Am I the only one streaming Sword Art Online on the entire internet?

325. Death Falls From the Sky

[So why was Yamaguchi Cho's opening voice line used even though it's an aerial combat game?]

[The real show is about to begin (referring to Ferdinand being bogged down by the 1375)]

"Stop right, friends, this is just a line. Besides, I never shoot German cars, okay?" Sorin was still wearing an air force tactical helmet, looking rather strange. "Let's go around it. At our speed, it'll be difficult to avoid Cephane's javelins. Let's not get shot down."

“I used to play War Thunder for a long time back in the day, so this kind of slow attack has no chance of hitting me,” Titch said confidently. He made a series of light maneuvers in mid-air, dodging Cephane’s two javelin throws, and then unleashed a volley of rockets in Cephane’s direction.

"Don't use the rocket pods, use the machine guns! The rocket pods can't hit him!" Sorin said this a little too late. He watched as a series of rockets grazed Cephane's wings and flew away, hitting the buildings next to him. "We definitely can't use the secret explosives now. There's only one god here. We can only have a chance to fight Nicol Bolas if we use explosives to blow up at least three gods."

"So what do we do now?" Yuuki gripped the hilts of her twin swords, her eyes filled with a hint of eager anticipation. "I have a few aerial combat skills; I can hold him off for a while, then go down and chop him down?"

“We might not be able to defeat him, but we can give it a try.” Solin nodded, automatically switching his weapon to a war club, and pointed to the other side of the hatch. “Tichi, open the door. Yuna, give us a buff and send us down to fight him.”

"Are you really going to go down there? Aren't you afraid of getting killed?" Yuna looked at Sorin with concern, but seeing Sorin's confident appearance, she stopped trying to dissuade him from this seemingly crazy plan. "I'm getting up."

"Hmm." Sorin listened to the melodious "Light your sword" in his ears, staring intently at the slowly opening hatch. When it was fully open, he pulled Yuki down and jumped. "This position is good. It's right above Kefane. If we adjust the angle here, we should be able to land on his back."

When he came down, he was still thinking about what kind of air combat Yuki should use, but when he saw the two steel cylinders that looked like gas cylinders hanging on Yuki's waist, he seemed to understand something.

Yuki pressed a button on the hilt of her sword, and two grappling hooks shot forward, embedding themselves directly in the center of the interdimensional beacon. Then, the two ropes rapidly retracted, and the gas canister at her waist ejected a large amount of gas backward, propelling her body forward.

"WDNM, this really is Wings of Freedom!" Sorin exclaimed in surprise at that moment. He knew very well that it was extremely difficult to make such an operation in such a fully immersive game. Only when the player controls this virtual body as smoothly as if controlling their own three-dimensional body... no, even more smoothly than controlling their own three-dimensional body, can they soar freely in the air like Yuki at this moment.

WDNM, it's really turned into tomato!

[Originally, there was no such thing as "Qiehua" (茄化), but after Qiezi (茄子) started streaming CS:GO, "Qiehua" came into being.]

[Yuki-chan is so cool! I'm a fan!]

The in-game translation software could translate many things, but it couldn't help Yuuki understand what Sorin's WDNM actually meant. She didn't think much of it, because for her right now, the formidable enemy before her was clearly more appealing.

She released the two grappling hooks fixed to the beacon tower, adjusted her posture, and drew a chilling blade of light in the air. Her whole body transformed into a rapidly spinning top, sweeping past Cephane's flank, bringing with it a violent gale and fluttering blue feathers.

Then she launched her grappling hook in another direction, circling back in the opposite direction. This back-and-forth motion was like a lumberjack being chakra-enchanted by Lightbringer, performing a series of side-to-side jumps, and the damage was quite high, directly scraping away about five percent of Cephane's health.

After she launched her first attack, Sorin jumped off the plane, adjusted her landing point in mid-air, and finally landed steadily on Cephane's neck.

"I wonder how the riding judgment will go this time. If we're lucky, Kefane will land because of this riding, which will make it much easier to fight." Sorin explained as he thrust into Kefane's neck again and again... It might look a bit dirty, but that's how it is.

