Because of the relocation of the headquarters of the Holy Dragon United Guild, the strategy for the fifty-seventh floor had to be slowed down, after all, the Holy Dragon United Guild was also an important force in the strategy group.

However, the strategy for the fifty-seventh layer has not slowed down, and the members of the strategy team are still actively working on the strategy maze, and have already tested the boss of the defending layer several times.

The Holy Dragon United Guild also said that after this base relocation, the guild's strength has increased greatly, and it hopes to be able to serve as the commander of the boss strategy this time.

Because the strategy group is not a fixed member, the commander of each time is voted on, although the reputation of the Holy Dragon Union is not very good, but the strength is also there, so the vote passed directly.

However, after the Holy Dragon United Guild settled down, the members of the strategy team continued to prepare to attack the boss of the fifty-seventh floor, but unexpectedly encountered a problem.

The boss on the fifty-seventh floor is too powerful!

It's not that there are no efficient ways to kill, but such an efficient way has to sacrifice some players. If it's an ordinary game, it's just a SAO that dies and dies here!

However, ordinary methods are somewhat inefficient, and they are also full of dangers, and a careless approach may also cause casualties.

In this way, there was a contradiction in the immortality, and the strategy of the fifty-seventh layer was stranded again.

By the way, the decision of the commander of the Holy Dragon United Guild was to sacrifice some people, although it was the Holy Dragon United Guild's own people, but they were still deprived of command by the people of the Raiders group.

Raiders group, no companions are allowed to be sacrificed.

In this way, the command was once again transferred back to the Knights of the Blood Alliance.

The commander of the Blood Alliance Knights is mostly the leader of the Knights, Hizcliff, or the deputy leader Asuna. This time, it was Asuna who took over the command.

But......

Even Asuna can't do anything about this boss.

Of course, Chu Yue has a way, but he is not in his position and does not seek his own politics. Moreover, Chu Yue himself is still a lone player after all, and he has no prestige to let everyone obey the command at all.

March 6, 2024, Ayn Grant, 56th Floor, Pani.

The members of the strategy team gathered around a table, and in the middle of the table was a map, and the members of the strategy team were all sad. There were also many members who were whispering to each other, but in the end, they all shook their heads helplessly.

Asuna, who was closest to the table and had the most convenient way to read the map, suddenly made up her mind and slapped it on the table, attracting the attention of the players around her.

"Attract the boss to the village!" Asuna said.

As soon as these words came out, the entire strategy group immediately exploded.

It's not impossible...... It's just the death of an NPC in place of the player's sacrifice.

Of course, the members of the strategy team agreed and disagreed, but since Asuna was in command, she naturally would not refuse the order.

"Wait!" ×2。

However, at this time, two people suddenly said in unison.

Everyone immediately looked at these two people and found that these were still two very famous people.

One is an internal beta player known as the cheater.,It's always dressed in black.,Known as the "Black Swordsman".,And it's married in SAO.,Extremely powerful Kirito.。

One is a similarly powerful closed beta player who often goes in and out of various places in pairs with Asuna, and is rumored to have become a couple, Chu Yue.

Both of them are solo players, and at this time they even raised objections together.

That's right, if you're not a lone player, who would oppose the commander? What's more, it's the extremely popular Asuna.

Chu Yue and Kirito looked at each other, and they both seemed to see what the other party was going to say, so they nodded to each other, and Chu Yue stood up.

"What's your problem, Chu Yue?" Asuna asked.

Although the relationship is very good in private, Asuna's attitude towards Chu Yue is not like a friend at all. Because now is the time for war discussions, and it is still necessary to take matters into account. That's why Asuna is trusted as a conductor even though she is a girl.

"Neither Kirito nor I agree to do this." Chu Yue said, "In this case, the people in the village will suffer......

"That's exactly what it's about." Asuna interrupted Chu Yue and said, "Take advantage of the boss to massacre the villagers, launch an attack on the boss and annihilate it in one fell swoop!" Why, can't you even see this, Chu Yue? ”

"That's exactly what I don't agree with." Chu Yue said, "By sacrificing NPCs to achieve our goals? Don't you think it's too mean? ”

"Despicable?" Asuna was stunned for a moment, as if she was a little angry, and there seemed to be some thorns in her tone: "Do you want to say, 'They are alive'?" If you don't sacrifice NPCs, do you want to sacrifice our comrades? ”

"I didn't mean to." Chu Yue sensed Asuna's feelings, and the words she had originally thought of were completely unspoken.

