"Qiang-" Ye Chi pulled out his long knife "Yuanhua", which he had not used for a long time, from the scabbard, and looked at the blade that had been repaired-isn't there a master forging living next to it...... It's still very simple to polish it......

The soft light flowed on the dull golden blades, creating a palpitating bleak glow - like a blood-soaked remnant sun.

Next, he raised his left arm, hooked his little finger, and the sharp blade came out from under the middle finger, and the strangely colored blade also rippled with blood-colored sharp light.

"Old man...... This...... It's up to you......" Ye Chi muttered to himself, and then put the two murder weapons into the sheath.

Although I don't know what kind of danger it is, it must be a hundred thousand people who can make a proud person like Heathcliff bow his head and ask them for help.

The ...... that made that man feel tricky It was already difficult for Ye Chi to imagine what kind of situation it was.

Ye Chi's face sank like water, and he inserted the scabbard into the strap, and he felt awkward after adjusting it several times--this is not a good phenomenon-although there will be no chance for him to use the exit in the boss battle, but the slightest unhappiness when drawing the knife may lead to inaccurate knife delivery--it's like obsessive-compulsive disorder......

"Levy? Okay, no? ”

Asuna, who had already finished dressing, walked in front of Ye Chi while stepping on the nails of her boots to make a sound.

"The trip is uncertain...... It's unpredictable......" Ye Chi sighed, casually tied the knife to his back, tried the feel, and unexpectedly felt good.

In fact, as long as they consider the reasons that caused them to temporarily withdraw from the guild, they can dismiss this invitation. But the words "there have been victims" at the end of the message really made the two of them feel uneasy.

"To be honest, I really don't want you to get involved in that anymore......"

"At least listen to what they have to say. Alright, it's time!"

"Alas...... Okay, let's go—"

Ye Chi followed Asuna out of the door, and before closing the door, he looked at the house with nostalgia-

Asuna and his, home.

He had a bad premonition...... This may be the last time he's seen this room......

Turning her head, she met Asuna's eyes, and she seemed to have the same thing in mind.

"Let's go, get rid of it and get on with our vacation!" Ye Chi patted her on the shoulder and closed the door.

―――――――――――― 55th floor, Grand Sam ――――――――――

"The scouts are all gone—?"

When they returned to the headquarters of the Blood Alliance Knights after two weeks, they were greeted with a shocking notification.

Ye Chi slapped the table directly and looked at Heathcliff in disbelief: "Are you taunting me?" Even if it's a scout team, it's a strategy group! Even if you tell me to lose half of it, it's okay! Even if there is a total rout, how many will be able to escape, right? ”

"Unfortunately, that's the case." Heathcliff was still the same deadly virtue, and he said terrible things coldly.

The reconnaissance team has two brushes in the escape, and there are a few skills that are not much worse than the level of Ye Chi or Kirito Asuna, and they will not be able to escape even if they have almost reached the upper limit.

"Not a single one?"

Heathcliff closed his bony hands in front of his face, a deep valley carved between his eyebrows, and nodded slowly.

"It was yesterday. Although it took a lot of time to collect the map files of the 75th layer of the labyrinth area, it was finally completed without the appearance of victims. However, it was already predicted that there would be a hard battle against the boss......"

That's right, because among the countless floors that have been conquered so far, only the boss monsters on the twenty-fifth and fiftieth floors have outstanding huge bodies and powerful combat power, so they have paid a lot of sacrifices when attacking these two floors - by the way, Heathcliff was born on the 50th floor.

The 25th layer of the two-headed giant-type boss has almost wiped out the elite of the army, and this is the main reason why their organization is weakened now. Then on the fiftieth floor, the multi-armed boss that looks like a metal Buddha statue launched a fierce attack, which made many players timid, so they urgently transferred away from the battlefield without authorization, causing the battle line to collapse for a while, and if the rescue force came a little later, the raider team may not escape the fate of total destruction. And at that time, the one who independently supported the front was the man who was now in front of Ye Chi.

If a powerful boss appears every twenty-fifth floor, then the possibility of a strong boss appearing on the seventy-fifth floor should also be quite high this time.

“…… So we sent out a team of five guilds with a total of twenty people. ”

Heathcliff continued in a frustrated voice. Since his eyes were half-closed, it was impossible to tell his current mood from his brass-colored pupils.

