More than a month later, on the fifty-eighth level of the maze.
The longsword struck the tower shield, and the recoil traveled along the blade and struck Lin Yuan's wrist.
The humanoid monster clad in dark blue armor did not retreat; its short axe behind its shield swept across. Lin Yuan withdrew his sword and bent down, the axe blade grazing his hair. He did not immediately retaliate, but instead stared at the monster's shoulder as it retracted its axe.
These armored guards are skilled in a shield-axe-sword technique.
When the player activates it, the system will first create a stun with a shield bash, and then automatically follow up with a horizontal slash. However, the monster in front of them can skip the shield bash and only trigger a counterattack after being attacked from the front. The preparation animation is almost invisible before the short axe appears from behind the shield.
The armored guard raised his shield again.
Lin Yuan did not attack the shield. He stepped forward, his sword deliberately grazing the outside of the shield. The monster judged the attack to have missed, but the short axe still swung out along a fixed trajectory.
This was the moment he had been waiting for.
The longsword veered back halfway, its spine brushing against the axe handle and pulling outwards. This created a gap in the monster's chest, allowing Lin Yuan to step inside the shield, the sword hilt slamming heavily into the center of the mask.
The metal faceplate dented.
The armored guard staggered backward, Lin Yuan had already mimicked its previous movement, hiding his longsword to the other side of his body. There was no shield bash, no system acceleration, only a horizontal slash brought about by a shoulder rotation.
The sword flashed past the waist of the armor.
The monster split up vertically, shattering into blue light fragments.
When Lin Yuan sheathed his sword, the tip of the sword was a moment slower than his wrist. It wasn't an illusion, but rather a slight sway of the sword as it changed direction at high speed.
The bend that appeared a month ago has become more pronounced.
He laid the sword flat on the ground, leaving a very thin gap between the tip and the middle of the blade. The system did not interpret this change as damage; as long as the sword did not actually break, the durability bar that the player saw would still appear normal.
Lin Yuan could no longer treat it as a perfectly good weapon.
In recent battles, he has consciously restrained his power. Even so, each time he clashed head-on with a high-level monster's weapon, the sword would develop a slight deformation that it could not recover on its own.
If it stays on the front lines, it won't last long.
Lin Yuan sheathed his longsword, preparing to end the exploration. Suddenly, chaotic footsteps echoed from the distant passage, and two player teams appeared around the corner, arguing as they walked.
"It's definitely a special weapon."
"This is the inner circle! Unless a duel is initiated first, no weapon can reduce HP."
"That person shattered right in front of everyone, and you're saying it's fake?"
Upon seeing Lin Yuan, both sides lowered their voices simultaneously. Someone recognized the " Nameless Swordsman " and instinctively made way, but still couldn't help continuing their conversation.
Lin Yuan asked, "Where did someone die?"
The first spearman to speak paused for a moment, then replied, " Martyn from the fifty-seventh floor. A player named Kains was pinned to the outside of the tower by a black spear and shattered in front of the entire street."
"Within the safe zone?"
"That's why it's strange. I heard the Knights of the Blood and the Black Swordsman were both at the scene and are currently investigating the murderer."
Another person lowered their voice. "Another one died today. Some say it's the guild leader who was killed before returning for revenge, others say Laughing Coffin has found a way to bypass the safe zone's protection."
What is Laughing Coffin?
The players exchanged glances.
"A group of red-named players who enjoy killing," the gunslinger said. "Their symbol is a laughing coffin. Some have recently gone missing, but no one has been able to catch them."
Lin Yuan remembered the name, but did not change direction and head towards the fifty-seventh floor.
Kirito is already investigating. The Knights of the Blood can view duel records, equipment information, and player status, making them far more suitable for finding answers than someone who doesn't even know the menu. If Lin Yuan goes, it will only prove that he can indeed harm people within the circle, making things even more chaotic.
Besides, the rumored victim has disappeared. Going there now isn't about helping out, but simply satisfying curiosity.
He passed by the two teams and returned to the main street via the maze exit.
The same thing was still being discussed in the city. In just half a day, Kains had died five times in different versions: some said the murderer was hiding in the clock tower, some said the spear would automatically track him, and some even started buying up purification items to remove the curse at high prices.
Lin Yuan did not linger.
He retrieved the paper map he had stored at the inn and bought enough food and medicine for a long journey. The Moonlit Black Cats was still mainly active in the lower levels. A few days ago, Keita Tai sent a message saying that they had saved enough money to change their base and wanted Lin Yuan to go back and check on them.
For ordinary players, walking from the 58th floor to their 11th floor is completely unnecessary. The teleportation portal only requires a single command.
Lin Yuan could only proceed step by step.
This return journey will allow him to avoid intense combat and reduce the impact on his longsword. He also needs to reconsider how to forge the next sword before it completely breaks.
The next morning, Lin Yuan left the main street on the 58th floor and stepped into the downward-extending passageway.
His route will pass through the forty-seventh floor, the thirty-fifth floor, the twenty-seventh floor, and finally through the outskirts of the nineteenth floor before returning to the lower floor where the Black Cats is located.
Whether killing is truly possible within the circle is an answer Kirito is searching for.
At this moment, Lin Yuan only knew that his sword was indeed about to break.