I'm a Sword Master in Sword Art Online

The elite members of the strategy team gathered on the spacious platform in front of the palace. The red and white armor of the Blood Oath Knights gleamed in the sunlight, the deep blue robes of the Holy Dragon Alliance fluttered in the wind, and the members of the Golden Rule gripped their weapons tightly. Members of the Wind, Forest, Fire, Mountain and the Moonlit Black Cat Gang were also fully armed and ready for battle. Among them were the lone players: the black-clad swordsman Kirito, the knight Diabel, and the axe-wielding warrior Agil, each with a burning determination in their eyes.

Argo, the intelligence broker, stood at a distance watching the frontline players, her sly smile unusually absent, her eyes flashing with a complex light. She gazed at the menacing silhouette of the Ruby Palace, her hand gripping her notebook tightly. All the intelligence she had recorded over the past two years, the names of the victims, and the key points of each floor's strategy, now weighed heavily on her heart.

"Gentlemen."

Heathcliff's voice broke the heavy silence. The Grand Master of the Knights of the Blood Oath stood at the head of the column, his bronze eyes sweeping over every familiar face—his comrades who had fought alongside him for two years. His voice was no longer as rousing as usual, but rather unusually gentle.

“For the past two years, we have traversed ninety-nine floors. Now…” He turned and pointed to the majestic palace behind him, “the final Demon King is there.”

"The Final Strategy—"

"start!!!"

The thunderous battle roar shattered the clouds, and the clanging of steel being drawn from its sheaths blended together.

At this moment, there were no grand words, only countless hands gripping weapons tightly and unwavering steps.

This raiding force, composed entirely of max-level players, surged towards the [Red Jade Palace] like an unstoppable torrent.

Pushing open the heavy palace doors, the group stepped inside and were immediately struck by the sheer vastness of its interior. The Crimson Palace was far more magnificent than its exterior. A crimson dome hung hundreds of meters above the ground, its countless blood-red crystal spikes forming an inverted forest, gleaming ominously in the darkness. As the heavy palace doors slowly closed behind them, all the players held their breath.

The ground beneath my feet suddenly began to tremble.

What began as a slight tremor quickly escalated into a violent shaking. The marble floor tiles in the center of the palace shattered like fragile eggshells, and thick roots burst forth from the earth, their gnarled branches flowing with lava-like patterns. Giant trees rose from the ground at a visible speed, their thick trunks revealing veins like blood vessels, their canopies piercing directly through the palace dome.

Under the dense shade of trees, space suddenly distorted.

A figure twenty meters tall appeared out of thin air, like a majestic mountain. It was a gigantic monster, possessing both the elegance of a goddess and the wildness of a beast. It had a body as white as snow, eyes as red as blood, and a woman's face. Several red spheres on its head, like burning flames, extended to the top and back of its body, forming six long, sword-like appendages, each protruding with a red sphere.

It gripped a deep red sword tightly in its right hand, and a spear with a red tip and a black handle in its left. From the waist down, it wore a magnificent hakama-like garment.

In an instant, ten health bars appeared like ten crimson chains, lined up above its head.

The final boss of Aincrad—

【An Incarnation of the Radius】

He woke up.

The name is abbreviated as AINCRAD, which means: Aincrad.

"This size..."

"The health bar is ridiculously long..."

Before the raiding team could recover from their shock, Heathcliff's bronze eyes narrowed, and he shouted, "Danger! Everyone, get out of the way!"

late.

Suddenly, the monster's eyes emitted a blinding red light.

Two crimson rays swept across like swords of judgment, instantly vaporizing the ground in their path. The two closest players didn't even have time to scream before being reduced to data fragments in the light. The shockwave from the explosion sent more than a dozen people flying, crashing into the palace pillars with muffled thuds of shattering bones.

"hateful!"

The guild leader of the two players shouted, his eyes filled with grief and anger. However, this was not the time for sorrow, for the battle continued, and every second was a matter of life and death.

The players who made it this far are at least those who aren't afraid of death. They could have chosen not to participate in this final battle, or waited for the strategy team to win like ordinary players. However, perhaps humans are such strange creatures that their beliefs can be greater than life itself, greater than death.

For two years, they relentlessly faced challenges, and no one remembers how many died along the way. Perhaps some were companions, others loved ones. But the players' journey never faltered; for their beliefs, for freedom, they pressed on.

Mochizuki Kaede silently mourned the fallen players, his hands already gripping the Thunder Abyss Judgment and the Earth Sword tightly. After Asuna raised the Banner of Valor on the ground, granting him full power boosts, he charged forward like a cannonball, his sword flashing like a meteor streaking across the night sky.

"Aaaaaah!" All the players shouted and activated their sword skills.

The avatar of Radius slowly raised his right arm.

