Chapter 137: Then Leave the Guild

After Kuradeel's figure disappeared, Asuna let out a long breath and leaned back against Lingyun.

"What's wrong? Are you alright?" Lingyun asked with concern.

Asuna shook her head slightly: "It's nothing, just feeling a bit tired." Asuna shook her head. "At the beginning of the guild's establishment, when we were still weak, everyone was striving for the same goal, and the atmosphere within the guild was extremely harmonious. Compared to the guild before, the current guild has become increasingly powerful, but it always gives me the feeling that this guild is no longer the one it used to be."

"The forest is big, and there are all kinds of birds; you don't need to take it to heart!" Lingyun comforted her.

"It's just that I really don't like the guild now. That atmosphere from before, where we all fought together to clear this game, seems to hardly exist anymore!"

"You don't like it?" Lingyun's brows twitched slightly. "If you really don't like it, then leave the guild!"

"You, what did you say?" Asuna, who was leaning on Lingyun, jumped up all of a sudden. "Leave the Blood Oath Knights?"

"Yeah, didn't you say you don't like the current Blood Oath Knights? If you don't like it, then leave!" Lingyun spread his hands.

"Leave?" Asuna lowered her head, not knowing what she was thinking.

"Alright, don't think too much for now. I see this isn't something you can decide on in an instant. Let's take this time to go look around somewhere else!" Lingyun quickly changed the subject.

"Mm." Asuna nodded slightly.

The two of them left the place together.

At night, the God Squad and the Kirito sisters gathered in Lingyun's garden, accompanied by a little mouse, and the group chatted in the open-air courtyard.

"What? You want Asuna to leave the Blood Oath Knights?" Kirito looked at Lingyun with an astonished face. "She poured so much heart and soul into this guild back then; you're asking her to leave—is that even possible?"

"It's not impossible. If this Blood Oath Knights were still the original Blood Oath Knights, I would never advise Asuna to leave. But the current Blood Oath Knights is no longer the Blood Oath Knights of the past; even a guard can commit an act like monitoring their own Vice Commander. Moreover, I absolutely do not believe that Heathcliff was unaware of this matter." Lingyun spoke up. "Under these circumstances, for Heathcliff to not provide any explanation is just a bit ridiculous!"

"I heard from some players before that factions have already appeared within the current Blood Oath Knights, and the factions are not on good terms. But Heathcliff has never managed such things!" Argo grabbed a piece of cake from the table and stuffed it into her mouth. "Mm, as expected, the things here at your place, Lingyun, are delicious. It seems I'll have to come here often, otherwise, I'd really be at a loss!"

"There's such a thing?" Yuuki said. "Asuna-nee should be very uncomfortable with this kind of thing, right!"

"If that's really the case, I also hope Asuna-nee leaves the Blood Oath Knights!" Suguha also expressed her opinion.

"Lingyun, what does Asuna herself think?" Busujima Saeko asked.

"Before she left, she said she would consider this matter seriously. I think the possibility of her leaving the Blood Oath Knights is still quite high, but there will likely be no small amount of resistance in the process," Lingyun said, looking at the sky.

"Resistance? If Asuna really wants to leave the Blood Oath Knights, any resistance is a joke in front of Master!" Luo Yexi curled her lips.

"Regardless, let's see the situation on Asuna's side first. If Asuna really wants to leave the Blood Oath Knights and that guy Heathcliff dares to obstruct her, I don't mind having a heart-to-heart talk with him!" A smile with an ambiguous meaning curled at the corner of Lingyun's mouth.

Lingqi, who was beside Lingyun, didn't say anything, just staring blankly at Lingyun, as if wanting to carve his appearance into her eyes.

"What's wrong, Lingqi?" Lingyun asked, feeling a bit strange.

Lingqi smiled and shook her head: "It's nothing, just felt that your words just now were very cool, Lingyun. Could that be the so-called 'raging for the sake of a beauty'?"

"Hey, hey, hey, you can't just say things like that!" Lingyun suddenly felt a chill down his spine and waved his hands, saying, "This is just acting for the sake of a friend!"

"Hee hee hee, Big Brother's expression right now is so interesting!" Alice, who was leaning against Busujima Saeko, said with a giggle.

