A few years ago, Yhwach used Auswählen (Holy Selection), absorbing the power and life of a huge number of Quincies in the Human World.
Although it caused the deaths of countless mixed-blood Quincies, it also greatly accelerated the process of Yhwach's awakening.
Especially in recent years, Yhwach's presence had grown stronger and stronger—
So strong it was almost suffocating.
It could be said that if Yhwach woke up right now, no one would find it strange.
But.
Yhwach still hadn't awakened!!!
Yhwach still hadn't awakened!!!
Yhwach still hadn't awakened!!!
Important things had to be said three times.
If Yhwach were disturbed right now and woke up before his power fully recovered—
Then with Yhwach's personality, he would definitely use Auswählen (Holy Selection) again, absorbing their power and life to patch himself back to completion.
If a second Auswählen (Holy Selection) truly happened, no one knew how many would die in the Wandenreich.
You had to know—last time, when Yhwach used Auswählen (Holy Selection) in the Human World, it nearly wiped out the Quincy race there.
So how many would die in a second Auswählen (Holy Selection)?
If it only killed ordinary Soldat, that would be one thing.
But what if it dragged even Sternritter members into it?
No one dared gamble on that "small probability."
So Cole—appearing at this critical time—felt suspiciously coincidental and dangerous.
After all, in Soul Society, there was also a Shinigami named Cole—
And his strength was not weaker than Yamamoto.
With that thought, Jugram stared at the Soldat with icy cold eyes.
"That man… is he a Shinigami?"
The Sternritter present instantly changed expression.
"Shinigami? That guy is a Shinigami?"
"Has Seireitei already discovered the existence of the Wandenreich?"
"Impossible! We haven't been discovered for a thousand years—how could it happen now of all times?"
"Should we restrain that guy?"
"Jugram, are you overthinking it? That guy clearly has Quincy power."
The Ice Palace erupted into chaos.
The possibility of being discovered by Seireitei made every Quincy uneasy.
Perhaps because of arrogance, they didn't fear Seireitei at all—some even believed they could conquer it without His Majesty awakening.
But they feared His Majesty being disturbed awake by the Shinigami.
Because he was both their supreme emperor—
And the devil who controlled their lives.
Jugram ignored his companions completely. He frowned at the trembling Soldat in front of him.
"Speak. Is that man a Shinigami or not?"
Under normal circumstances, even toward ordinary Soldat, Jugram maintained a rather gentle attitude.
But this wasn't normal.
With His Majesty possibly in danger, he truly couldn't stay calm—his temper had become noticeably harsher.
That ordinary Soldat was terrified by the atmosphere, face pale and shaking. After a long while, he finally stammered:
"Jugram-sama, I… I don't know about Shinigami."
"The problem I discovered is that man has no respect for His Majesty at all…"
"In my investigation, Cole has repeatedly said he wants to rebuild the Military Police and defeat Seireitei…"
"But the Quincies around him all think he's crazy and just talking nonsense…"
"Besides that, he also said he doesn't need to wait for His Majesty to revive—he'll surpass His Majesty and become the strongest Quincy in the world…"
The Soldat finished reporting everything he'd dug up, swallowed hard, and looked at Jugram with desperate expectation.
To him, the Ice Palace right now was basically hell.
Even the spiritual pressure the Sternritter leaked unintentionally was weight he could barely endure.
If his own strength weren't fairly solid, he might have already fainted.
Jugram didn't pay him any attention. He simply furrowed his brow.
"Not a Shinigami…"
"A Quincy born and raised here?"
The investigation result was completely different from what he'd suspected.
A Quincy with that level of strength had truly been hiding in the Wandenreich all these years?
Quilge Opie said flatly, "Jugram, I think you're thinking too much. Did you forget that guy's ambition?"
Jugram paused, recalling the things Cole had said.
As Nödt said coldly, "He wants to rebuild the Military Police, of course he would hide his strength. Besides, he has an even bigger ambition."
One of Yhwach's personal guard—Askin—snorted as he rose to his feet.
