A journey to another world starting from a sword

Although Asuna was almost dead at this point, Lingyin took a deep breath and decided to give it her all.

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"Human, why are you helping the Dark Elves?!" the White Knight roared at Dante.

The enemy is named "Forest Elf Lower Knight," and its buoy is, as expected, deep red.

"Then why are you cooperating with the fallen elves?" Dante asked back. He couldn't say that he chose to help the dark elves because of Kizil, so he asked them in return.

"Hmph! This is all to liberate all life from this floating prison in the void!" the forest elf knight shouted righteously, then roared and swung his sword down again.

It's fast and heavy.

"..." Dante rolled his eyes at this. If the elves living on the lower levels could so easily decide the life and death of all creatures in Aincrad, then wouldn't countless players who failed their elf quests have caused Aincrad to fall several times over?

Dante immediately launched an attack on the enemy's seemingly weak side, but the forest elf knight swiftly pulled his sword back and blocked the attack with the hilt.

Dante narrowly deflected the opponent's three-hit single-handed sword technique, "Sharp Claws."

He was already very wary of this sword technique, which he was encountering for the first time.

Considering that the opponent's combat power level is at most the ninth level, their skill proficiency should not be that high, and they are unlikely to be able to use high-combo sword techniques. Dante guessed from the beginning how many stages the opponent's sword techniques were, whether it was the first, second, third, or fourth stage.

First, we can rule out a four-hit combo, as the silver flash on the opponent's sword is completely different from the blue of the horizontal and vertical square formation slashes.

It's not a simple single sword technique; the rest is easy to guess.

"Damn it." The forest elf spat angrily, seemingly annoyed that his attack had failed.

Meanwhile, his subordinates around him screamed in pain, and being blocked at the city gate seemed to irritate him.

The forest elf knights' attacks were repeatedly thwarted, but because the opponent remained within the battle line, Dante's attack range became extremely narrow, leaving him no room to use his swordsmanship. Any attack could be easily blocked by the thick kite-shaped shield in the opponent's hand.

Dante then stopped his attack. "Let's settle this once and for all, and not waste this bright, sunny day, knight of the forest spirits."

The forest elf knight raised his head, his eyes gleaming, as if the other party's AI had already made some kind of judgment.

"You mean a duel? You want to duel with the noble Adrian from Kares O?"

"So you agree?" Dante asked, spreading his arms.

“Yes,” the forest elf knight said, raising his head. Then he called out, “Warriors of Kares O, please stop!”

So the forest elf swordsman, who was locked in battle with the "Eternal Garden," raised his shield and slowly took two steps back. Seeing this, Kismer and Asuna also stopped their attack.

"Let's go somewhere else then," Dante suggested.

"Hmph," the forest elf knight acquiesced.

The two slowly made their way to the open space inside the castle. The space Dante had left was filled by Liz, who was holding a shield. Although their offensive capabilities might be insufficient should be lacking if another conflict broke out, their defensive capabilities should be more than enough.

Kizmel let out a soft breath, glanced at the "Forest Elf Heavy Warrior" opposite him who was clutching his chest and breathing weakly, flicked his saber, and then sheathed it.

She said to Asuna and the others, "Don't worry, the opponent is a knight appointed by the court. At least the forest elves wouldn't cheat in this kind of duel."

"I see." Although she didn't sheathe her weapon like Kismer did, Asuna still lowered the rapier that was nominally stained with blood.

"Adrian Anar of Kares O. State your name, human swordsman." The forest elf knight, standing in the open space, arrogantly yet politely raised his sword to his chest, shouting as if performing a play on stage.

Perhaps in the eyes of such knights, dueling is a very serious matter, a battle that involves risking one's honor and life, requiring such a high-profile and solemn approach.

"Dante." To satisfy the other party's desire for performance, Dante raised his right hand in front of his face, made an elegant gesture, and bent his back slightly. "Dante Eve Garden."

"Hmph." The forest elf knight seemed quite pleased with his politeness, nodding at him. "I didn't expect you to be so courteous. With that surname, are you perhaps a nobleman?"

"..." Dante's lips twitched slightly, then he held his sword with both hands.

Asuna and Mito were inwardly amazed, thinking, "So that's how it can be done."

"I've never heard of Dante's surname before. So his surname is Eve Garden?" Kizmel murmured curiously.

"No... Ah, well..." Asuna didn't know how to explain.

Meanwhile, the forest elf knight said no more, crouched slightly, and then jumped up without warning to launch an attack.

Faced with the sudden attack, Dante didn't even swing his sword to block. He simply nimbly spun halfway around to dodge the attack, keeping his sword in hand to protect his vitals.

