-421- Give it your all

So, what do we do now?

Without turning around to look, Rozen knew that Heathcliff was moving alongside him as they entered the arena. Rozen was pondering this situation.

Meeting Heathcliff at the teleport gate, especially encountering him while he was on his solo expedition, was quite surprising. Not only for Rozen but Heathcliff should have been equally astonished, right? Meeting in such circumstances was undoubtedly ironic, especially for Rozen.

However, facing Rozen in this situation, Heathcliff regained his composure after a while and calmly asked, "Long time no see, Guild Master Rozen. Did you have a pleasant vacation?"

Rozen squinted his eyes and replied in a nonchalant tone, "It was alright. Thanks to Guild Master Heathcliff sending your Vice Commander over, I didn't starve to death in the wilderness."

"Is that so?" Heathcliff nodded, paying no mind to Rozen's unserious comment. He continued, "That's great."

Their conversation then came to an end. Meanwhile, the members of Crimson Wing could only watch, whispering to each other, unable to intervene. Kirito, on the other hand, seemed to tense up after receiving a glance from Heathcliff.

Afterward, Heathcliff made a proposal, "Let's go together."

Upon hearing this, Rozen naturally had only one response, "It would be an honor."

So, Rozen let the rest of Crimson Wing go ahead and walked behind with Heathcliff, heading slowly in the direction of the arena.

During this process, the two of them did not engage in any conversation. Rozen just walked lazily, while Heathcliff remained expressionless, gazing straight ahead. He only looked towards the direction where Saichou and Hanachou made their cries, occasionally revealing some rare emotions in his eyes.

Because of this, Rozen and Heathcliff walked side by side as they entered the arena. Their expressions remained unwavering, with Rozen's usual laziness and Heathcliff's usual composure.

Then, Heathcliff turned without a word and headed towards the location of the Knights of the Blood Oath.

"Guild Leader,"

Asuna quickly saluted. "Thank you for your hard work."

Heathcliff spoke the words which he often used to console his subordinates, and then took a seat at the forefront of the Knights of the Blood Oath amidst the bowing guild members.

As Asuna watched Heathcliff in this manner, she felt a slight sense of dissonance for some reason.

This was Asuna's most direct feeling. Although in the past, Heathcliff had always been like this, rarely making excessive remarks or engaging in idle chatter. He would only talk extensively when others needed his knowledge.

He appeared somewhat indifferent to most things, even showing little interest in floor clearing, but paradoxically, he had a keen interest in players like Rozen and Kirito, leading to his previous initiative to contact Rozen and even engage in a duel with him.

So logically, Heathcliff's behavior wasn't particularly strange; it was just like before. However, for some reason, Asuna felt that Heathcliff's emotions seemed different from before. That was the only way she could describe it.

Nevertheless, Asuna's attention quickly shifted back to Rozen as he entered the arena.

In the scene, Rozen was just like before, showing no awareness of his own lateness. He was waving to Klein and Agil in the audience seats, which earned him an angry glare from Klein and a wry smile from Agil.

Klein's angry look stemmed from envy and jealousy, while Agil could only helplessly laugh at Rozen's unchanged behavior.

Asuna had these complaints in her mind, but her face involuntarily broke into a smile.

As Rozen walked into the arena, he naturally glanced towards the spot where Asuna was standing. He observed her standing proudly among the group of knights. A subtle smile involuntarily crept onto his lips.

Shortly after, Rozen arrived in front of everyone. All the players were seated in the spectator stands, while Rozen stood alone in the arena, drawing the attention of all the players.

Even though the entire arena contained only Rozen, no one felt he looked frail or insignificant.

On the contrary, it seemed like Rozen had taken over the entire venue, with the two rainbow butterflies hovering above his head.

Rozen then surveyed the entire arena and finally spoke. "Very well, it seems everyone is here."

Despite his soft-spoken words, they miraculously reached everyone in the arena, entering the ears of all the players.

"I've heard about the situation," Rozen continued with a calm tone. "The traps blocking the escape route, the crystal ineffective zone, and the fact that we still don't know the true form of the boss, and to make matters worse, we have dozens of casualties. It's hard to say whether this is unexpected or within expectations."

The players in the clearing group who understood Rozen's meaning fell into silence.

Rozen continued speaking, addressing the harsh reality of their situation.

"The current situation is indeed grim. We have absolutely no information about the floor boss in the boss room. Normally, we would send a scouting party, but the recent incident serves as a warning. Once someone enters the boss room, the doors will close, and there's no way to use crystals to escape. Sending scouts would only lead to more casualties."

Rozen highlighted a harsh reality they were facing. "In other words, if we want to clear this floor's boss, we have to gather our maximum force and rush in without any prior information. We have to break through in one go."

This seemed to be the only viable strategy. "In summary, for this boss battle, the entire clearing group needs to participate."

Rozen's voice echoed throughout the arena. "All 737 players present here must participate in the raid, overcoming the final major obstacle before reaching the 100th floor."

Rozen's words initially left many players puzzled, but they quickly understood.

Indeed, clearing the 75th floor would likely pave the way to the 100th floor, which was the next significant difficulty spike after every 25 floors.

This floor represented the final obstacle before reaching the 100th floor. Rozen wanted to convey to everyone,

"We're not far from fully clearing this game."

With a mixture of laziness and a fiery determination in his voice, Rozen's words spread.

"Everyone, give it your all."

With a simple sentence, players in the arena felt their spirits ignite.

"Ohhhhhh!"

The clearing group players collectively roared. The battle against the 75th-floor boss had officially begun.