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

"There are surface-to-air missiles on the other side! Take evasive action!" he shouted immediately. "Damn it, I forgot that the Okota humanoid self-propelled anti-aircraft gun is also here."

At this moment, Okota had already targeted the helicopter flying high in the sky. Although he did not know what it was, Nicol Bolas's order was to shoot down all flying objects that approached the airspace near the Bolas Temple, so the helicopter that Sorin was riding in was naturally within his range.

"No need for the beacon, I'll just hand-drop it and then prepare for an emergency landing!"

As Sorin watched Okota's deadly arrows hurtling towards him, he estimated their speed and realized that it was virtually impossible for his helicopter to dodge them.

He used a rope to hang himself from the airdrop pod outside the plane, then pulled out his baton and launched the secret explosive device like hitting a baseball. Of course, it wouldn't fly very far in the air, but that didn't matter, because they were now in the very center of the entire immortal battle formation.

The explosive devices descended rapidly, and just then, their helicopter was also hit. A violent tremor ran through the cabin, and the space between the two rows of seats was pierced. Fortunately, no one was killed in the incident.

"I think I don't need to consider climbing up anymore... Tich! Fall towards the middle, the dense explosion will definitely go off before we land!" Sorin glanced at the distance and then shouted, "Yuna, apply a buff up there, Xiao Ji, buff everyone's defense, Tich, pull the tornado back a little, everyone get your potions ready, we'll tank the fall damage and then go straight for the boss!"

"It's suddenly gotten really exciting, Sorin," Yuki murmured from above, then her voice rose considerably. "It's as thrilling as riding a roller coaster! Wow!"

"You'll have plenty of opportunities to experience roller coasters in the future; right now, we're all Hell Paratroopers!"

Sorin watched as the secret explosive device landed in the center of the Immortals' battle formation, collapsing briefly before exploding violently. A mushroom cloud rose directly from the ground, and he, exposed outside the cockpit, felt a tremendous shockwave that even knocked away a significant amount of his HP.

"Push! Push! Go go go!"

329. The only obstacle has been completely fooled.

There's a saying that a real man never looks back at an explosion, just like Sorin did. He was positioned on the outside of the plane before the crash, and he was the first to jump as it approached the ground, rolling backward to avoid the oncoming helicopter. At that moment, everyone felt a suffocating pressure; the deadly blast wave instantly overturned Okota and Batu, the two immortal demons, one black and one white. The immortal demon Ronnas, a little further away, was also blasted half-blooded.

"Should we be thankful that this game doesn't have features like teammate damage or explosive damage...? I actually misjudged it..."

The helicopter glided for about ten meters before finally coming to a stop. All the passengers were somewhat dizzy from the intense shock of the crash, but the dizziness didn't last long. At least Sorin saw that Kirito and the other young heroes, as well as the Sleeping Knights, all looked confident and in full swing. Only the two NPC Planeswalkers, Gen and Prag, showed signs of normal motion sickness.

“Alright friends, now we need to take care of Nicol Bolas before those four Immortal Fiends return to the battlefield, otherwise it will be very difficult to fight them when they all come back.” Thorin glanced in the direction of the Immortal Fiend Ronas, where a large group of players had already regrouped and were dealing with them. “Don’t worry about the mobs for a while, the NPC Planeswalkers that follow will hold them off, we just need to focus on the final battle.”

"It sounds easy, but can you really handle that terrifying guy?" Prag pointed to Nicol Bolas, who was still sitting steadily on the throne, his tone still a little uneasy. "I didn't see him up close before, but now... the sense of oppression is really obvious."

"I can't guarantee anything, but one thing is certain. This is our only chance." Solin calmly uttered these chilling words, "If we can't cure it, we die. Can't you understand something this simple?"

“Easy for you to say, you madman.” Prag said mercilessly. He was clearly not going to sit idly by and wait to die. He had already put the mask on his head and was holding a sharp ceremonial dagger in his right hand. He suddenly looked much more serious. “We really have no choice, but no matter how you look at it, this situation is all your doing.”

"I'm taking the blame again. How many blames have I taken today..." Solin muttered helplessly. The light and ethereal music of You Na came to her ears. She had already activated most of the buff skills she could use on the plane and was now finishing up the rest.

“Let’s change the background music, Yuna. Such a melodious song is not suitable for slaying dragons.” He solemnly grasped Yuna’s hand that was not holding the sword, and pointed straight ahead with the other hand. “We skipped a bit of the process here. Originally, there should have been a group of people running along the time-space bridge to the other side of Amonkai to cut off their troops, but now the mobs are being held back by NPCs, and the bosses have all been blown up.”

"Sounds like a seasoned pro. Even in a game like this, you can skip parts?" Yuuki's smiling face was filled with the excitement of battle. "Anyway... you'll definitely succeed! Good luck!"

