Chapter 136: An Insurmountable Gap

Early the next morning, Lingyun appeared early at a teleport point on the 50th floor, as he had previously promised to help Asuna resolve the matter with Kuradeel, and the two had agreed to meet here.

"Why hasn't Asuna arrived yet? Could she have been pestered by that Kuradeel?" Lingyun looked at the large clock on the high tower and said with a frown.

Just as Lingyun was preparing to head to the house Asuna rented to find her, a somewhat anxious voice suddenly came: "Ah, watch out, Lingyun, hurry and dodge!"

Lingyun turned his head to look, and a black shadow was pouncing toward him at an extremely fast speed. Lingyun saw at a glance that the figure pouncing toward him was Asuna; he hurriedly stretched out both hands and caught Asuna's body. Afterward, he took Asuna and spun in a circle on the spot, dissipating the impact force on her.

"What's wrong, Asuna?" After Asuna stood steady, Lingyun asked somewhat strangely.

"He's here!" Asuna saw a burst of light rise on the teleport point and couldn't help but let out a soft cry, hiding behind Lingyun.

Lingyun's brow furrowed slightly as he looked toward the direction of the teleport point. On the teleport point, a tall figure appeared. Although this person looked very tall, his face seemed as if it had been drawn by a painter while dozing off, appearing stiff and rough. Added to that was the expression of someone who was gloomy all day long, as well as the sense of superiority faintly visible in his eyes, all of which made it impossible for anyone to feel even the slightest bit of goodwill toward him.

Kuradeel scanned the crowd, quickly found Asuna's position, and strode toward her direction. Seeing Kuradeel walking over, Asuna couldn't help but shrink back, attempting to use Lingyun's body to block his line of sight. However, Kuradeel clearly was not blocked from view by Asuna's actions, but walked straight to Asuna's side.

"Lady Asuna, please don't be so willful; come back to the guild headquarters with me!" Kuradeel said while walking.

"I don't want to, and besides, how could you be lurking at the entrance of my house so early in the morning?" There was a trace of anger in Asuna's eyes.

"I had long anticipated that this kind of situation would occur; for some time now, I have been responsible for monitoring Lady Asuna in Selmburg," Kuradeel said with an indifferent face.

"This couldn't possibly be the Commander's instruction!" Asuna's tone already carried a hint of fury.

"My mission is to guard Lady Asuna; monitoring the residence is naturally included in that!" Kuradeel argued with a show of reason.

"This is not included in that, you idiot!" Asuna was already nearing a rampage.

"Please do not say such willful words!" Kuradeel sighed and stopped in front of Asuna, "Come, return to headquarters with me!"

As Kuradeel spoke, he reached out his hand, wanting to grab Asuna's hand, completely ignoring Lingyun who was beside Asuna. It was just a pity that before his hand could touch Asuna, it was firmly gripped by another hand, and no matter how he struggled, he could not break free.

"Sorry, your Vice Commander has been booked by me today. Her safety is my responsibility!" Lingyun grabbed Kuradeel's hand and slowly lifted it, then flung it away, his tone very indifferent. "Moreover, I have already checked; today your Blood Oath Knights have no activities, you should just go back to headquarters yourself!"

"What kind of joke is this? A small-fry solo player like you, a guy who crumbles at a single blow, can you be qualified to be Lady Asuna's guard? I am a glorious member of the Blood Oath Knights; what kind of thing are you!" Kuradeel's face was full of anger, and the look he gave Lingyun was full of disdain.

"Lady Asuna, you are a representative figure of our Blood Oath Knights; mixing with a small character of unknown origin like this will affect your image! Moreover, these solo players only care about their own lives; getting involved with such people will definitely not lead to anything good!" Kuradeel's gaze turned to Asuna.

"Kuradeel!" Seeing Kuradeel disparage Lingyun like this, Asuna only felt a flame named anger rising in her heart, and even her tone faintly revealed fury, which was very rare for Asuna, who usually had a very good temper.

"At least more qualified than you!" Lingyun's tone was still as indifferent as before, without a hint of fluctuation. But Asuna, who was behind Lingyun, felt a low-pressure zone that made one feel stifled forming around Lingyun.

"Since you speak such wild words, you must bring out the resolve to prove it!" Kuradeel was so angered by Lingyun's tone that he trembled, pulled up his character panel, and initiated a one-on-one challenge against Lingyun.

Looking at the information appearing before him, the corners of Lingyun's mouth pulled up into a disdainful smile, and his gaze looked toward Asuna beside him.

Asuna nodded slightly: "Rest assured, I will report this matter to our Commander!"

Lingyun nodded slightly and accepted the duel invitation.

Seeing Lingyun accept the duel invitation, Kuradeel revealed a ferocious smile and took out his Long sword: "Watch closely, Lady Asuna, I will prove to you that apart from me, no one is qualified to be your guard. Kid, I will let you witness what the difference is between the Clearers and a casual player!"

Looking at Kuradeel's appearance, Asuna shook her head slightly; this Kuradeel still didn't understand that the person standing opposite him was a legendary figure of what caliber! Hopefully, he won't be hit too hard in a moment!

Seeing that someone was dueling, and that one of the parties was a person from the Blood Oath Knights, the nearby players all gathered around, looking at this battle with curiosity. And among this group of players, there was also a person wearing a cloak.

