บท 347: -343- The last card
If PoH had indeed confirmed that the clearing group players, including "Crimson Wing," had gone to various floors to subdue the orange-named guilds and were not in the town, then Rozen's current situation is quite dire.
Being in the labyrinth and unable to send messages, Rozen couldn't even get the support of "Crimson Wing," including the clearing group. Additionally, his position couldn't be tracked within the labyrinth, so the others wouldn't know that Rozen was under attack here.
Rozen was truly alone now, in a difficult situation.
This was why PoH said that Rozen was being clever and yet was led astray by his cleverness. He thought PoH wouldn't be fooled, and that's why he came alone to this labyrinth. Otherwise, Rozen wouldn't have put himself in such a dangerous situation.
"Even if you deny it, you being alone here is a fact, proving that my assumption was correct," PoH said, raising the cleaver in his hand and smirking at Rozen.
"Or do you think that just you alone can deal with the three of us?" he continued.
From this statement, it was clear that PoH had immense confidence in the abilities of himself and the other two top executives.
In reality, including PoH, these three top executives were incredibly powerful.
Take PoH, the red-named guild leader, for example. Rozen believed he had a good understanding of PoH's strength. He was an extremely skilled short sword user, and a short sword in his hands was like an extension of his arm. The blade of his short sword could cut through monsters and players without needing system assistance. If Asuna was a natural with a rapier, then PoH's talent with short sword was no less than hers.
In the past, this short sword genius had taken the lives of countless players with just his cleaver.
Later on, this short sword genius obtained a large cleaver named "<Mate Chopper>" as a drop from a boss-level monster.
The performance of this large kitchen knife like dagger, with the appearance of a kitchen knife, had surpassed the highest-level weapon that the current top-level blacksmiths could craft, reaching the level of what was known as a "Maken."
//// PoH's large cleaver is actually a dagger-class weapon....I know...weird....////
Swords that can rival the capabilities of this weapon, Rozen had only seen one, which was the one Kirito possessed. It was a one-handed sword obtained from the 50th-floor boss, known as the "Elucidator."
Even the most powerful main weapon Rozen could currently use wouldn't compare to this dagger.
This kitchen knife of a dagger had the capability to pierce through full-body armor. If hit, Rozen's HP bar would likely plummet into the yellow zone. If he got hit multiple times in a row, death would almost be guaranteed.
Therefore, PoH now possessed the kind of strength that would make any top player of the clearing group shiver. Players who could match him in power were likely not more than five within the clearing group, as seen in Rozen's eyes.
In this situation, it wasn't just PoH present. There were also two other executives from "Laughing Coffin," Johnny Black, the dagger poison user, and XaXa, the rapier user.
The strength of these two was also comparable to the strongest players within the clearing group.
Even someone like Asuna might not be able to easily gain the upper hand against them.
If Asuna couldn't, then the rest of the clearing group members were certainly out of the question.
Of course, that didn't include Heathcliff.
Heathcliff, with his unique skill, was in a different league altogether.
Even the strongest ordinary players would be powerless before Heathcliff's Holy Sword.
But, this also explained something.
Before completely mastering the "Mind's Eye," Rozen could already hold his own against Heathcliff, who had achieved an entirely different level of power. Furthermore...
"One against three?" Rozen quipped, seemingly amused.
"That doesn't seem right, does it?"
What was wrong?
"It should be four against three." Rozen took out a crystal.
"Clang!"
A blinding light surged from the crystal, and two beautiful butterflies emerged from it, fluttering around.
"Gu!"
"Gu!"
Accompanied by two light cries, Saichou and Hanachou finally reappeared, flying above Rozen's shoulder.
"————!"
Witnessing this scene, PoH and his two Laughing Coffin executives tightened their grip on their weapons, on high alert. The others could only watch in bewilderment.
Especially Silica. Seeing Saichou and Hanachou appear, she finally confirmed.
"So Rozen-nii really is..."
Silica was both excited and dazed.
While Rozen's identity might have been mistaken or impersonated earlier, it was no longer possible to conceal it. After all, every SAO player knew that only one person could have two rainbow butterflies as familiars, and that was the "Magus" himself.
At the moment when Saichou and Hanachou appeared here, Rozen's identity was finally confirmed. He was the leader of the clearing group, the Guild leader of the strongest guild, the one with the most potential to liberate the players from the game.
Only with such a presence would the three top executives of "Laughing Coffin" be mobilized together and execute a deadly ambush. This was because PoH knew that it was the most likely way to kill Rozen.
If they couldn't kill Rozen, and a confrontation ensued, it would become the current situation. Not only facing Rozen, but also his two familiars.
Familiars that could easily control even floor boss monsters.
However...
"Even if we count those two familiars, it's still three against three. So where does this 'four' come in?" PoH said.
And to this statement, someone replied.
"Right here."
A voice like that came from the other side of the forest.
Everyone was startled, turning their heads towards the sound.
Deep within the forest, a player walked forward at a leisurely pace.
Dressed in a black leather coat.
Gripping a jet-black one-handed longsword.
Who could it be, other than Kirito?
"Sorry, I'm late."
Kirito looked at PoH and the others, then turned to Rozen and said those words.
"It's alright, you're not late."
Rozen responded as if nothing was amiss.
The two brothers sandwiched the three Laughing Coffin members, one at the front and the other at the back.
"Black Swordsman..."
PoH said, his voice deep as he called Kirito's nickname.
Kirito responded with a smile.
"Who would've thought I'd be here too?" Kirito laughed casually. "You confirmed the movement of 'Crimson Wing' but didn't notice that only I went missing, right?"
In other words...
"From the very beginning, I didn't join the subjugation of the orange-named guilds. Instead, I've been using the 'Hiding' skill to stay hidden and follow Rozen."
Kirito gazed at PoH's face hidden under his raincoat and spoke.
"You said Rozen's cleverness backfired, right?"
"The one who's plan backfired is you."
"PoH."
PoH believed that Rozen speculated he wouldn't be lured out and that's why he came alone.
But in reality, that was also Rozen's plan.
"To lure you out, Rozen made the entire 'Crimson Wing,' including the clearing group members, go to subdue the orange-named guilds, truly putting himself in danger, but he didn't leave himself defenseless."
Kirito suppressed a smile, as if subduing his opponent.
"And I'm the last card."
This was the final outcome of the entire event.
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