After saying that, she was the first to pick up her sword and run towards Nico Bolas. Sorin quickly pulled Yuna along to catch up, followed by Sinon, Asuna, and Kirito. As for the remaining members of the Sleeping Knights…

They sat atop a giant mechanical worm, clearing away the enemies that stood in their way for Yuki. The mechanical worm was the Tornado Engine that Teach had seized from Dorwinbane, and it had now returned to the front lines. The immortal minions that tried to approach them were often crushed into pieces by the massive Tornado Engine before they could even surround them; nothing could stop its advance.

"Look, what's that?" Xiao Ji, sitting at the very top, suddenly pointed ahead. In the direction she was pointing stood a woman dressed in black, her right hand emitting a blue light similar in color to the chests of the immortals. "Is that one of our enemies too?"

“Liliana Viss…that two-faced traitor…” Sorin looked thoughtfully at the figure, then shouted, “Ignore her! Just go around her, it’s time to show off your veteran skills!”

"Order received, advancing! Hold on tight!"

Tich's voice was quite calm. He twirled the puzzle in his hand a large circle, and then the entire tornado engine suddenly accelerated, making a sharp turn to bypass the woman, and then charging towards the Temple.

At this moment, Lilianavis certainly had no intention of confronting the Tornado Engine head-on, but just as she was thinking of stopping Yuki who was rushing over, she was blocked by Sorin who caught up with her.

“Don’t overthink it. You can’t afford the consequences of betrayal. Forcibly disobeying his orders will only kill your comrades.” He leaned close to Liliana and whispered in her ear, “Yes, you think your betrayal will end in your death, but that’s not the case.”

“I have no choice. You cannot defeat him. Wait for the others of the Guardian Covenant to come. Nicol Bolas is not an enemy you can defeat.” Although Liliana did not know how this mysterious man knew her situation, that was not a reason for her to back down. “I can bear the price, because it only requires me to pay with my life.”

“There’s no need, and you didn’t pay with your life. My futuristic vision tells me that the one who forcibly shared the cost of your betrayal was Gidin Yura, and he died from the backlash of the contract.” Sorin’s tone suddenly turned cold. Of course, the so-called “futuristic vision” was just a pretext; he was referring to what would happen in the original plot of the “War of Sparks.” “Of course, believe it or not now. In short, we’re about to become the dragon slayers. If you try to stop me, I’ll cut you down first.”

“…You win.” Liliana sighed, then stepped aside to let Sorin catch up with the group, watching him lead Kirito and the other two behind him. Only then did she direct the remaining immortals, “Keep chasing! Catch up with them! Don’t let them get near Lord Bolas’s temple!”

However, it was too late. Although the immortals were not as immobile as zombies in people's minds, it was still impossible for them to catch up with Sorin and the others who had already run more than fifty meters away.

330, Freebies and Anti-Nicolas Protection

"Wait, that NPC should be an enemy, right? How did you manage to get her to go easy on you?" Kirito watched in surprise as the immortals who were supposed to be blocking their path suddenly stopped for a moment, then chased after them in vain at an even slower pace than before. He asked in a low voice, "How come you're so good at fooling NPCs?"

"I have this urge to kill you right now, Kirito. Stop talking nonsense. We're about to face an unprecedented challenge. I've emphasized this many times, and I hope you're mentally prepared." Sorin replied with a serious expression. He saw that Bolas had already stood up from the temple, shaking his head at them and letting out a deafening roar.

"All units! Prepare to evade the dragon's breath!"

Almost the instant Sorin uttered those words, Nicol Bolas spewed forth a torrent of flames, a mixture of red and green. Yuuki and the sleeping knights atop the Tornado Engine quickly moved to their left, while Yuuki simultaneously activated her defensive barrier.

"What do we do then?" Kirito had barely asked the question when Sorin grabbed him and pulled him to the right. Sinon and Yuna behind him also followed suit, moving to the right to avoid him. "Wait... why are we going in the opposite direction?"

"Because he'll turn his head, so if he runs like that, only one side will get hit by the dragon's breath," Sorin explained simply, then suddenly noticed something was amiss. "Wait, we don't have a tanky front-line character... What's Sinon's main attribute?"

"Intelligence! I'm a Divine Artifact Master, though I don't look like one... Here I come! I'll hold them off for now, Asuna, save me!"

Sinon dashed forward, shielding everyone with her spear-sword, blocking the dragon's breath attack. The sword quickly became scorching hot, and her health bar slowly decreased, but remained within Asuna's healing range. Of course, Sinon knew that she was only able to block the dragon's breath because her spear-sword possessed a "magic absorption" attribute based on intelligence; without this attribute, she would likely have been blown away by the breath attack from the start.

"That was a close call, but we pulled through. Can I cast a healing spell? (A gentle, smoky effect!)"