The next day at noon, Lingyun was fishing by the lake when Asuna suddenly ran over from afar.

"What's wrong? In such a rush?" Lingyun put down the fishing rod in his hand and asked, feeling a bit strange.

"It's bad, something big happened!" Asuna took a big breath and said to Lingyun.

"Did some accident happen?" A cold glint flashed in Lingyun's eyes. "It seems I really do need to have a friendly exchange with Heathcliff!"

Half an hour later, Aincrad 55th Floor, Grandum, Blood Oath Knights headquarters, conference hall.

Lingyun stood beside Asuna, looking at the person sitting in the center of the table, the Commander of the Blood Oath Knights, and also the creator of SAO, Kayaba Akihiko.

Heathcliff looked at Lingyun and said in a deep voice: "Lingyun-kun, this seems to be our first meeting, right!"

"No, I remember we met once before during the Christmas event, Commander Heathcliff!" Lingyun replied.

Afterwards, he whispered to Asuna beside him: "No matter what happens in a moment, don't speak; leave everything to me!"

"Ah, I remember, that time you crushed the main force of the Holy Dragon Alliance, Lingyun-kun! However, let's talk about business now. Even as the guild known as the strongest, our combat power is often just barely enough. But now, you want to poach the precious main-force players from our guild?" Heathcliff looked at Lingyun and said in a deep voice, the aura of the leader of the number one guild pressing straight toward Lingyun.

Lingyun shrugged, ignoring Heathcliff's aura: "Is that really so? If you think she is truly precious, then you should put more effort into the selection of guards. To be honest, that person's attitude toward Asuna is something even an outsider like me can't stand to watch! Also, I've already looked into it; almost everything in the Blood Oath Knights is handled by Asuna alone, so what are the rest of you doing?"

"Are you talking about the Kuradeel incident? Regarding this matter, I feel deeply sorry. As for the affairs within the guild, as Vice Commander, it is natural for Asuna to be responsible for more things!" Heathcliff quickly changed the subject, "However, our Vice Commander is about to be poached away. Under these circumstances, I cannot just hand her over like that!"

"Oh?"

"Lingyun-kun, if you really want the person, then use the sword in your hand to snatch her from me! If you win, you can take Asuna away. But if you lose, then join the Blood Oath Knights!" A glimmer of unknown light flashed in Heathcliff's eyes.

"Fine, if you wish to resolve this with a sword, then that is exactly what I desire!" A smile with an ambiguous meaning curled at the corner of Lingyun's mouth. "I also happen to want to have a friendly exchange with you, Commander Heathcliff, and witness the power of the 'Holy Sword'!"

Watching Lingyun's smile, a chill inexplicably rose behind Heathcliff, but this feeling was quickly cast to the back of his mind: "Since that's the case, let's have the duel tomorrow at the coliseum on the 50th floor!"

"Good!" Ling Tian nodded, then pulled Asuna and walked out of the Blood Oath Knights headquarters.

Once they were out of the headquarters, Asuna finally understood what Lingyun had actually done. She anxiously grabbed Lingyun's hand: "Lingyun, are you really going to duel the Commander tomorrow?"

"Is there something wrong with that?" Lingyun asked in return.

"But, do you know how strong the Commander is? Why would you rashly propose a duel like that!" Asuna asked.

"Do you think my strength is lower than Heathcliff's?" Lingyun asked with a smile.

"Naturally not!" Asuna shook her head, "But, the Commander possesses a very strong burst skill; once this skill is used, his strength will increase by a large margin!"

"You're talking about Limit Break! You should also know that once one reaches level 80, everyone has this skill, right!" Lingyun explained with a smile.

"The Commander's Limit Break is different from others; his Limit Break is much stronger than others!" Asuna explained.

"Rest assured, my Limit Break is definitely much more powerful than his, and besides, whether he can even force me to use Limit Break is a question!" Lingyun waved his hand with a smile.

"Lingyun, what level are you?" Asuna suddenly asked.

"97!" Lingyun replied.

"I see, then I can rest easy!" Asuna nodded slightly and said with a smile, then strode forward.

Watching Asuna's appearance, Lingyun smiled and followed.