"We rode up here just to make it land, so that Kirito and Sinon on the ground can more easily attack its weak point in the chest, which is that large Lazott Stone. Of course, if the NPC isn't just standing around, you can actually just pierce through that Lazott Stone, which is how it was in the original Spark Battle storyline."

Sorin's riding technique didn't require much skill, so he had time to explain. He looked in Yuki's direction; the girl flying in mid-air was clearly enjoying the battle. She had an excited smile on her face as she repeatedly flew past Cephane at great speed, stirring up a flurry of icy blue feathers.

"She really is... a girl born for war," Sorin couldn't help but sigh. "But why is that? Judging from her age, she should only be a middle school student... It's so strange."

After experiencing so much, Sorin subconsciously started to think about things in a more complicated way, even if it seemed to have nothing to do with him. But even with a thousand thoughts running through his mind, he couldn't figure out the details, so he had to put the matter aside once again.

"After this battle, ask the child again, if there's a chance."

As he thought this, he continued to forcefully thrust his hand into Cephane's neck. With the critical number of attacks approaching, Cephane finally couldn't hold on any longer and plummeted towards the platform near the transdimensional beacon below.

"Kirito! Sinon! Focus fire on their chests!" he shouted. "That's their weakness! All the gods' weaknesses are there!"

"Got it!" Kirito stared intently at the direction from which Cephane had fallen, and with a preemptive charge, he hit Cephane. He then quickly made way for Sinon. This habit was something they had developed while playing PUBG together that day, and although Sinon wasn't a sniper now, she really needed this position.

She shook the gun-sword in her hand and turned on a switch. Suddenly, a dazzling purple light flashed on the gun-sword, and purple flames covered the entire blade.

“Show your master what a real dragon-slaying mechanism is.”

326. WDNMD, they're all so tomato-like!

What followed was Sinon's breathtaking combo show. While Cephane was pinned to the ground by Sorin's riding skill and unable to fly, she relentlessly swung her greatsword, which shimmered with light, sending up plumes of deep blue feathers.

At this moment, the other two main damage dealers, Sorin and Yuuki, also joined the battle on the other side. Cephane's health plummeted like it was jumping off a building, and before it even had a chance to fly up a second time, it was cut down to the ground by Sinon's sword.

Congratulations to teams "Sleeping Knight" and "Freebie Boys" for successfully completing the battle against the immortal demon, Cephane!

"This team name is really ridiculous! Who came up with this name?" Sorin laughed so hard he squatted down on the ground when he saw the first kill notification. "Kirito, you wouldn't come up with a name like this, would you?"

"I named the team. I named it, and it was one-shotted, what's there to say?" Sinon stylishly twirled her sword, slung the gun-sword over her shoulder, and then let out a crowing laugh. "That boss is really easy to beat~ By the way, what does that mean?"

"WDNMD, they've all become like this... 'Gives away for free' means 'gives away for free,' I'm not really good at explaining that." Sorin first complained about the sudden transformation of Sinon into a tomato, then looked at some things he had written down before, and then turned to Kaya's direction, "Well then, Ms. Kaya, there are some things here that I need your help with."

He took out a secret explosive device that already had three colors on it and handed it to Kaya.

“We need to use this to take down the remaining four Immortal Fiends. We also need the white and black charges.” Sorin explained the use of this thing simply. Kaya, who was well-informed, naturally knew about the Secret Explosive and its characteristics. She nodded and then placed her hand on the Secret Explosive.

At this moment, two more colors shone through the holes filled with explosives, and everyone present could feel the enormous energy contained within, after all, this was something that could easily destroy an immortal demon god.

"Thank you for your help, Ms. Kaya... It's all done. Now get on the plane, we're heading straight to Los Angeles tonight... Oh, no, I mean straight to the Tenth District." Sorin took the secret explosive device from Kaya, waved it towards the sky, and called down Tich's plane. "Kirito, come with us. We'll blow up the defenses and take out Nico in one go. There's no time to explain, get on the bus!"

"This is clearly not a car, and where did you get this plane from?" Kirito hooked his right hand on the gangway that Koki threw down and nimbly climbed up. "Should I complain about how illogical it is that airplanes exist in this world?"