The forest elf knight's swordplay was powerful and sweeping, and the sound of his longsword cutting through the air rang out once again.

This time, Dante quickly turned around using his toes as the center of gravity, ducked to avoid the blade, and nimbly jumped to the side.

Then he feinted again, disrupting the opponent's offensive rhythm, and then launched his own attack.

The forest elf knight cursed silently and unleashed a powerful sword technique called "Diagonal Slash" from the right, striking Dante with a fierce blow.

In an instant, Dante assumed the stance for his two-hit combo "Tornado," jumped backward to create distance, and then dashed forward upon landing.

Unable to change his swordplay, the clash of swords occurred in an instant, and then the next horizontal slash slammed heavily onto the forest elf knight's shield.

The result was that the opponent lost his balance immediately. The forest elf knight tried to regain his footing while instinctively raising his sword to parry.

But Dante had already stretched out his arm and slashed forward with lightning speed.

The greatsword struck the forest elf knight's blade, the impact so powerful that the knight's sword could hardly parry, and the blade slashed straight at his face.

Dante then immediately activated his newly learned two-handed sword technique, "Battleblade," and a dazzling blue-purple light effect instantly bloomed between his hands.

First came a horizontal thrust, piercing the enemy's breastplate at a deep angle. As if overwhelmed by a dazzling flash and shockwave, the forest elf knight's upper body arched backward.

The sword, easily withdrawn, slashed horizontally twice from left to right, once again unleashing a burst of special effects light.

With the aid of the system and the force of his kick towards the ground, Dante launched a pursuit. His fourth strike was a vertical downward strike from above his head, which pierced through the opponent's breastplate and shattered the thick metal breastplate into pieces.

The final strike, a wrist flip, is a smooth upward slash.

The blade easily sliced ​​into the opponent's unprotected chest, splattering red particles representing blood.

"Aaaaaahhhhhh..." the forest elf knight screamed as he was knocked down onto the open ground.

In Dante's eyes, his HP bar was rapidly decreasing until it reached the bottom, at which point Dante put down his sword.

"The outcome is decided!" At this moment, a dark elf walked out of the pavilion.

His attire looked very much like that of an aristocrat, with a Rococo-style formal coat decorated with gold and silver mixed silk threads and exquisite buttons, a white tie with many pleats on the chest, and elegant boots that reached below the knee and white tights.

Her long black hair was lazily tied back, but on her otherwise handsome face, there was a horrifying scar that ran from her hairline through her left eye to her chin.

"Lord Yoferis?!" Kismer's exclamation made Asuna and the others instantly realize that he was the rumored, terminally ill lord of the city.

"Hmm." After scanning Kismer with his gray monocle glowing green, Yoferis looked at the open space where the duel was taking place, then took a deep breath. "I am a knight of Leussra, and also the lord of Yofer City, Reshreen Seid Yoferis!"

Even the forest spirits, who were enemies, cried out in alarm.

"Thank you to this human friend for letting me witness such a wonderful duel, and for reminding me once again of the bravery that a knight should possess. Soldiers of Leustra! I now apologize for my long absence."

Then Yoferis raised high the rapier hanging at his waist, a rapier that was thinner than a normal rapier.

"Forest spirits! You have lost your commander. If you retreat now, I will restrain my men and let you leave safely. But if you intend to continue fighting, then I will fight alongside my soldiers!"

Upon hearing what the city lord, whom they were meeting for the first time, said, Dante turned his head to look at the forest elves.

The question remains: will it be war or peace?

Chapter 110: The Highest Level of Enjoyment

The forest elf lieutenant lowered his head slightly, his eyes flickering, perhaps indicating that he was considering retreating.

The soldiers looked at each other, holding their shields tightly to their chests, but their sword-wielding hands quietly dropped.

Just as everyone breathed a sigh of relief because of the silence.

Suddenly, the sound of armor clashing came from outside the castle. The forest elf adjutant looked back and saw another group of forest elf soldiers landing on the shore and heading this way.

"Asuna," Kizmel called out, drawing his saber once more.

Just as Kizmel had predicted, the sudden arrival of reinforcements seemed to boost the enemy's confidence, so the forest elf lieutenant once again raised his longsword and shouted.

"Don't be afraid! Even with the city lord's presence, we still have the numerical advantage! Continue..."

The next second, a shooting star streaked across the air.

No one expected Asuna to be so decisive; no, only in this way could the battle be stopped again.

The sword tip pierced deep into the skull along the eye socket, and the forest elf lieutenant's last remaining HP vanished under Asuna's stab.

