Why did Hikigaya save the anime girls in Sword Story?

"You are the ones who collected the secret keys, right? I'm truly ashamed to have come all this way."

"You're welcome. May I ask what happened?"

“Actually…”

According to the family elder, the Human Shipping Guild is plotting to take some action against the Dark Elf City.

Hachiman and Asuna team up with Kizmel again to investigate.

"Using this cloth to cover the boat will only provide temporary invisibility, please."

(Limited time infiltration mission)

Asuna suddenly grabbed Hachiman's ear and said, "Hachiman-kun, you must have been thinking about... oral... work... just now, right? Your face is red!"

The three of them waited until nightfall, confirmed that the shipping association's regular ship had loaded cargo and left the port, and then quietly followed it.

After the target ship arrived at a carefully disguised island outpost, the Shipping Association ship unloaded the cargo and returned directly.

He secretly moored the boat at the pier, covered it with a cloak of invisibility, and sneaked into the stronghold under the protection of Kizmel.

“Confirm the goods first”

The three cautiously approached a building that looked like a warehouse. Inside, there were boxes filled with ship parts, as well as many sturdy but empty ordinary wooden boxes.

"The goods have been moved? But it doesn't look like it."

"What's next?"

"There's a big building over there that looks like a workshop. Let's go take a look."

"clear"

There was a guard at the main gate. The three of them found a big tree next to the warehouse and climbed up to the high window to peek. There were several hooded men inside.

"How many completed ships are there now?"

"The tenth ship is almost finished, and the remaining two are expected to be completed the day after tomorrow."

This group of people seemed to be building a ship in secret.

“If it weren’t for the restrictions of the taboo, we wouldn’t even need the help of humans to complete all the ships.

We could have provided warships to the forest elves through the underground waterways, allowing them to attack the dark elf city sooner..."

The person who lifted his hood turned out to be the fallen elf he had seen before.

"What is the taboo?"

"We can't cut down the trees ourselves, but we didn't expect the fallen elves to be the mastermind behind this..."

As Kizmel whispered, the symbol above his head changed to [?] It seemed he had obtained the necessary information.

"Okay, we have the information, let's retreat."

Following Hachiman's instructions, the three of them hurried back to the Shibari. When they were near the mooring, a new batch of cargo arrived, blocking their way.

"Asuna, Kizmel, you two get on board and prepare to sail. I'll hold them back for a while and then jump off."

"Understood, be careful."

The two men risked their lives by jumping over the cargo and rushing towards the Shibari, but the noise exposed their whereabouts.

"There are intruders! Catch them!"

Hachiman shoots down the crew from behind, only to discover that there are Fallen Elves mixed in with the opposing team.

With his back to the ship, Hachiman realized that he would be caught if he turned and fled, so he decisively swung his sword and attacked.

After several confrontations, he successfully blocked and counterattacked, and kicked the enemy away, but a crew member suddenly rushed from the side. At the critical moment, Kizmel turned back and knocked him out.

"Thank you, Kizmel."

"Get aboard!"

As Asuna called out, the two of them sprinted and leaped onto the Shibari, which was accelerating away from the shore.

The three people who successfully escaped returned safely to the Dark Elf City with the intelligence and reported everything to the patriarch.

"Will the forest elf army attack the day after tomorrow?"

"Yes, that's how it should be."

Asuna began to explain on behalf of the team.

"But logically speaking, their city has no waterway connecting to this place..."

“They mentioned taking the underground waterway.”

"There's actually such a thing..."

A [!] mark instantly appeared above the elder's head.

"Please go to the Holy Temple Labyrinth tomorrow and bring back the Lord Mayor who is praying. A boat has been prepared for him near the labyrinth. Please."

“Leave it to us”

(Asuna is definitely good at this kind of scene... but it seems a little too formal for me.)

Moonlight streamed through the Gothic stained windows and flowed like a silver stream on the cobblestone road. Hachiman looked at the chestnut-haired swordsman walking in front of him. The dancing light at the ends of her hair was more dazzling than any system special effects.

Perhaps in this death game, only the moment when I fought side by side with her can make me temporarily forget the anxiety about reality——

"Hachiman!" Asuna suddenly turned around, holding a honey cake in her hand. "Do you want to replenish your energy?"

"...Please give me half."

SAO: Chapter 26 Floor Progress Further Advancement

The next morning, the three of them set out for the Temple Labyrinth. Time was running out; the attack on the Dark Elf City would begin tomorrow at the latest.

Since the three of them were discovered during their reconnaissance and might even be punished for early war, they had to speed up their journey as much as possible and anchor the ship in a suitable location.

Hachiman rubbed his cold fingertips and looked at the rock archway that was faintly visible in front of him - this was the entrance to the fatal temple maze that Kizmel had mentioned.

Because of the tacit understanding developed from fighting side by side for a long time, ordinary soldiers are no problem for them at all. The biggest problem is the vastness of the maze.

"This broken maze definitely uses space folding technology, right?"

Hachiman finally couldn't help but complain when he kicked away the vines blocking his way for the fifth time. Asuna's rapier was being pulled out of the chest of some unlucky monster. He chuckled at the words: "Hachiman-kun, you don't have much physical strength in the real world, right?"

"Hachiman-kun, your dark circles are almost as big as a panda's." Asuna took out a refreshing potion and threw it over, her light brown ponytail swaying in the morning breeze.