“You can complain, but it’s actually quite scientific; it’s just that you don’t understand this world yet,” Sorin calmly replied. “Tich, get the bomb bay ready; we’ll see how you do it in a bit.”

"Got it, boss, but are you sure this thing is powerful enough?" Titch suddenly became a little uneasy. "What if it doesn't kill them?"

"So many iron bastards, if they can't be killed by blasting, just finish them off. What's there to say?" Thorin watched the light from the transdimensional beacon gradually fade away, and a checkmark appeared on the mission prompt in the upper right corner. He breathed a sigh of relief. "Let them handle the raid on Amonkai in a bit. If nothing goes wrong, our squad's setup should be enough to take down Nicol Bolas, and that'll be the end of it."

“But Nicol Bolas should also be a Planeswalker, right? If we blow up that Immortal Sun… won’t he escape?” Yuki suddenly pointed out a blind spot in Sorin’s plan. “That would probably be considered a mission failure.”

"No, in fact, someone has already considered your question. That's their job, and all we need to do is charge forward. Our plans and thinking are just about how to charge in. When it really comes down to it, you just need to grip your sword tightly and throw away your useless brain." Sorin's answer was quite calm. This time, he wasn't sitting in the co-pilot's seat of the helicopter as before, but rather at the stern with Yuki. "I've always been curious about something. You guys seem to have been living in this virtual world for quite a while... If it's convenient, could you tell me when you started playing VRMMOs?"

"This...it's a secret~" Yuuki thought for a moment, then gently shook her head, a hint of difficulty on her face. "After everything has settled down, I'll consider telling you and Yuna-neechan the story of the Sleeping Knights. But for now, please allow me to keep it a secret for now, okay?"

"Since that's the case... then I won't ask any further." Sorin sensed that Yuuki's mood seemed to be getting a little down, so he deliberately changed the subject, even though it was actually Yuuki's idea. He couldn't quite figure out under what circumstances he needed to keep the information about how long he had been playing VRMMOs a secret.

He had heard before that many players who survived SAO were unwilling to talk about that past, and deliberately concealed the fact that they were "SAO survivors" when teaming up with others. However, Sorin knew quite well that the girl in front of him was not a player from SAO back then, so what she was hiding was obviously an unsolved mystery.

A silence fell over the cabin. No one had figured out how to start a conversation, and no one wanted to break the awkward silence. After thinking for a while, Sorin decided to check his current mission progress and world contribution ranking.

As expected, the Sleeping Knights team, which participated in the "Operation to Close the Transdimensional Beacon" and independently completed the "Operation to Destroy the Eternal Sun," has now ranked first on the world contribution list. If he is right, after completing the subjugation of Nicol Bolas, this ranking will be retained by them until the end of the entire world event. In other words, they will be successfully displayed on the official website homepage of the game "Hyperdimensional Fantasy World" as the team that performed the most outstandingly in the major event.

"In that case, your wish should be fulfilled. When that time comes, I'm sure I'll hear a rather interesting story, Yuuki."

He thought to himself, and once again began planning the campaign to subdue Nicol Bolas. It would be a fierce battle, but they were now prepared.

We are ready to reap the rewards of victory.

327. It's just a dragon. Haven't we heard enough stories about slaying dragons?

Players across the entire international server are now speculating about the true nature of the mysterious "Sleeping Knights." The reason is simple: they've already completed two of the three fully explored quests. Such a powerful team shouldn't be unknown, yet neither professional players nor major guilds from any country have heard of them.

Of course, this had nothing to do with what Thorin was about to do. His plan was to use the explosions from the secretly planted explosives to clear the area, creating an opportunity for his side to confront Nicholas head-on. In the original "Battle of the Sparks" storyline, Nicholas was supposed to face off against the warrior Gidinyura from the Seros timeline, and this warrior had died in the final battle. Thorin certainly didn't want to see that happen again, and he was fully prepared—to gang up on the high and mighty Elder Dragon.

