SAO: I replaced him?

Hula—!!

The Goblin Lord, a towering brute resembling a walking tank, charged forward like an unstoppable freight train. Just the sight of it was enough to make any normal player second-guess their choices in life. Clutching a massive battle-axe in one hand and another axe in the other, the monstrous goblin led the charge straight toward the raid party.

As planned, Morin, Asuna, and several [Star Flame] members immediately focused on the Goblin Lord, while the rest of the raiding party split up. Two teams of ten each peeled off to intercept the Goblin Guards, while the final two teams stood by, ready to back up against the boss as needed.

"Team One, follow me!!!"

Morin roared, raising his sword and shield before charging head-on.

The [Star Flame] players responded instantly, three tank players forming a wall behind Morin, while Asuna and the others flanked closely. Meanwhile, the rest of the raid party moved into position, clashing with the three Goblin Guards swarming around their oversized leader.

The Goblin Lord, seeing Morin as the biggest threat in front of him, let out a guttural growl and swung his massive axe downward!

"CLANG!!!"

Morin barely braced his shield in time before the axe slammed into him like a battering ram. The sheer force sent him skidding backward, his boots scraping sparks against the stone floor. His HP bar dipped slightly, but the important thing was—

The Goblin Lord had momentarily stopped its charge.

"Now!!"

"Get wrecked!!"

"Swish! Swish! Swish!"

The moment the Goblin Lord hesitated, the [Star Flame] players unleashed their sword skills in a dazzling burst of light, slashing into the beast from multiple angles. Though they weren't famous in the grand story of SAO, these players had been handpicked by Morin. Their gear and combat skills ranked in the upper tier among front-liners—though, of course, not at the level of people like Kirito, Argil, or Diavel.

Still, their combined assault forced the Goblin Lord to stagger, its first HP bar dropping by over a third in a matter of seconds!

But then—

"ROOOOAAAAAGHH!!"

The wounded Goblin Lord howled in rage, lifting both axes to swing wildly in retaliation.

That was when a flash of silver cut through the chaos.

Like a ghost, Asuna suddenly appeared beside the boss, her rapier glowing bright blue as she activated a sword skill—

"Linear!"

The speed was insane—one second she was mid-air, the next her rapier pierced straight into the Goblin Lord's eye socket!

For a moment, time seemed to freeze.

The Goblin Lord twitched violently, its health bar plummeting as blood-red damage numbers flooded the air.

Without even pausing to confirm her hit, Asuna twisted gracefully, using the impact to propel herself backward and land safely. Her timing was flawless—executed so cleanly that the boss didn't even get a chance to counter.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"

The Goblin Lord howled in agony, clutching its face as its first HP bar drained completely— and even its second bar lost almost half of its health.

Silence.

Then—

"WHAT?!"

Kirito, locked in combat with a Goblin Guard, nearly fumbled his sword as his brain registered what just happened.

"That… that was a CRIT?!!"

Even amidst battle, Kirito couldn't believe it. He knew SAO's combat system well—critical hits happened when a player hit a monster's weak points, like a humanoid's vitals or a beast-type monster's head, throat, or joints.

But this?

In all his time playing SAO—**even before the death game started—**he had never seen anyone land a sword skill directly into a boss's eye socket for that level of damage.

Who the hell was this girl?!

Kirito had never even heard of her before, and he had been pretty deep in SAO's beta circles.

"Holy crap, that was insane!"

"That's Asuna from [Star Flame], right?!"

"She's amazing…"

All around, players were staring at Asuna in awe.

And some, well… they started imagining things.

A beautiful swordswoman, graceful, elegant, and that powerful? For some guys in the raid, that was practically cheat code material for falling in love.

Too bad for them, they learned the hard way that daydreaming in battle was a terrible idea.

While they were gawking, the Goblin Guards reminded them why this was a death game— by slamming their weapons into the distracted players, sending them flying.

"GHHK!!"

"Ahhh! Dammit!!"

A couple of them crashed against the walls, losing a good chunk of their HP before scrambling back up.

Meanwhile, Morin, who had no patience for distractions, barked out orders.

"Asuna! That was amazing!"

Then, without missing a beat, he turned and bashed his shield straight into the enraged Goblin Lord's face using a skill—

[Shield Bash]!

"WHAM!!"

The impact interrupted the Goblin Lord mid-rage, making it stumble just as it was about to lunge at Asuna.

Morin took the chance to yell at the raid team:

"STOP STARING AND KEEP FIGHTING! TEAM ONE, HOLD THE BOSS! TEAM TWO, GET READY TO SWITCH IN!!"

"UNDERSTOOD!!"

"Team Two, on standby!"

The [Star Flame] players, having fought together for some time, adjusted quickly, forcing the Goblin Lord into another cycle of damage rotations.

And finally—

A figure stepped forward from Team Two.

With an air of unshakable confidence, Heathcliff, the leader of [Knights of the Blood Oath], calmly raised his shield and sword, stepping into position.

Morin narrowed his eyes at the guild leader's movements, analyzing his form.

Everything Heathcliff did was technically perfect—almost too perfect.

But there was no time to dwell on that.

Morin exhaled sharply, gripping his sword tightly.

"Alright then… let's finish this."

And with that, the battle for the first-floor boss raged on.

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