We discussed tactics in the camp until three in the morning last night, but Asuna always looked as fresh as if she had just come out of a hair salon.

"We've been attacking for twelve hours straight!" Hachiman tugged at his sweat-soaked cloak. "Aren't you tired, Miss Kizmel?"

Kizmel gracefully brushed off the blood droplets on the blade: "The blood of the forest people will not..."

Before he could finish his words, the three of them squinted their eyes at the same time because of the sudden red light.

The HP bar floating above the square was as dazzling as if it had been splashed with tomato juice. In front of the door leading to the temple stood a fallen elf, its cursor as black as ink, holding a sword and steam coming out of its body - in a physical sense.

At this point, about twelve hours had already been spent. Considering the return time, there was not much time left. Naturally, they could not retreat here. The three of them challenged the fallen elves.

(The captain of the fallen elves...)

He is worthy of the title of captain, he is a formidable foe, his sword skills are swift and sharp, and his power is astonishing.

Even so, the three of them continued to reduce the enemy's HP. The moment the HP bar turned red, the enemy's speed suddenly increased.

It was so fast that even Hachiman had trouble defending himself, his HP bar already glowing a dangerous red.

Asuna's white stockings were ripped three times, and she was gritting her teeth and saying, "This maze is definitely designed to maliciously target female players!"

"Asuna, Kizmel! I'll disrupt their attack! You guys seize the opportunity and attack!"

Hachiman concentrated his mind to the limit and waited for the opportunity. Capturing the moment when his muscles moved slightly, he suddenly rushed into the enemy camp, blocked the enemy's weapon from below before he swung his sword, and at the same time used physical sword techniques with his left hand to hit the enemy's right shoulder.

The enemy turned half clockwise and faced away from everyone. At this moment, the two people who attacked from the left and right launched a full-strength attack, but because the enemy leaned back, the attack depth was insufficient and a little HP remained.

Hachiman was about to finish off the enemy when he discovered that the enemy, who should have been stunned, had recovered prematurely and was swinging his sword at Kizmel on the left.

(Oops! Berserk not only speeds up but also shortens the stiffness time?)

Seeing that Kizmel might be killed by the counterattack, a familiar white light suddenly flashed at the edge of Hachiman's vision.

With the metallic sound of "clang", the enemy staggered inexplicably. The next second, the man in black rushed into the battlefield and delivered the final blow.

"Kirito!"

"Kirito-kun!"

With a flash of sword light, the enemy fell to the ground.

“It seems we’ve caught up.”

"Is everyone okay~?"

There was a sound of running in the distance, and Bakaha also arrived.

"We're saved, thanks Kirito and Bakaha."

"Great... I thought Kizmel was going to..."

Asuna was on the verge of tears, clearly suppressing her strong emotions.

"Why are you here?" Hachiman put his hands in his pockets, his dead fish eyes twitching slightly. This development was just like a side story forcibly triggered in a galgame. Should we say that he is worthy of being Kirito?

"This is all thanks to the event organizer's bad taste." Kirito scratched the back of his neck. The hem of his dark windbreaker was still stained with purple-black blood. "We defeated several fallen elves in the next area and completed the mission. We heard the fighting when we passed by and came to check it out. That's when we found you."

“No wonder there are no guards.”

"Well, it was probably those guards we dealt with."

"I see. This is only the case in non-dungeon areas."

"Yes, we originally thought you could handle it so we didn't attack, but the enemy suddenly accelerated, so we were ready to provide support at any time."

"I see...Thank you both very much."

"Thank you so much...

"I'm glad you're okay. By the way..."

Hachiman suddenly noticed a fresh crack on the left shoulder of Kirito's leather armor, and dark purple liquid was oozing out of the gap. This discovery made his throat tighten - the shadow of SAO's death game seemed to still linger somewhere in his retina.

Hachiman then briefly explained the mission process to Kirito, which was obviously very different from the route taken by Kirito and his team.

"We can't see that there are three keyholes here?"

"Yes, now we have to go rescue the lord and join the battle."

"Then we need to hurry. Our activities will continue to the lower levels. This is the final... climax... right? After all, the final mission involves the Holy Temple.

Next should be the dungeon area. We'll wait here. Although we can't assist with the plot, we can help during the retreat."

"Thank you, let's go then."

The three of them took out the keys and inserted them into the holes, and their figures instantly disappeared from Kirito and Bakaha's sight.

The dizzy feeling of time and space distortion reminded Hachiman of the weightlessness he experienced when he first used the NERvGear. What came into view was a dark elf wearing luxurious armor and praying devoutly.

"Long time no see, Viscount Euphilis."

"Isn't this... Kizmel? What's going on?"

"According to our investigation, the forest elf army will attack the city tomorrow."

"Another conspiracy of the fallen elves..."

"You know?"

"Well, I noticed the unusual movements of the fallen elves and am praying for peace between the two races."

"This is an emergency, please go back quickly."

"It seems war is inevitable..."

On the way back, it was like turning on the Wushuang mode. The lord's sword energy could clear the entire corridor with a casual swing, and the fallen elves fell down like wheat being cut.

Bakaha leaned over and whispered in his ear: "Isn't there three question marks after this boss's level?"

SAO: Chapter 27: Fourth Floor Walkthrough Completed