He dared not be careless in the slightest. Their seemingly smooth sailing had actually relied on his familiarity with the original plot. However, this information was of little use against Nicol Bolas; in fact, his actions significantly altered the original course of events. It could be said that his initial knowledge was now completely useless. This battle depended entirely on themselves.

He glanced around. Sinon was still quietly wiping her sword, seemingly treating that spear-sword as her true primary weapon—the R700. Kirito was still talking to Asuna, though Sorin felt it was just a conversation. Yuna was sitting with the other members of the Sleeping Knights, chatting happily, occasionally glancing at Sorin, making him curious about what she was saying to them. As for Prag and Gen, who had been just hanging around since he brought them along… Prag was flipping through a very thick book, while Gen was playing with two phantoms he had summoned.

"So is this really the start of a fight...? Why do I feel like this is just a group of friends going on a picnic..." Sorin thought to himself. He was still trying to figure out what these things would look like in reality based on the card descriptions of the various versions of Nicol Bolas' abilities starting from M19, but looking at this, he felt an urge to complain about his teammates for the first time.

"Ahem... Listen to me, friends. Nicholas's abilities are quite mysterious; at least for now, I can't predict exactly what they are. The known information is that he can resurrect the dead to fight for him, and his physical body possesses powerful spellcasting abilities. Since he's a dragon, his physical attack capabilities shouldn't be underestimated either." Thorin recalled the previous versions of Nicholas and speculated, "He might also have the ability to seal certain skills or all skills. In short, we'll have to adapt to the situation and just follow my instructions."

"So our chances of winning aren't very high?" Prag frowned. He could tell from Sorin's words that he wasn't entirely confident either. "I'm sorry I can't fight alongside you. If it were just me, I might still risk my life with you, but I have to be responsible for Xiao Huan's safety now."

"Do as you please. I didn't even include you in the battle order to begin with. But it's probably too late to back out now." Thorin had already anticipated that the alchemist would back down after hearing his words. He sneered and then stated the fact that surprised him, "In fact... the members of the Guardian's Covenant should be discussing the matter of restarting the Immortal Sun right now, because they don't want Nicol Bolas to escape—he's also a Planeswalker. So your only chance to leave was just now, and you've already missed that chance."

"If you still don't understand, let me explain it to you in simpler terms: Now, regardless of whether you participate in the battle or not, you will only have the opportunity to leave the Ravnica timeline after the operation to defeat Nicol Bolas is successful. And once the battle is lost, Nicol Bolas will not let go of any Planeswalkers still in Ravnica. If you are good at hiding, you can try to remain hidden in Ravnica after the defeat. Anyway, Nicol Bolas will leave here one day, and when he leaves, he will definitely shut down the Eternal Sun. This is certainly an option."

"I……"

Prag was caught in a dilemma. He hadn't expected things to turn out this way and didn't know what to do. But just as he hesitated, Huan, who had been hiding behind him, suddenly stepped forward and gently tugged at his sleeve, indicating that she had something to say.

“It’s alright, Prag. You’ve heard the saying, ‘When the nest is overturned, no egg remains unbroken,’ right?” Her weak voice carried a firm resolve. “In any case, now is the time for us to stand up, whether this battle truly needs us or not. Besides… I can’t just stand by and watch those Planeswalkers who were also drawn here fight, and do nothing, don’t you think?”

"Well... that does sound like it. I guess I have no choice but to watch the show and not leave right away." Prag sighed, then relaxed in his seat, as if trying to encourage himself. "It's just a dragon... haven't I heard enough dragon-slaying stories since I was a kid?"

“Well said. It’s just a dragon. There’s nothing it can’t be ruined. If there is, then ruin it a little more.” Solin nodded in approval, and then said in a serious tone a topic that was very easy for people to misunderstand, “Tonight we are all dragon slayers. We’re just waiting for our names to be displayed on the official website.”

After saying that, he opened a virtual menu in front of him, clicked on the team page, and then looked at Kirito.

"Kirito, some of you want your team's name to appear on the official website's record page. I'm worried there might be some problems later, so I'd like to merge the teams. Is that okay?"