"The investigation was carried out with great caution. We sent ten men as guards to stand by at the entrance to the boss's room...... The first ten people to enter reached the center of the room, and the door to the entrance closed the moment the leader appeared. The next thing was reported by the 10 people who played as defenders. They said that the door was closed for more than five minutes, and at that time, there was no way to make the door open, whether it was a lock-picking skill or a direct blow. When the door finally opens—"

The corners of Heatscliffe's mouth pursed tightly. After closing his eyes for a moment, he continued:

"There was nothing left in the room. The figures of the ten men and the leader all disappeared. There were also no traces of detachment at the scene. And they didn't come back...... In order to confirm, we also sent someone to the Black Iron Palace on the ground floor to confirm the death list on the metal tablet, and the result was ......"

"Yes...... Is it the crystal that neutralizes the space......?" Ye Chi's pupils shrank, "Closed space...... Ten people lasted only 5 minutes...... Since it's a scout team, in order to explore the monster's attack mode, it should be a strategy team with a complete range of equipment...... Destroyed in 5 minutes, it should have been raided......"

Ye Chi seemed to be muttering to himself-"Otherwise, if you form a defensive line--the battle line will collapse if there is a replacement...... At this level...... 5 minutes is too mysterious......"

"It's starting to look more and more like a death game......" Ye Chi gritted his teeth and gurgled.

"But you can't give up on the strategy ......"

Heathcliff closed his eyes and said in a voice that sounded like a murmur but was categorical:

"Aside from the fact that there is no way to get out with crystals, this room seems to be structurally constructed as a leader who will cut off the retreat from the back at the same time. In this case, the only way left to be sent to attack the largest number of troops in the area of command is favorable. Originally, I was very reluctant to invite the newlyweds back. But I hope you can understand my struggle. ”

"As a man, I personally contribute my strength...... But, at the same time, as a lover, I'll take Asuna's safety as my guideline of action - and I hope you keep that in mind when you command. ”

Ye Chi stared at those brass-colored eyes.

A slight smile appeared on Heathcliff's face.

"When a person has someone they want to protect, they always have a lot of power. I'm looking forward to your fight. We'll start the walkthrough in three hours. The number of participants plus the two of you is a total of thirty-two. Meet at 1 p.m. on the 75th floor in front of the transfer gate of Corinia City. Well, dissolve. ”

After saying these words, the cardinal and the men under him stood up and walked out of the room.

"Assassins for the purpose of protection? I'm really looking forward to it......"

As Heathcliff passed by Ye Chi, he faintly heard his whispering.

"As long as there is a goal worth protecting...... The dead sacrificed their lives, but there is no solution to the defense......"

Ye Chi unconsciously put his hand on the handle of the knife and replied in a similar volume.

――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

"Three hours later—what are we going to do......

Asuna said to Ye Chi after sitting down on the steel bench, and at this moment, Ye Chi's eyes were solemn, and his face was sinking like water, as if he wanted to portray Asuna's figure in his heart.

"What are you doing...... Look at people like this......"

"No...... To be honest, I kind of wanted to run away with you......" He rubbed his hair and made his head look like a lion's head - not to think of food......

"Why...... Levy, you're not a cowardly person......" She probably had an answer in her mind, but still asked with a little sadness.

"If it's just me, of course it doesn't matter!" Ye Chi was a little annoyed, and then suddenly deflated, "But...... Now you're there! If you are alone, you can break through even if you are a sword mountain and a sea of fire, and you dare to fight for nine deaths, but now you have a wife...... After starting a family, my life is not my own, and I no longer dare to ignore the life and death of two people......"

"Smack-" Ye Chimeng was stunned, although he was blocked by the rules prohibiting crimes, but Asuna really felt the anger of waving her right palm.

"Levi-kun, I'm going to be angry!" Asuna hugged Ye Chi's head and forced him to face herself. "Where is the confident Levy of the past? What I love is Levy, and this will never change, but I want you to be happy, confident, and brave in everything. ”

"If it was I who made Levijun weak...... Sorry, I couldn't say anything about breaking up, so I immediately ran out of the circle and swung my sword at myself - this is my realization. ”

Ye Chi's eyes were filled with Asuna, who was dazzling at this time.

With a flush of anger, and hazel pupils full of determination, determination, and love, Asuna-"That's my wife......" he smiled, laughing with great presumptuousness, and reached out to take her into his arms.

"It's my fault...... That's right...... What's the matter...... The two of us take it together! ”

――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

Another chapter of water......

But this chapter is really laborious......

I want to portray Asuna's character a little deeper...... It seems to have failed......

Heart congestion......

There are about 5 more chapters, and the SAO volume is probably over......

I have a specific ALO volume ready......

Stay tuned...... I seem to have found that the titles related to emotional dramas are all interludes! Chapter 14 is already readable normally......