-288- One-sided battle

At the same time, the entire raiding party encountered new enemies.

During the strategy battle against the 1st-floor guardian boss, Illfang the Kobold Lord, not only did Illfang's attack patterns change, but also the appearance of the Kobold Sentinels had been altered.

Originally, the Kobold Sentinels would only appear when the guardian boss's HP dropped by one bar, with three of them spawning each time. Now they didn't wait for the boss's HP to drop a bar before appearing. Instead, they emerged every so often in groups of four, continuing until the guardian boss was defeated.

As a result, several Kobold Sentinels abruptly emerged from all directions, roaring as they charged towards the raiding party.

Faced with these four Kobold Sentinels, due to Diabel's unexpected situation, the regular players were struggling to keep up and could only instinctively retreat. On the other hand, the beta testers stepped forward, intercepting the four monsters.

Asuna was among them.

However, in that moment, Asuna had already forgotten about the enemies in front of her. Her attention was completely captivated by the intense battle happening in the distance.

It was an astonishingly intense attack and defense battle.

On the defensive side was Illfang, the 1st-floor guardian boss of Aincrad, the Kobold Lord Illfang.

On the offensive side, there were two players.

Two players, both wielding identical single-handed swords, charging simultaneously towards the guardian boss.

"Clang!"

"Clang!"

Under the luminous sound effects, the glow of sword techniques simultaneously lit up on the weapons held by the two youths.

"Clang!"

As if planned, Illfang's nodachi also gleamed, emitting its own radiance.

"Gurghh!"

Illfang let out a low growl, placing the nodachi by its waist, and with astonishing speed, it dashed towards Rozen and Kirito.

This was the nodachi's long-range linear technique, "Tsujikaze (Whirlwind)."

The only phrase that could describe this technique was "Iaijutsu."

Therefore, Illfang rapidly executed an Iaijutsu attack, leaving a graceful trail of light in the air as it brought the momentum of a whistling wind, slashing forward.

Kirito was the one facing this attack.

Due to his allocation of 1 point to strength and 2 points to agility, Kirito's speed was considerably higher compared to Rozen's. He arrived at Illfang's front before Rozen did, and launched his own strike.

However, facing this swift Iaijutsu attack, Kirito activated his sword technique as well. His entire body was enveloped in a pale blue light, similar to the aurora, as he surged towards Illfang.

This was the basic single-handed sword thrust technique, "Rage Spike."

Like a blaze of anger, Kirito's speed surged as he reached Illfang's front, releasing an explosive thrust.

"Clang!"

The heavy sound of metal collision resounded, accompanied by the forceful wind, echoing all around.

Simultaneously launching their sword techniques, Kirito's and Illfang's weapons collided in midair, creating intense sparks and propelling both of them away.

In this situation, both Kirito and Illfang were locked in a state of sword technique stiffness.

Maintaining this state, Kirito shouted, "Switch!"

The moment this command left Kirito's lips, a figure shot past him from the side, hurtling towards Illfang.

Staring at Illfang, who was now frozen, Rozen took a deep breath. His consciousness seemed to sink into the depths of his mind.

"Thump, thump…!"

It was his heartbeat, growing louder.

"Thump, thump…!"

A clear signal.

"Thump, thump…!"

Visible ripples.

"Thump, thump…!"

Disorderly vibrations.

In that single moment, Rozen's perception of the world changed completely.

It transformed into a microscopic universe, and at the same time, it expanded into the vast sky.

Observing this world, Rozen's "Mind's Eye" was activated smoothly.

Normally, it required a fair amount of preparation time to concentrate and adjust one's mindset before successfully utilizing this technique. However, driven by intense emotions, Rozen managed to use it in less than three seconds.

This allowed Rozen to glimpse the essence of all phenomena and perceive the fluctuations of everything.

Naturally following one of the most distinct ripples, Rozen's sword-wielding hand swung vertically, almost as if it were being guided, executing a vertical strike.

This strike was as swift as lightning and as heavy as a mountain.

In the real world, given Rozen's frail physique, he wouldn't have been able to execute such a strike.

Yet, aided by the power of "Mind's Eye," Rozen flawlessly and naturally unleashed the basic single-handed sword technique, "Vertical."

"Splurt!"

The thunderous strike hit Illfang, who had no way to dodge. The strike cleaved through, leaving a wound that pierced from top to bottom.

"Grahh…!?"

Illfang let out its most agonizing scream yet.

Enhanced to +8, the "Anneal Blade" held incredible attack power, further amplified by the assistance of "Mind's Eye." The resulting damage was terrifyingly staggering.

Not to mention, this attack also triggered a critical hit, significantly reducing Illfang's HP.

This portion of damage inflicted by Rozen's strike would have required at least four players wielding dual-handed battle axes, all simultaneously using their most powerful sword techniques, to achieve.

Now, using just a single-handed sword, Rozen delivered this level of damage to the guardian boss.

Illfang roared in agony, recovering from its stiffness and rushing towards Rozen, who was now in a similar state.

Rozen simply shouted, "Switch!"

Before Illfang could react, Kirito, who had already recovered from his stiffness, leapt into the air, springing off Rozen's shoulder from behind. He lifted the "Anneal Blade +6" beside him, and the radiance of his sword techniques illuminated.

This was a sword technique belonging to the same category as the "Vertical" – the "Horizontal."

While the "Vertical" was a vertical cut, the "Horizontal" was a horizontal slash.

With the sharp single-handed sword brushing by Kirito's side, a trail of light followed its trajectory.

This scene was reminiscent of an Iaijutsu.

Although Kirito's strike wasn't as perfectly executed as Rozen's "Mind's Eye," he utilized his body's movements to elevate the speed and power of his sword technique to its peak.

"Splurt!"

The Kobold Lord, who was preparing to attack Rozen, was hit by the horizontal strike. It was as if it had been cut across the waist, leaving a wound spanning its midsection.

Rozen's strike created a wound piercing from top to bottom.

Kirito's strike created a wound stretching from left to right.

The two wounds overlapped, forming a perfectly aligned cross-shaped scar.

"————!"

Illfang's agonizing scream was barely audible.

Its HP had almost reached the bottom.

"Haaahhh!"

"Oohhhh!"

Rozen and Kirito simultaneously shouted their battle cries, continuing their fierce assault on Illfang.

The two single-handed swordsmen gave Illfang no chance to counterattack, alternating between fierce attacks and swift switches, thoroughly suppressing the guardian boss.

The onlooking players could only stare in amazement.

"Is this for real...?"

"So… so strong…"

"Players can become this powerful…?"

Each player was dumbstruck.

Even Asuna was trembling.

Not out of fear, but astonishment.