"So, let's do what I say." Asuna said.

"I don't agree with that either." At this time, Kirito also came over and said, "I have the same idea as Chu Yue, I can't accept such a method. ”

"This battle is commanded by me, the deputy head of the Blood Alliance Knights, Asuna." Asuna said, "Obey my commands. ”

Asuna's eyes were very cold, and she also used a very formal expression.

This made Kirito stunned for a moment, looked at Asuna's expression, shrugged his shoulders, and said, "Okay." ”

"Anyone else has an opinion?" Asuna asked the others again.

The others looked at each other, but no one spoke again.

At this time, Chu Yue sighed deeply.

How can other people have an opinion? It's just a sacrifice of some NPCs as game data.,Although some disagree.,But they will obey the command.。

However, for Chu Yue, those NPCs are not just data......

Chu Yue is an AI development engineer at ARGUS!

The AI of all the NPCs in SAO was designed and written by Chu Yue!

In other words, all the NPCs in SAO are Chu Yue's "children"!

For this reason, it was impossible for Chu Yue to agree to this method, but Asuna was already angry just now and couldn't stop her.

Therefore, in this battle, Chu Yue could only withdraw.

After sighing, Chu Yue silently left here.

Quietly leaving with Chu Yue, there is also Kirito.

The departure of these two people was noticed by Asuna, but she is now the commander of the strategy group, and of course it is impossible for her to do anything to keep these two of her friends.

"Huh? Chu Yue? Chu Yue and Kirito came out of the room, and the players guarding the door noticed Chu Yue and said to Chu Yue, "Why did you come out alone?" What about Deputy Head Asuna? ”

Looks like he doesn't know Kirito.

"Nothing." Chu Yue replied lightly, "I won't participate in this battle." ”

"Huh?" The player who was guarding was stunned.

Chu Yue smiled and left with Kirito.

"Don't worry." On the way, Kirito comforted Chu Yue and said, "Although Asuna lost her temper with you because of business, she has always been clear about public and private. ”

"Of course I do." Chu Yue smiled at Kirito and said, "I'm just...... The NPC who is about to die is just sad. ”

"Although I don't agree with this either......," Kirito said, "But, Chu Yue, you look too sad, don't you?" NPCs will come back to life. ”

"I know......" Chu Yue said, "So, I have no reason to stop them...... Alas......"

"Alright, let's go to my house." Kiritto said, "Recently, Yuki has been working her cooking skills, so let's try her skills!" ”

"Okay." Chu Yue nodded, no longer dwelling on this matter.

Asuna's decision was not wrong, and this battle was also successful, and everyone had a strategy to complete the boss without danger.

Afterwards, Asuna didn't mention the matter again, and Chu Yue and Asuna still teamed up together.

Originally, this matter should have been slowly forgotten in the passage of time, and the relationship between Chu Yue and Asuna would not be affected, but an incident a month later broke Chu Yue and Asuna's relationship at once.

April 11, 2024, Ayn Grant, 59th Floor, Danak.

The boss on the sixtieth floor has not been found yet, and everyone is looking for the boss room while leveling up in the maze area.

Chu Yue and Asuna are in a team, and this pair has been known to many people. It's just that most people think that Chu Yue, a lone player, is not worthy of Asuna.

"Swap!"

However, this did not affect the cooperation of Chu Yue and Asuna.

"Yo, deputy head of the regiment, you're still fighting monsters." Other members of the strategy team who passed by Chu Yue and Asuna said, "It's almost time to rest!" It's almost night. ”

"yes, got it." Asuna responded with a smile.

Chu Yue cut off the monster in front of him from the middle with a sword, turned around and asked Asuna, "Are you ready to go back, Asuna?" ”

"What does Chu Yue think?" Asuna asked Chu Yue.

"I can't find the boss room today." Chu Yue put away the sword and said, "Let's go back, it just so happens that I'm quite tired these days, let's go to Martin to find a restaurant to eat?" ”

Martin is the 57th floor of the main town, the town is full of tall buildings such as restaurants and churches, and it is very lively at night.

"Okay." Asuna nodded, also put away her sword, and walked towards the outside of the maze with Chu Yue.

Ayn Grant, Fifty-Seventh Floor, Martin.

Because it was time for dinner, the restaurant that Chu Yue and Asuna came to was also full of guests.

The restaurant is very lively for people from the strategy group who have come back from the labyrinth, people who come here to taste the food, or people who are ready to rest after a busy day.

It's just that Asuna is a celebrity, and people often look at Chu Yue and Asuna.