"Bigger ambition? In the end, that brat just wants to challenge His Majesty's very existence, doesn't he?"
He slowly stood and looked outside the Ice Palace at the mass of Soldat, a cold glint flashing in his eyes as he sneered.
"These new-generation Quincies never experienced the blood war a thousand years ago. They have no idea how powerful His Majesty truly is."
"They obey us now, but that's only because of our strength."
"But as for His Majesty—someone they've never seen—these new-generation Quincies don't have loyalty."
"They even harbor rebellious, blasphemous thoughts."
Hearing Askin's words, no one present refuted him.
Because a thousand years—
Was simply too long.
So long that even memory blurred.
In those thousand years, generation after generation of new Quincies had been born.
But to them, the Quincy King Yhwach wasn't an emperor they had ever truly witnessed.
He was more like a star hanging in the sky.
You could see it, but you couldn't touch it.
No one knew how strong His Majesty really was.
Under those circumstances, it was normal for ordinary Soldat to have some improper thoughts.
No one had expected that among ordinary Soldat, a monster like Cole could appear.
And with Cole's strength, while he couldn't be mentioned in the same breath as His Majesty—
He still far surpassed ordinary Sternritter members.
Listening to the discussion, Jugram exhaled softly and gradually withdrew his suspicion toward Cole.
It seemed…
He really might have been overthinking.
Cole was hiding his strength not because his identity was problematic, but because he wanted to challenge the supreme king.
After reaching this conclusion, Jugram didn't feel relieved at all—if anything, his headache worsened.
Because with Cole's strength, while he couldn't challenge the entire Sternritter together—
He was absolutely capable of disturbing His Majesty's slumber.
And it would be difficult for them to stop him…
Quilge Opie looked at Jugram and said in a low voice:
"Jugram, what should we do? Do we all move together and kill that guy, or do we let him form the Military Police?"
The other Sternritter also looked toward Jugram.
Because he was the acting emperor—while His Majesty slept, Jugram could decide everything.
Jugram frowned and thought carefully.
Should they act?
But the problem was—with that guy's strength, if they truly fought, it might destroy the entire Wandenreich.
After all, the Wandenreich was built entirely from reishi.
And both Jugram and Cole could turn the Wandenreich into subordinate reishi.
But if they didn't act…
After thinking for a while, Jugram made his decision.
"Don't interfere. Let him form the Military Police."
"Everything will be decided after His Majesty awakens."
His Majesty would awaken within the next few years—he might even awaken tomorrow.
With such a short time, Jugram didn't believe Cole could stir up anything truly massive.
It was better to let him make a mess inside the Wandenreich.
Hearing this, the other Sternritter frowned. They hadn't expected Jugram's decision to be so… soft.
But it also made them even more curious about Cole's strength.
Just what kind of level was it…
To make Jugram wary to this extent?
Just as the meeting was about to end—
Another Soldat walked into the Ice Palace, trembling, his face full of panic as he looked at Jugram.
Jugram's brow twitched.
"What happened again?"
He felt like everything that happened today was more than the past hundred years combined.
That made a faint unease rise in his heart again.
As he spoke, the oppressive spiritual pressure in the Ice Palace also eased.
Only then did the Soldat breathe out, not even bothering to wipe the cold sweat from his head as he hurriedly pointed outside.
"Jugram-sama, this is bad! Cang-sama, Bazz-B-sama, Bambietta-sama, Meninas-sama…"
He rattled off several Sternritter names, then said anxiously:
"They're taking their subordinates away—saying they're joining the Military Police! A lot of Soldat have already left!"
Jugram: "..."
The Sternritter present: "..."
After a long moment, Jugram finally rubbed his temples, a splitting headache on his face.
"They're already starting trouble?"
"Eh…"
"There are… so many…"
Cole stared at the Soldat subordinates they'd brought, his face full of black lines.
At a glance, the crowd was dense and endless—several thousand people, easily.
He'd thought the subordinates of people like Bambietta would be like the Arrancar Fracción—only a small group.
Instead, they'd dragged over multiple full units.
