-274- Two joint forces

At this point, players' hostility and animosity towards the Closed Beta testers were no longer able to be stirred up. It seemed to have been suppressed, leaving many players to exchange glances and choose silence.

Kibaou also fell silent, as if he had been hit with a heavy blow, remaining stunned for a good while.

The reason this one-handed sword user had such animosity towards the Closed Beta testers was that he always believed they were selfish and responsible for the hardships that regular players endured in this world. Many even died because of the Closed Beta testers' actions.

Now, Rozen had ruthlessly shattered his long-held assumptions, causing Kibaou to be struck and unable to recover. It was natural for him to be shocked.

As a result, it was Diabel who once again stepped forward, as though marking the end of this chapter.

"No matter what, with the assistance of so many powerful players, the strategy to conquer the floor boss this time will definitely be smoother than expected. I sincerely welcome the participation of all the Beta testers."

Diabel said these words in a generous and hearty tone, but his expression was no longer as cheerful. He looked directly at Rozen.

After all...

"Since Mr. Rozen has led teams to clear floors without losses multiple times during the Closed Beta, even reaching the 10th floor, logically, it would be best for you to take command in this strategy."

While saying these words, Diabel's expression seemed somewhat conflicted.

"However, the problem is, the regular players present might not follow your command. What should we do about that?"

Diabel posed this question.

Regarding this matter, Kirito, Argo, and the other Closed Beta players couldn't refute.

Even though Rozen had established his authority to a certain extent, there were bound to be players among the regular ones who were unwilling to submit to his command and held grudges against him.

Wanting all of those people to obey Rozen's command was naturally unrealistic.

However, Rozen had a nonchalant demeanor about this.

"I've said it before, only those willing to believe in me should come with me. Those who don't want to believe in me can just do their own thing."

Rozen glanced at Diabel and smiled.

"Let the players form teams on their own. They can choose whoever they want to follow."

The implication was that there might be two commanders for this strategy.

Rozen would lead the Closed Beta players.

Diabel would lead the regular players.

Then, both sides would cooperate to defeat the floor boss together.

That's how things would go.

"Seems like this is the only way."

Diabel didn't decline either. He nodded directly and then turned to all the players present, speaking loudly.

"Everyone, form your own teams and send joint force requests to either me or Mr. Rozen!"

Depending on whom they wanted to follow, they would form teams accordingly.

With Diabel's indication, the players finally started moving, forming teams among themselves.

Basically, when forming teams, the player who proposed the team invitation would become the team leader, and each party would have a maximum of six members.

As for the joint force, the upper limit was set at eight parties, totaling forty-eight players.

Without a doubt, the Closed Beta players formed their own squads, ultimately aligning with Rozen's side.

The regular players, as Diabel had anticipated, hesitated and struggled somewhat, but in the end, they chose to join Diabel's side.

It's worth noting that there was a squad of regular players that didn't join Diabel's side. Instead, they requested to join the joint force under Rozen's command.

This squad was none other than Agil's tank team.

Seeing Rozen's slightly surprised expression, Agil gave a hearty smile.

"You can lead us through without losses, right?"

Agil said only this.

To that, Rozen smiled and nodded.

"Of course."

After giving this response, Agil led his team members and joined Rozen's side of the joint force.

In the end, Diabel led six squads to form the joint force, totaling thirty-six players.

Rozen led four squads to form a joint force.

At this point, a small issue arose.

Due to there being seventeen Closed Beta players and forty-three regular players, even though sixty players could form ten squads, the uneven distribution of players on both sides left one player without a squad.

Seventeen Closed Beta players could form three squads, leaving one spot unfilled.

Forty-three regular players could form seven squads, but with one extra.

Under these circumstances, typically, the player without a squad would go to the Closed Beta player side to even out the numbers and fill the squad.

However, given the opposition between the Closed Beta players and the regular players, who would be willing to go alone to the other side?

The regular players wouldn't want to go to the other side, and the Closed Beta players wouldn't trust having the other side's players join them.

Under normal circumstances, this would be quite a challenging issue.

Fortunately, the player without a squad didn't seem to have any apparent alliance. She didn't have animosity towards the Closed Beta players nor did she have any intention of joining the regular players. Instead, she stood alone with a distinct personality.

Coincidentally, this player without a squad was someone Rozen knew.

"So, it's you who's without a squad."

Rozen looked at the familiar swordswoman before him, his expression somewhat teasing.

"..."

Asuna maintained her silence, but it was clear that her mood wasn't too good.

"What an interesting coincidence."

Argo chimed in with a mischievous tone.

"Who is this person?"

Kirito tilted his head, confused.

"Oh, so you know each other?" Diabel seemed to relax as he spoke, "Since that's the case, I'll trouble you two to take care of her."

Was Diabel hinting that Rozen should include Asuna in his team?

"I don't mind."

Rozen shrugged, giving Asuna a curious look.

"However, I doubt someone will go all out in a fight and instead try to solo the floor boss against orders, ending up throwing her life away."

Rozen's words ignited a spark of emotion in Asuna.

Seeing Asuna on the verge of an outburst, Argo, who must have already had contact with Asuna and informed her of the method to clear the orange mark, which allowed Asuna to enter towns, quickly stepped forward.

"Well, why don't you join our team, Asuna? At least her skills are top-notch, no problem at all."

Persuaded by Argo, Asuna restrained her emotions, but she didn't say a word.

Rozen had merely provoked the girl for fun, so seeing this scene, he also refrained from saying anything further.

In this way, Asuna joined Rozen's team and became a member of the Closed Beta testers' joint force.

A total of ten squad, two joint forces, had now formed.

As for the boss raid, it would officially commence tomorrow.

In other words, tomorrow would decide whether they could successfully conquer the first floor of Aincrad.