Kiriko, listening nearby, felt quite depressed, 'He wastes Col like this and still reached level 30? Does this guy not upgrade his equipment before grinding in the wild?'
She felt that if she didn't eat a full, satisfying meal tonight, she would feel somewhat wronged.
The next day, the raid team stood before the entrance to the Boss Room. The massive bronze door made the players feel exceptionally small, as if declaring the power of the Boss within.
Diabel took a deep breath, turned to look at the many raiding players, and said, "Let's go. We will win!"
With that, he pushed open the large door and led the numerous players inside.
The moment they stepped into the Boss Room, the originally pitch-dark space was instantly illuminated by torches lighting up section by section.
At the far end of the room, on a huge throne, sat a gigantic dog-headed humanoid.
Compared to this Boss, the players seemed like dwarves.
After the players entered the room, the dog-headed humanoid seemed to awaken. Its massive body leaped up and landed in front of the players with a thunderous crash.
The powerful impact caused some players to lose their footing, almost falling on their backsides.
At the same time, from somewhere, three Kobold Sentinels appeared around the giant Kobold Lord.
They wore airtight knight's armor and held hammer weapons, glaring fiercely at the players.
Diabel took a deep breath, then raised his shield in his left hand, his sword in his right, and pointed towards the Kobold Lord.
"Everyone, charge! All units, attack!"
Being able to participate in the first-floor Boss Raid meant the players present were prepared.
Even though they felt fear encountering the Boss Raid the first time, they gritted their teeth and endured it.
Hearing Diabel's command, they roared in unison and charged towards the three-meter-tall dog-headed humanoid.
"Kill them!"
Instantly, the sounds of clashing metal weapons became incessant... The players worked in small groups, employing attrition tactics.
First, the Boss was contained, then the other teams quickly dealt with the Kobold Sentinels. Finally, they would collectively rotate attacks on the Kobold Lord.
Yusei's group was assigned to take down one Kobold Sentinel.
Yusei and Shiro weren't in a hurry to join the fight. Kaguya and Asuna's attacks weren't particularly flashy, but they forced the Kobold Sentinel to endure a storm of assaults.
"So impressive," Kiriko praised sincerely.
In SAO, besides solo player, sword skills, party coordination and switching were equally important.
In Kiriko's view, Kaguya and Asuna's coordination was already excellent.
"Aren't you going to help?" Kiriko turned to look at Yusei, who was spectating.
"Not yet. Let's wait a little longer."
Yusei was currently carefully analyzing Kaguya's combat movements with his Sharingan. His goal was naturally to later use Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu techniques that fit Kaguya's movement habits.
Although she wasn't sure what Yusei was thinking, Kiriko still charged forward decisively, joining Kaguya and Asuna's battle.
For a time, these three cloaked figures became the center of attention on the battlefield.
The reason was simple... the rapidly decreasing HP bar of the Kobold Sentinel was the best proof.
Time passed bit by bit. The HP of the Kobold Sentinel assigned to Yusei's group was almost depleted, on the verge of being killed by the three girls.
However, at that moment, another Kobold Sentinel suddenly rushed out from the side, charging straight towards Kiriko and the others.
Yusei narrowed his eyes, looking in the direction the Kobold Sentinel came from.
He saw Kibaou's group frantically chasing that Kobold Sentinel, shouting as they ran:
"Run... Sorry! We lost focus for a moment and let it break out of our encirclement!"
A cold glint flashed in Yusei's eyes, but rescuing Kiriko and the others was the priority now.
However, if he attacked suddenly, the girls, who were concentrating, might get hit.
"Shiro," Yusei called softly.
The cute little head next to him nodded slightly.
"Understood, Nii. Use that one?"
"Okay."
As the siblings spoke, the cloaks on their bodies suddenly began to glow with a brilliant blue light. The originally plain white cloaks instantly transformed.
White base color, vivid blue dragon patterns, cyan-blue dragon scales... Everything appeared incredibly majestic and imposing.
When the brilliant blue cold light appeared, all players felt as if a dragon's head was slowly opening its eyes, as if gazing upon them. The charging Kobold Sentinel, for some reason, also froze in place, trembling and unmoving.
Yusei and Shiro knew this was the effect of Dragon's Awe of the Ice Dragon Cloak.
Without hesitation, Yusei and Shiro's figures instantly turned into streaks of light. They were two streams of blue-white radiance.
All players who saw this scene had only two words flash through their minds:
'So fast!'
Yusei from the left, Shiro from the front. The Ice Dragon weapons in their hands surged with cold energy, shining like dazzling gems within the blue light.
Blue blade lights converged at a single point, as if two dragon heads were colliding. The blade lights traced an [X] trajectory in the air, one after the other.
This scene was like an ice dragon's upper and lower jaws clamping onto the enemy, swallowing it whole in one bite.
The Kobold Sentinel, which moments before had a large green HP bar, saw its health plummet to zero in an instant.
Players who witnessed this stared wide-eyed. Even Kiriko, who was observing from the side, was no exception.
'This attack power... isn't it too high?!'
The Kobold Sentinel turned into fragments, dissipating in the air.
Seeing this, the group led by Kibaou froze in their tracks.
Yusei sheathed his Ice Dragon Katana and looked towards Kibaou and the others, a smile unconsciously forming on his face.
"Hello there."
For some reason, they felt more afraid seeing Yusei's smile than if they had seen him angry and shouting.
Kibaou swallowed hard, his voice slightly trembling: "S-sorry! We accidentally let it get away..."
"It's fine. Just be more careful in the wild next time. I've heard not a few players... were forced to log out," Yusei's tone was flat, his words seeming to be for their own good.
But right now, they only felt that Yusei was threatening them.
Telling them to watch out next time they go into the wild... that he could appear at any time to eliminate them.