Chapter 138: Duel Against Heathcliff

The next day, the coliseum on the 50th floor was packed with people due to the duel between Lingyun and Heathcliff. After all, these two were simply too famous; one was known as the strongest player among the Clearers, and the other was the leader of the God Squad, which could rival the entire Clearers group. That these two celebrities in SAO were going to have a public duel in the coliseum was an unprecedented grand event!

At one end of the coliseum were all the members of the Blood Oath Knights, while opposite them were Luo Yexi and the others.

Asuna looked at Luo Yexi beside her and asked softly, "Ye Xi, will Lingyun really not lose?"

"Rest assured, Master is the strongest. In this world, there is not a single player whose strength can surpass his!" Luo Yexi looked full of confidence.

"But Commander Heathcliff possesses the extremely powerful Limit Break. I wonder if Lingyun can withstand it?" Asuna was still somewhat worried.

"You don't need to worry about that. I have seen Lingyun's Limit Break. If he really uses Limit Break, this duel will definitely end within a minute! Hmm, it shouldn't even take that long; thirty seconds, or even ten seconds, would be enough!" Lingqi replied from the side.

"You've seen Master's Limit Break? When?" Luo Yexi asked.

"When I obtained Baiyin, this familiar!" Lingqi raised Baiyin in her hand, and Baiyin cooperated by letting out a meow.

"The battle is about to begin!" Busujima Saeko looked at the two people who had appeared in the arena and spoke.

"Kirito, do you think Lingyun can win?" Beside Kirito was a girl with short pink hair. This girl was named Lisbeth, a famous blacksmith and also a good friend of Kirito and Asuna.

"If it's him, there will absolutely be no problem!" Kirito said. "I have never seen him use his full strength. His power can only be described with the four words: unfathomable and mysterious!"

"Is that so? I'm starting to get interested in this person!" Lisbeth looked at Lingyun in the arena with great interest.

"Lingyun, are you ready?" In the coliseum, Heathcliff asked Lingyun.

"No problem at all. Let's begin our battle!" Lingyun waved his hand.

"Then let's begin!" A blue light flashed on Heathcliff's left hand, and a white shield over half a person's height appeared in his hand, with a red cross on it. In his right hand, a long sword appeared. After materializing his weapons, Heathcliff assumed a fighting stance and looked toward Lingyun.

Lingyun slightly spread the five fingers of his right hand, and a long sword appeared in his hand: "Then let's begin!"

"This kind of sword of yours seems a bit rare here, Lingyun!" Heathcliff looked at the long sword in Lingyun's hand, a strange glint flashing in his eyes.

"This kind of sword is very common in my hometown!" Lingyun smiled; how could he not know that Heathcliff was testing him? "Let's begin our duel!"

After the time hit zero, Heathcliff did not strike first; instead, he held his shield upright in front of him, assuming a defensive posture. This was the essence of his Holy Sword combat style: defend first, then attack.

Lingyun slightly raised the long sword in his hand, his figure suddenly lunging in front of Heathcliff, the long sword pointing straight at his throat. Heathcliff slightly lifted his shield and blocked Lingyun's sword edge. The tip of the sword collided with the shield, sparking a shower of embers.

"Nice defense!" Lingyun exclaimed, the speed of the long sword in his hand suddenly accelerating, transforming into a blur of afterimages that enveloped Heathcliff. Heathcliff narrowed his eyes, calmly moving the shield in his hand, and relying on the wide surface of the shield, he intercepted all of Lingyun's attacks.

"Such a fast sword. Is this the strength of Phantom Sword Lingyun?" someone among the players exclaimed.

"Commander Heathcliff is also very impressive, blocking all of Lingyun's attacks!" another player also spoke up.

"Regardless, these two are the strongest among the current players!"

After a round of aggressive attacks, Lingyun's offensive slowed slightly, and Heathcliff suddenly struck out with his sword at this moment, attacking Lingyun. A smile appeared on the corner of Lingyun's mouth as if he had expected this. The speed of the long sword in his hand suddenly increased by a few notches, intercepting Heathcliff's sword before it could touch his body. Afterward, the long sword, carrying a glow, followed the opening Heathcliff revealed while attacking Lingyun and struck him heavily. With just one blow, it shaved off a significant amount of Heathcliff's HP.

Heathcliff took a step back, protecting himself firmly with the shield in his hand, while praising, "A very sharp attack!"

"The sharper ones are yet to come!" Lingyun chuckled, and the speed of the long sword in his hand actually increased by a few more notches, assaulting Heathcliff like a gale. Facing this violent offensive from Lingyun, Heathcliff had to abandon the idea of attacking and instead braced his shield for full defense.

"Is this... the Gale Sword Technique?" Seeing Lingyun's attack method, Yuuki's eyes lit up, and she said happily.

"Gale Sword Technique?" Asuna was a bit confused. "What is that?"

"The attack method Master taught me is the Gale Sword Technique!" Yuuki explained.

"Gale Sword Technique, huh?" Asuna watched Lingyun pressing Heathcliff, a sharp glint flashing in her eyes.

In the arena, Heathcliff himself was having a hard time. Lingyun's offensive was simply too fierce; he was currently in a full defensive state, yet he still felt extremely strained. Moreover, Lingyun's attacks were like flowing water; at least with his eyesight, he couldn't see any flaws at all, let alone find an opportunity to counterattack, and could only passively endure Lingyun's attacks. The powerful impact transmitted from the shield forced him to retreat bit by bit, and the HP bar above his head was also slowly dropping little by little.

"This seems to be a one-sided battle. It looks like Commander Heathcliff doesn't have the strength to fight back at all!" someone in the crowd said.

"Hah!" Lingyun gave a low shout, and the long sword in his hand struck Heathcliff's shield with full force, sparking a flash of fire.

Heathcliff let out a muffled groan, his body retreating repeatedly, almost unable to hold onto the shield in his hand. Looking at his own HP bar, which had already decreased significantly, and then looking at Lingyun not far away who hadn't lost a single point of HP, Heathcliff realized that although he had tried his best to overestimate Lingyun before, he had still underestimated him.

Before entering this world, he had always been a researcher, obsessed with studying virtual worlds. It was only after entering this world that he began to come into contact with combat. But the opponent in front of him was clearly a person who had been through a hundred battles; both his combat techniques and combat experience left him in the dust by who knows how many streets. In this situation, the opponent also possessed a level and equipment not inferior to his own; crushing him was not an impossible thing.

"As expected of the person with the title of Phantom Sword! Your combat power really makes me look at you with new eyes." Heathcliff slowly straightened his body, and an invisible aura slowly spread from him. "However, I am the Commander of the Blood Oath Knights; I am not so easy to defeat. Now, let's begin our second round!"

"Limit Break!" Following Heathcliff's low shout, red and white light spread from his body, and a whirlwind centered on him expanded toward the surroundings.