"Where is your weapon!" Kuradeel assumed the starting stance of a Sword Skill and asked loudly, looking at Lingyun, who was empty-handed before him.

"To deal with you, I don't need to bring out a weapon!" Lingyun waved his hand.

Hearing Lingyun's words, the veins on Kuradeel's forehead throbbed; Lingyun's words clearly did not put him in his eyes.

"Just be smug while you can; once the duel starts, I will let you experience what fear is," Kuradeel roared in his heart.

With a "Ding" sound, the time reached zero, and Kuradeel let out a loud roar, brandishing the Long sword in his hand and using his strongest Sword Skill to slash toward Lingyun.

Lingyun smiled slightly, clenched his right fist, and blasted it straight toward Kuradeel's Long sword. Seeing Lingyun's action, the corners of Kuradeel's mouth couldn't help but hook into a ferocious smile. One sword, with just one sword, he could cut this damn guy down under his blade!

The Long sword collided with Lingyun's fist, emitting a violent booming sound. Kuradeel only felt a terrifying force coming from the Long sword and retreated several steps, thud-thud-thud. Lingyun stood on the spot, revealing a mocking smile toward Kuradeel.

"Th-this bastard!" Kuradeel gritted his teeth, but heard a crack-crack sound coming from his Long sword.

"Th-this is..." Kuradeel looked in astonishment at the Long sword in his hand; countless cracks appeared on the Long sword, and afterward, it exploded into fragments filling the sky.

"So amazing, with just one move, he destroyed his weapon!" The onlookers watched this scene and couldn't help but discuss it heatedly.

"What kind of background does this person have? He broke that person's Long sword with just his fist; his strength is too strong!"

"I remember now, this person is the captain of the God Squad, Phantom Sword Lingyun!" Someone in the crowd recognized Lingyun's identity.

"Phantom Sword Lingyun? Then that's no wonder; for someone like him to have such strong strength is normal, right!"

"Between the two of them, there really is a gap as difficult to cross as a natural chasm!"

After understanding Lingyun's identity, the onlookers expressed their understanding of this seemingly incredible situation one after another; after all, the combat power of the God Squad could rival the entire Clearers. And previously, there had been the incident where Lingyun and his party easily knocked down all the people from the Holy Dragon Alliance.

"What, do you want to continue?" Lingyun looked toward Kuradeel.

"Damn guy, don't get too smug!" Kuradeel roared, materialized another Long sword in his hand, and charged toward Lingyun's direction.

Regarding this behavior of Kuradeel, Lingyun's way of responding was also very simple: he directly smashed his fist into it, once again smashing the weapon in his hand to Shatter.

"Damn it!" Kuradeel materialized another Long sword in his hand and slashed toward Lingyun.

In Lingyun's eyes, this approach of Kuradeel was no different from a mad dog that had lost its head. Just as he intended to smash the Long sword in his hand into fragments once again, a figure suddenly appeared before him, and the thin sword in their hand swung, sweeping the Long sword in Kuradeel's hand away.

"Enough, Kuradeel, you have already lost!" Asuna slowly retracted her Long sword and said in a deep voice.

"Wait, Lady Asuna, this duel absolutely does not count; this damn guy definitely used some kind of petty trick, otherwise, why would he be able to repeatedly smash my weapon with his bare hands?" Kuradeel defended himself with an anxious face. "If you stay by the side of such a despicable and shameless person, I am really worried about your safety and reputation."

"Enough, Kuradeel!" Seeing Kuradeel disparage Lingyun again and again, Asuna's anger completely erupted, and the chill in her tone made even Kuradeel shiver.

"That, Lady Asuna!" Kuradeel still wanted to say something, but his words were interrupted by Asuna.

"Kuradeel, I order you in my capacity as Vice Commander of the Blood Oath Knights: from today on, your guard mission is lifted; until further orders are issued, return to the guild headquarters and wait for orders, dismissed!" The aura belonging to the Vice Commander of the Blood Oath Knights was fully released from Asuna, making everyone present feel a heavy pressure in their hearts simultaneously.

Today, Kuradeel's actions had completely exceeded her bottom line. Setting aside the remarks disparaging Lingyun, his words and actions looking down on solo players were enough to cause serious damage to the reputation the Blood Oath Knights had built up for so long. One must know that in this world, solo players were the most numerous; if they united to target the Blood Oath Knights, then the Blood Oath Knights could be considered finished. Facing this situation, Asuna could only treat this former subordinate of hers severely.

"What, that..." Kuradeel had completely not expected Asuna to issue such an order to him.

"Hmm?" Asuna glared at him.

Kuradeel instantly felt a terrifying aura press heavily upon his body, making him unable to speak. This feeling was something he had never even experienced when facing the Commander of the Blood Oath Knights, Heathcliff.

In the end, he still sighed, and like a defeated rooster, he activated a Teleport Crystal and disappeared from the plaza.

After Kuradeel disappeared, that person wearing a cloak among the onlookers revealed a mysterious smile and turned to leave. The hand wearing a glove of that person was revealed from the cloak; on the glove, there was a strange mark—it was a weird pattern of a twisted smiling face drawn on a black coffin.