The first row of shields from the Divine Dragon Alliance moved forward simultaneously.
They didn't use any offensive sword techniques; they only wanted to use their strength and numbers to push Lin Yuan away. Four heavy shields formed a wall on the bridge, and the long spears in the back row rested on the edges of the shields, blocking any space to the left, right, or to leap.
Lin Yuan walked towards the shield wall.
Lin Yuan pushed aside the leftmost heavy shield with a palm strike, and his sword pierced through the half-foot gap, deflecting three spearheads in succession. Then he slammed into the shield wall, causing the four shields to trip over each other, and the entire row of players was forced back several steps by their own teammates.
Lin Yuan retreated back to the sword mark on the bridge.
Uncontrollable noises came from the rear of the group.
"Four heavy shields pushed at once, and he didn't even change position?"
"That wasn't a sword technique, so why was it so fast?"
Someone who had participated in the first-floor boss battle whispered to his companion, "He didn't even flash his sword skill light once when he killed the first and second-floor bosses."
"Change formation!" the leader immediately ordered.
The shield bearers parted to the sides, and six agile swordsmen rushed out from the gaps. Sword skills flashed one after another, some thrusting straight, some slashing horizontally from the side, and the last two deliberately delayed for a moment, specifically blocking Lin Yuan's landing point after dodging.
Before the system's sword skills are activated, the shoulders, waist, and toes will first land in fixed positions. Before the light has fully illuminated, Lin Yuan has already seen six trajectories.
He did not back down.
Lin Yuan used the spine of his sword to press down on the first sword, using the system's acceleration to pull the player to the right. His horizontal slash then collided with his companion, blocking the path of the next four. Lin Yuan weaved through the chaos, striking the hand with the hilt of his sword, sweeping the leg with the scabbard, and finally stopping the lead swordsman's throat with his last strike. None of the six were seriously injured, but the three weapons had already flown into the snow ditch.
He turned around and went back to his original position.
"Continue," Lin Yuan said.
This time, no one from the rear immediately stepped forward.
"With so many of us, we can't even get past him?"
"It's not that we can't get past them," a shield bearer said, staring at his numb arm. "It's that he hasn't seriously tried to cut us down yet."
Behind the bridge, the Midnight bells rang.
At the same moment, Kirito rushed into the forest clearing that was covered with colorful lights.
A massive figure in red descended from the snow. The boss, named " Nicholas the Renegade," rode on the back of a strange reindeer, his long axe swirling up snow. As the first blow landed, Kirito slid to the side, the axe blade cleaving a red impact mark into the ground.
Kirito's health bar remained unchanged. His current level was already ahead of almost all the other players. Over the past few months, he had gained almost all the experience from the monsters they hunted in the high-difficulty dungeons; Lin Yuan only took the moves and combat experience, while the system's assessment of his growth was layered onto Kirito.
Nicholas was an event boss designed for large groups, but Kirito's movements weren't fast at all. By the time Kirito raised his long axe for the second time, he had already cut into the reindeer's side, and two consecutive sword techniques tore large swathes of red light through the boss's body. The speed at which the health bar dropped far exceeded the predictions in the intelligence.
He didn't turn around. The faint sound of impacts from the bridge still indicated that Lin Yuan was still standing there.
In front of the stone bridge, the Divine Dragon Alliance changed its formation for the third time.
This time, the shield bearers stopped advancing, and the spearmen split into two columns, taking turns unleashing sword techniques, trying to force Lin Yuan off the bridge with continuous attacks. Those in the back rows also threw short spears, aiming not at his body, but at any foothold he could land on.
Lin Yuan finally stepped forward past the sword marks.
Before the first volley of gunfire had even faded, he was already close to the gunman. His longsword grazed the most vulnerable spot near the handshake, and the gun shaft shattered into shards of light. Short spears fell from behind, and he quickly shifted positions, grabbing a shield to block the person who was filling in, causing all the attacks to suddenly converge into a single mass.
There are no sword skill effects, no level suppression, and no one can see his stats on the interface.
The Divine Dragon Alliance couldn't budge an inch.
"More than twenty people..." someone in the back row said, looking at the middle of the bridge, "He hasn't shed a single drop of blood."
Another person instinctively retorted, "He doesn't even have a health bar."
The surroundings became even quieter. No one knew how to assess Lin Yuan; they only saw that the Divine Dragon Alliance's three advancing formations hadn't been able to force him to retreat even a step.
More than twenty people attacked in turn, but no one was seriously injured, and no one crossed the sword mark. Lin Yuan did not pursue those who fell to the ground; he would not draw his sword again once someone retreated to the back of the formation.
"Stop." The team leader finally raised his hand.
The remaining players stopped in their tracks. Lin Yuan also lowered his sword, his breathing remaining steady.
A loud bang suddenly came from afar. A blinding blue light shone above the snow-covered forest, then shattered into countless points of light. Everyone knew what that meant.
The boss has been defeated.
A moment later, Kirito emerged from the snow on the other side of the bridge. His black clothes were only covered in snow, his health bar was still in the green zone, and he held a crystal that emitted a seven-colored light in his hand.
From the Midnight bells to the Boss's destruction, not much time had passed.
"One person blocked us, and another soloed the event boss..." someone murmured in the crowd.
The members of the Divine Dragon Alliance stared at the item but did not move forward.
The crystal has already found its owner.
The team leader glanced down at the marks Lin Yuan had made. Until the battle ended, the snow along that line was swirled up back and forth, but no footprints of anyone from the Divine Dragon Alliance were left behind it.
Dozens of people came over, but none of them took a single step.