"Don't waste your life. This is a battle we're destined to lose." Standing before the crowd, Asuna stylishly pointed her rapier at the forest elf troops.

As if after a fierce internal struggle, the soldiers remained silent for a few seconds. Then, as one of them took a half-step back, a chain reaction of morale occurred, leading to the expected rout.

They raced toward the pier, running faster and faster. Finally, the soldiers of the forest elf fleet, who were engaged in a fierce boarding battle, abandoned their ships and jumped into the lake after seeing the army's collapse. They swam toward the lake's entrance and exit in extremely loose formation.

As the victors of the battle, the exhausted dark elves sailed the remaining half of the gondolas back to the dock. Some soldiers who had been floating in the lake also swam back, surprisingly wearing armor. Asuna and Mito guessed that the soldiers might have used some kind of elven spell.

"Is it really okay to just let them go like this?"

Seeing Yoferis walking towards him, Dante sheathed his sword and crossed his arms.

In case the forest elves attack the fortress again, the thought of such a possibility makes killing them all here seem like a good option.

“Giving up your advantages to wrestle with the other person in the mud is not a good choice,” Yoferis said, shaking his head.

“Indeed, after this battle, it will be difficult for the forest elves to gather enough ships again.” Dante immediately understood what Yoferis meant, and it would be difficult to replace the large number of skilled naval soldiers who had died in a short period of time.

As for pursuing the forest elves after their defeat, it's likely that Yoferis wouldn't have the heart to break the conditions he promised, even though the other party hadn't intended to abide by those conditions at the time.

However, from the game's perspective, killing all these elite monsters would be more in the players' best interest.

“Yes, the soldiers will train even harder from now on,” Yoferis nodded. “And I won’t be absent from the next battle.”

“That would be best.” After saying that, Dante fell silent until Kizmel patted him on the shoulder.

"A magnificent duel, Dante."

Seeing Kizmel's smiling face, Dante also smiled back and said, "That's all thanks to you keeping the others in check."

“No, you are the key to turning the tide of the battle.” Kizmel disagreed with Dante’s statement. “It’s okay to be a little complacent.”

"Oh, what if he gets carried away?" Dante joked casually.

“Then I will give you some serious advice.” Kizmel pounded her breastplate with her fist, the older woman responding with a mix of seriousness and teasing.

“That’s really reliable.” Dante laughed easily.

"What are you laughing at?" Asuna's voice came from not far away.

"Do you want to know?" Dante turned his head and made a small face.

Thus, the side quest "Fortress on the Lake," which stemmed from "The Shipwright of the Past," was successfully completed. After receiving the quest completion notification, Dante gained a large amount of experience points, which he guessed Asuna also gained.

But the reward doesn't seem to be just that many experience points.

Yoferis waved his hand, directing two soldiers to carry over a large box that was probably two meters wide. They trotted along unsteadily, the box looking quite heavy.

After the soldier put the box down next to the city lord, he stood silently to the side.

"What is this?" Asuna asked quietly, standing beside Dante.

Ignoring the tickling on his earlobe, Dante covered his mouth and stood very close to her, close enough to see her pupils clearly, and whispered, "It's probably a reward or something."

"I see." Asuna nodded and quietly observed the lord's subsequent actions.

Then, Yoferis took out a golden key from his pocket, opened the large chest, and personally lifted the lid.

The next instant, a beam of light, amplified several times over by the afternoon sun, emanated from the box.

Various types of weapons, armor, and accessories suddenly appeared in their line of sight.

“Wow…” Lisbeth tugged at Lingyin’s clothes at the back, letting out a sound of admiration from the blacksmith.

“These are all treasures passed down through generations of Viscount Yoferis,” Yoferis said with a demure gesture.

Then he said something that Dante and Asuna expected but were still very surprised: "Human knight, I will give you a treasure as a small gift of thanks, and another treasure to commend your bravery, so choose the item you like."

"Should my companion and I each choose two items?"

“Of course,” Yoferis said generously, spreading his hands wide, displaying the demeanor of a nobleman (or nouveau riche).

"Hey... Dante, what should we do?" Suddenly Dante felt Asuna's small hand gripping his clothes tightly, her voice urgent.

"Don't get excited." Dante chuckled as he soothed the beautiful girl in front of him, who was caught in a blissful dilemma. He grabbed Asuna's hand, which was clutching his clothes, but couldn't pull it away.

Hand! Hand! He almost shouted a warning.

After thinking about it, I decided to let it go and let her be happy for a while longer. It's rare to see her so childlike; it's a rare kind of cuteness.