjuchas adept at subterranean excavation — to carve out a concealed underground chamber dedicated to mine production. Both were supplied with sufficient prey to rapidly restore their spiritual pressure.
Based on measured reiatsu expenditure, the four Hollows involved in fabrication could produce a single mine in approximately five minutes.
Daily output:
100–120 Void Beast Mines
— an astonishing figure by Hueco Mundo standards.
Strategic Deployment
Once the first batch was completed, Sombravida ordered Pantelin to bury the mines throughout Pyromon's former territory.
The objective was twofold:
Delay incursions from the neighboring lord Atak
Buy Sombravida time to conduct assassinations and destabilization operations
Most mines were oriented toward Atak's frontier.
Other sectors received only scattered placements — enough to serve as warning deterrents.
Meanwhile, Jekain and Muld surveyed Gillian migration routes and gathering zones, redirecting swarm flows toward controlled paths.
Turning Pyromon's Territory into a Buffer
During the previous month, Sombravida's forces had harvested Pyromon's domain extensively.
After sustained extraction:
Only ~20% of Gillian remained.
Sombravida's strategy:
funnel incoming Gillian toward his own territory via prepared routes
starve Pyromon's lands of replenishment
transform the region into a neutral buffer zone
This buffer would slow Atak's expansion and buy valuable time.
Phase Two: Infiltration
With deployment complete, Sombravida began the next phase.
He infiltrated Atak's territory alone.
Assassination was not the primary objective.
Instigating conflict was.
The goal: fracture alliances and weaken enemies from within.
Target Profile: Lord Atak
According to Jekain's intelligence:
rare speed-type Adjuchas
extremely high burst damage
assassination-type combat style
7–8 meters tall
His size diminished his stealth advantage, transforming him from an assassin into a burst striker. If his opening attack failed, his threat level dropped significantly.
However, Atak compensated with cunning.
He built formations using subordinate units, enabling coordinated hunts that maximized his burst potential.
Sombravida had no intention of confronting him directly.
Not yet.
The Technological Advantage
Once sufficient Void Beast Mines were deployed, Sombravida could leverage battlefield denial and attrition warfare to overwhelm neighboring territories.
Individually, the mines were harassment tools.
In quantity, they would create qualitative battlefield change.
Border Region: Atak vs Gross
After three days of infiltration, Sombravida reached the border between Atak and another lord:
Gross Robe
A mid-tier Adjuchas.
Not particularly powerful.
But deeply unpleasant.
Gross resembled a sludge-like aberration capable of:
corrosive secretions
acid mist dispersal
terrain denial
Close combat against him was dangerous.
Fortunately, Sombravida excelled at ranged combat.
Still, direct battle was unnecessary.
Division was preferable.
Reiatsu Concealment Doctrine
Sombravida suppressed his spiritual pressure to near-imperceptible levels.
Unless he actively released reiatsu, detection probability remained minimal.
Against unsuspecting low-tier Adjuchas:
instant release
instant kill
immediate suppression
rapid withdrawal
Local sensory types would detect the death regardless.
There was no need for prolonged stealth.
The brief surge of reiatsu during execution was too short for identification unless an elite sensor was nearby.
Most high-level sensory Hollows in the forest had already been eliminated during Sombravida's rise.
Only extraordinary misfortune could expose him.
Day One: Reconnaissance
Sombravida spent the first day observing:
patrol routes
Adjuchas positions
Gillian concentrations
territorial boundaries
Only after calculating patterns did he act.
First Kill
On the second day, Sombravida approached a low-level Adjuchas patrol unit from Atak's faction.
The Hollow sensed nothing.
Sombravida walked within arm's reach.
A casual motion.
The head separated from the body.
Mask removed.
Reiatsu suppressed.
Sombravida retreated and waited.
Border Tension Ignites
Soon, an Adjuchas from Atak's side arrived.
Moments later, a Gross faction Adjuchas arrived from the opposite side.
The corpse lay exactly on the border.
Suspicion ignited instantly.
Neither side trusted the other.
Both regretted arriving.
Accusations escalated.
Spiritual pressure flared.
They clashed.
Exactly as Sombravida intended.
Escalation Pattern
Within ten minutes:
reinforcements arrived from both sides
insults escalated
original cause forgotten
violence became justification
Eventually, two of Gross's Adjuchas fell.
Outnumbered, Gross's side withdrew to report.
Atak's side believed honor had been restored.
Sombravida watched from afar.
"A war sparked by one corpse," he murmured.
Perfect.
Sustaining Stealth
Sombravida withdrew into a Gillian nesting zone.
For two days he hunted Gillian to maintain spiritual reserves while sustaining concealment.
Stealth was costly.
Energy discipline was essential.
Second Assassination
Two days later, Sombravida returned.
A new patrol.
Same execution.
Instant decapitation.
This time, he staged the body.
He inflicted deliberate wounds.
Left the corpse near the border.
Then devoured half the torso before vanishing.
If the first death was suspicious…
this one was retaliation.
War Ignites
Soon, multiple Adjuchas gathered.
Words were exchanged.
Then combat erupted.
This clash escalated faster and more violently than before.
Casualties mounted.
Reinforcements poured in.
Dozens of Adjuchas engaged in chaotic melee.
Sombravida leaned against a tree in the distance, watching the surge of reiatsu with quiet satisfaction.
"Fight," he murmured.
"Keep fighting."
Lords Intervene
Ten minutes later—
A silver-gray reiatsu erupted skyward.
Atak had arrived.
A bright silver Cero detonated across the battlefield.
"Withdraw!" he commanded.
From the opposing side, yellow-green reiatsu surged.
Gross arrived.
His corrosive Cero intercepted Atak's blast.
The battlefield fell silent.
Though combat ceased, both sides had lost multiple Adjuchas.
Peace was now impossible.
The Lords' Accusations
Gross's voice dripped with malice.
"Atak, your forces attacked within my territory. Explain yourself."
Atak replied coldly:
"You killed my men and devoured them."
He gestured toward the mutilated corpse Sombravida staged.
"This is the second incident."
Gross scoffed.
"Why would I waste effort on low-tier Adjuchas when everyone is racing to seize territory abandoned by Gatmont?"
He sneered.
"For this to escalate into a clash of dozens… and summon you here… suggests deeper intentions."
"Are you preparing a diversion to invade my territory?"
Atak's mask bristled.
"I have no time for you. Your actions have cost me men and delayed my conquest of Pyromon's lands."
Gross laughed harshly.
"You speak of conquest? Yinfeng stripped Pyromon's territory bare while your alliance remained blind."
"That land is an empty husk."
"If you want it, you must first expel him."
"And to do that… you need Adjuchas."
His acidic gaze sharpened.
"So you hunt mine."
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