Chapter 69

There was even an unwritten rule among the many guilds that formed the clearing group before.

That was, whichever guild defeated the floor boss, that guild would be able to obtain the priority development rights for the next floor and have the power to establish a guild headquarters on this floor.

Although this rule sounded quite unfair to ordinary players, ordinary players naturally had to make some appropriate sacrifices while enjoying being carried.

And such a rule could also better stimulate the fighting spirit of the clearing group players.

After all, without any benefits, who would fight on the front line?

You have to know that the current SAO is a real death game; if you are careless, people will really die!

For a solo player like Shengzai who had considerable strength and was famous, the guilds trying to win him over were far more than just the "Knights of the Blood Oath."

The previously second-ranked "Holy Dragon Alliance Guild," and even Klein's "Fuurinkazan," had actually invited him many times, but they were all rejected by him.

Of course, Shengzai also knew very well that if the "Holy Dragon Alliance" and these guilds were trying to win him over just to increase their own guild's combat power, then the repeated attempts by Heathcliff, the commander of the "Knights of the Blood Oath," were somewhat intriguing.

Others might not know, but Shengzai knew very well that Heathcliff, the commander of the Knights of the Blood Oath, was actually Kayaba Akihiko.

Other guilds were worried about insufficient combat power, but Kayaba Akihiko was using a GM account, opening all kinds of cheats, and would he be worried about insufficient combat power?

"Commander Heathcliff also said that he really wants to see your unique skill and wants to have a fair duel with you."

"If you win, he can agree to any of your conditions, and if you lose, you have to join our Knights of the Blood Oath."

When hearing this sentence from Asuna, Shengzai understood.

Heathcliff wanting to invite him to join the Knights of the Blood Oath was fake, wanting to probe his true strength was the real thing, right?

After all, Kayaba Akihiko at least knew about Kirito's unique skill "Dual Blades."

But Kayaba Akihiko should know nothing about the unique skill "Shikigami Sword" that he made up casually.

As a game GM, the reason Kayaba Akihiko used the pseudonym Heathcliff to participate among the players was, on one hand, because he wanted to experience the joy of playing the game himself, and on the other hand, wasn't it to better observe the players?

In fact, as early as the 50th floor, Shengzai had thought about whether to directly expose Kayaba Akihiko's true identity and let this death game end early.

However, after hesitating for a while, he ultimately didn't choose to do so.

The reason was also very simple: he, Shengzai, was not the child of the world, had no halo, and who knows if the other party would hold an appreciative attitude or be embarrassed and angry after he exposed Kayaba Akihiko's identity.

If it were the former, that would be fine; at least he would have obtained the opportunity for a fair duel like Kirito.

But if it were the latter, Kayaba Akihiko, who was embarrassed and angry, no matter how awesome he, Shengzai, was, he would have no way to deal with the other party.

That's right, he, Shengzai, had cheats, but in this SAO world, Kayaba Akihiko was the cheat itself.

If his GM immortality attribute wasn't lifted, then his health bar would never drop below 50 percent.

This was a system setting problem, unrelated to strength; even if he, Shengzai, were awesome, he couldn't compete with a GM who could modify the program in the game, right?

However, as a transmigrator, Shengzai also knew very well that although Kayaba Akihiko was cold and ruthless, he was quite good at keeping his promises.

If he really defeated him in a fair duel, could he use the conditions the other party promised him to let this death game end early?

Possessing the god-level skill "Damage Nullification" of the Kuriboh, Shengzai was not afraid of death, so after hesitating for less than a moment, Shengzai looked at Asuna beside him and said: "Help me tell Heathcliff, I accept his bet!"

The clearing meeting for the 75th-floor boss hadn't started yet, but the news that Heathcliff, the commander of the Knights of the Blood Oath, and the "Saint" were about to have a fair duel spread throughout SAO.

Whether it was Heathcliff or Shengzai, there was no doubt that they were both famous people in SAO.

Heathcliff didn't need to be mentioned; he had always been called the strongest player in SAO, and so far, not only monsters but also many players had challenged Heathcliff.

But relying on the unique skill "Holy Sword," these famous players who challenged him, let alone defeating Heathcliff, most couldn't even force his HP into the yellow zone.

As for the "Saint" Shengzai, although his combat record was not as brilliant as Heathcliff's.

But players in SAO also knew that Shengzai was also one of the top powerhouses in the entire SAO, and was also one of the only three players in the entire SAO who mastered unique skills.

That's right, Shengzai's "Shikigami Sword" being exposed was intentional, and Kirito, knowing that Shengzai and Heathcliff also mastered unique skills, knew that he was not special, so he didn't hide the existence of "Dual Blades."

Heathcliff's strength was very strong, but as one of the only three unique skill holders, Shengzai could not be underestimated either.

So when the news that Heathcliff and Shengzai were preparing to duel spread, the entire SAO also completely exploded.

The place for the duel agreed upon by both sides was the "Dragon's Nest" on the west mountain on the north side of the 55th floor.

And it was also because of this duel between the two that a large number of high-level players gathered in this area early in the morning.

"Lisbeth, I didn't expect you to come and join the fun with others; remember that we almost became the food of the Ice Dragon here last time."

Hearing that Shengzai was going to duel Heathcliff, Kirito also brought Sachi to the "Dragon's Nest" for the first time today, but didn't expect to run into acquaintances like Agil and Lisbeth as soon as he arrived.

Lisbeth was a pink-haired girl who opened a blacksmith shop on the main street of Lindas on the 48th floor.

Because of her superb craftsmanship, Shengzai and Kirito often patronized her business.

At that time, in order to forge the second one-handed sword "Dark Repulser," Kirito also came to this "Dragon's Nest" with the girl to collect forging materials.

"Kirito-kun, long time no see; is the Dark Repulser easy to use?"

Lisbeth was happily greeting Kirito while looking provocatively at Sachi beside Kirito.

That's right, ever since the last time they were in trouble in the "Dragon's Nest," Lisbeth had fallen in love with Kirito at first sight.

And Sachi was not Asuna; the two didn't have a relationship, and the reason Lisbeth liked Kirito was that Kirito and Sachi hadn't confirmed their relationship, so Lisbeth had always regarded Sachi as a love rival.

Even if Kirito and Sachi were lovers now, so what? Anyway, this was just a game, and she, Lisbeth, still had a great chance.

(End of this chapter)