Chapter 556 - 556 The Way to Victory

"A Shinigami's sword can't hurt you? Don't be ridiculous! I've seen countless guys like you, always shouting 'your sword can't hurt me'. But without exception, those people all ended up dying horribly!"

Ashido retorted mercilessly.

"Are you that eager for me to kill you?"

Nnoitra said darkly.

"Hmph! I told you, the one who dies in the end will be you!"

Ashido snorted coldly.

Having said that, Ashido no longer worried about Reiatsu consumption. Powerful Reiatsu suddenly erupted from his body.

Boom!

His powerful Captain-class Reiatsu burst forth unrestrained, forming a violent cyclone that kicked up dust and sand around him.

"Haah!"

Ashido shouted, channeling his powerful Reiatsu into his Zanpakuto. Then he flickered and charged at Nnoitra, swinging his sword.

Seeing this, Nnoitra stood motionless, not even trying to dodge. He even let out a contemptuous snort, as if convinced Ashido couldn't hurt him.

Swish!

Ashido flickered, suddenly appearing before Nnoitra. His slash, infused with Captain-class Reiatsu, headed straight for Nnoitra's chest.

For an ordinary person, a slash to the chest would be fatal. But Nnoitra didn't even use his huge sickle to block, nor did he frown. He just stood there, letting Ashido attack.

Clang!

Since Nnoitra stood motionless without resisting, Ashido's Zanpakuto unsurprisingly struck Nnoitra's chest.

Yet, aside from another metallic clang, Nnoitra remained unharmed.

"How is this possible!!"

Ashido was shocked again.

The first time Ashido had cut Nnoitra, he had conserved his Reiatsu for later enemies, using mostly his physical strength. So, failing to break Nnoitra's Hierro and hurt him was somewhat acceptable.

But this time, Ashido had poured his late Captain-class Reiatsu into his Zanpakuto, greatly enhancing its attack and defense-breaking ability. Yet, even that failed to break Nnoitra's Hierro. Ashido was shocked again.

"Haah—!!"

Unwilling to accept it, Ashido didn't give up. He gripped his Zanpakuto tightly and dragged it across Nnoitra's body.

Scrape, scrape, scrape—!!!

The sharp Zanpakuto blade scraped across Nnoitra's body, producing an unbearable metallic grating sound and sparks. Still, it caused no real damage.

"Hahahaha... Have you cut enough? If you're done dying, it's my turn to attack!!!"

Nnoitra laughed, suddenly swinging his huge sickle down at Ashido's head.

"Not good!"

Ashido exclaimed, quickly raising his Zanpakuto to block.

Clang—!!!

Nnoitra's huge sickle struck Ashido's Zanpakuto. Ashido was already weaker than Nnoitra, and blocking hastily made it worse. The powerful force transmitted through his Zanpakuto sent him flying again.

Boom!

Ashido's body finally stopped after crashing into a large rock.

"Cough, cough... What a troublesome guy. With Hierro this hard, it's like he's wrapped in a turtle shell. How am I supposed to fight this?"

Ashido wiped a trace of blood from his mouth and said, somewhat exasperated.

Logically, as a late Captain-class expert, although Ashido was a sub-level below Nnoitra, he should still be capable of putting up a fight.

The reason Ashido was so battered, seemingly completely outmatched, was mainly because he hadn't anticipated Nnoitra's Hierro being this hard.

Caught off guard, he had been hit by Nnoitra several times.

Otherwise, although Ashido might still be unable to break Nnoitra's Hierro, he wouldn't be so battered if prepared.

While Ashido was troubled and perplexed, Nnoitra actively pressed forward.

Swish!

Nnoitra swung his huge sickle down at Ashido's head.

Seeing this, Ashido didn't back down. He raised his sword to meet it.

Clang!

The Zanpakuto and the huge sickle collided and locked together.

"Haah!"

Ashido shouted softly. His powerful Reiatsu suddenly erupted, pushing Nnoitra back.

In terms of strength, Ashido was slightly inferior.

In terms of defense, Nnoitra's Hierro left Ashido helpless.

Even in Reiatsu, Ashido was actually weaker than Nnoitra. But Ashido managed to push Nnoitra back because Nnoitra hadn't yet performed Resurrección, so his Reiatsu was weaker than Ashido's at full burst.

Yet even so, it was meaningless. Even if Ashido's Reiatsu was temporarily stronger, it didn't matter because he still couldn't hurt Nnoitra. It didn't have a decisive effect.

With the hardest Hierro of any Espada to date, Nnoitra was practically invincible from the start.

'How can I possibly defeat this guy?'

Whoosh—

While Ashido was frowning, trying to think of a way to defeat Nnoitra, a huge sickle suddenly appeared, nearly hitting him.

Ashido sidestepped the sudden sickle. Looking closely, he saw Nnoitra, several steps away, holding a chain. The other end of the chain was connected to the huge sickle that had attacked him.

It turned out Nnoitra's weapon, the huge sickle, had a long chain at its end. Normally, the chain was wrapped around his waist as a belt, so Ashido hadn't been on guard.

Now, Nnoitra suddenly swung the chain, using the sickle for ranged attack. Caught off guard, Ashido almost got hit again.

Clank...

Nnoitra pulled the chain, and the huge sickle quickly flew back to him.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...

Nnoitra didn't retract the sickle. Instead, he kept swinging the chain, spinning the huge sickle above his head like a windmill, ready to launch another surprise attack at Ashido.

Seeing this, Ashido's eyes suddenly lit up. He had thought of a way to defeat Nnoitra.