Chapter 114: 「Flash」 Asuna

Three days passed quickly. Lingyun was turning the barbecue grill in front of him when an email appeared before him.

"Is this... a clear-game announcement?" Lingyun freed one hand, opened the email, and looked at the message, his brows slightly raised. "The efficiency of the Blood Oath Knights is still very high; they actually completed the conquest of the floor boss in such a short time."

Beside Lingyun, Luo Yexi placed a skewer of meat onto the grill and said with a smile, "After all, Asuna was part of this conquest. Although I don't know what kind of fortuitous encounter she had, her strength is definitely far greater than it was before."

"That's right, Sister Asuna's strength is very strong. Although we didn't determine a winner in yesterday's spar, I could faintly feel that Sister Asuna's strength is quite a bit higher than mine." Yuuki, standing to the side, also nodded slightly.

"You sparred with Asuna?" Lingyun looked at Yuuki with some confusion.

"I ran into Sister Asuna in the town yesterday, and because I was a bit curious, I asked her for a duel," Yuuki said, looking a bit embarrassed.

"You!" Lingyun tapped Yuuki's head with a sense of helplessness; he was also somewhat helpless regarding Yuuki's personality of liking to seek out people for duels.

"Don't worry, Teacher, it won't happen again!" Yuuki stuck out her tongue, looking a bit sheepish.

"Work hard. Although your current strength can't keep up with Asuna's, there is still plenty of time!" Lingyun smiled and patted her head.

"Mm-hmm." Yuuki nodded vigorously, a strange light flashing in her eyes.

"Alright, we're done eating, it's about time to head back!" Lingyun stood up, brushed the dust off his body, and smiled.

When Lingyun and the others returned to the town, they happened to run into the Blood Oath Knights returning from the Labyrinth Area. Their uniforms, primarily in red and white, were extremely conspicuous. Walking at the very front was a woman, the only female in the entire team; although she was the shortest among them, her presence was the most powerful.

She wore the same white-based, red-trimmed uniform as the other members of the Blood Oath Knights, with a women's knee-length skirt on the lower half. At her waist, a weapon resembling a rapier swayed with the fluttering of her hem.

A head of chestnut-colored long hair hung behind her, with braids tied on both sides of her head that circled the back, and two strands of hair hung down by her cheeks. Her pupils, the same color as her hair, were devoid of ripples, and she looked full of heroic spirit.

"Flash"! Asuna! The current Vice Commander of the Blood Oath Knights and the representative image of the Blood Oath Knights. Unlike when she first hid herself in a cloak, the current Asuna finally showed her charming appearance to outsiders and became the Vice Commander of the strongest guild in SAO, the Blood Oath Knights. That's right, the Blood Oath Knights were already being called the strongest guild in SAO, because they had conquered the 25th-floor boss with the power of a single guild without suffering any damage. Furthermore, Asuna's strength was among the very top tier of all female players.

Both talented and beautiful, truly worthy of being the fated person of this world—this was Lingyun's evaluation of Asuna.

On the streets of the town, many players were watching this group and discussing them, though their tone was mostly one of reverence. After experiencing this boss conquest battle, the reputation of the Blood Oath Knights was at its zenith.

"There seems to be some unknown change in Asuna as well!" Lingyun's gaze swept across Asuna's face, just in time to see a flash of sharp light pass through her eyes.

"Hey, Lingyun, are you here to see the people from the Blood Oath Knights too?" Kirito's figure appeared quietly behind Lingyun.

"Kirito, didn't you follow them to the boss's room earlier?" Lingyun asked.

"Ah, yes, I went, but I discovered that there was no need for me to make a move from start to finish. Relying solely on Asuna alone, she suppressed the boss until it had no power to fight back; I just watched a brilliant battle there," Kirito said, looking at Asuna in the field, a trace of astonishment flashing in her eyes. "Moreover, during that battle, I saw Asuna's attacks—attacks as fast as lightning that made it almost impossible for me to see the sword body. Perhaps this is the origin of her title, 'Flash'."

"The attack speed was so fast that the sword body couldn't be seen?" Lingyun narrowed his eyes. Although Yuuki was also working hard in this direction, it would take some time and effort to reach this state.

"Lingyun, Kirito?" Asuna, who was in the ranks, spotted Lingyun and the other in the crowd. A trace of joy appeared on her face. She said a few words to the people beside her, then left the ranks and walked toward Lingyun's direction.

"Ah, Asuna, long time no see!" Lingyun smiled and nodded at Asuna.

"It has been a long time, honorable Phantom Sword," Asuna said, gritting her teeth as she looked at Lingyun.

"Cough, cough." Lingyun coughed a few times. "It's just that I've been busy outside during this time, and besides, haven't you been busy with the 25th-floor boss conquest? I didn't want to disturb you."

Asuna scanned Lingyun with a suspicious gaze, then gave a light huff; it was clear she was not very satisfied with Lingyun's explanation.

"Alright, it's not good to keep standing here. Let's find a place to sit down," Kirito suggested, seeing the gazes of the surrounding people gradually falling on them, which also helped Lingyun out of the awkward situation.

"That's fine, let's go." Asuna nodded slightly.

The group found an inn, and since none of them were short on money, they directly booked a private room.

"Asuna, you Blood Oath Knights did a beautiful job this time, taking down the floor boss without any casualties," Lingyun said, smiling at Asuna. "I heard from Kirito that during the process of conquering the boss, you were suppressing it the whole time!"

"It's nothing, this wasn't my credit alone; everyone in the team contributed!" A trace of embarrassment appeared on Asuna's face. "By the way, Lingyun, I heard from Yuuki that she is your student. Is that true?"

"Yuuki? That's right, she is indeed my student!" Lingyun nodded.

"Asuna, you've met Yuuki?" Kirito asked with some curiosity.

"That's right, she is a very outstanding child. I never thought that this world would drag such a young child into it." Mentioning Yuuki, a hint of a smile appeared in Asuna's eyes.

"How did you and Yuuki get to know each other?" Kirito asked curiously.

Mentioning this, a look of helplessness appeared on Asuna's face: "It happened like this. Yesterday, after I finished attending the strategy meeting and was on my way back, I ran into Yuuki, and she challenged me. For a player who has challenged experts in this world many times and has yet to suffer a single defeat, I was quite curious about her, so we had a match. Although, in the end, we finished in a draw."

"A draw?" A trace of shock appeared in Kirito's eyes. "Yuuki is actually that strong?"

Having seen the 25th-floor boss conquest battle, she naturally understood just how powerful Asuna's combat strength was now. That Yuuki could fight her to a draw—even if it was just a spar—was enough to show Yuuki's strength. Most importantly, Yuuki was only 11 years old! To possess such strength at only 11 years old, once she grew up, her strength would definitely be shocking.

After the three of them chatted in the private room for a while, Asuna received a message and left in a hurry. After all, she was now the Vice Commander of the Blood Oath Knights, and there were still many things that required her to handle.