What these people are discussing, of course, is that Chu Yue, who is a closed beta player, is not worthy of the golden flash Asuna.

Except for the players in the strategy group who have seen Chu Yue's battle, most players don't know Chu Yue's strength.

If you want to come to the hotel to eat, it is inevitable to be watched and discussed like this, and Chu Yue and Asuna have long been mentally prepared.

However, before the meal could be served, a woman's scream suddenly came from outside:

"Ahh ——”

Chu Yue and Asuna immediately stood up and ran outside together.

At this time, the sun is setting, and the golden rays of the setting sun are spreading on the tall church buildings of Martin, and it seems that it is the time to enjoy the view.

However, in the place where the woman screamed, another terrible thing was happening.

A man in full armor, with a red sword in his chest and a rope around his neck, was hung outside the top floor of a church.

Under the church, a group of people watched worriedly, but they didn't know how to save the man.

Although in SAO, if the neck is hung up and the chest is inserted by the sword, it will not die, but if you don't stop it quickly, it will slowly deduct blood!

The man seemed to have just discovered his situation, clenching the sword in both hands, trying to pull it out of his chest, while moaning in pain.

As if seeing that there was not much blood left in his bar, the man's voice gradually changed from moaning to a cry of pain, and the voice became louder and louder, and it became more and more frightening to the onlookers below.

"I'll go up there! You go ahead below! Asuna immediately entered the church alone.

"Good!" Chu Yue responded, ran to the bottom of the church, looked up at the man, and prepared to catch the man after Asuna climbed to the top of the church and untied the rope hanging the man.

However, this person whose voice was getting louder and more painful seemed a little strange to Chu Yue.

Why do I find it weird? Chu Yue asked herself.

Wait a minute! I seem to have forgotten something!

I should think it's weird! Because I already knew what it was all about!

Chu Yue suddenly thought about it, she forgot one thing, that is, she had crossed over! I already know what these episodes are about.

However, recently, he has been working with Asuna and has also saved Xing, which has led to the current plot being very different from the plot of the original "Sword Art Online", making Chu Yue forget that he is actually a traverser.

However, there are also some plots that are not affected by Chu Yue's butterfly.

For example, this thing in front of you.

Sure enough, just as Chu Yue had guessed, the man suddenly screamed at the end, and then his whole body seemed to lose his strength, and his body hung down.

Although it was almost impossible to see the man's face from this angle, Chu Yue's eyesight was extremely strong, and Chu Yue could clearly see that the man's body was no longer inside the armor, and what hung down was only the layer of equipment armor outside.

Then, at this very moment, the armor turned into silver-blue shards and disappeared.

As the armor vanished, the red sword also fell from the sky.

"Ahh

However, Chu Yue knew that this was just a little trick played by this and that man.

When the sword is stuck in him, he will indeed lose blood, but the durability of the equipment will also be lost. Moments before the equipment's durability was about to run out, the man used the teleportation stone to teleport away, but the equipment turned into pieces and disappeared.

The onlookers below couldn't see the man's face due to the angle, so they panicked when they saw the silver-blue shards and thought it was the player's death.

After all, it's a safe zone! Isn't even the safe zone safe?!

In general, safe zones are unharmed unless ...... Player dueling.

While a player duel is automatically decided after one of the players has yellow blood, duel is the only way to inflict damage in a safe zone.

Therefore, people who don't know will think that the man just now died for some reason, was killed, and so on.

In fact, the man was not dead, and the safe zone was still absolutely safe.

Chu Yue knew about this, not only because he had already watched the anime of "Sword Art Online", but also because he participated in the development of the game SAO.

In SAO games, the safe zone is set to be absolutely safe. In the safe zone, it is impossible to reduce the health bar to zero, even if there is a second kill in the duel, the blood volume will be forced to stay at 1, and it is impossible to drop it again.

The crowd panicked, and Asuna finally reached the top of the church by this time, looking down through the window.

Chu Yue beckoned to Asuna, and then shouted to Asuna, "Asuna! Come down! ”

Asuna's face looked bad, nodded to Chu Yue, and came down from the church again.

Chu Yue stepped forward and picked up the red sword and put it in the inventory.

Asuna quickly walked down and said to Chu Yue, "The rope is tied to the stake, and there are no players inside the church. ”

"Hmmm......"