Bambietta, face still flushed, explained softly:
"Master, each Sternritter has their own direct unit. But now, everyone is part of the Military Police."
Bazz-B was the most energetic one. He threw his head back and laughed loudly.
"Legion Commander, just leave it to us! Give me three days and I'll rebuild the Military Police!"
Cang nodded and said in a deep voice, "No need for three days. Two days will be enough."
Giselle hurriedly added, "Legion Commander, don't worry! The rebuilt Military Police absolutely won't lose to the Sternritter!"
To ensure Cole truly taught them his methods, they were going all-in.
And the ordinary Soldat under them all stared at Cole with worshipful eyes, hearts burning with excitement.
They had already heard their superiors say it—
This lord in front of them had crushed seven or eight Sternritter head-on.
He had even fought Jugram to a standstill.
Most importantly, this lord was rebuilding the Military Police.
Which meant… they would become this lord's direct subordinates.
Their status would skyrocket.
Seeing that, Cole let out a breath.
"Alright. Then I'll leave everything to you."
"When the Military Police is finished, I'll teach you the improved Blut and Ransōtengai."
As he said that, Cole seemed to think of something and added a reminder.
"Oh, right. I'm the Legion Commander of the Military Police now. It's not great if I don't have any people under me."
"Just pick a few for me."
Bambietta and the others had no reason to refuse—if anything, they were thrilled.
As long as they built the Military Police, they could learn those two upgraded forms with terrifying power.
Just thinking about it made them feel overflowing with strength.
They wanted to start construction immediately—working day and night, rebuilding the Military Police headquarters as fast as possible.
As for assigning a few people to Cole?
That was nothing.
"Leave it to us, Legion Commander!"
Bazz-B shouted, selecting several people from his unit while ordering the rest of his Soldat to get to work.
The others did the same.
With thousands of Soldat moving together, it was like raising a city from flat ground.
In a short time, numerous structures were already taking shape.
Brick-paved streets.
White, sacred-looking walls.
Even flowerbeds and fountains—Western-style elements everywhere.
Luxurious and noble.
The houses weren't finished yet, but just looking at this speed made it obvious—they'd be done in a few days.
Cole couldn't help sighing.
"Military-style management really is something. Kind of inhumane, but efficiency-wise, you can't fault it."
A construction project this massive—if it were Seireitei's Shinigami doing it, it would take at least a week to rebuild.
Here…
It wouldn't even take three days.
As he thought that, Cole stretched lazily and looked at the Soldat they'd assigned to him.
Seven people.
They'd pulled out over a hundred as "assigned," and all of them were elite soldiers—you could tell from their spiritual pressure alone that they were strong.
What pleased Cole even more was that because they came from different units, they weren't familiar with each other.
Perfect for him to slip people into.
Cole told them to find a place to rest. Then his figure flashed, and he picked up the little black cat, grinning.
"Yoruichi-san. Time to go home."
Yoruichi instantly bristled, flailing her little paws in panic.
"No! We can't go back! Don't go back, Cole! What if we're discovered?! At least stay here for a while!"
Cole just laughed loudly and tore open a Garganta (Black Hollow Passage) leading to Soul Society.
"Let's go!"
Soul Society, Seireitei.
Inside the Second Division barracks.
Soi fong lay on the bed in boredom, holding a photo of Yoruichi in her left hand and a photo of Cole in her right hand, gritting her teeth.
"Yoruichi-sama…"
"Cole, you brat…"
"Where did you two even go…"
Just as she was wallowing in boredom, a Garganta (Black Hollow Passage) tore open right above her.
Two figures crashed down hard onto her back.
Soi fong almost got knocked unconscious. After coming to her senses, she immediately drew her zanpakuto, her eyes icy as she stared at the two of them.
"Who—"
Before she could finish—
Her eyes widened.
"Yoruichi-sama!"
"Cole!"
"Why are you two here?!"
"And… Yoruichi-sama!!!"
"Where are your clothes?!"
"Why are you covered in bruises!!!"
(End of Chapter)
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