Chapter 723: A monster among monsters? An anomaly within the players?

Bam

"Argh!"

Another KoB bit the dust. He rolled along the ground a few times before stopping. With his ass pointed up at the sky, this guy went down for the count. Judging by the circles he is drawing with his pupils, he's not going to be able to get up anytime soon.

This was the same guy who tried to snub Wu Yan.

All around him, the KoBs who thought they were the hottest turd in town got screwed six ways to Sunday with their butts all over the place. They were groaning or howling in pain. It wasn't so much that they felt the physical pain, the mental frustration and agony hurt them the most.

Wu Yan pursed his lips with his Heaven Gazer on his shoulder. He looked around with a look like he's bored with them.

It wasn't hard to understand his disinterest. These simps were barely first-class players who couldn't even fight properly on the frontlines. With his power, they were just warm-up materials to Wu Yan. Due to the Area, he had to spend about 15 minutes, more time than otherwise would have been needed to mop the floor with these chumps.

Man, I need to up my efficiency...

Sighing, Wu Yan clicked his tongue.

"I just skipped grinding for two months, I can't believe my strength regressed so much. Wait, did this world have a mechanism where the player became weaker the longer he stayed off the battlefield?..."

Any other player who could read minds would probably locate the closest tile to commit suicide with.

It was an amazing feat, kicking some 20 punks protected by Area in 15 minutes, he's complaining about his weakening self?

His words are enough to dampen the spirit of anyone who wanted to go grinding today.

Wu Yan glanced at the sorry excuses for knights on the floor and he shook his head once more. These players really needed to wise up, being someone else's sword and pawn can only lead to tragedy. Unfortunately, it didn't feel as good as he thought.

"Heathcliff, that bastard should be making an appearance right about now..."

It wasn't Heathcliff that responded to his line. Instead, it was someone he should have expected but didn't think would make an appearance here.

"Yan...?"

The familiar voice called out to Wu Yan. He turned around to wave at the one who greeted him. He couldn't help but chuckle.

"Yo, Kirito, sup dude?"

Kirito sprinted over to him.

"what the heck went down here?..."

Kirito looked at the players who were knocked out. He looked at the unsheathed Heaven Gazer in Wu Yan's hand as he came to his own theory. He gasped in shock.

"You fought the Knights of the Blood Oath? Why? Did they kidnap Asuna?..."

Wu Yan almost choked on the oxygen within his lungs.

"You think these guys had the chop to kidnap Asuna from our love nest? Not even Heathcliff can do that even if he brought an army with him!"

"You're right..."

Kirito chortled. He pointed at the victims around him.

"Again, what happened to them?..."

"Nah, it's something small, I don't think it warrants a mention..."

Wu Yan strapped Heaven Gazer back on his back as he spoke to Kirito.

"Oh, yeah, why are you here?..."

"Heathcliff invited me over with a private mail..."

Kirito said with a stern look.

"He said it was something very important..."

Wu Yan nodded with a look of enlightenment. Kirito is an ace in his own right, even without Dual Blades, he's just below Heathcliff in terms of battle power. He easily ranked among the top 5 strongest players in this world. Excluding Wu Yan and Heathcliff, Kirito is probably the strongest in this game.

Heathcliff would be well within his right to invite someone like that over. For one, he would need all the aces he can get his hands on to clear the floor...

"Since you came here, I am assuming Heathcliff invited you too, right?..."'

Kirito asked with a grave look.

"He invited me and you, something so huge can only mean..."

"Yeap, that's the one..."

Wu Yan tilted his head.

"The 75th-floor boss..."

Kirito lowered his head with a grim look. He took in a deep breath and he slapped his own cheeks to perk himself up. He posed a question to Wu Yan.

"Does Asuna know about this?..."

"Yeah..."

Wu Yan sighed.

"She wanted to tag along but I said somebody needs to take care of Yui and that was enough to hold her back. What about you? Everything okay with Liz?"

"No! Everything's not okay!"

Kirito bitterly laughed.

"If Liz found out then not even death can intimidate her. I decided it was in our best interest not to inform her..."

"Well, it's still too soon to say anything, maybe Heathcliff wants to talk to us about a different matter?..."

Kirito forced a slight smile onto his face and he punched Wu Yan in the chest.

"Moreover, even if it turns out to be a floor boss raid, I am sure we can cheese through the whole thing with you there..."

Wu Yan shook his head.

"You're giving me too much credit."

"Of course, I am!"

Kirito crossed his arms as he continued with a serious expression.

"You're the player equivalent of the floor bosses at the 25th, 50th, and 75th floor. If monsters felt despair, trust me, they will view you as the bringer of despair."

"Hey, don't talk like I am not here..."

Wu Yan slapped Kirito's back so hard he almost fell face-first into the ground.

"If Asuna hears you, I am not sure I can protect you from her kitchen knife..."

"Kirito-kun is right!"

Arriving in a series of clanging sounds, Heathcliff brought 4 lieutenants with him as he greeted the two guests. Heathcliff looked intently at Wu Yan as he spoke his mind.

"Yan-kun, you're the freakishly strong player in this game, we're going to count on you to deal with the boss this time..."

"As expected, it's the floor boss, huh..."

Kirito's expression sank. He secretly prayed that it wasn't the floor boss.

It's not because he's unwilling to clear this game as soon as possible. It's because of the floor boss itself!

The Army pretty much got demolished by the 25th-floor boss, the frontliners almost got wiped out during the raid on the 50th-floor boss. How many players will fall after the fight with the 75th-floor boss?

Kirito would prefer going home with all the frontliners, he didn't want to see anyone die. In the original work, the Beater known as Kirito turned into a loner after the deaths of the Moonlit Black Cats. With a significant other he treasures, and many more comrades than in the original work, why would he want to see any harm fall on his fellow partners?

Heathcliff personally came to see them This meant the floor boss this time is on a level where Heathcliff can't take it on with the resources at his disposal.

Kirito assumed that Heathcliff would have charged in if he had a reasonable grasp on the strength of the floor boss. The immense risk of fighting a floor boss was well-compensated by the rewards that came with it. The rewards are so rare Wu Yan wouldn't give them up if he gets his hands on them. This is also why Wu Yan wanted to take down floor bosses on his own, he wanted the juicy loot.

Of course, these are all assumptions made by Kirito.

Heathcliff chortled when he saw the unease on Kirito's face.

"Kirito-kun, don't worry, with an ally like Yan-kun over here. We should be live in him. At least, I am of the belief that we can pull this off without suffering a single death on our side, providing for non-lethal casualties, of course."

Kirito's looked much better than before. He cast a glance in Heathcliff's direction.

"Any intel on the floor boss?"

"Before we resume the talks, let's go in first."

Kirito nodded while Wu Yan nonchalantly expressed his agreement. They followed after the captain gestured for them to enter the guild.

Nobody spoke about the guards who were littered all over the place...

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