The crimson greatsword, a full fifteen meters long, stirred up a hurricane; the mere aftershock of its downward slash was enough to make players thirty meters away lose their footing. Mitt raised her purple giant scythe to block, and the moment the blade collided with the sword, the floor tiles beneath her feet shattered, spiderweb-like cracks spreading ten meters away.

"Ugh—!" Mitt's arm muscles tensed to their limit, and the scythe groaned under the strain. Just as the weapon was about to slip from his hand, two figures, one in blue and one in green, slashed in like lightning.

"Drink!" Mochizuki Maple's Thunder Abyss Judgment and Asuna's Elf Sword simultaneously blocked the greatsword. The shockwave from the collision of the three weapons sent rubble flying within a five-meter radius, and lightning crackled wildly at the point where the blades met.

The monster's black-handled spear suddenly thrust out, its tip tearing through the air with a piercing shriek. Three players who had raised their shields to defend were flung away like rag dolls, their health instantly reduced to zero. Yuna's healing melody rang out just in time, green light points disappearing into the wounded like fireflies, but the rate of recovery was far from keeping up with the accumulated damage.

"boom!"

Heathcliff's cross shield clashed with the monster's spear, sparks raining down. Kirito and Diabel seized the opportunity to rush to the monster's feet, their black and silver sword lights weaving into a net, only to be repelled by a pale blue shield the instant they touched the monster's skin.

"what?!"

Diabel's scream was drowned out by the sound of the monster's foot slicing through the air.

The giant foot swept down like a warhammer, and the two barely managed to dodge but were still thrown back by the aftershock. Kirito twisted his body in mid-air, and as his black clothes fluttered, his twin swords shone with dazzling light—the ultimate dual-wielding sword technique, [Eclipse]! Twenty-seven sword lights erupted like a solar corona, continuously bombarding the same point on the monster's blue shield.

. . . .

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Chapter 216: The Protection of the Black Sacred Tree

"Crack——!"

Kirito's twin swords flashed with blinding white light, and the final strike of [Eclipse] pierced through the blue shield like a meteor. With a crisp cracking sound, the defensive barrier scattered like ice crystals. Agil seized the opportunity, his battle axe tearing a gruesome wound into the ankle of the avatar of Radius.

"Roar--!"

A deafening roar unleashed a shockwave, and the monster's black spear pierced towards Agil like lightning. The bald black man parried with his axe, sparks from the clash of metal illuminating his face, contorted by the immense force. His knee slammed heavily into the ground, spiderweb-like cracks spreading from the point of impact. His health rapidly declined, eventually stopping in the yellow zone. Then, to the strain of Yuna's melodious song, his health began to slowly recover.

"Hold on!" Diabel's silver sword and Kirito's black sword crossed to block the spear, the three weapons sparking dazzlingly.

On the other side, Asuna's rapier and Mito's scythe worked together to block the monster's downward slashing greatsword. Mochizuki Kaede and Filia swept across the battlefield like two bolts of lightning, their twin swords and short swords leaving crisscrossing bloody marks on the BOSS's legs.

"Now!" Heathcliff's roar echoed across the battlefield.

Several players seized the opportunity to launch a full-scale attack, their multicolored sword skills crashing down on the colossal creature like a dazzling torrent of aurora borealis.

The first of the ten health bars of Radius's avatar finally reached its limit, and the second began to recede at a visible rate. The monster's painful scream, emanating from its head thrown back, created a visible sonic boom that caused the blood crystals on the palace dome to fall in a flurry.

"It works! Keep outputting!" someone shouted.

The monster suddenly let out a shriek that was inhuman, and a blinding green light gathered deep within its mouth. Two spheres of energy churned and expanded in its throat, about to transform into a beam of destructive force—

"Whoosh!"

Silica's long-awaited crescent moon cleaved through the sky, striking the monster precisely between the eyebrows. While it failed to interrupt the spellcasting, it deflected the breath's trajectory. A thick, pillar-like green beam grazed the edge of the player formation, melting a massive hole in the palace wall. The players, thrown back by the aftershocks, miraculously survived thanks to Yuna's defensive buffs, each face etched with the relief of surviving a close call.

The battle continued to escalate to a fever pitch.

"Five health bars left! Concentrate your firepower!"

Just as the offensive was in full swing, a sudden change occurred.

The avatar of Radius suddenly ceased its attack, and its six sword-like appendages unfurled like flower petals. The veins of the towering tree behind it glowed with molten gold, and its canopy cast a holy light.

A drop of crystal-clear blue liquid dripped from the leaf and disappeared into the red gem on the monster's head.

“This is…” Asuna’s pupils suddenly contracted.

Radius's avatar was bathed in holy light, and the red orbs at the ends of its six sword crowns turned azure. Even more terrifying, its health bar, which had been reduced, was visibly recovering, and its pale blue shield was reforming.