"Get close first, we can't fight from a distance." Solin quickly saw the problem and decisively ordered, "Yuna, activate speed boost and charge in to overwhelm him, otherwise this dragon breath will burn us half to death."

“But there’s a limit to how fast we can go, right? It’ll take us at least a minute to get there, and that’s enough time for him to…” Kirito had just said this when he saw a white winged horse flying overhead, with a warrior wielding a black sword on it. “Is that the NPC uncle we just saw? What’s he up to?”

"He's going to take on Nicol Bolas in a one-on-one fight, and now that Okota isn't stopping him, go after him!"

Sorin said in a deep voice that at this moment, Nicol Bolas' attention had shifted from them to Kitingyura, which gave them an opportunity to get closer to Nicol Bolas.

"This dagger has already slain a great demon, and an elder dragon like yourself. And now... it's your turn! Nicholas! Haaaaah!" Gideon roared, leaping from his winged horse and plummeting straight down towards Nicholas's massive head. The dragon raised its neck, its curved horns meeting the menacing Gideon's attack head-on, a show of defiance.

"This is the decisive battle!"

Undeterred, he slashed his sword at Nicol Bolas's massive horn, but the blade was deflected by the horn. Undeterred, he raised the blade again and thrust it downwards—at Nicol Bolas's forehead—but this time the result was even more chilling.

That invincible artifact shattered between Bolas's brows, turning into a pile of fragments that fell heavily to the ground, then transformed into blue polygonal fragments that disappeared from everyone's sight.

"How could this be!" Gideon looked at Nicol Bolas in surprise, while Elder Dragon, who had just withstood this unexpected assassination attempt, only wanted to press his advantage and crush this weak human who dared to violate his authority time and time again into pieces.

Just then, a sudden sound rang out at his feet. Although the sound was quite faint to him, he still looked down.

"Stop thinking about it, you big oaf, you still have time to finish off the enemy?"

Sorin spoke disdainfully, forcefully thrusting the ornate longsword in his hand—half of it shimmering in light, the other half blending into shadow—at Nicol Bolas's lower limb. Bolas had expected the sword to be shattered by his powerful body, just like the overconfident Ubium, but instead, it made a small but clean gash on the blade, while the rest of the sword remained intact.

"You've messed with me, you damned ant!"

Nicol Bolas roared. He wasn't seriously injured; after all, it was like a mosquito bite on his toe. But what bothered him was that even the ancient artifact, the Black Blade, couldn't harm his flesh, yet this unassuming sword had managed to hurt him.

"Stop looking. This sword is called the Heavenly Nether Sword. You don't need to know its origins. All you need to know is that this thing can help me with my anti-black protection." Sorin casually mocked Nicol Bolas, then quickly commanded, "Positioning! Position yourself! Get behind him and cut off his tail! You've all played Monster Hunter, right!"

"I've never seen such a big Rathalos before. You're not thinking of breaking it completely, are you?! Hey!" Kirito's sarcastic voice came from a little distance away. He was holding a sword similar to the one Sorin was holding, but it shimmered with black and green light. "Seriously, are you really sure this thing can cut down a dragon? Even such a powerful sword shattered just now."

"Let me tell you, this stupid dragon has three colors. If you see a sword, fight it. What's the panic?" Sorin replied calmly. "Be careful not to be greedy with your attacks. A brave warrior who was greedy with his attacks just got knocked down. Learn from that example."

“I understand. It’s about the foundation laid by our predecessors, paving the way for future generations. You can just say it like that.” Kirito stood there thinking for a while, then suddenly nodded, revealing a mysterious smile that seemed to say, “I understand, I understand everything.” But then he noticed that Sorin’s expression suddenly looked strange. “What’s wrong? I remember you guys sometimes speak in this format, don’t you?”

"Kid, you've gone astray..."

331. An Ominous Guess

Sorin had no time to worry about when Kirito would also ride the brat. After Sinon told him about Yuuki's possible mindset, he threw himself into the boss battle with a very serious attitude. As for how serious he was... well, maybe as serious as when Eggplant beat up the stick who mocked him with the Tenro icon. He began to silently calculate what skill combos he could use to perfectly cancel every aftercast delay; he kept a close eye on Nico Bolas's movements, warning his teammates before each of his skills; and at the same time, he was carefully speculating what methods the Elder Dragon in front of him would use.

"Try not to get hit by the dragon's breath. If it hits, it will lock a random skill until the end of the battle!" Sorin shouted as he saw Nicol Bolas poised to raise his head again. "Watch your positioning, don't block your teammates!"

While giving instructions, he was still keeping an eye on Yuuki's situation out of the corner of his eye. At this moment, Yuuki's movements were still as fluid as before, like an elegant sword dancer, weaving between the dragon's sharp claws and destructive dragon breath, occasionally leaving long gashes on Bolas's ankles with her Blazing Frost Sword and War Ning Sword.

