Chapter 653

Aincrad, 55th Floor, Granzam .

Today, the air in Granzam felt different .

As a large city, Granzam is relatively busy on normal days . There are a lot of NPCs going about their routine in this city . The players are also very active in this city . Some of them put up stores, some did missions and quests, some came here to resupply . Put it shortly, this is a very prosperous city and there is a lot of traffic here .

However, this city is rowdier than ever . Players all over SAO stopped non-essential work, some closed their shops temporarily, the players also delayed the completion of their quests . They all walked in the same direction, even players who wanted to resupply decided to shop on another day . Like star-struck fans, they wanted to see their idols, very desperately so .

The players made a beeline for Knights of the Blood Oath’s headquarters .

On a plaza near the KoB’s HQ…

The players pressed against each other to squeeze into this small plaza . They encircled the plaza’s center . The players formed a sea of players, they waved their arms in the air as they cheered, jeered, or yelled out loud . The situation here is very messy to say the least . There are at least a thousand players here .

At the line closest to the plaza center, the KoBs formed a defensive circle around the center to make sure the pedestrians and stray players stay out . They cleared out a vacant circle around 100 meters in diameter .

There are two players who faced off against each other in this square . These two players is the reason why this city is so noisy today .

Wu Yan and Heathcliff .

The figure in black and the figure in red stood out among the crowd . A coat and a cape fluttered with the wind . No one knew if the wind was caused by natural means or artificially by the sheer amount of people breathing and yelling in excitement . The two stared at each other without paying the other players a single iota of attention .

Asuna stood with the Knights who are in charge of maintaining order here . She’s the temporary leader while Heathcliff dueled Wu Yan . She pointed her fingers and she gave her orders from time to time .

She looked like she’s taking this job very seriously when in actual fact, she can’t help glancing over in Wu Yan’s direction .

Heathcliff glanced around and he shook his head .

“I am sorry, Wu Yan-kun, the rowdy players must not be to your liking, right?”

Heathcliff didn’t know who leaked the duel between the two of them . Somehow or the other, word got out, and now, they have to deal with this . Who could blame the players? Heathcliff and Wu Yan are both legendary players in SAO .

On one side, we have the strongest player in SAO . On the other, we have the guild leader of the strongest guild .

They only need to show their face in public to cause a commotion . When they are about to duel, like what is happening today, the players are bound to go crazy with excitement . It wasn’t hard to imagine that it would turn out like this if someone leaked this duel to the public .

“Yeah, I don’t really like appearing in front of a crowd . ”

Wu Yan looked around and he continued nonchalantly .

“But, it’s not the first time this happened to me so…”

“Oh?”

Heathcliff had his own thoughts .

“Looks like Wu Yan-kun is also quite an individual in the real world…”

“Oh no no, I am just some nameless mook in the real world…”

Wu Yan shrugged .

“I am not worth mentioning…”

“You’re being too modest…”

Heathcliff chuckled .

“If you’re a nameless individual, this world wouldn’t have anyone worth mentioning anymore…”

“Sure, if you say so…”

Wu Yan said with a faint smile on his face . Heathcliff obviously didn’t believe his words .

He’s speaking the truth, if he can’t accept it then there’s nothing Wu Yan can do .

Wu Yan is an alien in the SAO’s universe . He didn’t even have a proof of ident.i.ty . Heathcliff is working on the a.s.sumption that Wu Yan’s skill set and background must be linked to a notable individual in real life as well .

Heck, he was even intimidated by what Wu Yan must have gone through in the real world to be as strong as he is today .

Heathcliff invited Wu Yan to a duel and Wu Yan saw this invitation in the next instant .

Wu Yan clicked on the “Okay” b.u.t.ton in the prompt . He clicked on the First-Strike Mode option in the drop-down menu .

In a First-Strike mode, the one who hits the yellow HP Bar first, loses the fight . In other words, the one who gets reduced to 50% HP will lose this duel .

A countdown started in midair between Wu Yan and Heathcliff . The seconds slowly ticked to 0…

Heathcliff put on his game face and he raised the s.h.i.+eld in his left hand, he pulled out a sword from the s.h.i.+eld that served as his scabbard at the same time .

Wu Yan grabbed his Heaven Gazer and he pulled it out as he got into a stance . Wu Yan is smiling like he’s not facing a top player . He’s treating this duel like a curb-stomp match . The other players cheered for him .

Wu Yan isn’t stupid enough to let his guard down against an opponent like Heathcliff . He’s the one who’s actually in trouble here .

He’s not just a top-cla.s.s player, he is an administrator, the GM of this game . Normally, a player wouldn’t even think about going against a GM . Has there ever been a case of a player prevailing over the GM of a game?

Wu Yan wasn’t completely sure he can win against someone who had administrator privileges . But, he’s sure he can pull through this in his own way .

Heathcliff will not blatantly abuse his administrator powers in front of the public . He can’t directly use GM powers to make Wu Yan lose . He also couldn’t use restricting interference on Wu Yan . Eagle-eyed players would be able to spot the difference, that’s just too risky .

Heathcliff, can, however, abuse his power to peg his HP bar at 51% or more so he never hits yellow . He can also use his privileges to move in defiance of the rules in this game . In the previous battles, Heathcliff has done well relying on this ability to cheese through his fights .

Pegging his Hp bar at 51% or more, that’s a form of invulnerability as well . If he chose to use that function, Wu Yan wouldn’t win no matter how hard he tried .

Wu Yan has the confidence to maintain his HP above 51% throughout the fight, add a few gimmicks here and there, it’s hard to say who would win in the end .

But, plans can’t keep up with changes, especially in a fight like this when anything can happen . If he messed up, he would probably lose and have to join the Knights of Blood .

In short, it’s hard to say who will win in the end .