At the labyrinth's entrance, Akimi's group naturally had no idea what was happening, since they had only just run into the main force of the Knights of the Blood Oath.
At the moment, however, Heathcliff wasn't among them—he was probably back at the guild headquarters handling some affairs.
The ones leading the team now were two of the Knights' commanders: Godfree and Kuradeel.
It had to be said, the Knights of the Blood Oath were in a league of their own among SAO's guilds at this stage.
Their average level hovered around 51, and the two leading commanders had already reached level 59.
Granted, part of that was because they'd recently cut members whose levels were too low…
Nobody really knew how Nautilus managed to stay in—guess he just got lucky.
Of course, when it came to raw level alone, they still couldn't outmatch elite guilds like Fuurinkazan.
Still, you could say the Knights of the Blood Oath were now at full strength: Commander Heathcliff at level 62, four sub-commanders close to level 60, a twenty-man combat squad between levels 51–55, and even their ten-man logistics team (Nautilus included) had all reached level 48 or higher.
—Though Nautilus had only just hit 48 in the past couple of days.
When Akimi's group crossed paths with the Knights, the two commanders wore very different expressions, clearly each with their own thoughts.
The first to speak was the burly, hearty, full-bearded Godfree—
"Haha! If it isn't Akimi and Fuurinkazan. Didn't expect you guys to actually be a bit ahead of us in progress… Oh, Nautilus, you're here too."
As he spoke, Godfree hefted his battleaxe onto his shoulder and stepped a bit closer to Akimi's party.
"If I remember right, you were given time off these past couple of days." Godfree clapped Nautilus on the shoulder.
"Didn't think you'd be this diligent, coming out here to grind."
But before Godfree even finished, Kuradeel snorted from nearby.
Narrowing his sharp, triangular eyes at Nautilus, he said coldly:
"If he wanted to level, why wouldn't he do it with us? Does he think we Knights aren't good enough for him? Running around with the likes of them—such disloyalty."
And as he spoke, he shot Akimi a pointed look, leaving no doubt as to who "the likes of them" referred to.
It was bitter, caustic, merciless—enough to make everyone's faces darken.
Even Godfree frowned at the tone.
"Hey, Kuradeel, that's going too far—" Godfree had just started to chide him when someone else cut in first—
"What do you mean, disloyal? Did Eiji ever use your guild's supplies for personal gain? Or is it that you think Eiji is the guild's private property, and any contact with outsiders is exposing guild secrets, therefore treachery? Don't you think that's a little too controlling?"
It was Yuna, speaking sharply with clear displeasure.
Kuradeel was struck speechless, mouth hanging open in shock for a long moment.
Perhaps out of humiliation, his triangular eyes suddenly gleamed with menace, and in a swift motion he drew his weapon from his waist—pointing it straight at Yuna, who had stepped protectively in front of Nautilus.
Kuradeel's greatsword was adorned with all sorts of ornate decorations, its guard slim and delicate-looking—truly a weapon that could be summed up as "all show, no substance."
The moment Kuradeel drew his weapon, Nautilus immediately stepped forward, pulling out his own one-handed sword and shielding Yuna behind him.
Seeing this, Kuradeel's squad members also drew their weapons, ready to clash at any moment.
Naturally, Klein's group wouldn't just sit back and let the Knights of the Blood Oath gang up on their temporary teammate; they too unsheathed their weapons and stood at the ready.
"Tch, this is getting troublesome…"
Akimi muttered, rubbing his forehead.
Asuna, seeing him like that, gave him a light push and said, "Don't just stand there watching—if this really turns into a fight, neither side benefits."
"Relax, it won't come to that." Akimi cast a glance at Nautilus before continuing, "Kuradeel isn't stupid enough to actually start something in a non-safe zone of the labyrinth—unless he's really lost his mind."
And just as Akimi predicted… Kuradeel really had lost his mind.
The very next second after he'd finished saying it wouldn't break into a fight, Kuradeel's greatsword suddenly lit up with a yellow glow.
Akimi's mouth twitched twice, speechless, and he muttered in disbelief:
"Oi, oi… You've got to be kidding me… he's really going to fight?"
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