"Damn it! It's repairing itself!" Klein's katana struck the shield, only creating a ripple.

Heathcliff's order was decisive: "Destroy that tree first!"

Dozens of players immediately changed direction, their swords raining down on the tree trunk. However, the blows, powerful enough to cleave steel, left no mark on the bark; the most powerful sword techniques were like ants trying to shake a tree. Even swords of any material were useless against it; the swords clashed with the giant tree, producing only dull clangs.

"Clang!" Kirito's black sword was deflected, and his hand was cracked from the impact.

"How is this possible..." Diabel's silver sword didn't even leave a scratch.

Mochizuki suddenly felt the Thunder Abyss Judgment in his hand trembling. The buzzing from the blade resonated with the golden light of the giant tree, and tree branch-like patterns appeared on the obsidian-like blade.

A thought flashed through his mind like lightning: this thunder blade, reforged from the branches of the Black Sacred Tree, might be able to cut through that seemingly indestructible giant tree precisely because of the special nature of its material.

The body moves faster than the mind; Mochizuki Maple's figure shot towards the giant tree like an arrow released from a bow, his silver hair leaving a streak of light in the wind.

"Shh-"

The anticipated resistance did not materialize.

The moment the blade touched the tree trunk, it was as smooth as cutting through butter. Mochizuki Kaede's eyes lit up, and he unleashed his highest-level sword technique, [One-Sword Asura], at full power. The blade flashed like azure lightning, leaving a scorching trail in the air.

With a single stroke, the giant tree was sliced ​​in half horizontally. Amidst the crisp sound of the wood fibers breaking, the figure of the Maple Leaf had already swiftly circled the tree once.

"Rumble--"

The afterimage of [One-Slash Asura] had not yet dissipated when the towering tree slowly toppled amidst a deafening roar. A beam of blue light spread horizontally along the trunk, and then the entire giant tree slowly tilted before crashing to the ground with a deafening roar.

The shattered tree trunk transformed into countless golden specks of light, drifting in the air like fireflies on a summer night.

Strangely, these points of light were completely absorbed by the Thunder Abyss Judgment, making the lightning patterns on the blade even clearer and brighter.

"Roar ah ah ah!!"

The monster, its restoration ritual interrupted, went berserk. Its crimson greatsword in its right hand and its black-handled spear in its left simultaneously attacked Wang Yuefeng, its attack speed more than twice as fast as before. Even before the swords arrived, a fierce gale had already plowed deep furrows into the ground.

Wang Yuefeng parried with his sword, but was still thrown dozens of meters by the immense force. He adjusted his stance mid-air, only managing to stop his retreat when the Thunder Abyss Judgment plunged into the ground, leaving a ten-meter-long trail of sparks. Looking up, the sapphires on the monster's six sword-like appendages were flashing wildly—

"Watch out for scattered beams!"

Heathcliff's warning came too late.

Six blue beams of light shot towards Mochizuki Kaede from different angles, blocking all evasive routes. At the critical moment, Asuna's rapier and Mito's scythe intertwined to form a blue-purple light net, blocking three beams. Philia and Silica joined forces to intercept two beams, while the last one was forcefully cleaved apart by Kirito and Diabel.

"Thanks." Wang Yuefeng stood up, panting, and suddenly noticed that the golden light points absorbed by Lei Yuan Judgment were gathering at the tip of the blade. Some kind of unfamiliar energy was flowing through his veins, filling every inch of his muscles with explosive power.

The lightning patterns on the Thunder Abyss Judgment blade lit up completely, the space around the blade began to distort, and tiny electric snakes snaked through the air. Mochizuki Maple could sense that the absorbed essence of the giant tree was resonating with the weapon.

The avatar of Radius seemed to sense the threat; its six appendages suddenly detached from its main body, transforming into floating cannons that circled around it. Each sapphire began to charge up, clearly preparing to launch a full-scale, all-around saturation attack.

"All units, focus fire!"

Heathcliff's cross shield struck the monster's giant foot first. Kirito and Diabel transformed into a black and white whirlwind, while Agil swung his battle axe at the monster's spear-wielding wrist. Asuna and Mito's combined sword and scythe attack rained down like a storm, and Silica hurled her crescent moon wheel, accurately hitting a floating cannon.

Amidst the chaos, Mochizuki Kaede disappeared.

When he reappeared, he was already directly above the avatar of Radius. The sword technique of Thunder Abyss Judgment shone brightly, no longer the usual azure, but a dazzling radiance that blended gold and blue. This strike directly severed three of the monster's appendages, and two more of its remaining health bars disappeared.

The monster finally showed signs of fatigue, and its movements became noticeably slower.

. . . . . .

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