Chapter 113: The Heavily Damaged Clearers

Time flew by, and nearly two months had passed. If one were to name the most famous guild right now, the Moonlit Black Cats would definitely be among them.

Two months ago, a small shop opened in a town on the 22nd floor. At first, other players didn't pay much attention to this shop; after all, it was just a shop that looked very ordinary and had no background whatsoever.

However, later on, when a player entered this shop and was shocked to discover unimaginably precious supplies inside, everyone in the game was shaken. They had never found such powerful weapons and so many crystals in a single shop.

After the news spread, almost everyone's gaze gathered on this seemingly inconspicuous little shop. In just a few days, this shop became the most famous shop in all of SAO. Of course, there was no lack of people with ill intentions who harbored evil thoughts toward this shop, but their fate could be imagined. After all, the backing of this shop was none other than Lingyun's God Squad. As for those who harbored crooked thoughts toward this shop, except for a small number who were protected by others at a great cost, the rest were all sent to the Black Iron Prison by Lingyun using Corridor Crystals.

With such precedents, those who came later put away their improper thoughts, obediently bought the things they needed, and dared not harbor any crooked ideas again.

As for the opening of this shop, the happiest person was undoubtedly Sachi. As a high school girl, she was never interested in such killing and fighting, let alone facing the threat of death at any time. After this shop opened, Sachi became the shopkeeper, wholeheartedly taking care of the shop's business, and at the same time, she practiced the sub-profession of armor smithing to craft armor for the other members of the Moonlit Black Cats.

It must be said that Sachi had quite a talent in these two areas. In just over a month, she made the shop's business flourish and simultaneously made a name for herself as an armor smith.

Watching Sachi looking like she was enjoying herself, the initial worries of Keita and the others vanished. After all, Sachi was the only girl among their group of classmates, and in this dangerous world, they naturally took extra care of her. However, Sachi had always had an inexplicable fear of this world. After this shop appeared, the smile on Sachi's face gradually increased, and her fear of this world was slowly disappearing; this was the thing that made them the happiest.

"Hey, Kirito, I heard that the Clearers have already found the Boss Room for the 25th floor?" In the shop, Lingyun looked at the busy Sachi and tilted his head to ask Kirito, who was sitting beside him.

"Yeah, I heard about that too. They have already set off now. Calculating the time, they should be back soon!" Kirito picked up the teacup beside him, took a light sip, and then narrowed his eyes, looking very satisfied. "Lingyun, where did you find this kind of tea leaves? It's really delicious!"

"As long as you look carefully, this world will always give you some surprises, won't it!" Lingyun smiled faintly.

"Surprises, maybe." Kirito shrugged.

With a "Bang," the shop's door was pushed open forcefully. Lingyun frowned slightly and looked toward the doorway. Kirito also stood up and reached out to grasp the Long sword behind his back. Although there had been quite a few precedents, there was never a lack of people looking for death in this world, so sometimes people would still come to provoke them. Regarding this kind of behavior, Kirito was already well-versed in dealing with it: find the person and talk first; if they still don't submit, beat them until they do. If they still remain stubborn, then a one-way ticket to the Black Iron Prison is waving at you.

"Huh, Argo, why are you here?" Discovering that the person who pushed the door open was an acquaintance, Kirito asked with some surprise.

"Did something happen, Argo?" Seeing Argo's gloomy expression, Lingyun asked with a frown.

"The clearing battle for the 25th-floor Boss went wrong!" Argo's complexion was very ugly.

"Went wrong? I remember I warned them that every 25 floors, the strength of the Boss would have a huge leap. Did they not take my advice?" Lingyun frowned slightly.

"No, this time they made full preparations for the battle, but the commander had an accident. His wrong command caused the Clearers to suffer heavy losses." Argo's expression was somewhat heavy.

"Commander? Who was the commander this time?" A flash of anger crossed Lingyun's eyes.

"The commander this time was that guy called Yazi!" At the mention of this person, Argo gritted her teeth.

"Yazi, isn't this the guy who spouted nonsense at the first clearing meeting? How did he become the commander for this Boss clearing?" Lingyun put down the teacup in his hand. A colorful light flashed from the teacup and disappeared into specks of seven-colored light.

"I don't know what method he used to get the command, but thanks to him, the Clearers lost nearly one-third of their personnel. The worst part is his guild, the Army; they lost more than half, and most of the elite players sacrificed themselves. If it weren't for Asuna arriving in time at the last moment to hold off the Boss for a while, the casualties of the Clearers might have increased by quite a bit." Argo hatefully drank the cup of tea on the table in one gulp to calm her anger. "Having suffered such huge losses, the Army announced its withdrawal from the Clearers. The Clearers can be said to have suffered a major blow to their Origin Qi."

"Asuna held off the Boss for a while? How is that possible?" There was undisguised surprise in Kirito's tone.

"I was also surprised. It's just that after such a short time, Asuna's strength has actually improved so much that she could actually fight the strengthened Boss alone." Argo was also a bit puzzled.

"Then what about now? How is the situation with the Clearers?" This was what Kirito was most concerned about at the moment.

"The entire Clearers group was hit so hard by this that they almost disbanded. Fortunately, at the last moment, the Commander of the Blood Oath Knights, Heathcliff, stood up, personally invited Asuna to join the Blood Oath Knights, appointed her as Vice Commander, and took up the banner of the Clearers." Mentioning Heathcliff, a hint of respect appeared in Argo's eyes.

Taking up the banner of the Clearers at this time was not a simple matter. If they couldn't achieve some results in the coming period, the Blood Oath Knights would inevitably bear immense pressure. But when the Clearers were facing dissolution, Heathcliff making such a decision undoubtedly showed a boldness that others could hardly reach.

Watching Argo's highly admiring look toward Heathcliff, Lingyun secretly smiled and shook his head. Others didn't know, but he knew it clearly: the other identity of this Commander of the Blood Oath Knights was the creator of this world—Kayaba Akihiko. If others knew about this, I wonder if they would rush up and tear him to pieces.

However, although Kayaba Akihiko was the creator of this world, Lingyun had no worries about him at all. After all, this world had now become a real world, a Semi-plane. Even if Kayaba Akihiko was the creator of this world, in a world suppressed by several powerful forces, he couldn't stir up any trouble.

"Now the Clearers have already agreed on the time for the next clearing meeting. It is estimated that they will clear the Boss again after a while," Argo said softly.

"Are they already discussing the next Boss clearing?" Kirito muttered, then looked at Argo, "Argo, I want to know when the Clearers will clear the Boss again."

"Don't tell me you want to go too?" Argo asked with some surprise.

"That's right, I can't rest easy," Kirito nodded slightly.

"Sigh, there's really no helping you," Argo spread her hands and sighed, "Fine, I'll send you the time when it's set."

"Kirito, are you really going?" Lingyun asked.

"Aren't you going?" Kirito asked back.

"I can't go. You have to know, once I go, I'm afraid most of the Clearers players will gather to oppose me first!" Lingyun spread his hands.

"That's true," Kirito nodded slightly. She knew that the Clearers had always regarded Lingyun's team as rivals; if Lingyun went, who knows what kind of trouble might happen.

"You have to be careful yourself. After all, you aren't a member of a guild in the Clearers; it's inevitable that they will have some thoughts about your arrival!" Lingyun reminded.

"Don't worry, I'll handle it," Kirito gave Lingyun a reassuring look.