Marvel With Zanpakutou

Chapter 776: A Thought of a Thousand Swords

A thousand swords, a single thought!

Countless sword styles crack the sky and earth, pulling the force of raging winds and thunder.

Fierce and peerless sword energies descend from the vast heavens, resonating with everything in the world.

Lord is slightly taken aback. He hadn’t expected this sword technique to resonate with the universe itself, and it seems that even the neighbouring Earth is responding to his will.

Boom!

A majestic spiritual pressure rises like a pillar reaching from earth to heaven.

The sword energies penetrate the rust-red atmosphere, reaching towards the crumbling Earth.

The will of the planet, the will of all things.

The cries of all living beings, their desire to survive, seem tomaterialisee, influencing everything in the material universe.

Lord’s temporal incarnations are scattered across the planet.

He walks among the mountains, through ruins, beneath the seas, above the clouds... He seems omnipresent, yet exists nowhere specifically, like a fleeting dream or a flash of lightning, like an afterimage and natural.

When the will of countless beings converges at one point.

He feels he genuinely exists within everything and becomes an illusion within everything.

Buzzing!

Suddenly, the rust-red ocean boils, and a cold, indifferent eye emerges.

It’s the eye of Ghroth, awakening from a half-sleep, stirred only by the presence of a ’peer’, a terror so potent it could plunge Him back into slumber and shatter the planet that houses His spiritual body.

As Ghroth awakens, His overwhelmingly powerful consciousness sweeps across the planet.

Sandstorms rise high into the sky, and as waves of consciousness sweep through, Tony and others feel their heads splitting as if searing irons were being jammed into their brains, blood flowing from every orifice as they clutch their heads in agonising screams.

"No... it can’t be!"

Enlil’s eyes widen in horror. "The eighteen hundred temples are still active; how could He awaken now?!"

Lord remains silent, but he guesses the reason.

Perhaps Ghroth’s awakening is linked to his ’A Thought of a Thousand Swords’; after all, this was the first use of his Bankai, and it unexpectedly stirred the will of Earth, forcibly gathering the intentions of millions of living beings.

After a while, consciousness returns to calm.

Ghroth realises what’s happening now. That cold, vast pupil shifts slightly in the void, locking onto the myriad incarnations of Lord, vibrating the void with a strange, piercing tone: "Again... it’s... you... still... not... dead!"

Enlil trembles all over, then looks at Lord with shock and fear.

If before he might have guessed without evidence, now he can be sure that this person must have participated in the ’War of Heaven’, surviving from the ancient times until now.

However, Lord, considered an ’antique’, is also profoundly shocked.

He never expected that the Outer God Ghroth would recognisee him, and from that hateful gaze, it was clear he had suffered a great deal in the past.

But... that’s impossible!

He knew Ghroth from reading books in his past life.

Theoretically, Ghroth last stirred tens of thousands of years ago, long before he had even transmigrated. How could Ghroth possibly know him?

He thought that finding the Akkadian civilization would solve the puzzle that troubled him.

But now, not only has it not been solved, but it has also been overshadowed by an even bigger mystery, with tangled clues emerging continuously, leaving him slightly panicked for a moment.

"Hey—!!!"

Enlil roars, pulling Lord back to reality.

"Whoever you are, since you participated in the ’War of Heaven’, you must understand the danger of the [Outer Gods], right?" Enlil turns to look at the boiling red sea, a decisive look in his eyes: "I have something to ask of you on behalf of Akkad."

Lord looks at Enlil’s resolute expression and nods slowly and heavily.

"We... have made many mistakes."

Enlil’s eyes darken, his fists clenched, his voice low: "The fate of Akkad is already doomed to destruction, whether it’s past glories or betrayals, they will fade over time, so I ask you... to pass on the civilisation of Akkad."

"How should it be passed on?"

Lord doesn’t refuse him, or rather, he doesn’t have the heart to refuse.

From start to finish, Akkad is a tragedy. They never betrayed anyone, treated all living beings with sincerity, and sacrificed their race to protect the universe, yet they were betrayed and abandoned by others, ultimately walking towards destruction.

A race that, from beginning to end, only wanted to survive. Lord has neither the place nor the reason to criticise their rights or wrongs.

But at least... at least... to give Akkad the ending it deserves.