"It is common to think that the winner of the duel plunged a sword into the victim's chest, put a rope around his neck, and pushed him down the window." Asuna analyzed, "Right? ”

"Indeed, the average person thinks so." Chu Yue nodded, "But...... First of all, there is no system window prompt for a player to win a duel. Secondly, if one of the duels is too far away, the duel will also be automatically canceled. Finally, and most importantly, when one of the players in a duel turns yellow, they will exit the duel. ”

Asuna's brow furrowed deeply, "You're right...... However, if you want to damage the player in the safe zone, there is no other way than to duel......"

It's not that Chu Yue doesn't want to say this in public, it's just that Chu Yue remembered that the man who faked his death in the game was not a bad guy, just to find out the culprit of the ring incident.

Although, the real culprits of the Ring incident are actually people from within their guild. Furthermore, it is still the person of the smiling coffin that please!

Chu Yue thought of a plan, but in order not to reveal that she was a traverser, she still needed to continue to cooperate with Asuna to investigate this matter for the time being.

"I'm sorry, but did anyone witness the whole thing?" Asuna asked the group, "We want to ask for something. ”

The crowd discussed with each other, but no one came forward.

After waiting for a while, a girl with purple hair and a row of small pockmarks in the middle of her face finally stood up.

"I'm sorry, I just experienced such a nightmare, so I'll ask you." Asuna said, "What's your name?" ”

"Well, my name is Youerke......" The purple-haired girl was still a little scared, and there was a tremor in her tone.

"That ......," Chu Yue said, "Asuna, this is not the place to talk, let's go find a hotel and talk in detail." ”

Asuna nodded, the rooms in the hotel have their own soundproofing system, which is a good place to talk.

The three of them went to a hotel together, and in the hotel, they asked about the whole incident of Yurko.

It turned out that the "deceased" was Kainz, a member of the same guild as Yurko, but he didn't know why he was killed. Yurco said bluntly, as if he had seen a strange figure behind Kainz, and he didn't know anything else.

After sending Yurko home, Asuna said, "Let's check the information we have first." That sword is called the Thorn of Sin, right? If you can investigate the origin of the sword, you may be able to find clues to the murderer. ”

Chu Yue hesitated, but still didn't tell Asuna the truth of the matter.

"Weapon appraisal......" Chu Yue said, "Have you practiced?" ”

"Of course not. So are you? Asuna said.

"Life skills I only practiced cooking and tailoring. And I've been eating Asuna's cooking lately, and I haven't used my cooking skills for a long time. ”

"In that case...... "Go to Achill." ”

Ayn Grant, Fiftieth Floor, Algate.

Achill is also an old member of the strategy group, and he is also an old acquaintance with Chu Yue, Kirito, and Asuna. He opened a grocery store in a small alley in Algate on the fiftieth floor, and he practiced his weapons identification skills at a high level.

After telling Akyl about the situation, Akyll readily agreed to help.

"The name is ...... The Thorn of Sin, created by a player named Grimlock. "None of you have heard of it......

"What about you, Asuna?" Chu Yue said, "Have you heard of it? ”

"Nope." Asuna also shook her head and continued to ask, "Any other information?" ”

"It's certainly not a first-class bladesmith." "As a weapon, there's nothing special about it...... Very ordinary. ”

"However, this sword is now an important clue." Asuna said, "Anything else?" ”

"Nope." Achill returned the Thorn of Sin to Chu Yue and said, "Rather, it feels like an ordinary weapon, and I can't see at all what he has to do with the incident of death in the safety zone." ”

"That's right......" Asuna looked disappointed, and the important clues were broken.

After saying goodbye to Achill, Chu Yue and Asuna returned to Asuna's house.

"As a result, nothing was investigated." Asuna sat down in her chair tiredly and rested.

"It's so motivating." Chu Yue smiled and sat opposite Asuna, "However, I still think that there is something wrong with this incident." ”

"What's the problem?" Asuna asked.

"I also said at that time that as long as it is in the safe zone, the duel is also protected, so it should not die." Chu Yue said.

"But so many people have seen it." Asuna said, "Someone did die in the safe zone." ”

"Someone died? Can you be sure? Chu Yue said, "Without that Kainz's friend, it is impossible to determine whether that person is really dead, right?" ”

Asuna was stunned for a moment, and immediately said, "However, so many people saw the explosion of Cainz into pieces......

"Alas......" Chu Yue sighed and continued to guide Asuna and said, "It's not just players who will explode into pieces, right?" ”

Asuna finally froze, and after a moment, she suddenly stood up and said, "What do you mean...... It wasn't Cainz who exploded to pieces! What other props are there?! ”