3:00 p.m.
Outside the boss room in the labyrinth area of the 32nd floor, a group of players stood ready, facing the large door.
The only light came from flickering torches. Although it was bright outside, deep within the labyrinth on the 30th floor and above, torches were necessary.
At the very front of the Capture Group's players stood Asuna, wearing the red and white skirt armor of the Knights of the Blood Oath, looking full of heroic spirit. Standing beside her were Yusei and Shiro.
The number of players participating in this 32nd-floor boss raid wasn't huge, but they were undoubtedly the elite among elites.
Yet, even though they were all elites, they listened attentively to Asuna without the slightest negligence.
Asuna stood before the Boss Room's door, looking at the Capture Group's players before her, and spoke, "For this raid, the Ice Dragon Prince and Ice Dragon Princess will be the main force. The rest of us will assist and switch as needed. Any problems?"
"No problems!" Everyone answered in unison, their tones carrying a hint of relief.
Even though they were all elite players, when they could be carried, they were willing to be carried. Wasn't it great to have a pro leading the way?
If it were about snatching the Last Attack on the boss, that was completely unnecessary.
At this stage of the game, the rare items dropped by bosses weren't as crucial anymore, as regular shops even sold items with similar level.
Therefore, no one would refuse a pro joining their team, because a pro joining meant their chances of survival increased significantly.
Asuna nodded, pushed open the Boss Room's door first, and walked straight in.
The massive, heavy door opened with an old, creaking sound. Immediately, everyone saw countless pairs of red eyes open in the pitch-black darkness, all staring uniformly at the doorway.
Even though they had prior intelligence, seeing so many pairs of eyes suddenly fixated on them inevitably caused some fear among the Capture Group's players.
Asuna's heart tightened, but then a large hand rested on her shoulder, and a familiar voice reached her ears.
"It's alright. I'm here."
Asuna looked sideways. Yusei was now standing beside her, giving her a great sense of security.
Feeling reassured, Asuna returned to her usual calm and decisive self. She immediately issued commands.
"Ensure every party has a torch lit. These bats fear fire. Make sure the torches don't go out."
This was intelligence obtained by previous guilds at the cost of lives. The guardian boss of the 32nd floor was a giant bat, along with its guard, smaller bats.
Their attacks were extremely swift, and because they were airborne, predicting their attacks was very difficult.
This required players to form parties beforehand, with at least three members per party, then stand back-to-back to protect each other.
The giant bat would be handled by the main force players, who would engage it until the smaller bats were cleared, then everyone would surround and attack it together... This was Asuna's tactical plan.
However, because of Yusei's sudden joining, Asuna made a slight adjustment.
The smaller bats would be handled by the other Capture Group's players. She, Yusei, and Shiro would form one party and focus all their attacks on the giant bat, aiming to kill it as quickly as possible.
According to intelligence, the smaller bats' actions were actually controlled by the giant bat.
If enough pressure was put on the giant bat, the other Capture Group's members would clear the smaller bats faster and could then quickly come to surround the giant bat.
With Yusei here... applying the maximum pressure on the Boss was a given. This was what Asuna believed, and what most Capture Group's players thought as well.
Asuna, Yusei, and Shiro stood together. After a glance at the Capture Group's players behind them, Asuna called out softly,
"Let's go. Be careful not to let the torches go out."
Saying this, she raised a torch with one hand, drew her rapier with the other, and charged forward like a flash of light.
Seeing this, Yusei's Ice Dragon Katana at his waist was slightly drawn. His speed was actually faster than Asuna's as he charged directly towards the boss.
[Soryusen]
The name might sound flashy, but this move was essentially closing the distance with the enemy using high speed and then performing an Iaijutsu slash.
Yusei charged ahead of everyone, reaching the spot below the bat boss hanging upside down from the ceiling.
He pushed off powerfully with his feet, his whole body shooting straight up like a sharp sword.
The Ice Dragon Katana, carrying specks of cold energy, froze the air Yusei passed through, leaving a blue trail in the air.
This trail was extremely eye-catching in the darkness, making one's gaze involuntarily follow it.
A blue, phantom ice dragon seemed to open its maw, swiftly swept past the bat, and vanished. Yusei's blade had already slashed across the bat's wing.
Screech!
Seemingly in great pain from this strike, the bat boss let out a shrill cry... and all the smaller bats in the entire boss room suddenly went into a frenzy, flying around chaotically, putting immense pressure on the other Capture Group's players.
Seeing this, Asuna quickly shouted, "Don't panic! Groups of three, back-to-back defense!"
After speaking, she gritted her teeth, looked at the bat boss that had been slashed down by Yusei and was now fluttering erratically, and her rapier shot forward like a flowing stream of light.
The bat boss screeched heavily again... but it wasn't over yet. As Asuna attacked, a petite figure swiftly flashed past beside her.
Shiro, trailing a similar blue ice crystal path, rapidly wielded her longsword, creating a dance of blades so dense it seemed impenetrable.
"Nii-style: Chaotic Slash." Shiro stated the embarrassing sword technique name with an expressionless face.
The corner of Yusei's mouth twitched, 'Since when did Shiro start a 'Nii-style' school? But no matter how you look at it, that's just wildly swinging the sword randomly, right...?'
But even so, because every slash from Shiro was cunning and sharp, they all struck the giant bat boss's vital points, depleting a large amount of its HP.
In SAO's monster mechanics, there were indeed so-called weak points. However, because weak points were generally not fixed, and hitting them in combat was difficult, players rarely managed to hit all weak points consistently.
But Shiro was different... On one hand, she could remember all the weak points Yusei told her about, and on the other hand, her control over strength and speed was perfect. This allowed her to execute every attack command flawlessly.
The coordination between Yusei, Asuna, and Shiro was perfectly stunning. While the Capture Group's players watched in awe, their confidence soared, and they seriously focused on dealing with the smaller bats before them.
'The leader and the Ice Dragon Siblings are so powerful! How can we hold them back? At the very least, we should clear these minions!'