Heroes who once protected the world shouldn’t die bearing the name of sinners.

"In the temple... there are twenty-two children."

Enlil looks towards the distant horizon, a bitter smile on his face: "They are the last of the Akkadians, inheriting the purest bloodline, yet untainted by Ghroth, so I beg you... to protect the last of our people, can you?"

"Your wish, I accept."

Lord declares firmly, tearing through the void with a wave, forcibly connecting the boundary channel: "The upcoming battle is not one you can partake in; go back to the Soul Society with everyone else."

As he speaks, the boundary channel opens abruptly.

The painfully struggling Avengers and the twenty-two descendants of the Akkad bloodline are forcibly drawn into the suddenly appearing boundary.

Having secured all loose ends, a smile blooms on Enlil’s face: "Thank you. Please allow me to express my gratitude in the way of Akkad for agreeing to protect us, the deeply sinful."

"They will live in the relics of Akkad."

Lord hesitates for a moment, then decides to reassure Enlil a bit, so he says: "Cain, the cursed son of God, will take good care of the children so that you can rest assured."

"Cain... I see."

Enlil is slightly stunned, then laughs softly, shaking his head: "There are no longer any offerings in Akkad that we could present to you, so please allow me to use my last strength to clear the obstacles for you."

"As for Cain... please don’t tell him you met me."

"Let him think... that we are all already dead."

"This is the... ultimate fate of Akkad!"

Enlil raises his hands high, veins bursting and plasma erupting, and he cries out to the heavens: "The divine descendants of Akkad, God-King Enlil here begs you, once again... to save... our world!!!"

The eighteen hundred temples burst into tremendous golden light.

The earth-shaking golden light supports the heavens, stirring boundless ripples in the void, and countless battles and cries resound.

"Akkad!"

Ghroth screams, guessing Enlil’s intentions: "You... dare... betray me!"

"Betrayal? Hahaha..." Enlil laughs wildly: "We are Akkad; how could we cooperate with you? Sealed for tens of thousands of years, has your brain also been sealed? From the beginning... we never intended to cooperate with you!!!"

Those eighteen hundred temples, housing the residual souls of Akkad’s ancestors, are vital to suppressing Ghroth.

Now, Enlil, as the last god-king of Akkad, forcibly activates the residual souls in the eighteen hundred temples, awakening the ancestral souls from thousands of years ago, coming across the vast expanse of time and space to fight for all living beings once more!

"We... are Akkad!"

"We are the children of the gods, meant to protect all living beings!"

"With blood as swords, with souls as spears, fight until the blood runs dry, fight until the soul extinguishes!"

"Ghroth... we have returned!!!"

Ghroth, newly awakened under the immense suppression of the golden light, roars earth-shatteringly.

The planet’s surface cracks open, creating chasms thousands of meters deep; scorching magma erupts like a tsunami from the core, and the giant eyeball bursts with infinite will, tearing countless dark fissures in the void, brilliant golden light converges and suppresses it above the sea level!

"Quick! Now’s the chance!"

Enlil’s eyes are bloodshot, his voice torn with rage: "Destroy him with us; end this all!!!"

"Goodbye..."

Lord’s eyes can’t hide his sorrow, and he finally says: "A Thought of a Thousand Swords!"

Buzz!!!

In this moment, the earth is a sword.

The mountains and rivers are swords, the grass and stones are swords, the sun and the stars are all swords!

As far as the eye can see, the landscape rises from the ground; the stars fall, the vegetation sways, and the endless sword energy, like a pen dipped in thick ink, paints a majestic and boundless giant scroll.

The stars tremble, and the Big Dipper points to this place in a trembling tone.

Thousands of Lords raise their arms and slash at the heavens with terrifying killing intent, a sword falling from the sky!

The stars adorn the landscape, and the vast scroll slowly unfolds.

Like rivers, like the abyss, like fire, like thunder... a majestic sword energy slashes across the sky, mixed with the cries of a million beings, bursting forth with unmatched brilliance, like a long rainbow sweeping across.

Even the light of the sun and stars cannot hide the ultimatesplendourr of this sword.

If Kuchiki Byakuya were here, he might sigh softly: If there is an ultimate in swordsmanship, then here lies its endpoint.

Boom!!!