"Sorin, as long as we defeat this guy, our names will be on the official website, right?" Yuki looked at Sorin during a break in her attack and asked again to confirm.

"Let's do our best. I can only say that even if we only do half the DPS, our contribution will be enough to put us far behind the second place," Sorin replied with the same answer he'd given countless times. This was the third time Yuki had asked him this question along the way, and her level of interest in it made Sorin a little suspicious. He vaguely found a clue and had an answer in his mind, but he wasn't sure.

Or rather, he was subjectively unwilling to admit that his guess was correct, because that would be too cruel.

"Don't overthink it, Yuuki. Just play well. No matter what, this game will continue for a long time, and you'll have plenty of opportunities," he said tentatively. At that moment, he noticed that Yuuki's eyes dimmed for a moment before she launched another, even more ferocious and reckless attack on Nicol Bolas.

If the previous Yuuki was like a nimble swordswoman, the current Yuuki is more like a berserker unleashing a furious barrage of attacks from beneath Nico Bolas. The feeling she evokes is completely different.

This relentless, all-out attack was unlike before. At least in Sorin's view, if she continued, any of these openings could lead to her being instantly killed by Nicol Bolas. Just as he thought this, Nicol Bolas suddenly took flight and unleashed a breath of emerald green dragon breath in Yuki's direction.

This dragon's breath is not so easy to dodge, because she is currently in the very center of the attack radius, with a long distance to either the left or right. And this distance has now become an insurmountable barrier.

"Be careful! Xiao Ji, give her a shield!" Solin quickly reminded her. He didn't know if Xiao Ji's shield would be able to reach Yuki successfully, or if it could completely block Nicol Bolas's dragon breath. In the brief moment of reaction, Xiao Ji didn't panic too much. After a moment's thought, she waved her short staff and cast a pure white shield on Yuki.

"Safety sphere shield!"

The translucent shield and the emerald green dragon's breath met in mid-air and dissipated together. Yuuki made no move to dodge, seemingly completely trusting that Kii or Junie could protect her from the dragon's breath. She leaped from the ground, unleashing a dazzling series of sword techniques in mid-air. Nicol Bolas's health visibly decreased after this combo, quickly reaching the critical 70% mark.

Similar to other bosses encountered in SAO, Nicholas undergoes a phase transition when his health reaches 70%. Having fought on the ground for a long time, only occasionally taking to the air to unleash a dragon's breath, Nicholas seems poised to take to the skies for aerial combat. However, as fans of the Monster Hunter series know, there is a way to prevent dragons from taking to the air.

"Can you give me an A1 flashbang? Please! ...Never mind, I'll do it myself." Sinon realized the problem immediately. She subconsciously shouted for a flashbang, and then suddenly remembered that she actually had a similar skill. She raised her gunsword, made it transform rapidly in the air, and then a silver-white canned object flew out from the launch tube between the two blades.

"Use another ranged skill to take that thing down! Quick!"

"They're here!" shouted Titch, who was standing at the back of the group. As he spoke, the puzzle in his hand suddenly emitted a beam of light, striking the silver-white jar in mid-air.

"Backlighting!"

No reminder was needed; the moment the light struck the jar, everyone either closed their eyes or turned their backs to the other side. The jar exploded in mid-air, bursting forth with intense light. This light pierced Nicol Bolas's eyes, and as if subjected to some violent shock, he abruptly fell from mid-air to the ground.

"I have no idea who that dragon's breath is aimed at."

Seeing this, Shino quickly opened her eyes, approached Nicol Bolas, casually slashed twice with her sword, then canceled the second strike on his lower back with a full-range attack, before running to Yuuki's side. She had a similar guess to Sorin, but she also dared not confirm this terrifying conjecture.

"It shouldn't be that bad... It's almost 5202 already. Should I talk to that guy about it later..."

She seemed to be thinking more deeply than Solin, perhaps because she had also encountered players in similar situations.

After being pinned down and focused down by a group of people for five seconds, Nicol Bolas staggered to his feet and then flapped his wings again, preparing to take flight. This time, Sinon used the same trick, launching another flashbang. But this time, Nicol Bolas was unaffected. He used his enormous wings to shield his eyes, and then took flight again after the flash disappeared.

"Enough! You're nothing but a bunch of lucky weaklings. Do you think your little tricks can work twice?" His voice boomed like thunder, filled with boundless authority, causing everyone to admire the voice actor for Nicol Bolas. However, with that, no one could stop the boss battle from entering its second phase.

"This is getting interesting. Give me Zhu! Hurry up! Give me Zhu!"

332. The Sudden Farewell

"Stop messing around, Sinon. Where are we going to get you a sniper rifle now?"