“If that’s the case, then it’s not impossible. Besides, I don’t want my name to appear under such a weird team name as ‘Freebie Boys’…” Kirito agreed to Sorin’s request without hesitation, then suddenly looked puzzled and asked, “By the way, Sorin… what exactly does ‘freebie’ mean?”

"I don't want to explain anymore. If I keep explaining, you'll all become like tomato-eaters."

328. Emergency Landing

"How credible do you think... what that person just said was?"

The swordsman, clad in white armor and wielding a black blade, asked this question. With the coordinated efforts of numerous players, he had advanced the battle line to a point quite close to the Temple of Bolas. To ask him to retreat at this point would clearly be a very difficult task.

“They have shut down the Eternal Sun and the Transdimensional Beacon as well. If you didn’t believe it before, now that they’ve accomplished so much, it’s enough to convince you, Yura,” the blue mind mage said in a deep voice. “They defeated Dowen before, so it’s not surprising that they obtained something from him.”

“But you can’t put all your hopes for victory on these outsiders. They’re not even Planeswalkers… So what are they?” Just as Kidding was about to refute Jess’s words, his expression suddenly changed when he saw the helicopter flying in the sky. “Is that what they got from Dorwinban?”

“According to Vivian, it seems there’s more than that.” Jess seemed to see the wavering in Kidding’s eyes and continued to advise, “They also have secret explosive devices… Mr. Kahn should know what those are.”

“Yes… if they’ve come looking for Vivian, and with Kaya at the interdimensional beacon, they’ve probably already gathered all five colors of light.” Kahn sighed, then patted Gideon on the shoulder. “Let’s retreat for a bit. The explosive device with all five colors of light is no less powerful than the entire Sun Garden self-destructing. By then, all the obstacles between us and Nicol Bolas should be gone.”

"Alright. Everyone retreat! Quickly!" Hearing Kahn and Jess's orders, Keating stopped insisting on breaking through the immortals' defenses. He raised his Black Fang and gave the command.

------

"Let me put it this way, Sinon. If you just finished an eco round and wanted to ask your teammates for a sniper rifle, but after getting the rifle you left the base, it was gone, that's giving away free kills." Sorin tried to recreate qz's experience of giving away free kills as much as possible, explaining it like this, "You've also watched Qiezi's streams, that guy sometimes gives away free kills, sometimes he gives away free kills in a row, that's how it is."

"I think I understand. Although I rarely ask others for sniper rifles. Even if I can't get a 4750, I can still get a 700." Shino roughly understood what Sorin meant. She nodded, then glanced in Yuki's direction and whispered in Sorin's ear, "By the way, have you noticed that girl is acting a bit strange?"

"You mean Yuki? What's wrong?" Sorin asked suspiciously. "Something's not right... but I can't quite put my finger on it."

“That child’s current behavior is similar to mine before we fought Death Gun,” Sinon replied seriously. “It’s the behavior of directly linking the outcome of the game with one’s own life. Don’t ask me how I can tell, I just have this feeling.”

"What the hell?"

Sorin was startled by Shino's words. In that instant, he filled in a lot of thoughts, but no matter what, he couldn't understand why this game would be related to something as heavy as life—it didn't seem like the previous times he had experienced this.

"Maybe I'm overthinking it, or maybe that kid just takes the game that seriously. Anyway, all we can say right now is... we'll keep a close eye on it. There's no point in us guessing if they don't say anything." Sinon sighed softly, then stared at the gun and sword in her hand and casually made a promise, "After I finish this mission, I'm going to stream CSGO. I heard they're releasing a new map, and it's from a community submission."

"A new map? Yeah, the VR version of the map editor is even easier to use now... Let's not talk about it for now. Tich, take a look down there and see where the Guardians' battle line is?" Sorin didn't intend to talk about this topic for long. He stood up and went to Tich's side, glanced down, and said, "Almost there... Throw the beacon first, then I'll hand-throw the secret bomb. If my hand doesn't shake, it should blow up about three... Damn it!"

Just as he was about to happily bombard the area, he suddenly saw the cat-headed giant holding a longbow on the ground—the immortal god of death, Euclita—and then he remembered how Gideon was shot off his Pegasus in the original story.