"A single Abundance Lotus isn't hard to destroy. Once Stelle charges with her Flame Lance, the flowers are quickly incinerated in the blazing fire. But the real trouble lies in the power of Abundance. The Abundance Lotuses are connected to the Roots of the Ambrosial Arbor; before the petals are even fully charred, new ones have already regrown within the flames."

"'Stelle, just like last time...' Welt shared a knowing glance with Stelle, and in the next second, a Synthetic Black Hole descended upon the roots of the Ambrosial Arbor."

"The black hole dissolved and devoured the roots at a visible rate. Deprived of their power source, the glow of the Abundance Lotuses quickly dimmed, and they began to rot and wither away before their eyes."

"...It's working!"

"March 7th was about to jump for joy, but before she could even stand on her tiptoes, a sudden gale rose around them. It was as if countless dark clouds were being herded in, sealing the Roots of the Ambrosial Arbor tight like an iron barrel."

"Stelle suddenly felt the sky darken before her eyes—"

"She reached up to rub her eyes with her fist. With eyes closed, she felt a sharp pain deep within them. In a daze, she saw a patch of 'dark clouds' slowly drifting toward Welt, who was further away from them."

"For a moment, she felt something was wrong:"

"—Something was definitely wrong!"

"This was the Scalegorge Waterscape, and they were inside the space sealing the Roots of the Ambrosial Arbor. There were only clouds and mist around; where would dark clouds come from?"

"Stelle instinctively looked up. Only then did she see that the so-called dark cloud was nothing more than a Uchiha fan large enough to blot out the sun. Seeing the roots severed, Phantylia reached out a hand, intending to blow Welt away with a fierce gale."

"'Mr. Welt!'"

"Dan Heng blurted out instinctively. Unfortunately, the water dragon in his hand had not yet formed. At the critical moment, a towering golden figure appeared beside Phantylia!"

"—The Lightning-Lord!"

"An interception suddenly arrived, with the force of a violent storm!"

Shinigami—

Inside the Seireitei.

"—Great! It's the Lightning-Lord!" Kuchiki Rukia blurted out excitedly, her joy barely concealed in her eyes.

After witnessing Phantylia's mountain-like, towering physique and personally experiencing that suffocating pressure, it was undeniable... her mind had once been occupied by pessimistic thoughts.

Phantylia didn't just use the power of Destruction; with the enhancement of Abundance, this was almost a certain death trap for General Jing Yuan and the Astral Express Crew.

But when she saw the Lightning-Lord raise its Array Blade toward Phantylia, she couldn't help but breathe a long sigh of relief...

Indeed, Jing Yuan was also an Emanator. Since it was a battle between Emanators, neither side should be underestimated—especially since the Lightning-Lord was a power bestowed by the Aeon of the Hunt.

"As long as Phantylia's connection to the Arbor is severed, they still have a chance. But that doesn't seem easy to achieve... Can Dan Heng draw Phantylia's attention?"

With a long sigh, Shunsui Kyoraku sat in the Captain-Commander's seat, his right hand supporting his chin and his left hand lightly tapping the armrest. Even though the Astral Express Crew's battle on the light screen had little to do with the current Seireitei, Shunsui instinctively began to analyze the tactical situation.

As the Lightning-Lord struck down in the light screen, the captains felt a flash before their eyes, as if they heard the roar of a thunderclap.

—They had been through countless battles, but they had never heard such a heavy, resonant thunderclap; it almost made the very ground of the Soul Society tremble.

"Phew, that strike... I thought the Lightning-Lord was going to hack all the way into the Seireitei." Hirako Shinji let out a long breath. He narrowed his eyes, the fleeting flash having momentarily blurred his vision. Once his sight recovered, he instinctively looked at Soi Fon, who sat directly across from him—

It wasn't just his gaze... at least six or seven captains cast their eyes toward her. In everyone's memory, only her Bankai, 【Jakuhō Raikōben】, could create such a massive disturbance.

"Please, stop looking at me... My Bankai can't achieve that kind of power." Soi Fon naturally understood what they meant and shrugged helplessly.

Although her Bankai was immensely powerful, its lethality was only relative to the Soul Society, Hueco Mundo, and the World of the Living... She was quite self-aware regarding her strength; even if her Bankai's power were multiplied tenfold, it likely wouldn't come close to that single strike from the Lightning-Lord.

Ultimately... Emanator-level combat power was simply on a completely different dimension from theirs, okay?!

"Look! The Lightning-Lord's strike worked!"

Following Kuchiki Rukia's excited voice, the captains turned their attention back to the screen. They realized that part of Phantylia's left hand had already begun to disintegrate.

"'Futile resistance.' Phantylia's voice remained calm and unhurried. Under the protection of Abundance, her damaged body was once again restoring itself at an incredible speed."

"But she also realized that among this group, Jing Yuan, who was also an Emanator, was the most troublesome one."

"'Try breaking free from this cage, then.' She raised her large hand, and instantly, countless vines sprouted from the ground, surging toward Jing Yuan from all directions."

"'Mere vines can be severed with a single stroke.' Jing Yuan chuckled. He flipped his Array Blade, and in an instant, he cut down all the surrounding vines."

"But with the blessing of Abundance, the severed vines would quickly regrow, twisting and reaching for Jing Yuan once more."

"In an instant, Jing Yuan was like a general charging through the battlefield, his brilliance unmasked even by ten thousand horses. His Array Blade flew like grass in a strong wind, or like the uninhibited cursive script of a calligrapher, writing across the manuscript paper of the white mist."

"So cool! Jing Yuan!"

Watching Jing Yuan's god-like combat, Stark gave an excited shout. At the same time, the other patrons in the tavern were infected by his enthusiasm, raising their glasses and cheering for Jing Yuan's performance.

"Beat her up, Jing Yuan! Beat her like my wife beats me!"

"She's so big, she definitely isn't agile! Stelle, quick, poke her with your Flame Lance!"

"I thought Phantylia would have some other tricks, but after all that, she just summons branches like the Abundant Ebon Deer."

"..."

Listening to the discussions in the tavern, Fern also felt the situation was looking good. Although Jing Yuan hadn't dealt a substantial blow to Phantylia, Dan Heng, the High Elder, hadn't truly made his move yet.

Once Dan Heng acted, perhaps the scales of victory would be tipped.

"Phantylia isn't causing them that much trouble after all," Stark said with a carefree laugh. "I just wonder when Dan Heng and Stelle will make their move? Just wearing down General Jing Yuan isn't a solution; we need to make that woman feel some pain."

"I don't think it's that simple," Frieren said calmly, resting her chin on one hand. "Phantylia's identity is an Emanator of Destruction, yet so far, she hasn't used 'Destruction.' Instead, she's been fighting with 'Abundance' the whole time, as if she's intentionally trying to wear them down—"

Her words were suddenly cut short.

Suddenly, sensing something, Frieren's face turned pale in an instant.

Almost instantly, Frieren pushed Fern's and Stark's heads down. For the first time, the elven mage, who had lived for over a thousand years, spoke with a nervous tremble:

"Fern, close your eyes. Don't open them, no matter what."